Apple

6,144 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - July 2014

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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

Apple ‘tentatively’ plans mid-September iPhone event as iOS 8 nears completion

Mark Gurman Jul 23 2014 - 7:38 am PT

Apple is gearing up for its first major hardware and software launches of 2014. The Cupertino-based company is “tentatively” planning a keynote address in mid-September to announce the iPhone 6 and provide final details on iOS 8, according to sources briefed on the plans.

These people say that the second and third weeks of September are the mostly likely weeks for the event to be held, but they add that manufacturing uncertainties could alter the event’s timeframe. A decision has not been finalized, and sources made it clear that the plans are in flux.

The event will showcase at least the new iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch screen, the sources say, but a final decision on debuting the larger, 5.5-inch “phablet” model at the event has not been made. The 4.7-inch variant of the new phone is farther along in both internal testing and manufacturing preparation, the sources added.

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Samsung actually makes a solid ad, too bad new spokesperson Kelly Slater is an iPhone user

Zac Hall Jul 23 2014 - 7:35 am PT

Samsung’s latest ad entitled “Every Day is Day One” is really, really nice. The cinematography is top notch and the soundtrack makes it even richer (a cover of David Bowie’s “Absolute Beginners”). It features Samsung’s Galaxy phone and Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smart watch without being embarrassingly tacky, and it was done in partnership with the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) as Samsung Mobile is a global partner.

The only issue is competitive professional surfer Kelly Slater cameos in the ad with his Samsung sponsorship clear in the shot seen above, and Kelly Slater is a proud iPhone owner just like you and me. 😎🌊📱

Despite the mixed affiliation, the ad really is a great one. More of this and less focusing on Apple might go a long way… you never know. Anyway, be sure to check out the full ad over at 9to5Google.

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Opinion: Will the iPad be left behind in the shift to larger iPhones?

Ben Lovejoy Jul 23 2014 - 7:30 am PT

With Apple reporting lower-than-expected iPad sales for the second quarter in a row, it’s likely that Tim Cook will be once again be called on to reassure investors that the decline in year-on-year sales won’t continue indefinitely.

Cook has been very bullish on the iPad, despite the numbers, pointing especially to growing sales in the education sector and the opportunity for tablet growth in enterprise.

The penetration in business is low, it’s only 20 percent. If you looked at the penetration of notebooks in business it would be over 60 percent. We think there is a substantial upside in business.”

I think he’s right, especially with the IBM partnership. I mentioned in my opinion piece then that increasing penetration in enterprise could also help drive consumer migration from Android, as it gives people exposure to iOS devices. But the impact this has could well be offset by the iPhone 6 …
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First look at Fleksy’s upcoming keyboard launching alongside iOS 8

Mark Gurman Jul 23 2014 - 5:59 am PT

In addition to launching a redesigned version on Android, Fleksy today has given us a first look at its upcoming keyboard offering for Apple’s iOS 8. iOS 8 launches this fall with several new iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch features, including the ability for developers to launch custom system-wide keyboards. Fleksy previously announced that it is working on a keyboard for iOS 8 and has opened up signups for a beta, but today the company provided us with the first images and some new details…

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Apple’s gross margins are the key takeaway from yesterday’s results, say analysts

Ben Lovejoy Jul 23 2014 - 5:33 am PT

While Wall Street may have been slightly disappointed by some of the numbers Apple reported yesterday, they should feel reassured by Apple stabilising and growing its gross margins, say Apple bulls – analysts who expect the stock price to rise.

Business Insider noted the above chart tweeted by Benedict Evans with the commentary:

Very stable long-term gross margins. Painful contrast to rest of the industry …

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AAPL’s report card: how Q3 results fared against analyst expectations

Ben Lovejoy Jul 23 2014 - 4:25 am PT

Here’s how Apple’s Q3 results stack up against the analyst expectations compiled by Fortune. Revenue grew 6 percent, but Wall Street was expecting more. Earnings per share was marginally higher than expected, at $1.28 per diluted share. Gross margin was higher than expected at 39.4 percent.

iPhone sales were slightly lower than expected, while iPad sales were significantly below analyst predictions. Mac and iPod sales, in contrast, were higher.

Overall, market reaction was muted, with a slight drop in the share price in post-market trading – but with overall results broadly in line with expectations, all eyes now will be on Q4. Apple has issued wider than usual revenue guidance of $37 to $40 billion, but with the WSJ reporting that the company has ordered a record number of iPhones from suppliers, expectations will be at the high end.

iOS 8 & OS X Yosemite said to launch separately despite tight integration

Mark Gurman Jul 22 2014 - 5:36 pm PT

Even though Apple will begin integrating iOS and OS X in new, mutually beneficial ways with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, Apple currently plans to stagger the releases of the two operating systems, according to people briefed on the plans. iOS 8 will launch in September alongside the iPhone 6, and OS X Yosemite will launch approximately a month later, in October, according to the sources…

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Apple & AT&T begin sending $40 checks to original 3G iPad buyers

Mark Gurman Jul 22 2014 - 3:48 pm PT

Apple and U.S.-based wireless carrier AT&T have begun sending out $40 checks to buyers of the original iPad WiFi + 3G in the United States over a “bait-and-switch” regarding the device’s data plan. The backstory is that when Steve Jobs announced the 3G iPad in January 2010, he announced a deal with AT&T for a $30/month unlimited iPad data plan.

When the 3G iPad launched in late April 2010, this plan was available, but AT&T eliminated the plan just about one month later in early June 2010. Lawsuits followed in the months and years following the shift in data plan strategy claimed that customers overpaid for the 3G iPad believing that they would be able to use the device to access unlimited amounts of data.

In September 2013, Apple and AT&T settled and agreed to pay $40 to each affected iPad buyer. For iPad buyers who had not yet purchased an unlimited data plan, a discount on the replacing 5GB plan was offered. The two companies began sending the checks out late last week, and they began arriving today. You can view the entire check stub and letter from the payout fund below:

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Apple announces Q3 2014 revenue of $37.4b: 35.2m iPhones, 13.2m iPads, 4.4m Macs

Mark Gurman Jul 22 2014 - 1:32 pm PT

Apple today announced its Q3 2014 earnings results, revealing that the company pulled in $37.4 billion in revenue and $7.7 billion in profit during the quarter.

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 third quarter ended June 28, 2014. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $37.4 billion and quarterly net profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $35.3 billion and net profit of $6.9 billion, or $1.07 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.4 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple, as always, has also disclosed sales numbers for its main revenue generators. The company sold:

35.2 million iPhones
13.2 million iPads
4.4 million Macs
2.9 million iPods

Apple’s guidance for the quarter indicated revenue results between $36 and $38 billion, which Apple met.

Here’s Apple CEO Tim Cook on the results:

“Our record June quarter revenue was fueled by strong sales of iPhone and Mac and the continued growth of revenue from the Apple ecosystem, driving our highest EPS growth rate in seven quarters,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are incredibly excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, as well as other new products and services that we can’t wait to introduce.”

Here’s newly instated CFO Luca Maestri with his thoughts:

“We generated $10.3 billion in cash flow from operations and returned over $8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the June quarter,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We have now taken action on over $74 billion of our $130 billion capital return program with six quarters remaining to its completion.”

Apple’s Q3 has been relatively quiet in terms of new product announcements, but the Cupertino-company did announce major moves such as the impending acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music along with an expansive future partnership with IBM for enterprise-related initiatives.

These numbers compare to last quarter’s results of $45.6 billion in revenue and sales of 43.7 million iPhones, 16.3 million iPads, and 4.1 million Macs. You can also compare today’s numbers to analyst expectations from before the announcement. Apple is also holding a conference call today at 2 PM Pacific/5 PM Eastern time, which we will be covering live. Cook and Maestri will likely share prepared remarks and then take a series of questions at the end from financial analysts.

For Q4 2014, Apple is providing guidance between $37 billion and $40 billion. The full Q3 earnings results release is below:

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Hillshire increases sales w/ iBeacon, 20x increase in purchase intent, 500x increase over average mobile ads

Jordan Kahn Jul 22 2014 - 8:56 am PT

With more and more retailers, event spaces, and others deploying Apple’s Bluetooth LE iBeacon technology in order to beam iPhone and iPad users context and location aware notifications, we still haven’t seen much data on how the beacons are improving ad engagement for marketers. InMarket, a company installing iBeacons in grocery stores around the country that talk to a number of apps from its advertising partners, today shared some of the first stats from a specific consumer brand using the platform.
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Apple patent granted today shows dockable ‘iTime’ watch concept as well as conventional smartwatch

Ben Lovejoy Jul 22 2014 - 7:48 am PT

A patent application filed by Apple three years ago and approved today illustrates a new twist on the iWatch concept: a sensor-packed strap acting as a dock which allows a range of interchangeable modules to be snapped into place.

It’s not anything we’re likely to see make it into production: the docking concept dates back to 2011, and was probably intended by Apple to house an iPod Nano, converting it into a smartwatch in a more sophisticated version of the watch-straps sold in Apple Stores since way back in 2010. But the patent does tell us two things …
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Xiaomi VP and former Google exec (unconvincingly) denies the company copies Apple

Ben Lovejoy Jul 22 2014 - 6:36 am PT

You’d think it would be pretty hard to deny that Chinese Android phone and tablet manufacturer Xiaomi copies Apple – yet that’s exactly what former Google exec and now Xiaomi’s global vice president Hugo Barra tried to do in an interview with The Verge.

Allegations of it copying Apple are “sweeping sensationalist statements because they have nothing better to talk about,” he says.

Well, let’s see …

Let’s start with the company’s phones. Admittedly they don’t look much like iPhones, but they are called … the Mi Phone. Still, I’m sure that’s coincidence.

Then there’s the company’s tablet. No prizes for guessing the name of that. And here’s what the Mi Pad looks like – remind you of anything?

Barra says that’s coincidence, too.

“If you have two similarly skilled designers, it makes sense that they would reach the same conclusion,” he argues. “It doesn’t matter if somebody else has reached the same conclusion.”

Let’s look at the marketing materials. Hmm, anyone ever seen spec boxes like these anywhere before?

What about a product launch. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but there’s something about a company CEO on a stage wearing blue jeans and a black turtleneck that looks somehow familiar …

Still, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun toned it down today, swapping the turtleneck for a t-shirt as he introduced the company’s new wearable, the Mi Band. Sacha Pallenberg tweeted this photo of Lei Jun’s original approach to the launch, making a smaller announcement first and then introducing it with the words …

But hey, two similarly skilled presenters are going to reach the same conclusion about how best to spring a surprise, right?

Top image credit: Business Insider

Here’s what analysts expect Apple to announce today: revenue up 8.5 percent, earnings up 18 percent

Ben Lovejoy Jul 22 2014 - 5:09 am PT

With Fortune having now filled in the blanks in its analyst roundup, above are the final numbers Wall Street expects Apple to announce at around 1.30pm PT/4.30pm ET this afternoon.

With all 34 analysts having revealed their predictions, the consensus view is for year-on-year revenue to have grown by 8.5 percent, with earnings up 18.1 percent …
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Chinese sellers taking iPhone 6 pre-orders two months before anticipated launch

Ben Lovejoy Jul 22 2014 - 4:33 am PT

It might be two months before the rumored launch date of the iPhone 6, with a working phone yet to be sighted and no clue as to the retail price, but that isn’t stopping sellers taking pre-orders, reports the WSJ.

More than thirty sellers on Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace said they can help purchase the upcoming new iPhone 6s from the U.S. and Hong Kong. But there’s one catch: consumers have to pay a deposit ranging from 500 yuan ($80) to 7,999 yuan ($1288).

One seller even went as far as putting together a laughable mockup of an Apple webpage for the iPhone 6 (the full page can be seen below).

Another seller claimed the price of the unsubsidized 4.7-inch model would start at 5,288 yuan ($851) , with the 5.5-inch version starting at 5,988 yuan ($964), but there is absolutely no reason to think they have any information on Apple’s pricing plans.

Back in the real world, it’s been reported that Apple is looking to produce 70-80M iPhone 6 handsets by the end of the year, with production expected to begin imminently after Foxconn confirmed hiring 100,000 new workers for the project.

Here, for your amusement, is that full hilarious attempt at mocking up the iPhone 6 page on the Apple website (complete with the line that it was ‘made for iOS 7’) …

Apple responds to iOS backdoor access claims, denies its existence

Benjamin Mayo Jul 21 2014 - 5:06 pm PT

Over the weekend, iOS security hacker Jonathan Zdziarski released a presentation claiming to show how Apple had purposefully made backdoor access points for a variety of system and user data on iOS devices, that would usually be locked and encrypted via the passcode. The legitimacy of the claims is still questionable.

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Apple airing cool new MacBook Air TV ad: ‘the notebook people love’

Mark Gurman Jul 21 2014 - 4:05 pm PT

Apple has begun airing a new television advertisement for the MacBook Air that promotes the computer as “the notebook people love.” The ad demonstrates various personal connections to the MacBook Air via various stickers for the computer’s lid. Some stickers range from one of Homer Simpson holding the Apple logo, one with Snow White, and various cool black and white graphics. Apple last updated the MacBook Air earlier this year with improved processors and lower pricing, and significant updates to the line are expected this fall. Apple has also posted a new webpage to promote the ad and the stickers shown within the ad.

You can watch the ad below:

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Netflix on Apple TV now lets you more quickly access the next episode in a series

Mark Gurman Jul 21 2014 - 1:42 pm PT

The Netflix player on Apple TV has been updated with a new feature that allows watchers to more quickly jump between episodes in a single series of a show. When one episode is complete, the Apple TV will offer up the next episode. You must physically select the next episode as it will not automatically play, according to our testing (Update: the auto-play feature seems to be working on some shows, but not all at the moment). Previously, to access the next episode, users would have to revert back to the main episode list panel within the Netflix app.

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Video: Here’s what’s new in iTunes 12, iOS 8 beta 4 & OS X Yosemite preview 4

Michael Steeber Jul 21 2014 - 1:10 pm PT

Earlier today, Apple released iOS 8 beta 4 with a redesigned Control Center feature, OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 4 with various interface tweaks, and a new iTunes 12 Mac app with a refreshed look and feel. Above is our video that takes a closer look at these various changes and enhancements.

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Apple to again wipe all CloudKit data tomorrow, July 22nd

Mark Gurman Jul 21 2014 - 1:07 pm PT

Apple’s release notes for OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 4 reveal that the company will be wiping CloudKit data tomorrow.

This data has to do with the new iCloud storage APIs in iOS 8 and Yosemite as well as with the upcoming iCloud Drive online storage feature. It’s best to safely store anything of importance before tomorrow’s wipe:

CloudKit Note: All public CloudKit databases are scheduled to be emptied on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Apple previously wiped CloudKit data ahead of iOS 8 beta 3 and OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 3. Thanks, Genady!

Update: Apple has emailed developers about the wipe, noting that iCloud Drive, Photos, and other iCloud-related products besides CloudKit storage will not be wiped:

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Steve Jobs’ favorite analytics company acquired by Yahoo

Mark Gurman Jul 21 2014 - 12:06 pm PT

If you’re a long-time Apple watcher, you may be familiar with Flurry Analytics as Steve Jobs’ favorite analytics firm. The video above sums up his opinion well on the topic. Today, Re/code breaks the news that Yahoo’s prolific Mergers and Acquisition department will be acquiring Flurry for “hundreds of millions of dollars” later today. TechCrunch pegs the price at roughly $300 million. As for Apple, the Cupertino-based company will be launching its own iOS analytics software this fall alongside iOS 8.

Update: The purchase is now official:

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iTunes Festival app updated for London 2014, brings new design

Benjamin Mayo Jul 21 2014 - 11:29 am PT

This morning, Apple announced a new iTunes Festival for the United Kingdom, featuring over sixty bands, for September. The iTunes Festival app has now been updated to relay this information and exhibits the design style and iconography for the 2014 show. Because this is a UK show, the app is only available in the UK iTunes Store.

Currently, the app doesn’t feature much content — simply linking out to the iTunes Store app to enter the raffle for tickets. When the 2014 iTunes Festival starts, the app will stream the gigs alongside other related content. The festival will also be shown on Apple TV.

The app was last updated earlier this year for the corresponding 2014 show in the US.

iOS 8 beta 4 includes new Tips app with quick feature tutorials (Gallery)

Mark Gurman Jul 21 2014 - 10:46 am PT

iOS 8 beta 4 brings a new app to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch called Tips. The application, as the name implies, provides quick tips and tutorials about iOS features. The app will be updated on a regular basis with new ways to use iOS device features. Apple has also launched a Tips website (in beta) so these tutorials can be accessed from a Mac web browser. You can find a full gallery of the current implementation of Tips, below:

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City of Cupertino provides update on Apple’s Campus 2 progress with new aerial shot

Jordan Kahn Jul 21 2014 - 10:08 am PT

Following a number of amateur aerial shots of Apple’s Campus 2 construction popping up on Instagram and elsewhere online, today the City of Cupertino shared our best yet look at progress on the site with an aerial shot of the entire campus. The shot doesn’t just show the main circular “spaceship” structure, but also work starting on the the entire surrounding campus.
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Apple releases Yosemite Developer Preview 4 with redesigned iTunes 12

Mark Gurman Jul 21 2014 - 10:02 am PT

As expected, Apple has released OS X 10.10 Yosemite Developer Preview 4. It is available via the Mac App Store Software Update tab for developers running earlier versions of Yosemite. Apple has also released a revamped iTunes 12 to developers (full gallery here). Previous updates previously brought various design tweaks and feature enhancements, and Preview 4 is likely to do the same thing. Yosemite launches this fall with updated Mail, Messages, and Calendar apps, in addition to a system-wide redesign and improved integration with iOS Devices. We’ll be updating this post as new changes are discovered, and you can let us know what you find at tips@9to5mac.com.

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