Category: Apple

China Overtakes US in iPhone Sales, As Apple Earnings up 33%

For the first time in the history of the iPhone, China sales of the Apple iPhone have overtaken the US sales. The increase of 71% put Apple’s revenue in the asian country to $16.8 Billion, a major chunk mostly doe to the festivities around the Chinese New Year.

The Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been the most popular handsets from the company since the launch of the iPhone back in 2007. The last quarter results broke all records pegging the worldwide success of the handsets.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Tim Cook” author_title=”CEO- Apple inc.”]

The large middle class growth has fueled the high purchase volumes of the handset in China

[/quote]

End of March 2015 Apple’s cash totaled $193.5 billion, up from $178 billion at the end of December, that is more than the total of the next top 15 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 list.

Apple has increased its dividend to 11%, In all, Apple pledged to return $200 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends by March 2017. Overall revenue rose to $58.01 billion in the second quarter ended March 28, from $45.65 billion a year earlier. That beat Wall Street’s expected revenue of $56 billion.

Apple’s latest hardware product, the Apple Watch, started shipping Friday. So far, availability is limited for the new device with Apple’s website estimating that new orders won’t be delivered until June.

April 28, 2015
Here’s Why It is Difficult for Developers to Create Games for Apple Watch

When Apple Watch went up for sale globally on Friday, nobody thought that games could find a place on Apple Watch. The Cupertino-based firm focused on health and fitness apps incorporated on its Watch, and never talked about any game-related app in its March 9 conference.

However, it sparks a question of whether developers would be able to shrink down games to the size of a 2-inch screen of the device. The gaming market for the smartphones is vast, and with the size of games decreasing year after year, it now seems possible. The preview page of Apple shows only two games.

It was learnt that developers don’t have access to full features of the wearable and development tools. But if any company succeeds to squeeze down a game to the size of the watch, it will have a firm grip on the smartwatch game sector. Apple has made a record-breaking $15 billion in 2014 through games in its App Store, and with estimates of 40 million Apple Watch to sell by year-end, there is a vast market for the developers ahead.

Some game developers have already started to take an initiative. New York-based studio Robot 5 says it has already designed three games that can be played on the 2-inch screen, along with seven more that will complete before the end of June.

Runeblade

Right now, the Apple Watch acts as a screen interface when tethered to the iPhone. Developers are still trying to figure out a way to develop native apps for the Watch. For making games on the wearable, it will need an entirely different mindset, however. Peter Chen, Founder and CEO of Robot 5 Studios says –

The biggest challenge is the complexity of the animations. iPhone games can have animations that are infinitely complex, with full control of each pixel and also of objects movements across the screen. Apple Watch games don’t have this kind of control over pixels and objects, so we have to mimic this kind of behavior.

It is likely that Apple will work on this issue on its launch or after, added Peter Chen. The 18-hour battery life of the wearable is also a problem for the developers.

It is quite evident that creating games for Apple Watch is not impossible. Just like for the iPhone and iPad, creating a set of games for the wearable needs a different approach.

Robot 5 Studios released a teaser of a new game. Check out how it looks like on Apple Watch in the video below:

https://youtu.be/tcwFyJysTG8

April 25, 2015
Hackers Bring Microsoft Cortana’s Android Cousin; Meet Portaña

Microsoft’s personal voice assistant Cortana to land on Windows Phone platform is far from debuting on Android devices, but a group of hackers based in Italy has made it possible. The group, who call themselves OrangeSec, claims to have ported Microsoft’s Cortana to Android. The new personal assistant is named as Portaña.

The hackers made some alterations in Cortana’s program and brought out a version compatible with Google’s operating system. The tweaked version is very much similar to Cortana, but has some limitations. The hackers admit that the project isn’t that impressive and requires users to stay online for work. The reason being, even though it is running on Android hardware, it is still communicating with Microsoft’s back-end servers with the ported interface. To cut it short, you cannot use it to integrate with Android devices like Cortana does with Windows. OrangeSec used combinations of hardware proxies, custom SSL certificates and DNS spoofing for making this project work out. For now, Portaña can communicate in Italian only.

OrangeSec unveiled their mod at the Droidcon 2015 and admitted it to be a concept only. Hence, there are lesser chances of OrangeSec coming up with an official release. It is rumoured that Microsoft is planning to bring the voice assistant for both iOS and Android, but it doesn’t seem to happen anytime soon.

Cortana is named after an artificial intelligent (AI) character from the famed video game Halo. The personality of the voice assistant is also derived from the AI companion of the game. Cortana also offers usual voice-assistance features like setting reminders and calendar, weather and traffic information, writing notes and messages.

The generation of voice assistants kicked off with Apple’s Siri, back with the release of iPhone 4S in 2011. Microsoft soon followed by launching its very own Cortana on Windows 10 PC and smartphones. Meanwhile, Cortana is officially limited to Windows Phone.

April 20, 2015
Thanks to Massive Demand, Apple Working to Accelerate its Smartwatch Production

Seems like Apple itself was dubious about the success of its first wearable, and ordered production of a limited number of Watch units. The demand of the Apple Watch, as forecasted by the US tracking firm Slice Intelligence, hit almost one million on its first day of pre-order, which outstrips the supply of the watch. As per Reuters, the consumer electronics giant is likely to speed up the production of the Apple Watch to meet the towering demand.

Analysts have predicted that Apple could see a total of 2.3 million to 4 million sales by June end. Meanwhile, Apple didn’t disclose the pre-order details on Monday as part of its usual strategy, and analysts are stating that this may be due to supply shortage.

A demand of 4 million is a great start for a company debuting in the wearables segment. Another Swiss analysis firm USB has revealed that the tech behemoth will sell as much as 16 million watches in FY 2015 ending September and 40 million in FY 2016.

Apple Watch was unveiled at the March 9 event and went up for pre-orders on April 10, and on sale on April 24. World over, the Apple Watch stores saw a huge flock of people patiently waiting to get a closer look at the personal luxury by Apple.

All these speculations point out to the fact that the fate of the Apple Watch was predicted wrongly by critics; they believed the device to be a worthless gadget with aggressive pricing.

April 14, 2015
Apple Watch Hits One Million Pre-Orders on its First Day

According to reports from Slice Intelligence, Apple’s smartwatch kicked off to a solid start by receiving almost a million pre-orders in the US. Slice Intelligence is a firm that tracks and projects US consumer spendings through e-commerce mail receipts. Slice Intelligence projections showed Apple, on its first day of accepting orders, hit a million pre-orders based on 9,080 online shoppers.

Saw the estimates of 1M Apple Watch pre-orders in my inbox. Won’t be surprised by an official Apple statement tomorrow saying 2M.

— Kevin C. Tofel (@KevinCTofel) April 13, 2015

According to Slice reports, 71% of the Apple Watch pre-orders were for the larger 42mm case and 32% of the aluminum Sports Watch. The expensive 19-karat Gold model did not have enough pre-orders to be included in the list. The report also revealed that 28% of the pre-orders included a black Sports band, thus making it the most popular option for its customers. The steel Milanese Loop came in second with 25% after which came the Link Bracelet with 14%.

Apple has not given any verification to the data yet or the official sales figures of the Apple Watch. The smartwatch sales will begin on 24^th April in over nine countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, UK and the US. The company is encouraging pre-orders, which seem to be quickly selling out. The availability of the watches have been pushed to May or June due to the massive demands.

To read more about the Apple Watch, click here.

April 13, 2015
Due to Massive Demand, Shipping of the Apple Watch May Get Delayed to June

It seems customers pre-ordering the Apple smartwatch will have to wait for a month more before the delivery process kicks off. The watch that went up for pre-order with the promise of in-store pickups or home delivery starting 24th of April, have slipped to June for some models due to the massive demand.

The watch officially goes up for sale on 24th April through online portals and appointments in shops. But as soon as the online pre-orders opened up on Friday, Apple’s website listed June as the shipping month for some models and four-six weeks for the rest.

There are a total of 38 models of the Apple Watch set up for pre-ordering via the company’s official online stores in nine countries, namely, Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, USA and United Kingdom. Even the most expensive variant of the Apple Watch is listed as shipping in June – with some Edition models shown as ‘Out of Stock’.

Apple officially confirmed Apple Watch’s arrival last year in September, when the iPhone 6 was announced. To know more about the wearable, click here.

April 11, 2015
Foxconn is Gearing Up to Begin Manufacturing the Apple iPhone in India

Foxconn, one of the biggest contract manufacturing firms based in Taiwan, is most popular for being the manufacturer of Apple’s iPhone. The company is now planning to set up manufacturing the Apple iPhones at its units in India.

It was reported by Economic Times that Foxconn will be manufacturing the Apple iPhone in India. The locations selected for setting up the manufacturing units include Gujarat, Noida, and a small trial unit in Andhra Pradesh. Foxconn had to previously suspend production at three units on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway due to the Microsoft-Nokia deal. The closure of those three plants resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs; about 1,700 employees were affected.

The new manufacturing units will mark the return of Foxconn in India. The company says that it wants to establish the units to take advantage of the present government’s ‘Make in India’ policy. The trial unit in Andhra will engage in research and development of new products.

India is the third biggest mobile market in the world and is expected to take over the USA by 2017, which is just two years away. Considering this massive market, the government needs to incentivize production, as well as designing of products in the country to give a boost to Indian entrepreneurship in the field.

April 11, 2015
Samsung Galaxy S6 Comes to India But Where is the Apple Watch?

Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S6 is set to hit the Indian and global stores today. The Korean electronic behemoth has grasped the importance of the Indian consumers for the future of the smartphone industry and has been bringing phones almost at the same time as the global market. But the other major force in the tech industry, Apple is still not close to giving India that priority, which is evident by the lack of the country’s name in the release locations for the Apple Watch.

Apple Watch is the company’s newest product family. The wearable is available from $349 for the basic model, the Watch Sport, and the line of offering goes up to $17,000 for the gold plated version called the Watch Edition. People looking forward to owning the device can pre-order it today in the countries where it is offered. But the only piece of information that the Indian Apple fans get is that the Watch will come to the country ‘sometime in 2015’.

Samsung brought the Note 4 to India at the same time as the US.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s Galaxy S6 was already up for pre-order in India and goes up for sale today. Samsung had also brought its last major launch, the Note 4 to India on 17th October, exactly the same time it came to the United States.

It’s not like Apple has a small market in India. Just in the space of October to December of last year, the company sold 500,000 devices in India, and the number keeps growing. Of course, it is just a tiny fraction of the global sales that have helped the company to have the most profitable quarter in history. A push for the massive Indian population can help the company take the profit higher.

Things do look brighter for the Indian consumers as Apple has plans to set up 500 stores across India. So maybe then the Indian fans would not have to wait impatient hours to buy Apple products.

April 10, 2015
Apple Registers 40% Increase in India Revenue, Hits $1 Billion Mark in FY 2015

We’re sure Apple wouldn’t have thought that the Indian market, which was at the bottom of their priority list, could help increase the revenue of the company to such an extent. The Cupertino-based tech giant has recorded a whopping revenue of $1 billion in India in the fiscal year 2015. The present earning of the firm is 40 percent more than Rs. 4,500 crore of returns registered last year, and is three folds of the what was reported in 2011-12.

Apple hasn’t filed its final revenue details until now, but according to a source at Times of India, the firm can log the same with Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) anytime soon. Experts unfolded that the latest devices, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, have contributed largely to the sales income. With access to unit sales figures over the year and experts remark, Apple’s India revenue is computable. As per an analysis by Cybermedia Research, Apple has sold 1.3 million phones in the fiscal year 2015. Considering the high price of the latest models, it is evident that the company has made a total revenue of over $1 billion in the India market.

At a time when Apple is witnessing increased sales, Samsung is steadily losing its hold over different markets. The Korean electronics giant released a performance report of the last three months, which shows 30.5 percent dip in the profits. This was Samsung’s sixth consecutive year-over-year fall in quarterly profit, where it registered 60% fall in profits over the last quarter.

India is emerging as one of the fastest growing tech markets and a battleground for many top smartphone leaders. Such examples will only encourage tech enterprises to conquer our nation’s market and establish themselves on the Indian soil. Meanwhile, many Chinese firms spread over US and UK are now citing the Indian sub-continent as profitable marketplace for investment, and plan to enter the country soon.

April 8, 2015
Apple Watch Faces Roadblock in the Swiss Market

Switzerland is known to be the land of exquisite watch makers. For decades, the Swiss watch has been one of the most prominent exports of the tiny European nation. The year now is 2015, and it’s the age of smartwatches. Silicon Valley giant, Apple is ready to launch its new product, the Apple Watch around the world, but it has hit a legal wall in the watchmakers’ nation.

Apple cannot sell the Watch with the name Apple or image of an Apple, which are both central to the branding of the product. The patent to the brand name in the country is held by William Longe, who received it in 1985. This patent is set to expire on December 5 of this year after which the tech giant can bring its new smartwatch to the country.

The patent issue was reported by Swiss broadcaster RTS. Till now there has been no comment from either Apple or the patent authority of Switzerland on the matter. Apple will be bringing its new product to nine countries on April 24th.

Seeing the challenge to their markets, the Swiss watchmakers are raising their game too. Founder of one of the largest watchmaker from the country, Swatch had recently said that the nation’s watch business will head for trouble if they don’t compete with the tech companies. Swatch has already unveiled their own smartwatches, but they look like toys at present. They will have to do a lot better to take on the offerings from Samsung, LG and of course, Apple.

April 6, 2015
Apple’s New Video Tutorials Demonstrate Apple Watch at its Best

Since the day Apple Watch was unveiled, it has received a heavy number of mixed reviews. Some say it is an overpriced device, while others suggest it will change the way the general audience looks at wearables. The Cupertino-based giant has decided to give its final customers a closer look at the Apple Watch and has released four new videos that demonstrate the Apple Watch at its best.

The videos describe how the Apple’s first smart watch can make your day-to-day tasks a lot easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LHdVkPrdRYg

The company recently updated its Apple Watch web page with four new videos. The clips walk the users through several features of the Watch giving a fair idea about how to use it and what it can do. The first one of the four is an introductory clip that says “Welcome to Apple Watch.” The 4:44 minutes video is dedicated to providing an elaborate detail of its hardware and software concepts like Messages, Digital crown, Force Touch and Faces. The video narrates the power of Apple Watch and how it is a must-have accessory for every iPhone user.

The other three videos are comparatively shorter than the introductory video and finishes within 2 minutes. Each of them focuses on one key feature and demonstrates how to customize the watch. The Faces speaks about how with a long press, all the watch faces come up and you can make a selection from a list. Tap any to make it the new face and customise it as you desire like changing hand colours, adding calendar and weather, and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=N6ezjg6-0hU

Similarly, Messages and Digital Touch give an insight into the functionality of the other features. Messages give a tour of sending audio and text messages along with numerous emoji options. The Digital Touch caters to your social habits. The side button below the Digital crown gives access to your friends. You can add contacts, send sketches, taps, messages, and heartbeats to your contacts, and of course, you can ring them any time using the Watch.

Meanwhile, Apple has made public only 4 of the videos, while the official web page depicts 7 more guided tours each with “Coming Soon” tag. These include Phone Calls, Siri, Maps, Music, Activity, Apple Pay and workout. Apple Watch will go on sale on 24th of this month. Needless to say, we’re extremely excited to get our hands on Apple’s first wearable.

You can check out all the videos here.

April 4, 2015
Apple Might Bring Facial Recognition Technology to its iDevices, But With a Twist

We’ve seen Apple deliver some of the best and secure technologies to its customers. Its TouchID, a fingerprint recognition feature, has laid the path to create a feature which makes phone locks reliable. Now, the Cupertino-based firm has plans to embed a simpler but effective technology to its devices for the same purpose – it’s called face recognition.

According to a patent recently granted to Apple by the U.S. Patent Office, the new-found invention will lock the device if the user’s face is no longer present. The granted patent reads, “In the embodiment of the invention, a mobile device is configured to automatically lock based on determining that a user’s face is no longer present in the image captured by the device’s built-in camera.”

It’s evident from the statement that the device will keep snapping pictures at a definite interval of time to check if the owner is working on the device. If the user doesn’t appear in the pictures, the device will automatically lock. This means if your iPhone is kept motionless for a certain period, it will lock on its own.

The patent also mentions that with this technology, iOS device users don’t need to type in the password or touch the screen. The handset would unlock through a selfie. This also means that if your phone reaches in the wrong hands, the intruder would not be able to access your device’s content.

The innovation is already present in Android smartphones, but it doesn’t keep a tab on the user’s activity continuously. Apple’s facial recognition technology looks promising and might arrive in the new gen iPhone, iPad or even the rumoured Apple Car.

April 1, 2015
Images of the 4-inch iPhone 6c Surface Online

We’ve barely recovered from the Apple Watch and MacBook hype, and already there are pictures of what the next iPhone might look like, floating online. Pictures of the new ‘iPhone 6c’ have been posted by Future Supplier, which show what possibly could be the successor of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

As seen in the photo, the device sports an approximately 4-inch screen just like the iPhone 5, 5C and 5S. One of the few prominent differences include the cut-out of the camera flash. The cut-out on the 6C is elongated, unlike the round ones on the current iPhone line-up. Only the iPhone 5S has the elongated shape of the camera flash, thanks to the introduction of the True Tone flash. Additionally, the hole for the camera does not appear to be a protruding out.

At the bottom of the handset, the iPhone 6 has six speaker holes on the left side of the lightning connector when faced down, and one microphone opening next to the headphone jack. While most of the design remains the same, the new photos of the assumed 6C, however, show eight speaker holes positioned in two rows on a thicker body.

There is a possibility that the images may be fake. Apple is not expected to unveil the next iPhone for the next few months. Hence, there is a chance that the design of the speculated iPhone 6C may change by the time the arrival date arrives.

March 31, 2015
Apple CEO Tim Cook To Give Away All His Wealth To Charity

When Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, two of the richest individuals on the planet join their hands to form the Giving Pledge, it was seen as a call to action to the bourgeois population to engage in philanthropic efforts. About 128 billionaires have joined the initiative and agreed to donate most of their wealth to charity. The list includes the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk. Now Apple’s current CEO; Tim Cook will now join the ranks of the affluent philanthropists.

Tim Cook has announced that he will be giving away most of his wealth to charity. He wants to have enough to pay for his 10-year-old nephew’s college education. Tim Cook, being the CEO of the company that made the biggest profit ever in history recently, has a quite a healthy savings account, as you can imagine. His estimated wealth currently is said to be around $785 million.

Tim Cook has worked with Apple since 1998 and has led the company since 2011 when Steve Jobs stepped down.

The announcement was made in an interaction with Fortune magazine. He said that he has already started donating money to various unspecified causes and is looking forward to developing a more systematic approach for his donations.

The 54 year old, has commanded the Apple ship since 2011 when its illustrious founder Steve Jobs stepped down. Under his watch, the company has brought several new products including the new Mac Pro, recent iPhones, and the new Apple Watch.

Tim Cooks wealth may not be at par with the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, but it does present an encouraging scene where billionaires and millionaires show interest in the public good. We hope this trend catches on, and we get to see more individuals with massive capital interested in investing the people instead of stashing that money in offshore banks.

March 27, 2015
Apple Might Play Spoilsport to Facebook’s Audacious Plans For Messenger

At the Facebook F8 developers conference recently, the social media powerhouse announced a slew of new updates for the Messenger app to make it a formidable messaging tool. The addition of third party apps to the ecosystem is the most prominent upgrade to the new Messenger platform. But Apple might prove a major hindrance to Facebook’s plans.

Facebook inducted third party apps on its Messenger platform to make it a more powerful messaging tool.

Apple, the makers of iOS devices, have strict policies in place for apps on its App Store. Section 2.25 of the App Store Review Guidelines, states, “Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected.” The addition of support for third party apps on the Messenger platform puts it directly in conflict with the above app store policy.

The gist of the policy is that Apple doesn’t allow apps to set up their own app store on their ecosystem. If the policy is enforced against the Messenger platform, it will be a major downer for Facebook. As of now Apple has given no indication about its policy towards the new messaging platform. But we might get to hear something soon as Apple might still be studying the situation. Considering the massive market for Apple devices, Facebook is likely to get a deal sorted out to prevent a rejection from the App store.

March 27, 2015