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Australian retailers reportedly expect most individuals to spend, not save, their income tax cuts, especially in the lead up to the holiday season. Reported by AFR, Citigroup forecasts personal tax cuts could boost retail sales by 1.5% – 2.5%, potentially prompting retailers’ earning to climb by 3% – 7%. The income tax cuts are worth around $12.5 billion this year, coupled with an additional $2.5 billion in pensioner payments – equating to around $20 – $40 a week for eligible recipients. Some analysts expect consumers to spend the tax cuts in the lead up to Christmas, before opting for saving and...

  Apple will pull back the curtains on its iPhone 12 family of smartphones in the early hours of October 14, Australian time. The company's invitation to the virtual event, bearing the welcome "Hi, Speed" makes it clear that 5G will be at the forefront of the iPhone 12 launch. The device line-up is expected to include three screen sizes – at 5.4 inches, 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches – but four model variants including the iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max. However, how Apple will handle the two types of 5G technologies – mmWave and sub-6GHz – remains to be seen, with reports...

Apple CEO Tim Cook started Tuesday's event by telling us the Apple Watch and new additions to the iPad family would be the highlights -- and then we got the Apple Watch Series 6, the Apple Watch SE, the redesigned iPad Air debuting the A14 Bionic chip and a new eighth-gen iPad. The rumored Apple One bundle of Apple Arcade, Apple TV Plus, iCloud, Apple Music and other services became a reality starting at AU$19.95 a month, including the new Fitness Plus service. But the Apple One bundle's real killer app is its least sexy service. We didn't expect the iPhone 12, and while Apple confirmed that the new iPhone will be available "a few weeks later"...

Google introduced new products at a virtual press event Wednesday with highlights including new phones that connect to the faster 5G wireless networks, an updated Chromecast streaming device and a new higher fidelity smart speaker. The flagship product, the new phones, beg consumers to take a good look at the entry level Pixel 4A (with 5G) phone as opposed to the more expensive  Pixel 5. Both have virtually the same specs, except the 4A has a larger 6.2 inch screen to the 5's 6 inch, while the 5 touts a slightly more powerful battery. The 4A has a headphone jack,...

Apple has sent out press invitations to a virtual event next week. But, breaking with tradition, the company's mid-September event this year will likely focus on the Watch and iPad rather than the iPhone. During a conference call for Apple's quarterly earnings in July, its finance chief Luca Maestri said 2020's new iPhone models would arrive a few weeks later than usual, potentially meaning an October release rather than late September. But apart from the iPhone, Apple had a range of products ready to go that were "incredibly relevant, especially given the current circumstances", he said. So, what might we...