Adam Estes writes that Apple’s future looks rotten, based on the premise that Apple is no longer about hardware, but about software and services too.

If Apple’s future really is all about services and not about hardware, what a rotten future that is. It probably won’t be rotten for Apple, a company with nearly $240 billion of cash on hand. Apple is rich and will almost certainly find all kinds of new ways to get richer. If that involves taking money from people in the form of subscriptions and fees instead of fun new gadgets, well, that sucks for Apple fans.

Mr. Estes links Apple’s «innovation nap» with the arrival of the bear market we seem to be heading in. I’m personally not sure why this means the company’s future is rotten, but doom and gloom stories sell better than happy stories.

A report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners found that more Android users are switching to the iPhone.

The report found that 16 percent of iPhone buyers upgraded from an Android phone in the 30-day period after the launch of the iPhone XR. After the iPhone 8 and 8s were released in September 2017, 12 percent of iPhone buyers upgraded from an Android phone, and when the iPhone X was released in November 2017, that number was 11 percent.

Despite worries that the iPhone XR is dragging, it seems that this model is a popular model for Android users to switch to.

India wants to follow in Australia’s footsteps and break encryption with the use of automated tools.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) published the proposed rules on its website following a report on Monday by the Indian Express revealing the government’s proposal to modify the country’s primary IT law to work them in. The report comes days after India’s government seemingly authorized 10 federal agencies to snoop into every computer in the country last week.

As more countries follow suit, it’s not enough to say that companies should just pull out and not do business in that country anymore. We need to enable privacy regulations and other pro-consumer policies.

A website called The Cloud Fall shows a privacy concept that reimagines the relationship between apps, personal data, and the cloud.

The cloud cripples your data. Instagram has your photos, iMessage your messages and Google your documents. By splitting up our data, we prevent any AI from truly knowing us as individuals. And by giving away all control, we relegate ourselves to mindless drivers of engagement.

It’s a fascinating approach, and I hope ideas like this gain traction amongst tech companies. We need to let companies know that the age of using and abusing our personal data at will is over.

Netflix dominated the streaming space throughout 2018. However, in 2019, its rivals will be snapping right at its heels. In his latest Guardian column, Guy Lodge looked at how Apple and Disney are going to challenge the market leader in the next 12 months. Both companies plan to launch streaming services in the new year.

The more blockbuster-inclined, meanwhile, will be anticipating the long-hyped arrival of the Disney+ platform. Exclusively incorporating a vast range of properties from the Mouse House and 20th Century Fox, it’s the future player that is giving Netflix execs the most sleepless nights; though Apple’s planned global launch of its own streaming service in 2019 ought to make things interesting, too – with new projects from Damien Chazelle, Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey on its planned slate.