iPhone

There’s widespread expectation that Apple will launch three new iPhone models this year – an iPhone X successor, a larger Plus model, and a cheaper version with a similar design to the X but with an LCD screen instead of OLED.

One analyst thinks this creates a need for Apple to visually distinguish the cheaper model, and he believes color might be the solution …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Dialog Semiconductor yesterday announced its Q1 earnings, and CEO Jalal Bagherli played down the possible loss of future business with Apple. The company designs power management chips used in iPhones, and the Cupertino company is estimated to account for around 70% of its income.

Announcing revenues up 23% year-on-year to £332M but profit down 25% to $17.4M, Bagherli tried to strike a positive note as the company waits for news from Apple …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple’s 2018 iPhone line-up is widely expected to include a 6-inch/6.1-inch model with a similar design to the iPhone X but using a cheaper LCD display to target a $7-800 price.

Patently Apple speculated a few days ago that Apple might use a new form of LCD technology developed by LG, and a supply-chain report appears to lend weight to this idea …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Last month we reported that Tim Cook would be facing deposition over Qualcomm patent royalties in June. Today, another SVP from Apple is being added to the list.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple has responded to a microphone issue affecting some iPhone 7 and 7 Plus units with a new service guide. The document obtained by 9to5Mac also mentions that out-out-warranty devices may still be able to receive a repair or replacement for free.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The good news announced in Apple’s Q2 earnings report may have focused more on revenue and profit than growing iPhone sales, but the company did still achieve year-on-year growth of 3%.

The latest numbers from IDC on global smartphone shipments put that achievement into perspective, drawing comparisons with Samsung and others …

Expand
Expanding
Close

A new piece diving into the history and creation of the visual effects for 2008’s Iron Man and specifically the original HUD reveals that iPhone was one of the driving inspirations.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Prior to yesterday’s AAPL earnings report, all the speculation about iPhone sales was doom-and-gloom. Although analysts were predicting that Apple would hit its guidance – and it would have been a dramatic shock if it had failed to do so – anyone reading the reports could be forgiven for thinking iPhone sales were tanking.

In particular, it appeared that the iPhone X was very far from the success that analysts had earlier predicted.

The early talk was of a new ‘supercycle’ – that the radical new design of the iPhone X would lead to the same kind of dramatic boost to sales we saw when Apple made its move into larger-screened phones with the iPhone 6. But that idea didn’t last long, as subsequent reports suggesting that Apple was now halving its sales expectations for the quarter …

Expand
Expanding
Close

A BBC TV show dealing with consumer protection issues will claim this evening that Apple is using a clause in its terms & conditions to refuse its cut-price battery replacement service for older iPhones. The clause says that any other damage to the phone must be repaired first, at full rate, before it will replace batteries.

The problem, says the BBC Watchdog program in a show to be aired this evening, is that this clause doesn’t appear to exist …

Expand
Expanding
Close

The consensus prediction for Apple’s Q2 earnings call later today is that the company will reveal iPhone sales some way below earlier analyst expectations. While analysts expect Apple to hit guidance, which would see revenue almost $8B up year-on-year, talk of the iPhone X driving an iPhone 6-like ‘supercycle’ has disappeared.

Assuming that turns out to be the case, it will put increased focus on the company’s revenue from Services …

Expand
Expanding
Close