Apple

6,136 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - April 2014

See All Stories

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

Aerial photo shows Apple Campus 2 starting to take shape

Benjamin Mayo Apr 30 2014 - 10:37 am PT

In a tweet, KCBS reporter Ron Cervi shows the groundwork of Apple’s new ‘spaceship’ campus taking shape. Cervi often tweets from his reporting helicopter and caught this shot a few hours ago.

Last time we checked in with the site, it was in the midst of demolition. In this latest photo, the circular foundations of Apple Campus 2 (Apple’s official name for the project) are much more defined. Apple is expected to start new building work at some point this year. The campus is currently planned to open in 2016.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Alleged iPhone 6 dummy molds appear online, reflecting thin design seen in previous leaks

Benjamin Mayo Apr 29 2014 - 4:06 pm PT

New images from Nowwhereelse.fr show some sort of physical mockup of the alleged ‘iPhone 6’ design we have seen from many sources in the past few days.

The purpose of this mockup model is not clear. At first glance, it seems like some sort of dummy model, that could be used by case manufacturers to validate and refine case designs. This is what the site has to say on the matter, via Google Translate:

Published by a member of a well-known Chinese forum indiscretions cabbage lovers, the three photos that I propose to examine in this article are meant to introduce the physical model of one of the two future iPhone rumored ad with a lot of leaks for several months already. Prototype for reference molding to prop in mobile telephony.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple & Samsung slip below 50% in global smartphone marketshare for Q1 2014

Jordan Kahn Apr 29 2014 - 7:00 am PT

Both Samsung and Apple have slipped in smartphone marketshare globally during the first quarter of 2014 according to the latest numbers from research firm Strategy Analytics. While global smartphone shipments grew 33 percent to 285 million units in Q1 compared to 213.9 million in the same quarter last year, Apple and Samsung collectively dropped from over 50 percent of the market to 47 percent. The report cites strong growth of “second-tier smartphone brands” such as Huwaei and Lenovo and lack of entry-level devices in markets abroad from Apple as the main contributors to slowed growth for Samsung and Apple. As for Apple on its own:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Steve Jobs named #1 in CNBC’s list of the most influential leaders in the past 25 years

Ben Lovejoy Apr 29 2014 - 6:20 am PT

Steve Jobs has been ranked #1 in CNBC’s First 25: Rebels, Icons & Leaders, described as “a definitive list of people who have had the greatest influence, sparked the biggest changes and created the most disruption in business over the past quarter century.”

Steve Jobs earned the top spot for both transforming the way we think about technology and redefining the style in which we live […]

More than any other member of our group of extraordinary entrepreneurs and executives—all outstanding leaders—his vision spurred changes far beyond his industry and put an indelible stamp on the wider culture …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Analyst suggests iPhone 6 will favor thin design over optical image stabilization, camera will be flush in chassis

Benjamin Mayo Apr 29 2014 - 2:44 am PT

A post on Weibo from a Chinese analyst (via GforGames) suggests that the new iPhone design will not feature a protruding camera, which would have seemingly enabled optical image stablization, as Apple has instead opted to focus on a super-thin profile for the new device.

Apple’s current line of iPhones take advantage of the embedded SoC’s processing power to enable software-based image stabilization. Whilst optical image stabilization is generally considered to be superior, it also requires the camera components to be physically much larger. According to this report, Apple does not seem to have wanted to make this tradeoff.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Facebook open-sources ‘Pop’, the animation framework that drives the visual effects in Paper

Benjamin Mayo Apr 28 2014 - 11:08 am PT

Facebook has open-sourced a lot of stuff recently, but this is what most developers have been waiting for. Developed originally at Push Pop Press, and refined by Facebook, the company has today released its Pop animation framework publicly. Developers can check out the code from the GitHub repository.

The library enables rapid development of rich animations for iOS (and Mac) apps. Although Core Animation, (Apple’s built-in framework) is well suited to fire-and-forget animations, Pop was created to work seamlessly with modern interactive physics-centric user interfaces.

Expand
Expanding
Close

New MacBook Airs likely launching tomorrow

Mark Gurman Apr 28 2014 - 9:52 am PT

Update: Here are the specs…

Apple is preparing to launch a refreshed line of MacBook Air laptops as soon as tomorrow, according to multiple sources. These sources say that shipments of new MacBook Airs have begun arriving in large quantities to Apple Stores across the country. Another source adds that Apple Stores are scheduled to re-arrange the placement of Macs in stores to focus on the MacBook Air tomorrow morning…

Expand
Expanding
Close

iPhone 6 renders supposedly meant for accessory manufacturers leak, claim 6mm thinness

Benjamin Mayo Apr 25 2014 - 9:33 am PT

UkranianiPhone.com has posted images of what it claims are iPhone 6 renders aimed at helping manufacturers produce accessories for the upcoming device.

The images appear to be better quality versions of the schematics leaked a few weeks ago. They depict the full-metal backplate with inlets at the top and bottom, assumedly related to the antenna structure. The cutouts for these lines match the image from the previous leaks. Interestingly, the renders also give specific measurements saying that the phone is 138mm in height, 67 mm in width, and 6 mm in depth.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Opera’s Coast browser adds iPhone support, adds iCloud syncing of bookmark tiles

Benjamin Mayo Apr 24 2014 - 6:30 am PT

Opera first launched Coast back in September 2013, on the iPad. Although it didn’t make a huge impression on the App Store first time around, Opera is probably hoping its new version will be more popular.

The app has been fully reworked for the iPhone size. There are hardly any buttons onscreen; the app relies almost exclusively on gesture-based navigation.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Analysts respond to AAPL earnings, rating the stock a strong buy

Ben Lovejoy Apr 24 2014 - 4:12 am PT

Photo: USA Today

Early overnight reports collated by Fortune unsurprisingly show analysts pleased by the higher-than-expected iPhone numbers, with five out of five rating the stock a buy, their price targets ranging from $75 to $252 above yesterday’s closing value. Apple reported iPhone sales of 43.7B against expectations of 38B, and revenue of $45.6B against the consensus estimate of $43.5B.

Katy Huberty, Morgen Stanley: Price target $630
Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray: Price target $640
Brian Marshall, ISI: Price target $600
Brian White, Cantor Fitzgerald: Price target $777
Peter Misek, Jefferies: Price target $625 …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple announces 20 million Apple TVs sold through Q2 2014

Chance Miller Apr 23 2014 - 3:18 pm PT

During Apple’s earnings call this evening, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company has sold 20 million Apple TV boxes through the second quarter of 2014. Sharing this number is out of the ordinary for Apple, as it generally doesn’t break down specific sales for its set-top box like it does for other products.

Apple’s decision to give us specific sales information for the Apple TV, however, does corroborate with its move earlier this year to present the device as its own product line, as opposed to an accessory. Cook also said on the call that Apple TV is over a billion dollar market, which means that it is no longer just a “hobby” for the company.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook: 60+% of iPhone 4s and 5c buyers are ‘Android Switchers’

Seth Weintraub Apr 23 2014 - 3:07 pm PT

The success of Apple’s low end phones, the 3.5-inch iPhone 4s and the colorful plastic 5c, has been questioned since the current lineup was launched last year. But in today’s earnings call, Tim Cook might have just explained why Apple keeps the lower end devices in its stable: They bring in the lower-end Android crowd. Specifically Cook said 62% of iPhone 4s, which is usually free (or cheaper) with a plan in the US buyers and 60% of iPhone 5c buyers were switching from Android.

Cook previously compared Android to Europe in its fragmentation and had some harsh words for some of the low end Android tablets in enterprise saying Apple would never produce or label products of that low quality.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook addresses iPad sales slowdown, says Microsoft should have released Office sooner

Benjamin Mayo Apr 23 2014 - 2:54 pm PT

On Apple’s earnings call, Tim Cook directly addresses concerns surrounding iPad. Notably, he calls out Office as helping iPad sales somewhat but ‘frankly’ admits that Microsoft should have released Office for iPad sooner. He says that in the time that Microsoft waited, other companies including Apple have released very-competitive productivity alternates to Office, likely referencing iWork.

Expand
Expanding
Close

New video compares alleged iPhone 6 case to iPhone 5s, Nexus 5, and Galaxy Note 3

Dom Esposito Apr 23 2014 - 1:38 pm PT

A new video published by Unbox Therapy provides a closer look at an alleged third-party case for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6 that was recently shown off in a set of photos. The case’s design definitely falls in line with previous leaks and rumors that we’ve reported on, but could be a manufacturer’s attempt to take a risk and get ahead of the game.

The video below compares the case’s design to the iPhone 5s, Nexus 5, and Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Surprisingly, the case’s layout almost lines up perfectly with Google’s Nexus 5, which gives us a good idea of the iPhone 6’s overall form-factor if the leaked specifications used to manufacture this case are correct.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple reports $45.6 billion revenue for Q2 2014: 43.7m iPhones, 16.3m iPads, 4.1m Macs, 2.7m iPods

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2014 - 1:32 pm PT

Apple just announced its second quarter results for 2014 with revenue for the quarter coming in at $45.6 billion. That’s compared to the guidance it previously provided of $42 – $44 billion and estimates by analysts averaging approximately $43.5B. Apple’s $45.6 billion in revenue reported today is also up from the $43.6 billion in revenue in the year ago quarter.

Break down of device sales for Q2 2014 include 43.7m million iPhones, 16.3 million iPads, and 4.1 million Macs. Compare that to an average of 38M iPhones, 19.3M iPads, 4M Macs, and 3M iPods predicted by the analysts leading up to today. In the same quarter last year, Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones, 19.5 million iPads, just under 4 million Macs, and 5.6 million iPods.

It also reported net quarterly profit of $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per diluted share in contrast to quarterly net profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

“We’re very proud of our quarterly results, especially our strong iPhone sales and record revenue from services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re eagerly looking forward to introducing more new products and services that only Apple could bring to market.”

“We generated $13.5 billion in cash flow from operations and returned almost $21 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the March quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “That brings cumulative payments under our capital return program to $66 billion.”

Apple is providing guidance for its next quarter of revenue between $36 billion and $38 billion.

The question of the day for Tim Cook and other Apple executives on today’s call will surely be the new product categories that Cook previously said were coming across 2014 and have yet to make an appearance in the first quarter. With Apple’s WWDC developer conference just around the corner, we’ll have to wait and see if Cook gives us any clues of what’s to come during the call today at 2:00 p.m. PST/5:00 p.m. EST. Stay tuned to our live blog for coverage.

Apple’s full press release is below:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple to increase share buybacks to $90 billion, announces seven-to-one stock split, increase dividend to $3.29 per share

Benjamin Mayo Apr 23 2014 - 1:32 pm PT

As part of Apple’s earnings releases, Apple has announced an extension to its buyback plans. The company will now buyback an additional $30 billion of Apple stock, totalling $90 billion, significantly accelerating its original plans.

Apple® today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized another significant increase to the Company’s program to return capital to shareholders. The Company expects to utilize a total of over $130 billion of cash under the expanded program by the end of calendar 2015.

The board has also announced a seven-for-one stock split beginning June 2nd 2014. Apple last split its stock in 2005, nine years ago. Apple will also increase the dividend by about 8 percent to $3.29 per common share. This will begin on May 15th. Apple plans to increase its dividend every year. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cook said that the buyback will “show you how much confidence we have in the future of the company”.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple giving employees company-branded, reusable water bottles for Earth Day

Zac Hall Apr 23 2014 - 10:07 am PT

As Apple continues to observe Earth Day this year with its new Tim Cook-narrated “Better” film and detailed environmental report card site, the Cupertino company is issuing Apple-branded reusable water bottles to both corporate and retail employees to promote responsible.

In its message to employees, Apple says that 16,420 plastic bottles can be saved through reusable water bottle use, and Apple employees alone can save 22 tons of plastic waste per year (that’s 44,000 pounds) using a reusable water bottle.

Each water bottle features an Apple logo as well as a colored band picked by each employee. In Apple’s message to employees, the company said retail locations will receive their Earth Day company-issued reusable water bottles at a later date as distribution is currently taking place for Cupertino employees.
Expand
Expanding
Close

GameStop’s Simply Mac Apple Specialist stores adding 50 new locations next year

Zac Hall Apr 23 2014 - 9:36 am PT

As video game retailer GameStop continues to diversify its retail portfolio, the company says it will dramatically expand its Apple product-focused Simply Mac retail locations throughout 2015, the Star-Telegram reports.

Raines said GameStop’s confidence in rapid growth at the small chains, acquired for about $110 million last year, is buoyed by their strong ties to industry leaders AT&T and Apple.

Steve Bain and Jason Ellis, the executives who built Simply Mac and Spring Mobile, continue to run the operations for GameStop and see strong growth opportunities. After opening 23 stores this year, Bain said, the company plans to open 50 more Simply Mac stores in 2015.

Simply Mac is an authorized Apple Specialist retail chain founded in 2006 and bought by GameStop in 2012. News of its expansion is good news for Apple consumers as Simply Mac typically looks for markets where Apple lacks a retail presence like Shreveport, Louisiana; Springfield, Missouri, and a couple dozen midwestern locations across Utah, Colorado, and more.

[tweet https://twitter.com/SammyWalrusIV/status/458964744419151872]

iOS 7.1 code indicates Apple working on Siri for Apple TV

Benjamin Mayo Apr 23 2014 - 7:49 am PT

Code found within the iOS 7.1 SDK suggests that Siri is headed to the Apple TV in future. Pierre Blazquez first found the reference on Friday. 9to5Mac has since confirmed that the code does exist in both iOS 7.1 and iOS 7.1.1’s files. The reference does not exist in 7.0.6.

The file is a supporting property-list resource for Assistant (Apple’s internal name for Siri), containing information about the feature. The UIDeviceFamily array declares what platforms are compatible with the feature.

As shown by Apple’s documentation, ‘1’ and ‘2’ represent the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad families. The ‘3’ represents the Apple TV family.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Latest iPhone 6 concepts incorporate the more persistent rumored features

Ben Lovejoy Apr 23 2014 - 5:00 am PT

Martin Hajek has been busy again, following his earlier iPod Nano-inspired and schematic-prompted concepts for the iPhone 6. Commissioned by French site NWE, his latest designs incorporate the more persistent rumors: a rounded profile, power button moved from the top to the right (for easier use with a larger, near edge-to-edge screen) and rectangular volume controls …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung bought two patents specifically for use in Apple trial, say attorneys

Ben Lovejoy Apr 23 2014 - 4:14 am PT

In the ongoing patent trial where Apple is claiming Samsung infringed five of its patents, and Samsung is claiming Apple did the same to two of its patents, it has been suggested that Samsung bought the two patents concerned specifically to sue Apple. The allegation was made by Apple’s attorneys, reports The Verge.

The original inventors on the video patent, for instance, originated in Oklahoma, and the gallery patent originally belonged to Hitachi. In the case of the video patent, Samsung disclosed that it paid $2.39 million to acquire it in 2010, the same year FaceTime debuted alongside the iPhone 4. Apple hopes that will stand in stark contrast with its five patents, two of which were filed the day the company introduced the iPhone, and all developed within the company …

Expand
Expanding
Close

NYOP Mac software bundle: Few bucks gets RapidWeaver, Tuneup, Snapheal Pro, Crossover, PDF Converter and much more

Justin Kahn Apr 22 2014 - 9:00 pm PT

StackSocial and 9to5Toys Specials are offering another Name Your Own Price Mac Bundle with 10 Mac apps regularly priced at $655. This bundle has some incredibly solid apps, and currently less than $5 will unlock all of the apps. In addition, 10% of your purchase will go to a charity of your choice including Child’s Play, World Wildlife Foundation, or Creative Commons. Also, if you are on the leaderboard at any time, you are entered to win a MacBook Air. The price will go up as more people buy so it is best to get in early.

Some of the notable apps in the bundle are photo editing software Snapheal Pro (Reg. $40), simple website builder RapidWeaver 5 (Reg. $79), Windows software utility CrossOver 13 For Mac, iTunes organizer TuneUp and screen capture software Voila ($30). You can see a full list of the apps in the bundle below, as well as more Mac deals on 9to5Toys Specials and in our daily app deal round-ups.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple airs new “Powerful” TV ad, promoting content creation on the iPhone 5s

Michael Steeber Apr 22 2014 - 6:59 pm PT

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

Update: Apple has now posted an accompanying microsite for the ad, featuring the ads shown in the video.

Apple has begun airing a new iPhone 5s ad this evening, first premiering on ABC during Agents Of SHIELD. This ad, featuring the interesting song ‘Gigantic‘ by the Pixies, takes a very different tone than the “Metal Mastered” ad released in October, which showed that gold really is best.

The ad shows common and uncommon tasks people can accomplish with their iPhone, such as creating music, tracking their health, shooting videos and photos, and playing games. The ad ends with the tagline “You’re more powerful than you think”. A new page on Apple’s website shows off the ad along with the featured software.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google agrees to defend Samsung, pay some of its costs in patent infringement case against Apple

Chance Miller Apr 22 2014 - 3:43 pm PT

While testifying in the Samsung vs Apple case on Tuesday, it was revealed that Google has agreed to help Samsung defend itself against Apple in its current patent-infringement case. According to a report from Re/Code, citing deposition testimony from Google lawyer James Maccoun, Google has also agreed to partially or fully indemnify Samsung for any loses it may suffer on its claims.

Expand
Expanding
Close