iOS devices refer to any of Apple’s hardware that runs the iOS mobile operating system which include iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Historically, Apple releases a new iOS version once a year, the current version is iOS 10. Here is the complete list of iOS 10 compatible devices.
Apple just posted its official Q1 2016 earnings report and we’ve broken down how that compares to previous quarters. Next up on the schedule is Apple’s quarterly conference call with analysts where CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri typically recap the numbers and field questions about Apple’s financial situation.
To recap the big numbers from today’s report, Apple counted $75.9b in revenue, $18.4b in profit, 74.8m iPhones sold, 16.1m iPads sold, and 5.3m Macs sold during the final three months of last year. Apple Watch numbers aren’t broken out at this point and instead included in the Other category with iPods, Apple TVs, and other accessories.
We’ll be tuned in to the call as it plays out, and update this post with up-to-the-minute details while highlighting major updates. The call is scheduled to kick off at 2 pm PT/5 pm ET so stick around.
It’s earnings day for Apple and the company has just reported their official numbers for revenue, profit, and products sold during the holiday quarter. Remember that this quarter includes the bulk of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales, all iPad Pro and related accessory sales, Apple TV 4 sales, plus traffic from the busy holiday shopping season.
With that in mind, Apple reported $75.9b in revenue, $18.4b in profit, 74.8m iPhones sold, 16.1m iPads sold, and 5.3m Macs sold. Although the October through December period was probably a stacked quarter for Apple Watches sales, the company doesn’t break out category sales for that product for “competitive” reasons.
That compares to $51.5 billion in revenue, $11.1 billion in profit, 48m iPhones, 9.8m iPads, and 5.7m Macs reported in the previous quarter. During the same holiday quarter a year prior, Apple reported $74.6b in revenue, $18 billion in profit, 74.4m iPhones, 21.4m iPads, and 5.5m Macs for comparison. Analysts were predicting around $76.6b in revenue, 75m iPhones, 17.3m iPads, and 5.8m Macs.
Tim Cook had this to say:
“Our team delivered Apple’s biggest quarter ever, thanks to the world’s most innovative products and all-time record sales of iPhone, Apple Watch and Apple TV,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The growth of our Services business accelerated during the quarter to produce record results, and our installed base recently crossed a major milestone of one billion active devices.”
It’s not the first time that a ‘Twitter for iPhone’ tag has given away the fact that someone is not using the device you might expect them to. Latest casualty of the telltale tag is Joe Belfiore, the Microsoft VP who fronts the Windows Phone project.
When The Verge ran a piece on it, Business Insider noticed that Belfiore used the comments section to share the reasons he is using an iPhone whilst on a 9-month sabbatical.
It’s very important for me to understand products like the iPhone and Android phones, which […] represent the competition for Windows Phone […] On a 9-month leave-of-absence, I have a HUGE AND UNUSUAL opportunity to get to know these products deeply. To understand the benefits and drawbacks of a full ecosystem like Windows, Android, iOS — you have to LIVE IN IT. You have to feel its strengths and weaknesses, be let down, be delighted. And you can’t do that just “playing around” with a device for a couple of days. You have to learn the UI, upload your photos, use cross-device apps and tools… all of it.
Given all this, he says, “it would be crazy not to” use an iPhone while he’s away.
His arguments of course make sense, and we have no doubt that many Apple execs also spend time playing with competitor devices for the very same reasons. But given the PR considerations, we imagine they take rather more care not to be seen doing so …
While those of us who would happily trade thinner iPhones for better battery-life may be in the minority, even fans of ultra-thin phones expressed disappointment at the camera bump in the iPhone 6 and 6s. The problem Apple faced is that the laws of physics determine just how thin you can make a sensor and lens arrangement for any given aperture while retaining quality. But a patent application originally filed in 2013, continued last July and granted today could provide a solution.
Instead of the usual flat sensor, the patent describes a ‘spherically curved photosensor’ that would allow the distance between the lens elements and the sensor to be reduced, allowing for a thinner camera module …
A sketchy supply-chain report from Digitimes claims that the second-generation Apple Watch will enter mass production in the second quarter of this year. The report also repeats earlier claims that Apple Watch shipments have fallen below Apple’s own forecasts, stating that the company has decided against adding Foxconn as a second manufacturer for this reason.
Apple originally considered shifting some second-generation Apple Watch orders to Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), but decided to keep all the orders with Quanta as volumes will not be high, the sources noted.
Supply-chain rumors always need to be treated with a great deal of caution, and both Quanta and Foxconn unsurprisingly declined to comment. However, the 2nd-gen timing does tie-in with what our own sources tell us (coincidentally!). We expect Apple to update the Apple Watch in March with new band options rather than new hardware, with a full hardware refresh announced in September.
Apple has so far declined to provide sales figures for the Watch. Deep discounts have fueled speculation about lower-than-expected sales, but there has been no consensus on likely numbers. Asymco’s Horace Dediu recently predicted that Apple will hit 21M sales in the first 12 months, amounting to around $8B in revenue.
There is a small possibility that strong holiday quarter sales may prompt Apple to share numbers for the first time later today, but we’re not holding our breath.
With all eyes on Apple’s earnings report due later today, there is concern that the company will report its first ever year-on-year drop in iPhone sales, with the difficult Chinese economy a significant factor. The WSJ has put together a couple of pieces outlining reasons why Apple’s future in China may be rosier than some anticipate.
The pessimistic view is that most people in China can’t afford iPhones, and that the premium end of the market which can is close to saturation. Couple that to a slowing economy, the argument goes, and you’re not seeing much expansion in the wealthier population in the country.
Tim Cook has for some time been seeking to reassure investors that Apple remains well-placed to succeed in China, and I’ve argued in the past that there is reason to believe him. The WSJ builds on these arguments …
When Apple Pay launched in the UK, there was one major holdout: Barclays. The company initially said only that it was in negotiation with Apple, later said that it would be going ahead but couldn’t say when, before stating that it would be sometime in “early 2016.” The bank has now provided more specific timing in an email reply to a customer.
We will launch Apple Pay, as committed, within the next 60-75 days.
Given that the email was dated 12th January (though only tweeted yesterday), that means Barclays will begin supporting Apple Pay sometime in March.
In the U.S., Apple added support for 50+ new banks and credit unions a few days ago, though usage appears to be lagging behind the matching growth in retail acceptance.
Apple is set to release its FY16 Q1 report tomorrow, and today Fortune has released their results of an analyst survey conducted ahead of Apple’s upcoming announcements. Fortune indicates that Apple may actually report the “most profitable quarter in the history of capitalism”, but investors are more concerned with the iPhone’s trajectory numbers as to indicate what may happen in the coming quarter.
I remarked on a recent episode of 9to5Mac’s Happy Hour podcast that the rumored 4-inch iPhone would absolutely need to take Live Photos for me to even consider giving it a serious test run. I’ve taken enough really good Live Photos — full resolution still images with brief motion and sound captured as well — on my iPhone 6s Plus that it’s one feature I wouldn’t trade.
Then on Friday we had Mark Gurman’s reporting that Apple was planning Live Photos, an iPhone 6s feature, for the expected 4-inch iPhone 5se (which likely won’t be called 6c). Today that reporting was followed up with the possibility that the iPhone 5se could have the same processor and co-processor as the iPhone 6s, albeit with fewer pixels to push with a smaller display.
Suddenly the iPhone 5se is sounding less like last year’s hardware recycled and more like a serious 4-inch phone to consider. But who is the iPhone 5se for and is it really worth considering if you’re like me and run to the latest and greatest hardware? I’m still thinking through this prospect myself, and I have a few thoughts worth considering before the device is officially unveiled …
Even the source Nowhereelseis unsure about this one, but it’s certainly interesting to imagine. A purported blueprint illustration of the upcoming iPad Air 3 tablet claims to show four speakers, not two, planned for the updated 9.7-inch tablet, as well as a possible camera flash for the first time. Apple focused on the larger iPad Pro and upgraded iPad mini 4 last year, and an upgraded iPad Air 3 is expected sometime this year.
According to a report this morning from The Wall Street Journal, Spotify is getting ready to finally launch its video content offerings. The rollout is set to start with the Android app getting video by the end of this week, but the iOS app is following suit by the end of next… Expand Expanding Close
While the rest of Washington DC and Silicon Valley are debating corporate taxes and encryption privacy, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has pointed his interests in a different direction. A game. A new variation on the classic solitaire to be precise. Using Medium to post about the app’s development process, and how the original game came to be discovered, Rumsfeld quips about signing off “on something they call UX” and spending countless hours on betas.
Watch out for a new prank circling Twitter and other social media today. Visiting CrashSafari.com on an iPhone, iPad or Mac will cause Safari app to crash … and potentially cause your device to restart. The bug is otherwise harmless, but be warned it will likely cause you to lose your open tabs.
To try this out click here to visit the page and watch for the beachball. The current troll is to link to CrashSafari.com on Twitter using a URL shortener, so people are tricked into visiting the site without being able to see the name.
On the Mac, Safari will freeze (‘Application Not Responding’). You may need to restart your machine to get your browser working again. On some iPhones and iPads, the glitch may cause your iOS device to reboot. So how does this prank work?
Last week we reported that Apple is preparing to announce a new 4-inch iPhone dubbed the “iPhone 5se” as soon as mid-March. Our report noted that the new iPhone is essentially an upgraded iPhone 5s with a faster processor, Apple Pay, new camera features, and curved glass edges instead of sharp chamfers. Now, we have a few additional details about this new iPhone model. First, we are told that there are different prototypes of the device floating around Apple’s campus: some with the A8 and M8 chips that we discussed in our previous report, and some with the iPhone 6s’s A9 and M9 processors. We’ve now learned that the iPhone 5se is more likely to include variants of the A9 and M9 chips instead of the A8 and M8 lines…
KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo issued an AAPL investor report this morning that is mostly pessimistic on Apple’s prospects of meaningfully increasing iPhone and iPad sales in the first half of the year. The Taiwan-based investment analyst doesn’t see an upside to the release of the iPhone 5se or iPad Air 3 later this quarter, sees meaningful slowing in YoY 6S/Plus sales and isn’t yet excited about the iPhone 7… Expand Expanding Close
On Friday Mark Gurman reported that a 4-inch iPhone called the iPhone 5se, not 6c, is in the cards with an expected Apple event coming up around March, and over the weekend an interesting photo (above) has surfaced online that claims to show the forthcoming 4-inch iPhone. The image appears to show what could be the updated smaller iPhone with rounded edges and Touch ID as we reported next to an iPhone 5 for scale. The source where the image was first shared, on One More Thing forums, has credibility with surfacing leaked hardware after showing the thinner iPad Air 2 display two years ago as well as the iPad Air design (on what appears to be the same table under the same lamp as the iPhone leak) the year before.
Jeff Williams announcing September Apple Watch updates – AFP
In addition to launching a new 4-inch iPhone likely called the “iPhone 5se,” Apple plans to announce new Apple Watch models in March. The new lineup will be similar to the September 2015 Apple Watch revision, bringing a series of new band color options to the Apple Watch lineup. We are also told that entirely new bands made out of new materials are in development in addition to partnerships with firms beyond Hermes. Last year, Apple had discussed partnering up with popular third-party accessory makers, such as Incase, in some official fashion, but it is unclear if those are ready for this March revision.
That purported 4-inch “iPhone 6c” floating around the web yesterday? It’s fake, according to sources who have used the upcoming iPhone with a 4-inch display. Instead of releasing a smaller version of the iPhone 6s in order to appease potential customers seeking an iPhone with a screen smaller than 4.7 or 5.5-inches, Apple is upgrading the existing iPhone 5s that was first released in fall 2013. Also contrary to rumors, the device is not a preview of the iPhone 7 as it will mostly retain the 5s’s design and still include a headphone jack…
Microsoft opened up a beta test program for Windows users last November, letting Microsoft Office fanatics get early access to upcoming new features. Microsoft is now rolling out the program to the Mac, so OS X users can (optionally) join the beta program too. For the first round of the beta program, Microsoft will be adding inking and realtime typing / collaboration to PowerPoint. Expect these features in the ‘coming weeks’. More details available here.
The lawsuit between Oracle and Google is inadvertently revealing some confidential information about the companies. It has already been disclosed that Google paid Apple a $1 billion fee in 2014 to keep Google as the default search provider for iOS Safari, as well as a revenue sharing agreement where Google gives a substantial portion of the iPhone search ad revenue to Apple.
Another lawyer from Oracle has also stated that Google has generated $22 billion in profit and $31 billion in revenue from Android in its lifetime, via Bloomberg. Although any number in the billions is impressive, it pales in comparison to Apple’s mobile platform profiteering. As highlighted by Quartz, Apple made more revenue from the iPhone in one single quarter, raking in $32 billion dollars worth of iPhone sales from July – September.
According to several sources, the Catholic Church Pope, Pope Francis, is meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook today for a private discussion. The exact agenda for the meeting is unknown, but ‘Signor Timothy Donald Cook’ is booked in for 11.30 as shown in the photo. The meetup is likely related to visits the Pope has been receiving from other tech giants. Francis met Eric Schmidt, Alphabet (Google’s) chairman last week. It could just be a cordial exchange of greetings.
Sky News reporter Tom Cheshire says the Pope shares Cook’s strong stance on the environment and ecology. Both Pope and Cook are frequently named in the “world’s most important leaders” lists, so they do share some common ground in regard to influence.
Tim Cook now meeting the Pope, which has been in works for some time. Both very keen environmentalists.
This comparison of the differences between Microsoft Office on Mac, Windows, and iOS devices was put together by Kurt Schmucker who (disclaimer) works for Parallels — the company that makes slick virtual machine apps for running Windows and other operating systems on Mac — but he also happens to know a thing or two about the subject after his previous role as Senior Mac Evangelist at Microsoft and on the Office team. So what exactly is missing on Mac and iOS devices compared to Windows when it comes to the Office suite? Expand Expanding Close
The Ottawa Business Journal is reporting that Apple has leased a 22,000 ft space in Kanata, Ontario. Notably, the location is in close proximity to the BlackBerry QNX offices. Whether Apple is interested in attracting QNX employees for itself is not clear. It is definitely possible that the geography is coincidental. However, QNX is known to be working on autonomous driving and Apple may want to take some of this engineering talent for its own Apple Car research.
