Apple cuts Tim Cook's pay as iPhone sales fall first time

January 7, 2017

Los Angeles, Jan 7: iPhone maker Apple has cut its CEO Tim Cook's salary by a whopping 15 per cent for 2016 as annual sales declined for the year, missing targets that also led to the tech giant's first annual revenue decline in 15 years.

timcookThe company gave the 56-year-old USD 8.75 million in total compensation last year, down from the USD 10.28 million he received in 2015, according to a Securities and Exchange (SEC) filing released yesterday.

Cook's salary rose to USD 3 million from USD 2 million last year - a 50 per cent increase, his cash bonus took a hit. Apple awarded Cook and other executives 89.5 per cent of their target, instead of the maximum amount like in recent years.

Hence, Cook's cash bonus fell to USD 5.4 million in 2016, down from USD 8 million the year before and declining for the first time since he assumed leadership of the company in 2011.

Apple specifically cited the company's failure to meet its performance goals for both sales and profits. Sales volume of the iPhone fell in fiscal 2016 for the first time since the device was introduced in 2007, causing the tech icon to suffer its first annual revenue decline in 15 years.

The company said its annual sales were down nearly 4 per cent, or USD 215.6 billion, from its target of USD 223.6 billion, and its operating income was down 0.5 per cent from its target at USD 60 billion, according to the filing.

"Overall, our 2016 performance with respect to net sales and operating income was 7.7 per cent and 15.7 per cent below our record-breaking 2015 levels," Apple said in the filing.

"However, the 2016 payouts to our named executive officers were significantly less than the annual cash incentive payouts for 2015, reflecting strong pay-for-performance alignment."

Apple's rare sales slump is directly linked to the loss of momentum for the iPhone, which generates the majority of the company's sales.

Sales of iPhones have declined in each of the past three quarters, slipping to 45.5 million in the September quarter, with reports saying Apple has faced steep competition from Samsung and other smartphone makes and the newest iPhones did not feature enough upgrades to attract customers.

In October, Cook said that demand for the iPhone 7 and the bigger 7 Plus, which feature enhanced cameras and longer battery life, have outpaced supply though Apple would only report quarterly sales for those phones on January 31.

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Agencies
April 4,2020

Kozhikode, Apr 4: In a bid to maintain the lockdown amid COVID-19 outbreak, Police in Kozhikode is monitoring the situation using drone cameras and making sure that people are not breaking the law.

The police have so far arrested 41 persons who were out on a morning walk on Saturday during the lockdown in the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak.

The SHO of Town South Police Station informed that the accused were later released on bail.
At least 295 cases have been reported in the state so far.

Talking about COVID-19 testing, State Health Minister KK Shailaja told media: "Nine labs are conducting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in Kerala. We've received 2000 rapid test kits and will start rapid tests from tomorrow. If a person tests positive in rapid test, we need to confirm it with PCR test."

The total number of COVID-19 positive cases in India climbed to 3072 on Saturday, according to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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Agencies
March 8,2020

Consumer watchdog Which? has claimed that more than one billion Android phones and tablets are vulnerable to hackers as they no longer supported by security updates.

According to the research report, the most at-risk phones are any that run Android 4 or older and those smartphones running Android 7.0 which can not be updated are also at risk.

Based on data from Google analysed by Which?, two in five android device users around the world are no longer receiving the important updates. Currently, those devices are unlikely to have issues, but the lack of security leaves them open to attack.

"It is very concerning that expensive Android devices have such a short shelf life before they lose security support, leaving millions of users at risk of serious consequences if they fall victim to hackers," Kate Bevan editor Which? said in a statement.

"Google and phone manufacturers need to be upfront about security updates with clear information about how long they will last and what customers should do when they run out. The government must also push ahead with planned legislation to ensure manufacturers are far more transparent about security updates for smart devices and their impact on consumers," Kate added.

Android phone released around 2012 or earlier, including popular models like the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Sony Xperia S, are particularly at risk to hackers.

Which? has made suggestions to Android users on what to consider if they have an older phone that may be at risk.

Any Android device which is more than two years old, check whether it can be updated to a newer version of the operating system. If it is on an earlier version than Android 7.0 Nougat, try to update via Settings> System>Advanced System update.

In case a user is not able tto update the phone, the device could be at risk of being hacked if it is running a version of Android 4 or lower.

A user also need to be careful about downloading apps outside the Google Play store and should also install a mobile anti-virus via an app.

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Agencies
May 14,2020

Social media platform WhatsApp assured the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it will not roll out its payment services without complying with all payment regulations and norms in the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and Hrishikesh Roy took up the matter through video conferencing. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the social media platform, said "WhatsApp Inc makes a statement on behalf of his client that they will not go ahead with the payments' scheme without complying with all the regulations in force."

The statement was made during the hearing of a petition seeking a ban on payment through WhatsApp, as it does not conform to the data localization norms. The top court took the assurance made by WhatsApp on record.

WhatsApp made the statement during the hearing of a plea seeking a ban on its payment service, for not being in line with data localization norms.

In 2018, WhatsApp was granted a beta licence to launch its payment service, but a dedicated and separate app is yet to be launched. A petition was moved in the apex court that WhatsApp's existing model for its payments service should be declared inconsistent with the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) Scheme, as a separate dedicated app has not been offered by the company.

The petitioner NGO, Good Governance Chambers, argued that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) must change its model on the lines of the UPI payment scheme, and its operations may be suspended until these conditions are met.

The apex court today asked the Centre, Facebook and WhatsApp to file their replies within three weeks and it will take up the matter thereafter. The court noted that the government may process the applications filed by WhatsApp in accordance with the law and there is no stay on the same. Facebook was represented by senior advocate Arvind Datar.

The petitioner argued that lapses have been found in relation to WhatsApp's claims of having a secure and safe technological interface for securing sensitive user data.

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