The move by Apple responded to an uproar from iPhone users — and a series of lawsuits — after news of the battery problems stoked concerns the company was unfairly nudging consumers to upgrade.

“We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize,” Apple said in a message to customers on its website.

“We’ve always wanted our customers to be able to use their iPhones as long as possible. We’re proud that Apple products are known for their durability, and for holding their value longer than our competitors’ devices.”

Apple said it was reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement from $79 to $29 for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, starting in late January through December 2018.

The company said it also would issue a software update to make it easier for customers to see if an aging battery is affecting performance.

“As always, our team is working on ways to make the user experience even better, including improving how we manage performance and avoid unexpected shutdowns as batteries age,” the statement said.

The controversy erupted last week after Apple acknowledged a feature to “smooth out” spikes in demand for power to prevent iPhone 6 models from shutting down due to the cold or weak batteries.

Rumors had persisted for years at tech news websites devoted to Apple products and among fans of the company’s products that iPhone performance was being intentionally slowed, perhaps to push users to buy newer models.

Apple’s latest statement said that “we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.”

But it noted that “batteries are consumable components that become less effective as they chemically age” and that factors such as heat can affect performance.

Apple said a software update last year “manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent a shutdown” and that “in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance.”

SoftBank will own 15 percent of Uber’s equity following closing by acquiring shares from early investors, cutting the estimated value of Uber by 30 percent of those shares, according to a source familiar with the terms of the deal.

The new investment is part of an effort by Uber to move past a series of scandals and missteps and reform its board structure as it gears up for a 2019 public share offering.

A source familiar with the deal said SoftBank had reached agreements with investors to achieve its target of a 15 percent share.

The two firms did not provide details of the valuation but the source said the investment was based on Uber’s worth of $48 billion, down from $71 billion earlier this year.

“We look forward to working with the purchasers to close the overall transaction, which we expect to support our technology investments, fuel our growth, and strengthen our corporate governance,” Uber said in an emailed statement.

A separate statement from Rajeev Misra, chief executive of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said, “We are appreciative of the support from Uber’s shareholders in the successful tender offer and look forward to closing the overall investment in January.”

“We have tremendous confidence in Uber’s leadership and employees and are excited to support Uber as it continues to reinvent how people and goods are transported around the world,” he added.

The source said SoftBank’s total investment in Uber will amount to $7.7 billion including a $1 billion infusion announced earlier this year.

– $54 bn ‘blended’ value –

The earlier investment was made at the higher valuation and the share repurchases at a lower value, leaving a “blended” valuation for Uber at $54 billion, according to the source.

The investment is part of the effort by SoftBank to become a major player in the global tech world with a massive $100 billion fund, much of it targeted for Silicon Valley startups.

At Uber, new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi has vowed to fix the company’s work culture and business practices, after taking over earlier this year from ousted founder Travis Kalanick.

Even as Uber has seen unprecedented growth by expanding to dozens of countries, it has been hurt by missteps including allegations of executive misconduct, a toxic work atmosphere and potentially unethical competitive practices.

The SoftBank deal is expected to put an end to litigation among stakeholders and clear the way for new board members, further loosening Kalanick’s grip.

Uber however still faces numerous challenges including rulings from regulators that it unfairly competes with taxi operators, with London authorities having pulled its license.

Uber is also seeking to become a major player in autonomous cars, and has agreed to buy and adapt vehicles from Volvo to begin operating self-driving taxis. But it faces a trail from former Google car unit Waymo alleging Uber executives stole trade secrets.

The ridesharing group’s website says it has operations in 616 cities in 77 countries and some 16,000 employees. In most cases Uber drivers are treated as independent contractors.

The global bitcoin craze has attracted almost everyone, from mom-and-pop traders to giant investment banks.

Promoters of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tout them as being safe and secure, and without oversight from financial regulators.

But there is some concern that these very advantages could be exploited by terrorists to transfer funds from one place to another.

Financial intelligence experts from the region say this is already happening, with several suspicious financial transactions detected recently.

Some of these experts gathered in Malaysia last month for the Third Counter-Terrorism Financing Summit. The security experts from 35 countries unanimously agreed that the first step to disrupting militant operations is by cutting off their funds.

A new alliance between Australia and South-east Asia has also been formed to directly target and disrupt the funding lifeline of terrorist groups by denying them access to the international financial system and other sources of funds.

Sources told The Straits Times that the high degree of anonymity offered by digital currencies makes them a possible preferred avenue for militants in South-east Asia.

“The number might not be big but we know it’s picking up. Their ultimate goal is to make sure that these funds get where they’re supposed to be,” said one source.

“Small or big, it can help move any terrorism planning to the next level – launching attacks.”

While the surge in the value of bitcoins and similar cryptocurrencies has garnered widespread media attention, security experts say the terrorists use digital currency not to make money, but for ease of moving funds between borders without the regular banking scrutiny.

For operational reasons, officials declined to reveal the locations and frequency of such transactions. But the identity of some of these financial movements on the Web has been determined, said a second source.

“Special equipment and database are already in place to help analyse these patterns. Identity is key to uncovering terrorism activities. We can monitor and trace the origin of the fund but to know who’s behind it is very tricky,” he said.

“We have all these equipment in place, but it’s still very hard to ‘crawl’ in the dark Web market,” the source added.

Malaysian criminologist P. Sundramoorthy said the consequences of militants or sympathisers switching to the use of cryptocurrency would be devastating as terror groups could be expected to execute attacks after receiving the funds.

“Given that cryptocurrency offers a high degree of anonymity and is popular and user-friendly, measures to control it must be put in place as soon as possible. They will always find a way to exploit such channels. We can’t eliminate the use but we need to limit it.”

Still, some experts say the issue might have been played up.

In a recent study by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), the British intelligence think-tank suggested that there is little link between cryptocurrency and terrorism. It said the claims that bitcoin is funding terrorism are greatly exaggerated.

Mr David Carlisle, an independent consultant with Rusi, said in a March 2 commentary: “Treating cryptocurrencies as an exceptional threat creates the misleading impression that more conventional financial products are not already equally, or more, vulnerable to terrorist exploitation.”

A regional security source acknowledged that most militants are indeed still channelling funds via conventional banking and money remittance services.

Still, it has been noticed that digitial currency has also been used as a means of transfer.

“We still see most of them funding their operations by taking personal loans, selling their belongings and so on. But to say the possibility of these militants turning to the dark Web is little or unlikely, that’s dangerous as we’re already seeing suspicious movements which we believe are terrorism fundings,” he said. “They will always try to find new ways to exploit technology to materialise their sick agenda.”

The danger of terrorist financing can be gleaned by the capture of Marawi in the southern Philippines by militants that ended in October after a five-month siege.

The Associated Press reported last month that Philippine military chief Eduardo Ano said at least US$1.5 million (S$2 million) was sent by terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to finance militants planning the Marawi attack.

As Malaysia begins to impose controls over the growing use of digital currencies, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), its central bank, has required that conversions of cryptocurrencies into cash must be reported under the strict transactions under anti-money laundering laws.

Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said: “BNM has announced measures that would regulate the use of cryptocurrencies in Malaysia, especially the conversion of cryptocurrencies into cash and other equivalents. This measure will help the police and other enforcement agencies to manage terrorism financing.”

Artificial intelligence will operate more like humans, while human drivers will be less needed for the level 4 autonomous driving next year, a report by LG Economic Research Institute forecast Wednesday.

The institute cited AI and level 4 autonomous driving technologies among the top 10 major technologies that will prevail the information communications technology industry next year under the four biggest trends: hyper-intelligence, hyper-automation, hyper-connection, and hyper-convergence.

Deep learning-based AI technologies will overcome existing technological difficulties and evolve more like a human brain that can learn things proactively. Appliance of brain science will also be more importance as AI develops.

Experiments on autonomous driving that will minimize operations by human drivers will be conducted next year, opening the level 4 self-driving era, the report said. Level 4 means the second highest autonomy with the vehicle being able to handle most normal driving tasks. Level 5 autonomy means the car can drive entirely on its own.

The report said that the current level of self-driving technologies will be elevated along with the upcoming fifth-generation telecom network, and efforts to improve efficiency in the auto driving sector will be made.

Social robots and drones are likely to be used more widely, becoming more like users’ companions in everyday life, the report said.

Manufacturing businesses will start to apply smart technologies to their factories, enhancing productivity of the traditional manufacturing industry.

The other technologies the institute mentioned were edge computing needed for Internet of Things, quantum computing, blockchain, virtual reality and augmented reality, and digital healthcare.

“Global big 5 ICT companies that are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft, will face a fiercer competition as they penetrate into each other’s businesses as those technologies become more sophisticated next year,” the report said.

“Other than Silicon Valley, new innovation clusters will be formed in many parts of the world, and new forces from there will have to intensely fight for hegemony of the ICT industry against the current leaders,” it added.