iPhone

With the AAPL Q1 earnings call scheduled for later today, the majority of analysts expect Apple to slightly beat the $84B fiscal Q1 revenue the company forecast in its revised guidance.

The most pessimistic analyst roundup has Apple coming in at exactly $84B, while others expect more, with the highest average expectation at $85.33B …

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Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently predicted that while iPhone sales will be down 15% year-on-year in calendar Q2, he is more optimistic about the second half of the year, expecting at least flat sales. UBS, however, disagrees, predicting depressed iPhone sales throughout 2019 and well into 2020 …

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Smartphone shipments in China have fallen to their lowest level since 2013, with under 400 million units shipped total over the course of 2018. While longer consumer upgrade cycles have contributed to the decline, weak economic activity in conjunction with the ongoing trade war between the country and the United States has further ailed sales.

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Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was one of the first to predict the iPhone sales weakness for the holiday quarter, cutting estimates by 20% in mid-December, largely due to weak Chinese demand for iPhone XS and iPhone XR.

With a new TF Industries report out today, he says that the ‘worst is soon over’ and predicts that iPhone shipments beyond March will be higher than market consensus.

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Analysts say that an update to China’s WeChat platform could have ‘serious ramifications’ for both iPhone sales and Services income, further reducing the value of the Apple ecosystem in the country. One analyst said the update effectively creates a ‘WeChat home screen’ as an alternative to the iOS one.

Apple’s ecosystem is normally a key part of its appeal, but as we’ve discussed on more than one occasion, that’s a much weaker argument for buying an iPhone in China. The reason? The WeChat platform comes close to replacing the operating system on Chinese phones …

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Reports that Apple plans to make flagship iPhones in India got another boost today. A trade association of which Apple is a member is calling on tax breaks that will make it more feasible to treat India more like China: a manufacturing base for global production …

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Earlier this week, Apple announced a “Shot on iPhone” competition. This contest allows photographers to submit pictures taken with their iPhone, with a panel of judges selecting the top 10 best photos. Those photos will then be placed on billboards and other Apple “marketing channels.”

Today, Apple has made a notable change to the contest after criticism…

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Strategy Analytics is out today with its look at the smartphone industry in China during the fourth quarter of 2018. According to the data, China smartphone shipments fell 11 percent year-over-year, while Apple saw its own shipments fall by roughly 3 million units in Q4.

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Intel today announced its fourth quarter earnings for 2018, missing analyst expectations. The company reported revenue of $18.66 billion, missing Wall Street expectations of $19.01 billion. In its release, Intel attributes its lower-than-expected revenue to slow modem sales.

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New data from CIRP, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, shows that iPhone XR was the best selling iPhone model in the United States over the past fiscal quarter, accounting for nearly 40% of total sales. Interestingly, the iPhone XS and XS Max combined accounted for just over 25%.

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Last year, Verizon quietly launched a new startup called Visible that offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $40 per month. At launch, Visible required that you bring your own unlocked iPhone, but now it is partnering with Apple and Affirm to sell iPhones itself.

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Apple shared a Newsroom briefing today announcing a new contest to find the “best photos shot on iPhone”. Running from January 22 to February 7, Apple says its panel of eleven photography judges from around the world (including Phil Schiller), will select the ten winning photos to be featured on billboards in select cities, and Apple retail locations.

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Contract manufacturer Foxconn is trying to calm stock market fears after a report last week that it had laid-off 50,000 workers from its iPhone factory at Zhengzhou months earlier than expected.

It has made a statement in a stock exchange filing suggesting that it is recruiting even more workers for its other production facilities …

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A Reuters report at the end of last year said that Apple was planning to make flagship iPhones in India as the company seeks to reduce its dependence on China. A new report today supports that claim, and suggests that those plans are being progressed.

Specifically, it says that senior Foxconn execs plan to visit India next month for discussions …

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Apple is purportedly looking to drop LCD screens from its iPhone lineup, starting with the 2020 iPhone. This year’s iPhone XR successor would be the last flagship LCD model, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The move to OLED will enable “more flexible handset design”, hinting at an ambitious 2020 iPhone roadmap. We already see this somewhat today with the iPhone XR featuring larger bezels than its OLED counterparts.

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Korea’s FTC – its Fair Trade Commission – has already found Apple guilty of unfair practices in its relationships with carriers. However, it promised to allow Apple the opportunity to respond, and has now done so.

Apple has reportedly accepted one part of the claim, but disputed another …

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