BYD, the renowned Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, has announced its plans to construct a large production base complex in Camaçari, Brazil. In collaboration with the government of Bahia state, BYD will invest an estimated 3 billion Brazilian Real (around 630 million USD) in this project, which aims to bolster the company’s global expansion.

BYD’s Expansion in Brazil: Three Factories for Electric Vehicles and Battery Materials

The production base complex will comprise three factories, each serving a specific purpose. The primary factory will focus on manufacturing electric buses and truck chassis, while a separate facility will be dedicated to the assembly of electric passenger vehicles. Additionally, a processing factory will be established to produce lithium iron phosphate battery materials. The new energy passenger vehicle production line is expected to have an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles, encompassing both pure electric and plug-in hybrid models. Meanwhile, the lithium iron phosphate battery material processing factory will leverage local port resources to meet the increasing worldwide demand for new energy products.

Operations at the production base are scheduled to commence in 2024, generating approximately 5,000 job opportunities for the local community. Ms. Li Ke, Executive Vice President and President of BYD Americas, expressed the significance of this venture, emphasizing its potential to accelerate the adoption of new energy vehicles in the region. Moreover, she highlighted its role in addressing global climate change and enhancing people’s quality of life.

Notably, BYD recently introduced its domestic BYD Dolphin model to the Brazilian market in late June 2023. Priced at 149,800 Brazilian Real (equivalent to around 223,400 Chinese Yuan), the BYD Dolphin offers a range of 291 kilometers, as per local testing regulations in Brazil.

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(Via)

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A couple of months ago, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice ordered the suspension of iPhone sales in the country after it concluded that Apple harms consumers by not offering the power adapter when they purchase the device. Even after the company was slapped with a million-dollar fine, it is still not complying with the order.

Now, the regulator for Federal District-based consumer protection has seized Apple iPhones from retailers or retail stores as the technology giant failed to comply with the requirements.

A report by Technoblog reveals that Procon-DF has seized hundreds of Apple iPhones from different retail stores in Brasilia, Brazil. It added that as a part of “Operation Discharge,” the regulator plans to force Apple to comply with the local law that requires smartphones to be shipped with a charger in the box.

It further adds that the regulator is seizing devices from the carrier stores and authorized Apple retailers. It is only seizing the devices that come without a charger in the box, followed by a decision from the Ministry of Justice to block Apple from selling iPhones in Brazil without chargers included.

For those who are unaware, Apple stopped including a charger in the box with the iPhone 12 series, but the company also updated iPhone 11 series retail box to come without a charger.

After the devices were seized, Apple Brazil requested the government to allow sales of smartphones in the country until the final decision is pending as the company has filed an appeal. Although the company says it is confident of winning the legal battle, its action suggests otherwise. The newly launched Apple TV 4K comes with a USB-C charger in the box, but the company doesn’t reveal a reason behind this.

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Apple has just been hit with another sizeable fine. The company has been facing friction in the Brazilian market for a while, and now, it faces a 2 million US Dollar fine as well as a possible ban on some of its iPhone models.

The Ministry of Justice in Brazil has imposed a a fine of 12.275 million Brazilian Real, which is around 2.34 million US Dollars. For those unaware, the Cupertino based giant has been facing issues in the region ever since it decided to stop shipping its iPhones with a charger included in the box. So now, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice has imposed a ban to stop the sales of all iPhone models that don’t ship with an included power adapter.

Following this ruling, Apple has issues a statement in response to the fine and the ban. As per this statement, the company said that it would work to resolve any concerns of the National Consumer Secretary (SENACON), which is a department under the Ministry of Justice that decided on the fine. Apple’s Brazil unit said that “We have already won several court rulings in Brazil on this matter and we are confident that our customers are aware of the various options for charging and connecting their devices.”

The fine isn’t going to be immediately imposed, although, it will go into effect once the Ministry verifies that Apple has circumvented the sales ban that it plans on enforcing. At the moment, the Ministry argues that the fine and ban on the iPhone maker is being imposed due to the brand selling an incomplete product since it did not include the power adapter.

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A judge has ruled against Apple and has said that the company must compensate a customer in Brazil for selling the person an iPhone without a charger included in the box.

According to a MacRumors report, the Cupertino based giant selling an iPhone without a charger in the box violates consumer laws. For those unaware, the iPhone maker had removed the charger in the box back in 2020. The company cited environmental reason for this decision, however, many believe that the company made the move to save up on shipment costs thanks to smaller retail boxes. Not shipping chargers also help further reduce their costs as well.

Thus, the move sparked controversy with certain governments even taking steps against the company, requiring them to ship its iPhones with the chargers. Now, a judge in Brazil, which is a region that has been against Apple’s move, is now forcing the company to compensate the customer for more than 1,000 US Dollars for the lack of a charger. Back in 2021, Brazil had also fined the company 2 million US Dollars for violating consumer laws.

This dispute continued and, at one point, it seemed that Apple would be required to ship every iPhone with a charger in the country. However, the company argued that many customers already have chargers in their homes. The brand even stated the environmental benefits of removing chargers and the reduced footprint of the iPhone box.

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Facebook-owned WhatsApp instant messaging platform has been focusing a lot on the business-related features on the application as the company is exploring various ways of monetizing billions of users on the platform.

In the latest update, the company has now started testing a new in-app business directory feature. As the name indicates, it’s basically a business directory that will allow users to find shops and services through the app.

Currently, the feature is undergoing the testing phase in São Paulo, Brazil. The test would include thousands of businesses in categories like food, retail, and local services across certain São Paulo neighborhoods. The company is looking to soon expand the feature to users in India and Indonesia.

Users can tap on ‘Businesses Nearby’ in the WhatsApp contact listing, which will then show a listing of active local business profiles. From there, users will be able to tap through and view the business’ full profile, along with products and other contact information.

This feature is yet another one from Facebook to make the e-commerce system on WhatsApp stronger as the social media giant is working hard to convert the messaging platform into an e-commerce juggernaut. WhatsApp has already launched shopping tools like product catalogs and shopping carts.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 in a deal worth $19 billion but the platform didn’t have a model to monetize its millions of daily active users. The company is now looking at different ways to generate revenue but hasn’t ruled out in-app advertisements.

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Huawei, one of the leading technology companies in China, has partnered with WDC Networks for supplying solar generation solutions using artificial intelligence and high-performance optimizers with lithium batteries.

The company has announced that the agreement for the partnership was brokered through partner HDT Energy, which is a business division of HDT International that will handle the logistics of this partnership while WDC distributes products to over 12,000 integrators.

In a statement, Huawei said that the partnership will focus on supplying solar generation solutions to households, businesses, and distributed generation plants. Huawei also says it leads the Brazilian inverters market with a 30 percent share.

WDC is traditionally a distributor of IP and wireless equipment for telecommunication operators and internet service providers in Brazil, began distributing solar equipment from Canadian Solar, Germany’s AE Solar and SMA, and local player Froniusas last year.

Chinese manufacturers are the main equipment suppliers for Brazil’s growing solar power industry. The Chinese company had started operating in this segment in 2016, offering solar inverters through the Smart Fusion Solar portfolio. As per the company, there are more than 4GW in Brazil solar energy projects supplied with its Fusion solution, encompassing around 70 medium and large projects.

Fábio Mendes, Huawei director of channels and sales for Latin America, said in the statement, “the goal now is to expand the Huawei brand to the residential, commercial and industrial segments in the country.”

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Earlier this week, Apple held its Spring Loaded event where it launched its latest fifth generation iPad Pro. While the rumor of the 12.9 inch model seeing a slight rise turned out to be true, the hike in price is way higher in certain nations compared to others.

As per a 9To5Mac report, Nukeni compiled a list of prices for the newly launched 2021 iPad Pro model that is available in various nation across the globe. Looking at this list, it is clear that the iPad Pro is the most affordable in the United States and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Sweden and Brazil have the most expensive price tag compared to every other market. In Brazil, the iPad costs nearly about two times more than a model sold in the US.

For the 11 inch Wi-Fi only model with 128GB of storage, the Cupertino based giant’s latest iPad Pro costs 799 US Dollars in the US, 824 US Dollars in Hong Kong, 1,122 US Dollars in Sweden, and a whopping 1,938 US Dollars in Brazil. The price tag in Brazil is more than 1,000 US Dollars more than the price in the US. Arriving at the 12.9 inch iPad Pro modele with Wi-Fi + Cellular support and 2TB storage, the price in the US is 2,399 US Dollars and 2,408 US Dollars in Hong Kong.

On the other hand, the same model in Sweden costs around 3,309 US Dollars and an eye watering 5,386 US Dollars in Brazil. In other words, the highest end 2021 iPad Pro in Brazil can cost a little more than a Pro Display XDR in the US. Traditionally, the cost of Apple products in South American nations have been higher compared to the US, but this difference is growing even further now.

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Anatel, the telecom regulator of Brazil, has just recently approved the rules for a spectrum auction for 5G networks earlier this week. The auction will be set sometime later this year, and will not exclude Huawei Technologies.

For those unaware, the Chinese tech giant is a major brand in the telecommunications industry and is one of the largest suppliers of telecom equipments as well. However, it had been facing various allegations over the past year, which led it to face a ban in multiple regions across the globe. Last year, even the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, had criticized the company and was also under pressure from the former Trump administration regarding a ban on the Chinese telecom provider from the nation’s 5G market.

But as per a Reuters report, the company will not face any ban in the region, despite previously being accused of being a security risk. Notably, the telecom operators in Brazil had been advocating for a free market, stating that banning Huawei would cost the companies billion of dollars to replace the equipment provided by the Chinese equipment supplier. At the moment, about 50 percent of the entire 3G and 4G networking infrastructure is supplied by Huawei.

The rules of the auction will also arrive with costly conditions, requiring telecom operators to migrate to more advanced technology with standalone networks and not based on their current technology. Furthermore, the companies will also be required to cover the bast northern Amazon region with a broadband connectivity, through the use of optic fiber cables that will be laid in rivers, and also building a separate and secure network for the federal government.

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Twitter is planning to expand borders by using bitcoins for paying employees/vendors in the future. The company is also hitting the basics right when it comes to the Features of its Social media platform. Today, it has officially announced the Voice Messages for DMs.

In a Tweet, Twitter confirmed that From Today i.e., February 17, it will start rolling out the feature in a phased manner. That means it could while to reach everyone as the company completes the testing. Anyway, once received, you can just select a chat in DM(Direct Message) and start recording your voice.

Inside the chat, you will see a ‘Voice Icon’ at the bottom next to the Text Editor section. Clicking on it will start recording your voice. As shown in the teaser below, Twitter is giving just 140 seconds for the Voice message as the limit.

If you recall, Twitter started testing its ‘Spaces’ in India a few days ago. The Beta Testing will include as many as 3,000 more people including India. This is a clubhouse-like alternative voice chat room that is likely to roll out for everyone later this year.

Coming back, after recording it, press the Stop button to save the Audio. This Audio clip will now appear below with a ‘Send’ button to the right and a ‘cancel’ button to the left. You can do press the either to send/discard the voice message respectively.

test,test: Starting today, you'll be able to record and send voice messages in DMs Here’s how

PS. The experiment will be rolled out in phases. pic.twitter.com/aqQM6h9sof

— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) February 17, 2021

Although the process is similar on Android/iOS, users on the latter can reportedly record it by Long-pressing the voice button to record and swipe it up & release to send the message(courtesy of XDA). Currently, desktop users can listen to the messages but cannot send any voice message.

As for availability, it will be available to the users of India, Brazil, and Japan. Obviously, we can expect this to expand to other countries in the future.

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Huawei has just hired a former president of Brazil to act as an advisor on 5G networking in the region. Through the new hiring, the company aims at ensuring the growth of the newer and faster bandwidth in the local market just prior to the auction for 5G wireless networks.

According to a ZDNet report, the 5G auction in Brazil was previously set to be held back in March 2020, but the Coronavirus outbreak pushed the date to sometime in early 2021. During this time, the Chinese tech giant, Huawei, faced a potential ban in the nation, which would prevent it from supplying 5G infrastructure in Brazil. However now, the company has brought in the help of a former President, which brings forth political influence in the region.

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Huawei confirmed the appointment of Michel Temer, who is also a constitutional law professor and lawyer. This move signifies that the company is “committed to transparency with all stakeholders.” For those unaware, Temer was Dilma Rousseff’s Vice President until his impeachment in 2016, which led to the former becoming the new head of the state that remained in office till 2018. Notably, back in 2019, Temer was arrested as part of anti-corruption taskforce Operation Car Wash.

Interestingly, Huawei’s involvement with the former President for legal advice over 5G in Brazil also brings other advantages for the firm as well. Temer also has ties with the current President Jair Bolsonaro, which is essentially an added bonus for the Chinese company. Similarly, the former leader was also responsible for the appointment of the current president of the board of Brazilian telecommunications agency Anatel.

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The Brazilian Vice President, Hamilton Mourão, has spoken in support for Huawei, sparking a controversy. The official stated that the cost of 5G networking in the region will significantly rise if the Chinese tech giant is banned from providing its telecom equipment for the newer and faster bandwidth.

Earlier this week, the Vice President attended an industry event held by the São Paulo Trade Association where he revealed an estimate provided by the Brazilian telecommunications agency Anatel, which reported that gear from Huawei represents about 40 percent of the 3G and 4G infrastructure in the country. So, Mourão issued a warning that outright banning the company will have various additional costs, as per a ZDNet report.

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Mourão stated that, “If Huawei can’t supply the [5G] equipment, the cost will be a lot higher.” He further added that an infrastructure review will incur additional costs that would have to relayed to the consumers as well. The Vice President even went on to talk about the Brazil 5G auction that was set to take place in March 2020, but has since been postponed to 2021. Mourão noted that any company that “demonstrate respect to [Brazil’s] sovereignty, privacy and cost efficiency” will be able to carry out operations in the nation.

However, increasing pressures from the US and the Trump administration to ban the Chinese tech giant last year, after the US President met the Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro. The Vice President believes that Brazil “can’t miss out on the 5G opportunity” and that the government should not interfere with Chinese company’s activities as long as the firm creates local jobs and complies with the local laws.

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Huawei might be facing trouble in Brazil as the government could be looking for legal options to exclude it from its 5G infrastructure, as per sources close to the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s government.

According to a Reuters report, Bolsonaro’s security adviser, Augusto Heleno, and the ministry of communications is considering a presidential decree that might put in place new security provisions for telecoms. This will have carriers and their suppliers required to comply with certain standards, as per the sources. Bolsonaro is seemingly following his ally, Donald Trump’s footsteps and is also opposed to Huawei over alleged national security risk and espionage from the Chinese government.

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However, China is the largest trade partner for Brazil, so the ban might have the government face friction with the Chinese government as well. Thus, Bolsonaro is already facing resistance from within the industry and from within his own government as well, including Vice President Hamilton Mourão. At the moment, Brazil’s Communications Minister Fabio Faria has declined to comment on the matter and his office has stated that it is not involved in the matter.

Furthermore, representatives from the industry have also stated that such a presidential decree could also lead to a legal battle with multiple telecom companies that are already utilizing equipment made by Huawei. The carriers will likely oppose the ruling as well, since shifting away from their Chinese suppliers might force them to make expensive replacements in their networking gear. Currently, a majority of Brazilian telecom operators utilize Huawei equipment on their 3G and 4G networks. So, a complete ban of the Chinese tech giant might arrive at a major cost for Brazil alongside straining relationship with China.

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The App Store is the only way to get apps and games on iPhones and iPads. Hence, whenever a slight change occurs on the platform, it affects all the users. This is one of the primary reasons why Apple is facing an anti-trust case against it. That said, a new change is on its way to the App Store for certain countries as a result of new taxes and foreign exchange rates.

The change we are talking about is the increase in prices of apps and games on the App Store as well as in-app purchases for the following countries.

• Brazil
• Colombia
• India
• Indonesia
• Russia
• South Africa

In India, price is being hiked due to the new equalization levy of 2%, in addition to the existing 18% GST (Goods & Services Tax). Whereas, in Indonesia, the changes are being made as a result of the new 10 % value-added tax for developers based outside of the country.

It is worth noting that the new changes will not affect auto-renewable subscriptions. Additionally, Apple also mentions that prices will be adjusted in Iceland and Albania as well. However, it is not sure if the final price will increase or decrease in these countries.

The new prices for apps and games on the Apple Apple store as well as in-app purchases will be rolled out in the coming days.

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(Source / Via)

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Samsung, which teased its next-generation foldable smartphone named Galaxy Z Fold 2 last month along with the flagship Note20 series, has now added a new production base in Brazil for the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

However, it is being reported that the majority of the units will still be produced in the company’s factory in Gumi, South Korea. Additionally, about 20 percent of the units could be produced at the Samsung factory in Vietnam.

In an effort to diversify its production, Samsung is now adding Brazil to the mix, where it will start production of the device from next year. But the report adds that only a few thousand units will be manufactured in Brazil.

Overall, the South Korean giant is planning to manufacture around 700,000 to 800,000 units of the new foldable device by the end of this year. However, the numbers could get changed based on demand.

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Samsung is now all set to launch the Galaxy Z Fold 2 smartphone featuring a 7.6-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display with 1768 x 2208 pixels screen resolution and a 6.23-inch Super AMOLED HD+ display with 816 x 2260 pixels when folded.

The device will reportedly be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus SoC, along with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. It will be running the Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box along with One UI on top.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is priced at 1,799 Pounds (~$2,387), a bit lower than the original price of the first Galaxy Fold, which started at 1,900 Pounds (~$2,522). The device is currently listed for pre-orders, with shipping starting from 17th September 2020.

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IGB Electronica, a Brazilian consumer electronics company has been in a trademark battle for the name “iPhone” for years. Now, the Brazilian Supreme Court is set to determine is Apple can use the iPhone trademark in Brazil.

There has been a continuous back and forth court battle related to the use of the iPhone trademark in Brazil. Both the companies — Apple and IGB Electronica were given rights to use the name in the country but both of them keeps attempting to gain exclusive rights.

In 2018, the court upheld a 2013 ruling that provided permission to both the brands to use the iPhone trademark. Earlier this year, Justice Dias Toffoli accepted a request to analyze the case and is now set to determine the trademark’s usage.

IGB Electronica, an electronics company, which is doing business as Gradiente, registered the ‌iPhone‌ trademark in Brazil in 2000. The company produced a line of IPHONE branded Android smartphones in 2012 and it even had exclusive rights to the trademark.

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Apple claims that it was inappropriate for the National Institute of Industrial Property to grant the trademark to Gradiente in 2008 even though it was filed in 2000 because, at that point, the ‌iPhone‌ existed.

While the Brazilian Supreme Court has taken up the case, it is not yet clear when it will hear the case and come to a decision. Given that IGB has been struggling for years, it may not be surprising that it could end up taking payout from Apple.

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The US Ambassador in Brazil warned the country of ‘consequences’ if it allows Huawei Technologies to gain access to the country’s telecom infrastructure to build and develop 5G networking, in a recent interview as per Reuters.

The US has been actively working to restrict the Chinese telecom equipment provider’s role in the region. For those unaware, Huawei is a pioneer in the 5G networking field and had planned on developing the newer and faster bandwidth in the Latin American country. However, the US has been stepping up its efforts to limit the company, in fear of data being sent to the Chinese government for spying.

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While Huawei has, on multiple occasions, denied any such allegations, it has still faced pressures from the western nation on multiple fronts. An example being the UK, where the US government had pressured the lawmakers in the region to reconsider allowing Huawei to build its 5G network. Furthermore, Todd Chapman, US Ambassador, said that Brazil would not face reprisals for allowing Huawei, but could face consequences.

According to the official, “Each country is responsible for its decisions. The consequences we are seeing in the world are that firms involved in intellectual property are scared to make investments in countries where intellectual property is not protected.” Notably, the Trump administration had also recently set up a new funding agency, that would help its allies develop 5G networking by help cover costs of buying from trusted sources over Huawei thanks to its $60 billion budget.

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Last week, WhatsApp launched its payment service in Brazil but it has been now suspended by the government. Similarly, the instant messaging app introduced animated stickers in a recent beta version but that too got removed in the next version of the application.

WhatsApp Animated Stickers

WhatsApp has been lately adding some interesting features in its app. Recently, the company rolled out WhatsApp Beta v2.20.194.7 for Android. This version of the app brought animated stickers feature, which is found on other messaging services like Telegram.

Unfortunately, it was soon removed in the next beta version of the app – v2.20.194.9. The current implementation is half-baked as per Android Police. This could be the reason why the company got rid of it for the time being in the new version.

Anyway, we hope WhatsApp releases it in the stable channel for everyone in the near future

WhatsApp Payment Service Suspension in Brazil

In other news, the Brazilian Central Bank suspends WhatsApp payment service within days from its rollout in the country. The company launched it in partnership with fintech Nubank, state-controlled lender Banco do Brasil SA, Visa, Mastercard and lender Sicredi.

Reuters reports that WhatsApp launched its payment services in Brazil without requesting authorization from the Central Bank. Hence, Visa and Mastercard had to suspend their operations with the Facebook-owned messaging app.

If they haven’t complied with the order, the world’s two largest financial services company would have been subjected to fines and administrative sanctions. Before the suspension of services, the Central Bank issued a regulation saying “it could require market participants to receive previous approval to operate in payments”.

The Central Bank of Brazil is expected to launch its own instant payment system called Pix in November with more than 980 participants. A WhatsApp spokesperson said they are committed to working with the Central Bank to integrate systems once Pix becomes available.

Additionally, Brazil’s antitrust watchdog, Cade, blocked WhatsApp’s partnership with the country’s largest payment processor Cielo.

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Earlier this week, a Brazilian diplomat revealed that the US government is providing funds to companies in the country and other regions to buy 5G networking equipment from Huawei rivals.

The US is helping in financing telecom operators in Brazil and other countries. This is to prevent them from buying 5G gear from “untrusted” Chinese companies, which primarily hints at Huawei. According to Ambassador Todd Chapman, appropriate alternatives for 5G technology have been found through Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung.

The funds have been allocated from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is a government agency that finances private development projects. Furthermore, Chapman stated that Huawei Technologies is untrustable as a partner that will help build 5G across the globe, despite being the world’s largest telecommunications equipment provider.

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For those unaware, Huawei has been in Brazil for over 20 years and has partnered with local telecom operators to test 5G networking in the region. It has already built the backbone of the infrastructure regarding the newer and faster bandwidth using Chinese equipment. Notable partners include major carriers like Telefonica Brasil SA, TIM Participacoes SA, America Movil’s Claro and Oi SA.

The move from the US is another clear effort to pressurize the Chinese tech giant. Its recent sanctions have cut off its chip supply from TSMC and it has even urged other governments to remove Huawei’s presence in their respective 5G infrastructure as well. Chapman also said that “We are simply alerting our friends and allies in Brazil that we have those concerns shared by many countries around the world that such technology is not the way to go.”

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(Via)

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It is an open secret that the US government has been lobbying several countries especially its allies against using Huawei‘s 5G infrastructure. Brazil has indicated that it won’t tolerate any pressure from the U.S. over whether to allow Huawei to participate in the bidding process for its 5G network.

This was stated by Marcos Pontes, the minister for science, technology, innovation and communications in a recent interview. Pontes is responsible for establishing the criteria for the construction of the latest generation of ultra-fast Internet. He added that he would not veto any company from the bidding process and that the final decision would be based purely on merit.

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The Brazilian minister also disclosed that the country’s 5G auction could be delayed until 2021. The auction was initially planned for March this year and then postponed until the second half of 2020. Pontes attributes this delay to a technical problem which is that the new network would interfere with the transmission from the satellite dishes that currently relay TV signals in Brazil. According to the minister, the government is currently studying two alternatives: putting filters on the satellite dishes or changing the transmission frequency used by the country’s TV providers.

Not only that, the agency which regulates the telecommunications sector was slow to publish the official notice announcing the auction.

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(source)

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