Introduced in 2007 by Steve Jobs, iPhone is Apple's flagship iOS device and easily its most popular product around the world. The iPhone runs iOS and includes a large collection of mobile apps through the App Store.
Introduced in 2007 by Steve Jobs, iPhone is Apple’s flagship iOS device and easily its most popular product around the world. Software wise, it runs iOS and includes a large collection of mobile apps through the App Store.
Since its introduction, Apple has released at least one new phone every single year. In recent years, that has typically been in the fall. iPhones are sold through multiple retail channels including Apple Stores, cellular stores, Best Buy, and other major electronic retailers. iPhones can be bought with a single up front payment, financed through the iPhone Upgrade Program, or financed through a cellular carrier.
Apple’s smartphone has become much more than just a phone since its debut. The iPhone can act as your primary camera, music player, GPS device, email client, mobile banking system, messaging device, movie player, and much more.
According to a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (via AllThingsD), iPhone users are currently spending the most on average for monthly carrier bills. The research firm polled smartphone users between October and December 2012 and found 59 percent of iOS users spend over $100. Ten percent, of which, fall in the over $200 per month category. That’s compared to the 53 percent of Android users who spend over $100 (7 percent over $200). According to CIRP, it’s not iPhone users’ usage habits but instead more expensive data plans thanks to higher subsidies paid by carriers. That’s something T-Mobile hopes to change with its upcoming monthly installment plans, but other major carriers are also apparently very intrigued with the idea.
“Given the subsidies on iPhones, the carriers are working hard to make their money back during the course of the contract,” said CIRP’s Josh Levitz. “With the exception of perhaps the hottest Android phones, we think the subsidies on Android phones are lower, so the carriers make more money even with slightly lower per-subscriber revenue.”
App Annie is out today with its January 2013 index that covers revenue from mobile app sales in the App Store and on Google Play. While Apple was able to hit record revenues in December, increasing revenue by one-third during the month and growing by one-fifth from Q3 to Q4, Android posted even stronger growth by doubling revenue quarter-over-quarter. Despite stronger growth for Android, according to the report, the App Store earned 3.5 times as much revenue as Google Play during December 2012. Bloomberg noted that App Annie doesn’t provide exact figures for revenue, as it currently sells that data, but the report provided a break down of revenue by country and publisher. Apple has previously said the App Store brought in around $333 million per month between June and December.
iOS App Store revenue grew by about one-fifth from Q3 to Q4. In particular, it achieved record revenues in December, as monthly revenue increased by about one-third from November to December 2012; this gain surpassed even the standout revenue increase from November to December last year. As highly-desired holiday gifts in many countries, new iPhones and iPads (including the recently launched iPad Mini) typically lead to a jump in app downloads, and consequently, app revenue.
When it comes to revenue by country, App Annie said that United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada continued to account for 60 percent of App Store revenue in Q4. However, China experienced significant growth during the quarter: Expand Expanding Close
As per usual, 9to5mac is on the scene here in San Francisco for Macworld|iWorld 2013. We’ve got some exciting things lined up for this year and we’re looking forward to seeing what the Apple community has on offer. Our coverage starts tomorrow morning.
A quick pre-setup run through video of the main exhibition hall is below: Expand Expanding Close
As we discovered yesterday, Apple is updating its Apple TV ever so slightly…soon. Today, the Federal Communications Commission released the dimensions of this new Apple TV product (via Engadget) in its labeling documentation. The 3,2 is 93.78mm square compared to the 98mm of the current model, but we’re not quite sure why Apple would go through the trouble of making it just a little smaller.
However, Apple likely accomplished the shrinkage with new hardware including the Broadcom BCM4334 Wireless chip (code, right) that can also incidentally pick up FM radio (just like the dormant FM radio receiver in the same chip inside iOS devices).
AnandTech says the new device might also sport an A5X processor. This would be similar to the chip found in the discontinued third-generation iPad. Rebooting production of this chip could help for that rumored Retina iPad mini.
Despite the information found in the FCC documents, an Apple spokesperson gave the following statement to TNW: “We sometimes make component changes which require an updated model number for regulatory approval. The component changes we made don’t affect product features and Apple TV customers will continue to have the same great user experience.”
The Verge also “learned” that there’s no redesign in the works, and the new Apple TV will look identical in size and appearance to the current one.
First, the good news. The legal shield for jailbreaking and rooting your phone remains up – it’ll protect us at least through 2015. The shield for unlocking your phone is down, but carriers probably aren’t going to start suing customers en masse, RIAA-style. And the Copyright Office’s decision, contrary to what some sensational headlines have said, doesn’t necessarily make unlocking illegal.
Carrier unlocking is murky, but it appears that phones bought before last weekend are fair game for unlocking. Go nuts!
But, new phones? It sounds like the risk is on the “unlockers” or the people who do the unlocking.
More likely, wireless carriers, or even federal prosecutors, will be emboldened to sue not individuals, but rather businesses that unlock and resell phones. If a court rules in favor of the carriers, penalties can be stiff – up to $2,500 per unlocked phone in a civil suit, and $500,000 or five years in prison in a criminal case where the unlocking is done for “commercial advantage.” And this could happen even for phones that are no longer under contract. So we’re really not free to do as we want with devices that we own.
What’s interesting is a cottage industry has formed around unlocking done by actually getting the carriers to unlock your phone. For instance, friend of the site, ChronicUnlocks is still in operation in the United States, and we’re hearing nothing but good things from readers who’ve bought unlocks. The site says:
Here’s some incredibly interesting news from today’s iOS updateextravaganza: Apple today released iOS 6.1 (or, in Apple TV talk, 5.2) for an heretofore unknown Apple TV called “Apple TV 3,2”. You can download it here. Apple’s current Apple TV — version 3,1 — was updated to 1080p with a single-core A5 processor in March 2012.
On the conservative side, this may just be a new set of chips cobbled together to do the same thing as the current model. On the optimistic/speculative side, this could foreshadow a new hardware product coming up soon-ish. Perhaps one with a large LCD attached?
Update 1: We can compare some internal codes here which seem to point to bigger changes happening in Japan.
Update 2: Apple is apparently referring to an Apple TV model dubbed “J33I”, as noted by MacRumors. For comparison purposes, the third-generation Apple TV sported the “J33” codename. So, the “I” could suggest an international variation of the set-top box.
Apple has released iOS 6.1 to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV users. This public release follows five beta seeds to developers. The update is currently coming through over-the-air. To download the update directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, head to Settings, then General, then Software Update. Your device will include installation instructions and release information here.
The update includes the following improvements for iOS device users:
LTE support for more carriers (Apple previously announced that it would add more LTE carriers this week). 36 additional iPhone carriers. 23 additional iPad carriers.
In a press release announcing the release of 6.1 (below), Apple’s Phil Schiller noted with “nearly 300 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices on iOS 6 in just five months, it may be the most popular new version of an OS in history.”
Google agreed to pay a record $22.5 million Federal Trade Commission fine in August following an investigation into whether it bypassed mobile Safari security settings to install tracking cookies without user consent. Now, 12 iPhone users in the United Kingdom have launched a lawsuit against Google that seeks compensation related to the tracking. They also want a “proper explanation” about how their personal information was used. The Telegraph via Business Insider has the full story:
It is thought the case, being brought against Google by law firm Olswang on behalf of the internet users, is the first of its kind in the UK. They say that cookies, small tracking files, were installed by Google on the Apple computers and mobile devices of those using the Safari internet browser without their knowledge .
Claimants thought that cookies would be blocked because of assurances given by Google in the time their devices were allegedly affected, from summer 2011 to spring 2012, and also because of Safari’s default settings.
“We hope that they will take this opportunity to give Safari users a proper explanation about what happened, to apologize and, where appropriate, compensate the victims of their intrusion.”
According to the latest numbers from Strategy Analytics that measure global smartphone operating system shipments and marketshare for the fourth quarter of 2012, iOS and Android together accounted for 92 percent of all shipments. Both iOS and Android were able to significantly increase market share over Q3, while global smartphone shipments over the entire year reached a record 700.1 million units.
As for iOS, Apple grew 29 percent annually by selling 135.8 million iPhones throughout the year. The company captured 22 percent of the market in Q4, down from the 24 percent it held in the year-ago quarter, and its share of the smartphone market for the year comes in at 19.4-percent. According to Strategy Analytics, that is up slightly from the 19 percent it took during 2011.
With the “others” category shrinking from 32.3-percent of the market in 2011 to just 12.2-percent in 2012, Android was able to post the largest gains jumping to 70.1-percent of the global market during the fourth quarter from 51.3-percent a year ago. The other category of course includes other platforms, such as BlackBerry, Symbian, Bada, and Windows, all of which together only grabbed 7.9-percent of the market in Q4 2012. That’s down from 25.1-percent in Q4 2011. Android’s gains are clearly at the expense of the “others,” as Apple continues to slowly gain marketshare as well.
We’ve gotten word from sources that Apple is preparing to release (in some fashion) a single, additional iPad model. This would be a new SKU for the current fourth-generation iPad with Retina display line. At this point, we do not have pricing information, so it is definitely difficult to pinpoint exactly what this new iPad model is.
Here is what we do know:
It is a fourth-generation iPad, not a new design.
It comes in both the current black and white color options.
It comes in both WiFi-only and WiFi + Cellular versions.
It is a more premium SKU that will join the current line of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB fourth-generation iPads.
10-pack deals (in both colors) for educational institutions will be offered.
With developers finding code in the soon-to-be-released iOS 6.1 that points to 128GB iOS devices, and with recent findings of 128GB references in Apple’s recent iTunes 11 release, speculation naturally points to Apple releasing a 128GB iPad in the very near future. While it is certainly plausible that this new iPad model is the 128GB iPad, we are currentlynot confident enough to outright claim that, but it seems likely based on the evidence.
Update: We’ve received pricing information for this new iPad model. The pricing is in line with a higher storage capacity, coming in at around $799 for the WiFi-only model and $929 for the Cellular-compatible model in the United States. So, new capacity sounds even more likely.
Here are the new SKUs via a source at a high-profile U.S. retailer:
After posting record holiday earnings for the final quarter of 2012 this week but continuing to see its stock price fall, Exxon Mobil has now surpassed Apple’s market cap value to become the world’s most valuable company. Apple’s market cap at the time of this writing sits at 414.04B verus 417.36B for Exxon. Apple has for the most part held its position since AAPL passed Exxon for the first time to take the top spot back in August 2011. It’s possible Apple could retake its position before trading closes, so we’ll update this post if anything changes.
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BREAKING: Apples cedes place as most valuable company in the world to Exxon Mobil
A new report from Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge provided us with what he claimed is a few details on the upcoming fifth-generation iPad based on hands-on time with a “supposedly accurate” physical model. He also claimed to have details on upcoming iPhone releases.
Horwitz noted he has inspected what he believed are casings for the iPad 5, and he described a completely redesigned device with “virtually no left or right bezels, and only enough space above and below the screen to accommodate the mandatory camera and Home Button elements.” As previously rumored, Horwitz claimed the fifth-gen iPad as iPad mini-like in its physical design with similar “chamfered edges and curves” along with the slimmed down bezel.
He also speculated that Apple could go with an IGZO display to achieve what he said is a much thinner design compared to previous generations:
Beyond that, it’s noticeably thinner, as well, which is to say the the fifth-generation iPad will be smaller in every dimension than its predecessors. As it will have the same chamfered edges and curves, calling it a “stretched iPad mini” is very close to entirely accurate… The changes are so considerable that a new screen technology, such as IGZO, seems like a given. Going Retina for the third-generation iPad forced Apple to make that tablet a little thicker than the iPad 2, in part to seriously beef up the battery.
The report also said that Apple is now targeting an October release for the iPad 5, “give or take a couple of weeks,” after originally planning for a March launch.
Horwitz, who has been accurate with details of unreleased Apple products in the past, also claimed to have new details on the upcoming iPhone releases:
While Samsung has conveniently left specific smartphone sales numbers out of its Q4 earnings release yesterday (as usual), today we get a look at the latest estimates for the quarter coming from research firms Strategy Analytics and IDC.
We know that Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones during the quarter, and today both research firms put Samsung just over 63 million units for Q4 2012. That means Samsung was able to capture 29 percent of the market last quarter (up from 36.2 million units and 22.5-percent of the market in the year ago quarter). Apple is of course a close second among the top five smartphone vendors with 21.8-percent—down slightly from the 23 percent it held in the same quarter last year. In Q4 2011, Apple and Samsung were neck and neck at about 23 percent of the market each.
The increasing market share for Apple, and especially Samsung, over the past year comes at the expense of Nokia. It experienced a drop from 16 percent to 5 percent of the market during the past year. Expand Expanding Close
Today is the first official day of NAMM in Anaheim, and we are already started to see a few Apple-related products pop up. The most interesting is the new lineup of interfaces from Apogee, including updated One, Duet, and Quartet models that all include new features, specs, and iPad compatibility with support for any Core Audio app. iPad compatibility comes thanks to Apogee’s new Maestro app:
Apogee’s new free Maestro app for iOS brings total hardware control to iPad. Designed to create a seamless transition between Mac and iOS, Maestro’s design was customized for each device; iPhone, iPad and Mac, ensuring an intuitive user interface across every platform. The app includes all the same essential functions available on the Mac including low latency monitoring. Maestro can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store on your iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad.
Starting with the One, the refreshed USB interface now features two inputs, the ability charge your iOS device, Apogee’s Maestro control iOS app, optional battery power, and updated mic preamps and AD/DA converters. It also includes a built-in mic and breakout cable to connect a 1/4-inch cable or XLR. One will be available in March for $349.
The new Duet, a four output, two-input USB interface has been given a refresh, and, like the One, it now includes a USB port for device charging and iOS connectivity. It also works with Apogee’s new Maestro iOS app, and it includes a full-color OLED display like previous versions. It will be available in February for $595. It also includes a breakout cable for XLR and 1/4-inch connections.
Lastly, Apogee is updating its 4 IN x 8 Out USB Quartet interface to take advantage of Maestro control software for iOS and Mac and offer full iPad compatibility. The refreshed Quartet will be available in February for $1,295, and a firmware update will bring iOS support to existing users at the same time.
The One, like the other updated Apogee interfaces, comes with a 30-pin cable, so you’ll need an adapter for Lightning devices.
Vine — Make a scene: Today Twitter announced on its blog the launch of Vine, a mobile app it acquired a few months back that allows users to capture and share abbreviated, looping video clips. The free iPhone app is available now in the App Store and offers unlimited, free video uploads, Twitter and Facebook integration, and the developers noted a Twitter account would not be required to sign up.
Today, we’re introducing Vine: a mobile service that lets you capture and share short looping videos. Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine (6 seconds or less) inspires creativity. Now that you can easily capture motion and sound, we look forward to seeing what you create.
-You can now leave hotel reviews once you have completed your stay
-The app now supports iPhone 5
-Many bugs fixes
Cycloramic version 2.0: The app that uses your iPhones vibrating motor to shoot 360 degree video hands-free was updated today with new hands-free panoramic shooting modes and more:
Just place your iPhone in an upright position on a smooth and level surface and press GO. The Phone will automatically rotate 360 degrees while taking multiple pictures, instantaneously stitch them, generate the panoramic picture and finally open it and immerse you in our 3D viewer.
PANORAMIC PHOTO MODE
1) Guided Mode (iPhone 4/4S/5)
2) Hands-free Mode (iPhone 5 only)
With this update, Cycloramic brings you a whole new way to take panoramic pictures.
– New feature: Improved the file browser for local documents and Dropbox documents. Create, delete edit new documents and folders in Dropbox directly from the file browser
– New feature: Scrivener sync support (via Dropbox) for unlimited number of nested folders and sub-folders, preserving locally the document original path
– New feature: Green highlight color in Style menu
– New feature: Greek alphabet in the Math symbols
– New feature: Latest Dropbox SDK 1.3.3. Support for international characters in Dropbox file and folder names (Chinese, Japanese, etc.)
Call-It-Out: Officially launching today, Call-it-Out is a new app that aims to blend elements of YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest allowing users to “easily rate, capture, and share life through comments, images and videos.
Following reporting what CEO Tim Cook referred to as another record-setting quarter, today the Apple executive sent out an email to employees congratulating the team. Within the email, Cook thanked employees for their “incredible hard work and focus” and highlighted that the company sold over 75 million iOS devices during the quarter.
Like last year, when Apple held a Town Hall meeting following its Q1 results near a windshield repair Sugar Land TX company, Cook is asking employees to attend an employee communications meeting scheduled for today at 10 a.m. Pacific time. The email sent out last night following Apple’s earnings results conference call, and it noted that employees would be able to submit questions via AppleWeb in advance.
Apple will also broadcast the meeting live throughout Cupertino and other Apple locations. Cook’s full email is below:
As previously announced, today Apple is reporting its Q1 2013 earnings results. There is much uncertainty going into today’s call with Apple shares down significantly in recent months to roughly $500 since hitting a high of over $700 per share in September. With the iPhone 5 landing in a total of 100 countries last month, as well as iPad mini making its way to new markets, Wall Street estimates Apple will report between 47.5 million and 53 million iPhones sold and iPad sales between 23 million and 25 million. Compare that with Apple’s Q1 numbers last year: 37 million iPhones and 15.43 million iPads sold. Earlier this week Verizon reported 6.2M iPhone activations for the quarter, around half of which were iPhone 5 sales.
We’ll be providing blow-by-blow coverage of the earnings call in our live blog below at 2 PM Pacific/5 PM Eastern time. Stay tuned to 9to5Mac.com’s homepage for additional coverage:
With NAMM press day kicking off in Anaheim today, iOS app and accessory maker IK Multimedia officially announced some of the products it briefly had on show during CES 2013. One of the more interesting products is the iRig BlueBoard. IK already has the iRig STOMP pedal, iRig accessories for connecting mixers, guitars, and mics to your iOS devices, but BlueBoard marks its first Bluetooth-enabled MIDI pedalboard designed specifically for iPhone, iPod, and iPad.
The pedal works with a dedicated BlueBoard app that will take the Bluetooth signal, convert it to MIDI messages, and then route them to any Core-MIDI compatible app on your iOS device or Mac. The result is the ability to control functions of an app, such as AmpliTube or JamUp Pro XT Amp Effects Processor, in the middle of a performance without having to fumble around your iOS device’s touchscreen. It will work with apps on your Mac, too.
It’s also possible to fully customize the MIDI messages that are sent out by the four switches and two optional expression pedals. It’s easy to setup iRig BlueBoard to control patch changes, effects parameters, reverb, delay on/off – or any parameter that can be controlled via MIDI. For a guitarist or vocalist using a mobile multiFX app like AmpliTube or VocaLive as a sound processor, iRig BlueBoard provides the foot-controlled functionality and convenience of a pedalboard, but with a form factor so compact and portable that it can easily slide into a backpack, a laptop bag or an instrument case.
Among the features: foot switches are backlit, Bluetooth 4.0 provides over 32 feet range, and the unit measures 10.6-inch-by-3.5-inch. It also requires four standard AAA batteries.
Digitimes reported today that Apple is working to release two new iPhones in 2013 with 4-inch displays, going against its earlier report that claimed Apple would release a new low-cost, 5-inch iPhone with a new design. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal also reported Apple is working on a less-expensive iPhone to début sometime in 2013. Today, Digitimes continued to claim Apple has an iPhone with a larger display in development, but it said the smartphone would not launch this year:
Previously it was [WE] said that Apple would release a lower-cost version of its iPhone with a bigger screen in 2013. But the sources claimed that Apple is indeed developing an iPhone with a bigger screen, but that will not be among the models to be lancuhed this year.
Rumors of two 4-inch iPhones launching in 2013—a new 5S and a new low-cost iPhone— is something we’ve heard before, but a second conflicting report from Digitimes claimed Apple would release a low-cost iPhone with a larger, 5-inch display and an all-new design. Other sketchy reports of Apple possibly releasing an iPhone with a 4.8-inch display surfaced this week but didn’t exactly add up. Now it seems Digitimes is agreeing with the Wall Street Journal that two 4-inch devices will launch in 2013 with one being a new low-cost model. The report also said one of the devices will target the “midrange” market:
One of the two versions to be introduced this year will target the midrange market segment, but both will adopt in-cell touch technology…However, the sources noted it is still yet to be determined if Apple will have adequate supply of in-cell touch panels in 2013 for a lower-cost version of the iPhone due to mass production issues from the technology in 2012. The iPhone 5 took a hit in sales during 2012 as a result of poor yields for in-cell technology, but the sources are now saying those yields are improving.
That “midrange” phone is probably the current iPhone 5.
Apple was able to maintain its lead of smartphone sales in the U.S. market during the holiday quarter ending Dec. 23, according to new data released by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. The report said iOS was the top-selling smartphone platform during the three-month period, as it recorded 51.2-percent of market sales compared to Android’s 44.2-percent.
While Android’s share of the market remained steady, down from just 44.2-percent last year, Kantar noted an increasing number of iPhone sales to other smartphone users. Sales of iPhones to Android users apparently grew 10 percent compared to 2011:
“In particular, 36% of iOS sales were derived from other smartphone users over the last year. While this figure remains stable over time, the proportion of Android users moving towards the Apple brand increases. 19% of iOS sales over the last year were derived from Android users, compared to 9% in 2011,”
Among the switchers, the majority came from Verizon. About 49 percent of new iPhone sales came specifically from users of another smartphone platform, while 30 percent came from Android users. AT&T, however, only had about 6 percent Android switchers, as the majority of new iPhone purchases—55 percent—were derived from iPhone upgrades: Expand Expanding Close
Current ordering options for Indonesian customers on www.apple.com/id
Apple plans to create an online retail presence in Indonesia, according to a report from NZWeek (via TNW), as well as open its first retail location in the country with a new store in the capital city, Jakarta. Confirmation of the investment comes from the country’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). It has approved Apple’s application to open up shop in the country, and the report claimed Apple is looking to invest $2 million to $3 million USD in the capital city of Jakarta to open its first brick-and-mortar retail location.
As noted in the report, Foxconn is investing $10 billion USD to open a new hardware manufacturing plant in Indonesia with construction slated to kick off this year. TNW pointed out that Apple actually sold products in Indonesia from 2008 to 2010 before stopping due to difficulties with shipping out of Singapore.
Temple Run 2:After launching the follow up in its popular Temple Run series late last week, developer Imangi Studios announced todayTemple Run 2 hit over 20 million downloads in just four days on the App Store.
The game rocketed to #1 Free App just eight hours after release, and is currently the #3 Top Grossing App. Free to download, Temple Run 2 is the sequel to the mega-hit original endless runner, Temple Run, which has been download over 170 million times across the App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Marketplace.
New apps:
Cubase iC Pro: Released on the App Store today, Steinberg Media have launched “The most advanced Cubase remote control app” for controlling Cubase 7/6.5 from your iPhone or iPad. The app syncs with Cubase on your Mac or PC, provides a project overview, a mixer with up to a 4 independent cue-mix, and the ability to customize macros and key commands.
Connecting deeper to Cubase than any other app, Cubase iC Pro is the most advanced Cubase control app with a clear focus on recording, making it your very personal recording assistant. The project overview page and the mixer allow you to see your project as you know it from Cubase, while the key command page gives you a powerful tool to set up your most-used keyboard shortcuts and macros.
Updates:
Twitterrific for Twitter version 5.0.2: A big update today goes to one of the runner-ups in our Twitter app showdown. Twitterrific for iOS was updated today with a simplified reading mode, image previews in the timeline, and images without frames in the photo viewer. The update also included a ton of improvements and bug fixes: Expand Expanding Close
Barack Obama’s second United States Presidential Inauguration will be held this morning at 11:30 a.m. EST in Washington DC. The event will feature music headliners like Beyoncé (National Anthem), James Taylor, and Kelly Clarkson. The President was actually sworn into office yesterday, but all festivities will be held today. There will also be a parade to round out the day’s celebrations. You can stream the event on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod with the Inaugural 2013 iOS app. The app was created by AT&T, but you can use it on any cellular carrier.
