Apple

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

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

Report: Apple’s Q3 iPhone & iPad sales include a higher percentage of flagship models YOY

Jordan Kahn Jul 21 2014 - 9:42 am PT

1 Comment

Ahead of Apple’s Q3 earnings call where analysts expect the company to beat its own top-end guidance, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners today shared its latest numbers on iPhone and iPad sales for the quarter.

While analysts are expecting Apple to announce sales of iPhones as high as 40 million units for the quarter representing a 15% increase from last year, CIRP gives us some insight into how iPhone and iPad models sold relative to flagship models last year. It’s also an interesting look at how Apple’s two model iPhone approach is working while continuing to sell previous generations. The iPhone 5s, according to CIRP’s research, accounted for 62% of iPhone sales vs 52% for the iPhone 5 at the same time last year. The data shows Apple is selling more of its most expensive, high-end flagship models as a percentage of its over all sales for compared to last year:

“Once again, Apple’s premium iPhone 5S sold well in the quarter,” said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. “It appears that in the US, Apple sells the 5S model at the expense of the iPhone 5C, which continues to sell much slower than the similarly- priced iPhone 4S in the same quarter last year. The entry-level ‘free’ or subsidized price point maintains its 16-18% of iPhone sales.”

As for iPad sales, the report notes the iPad Air captured a much higher percentage of Apple’s tablet sales relative to its flagship models last year. “The comparable flagship tablet last year, the iPad with Retina, accounted for less than a third of sales, while the iPad Air has over half. The small format iPads held their own at more than a third of sales, adding the higher-priced iPad Mini with Retina to the product mix. The $399 full size iPad with Retina seems to be stuck in the middle, at only 10% of sales.”

The report covers data for Apple’s fiscal Q3 that includes the three month period ended June 30. Apple’s conference call to announce its Q3 financial results is scheduled for tomorrow at 2PM PT/5PM ET.

Spotify CEO: Apple becoming a lifestyle company in all verticals, Beats deal not primarily for streaming service

Zac Hall Jul 21 2014 - 8:28 am PT

7 Comments

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In the weeks between the Apple-Beats acquisition first being reported as being in final talks and the two companies both officially announcing the deal, Billboard interviewed Daniel Ek, the CEO and co-founder of the streaming music giant Spotify, asking about his take on Apple becoming a subscription streaming music competitor through Beats Music.

At the time, Ek was reserved in saying too much about the proposition. “I don’t like speculating about things that haven’t happened,” Ek stated. He did, however, say that he always believed Apple would enter the streaming music space and doubled down saying Spotify is focused on “building the best possible product” while noting the service’s 40 million users with 10 million paid customers.

The Spotify CEO was interviewed last week at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference and once again asked about the Apple-Beats deal, this time with the acquisition being official:
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Will Apple also update the next iPads with rounded edges? (Poll)

Ben Lovejoy Jul 21 2014 - 8:14 am PT

21 Comments

One of our favorite designers of Apple concepts, Martin Hajek, has put together this visual showing how a new iPad mini design might compare with the existing one if it were based on the design of the iPhone 6.

The existing design, top, has the familiar flat front and tapered, chamfered edge. The bottom one, Hajek’s concept, has the rounded edge now familiar from countless iPhone 6 renders, mockups and purported leaked parts …

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Light-up logo rumors for iPhone 6 likely have a more mundane explanation

Ben Lovejoy Jul 21 2014 - 7:30 am PT

14 Comments

While we can’t say for sure that rumors of a MacBook-style glowing logo in the iPhone 6 are false, the evidence for this idea is rather … ah … thin.

We first saw photos of what appears to be an ultra-thin rear casing more than a month ago, with some sites then claiming this would facilitate a light-up logo. A new claimed leaked photo is doing the rounds today apparently showing a cut-out logo aperture with a plastic backing thin enough to allow light to shine though.

Those images fuelled speculation that the logo would light up when new mails, SMS messages or updates arrived, allowing owners to put their handset on its front and still be made aware of people contacting them. Today our snaps, which we worked with leaks-world lynchpin Sonny Dickson to source, could offer conclusive proof that this is indeed the case.

Possible? Sure. Conclusive proof? Um, no. Exhibit A, the logo cutout on the iPad:

The reason the logo is cut out in this way is that while people love metal casings, radio signals don’t. Apple positions the wifi antennas behind the plastic logo to allow the radio signals to pass easily through.

On the iPhone 5s, Apple allows GSM, LTE, Bluetooth and wifi signals to pass through the casing by topping-and-tailing the metal rear casing with glass sections:

With the iPhone 6 visuals we’ve seen, there are breaks in the metal casing which are likely to be for radio signals, but they are much thinner than the end-caps on the 5s.

Positioning some of the antennas behind a plastic logo would be one way to make that work.

We’re not saying a glowing logo on the iPhone 6 is impossible, just that we certainly haven’t seen anything close to proof.

Apple will beat its own top-end guidance when it announces Q3 results tomorrow, say analysts

Ben Lovejoy Jul 21 2014 - 6:28 am PT

2 Comments

Fortune ran its usual poll of more than two dozen analysts, with the consensus view echoing earlier predictions that Apple will beat its revenue guidance of $36-38B by reporting $38.4B for its fiscal Q3 (calendar Q2). Gross margin is also expected to exceed Apple’s guidance of 37-38 percent, at 38.1 percent. This follows forecasts that iPhone sales would climb 15 percent year-on-year, while iPad sales will be flat.

Business Insider reports that Wall Street is once again expecting significant growth from AAPL.

46 Apple analysts rate the stock a buy, 13 call it a hold, and only 4 thinks it’s a sell. Citigroup, which was bearish on the stock, changed its analyst coverage and rated the stock a new “buy.” JMP securities upgraded the stock to outperform Monday morning. Other analysts have raised their price target …

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Apple opening new store in Chongqing next weekend, brings China store count to eleven

Mark Gurman Jul 20 2014 - 9:41 pm PT

3 Comments

Next weekend, Apple will be bringing up its official Apple Store count in China to eleven. The Cupertino-based company will be opening up a new store at the Paradise Walk mall in the Jiangbei District of Chongqing on Saturday, July 26th. The official announcement was made on Apple’s retail website:

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Alleged 4.7-inch iPhone 6 sapphire display meets sandpaper and Joe Rogan’s mean archery skills

Dom Esposito Jul 18 2014 - 8:43 pm PT

39 Comments

Last week, YouTuber Marques Brownlee got his hands on what is claimed to be a sapphire glass panel from Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6. The initial video (found here) put the panel through a variety of torture tests including, knives, keys, and even a flexibility test to show off the panel’s durability. While there were no scientific tests performed to prove the front glass is actually sapphire, the result of each test was very impressive. Well, apparently that wasn’t enough…

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12-inch Retina MacBook now expected in late Q3 or 2015 as new 11 & 13-inch Airs enter production

Mark Gurman Jul 18 2014 - 5:42 pm PT

22 Comments

Apple’s upcoming redesigned 12-inch MacBook with a Retina display is expected to ship later than expected and new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models have gone into production, according to a pair of reports from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News. The first report says that updates to both current MacBook Air sizes have entered production with Apple partner Quanta Computer, and that the new computers will boost Quanta’s 2014 notebook shipment numbers by 15%. The new devices are said to sport new chassis, screens, and chipsets, and volume shipments are due in late-August barring any unforeseen component delays.

Speaking of part delays, Apple’s illusive 12-inch MacBook with Retina display is now expected to ship as early as the end of Q3 2014 or as late as early 2015. The computer was initially reported by multiple analysts and publications to hit the marketplace sometime in the earlier part of the third quarter. Why the apparent delay? Intel. According to the report, the new MacBook’s launch is glued to Intel’s power and performance-efficient 14-nanometer Broadwell part, and as we’ve heard multiple times, those chipsets will be short in supply into next year. Regardless, Apple has shown an ability to stock up on Intel’s latest chips months before the competition, so perhaps Apple will be able to avoid this reported delay…

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On average, analysts expect iPad sales to be flat, but no consensus

Ben Lovejoy Jul 18 2014 - 6:10 am PT

8 Comments

Someone once said that if you put three analysts in a room and ask them a question, you’ll get four different opinions. This certainly appears to be the case today, with Fortune finding no more consensus on iPad sales than it did on iPhone numbers.

Asked to predict how many iPad sales Apple will announce in next week’s Q3 earnings announcement, the overall average suggested year-on-year sales would be flat at 14.35M. However, no consensus view emerged …
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EU accuses Apple of dragging its feet on protections for ‘misleading’ IAP-driven free apps

Benjamin Mayo Jul 18 2014 - 4:43 am PT

24 Comments

The European Commission has complained that Apple is taking too long to implement protections for freemium games in the App Store, reports BBC News. The Commission has decreed that both Apple and Google, the two biggest app store vendors, must make the “true cost of apps” clear before purchase. However, officials are upset that Apple has not yet committed to any such measures.

“Regrettably, no concrete and immediate solutions have been made by Apple to date to address the concerns linked in particular to payment authorisation,” the Commission said in a statement.

“Apple has proposed to address those concerns. However, no firm commitment and no timing have been provided for the implementation of such possible future changes.

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Can’t wait until September? The Goophone i6 is out now, and it will fool your friends

Ben Lovejoy Jul 18 2014 - 4:37 am PT

7 Comments

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z2C8ED4piM]

The iPhone 6 may not actually exist yet, but that hasn’t stopped Chinese clone manufacturers releasing functional knock-offs based on the leaks and mockups. Now Goophone – the company which previously made an extremely close copy of the iPhone 5s – has joined the party with the WICO i6.

As ever with Goophone, the quality of both the casing and the iOS-themed Android skin is certainly good enough to fool the casual observer – almost worth getting one to prank people …

As for the real thing, production of the 4.7-inch model is expected to start next week, and the 5.5-inch version the second week in August, Foxconn hiring 100,000 new workers for the assembly process.

There’s been a steady stream of claimed leaked parts from the phone, including a scratch test of a sapphire display; both photos and video of the back of the phone; the LCD bracket; the chassis; a ‘more durable’ Touch ID sensor‘; and a battery and camera sensor.

Problems with Hannover Apple Store reportedly resolved, opening in September

Ben Lovejoy Jul 18 2014 - 3:58 am PT

0 Comments

Humidity and mold problems that delayed the opening of the new Apple Store in Hannover, Germany, have reportedly been resolved, and the store is now expected to open in September, reports ifun, citing several sources involved in the project.

The store had originally seemed close to completion in March, but humidity in the building reportedly led to mold in the fabric of the building, requiring remedial work.

The site ifun reported that employees who had already been hired based on the previous anticipated opening have been informed of the latest developments, and is speculating that Apple may time the opening to coincide with the launch of the iPhone 6, rumored to be on 19th September.

Following with the appointment of retail head Angela Ahrendts, Apple announced an ambitious international expansion program for its retail stores, with around 20 expected to open this year. International stores already opened this year include the first ever Apple Stores in Brazil and Turkey, the fourth store in Switzerland and the eighth store in Japan.

Earlier this month, Apple was granted a European trademark on the design of its retail stores.

Asus reportedly sold more tablets than Apple in Japan during first half of 2014

Chance Miller Jul 17 2014 - 12:21 pm PT

12 Comments

Image via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml1LzNFn8kc">TechSmartt</a>

According to figures released by market research company BCN, Asus sold more tablets than Apple during the first half of 2014 in Japan. Asus’ market share rose 8 percent year-over-year during the first half of 2014, the report claims, giving it a 38.9 percent portion of the tablet market in Japan. Apple, on the other hand, holds a 36.4 percent share (via Nikkei). This is the first time Asus has ever held the top spot in Japan, according to the report.
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Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 4.3 with Metal API support on iOS and much more

Zac Hall Jul 17 2014 - 9:38 am PT

0 Comments

Epic Games today announced Unreal Engine 4.3, the latest version of their gaming engine technology, which includes over 500 updates. Included in the latest version of Unreal Engine is support for Apple’s new Metal API for game developers, first introduced last month at WWDC, for code compiled with the Xcode 6 beta. Unreal Engine launched version 4.0 earlier this year introducing its current subscription model for developers as well as Mac support.

As mentioned above, Unreal Engine 4.3 includes over 500 updates including new features for Mac, iOS, Android, and more. Below you can read the change log for iOS and Mac.
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Analysts predict up to 40M iPhones sold last quarter ahead of Apple’s Q3 earnings

Jordan Kahn Jul 17 2014 - 9:21 am PT

3 Comments

With Apple’s upcoming fiscal Q3 earnings call just around the corner, analysts are predicting the company sold as many as 40 million iPhones during the quarter that ended last month. That’s on the high side of estimates complied by Fortune, however. Estimates from a poll of 26 analysts includes predictions ranging from 31.8 million to almost 40 million units. The average of estimates comes in at 35.88 million.
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Review: Hours, the world’s simplest time-tracking app from former Apple Design Award winner Tapity

Ben Lovejoy Jul 17 2014 - 7:42 am PT

9 Comments

Anyone who has ever had the misfortune to have to use a corporate hours-tracking/billing system will know that they typically give every impression of being designed by an enraged gorilla working to a spec provided by a sadistic accountant.

Tapity, which won an Apple Design Award back in 2011 for “the ultimate app for students” Grade, has today launched Hours, a simple color-coded app it says aims to take the pain out of time-tracking. I’ve been using a pre-release version for the past week so that I could let you know my thoughts on the day it launched …

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Kickstarter campaign offers ‘Magsafe for iPhone’ (history says Apple lawsuit incoming)

Ben Lovejoy Jul 17 2014 - 6:41 am PT

28 Comments

The main product offered on this Kickstarter campaign is just another powered case (albeit a pretty-looking one) – but it was the ‘Magsafe for iPhone’ adapter three-quarters of the way down the page that caught my eye.

Plug in a slim adapter to the Lightning socket of your iPhone, plug in an adapter to your Lightning cable and you have the equivalent of a MagSafe connection on your phone.

It’s a neat idea, but sadly not one that is likely to survive scrutiny by Apple’s lawyers – at least, not using ‘MagSafe for iPhone’ as the description. Battery company Hyper, which makes external batteries for MacBooks and iPads, learned this the hard way when it offered MagSafe connectors. Apple’s lawyers sued, and forced the company to go via an airplane power adapter instead.

Without the description, however, it might survive. You can pledge $25 for the two-part adapter kit, with estimated delivery in November. The campaign currently has just over $6,000 pledged of its $50k target, with 43 days to go.

Apple ID two-step verification feature rolls out to dozens of new countries

Mark Gurman Jul 17 2014 - 6:33 am PT

5 Comments

Apple this week has greatly expanded the availability of its Apple ID two-step verification, bringing the feature from 11 countries to 59 countries. Two-step verification for Apple IDs uses either iOS’s Find my iPhone application or SMS to provide login verification in addition to a password. The feature first rolled out for both Apple ID and iCloud IDs in early 2013 and it expanded to a few more countries later that year. Here are all the countries that support two-step verification (both the original countries and the new ones):

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Analysts believe sapphire display covers will be limited to high-end iPhone 6 models only

Benjamin Mayo Jul 17 2014 - 6:27 am PT

12 Comments

Analysts at JP Morgan securities suggest that production output of sapphire display covers are not enough to satisfy all iPhone 6 demand and say that sapphire will be restricted to higher-end variants of the iPhone 6 only, in a report highlighted by the Taipei Times.

JP Morgan says that sapphire display cover volume will be about 10 million units in 2014. To put this number into perspective, Apple sold 51 million iPhones in the first full quarter of iPhone 5s sales last year.

“Sapphire covers will also be restricted to high-end iPhones, possibly the 128GB [gigabyte] ones,” the brokerage said in the report.

The report says that sapphire will be limited to higher-capacity iPhone models, “possibly” only the 128 GB SKU’s. The additional cost of sapphire over Gorilla Glass also factor in, aside from pure production limitations.

Matching a report from yesterday, the analysts also suggest that not all iWatches will ship with sapphire coatings, either. Both the iWatch and the iPhone 6 are expected to be announced in the third quarter.

Sketchy rumor of 13MP camera in iPhone 6, as earlier battery power rumor backed by claimed photo

Ben Lovejoy Jul 17 2014 - 4:25 am PT

21 Comments

GforGames is citing a Chinese web forum for a rumor that the iPhone 6 camera will get a bump from 8MP to 13MP as Apple switches to to an improved version of the Sony Exmor sensor. The Sony Exmor IMX220 is a larger 1/2.3-inch sensor that can support up to 20MP, but Apple is said to be planning to use it in its 13MP incarnation.

While a Chinese web forum is generally as unreliable a source as you can get, GoforGames claims that this one has a good track-record with Sony-related rumors …
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Apple environment chief Lisa Jackson speaks at Apple Distinguished Educator conference

Mark Gurman Jul 16 2014 - 1:11 pm PT

9 Comments

At the Apple Distinguished Educator conference this week, Apple Vice President of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson spoke to educators about the importance of the environment and Apple’s related work. Jackson showed the above photo and said “that little green leaf means a lot to me.” The leaf outlines multiple words expressing Apple’s work on the environment such as “Apple Campus 2” and “EPEAT.” During her talk, Jackson shared Apple’s work to trying to reach 100% renewable energy across its operations and she said that Apple is “not going to stop until we get to 101%…”

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Claimed photos emerge of “more durable” Touch ID sensor for iPhone 6

Ben Lovejoy Jul 16 2014 - 7:01 am PT

0 Comments

French site NWE has posted photos from Japan of what it claims is the Touch ID sensor for the iPhone 6.

The photos don’t give anything away, with the only visible differences being in the location of screw holes – which is to be expected given the significant redesign of the new model iPhone.

There have been rumors that Apple has made changes to the Touch ID sensor to improve durability, but there’s nothing here to shed any light either way. For whatever it may be worth, though, you can see the second photo below …
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Opinion: Seven reasons why the IBM partnership could be a pretty big deal for Apple

Ben Lovejoy Jul 16 2014 - 6:17 am PT

34 Comments

Wall Street seemed pretty unmoved by Apple’s announcement of its partnership with IBM, the pre-market share price barely twitching, and analysts pointing to the high level of existing iOS usage in the enterprise sector, suggesting that only trivial gains would result.

Part of the reason for that impression is the hype Apple has given to the penetration level of iOS devices in enterprise. Back in January, Tim Cook described the numbers as “unbelieveable,” stating that the iPhone is used in 97 percent and of Fortune 500 companies and the iPad in 98 percent.

It doesn’t sound from these impressive figures that there’s much room for growth. But I think the reality is somewhat different …
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Tim Cook to employees on IBM partnership: ‘I’m really excited to see it take off’ (Memo)

Mark Gurman Jul 15 2014 - 2:00 pm PT

26 Comments

<a href="https://twitter.com/darth/status/489149634883747840/photo/1">Image by @Darth</a>

Earlier today, Apple and IBM announced an expansive, long-term partnership to integrate Apple’s iOS devices into the Enterprise with big data software powered by IBM. The partnership will allow for IBM to sell iPads and iPhones to its Enterprise customers, and the duo are also working on jointly developed software for the enterprise. The companies are also developing an enhanced AppleCare protection service for enterprise iOS device users. Following both the official announcement and a video interview discussing the plans, Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent a memo to employees detailing the partnership:

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