Apple

6,154 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - November 2012

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Apple News and Brief History

Before you can properly understand Apple News, it’s important to know its history. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. In 1977, Apple’s sales were growing with the success of its early computers. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak hired designers and a production line crew. Apple went public in 1980 and was an instant success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring new graphical user interfaces, such as the original Macintosh in 1984. As the market for personal computers expanded through the 1990s, Apple lost market share to the cheaper Microsoft Windows on PC clones. Eventually, Wozniak and Jobs both left Apple. Jobs would go on to found NeXT and would return to Apple when NeXT was acquired in the late 90s. Apple then began a journey to the great second act in the history of the business world.

Since the release of the iPod in 2001, Apple has become a major player once again in the technology industry. After releasing the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, and the Apple Watch in 2015, Apple is now one of the largest companies in the world. Apple’s worldwide annual revenue totaled $274.5 billion for its 2020 fiscal year.

Today, Apple operates retail stores all across the world, has a growing services division, and an ever-expanding hardware lineup. The technology industry follows Apple news to see where the company is headed in the future.

Keep reading for the latest Apple news

iPad mini & iPad 4 officially go on sale starting with New Zealand

Jordan Kahn Nov 1 2012 - 1:47 pm PT

Some customers have already been able to get their hands on iPad minis in-store through resellers ahead of tomorrow’s official 8 a.m. launch. With only hours to go, New Zealand is one of the first countries to officially start selling the device.

The photos below, courtesy of AMA Creative, are of the iPad mini launch at New Zealand Apple reseller YOOBEE. The store opened at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, officially kicking off the iPad mini’s launch. It’s unclear how supplies of the new iPads will be in comparison to the recent iPhone 5 launch, but we expect Apple and third-party resellers to sell of out of iPad minis quickly due to pre-order delays.

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Hands-on with Twelve South’s new HiRise adjustable MacBook stand

Jordan Kahn Nov 1 2012 - 12:52 pm PT

Twelve South already has its HiRise stand for iMac that we recently went hands-on with, but that product is aimed at increasing the height of your iMac or Thunderbolt display to a comfortable viewing level. Twelve South is launching HiRise for MacBook today—aimed at users who pair their MacBook with a display and/or keyboard and mouse at home. The stand adjusts from 3.7 inches to 6 inches, allowing you to easily align your MacBook screen with a paired iMac or Thunderbolt display (as pictured above) for a dual monitor setup. We’ve been playing with the new HiRise for MacBook over the past couple days and have nothing but great first impressions.

You can adjust the $70 stand’s height easily by loosening a screw at the back and pushing down on the spring-loaded arms. The arms cushion your MacBook with a layer of soft silicone that also provides traction and keeps your Mac from slipping off. We didn’t have any problems with the MacBook sliding, even when adjusting and moving the stand around, but Twelve South does not recommend typing on the device’s keyboard when mounted on the stand.

The stand has thin Teflon rails on the bottom, allowing you to slide it or adjust left to right without scratching your desk, but it’s quite a solid chunk of brushed metal at 1.75 pounds. It also resembles an iMac stand, which makes it fit in nicely next to an iMac or Thunderbolt display. If aligned just right, the stand seems to disappear and leave your MacBook floating next to the display.

If you’ve been looking for a product like this, you won’t be disappointed dropping $69 for the HiRise.

You can order it on Amazon or through Twelve South’s website today.

Apple’s 12W power adapter put to the test, charges iPad 30-45 min faster [Video]

Jordan Kahn Nov 1 2012 - 8:33 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC4gPxc89Wg]

Apple has a new 12W charger shipping with the iPad 4, and it is available online and compatible with a number of other iOS devices. Apple already told us the 12W adapter would indeed charge your iPad faster than the old 10W adapters, but it couldn’t give us an estimate on how much faster. Insanely Great Mac posted the video above today that shows the iPad drawing more power from the new adapter and claimed it was able to shave about 30 minutes to 45 minutes off the charge time. While this charger will work with your iPhones and iPods, we see those devices will only continue to draw 5 watts.

Covering the Apple Exec Shakeup: Mansfield lured back by Forstall departure, Ive will clean UI, eliminate skeuomorphic design

Jordan Kahn Nov 1 2012 - 7:35 am PT

Since Apple announced late last month that longtime iOS chief Scott Forstall and newly appointed head of retail John Browett would soon leave the company, there has been much talk about CEO Tim Cook’s direction at the executive level going forward.

The departure of Forstall saw bigger responsibilities and new roles given to executives Craig Federighi, Bob Mansfield, and Jony Ive, leading to rumors Forstall didn’t see eye to eye with the other executives. Bob Mansfield’s return after announcing retirement is also interesting, as it is something new sources said was directly influenced by Forstall leaving. Some even said Forstall’s refusal to sign the Maps apology lead to Cook’s decision. There are a few in-depth reports today, with many citing people close to the company, speculating on what these changes might actually mean for the company and for iOS in the months and years to come.

AllThingsD is out with a new report, claiming Mansfield’s return might have been directly influenced by Forstall’s departure:

All Things D:

Sources said that Mansfield was actually very serious about retiring, which makes his quick return to Apple all the more curious… As one source close to the company told AllThingsD, “The timing of Bob’s return is notcoincidental.” To begin, Mansfield was not a fan of Forstall’s confrontational management style, and sources said he generally tried to avoid the iOS exec.

“It wasn’t a him-or-me situation,” one source said of Mansfield’s return and Forstall’s ouster. “But, put it this way, I think Bob was much more willing to commit to two more years once he knew Scott was on his way out.”

Many of the reports speculated Jony Ive’s new role picking up Forstall’s Human Interface responsibilities would lead to major changes in iOS’ visual design:

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Phil Schiller clarifies iPad mini has stereo speakers following Amazon’s Kindle comparison

Jordan Kahn Oct 31 2012 - 10:29 am PT

When Apple’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller unveiled the iPad mini on stage earlier this month, he didn’t discuss the speaker on the new device. There were rumors that the iPad mini might include stereo speakers, but tech specs on Apple’s website only list a “built-in speaker” for iPads. Adding to the rumors that iPad mini might actually have a mono speaker, Amazon posted a comparison of the new iPad and its Kindle Fire HD tablet, listing dual stereo speakers vs a mono speaker as one of the the Kindle’s advantages. A curious 9to5 reader wanted to find out what speaker Apple is actually including in the device and was able to get an email response direct from Phil Schiller.

Hi Mr. Schiller,

I understand the tech specs about iPad Mini online should cover everything, but the tech specs online neither confirm or deny the rumors of iPad Mini’s speakers being stereo. Is it possible to get confirmation from the man himself as to whether these are mono or stereo?

Schiller responded:
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Developer gets Fusion Drive functionality running on older Mac

Jordan Kahn Oct 31 2012 - 9:28 am PT

There is still a lot we do not know about Apple’s new hybrid SSD/HDD Fusion Drive option available for the new iMacs and Mac minis. Today we get a little bit of insight into how Fusion Drive will function thanks to a few blog posts by developer Patrick Stein detailing how he was able to build his own Fusion Drive solution on his Mac Pro running 10.8.2 (via MacRumors). Stein was able to get OS X to recognize an attached 120GB SSD and 750GB HDD as a single drive using diskutil and, surprisingly, exhibit Fusion Drive-like functionality with little configuration. MacRumors explained:

Stein then proceeded to test the setup, writing data first to the SSD and then to the traditional hard drive once the SSD had filled up. By preferentially accessing data that had initially been written to the traditional hard drive, Stein was able to watch as the data was automatically transferred to the SSD for faster access. Upon stopping the process, the system automatically pushed the data back to the traditional hard drive, and in one final step Stein began accessing the data once more and after about an hour was able to see it pulled back onto the SSD.

Head over to Stein’s Tumblr for all the details. ArsTechnica also has an excellent breakdown of Fusion Drive:

Based on these findings, Fusion Drive is indeed a base operating system feature, either contained within Core Storage or built into OS X 10.8.x (Jollyjinx notes at the bottom that he’s using 10.8.2). It appears that Fusion Drive detects the SSD-ishness of a drive based on SMART info read across the SATA bus, though it’s possible that Apple might be using Microsoft’s SSD detection method and simply testing attached drives’ throughput. If a Core Storage volume contains an HDD and an SSD, Fusion Drive appears to be automatically activated.

AAPL hovering at 590 following executive level shifts

Jordan Kahn Oct 31 2012 - 7:41 am PT

Apple stock isn’t doing that great today following the announcement of major executive level shifts in the company earlier this week. AAPL dipped slightly below 600 following Apple’s Q4 earnings call earlier this month, which many thought was due to less than expected iPad sales for the quarter. Today AAPL is floating under the 590 mark as concerns over iPad shortages leading into the holidays continue to increase. This puts AAPL at its lowest levels since July.

Following earnings call, AAPL drops below 600 for the first time since July (9to5mac.com)
iPad mini delivered to customer ahead of Nov. 2 launch, unboxed (9to5mac.com)
Apple removing delivery dates for LTE iPad mini preorders (9to5mac.com)

Apple removing delivery dates for LTE iPad mini preorders

Jordan Kahn Oct 31 2012 - 6:28 am PT

When Apple originally announced the iPad mini, it said the LTE model would ship two weeks after the Nov. 2 launch date set for the Wi-Fi only models. It didn’t take long for Apple to extend estimated shipping dates to “2 weeks” following selling out of initial supplies. One lucky iPad mini user received their preorder already, but it appears Apple is facing major shortages leading up to the holidays. Especially for the cellular models…

As noted in the tweet below, several readers have noticed Apple has now removed the shipping date for their iPad mini LTE preorders. Previously, Apple provided a shipment date of November 23rd for many who preordered LTE iPad minis on day one. That date was already a week longer than Apple promised during the unveiling. Since providing that date, orders have now been updated to read “mid-November”, indicating Apple could be running into more delays than expected in manufacturing. Whatever the source of the shortage is, it looks like preorder customers might not receive their orders until after the 23rd.
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Regional carrier Bluegrass Cellular to offer iPhone 5 for $149 starting Nov. 2, iPhone 4S for $49

Jordan Kahn Oct 30 2012 - 12:17 pm PT

Kentucky-based regional carrier Bluegrass Cellular originally had plans to offer the iPhone 5 at the end of September following its launch, but today announced it will finally have the device to offer its customers starting Friday, November 2nd. Like it and other regional carriers have done in the past with the latest iPhone models, it will offer the entry-level iPhone 5 for $50 less than you’ll find it through most others. You’ll of course need one of the carrier’s 3G plans starting at $64.99/month and a two-year commitment to take advantage. Bluegrass will also have the 32GB iPhone 5 for $249, and the 64GB model for $349.

As for the iPhone 4S, the carrier’s customers can now pick it up starting at just $49, while iPhone 4 is still be offered on contract for $0.99. Details on Bluegrass Cellular’s iPhone plans below:

Bluegrass Cellular to Offer iPhone 5 on November 2

Elizabethtown, KY—October 30, 2012—Bluegrass Cellular announced it will offer iPhone 5 beginning Friday, November 2. iPhone 5 will be available starting at $149 for the 16GB model, $249 for the 32GB model and $349 for the 64GB model in all Bluegrass Cellular Customer Care Centers, select Authorized Agent locations and online at www.bluegrasscellular.com/iphone. In addition, iPhone 4S will be available starting at $49 and iPhone 4 will be available starting at $0.99. Bluegrass will allow iPhone 5 customers to connect to its fast 3G network.

iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, completely redesigned to feature a stunning new 4-inch Retina display; an Apple-designed A6 chip for blazing fast performance; and ultrafast wireless technology—all while delivering even better battery life.* iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features including: Shared Photo Streams, Facebook integration, all-new Maps app, Passbook organization and even more Siri features and languages.

“We are pleased to offer iPhone 5 to our customers throughout the Bluegrass Cellular service area nationwide,” said Ron Smith, President and CEO, Bluegrass Cellular. “Our customers are excited to experience this new device’s unique features and applications on our exceptional network, wherever they go.”

OWC announces 480GB SSD upgrade for 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro

Jordan Kahn Oct 30 2012 - 9:46 am PT

Like it does for the 15-inch model, OWC announced today it is offering its 480GB Mercury Aura Pro SSD for Apple’s new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. As noted by OWC, the $580 aftermarket upgrade option will cost you approximately $220 less than Apple’s comparable 512GB built-to-order upgrade, and will also allow you to keep your original base flash module. The press release (below) also said additional capacities would be available sometime in November, while an OWC Envoy Pro Enclosure for re using the factory flash module will be landing in December:

Available in 480GB capacity for immediate ordering and with additional capacities to be announced in November, the 6G (6Gb/s) SandForce Driven Mercury Aura Pro offers rMBP owners up to nearly 3x more storage and/or backup capacity than the factory 128GB flash module… In addition to offering significantly more capacity over the factory base 128GB SSD, the 480GB Mercury Aura Pro offers a $220 savings over the comparable sized 512GB factory capacity upgrade costing $800. Savings, however, aren’t always measured just in dollars. A key benefit for Apple notebook owners when choosing an OWC SSD is the retention of the original factory flash module.

OWC Announces Mercury Aura Pro as Industry’s First Solid State Drive Upgrade for the New 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display

October 30, 2012, Woodstock, IL — Other World Computing (OWC®) http://www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac® and PC technology company, announced today the OWC Mercury Aura® Pro is the industry’s first high-performance Solid State Drive upgrade for the new 2012 13″ MacBook® Pro with Retina display (rMBP) computers introduced by Apple® last week.

Available in 480GB capacity for immediate ordering and with additional capacities to be announced in November, the 6G (6Gb/s) SandForce-Driven™ Mercury Aura Pro offers rMBP owners up to nearly 3x more storage and/or backup capacity than the factory 128GB flash module.

Offers $220 Savings, Continued Use of Factory Flash Module

In addition to offering significantly more capacity over the factory base 128GB SSD, the 480GB Mercury Aura Pro offers a $220 savings over the comparable sized 512GB factory capacity upgrade costing $800. Savings, however, aren’t always measured just in dollars. A key benefit for Apple notebook owners when choosing an OWC SSD is the retention of the original factory flash module.

When upgrading directly with the factory, consumers pay for the base flash capacity module, but do not get that original base flash module returned to them for re-use. Thanks to the OWC Envoy Pro USB 3.0 bus-powered portable enclosure (available late December), rMBP owners upgrading with a Mercury Aura Pro SSD can re-task the original factory flash module as an external drive for additional storage and/or backup duty.

Expert Tested and Reviewed

Several leading technology sites have noted the Mercury Aura Pro’s performance advantage compared to the Apple factory SSDs. Electronista.com pointed out “new and improved” Apple SSDs reach read speeds of 461MB per second and write speeds of 364MB per second, while the Mercury Aura Pro is rated at up to 500MB/s. Expert SSD industry source TheSSDReview.com found LSI SandForce-Driven™ based SSDs offer “excellent performance” over 500MB/s and that these SSDs “excel in highly compressible data testing which is the bread and butter of typical consumer use.” The Mac Observer performed extensive benchmark testing and declared “The Aura Pro SSD outperforms the Apple SSD in nearly every way. For rMBP owners (or soon-to-be-owners) who ordered a model with the stock SSD, the upgrade to the Aura Pro is a no brainer if you need more capacity, speed, or both.”

Pricing, Availability
The Mercury Aura Pro for the 2012 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina display is available immediately for $579.99. Additional capacity models will be announced and made available for ordering in November. For more information on the Mercury Aura Pro for 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Aura_Pro_Retina_2012/

“When we introduced the Mercury Aura Pro for the 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina display this past June, we had received significant user feedback that the factory base 256GB flash capacity just wasn’t adequate,” said Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing. “Considering that the new 13″ models offer as little as 128GB standard, the need for greater capacity is quite apparent. The Mercury Aura Pro offering nearly 3x the capacity, higher performance, and the ability to reuse the factory drive as a high speed external drive is an unbeatable combination upgrade value.”

New Model Continues OWC’s First-to-Market Streak

The Mercury Aura Pro for the 2012 13″ rMBP continues OWC’s two-year streak as being the first manufacturer offering an SSD upgrade for the latest Apple notebook computers. There’s an Aura Pro/Envoy enclosure bundle for 2010 and 2011 MacBook Air computers and an Aura Pro SSD upgrade for 2012 MacBook Air owners.

In addition offering first and only upgrades for the latest Apple machines, OWC also offers world record-breaking 3G (3Gb/s) and 6G (6Gb/s) Mercury SSDs for nearly every Mac and PC produced over the past decade in capacities from 30GB to 1TB with prices starting from $49.99. For more information on the complete OWC Mercury SSD line, including expert benchmark reviews, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/.

For more information on the OWC catalog of over 2,900 performance upgrades and accessories, or for reseller inquires, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/

If Apple adopted Samsung’s product strategy

Jake Smith Oct 30 2012 - 8:24 am PT

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J2Au80BmHc”]

Initial fourth-generation iPad supply is out, now available in one week; iPad benchmarks appear

Jake Smith Oct 30 2012 - 6:17 am PT

According to Apple’s website, initial supplies of the new fourth-generation iPad have run out and shipping times have subsequently been pushed back to one week. The $499 tablet, along with the iPad mini, is scheduled to be delivered to customers on Friday.

The iPad mini initial supply ran-out completely over the weekend as well, leaving some customers 2 weeks until they receive their prized 7.9-inch device.

Additionally, the first benchmarks for the 4th gen iPad appeared over the weekend. According to Geekbench, the new iPad’s A6X processor clocks in at 1.4GHz and has the same 1GB of RAM as the iPhone 5 and 3rd gen iPad. That puts the new iPad about twice as fast the the 3rd gen — nice.

Thanks, Alex Allegro!
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Apple has pushed back Maps turn-by-turn navigation launch to November for Australia

Jake Smith Oct 29 2012 - 6:10 pm PT

Apple was initially set to release turn-by-turn navigation for Australia sometime this month, however an update to Apple’s Maps availability webpage this evening has clued us in that the launch has been delayed. Apple is now saying the feature will be available in November, just a month after ex-iOS chief Scott Forstall announced that the turn-by-turn feature was in “qualifying stages” for Australia. The Maps feature did launch in Brunei, Egypt, Macau, Malaysia, Morocco, South Africa, Taiwan and Thailand during October — one commenter pointed out below.

We assume the delay comes after the flurry of problems that have plagued Apple’s iOS Maps. In September, CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology for Maps, saying “we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.” He went on to recommend alternatives.

It looks like Apple may also miss another October deadline. During its September press event, the company promised the redesigned iTunes 11 by the end of October. Apple has two days to hit its promise. As for Australia users, you may as well rejoice for the delay, as turn-by-turn has lead users to some pretty strange places. It happened to me last week when I was thrown nine miles off course, causing a pesky back-track.

Thanks, Ivan Pavlov!
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Observations on Forstall and Browett departures from Apple (Updated)

Seth Weintraub Oct 29 2012 - 5:57 pm PT

The announcement

We knew that Browett was fired last week, but Apple was waiting for a good time to announce the move. We’re not sure exactly what was the nail in Forstall’s coffin but Inside Apple/Fortune’s Adam Lashinky’s take is that Forstall’s refusalto sign the Maps apology is what sealed his fate. Forstall was at last week’s iPad mini event but uncharacteristically didn’t present anything.

iPad Mini launch last week

Interestingly, Cook also did the apologizing for Browett’s hair-brained schemes to cut head counts at Apple Stores ahead of the holiday shopping season to save a few bucks.

Lesson to learn: Be big enough to apologize publicly. Look at Bob Mansfield. Out of Retirement Mansfield publicly apologized for the Retina MacBook Pro EPEAT fiasco; fast forward months and all of a sudden he’s got his own division and a lucrative two year contract. Apple execs should be falling over themselves to apologize for their mistakes going forward.

The rationale

Browett’s situation was simple: everyone hated him, especially his retail employees. Apple watchers, especially those familiar with Dixons in the UK (Americans: think Best Buy), were shocked at the decision to allow him to follow Ron Johnson as Apple’s Retail head. Cook initially defended Browett but the #Firebrowett movement was too strong. So far Tim Cook is 0 for 2 in big outside hires (Mark Papermaster was hired during one of Jobs’ absences) . That might be something to be concerned about.

Forstall’s departure is an entirely different situation. Although more information may come to light, in the hours after the announcement it seems a power struggle happened, and the Ive camp won out over Forstall’s. The two execs and Steve Jobs subordinates have faced off for years and reportedly wouldn’t be in the same meetings unless called specifically by Tim Cook. It certainly didn’t help that Mansfield didn’t like Forstall either. I think we’ll hear more of the details in the weeks and months ahead.

The new situation
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Philips launching app controlled ‘hue personal wireless lighting’ bulbs at Apple Stores tomorrow

Jordan Kahn Oct 29 2012 - 7:09 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT5W_Mjuz5I]

Philips announced today that it would launch what it called “the world’s smartest LED bulb” exclusively at Apple stores starting tomorrow. The bulbs themselves work like any standard light bulb, but they use a bridge plugged into your router to allow you to personalize lighting settings and timers. This of course is not the first app-enabled product for the home to hit Apple Stores. Apple already sold the first and second-generation of the Nest Learning Thermostat.

The hue bulbs provide all “shades of white, from warm white light to cold with light,” as well as a selection of colors and pre-programmed settings. You can even use a photo from your device as a color palette and save and program settings to activate at certain times of day. Philips said the hue bulbs consume 80 percent less power than traditional bulbs.

Philips will sell a hue starter kit at Apple stores tomorrow that consists of three 50Watt hue bulbs and the hue bridge. That will sell for $199. You’ll also have the ability to purchase additional individual bulbs for $60 and add up to 50 to your existing hue bridge.

Philips is even offering the hue app and an open source platform to developers:

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Spoof ‘banned’ iPad mini promo [Video]

Jordan Kahn Oct 29 2012 - 5:43 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os87PLlyU4k]

You might have seen past “banned” Apple promo videos from John Elerick and crew on YouTube. The guys are out with their latest spoof Apple commercial today, but this time it is for the iPad mini. On a serious note, Amazon is taking note of some of the iPad mini’s shortcomings, as pointed out in the video, by posting a comparison of the Kindle Fire HD and the iPad mini on its website. Amazon already included the comparison in its recent earnings release, but today it posted a large graphic on its homepage that reads “Much more for much less” while comparing specs of the two devices:

Elerick’s recent banned iPhone 5 promo, also worth a watch, is below:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFUz6vHEQCM&feature=share&list=SPEFE01BA954950D82]

New Shenzen, China Apple Store scheduled for grand opening this Saturday

Jake Smith Oct 29 2012 - 3:42 am PT

Cupertino-based Apple is set to open its first Apple Store in Shenzhen, China on Nov. 3 at 9 a.m., as confirmed on its website earlier this morning. The store is located in Yitian Holiday Plaza at Nanshan district of Shenzhen, and it marks the seventh store in China. Apple CEO Tim Cook and company are moving aggressively into the country to keep up with their 2010 goal of 25 stores by the end of 2012.

If Shenzhen sounds like a familiar city in China, it is because the city serves as one of the biggest hubs for the manufacturing of parts for Apple products. Shenzhen is home to Foxconn—a factory where the brute of Apple devices are being produced daily.

When touring Apple’s biggest retail store in China last month, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail John Browett confirmed the Shenzhen store. MIC Gadget noted many “rich people live in this part of the city so the demographics are very good for high end retailers.”

According to several local media, Apple is also set to open a new store in Chengdu, China where the iPad is manufactured. Apple has yet to confirm, but it has ramped up employee hiring.

The company has reiterated the importance of China to Apple several times. During its Q4 earnings call last Thursday, CFO Peter Oppenheimer announced Apple gained $5.7 billion in revenue during Q4 and $23.8 billion FY2012 from China.

In other Apple retail news: Apple opened a gorgeous store in Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend.

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The yacht that Steve Jobs built with French designer Philippe Starck revealed [Gallery]

9to5 Staff Oct 28 2012 - 7:11 am PT

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Dutch website OneMoreThing grabbed some pictures of the unique vessel that Steve Jobs was designing at the time of his death with French designer Philippe Starck over a year ago. The project was started in 2009, and Jobs’ wife and three of his children attended today’s launch of “Venus”.

.

The boat certainly has an interesting look/shape.

The control center of course has iMacs (are those the new ones?!)

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The people who worked on the vessel were given iPod shuffles as a gift from the Jobs family.

We received additional photos of the yacht and placed those and a video below:
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Amazon sold a record number of Kindle Fire HDs the day after the iPad mini was announced

Jake Smith Oct 27 2012 - 1:07 pm PT

According to Amazon, it was unfazed by the announcement of the iPad mini by Apple earlier this week. In fact, the company sold a record amount of $199 Kindle Fire HDs on Wednesday since being available on the market.

AllThingsD reported:

In response to a question about how Kindle sales were faring following Apple’s iPad mini announcement on Tuesday, Amazon spokesperson Drew Herdener reported they were selling better than usual. “Wednesday was the $199 Kindle Fire HD’s biggest day of sales since launch and up 3x week over week,” according to a statement emailed to AllThingsD.

For those keeping tabs, the Kindle Fire HD features a 7-inch IPS display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 11 hours of battery life, and a weight of 13.9 oz.

Price presumably played a factor.

[tweet https://twitter.com/eejay/status/262287654173958144]

[tweet https://twitter.com/ryanchristensen/status/262289646740963328]

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New Palo Alto Apple Store with beautiful glass front opened to the public this morning

Jake Smith Oct 27 2012 - 11:54 am PT

As we told you it would earlier this week, Apple opened its beautiful new Apple Store in the heart of Palo Alto, Calif., this morning. The front of the 15,030-square-foot store, located at 340 University Ave., is complete with a glass array, and it is estimated to cost roughly $3.15 million. The first 1,000 people received commemorative T-shirts. Check out the gallery below:

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Review: Otterbox’s Defender Series case for iPhone 5 (plus iPhone 5 giveaway!)

Mark Gurman Oct 26 2012 - 2:31 pm PT

Otterbox, the renowned creator of some of the best mobile device protective accessories on the market, recently released a version of its popular Defender Series case for the new iPhone 5. Like its Defender products for other mobile phones and devices, the number one priority of the iPhone 5 Defender case is top-notch protection all around the device. We’ve been using the case for a couple of weeks, and we think that it lives up to the Defender name…

(get 15% off Otterbox cases for iPhone 5 at 9to5Toys.com)

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Apple SVP Phil Schiller talks ‘thinnovation’ on Mac lineup, Optical media, Windows 8 and value

Jordan Kahn Oct 26 2012 - 9:43 am PT

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller, who was on stage for the majority of Apple’s Mac announcements earlier this week, sat down with TIME following the event to talk Macs. The first topic of conversation was the sometimes-controversial design of recent Mac refreshes, including: the removal of optical drives, lack of repairability, and new I/O standards:

“This is what Apple has always been about, and the Mac has been about, from the first Mac and first iMac,” Schiller said. “It’s always been about making the best Mac we know how. Among the many benefits are making it easy to use and affordable, with great features. This high level of integration is part of delivering on that.”

While calling Blu-ray a “complex and not-great technology,” Phil talked the removal of old standards, such as optical drives, and the move to SSDs:
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Following earnings call, AAPL drops below 600 for the first time since July

Jordan Kahn Oct 26 2012 - 9:03 am PT

Less than 24 hours after releasing its fourth-quarter earnings results, Apple stock has now dropped below $600 for the first time since July. Apple reported Q4 earnings slightly higher than the analysts expected (apart from iPad sales, with 14 million units sold coming in lower than most estimates). Apple posted $8.2 billion in net profit with $36 million in revenue and diluted earnings per share of $8.67. That compares to an average of about 15.5 million iPads, earnings per share of $8.75, and $35.51 billion in revenue expected by the analysts.

During Apple’s Q4 results conference call yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook answered questions about iPhone 5 supply and demand and shortages going forward. According to Cook, production is increasing but the company is still in a “significant state of backlog.” He confirmed Apple still plans to roll out the device to 100 countries by the end of the year. This morning—the iPad mini, and fourth-generation iPad, officially went up for pre-order. Shortly after, Apple sold out of some models and pushed back shipping times.

Cook remained confident that component shortages would not hold back iPhone and iPad sales, stating he is “pleased with the current volume of output.” He did, however, warn about significant iMac delays headed into the holidays:

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Apple shipped 16.6-percent of global smartphones last quarter, up 2.3 points yoy

Élyse Betters Oct 26 2012 - 7:14 am PT

Strategic Analytics released its latest report today that depicted global smartphone shipments growing to 162 million in Q3 2012, and Apple managed to grab second place with 16.6-percent global share.

“(Apple) shipped 26.9 million smartphones worldwide for 17 percent market share, up from 14 percent recorded a year earlier,” said Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston in a press release. “Apple had a solid quarter in the important United States market and this helped to strengthen its global performance.”

Samsung led the charge, however, with a record 35 percent global share. The report mentioned Samsung successfully delivered “numerous hit models,” such as the Galaxy and Galaxy Note, despite competition in stores and courtrooms. Meanwhile, the remaining handset manufacturers, such as Nokia, fell into the “Others” category at 48 percent.

“Samsung shipped 56.9 million smartphones worldwide and captured a record 35 percent market share in the third quarter of 2012. This was the largest number of units ever shipped by a smartphone vendor in a single quarter,” Mawston added.

Samsung and Apple essentially shipped over half of all the smartphones worldwide in Q3—up from roughly one-third just a year ago. Strategy Analytic Senior Analyst Neil Shah therefore noted shipping volumes have “polarized” around the two brands.

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