On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

The rumours have been making the rounds for a while, and now Apple is set to confirm them-- the iPhone maker is indeed launching a video streaming service, the imaginatively dubbed Apple TV+.

Presented at the "show time" event held at the Steve Jobs Theatre, Apple TV+ promises to be "home to some of the highest quality original storytelling that TV and movie lovers have seen yet." And Apple appears to be backing up such claims to rival Netflix and Amazon Prime Video by opening its massive chequebook, since the service will offer programming featuring the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Octavia Spencer, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa, M. Night Shyamalan and even Steven Spielberg.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo is preparing not one, but two variants on the Switch-- one smaller and cheaper, the other aimed at gamer customers wanting a more high-end machine.

The sources for the report are parts suppliers claiming to have access to a prototype. They say the lower-end version of the Switch lacks the "HD Rumble" vibration functionality, and might not even have detachable controllers, making it something of a successor to the 3DS. Meanwhile the high-end version has “enhanced features targeted at avid video gamers," making it reminiscent of the likes of the Xbox One X and the PlayStation 4 Pro.

Intel quietly stops development on the Compute Card, a device packing a system-on-chip, memory, storage and wifi/Bluetooth connectivity in a card-style package measuring all of 95 x 55 x 55mm.

The first signs of the end of the modular computing concept came from Compute Card partner NexDock. A company blog post reads that while NexDock has recently finished a new Compute Card product (the laptop-style NexDock 2), the company has discovered "the future of Compute Card is uncertain." Why? Intel is simply not working on a next generation of the product. Later Intel confirmed the story through a statement to PC news website Tom's Hardware.

According to IDC, Q4 2018 EMEA smartphone shipments total 98.8 million units, a flat result bringing just 0.4% Y-o-Y growth. Revenues, on the other hand, are up by 2.5% Y-o-Y to reach $35.5 billion, with increases across Europe and a drop in MEA.

The quarter sees the rapid increase of Huawei in EMEA-- the Chinese company not only sees impressive 73.7% Y-o-Y shipment growth, but currently holds 21.2% share of the market, beating Apple and inching increasingly closer to leader Samsung. The S. Korean giant holds 28% share of Q4 2018 shipments, even if it sees a -3.8% Y-o-Y drop in unit unit numbers.

"In the EU and EEA, a key market for Huawei, the company came close to overtaking Samsung," IDC remarks. "Eyes in the industry have been on Huawei, to see how much it would grow, but also on Apple, to see how much it might fall after the company's recent profit warning. In this context, Apple had a reasonable quarter, though not as strong as the Q4 2017. Its value share of the EMEA market was down to 41% from 46% a year ago."