Brazil

President Trump announced this week a series of tariffs imposed on the import of products from other countries, which will end up hitting many US companies like Apple – since most of its products come from China. Now it seems that Apple is considering expanding the assembly of iPhones in Brazil to get around the US tariffs.

After the EU forced Apple to implement major changes to how iOS and the App Store work for European users, other countries have also conducted their own antitrust investigations against the company. Now the Brazilian court has ruled that Apple has 90 days to allow sideloading on iOS for iPhone users in Brazil.

Apple published a new iPhone 16 Pro ad this weekend, and this one is quite special. To show the Audio Mix feature in action, the company recorded a music video using the latest iPhone – but that’s not all, as the clip also celebrates the Brazilian Carnival.

The Brazilian antitrust regulator has been investigating Apple for imposing anti-competitive terms and conditions on the App Store. Although the company was given more time to make its case after a judge overturned an injunction against the App Store last year, Apple will now have to face a public hearing in Brazil on the case.

Apple and Google have been fined R$19 million (about US$3.1 million) in Brazil after a judge ruled that the companies contributed to allowing the controversial photo editor FaceApp to improperly collect data from its users. The app has a long history of questionable privacy policies.

With the launch of watchOS 11 in September, Apple announced that the latest Apple Watch models would get a new feature capable of detecting possible sleep apnea. The feature was launched in more than 150 countries, and now Brazil is joining that list

Following a report earlier today about Apple appealing a Brazilian antitrust regulator’s ruling on the App Store, the Brazilian courts decided on Thursday night to overturn the injunction imposed on Apple, which would have forced the company to enable sideloading on iOS for Brazilian users within 20 days.

As we recently reported, the Brazilian antitrust regulator known as “Cade” recently ruled that Apple can no longer prevent developers from selling content and distributing apps outside the App Store in Brazil. Unsurprisingly, Apple is now appealing the decision which the company considers “disproportionate.”

As we’ve reported here in the past, Apple is facing an intriguing legal dispute in Brazil when it comes to the “iPhone” trademark as a local company called Gradiente claims to have patented the name long before Apple. As the case still awaits a final judgment, Gradiente still believes that it created the first iPhone.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 16 have already begun and the phones will hit stores on Friday, September 20. As previously reported, Apple will assemble the new iPhones in India simultaneously with China. But it turns out that Brazil is also on the list of countries where the iPhone 16 is assembled.

While China is still responsible for manufacturing most of Apple’s devices, the company does have some assembly facilities around the world. One of these facilities is Foxconn Brazil, located in São Paulo. There, Apple is now assembling the 6.1-inch iPhone 15.

Apple has been slowly expanding its enhanced Apple Maps experience to more countries since 2018 when the company started collecting its own map data from scratch. Earlier this year, the new Apple Maps experience was launched in more European countries, including Austria, Croatia, and Poland. Apple has now confirmed that this experience will soon be available in Brazil.

Apple announced on Thursday that Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available to users in the UK. For those unfamiliar, the feature turns the iPhone into a payment terminal, so vendors can use their phone to accept contactless payments. Now it seems that Tap to Pay is coming soon to Brazil as well.

China still accounts for most of Apple’s product production, including iPhone. However, in recent years, the company has been slowly trying to diversify its supply chain with the help of other countries. Now Apple has started assembling the iPhone 14 in Brazil as the company keeps shifting production from China.

The Brazilian Ministry of Justice ordered in September the suspension of iPhone sales in the country after concluding that Apple harms consumers by not offering the power adapter included with the device. Even after million-dollar fines, Apple still fails to comply with the requirement – which has now led to the Federal District-based consumer protection regulator seizing iPhones from retail stores.

Back in September, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice ordered the suspension of iPhone sales in the country after deciding that Apple harms consumers by selling the product without the power adapter. Apple has continued selling iPhones in Brazil despite the ban, and a Brazilian court on Tuesday fined Apple – once again – for not including the accessory in the phone’s box.

Apple TV+ launched in 2019 with exclusive shows and movies – and although most of them come from the US and Canada, there are already some productions from other places and in languages other than English. This time, it seems that Apple is now in talks to produce its first original content made in Brazil.

Back in 2020, the Brazilian Supreme Court decided to accept the appeal of local company IGB Eletrônica (also known as Gradiente) against Apple regarding the iPhone trademark in Brazil. However, it seems that things aren’t going to end well for Gradiente as Brazil’s Prosecutor General has now said that the iPhone trademark belongs to Apple and not to the Brazilian company.

Yesterday, Apple unveiled in its “Peek Performance” event a new iPhone SE 3, iPad Air 5, Mac Studio, and Studio Display. If you’re looking for the best countries to buy one of these products – or regions to avoid – Brazil is still the worst place you could think about buying a new Apple product.

The iPhone 13 is not even available in Brazil yet, but the country’s consumer protection regulator has already said it’s going to investigate Apple’s decision to sell the iPhone charger separately.

In today’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple Pay will be rolling out in Brazil soon. While he didn’t give us an exact date, Cook said it would be coming soon.

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