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.
A new report by Re/code gives some extra details about Apple’s future plans for its streaming service, Beats Music. A few weeks ago Apple was reportedly looking to push prices down, although specifics were not known at the time.
Today, Re/code says that Apple wants to cut prices in half, from $10 a month to $5 a month. This would be part of a relaunch of the Beats Music service — exactly what a ‘relaunch’ entails is not yet known. It is possible that Apple will disassociate the Beats brand from its streaming service.
On the day that Apple Pay goes live, SVP Eddy Cue has told the WSJ that the company “has a lot of work to do” on the service, suggesting that initial take-up may be slow – with in-app purchases making up the largest share of transactions in the short-term.
We’re trying to do something that I think is a game changer and it requires a lot of people to play together. There’s a lot to do here and we have a lot of work to do, but it should be huge.
Although the list of retailers who have committed to Apple Pay looks impressive, it is far from comprehensive, with some big names missing – including the largest retailer in the US, Wal-Mart … Expand Expanding Close
I’m from Akron so I guess this should hit home for me (0:18 Swensons represent!). But the marriage between Apple and Beats still feels strange and writing about athlete endorsement videos is out of our usual scope. This is clearly the Beats creative doing what they do best.
It appears that most of the foundation is laid now in an update from a video taken by a drone two weeks ago.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has called Apple’s Campus 2 the ‘Greenest in the World’. The controversial structure which will house 12,000 staff in 2.8M square feet on 176 acres and is estimated to be completed in 2016. Interestingly, even though Apple is covering the construction site with a high green wall, it is updating the 3D flyover of the location in Apple Maps somewhat frequently. The latest looks like it was taken earlier this summer.
An official updated aerial shot from Apple was also posted on the City of Cupertino’s website:
Now that Apple’s new iPad Air 2 is officially up for preorder today through Apple’s online store, AT&T and others, you’re going to need a new case to accommodate the 18% thinner design. Not only will case makers have to make tweaks for the thinner design, removed side switch and other design tweaks, they will also have to make sure the home button is exposed for the new Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Below we’ve put together a list of cases that are already available to order and we’ll be updating as more cases get announced ahead of the new iPad Air 2 shipping to customers next week. Expand Expanding Close
Long-standing complaints that the 2011 MacBook Pro suffered from a manufacturing fault resulting in GPU glitches and failures don’t appear to be going away, as an online petition calling for Apple to fix or replace affected machines reaches more than 18,000 signatures.
To: Timothy D. Cook, Apple Inc
Craig Federighi (Apple Inc) (Apple Inc), Apple Inc
Replace or Fix All 2011 Macbook Pro with Graphics Failure
The petition notes the premium spent to buy Apple laptops, and says that Apple’s only response to date has been to ask owners to pay for an extremely expensive logic board replacement … Expand Expanding Close
The numbers are small as yet, but early indications are that Mac users are keen to get their hands on the new Yosemite features. Social sharing tool AddThis, which collects analytics data from 13 million websites, is reporting that Yosemite adoption is already running at 2%, versus 1.2% for Mavericks in the same timeframe … Expand Expanding Close
The webcast is available on any iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 4.2 or above, as well as any Mac running OS X 10.6.8 or later. Windows users can also listen in so long as they are running QuickTime 7 or later.
Apple’s revenue guidance is quite broad at $37-40B, with a gross margin of 37-38%. We’re unlikely to learn anything specific about iPhone 6/Plus sales, as Apple generally doesn’t break down the numbers by model, but the overall sales figures will give us a good steer.
While the relatively modest iPad updates might have led to a flurry of ‘Apple is doomed’ reports from analysts, an early roundup by Fortune suggests that the consensus view so far remains positive. Most are rating it a buy or overweight – meaning they expect it to outperform typical stocks – with the majority setting a target price in the $112-120 range …
The online Apple Store is down as Apple readies the site to take pre-orders of the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.
The iPad Air 2 is 18% thinner than the original Air, adds Touch ID, M8 motion-sensing chip and an AX8 processor that Apple says is 40% faster than the previous model. It also has camera and wifi improvements, and is available in gold … Expand Expanding Close
In addition to introducing the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, Apple has refreshed its online store with new Smart Cases and Smart Covers to compliment and protect the new hardware.
The latest iPad Air Smart Cover will work with both the iPad Air and iPad Air 2. The iPad Air Smart Cover is available in polyurethane for $39 with options in black, white, pink, yellow, blue, green, and red. Apple says each iPad Air Smart Cover is available to ship in 1-3 days currently.
The iPad mini Smart Cover is available at the same $39 price point in the same colors. All three 7.9-inch iPad mini generations are compatible with this accessory. Apple also says the iPad mini Smart Cover will be available to ship in 1-3 days currently.
Apple has also updated its Smart Case for the iPad Air 2. Because the iPad Air 2 is thinner than the previous generation iPad Air and features a second microphone in place of the previously existing mute/rotation toggle switch, the new iPad Air 2 cases are only compatible with the new tablets. The iPad Air 2 Smart Case is available for $79 in leather with options in black, red, midnight blue, olive brown, and soft pink. These new cases are currently unavailable for order and coming soon for store pickup.
The iPad mini Smart Case is also available in leather at $69 with the same color options available. Apple says it will be begin shipping 1-3 days after ordering.
Just one day after HBO announced that it would be offering a web-only subscription at some point next year, CBS has played leap-frog by announcing the immediate availability of a $5.99/month web & app subscription offering on-demand access to almost all content.
CBS All Access will offer subscribers thousands of episodes from the current season, previous seasons and classic shows on demand, as well as the ability to stream local CBS Television stations live in 14 of the largest U.S. markets at launch.
CBS All Access is available beginning today at CBS.com and on mobile devices through the CBS App for iOS and Android.
Cable companies have long shied away from offering access to popular, current programming without demanding that you sign-up to cable access first. But broadcasters now seem to be recognizing that it isn’t just cord-cutting that threatens their existing models, it’s also ‘cord nevers’ – young people who simply aren’t signing up for cable subscriptions in the first place, preferring to get their TV fix online … Expand Expanding Close
Seth Weintraub|9:53Here’s the streaming URL for You Windows/other users (sorry!) http://p.events-delivery.apple.com.edgesuite.net/14pounqefvoiubefvpiub10/refs/14pijbnoihjb10_sl_ref.mov
Seth Weintraub|9:52Live Stream is up. Only one sang playing at a time this time (cancel the Truck!)
Seth Weintraub|9:49
Having a laugh with Craig backstage. Just a few more minutes.
We’ll be running down the event coverage and pre-coverage right here with this auto-updating live blog so stay dialled in while we’ll do separate posts for new products/services/announcements as they happen… Expand Expanding Close
Apple is reportedly adding the ability to track what users do inside certain apps in order to present them with targeted in-app ads across iOS devices, reports digital media site Digiday.
Say, for example, a visitor to a retailer’s iPhone app adds a pair of shoes to his cart but ultimately decide not to buy it. In this scenario, the retailer will now be able to retarget that user with an ad for that exact pair — even in another app on his iPad. When tapped, the ad would direct him back to his abandoned checkout page and automatically add the shoes to his online shopping cart.
Ad agencies say that Apple has been pitching the new capability since last month … Expand Expanding Close
Beats Music and AT&T have quietly removed the option to pay for the music streaming subscription service through the wireless carrier, although the change will not affect current subscribers. 9to5Mac received the following statement from AT&T:
There haven’t been any changes for AT&T customers who currently have the Beats Music family plan or who are within their free trial period. New subscribers can still get Beats Music through their app store or at beatsmusic.com.
Previously, AT&T subscribers could access a 90-day free trial of the now Apple-owned music streaming service with the option to bill the subscription fee with the wireless phone bill. AT&T also offered a unique family rate for the service at $14.99/month for up to five people and ten devices on an account. Expand Expanding Close
It looks like Apple’s event tomorrow will focus on new iPad models as rumored, but there are bound to be a lot of announcements beyond just the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. Below we’ve put together some of our expectations for other possibilities at the event, including likely announcements for new Macs, software updates and a couple of possible surprises you might not be expecting. Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s iTunes Store has just made a little bit of a slip-up (and with perfect uncanny timing): screenshots for the iOS 8.1 iPad user guide have just appeared within iBooks and include Apple’s upcoming iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. Of course, Apple will be formally debuting these devices tomorrow.
The screenshots confirm that both new tablets will include nearly identical designs to their predecessors and the addition of Touch ID sensors in the Home button. Another new feature confirmed by this leak is a new Burst Mode (first introduced with the iPhone 5s) for the iPad Air 2 (image below).
These images also indicate that the new tablets will be named “iPad Air 2” and “iPad mini 3,” which means that Apple will bringing the numbering scheme for names back to the iPad lineup. Of course, the presence of this user guide means iOS 8.1 (with Apple Pay) is likely to drop tomorrow, too.
Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty has added AAPL to its Best Ideas list of investments, saying that increased margins from iPhone 6 sales see the stock “set for significant upside.”
While Credit Suisse had earlier suggested that margins on the iPhone 6 would be lower than that of the iPhone 5s and 5c, Huberty says that numerous sources are suggesting that more people this time are opting for the middle storage tier, thus pushing up both average selling price and margins … Expand Expanding Close
Digitimes still seems to think the long-rumored 12-inch Retina MacBook Air is going to be announced tomorrow, claiming that shipments have already begun.
Shipments of a new MacBook Air model, reportedly equipped with a 12-inch Retina screen, have begun in small volumes and large-volume shipments will begin in November, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.
The claim seems highly unlikely given that just two days ago Re/code cited Apple sources as specifically stating that, while the product was in the pipeline, it would not be shown at tomorrow’s event … Expand Expanding Close
NBC is reporting that Apple will offer female employees up to $20,000 to cover the costs of freezing their eggs if they want to defer having children until later in their career, following the example of Facebook which recently introduced the same employee benefit.
Fertility specialists advise that women who want to freeze eggs in order to have children later in life should freeze at least 20 eggs, which will typically take two rounds of treatment at a cost of $10,000 each. The $20k fertility benefit offered by both Apple and Facebook should cover this – though there can be storage costs on top amounting to several hundred dollars per month.
The move is likely to be a controversial one, seen by some as a means of supporting women who want to advance their career to a senior level before taking time off for children, and making a tech career more appealing to women, while others see it as a message that women are expected to put their career first and family life second.
Apple recently announced a range of improvements to its employee benefits program, including increased time off for parental leave, reimbursements for educational classes, a Student Loan Refinancing Program for U.S. employees and a matching program for charitable donations by employees.
Apple is seeking to keep its involvement in GT Advanced’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing secret as it reportedly asked courts to file its objections in the case under seal. Bloomberg reports that Apple has requested permission to keep its comments in the case secret to avoid disclosing “confidential research, development, or commercial information regarding Apple’s business processes.” Expand Expanding Close
