Apple

15 interesting points from today’s earnings call

Cody Lee ∙ April 23, 2014

Apple announced its financial results for Q2 2014 this afternoon, and for the most part it beat the Street's expectations. The company sold 43.7 million iPhones and pulled in $45.6 billion in revenue during the three month period, although it did miss slightly on iPad sales at just 16.3 million.

We’re just finishing up the conference call, where Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer and other members of the executive team have discussed Apple’s performance, touted some user stats, and offered insight into the future. And as usual, we’ve rounded up the 15 most interesting points for you…

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Apple Q2 2014 earnings: 43.7M iPhones, 16.3M iPads, $45.6B revenue

Cody Lee ∙ April 23, 2014

As expected, Apple is out with its financial report for Q2 2014 this afternoon. In a press release issued just a few moments ago, Apple announced that it sold 43.7 million iPhones, 16.3 million iPads, and pulled in $45.6 billion in revenue during its fiscal Q2.

Other than iPad sales, Apple beat the Street estimates by a wide margin. The Cupertino company also announced an accelerated strategy for its stock buyback plans, adding an additional $30 billion to the pot (for a total of $90 billion), as well as a 7-1 stock split...

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GameStop ramping up expansion of wireless, Simply Mac stores

Cody Lee ∙ April 23, 2014

Popular video game retailer GameStop is making some significant moves to diversify its business. During an investor presentation yesterday titled “Beyond the Game,” the company's Chief Financial Officer Rob Lloyd said it plans to invest up to $140 million this year building new Spring Mobile and Simply Mac locations.

GameStop acquired both small chains last year in an effort to broaden its business outside of the seemingly-dying used video game racket . Spring Mobile is a third-party retailer for AT&T products and Simply Mac is an authorized Apple product dealer that sets up in areas that are too small for an actual Apple Store...

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IMDb app gains US showtimes, Amazon Prime availability info and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 23, 2014

Hot on the heels of announcing a landmark online-only streaming deal with HBO for old TV shows, Amazon has updated its nicely done IMDb iOS app with several notable enhancements, including U.S. showtimes, media links to its Instant Video streaming service, new page design on the iPhone, bug fixes and more.

The update is now live in the App Store. The app was refreshed with iOS 7 friendly styling last December.

Amazon should be credited for adding new features to the IMDb app on a more or less regular basis. This just exemplifies how the online retailer is able to leverage various services and apps to lure customers into its vast entertainment empire...

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Cable-cutters, rejoice: HBO shows arriving to Fire TV and Amazon Prime on May 21

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

No one can touch Amazon when it comes to the breadth and size of its content library and today's announcement just reinforces the notion. The online retail giant has cut a landmark and unheard-of deal with Home Box Office Inc. (HBO), an American premium cable and satellite television network that in my opinion has the best original TV shows anywhere.

Under the terms of the exclusive multi-year agreement, both Amazon Prime members and owners of the recently introduced $99 Fire TV set-top box will soon be able to stream HBO's old shows three years after they've aired and at no additional charge. Catch 22: HBO is reserving new shows for existing subscribers and you'll need to subscribe to Amazon's $99 per year Prime Instant Video service.

Still, this is huge. Firstly, you won't need an HBO cable TV subscription at all to stream the shows. And secondly, online-only subscriptions to HBO were previously non-existent. Now, Apple TV owners are able to access HBO content via the HBO GO app on their Home screen, but this requires a subscription with a cable or satellite provider and therefore doesn't appeal to cable-cutters...

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SwiftKey Note gets landscape mode with wide keyboard on iPhone, new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 7, 2018

SwiftKey Note by TouchType would file as yet another note-taking iOS app if it weren't for its custom software keyboard with enhanced auto-correction and predictions. Apple has not yet opened up the iOS keyboard to third-party developers so any app that improves upon the soft-keyboard experience is noteworthy.

Since its January debut, the app's undergone several revisions and currently sits at version 1.7.

Developers in a blog post announced that a new version has launched Wednesday with support for landscape keyboard on the iPhone and an additional three new features. If you've been wondering why all the fuss about SwiftKey Note, there's no need to sit on the sidelines as the software is available free of charge in the App Store...

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Apple’s Unibody enclosure manufacturer apparently commissioned to build iPhone 6 metal casings

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

The metal casing of the next iPhone will be made by Catcher Technology, according to Far East media outlets who on Wednesday relayed analyst notes by investment firms Barclays and Morgan Stanley.

Apparently, Catcher has secured a nice chunk of metal casing orders for the upcoming iPhone 6.

If true, this suggests that the iPhone maker is currenly in the process of cherry-picking suppliers that will provide components for the handset.

A report recently claimed that mass production of a 4.7-inch iPhone model is scheduled to commence in July, ahead of a rumored September introduction...

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Siri coming to Apple TV, iOS code strings suggest

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 23, 2014

Apple on April Fool's Day released iOS 7.1 with CarPlay, Siri/Touch ID improvements and more.

As part of the launch, the company has posted the final version of the official iOS 7.1 software development kit (SDK) that programmers use to take advantage of new features.

Enthusiasts frequently comb through iOS code in search of leads that would indicate upcoming new features or devices and iOS 7.1 SDK is no exception. In fact, eagled-eyed fans have spotted a couple interesting references in the iOS code possibly pointing at Apple's digital personal assistant coming to Apple TV boxes...

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Apple lists apps from new iPhone 5s ‘Powerful’ ad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Want to know what apps Apple featured in its latest iPhone 5s ad titled 'Powerful', which started airing last evening? The 30-second commercial suggests that "with the power of iPhone 5s, you're more powerful than you think" by highlighting a number of content creation use cases involving a bunch of third-party apps found on the App Store.

If you've seen the ad, chances are you've spotted a scene in which some guy uses the iPhone's flash as a heart rate monitor, but what about all the other apps?

That's what a new section on Apple's website is for. Titled 'Powerful', the new microsite is solely created with the purpose of exploring the apps from the commercial...

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All Sprint devices released after February 11, 2015 to be unlockable

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 23, 2014

As much as carriers would want to keep devices locked to their network to make switching service impossible, this is fortunately just a pipe dream. Last December, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was able to successfully pressure major U.S. wireless companies to agree to unlock their devices for use on other domestic networks.

The US House in February passed a device unlocking bill and now the nation's third-largest wireless operator Sprint has responded by announcing it will make all of its devices released after February 11, 2015 unlockable for use on competitors’ wireless networks without repercussions...

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Viber finally restyled for iOS 7: gains contact blocking, multiple photo sending and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 23, 2014

Instant messaging and voice service Viber, which was recently snapped up by e-commerce giant Rakuten for $900 million, has finally released its iOS 7 focused redesign, nearly seven months after iOS 7's September 2013 debut.

It's not clear what took so long, but it's finally here so we're not complaining. The update is now live in the App Store so go ahead and grab it now while checking out screenshots of Viber's nicely flattened interface, included right below...

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