Technologies

Apple Is Moving US iPhone Assembly to India Amid Tariff Turmoil

Apple CEO Tim Cook also said Vietnam will manufacture almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods products sold in the US.

Apple will be sourcing almost its entire line of iPhones sold in the US — about 60 million phones a year — from assembly facilities in India, CEO Tim Cook said Thursday. The planned move comes against the backdrop of the Trump administration imposing tariffs against China of up to 145%.

The tech giant is predicting a $900 million impact to Apple’s costs this coming quarter if tariff policies, rates and applications stay as they are right now.

«For the June quarter, we do expect the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin,» Cook said during Apple’s Q1 earnings call on May 1, «and Vietnam to be the country of origin for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods products sold in the US.»

It comes as some products such as mobile phones and computers have been exempted from those tariffs for the time being. Apple has long centered its iPhone production in China, making it vulnerable to any trade war between the two countries and spurring speculation that tariffs could mean price increases for the company’s biggest-selling product.

By moving third-party assembly of US iPhones to India, Apple could avoid the most significant cost pressure of a trade war, though India itself faces new tariffs as well.

The company had already begun shipping iPhones made in India, adding to its product reserves, before new tariffs became active.

A global perspective on iPhones and tariffs

While it’s unclear how long the trade war with China will continue, Apple’s shift is part of a larger strategy that may include more US component manufacturing, says Angelo Zino, a senior vice president at CFRA Research.

«Apple must think long term with manufacturing capacity,» Zino said. «We think Apple will look to double its India iPhone capacity in the next two to three years to help mitigate future China-US tensions.»

That said, Zino expects Apple to keep a large China presence, as 15% of its sales will be in that country and global capacity of iPhone manufacturing will still rely on Chinese manufacturing. Cook confirmed that China will «continue to be the country of origin for the vast majority of total product sales outside the US.»

While Apple wouldn’t shift iPhone production entirely to the US, which would be cost-prohibitive, Zino said, it could potentially ramp up modem and internally designed processors with Taiwan Semiconductor in the US.

«That is clearly where the value of Apple lies for the Trump administration, in our view, rather than assembling its devices,» Zino said.

Will Apple’s manufacturing shift to India last?

Muzammil Hassan, head of patent portfolio management and monetization in India for Quandary Peak Research, noted that Apple’s shift to more manufacturing in India was already happening before tariffs were enacted.

«I don’t think it’s a temporary move,» Hassan said. «Foxconn has been training thousands of employees in their factories in Tamil Nadu. In fact, there were reports that iPhone 17 might be developed and manufactured exclusively in India.»

While shifting all US iPhone production to India may be bold, Hassan said, Apple is not pioneering with its manufacturing strategy. «I’d say Apple is late to the party. Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and Motorola among others were already manufacturing their phones in India.»

In addition, Google may be migrating production of its Pixel phone to India from Vietnam, he said.

Technologies

Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces, Starting Nationwide

The social app now has new US requirements including face identification to help quell longstanding problems with catfishing and more.

US Tinder users will find a new feature when they open up the dating app starting Wednesday: A mandatory Face Check on their phones will be required before they can log into their profiles.

The Face Check step will begin with a new request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple’s Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile pics and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We already know how it works, because Tinder has already launched the feature in Canada and California before the full US rollout.

The technology, powered by FaceTec, will keep biometric data of the user’s face in encrypted form but discard the scanning video for privacy. Tinder will be able to use the face data to detect duplicate accounts, in an effort to cut down on fake profiles and identity theft.

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Tinder’s facial recognition rollout is also made to prevent catfishing, or people pretending to be someone else on Tinder to scam or blackmail them. But that also points to a deeper problem on the rise in dating apps — a growing number of bots, many controlled by AI, are designed to glean personal information or fool users into scammy subscriptions, among other problems.

Tinder’s working against these bots on several fronts, including this Face Check push as well as ID Check, which requires a government-issued ID and other types of photo verification.

The dating app also recently released a feature in June to enable double-dating with your friends, which Tinder reports is especially popular with Gen Z users. If you’re worried about the latest hazards on Tinder, we have guide to safety practices.

A representative for Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Oct. 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 23.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like some weather, memories and I.P.A.s
Answer: HAZY

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Civic automaker
Answer: HONDA

8A clue: What fear leads to, as Yoda told a young Anakin
Answer: ANGER

9A clue: Foxlike
Answer: SLY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Verbal «lol»
Answer: HAHA

2D clue: Brain signal transmitter
Answer: AXON

3D clue: Hits with a witty comeback
Answer: ZINGS

4D clue: Sing at the top of a mountain, maybe
Answer: YODEL

6D clue: Name of the famous «Queen of Scots»
Answer: MARY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: