France
By MacRumors Staff
France Articles
Disney+ to Launch Across Europe This Week With Reduced Streaming Quality, Launch in France Delayed
Disney's premium streaming service, Disney+, will launch across Europe on Tuesday with temporarily degraded video quality, according to Reuters. The measure aims to reduce the burden on the continent's data networks as millions of people switch to working from home. In a company statement, Disney said it had agreed to a European Union request for streaming-video providers to "ensure the...
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French Regulators Fine Apple $1.2 Billion for Anti-Competitive Behavior
France's competition watchdog on Monday fined Apple 1.1 billion euros ($1.23 billion) for anti-competitive behavior in its distribution network and an abuse of economic dependence on its resellers, reports Reuters.
At the same time, France's Competition Authority also levied fines of $84.7 million and $69 million against Apple wholesalers Tech Data and Ingram Micro for their roles in the...
French Regulators Set to Levy Fine Against Apple for Anticompetitive Behavior
France's competition authority is set to fine Apple next Monday for anticompetitive behavior in its distribution and sales network, reports Reuters.
Specific details about the fine and the fine amount are expected to be announced next week, and there's no word yet on just how much Apple will owe.
Apple in its October earnings call said that France's competition authority had alleged that...
Apple Fined 25 Million Euros in France for Slowing Down Older iPhones With iOS Update
Apple has been fined 25 million euros by a French consumer fraud group for intentionally slowing down some iPhone models with a software update. The Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and the Suppression of Fraud (DGCCRF), which is part of the country's economy ministry, concluded that Apple had failed to inform users that iOS updates to older iPhones could slow down their...
Disney+ Likely to Cost £6.99 Per Month in UK, €7.49 in France
Last week, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Disney+ will launch in the United Kingdom and other select European countries on March 31, 2020.
Iger didn't mention how much European customers would have to pay to access its 500 feature films and over 7,500 shows, including the entire Pixar library and a raft of original content. However, one MacRumors reader appears to have discovered the...
Powerbeats Pro Now Available to Order in UK, France, and Germany
Apple's Powerbeats Pro totally wireless earphones officially went on sale today in the United Kingdom, >France, and >Germany, as predicted. However, the fitness-focused, Beats-branded earphones are only available in black, and stock appears to be limited.
As of writing, Apple's online UK store is switching between allowing customers to add the earphones to their bag, and graying out the Add...
Powerbeats Pro Orders Begin This Friday in UK, France, and Germany
Apple's totally wireless Powerbeats Pro earphones become available to pre-order in the United Kingdom on May 31, according to a social media ad posted on the official Beats By Dre U.K. Twitter account.
The date was spotted in the small print at the end of the 15-second video short, which features British professional boxer Anthony Joshua and touts the nine hours of listening time offered by...
Apple Pay Expands to BNP Paribas and HSBC Banks in France
Apple Pay adoption received a big boost in France today as two major banks officially announced their support for Apple's mobile payment system.
HSBC officially launched a dedicated support page for Apple Pay, confirming an earlier discovery by French tech news site iphon.fr. Meanwhile, BNP Paribas made good on an announcement last month to bring Apple Pay support to its customers by ...
Apple Reaches Deal With France to Pay Estimated $571M in Back-Taxes
Apple has reached a deal with French authorities to pay an undeclared amount of back-dated tax, according to multiple reports today.
Apple's French division confirmed the tax payment agreement to Reuters, but didn't disclose how much it had agreed to pay, although French media suggest the sum is around 500 million euros ($571 million). "As a multinational company, Apple is regularly...
Apple Previews New Champs-Élysées Store in Paris, Opening This Sunday
Apple today officially announced its latest retail store, Apple Champs-Élysées in Paris, located on one of the French city's most iconic streets. The store opens on Sunday and will replace the nearby Apple Carrousel du Louvre, which permanently closed in October. The store occupies a Haussmann-era apartment building, featuring what Apple is calling its "grandest" Forum dedicated to free...
Apple Pay Cash Likely to Launch in Europe Imminently
Apple Pay Cash, Apple's mobile peer-to-peer payments service, could be available sooner rather than later in some European markets.
French tech blog iPhon.fr reports today that an iPhone user in France discovered screens on his new Apple Watch and iPhone XS Max overnight inviting him to set up Apple Pay Cash using a credit card issued by a French bank. Similar reports are also coming in from...
HomePod Now Available to Order in Canada, France, and Germany
Nearly five months after the HomePod launched in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, Apple today expanded availability of the Siri-enabled speaker to customers in Canada, France, and Germany.
HomePod is available in white and space gray for $449 in Canada and €349 in Germany and France via Apple's online store and the Apple Store app for iPhone and iPad. It's also available at...
HomePod Can Now Read the News in Canada, France, and Germany, Where the Speaker Launches Monday
Ahead of the HomePod launching in Canada, France, and Germany in three days from now, the speaker has gained the ability to read the news in those countries.
Siri can now provide news briefs from a handful of sources in Canada, for example, including CBC, Global TV, CTV, and CNN. To start, say "Hey Siri" and then say something like "read me the news" or "what's the news today?"
MacRumors...
HomePod Now Supports French, German, and Canadian English, While Canadian French Coming Later This Year
Apple today announced that the HomePod will be available in Canada, France, and Germany beginning June 18, but ahead of then, the speaker has gained support for languages and dialects spoken in each country. Today's new 11.4 software update for HomePod enables Siri to speak in French, German, and Canadian English in any region, including the United States. Apple says Canadian French will be ...
HomePod Launching in Canada, France, and Germany on June 18
Apple today announced that its HomePod smart speaker will be available in Canada, Germany, and France beginning Monday, June 18.
HomePod will be available to order in white and space gray through Apple's online store, retail stores, and the Apple Store app on iPhone and iPad, or at select authorized resellers like Best Buy where available.
The speaker will be priced at $449 in Canada and ...
Apple Denies Abusing French Developers, Says They've Earned 1 Billion Euros From App Store
Apple has issued a statement defending against allegations made by France's finance minister Bruno Le Maire, who earlier this week accused the iPhone maker of treating French startups and developers unfairly. In the statement, loosely translated from French to English, Apple said it has "strong relationships" with French developers, and added that they have collectively earned one billion...
France Suing Apple and Google for Taking Advantage of Developers With 'Abusive Commercial Practices'
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire today announced that the country will be taking legal action against Apple and Google for "abusive commercial practices." Specifically, Le Maire said that the tech companies are taking advantage of French developers with these practices and that the fines from such a legal action could be in the "millions of euros" (via Bloomberg and Reuters).
Speaking...
Apple Denied Request to Ban Tax Protestors From Its Stores in France
The High Court of Paris on Friday denied Apple's request for an injunction that would have blocked activist group Attac from protesting at the company's retail stores across France, as it has been doing for the past several months.
Attac activists protesting at an Apple Store in France via Libération The order states that the mere presence of protesters at Apple's stores in France, without...
Apple Goes to Court With French Tax Activist Group That Paints Company as The Empire From Star Wars
Last month, Apple sued French tax activist group "Attac" for occupying its flagship Parisian store during a protest of what Attac called "wide-scale tax evasion." Today, Apple has asked the court in Paris to ban the group from its French stores and prevent any further stunts from happening.
In response to the court filing, Attac today mobilized in front of the court in further protest,...
HomePod Costs £319 in UK and $499 in Australia, Launches in France and Germany in Spring 2018
In addition to the HomePod launching February 9 in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, Apple has also revealed that its Siri-enabled speaker will launch in France and Germany at some point "this spring," suggesting a release date between March and June at the absolute latest in those countries.
France and Germany will be the first HomePod launch countries where English...
