Apple Inc.

[piggo]

Looks like Apple Pay isn't faring much better than Google Wallet... and like a lemming, Samsung is following Apple off this cliff.

[CityFarmer]

A major law suit for Apple, with similar scale as Samsung case?

Apple loses patent lawsuit to University of Wisconsin, faces hefty damages
14 Oct 2015 07:18
[NEW YORK] Apple Inc could be facing up to US$862 million in damages after a U.S. jury on Tuesday found the iPhone maker used technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's licensing arm without permission in chips found in many of its most popular devices.

The jury in Madison, Wisconsin also said the patent, which improves processor efficiency, was valid. The trial will now move on to determine how much Apple owes in damages.

Representatives for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.
...
REUTERS

Source: Business Times Breaking News

[greengiraffe]

How China is changing Apple
DateOctober 27, 2015 - 6:38PM

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John McDuling
Associate Editor, Digital

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Apple is big in China Photo: Bloomberg

"I get updates on our performance in China every day, including this morning, and I can tell you that we have continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August."
That was Apple CEO Tim Cook, back in August, in a 5am email to CNBC presenter Jim Cramer.
The email was sent at a time when concerns about China's unpredictable economy (the country surprisingly devalued its currency and its stockmarket was falling sharply) were rapidly mounting. 

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China is a big deal for Apple. Photo: Chinatopix/AP

On Friday (AEST) we'll finally discover just how strongly Apple's business performed in China during an extremely eventful quarter.
As I've written before, China is incredibly important to Apple. 
Four years ago, when the device giant first started breaking out its sales from China, the fast-growing economy accounted for less than 10 per cent of the company's total revenue. Today that figure is closer to 30 per cent.
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China is the company's fastest growing region: last quarter, sales from Greater China increased by 120 per cent from a year earlier, compared with a 15 per cent increase for the Americas region (which is mainly the US) over the same period.
It is also the place with the most upside for Apple. There are 1.4 billion people in the country, and most of them don't have smartphones. And among those that do, Apple has actually lost market share to local player Xiaomi. 
So, while some sceptics believe Apple is already so big it will have trouble growing from here, it would seem there is plenty of room left for expansion in China. 
That explains why Apple has actually been tailoring its products to suit Chinese consumers for a while now.
The company's decision to release a cheaper version of the iPhone a couple of years ago was made with the Chinese market in mind.
CEO Tim Cook admitted in an interview last year that the company decided to offer gold-coloured iPhones (and no doubt Apple Watches) because the colour is particularly popular in China.  
If Apple managed to perform well in China last quarter, as Cook suggests it did (unless things really, really deteriorated in September), it will raise a couple of interesting questions.
Maybe conditions there aren't as shaky as they seem to outsiders.
Or maybe Apple's brand and business really are so strong it wouldn't even matter.
But that assumes Apple's sales in China were strong. We'll have to wait a few more hours to find out.  

[greengiraffe]

http://www.business-standard.com/article...042_1.html

(Reuters) - Apple Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit as sales of iPhones surged 36 percent, driven by the launch of the 6S and 6S Plus models last month.
The world's largest company by market value said on Tuesday that it sold about 48.05 million iPhones in the fourth quarter. Analysts on average had expected sales of 48.72 million iPhones, according to a poll by Fortune magazine.
Apple's sales in China nearly doubled to $12.52 billion, accounting for nearly a quarter of its total revenue.
The company's shares rose 2.6 percent in extended trading.

[CityFarmer]

Apple's iPad Pro is an old product concept, but it seems attractive for road warriors. An viable choice over the MS Surface 4. Which one will be chose among them?

(not vested)

Apple’s Pro super-tablet a whole new experience

SINGAPORE — “Why is it so big?” my colleagues asked when I first brought the iPad Pro into the office. Though the Pro’s 12.9-in (32.8-cm) retina display may have been announced months ago, you only get a true sense of its size once you see it up close.

For those used to the iPad Air and Mini, the Pro’s display may seem monstrous in comparison. In fact, I found that it was not as comfortable to handle with one hand.

But all that additional “real estate” is put to good use. Factoring in its computing performance and accessories (the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil), I can see myself never having to travel with a laptop again. At 713g, the iPad Pro is about 200g lighter than the latest MacBooks.

Nearly every task works better with the Pro, compared with the iPad Air or Mini. From surfing the Net to watching and editing videos to typing this review, the Pro’s larger screen comes in handy. iOS 9’s split-view feature, for instance, functions a lot better on the Pro. I typed up this review on one side of the screen, while referring to notes on another.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...epage=true

[Boon]

Apple stock crash nears another scary level

[Image: Krantz_Matt.png] Matt Krantz, USA TODAY 1:20 p.m. EST January 6, 2016

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/mark.../78309422/
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[Boon]

Digitimes Research: Apple iPhone 6s/6s Plus expected to see on-year decline in 1Q16
Luke Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Friday 8 January 2016]

Apple's iPhone shipments are expected to have registered single-digit percentage growth on year in the fourth quarter of 2015, but shipments are likely to drop 5.2-10.1% on year in the first quarter of 2016 as sales of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus both performed weaker than expected, according to Digitimes Research's latest iPhone report. However, the decline rate of iPhone sales in the first quarter of 2016 will be significant lower than orders to OEM iPhone makers and component suppliers for the quarter.

Shipments of iPhone devices grew by an annual growth rate of over 50% from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015 after Apple launched its iPhone 6/6 Plus in late September 2014. Although on-year growth slowed to 36% in the third quarter of 2015, sales of iPhone products accounted for over 60% of Apple's total revenues for four consecutive quarters through the quarter.

Digitimes Research attributed the lackluster performance of the iPhone 6s/6s Plus to the impact of their iPhone 6 predecessors, which featured larger screens, and thus attracted high interest among consumers.

Consequently, combined iPhone shipments for the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 are likely to lie within a range of 5% up or down as compared to combined shipments the same period of a year earlier, Digitimes Research estimated.

Digitimes Research also found that there was a significant gap between the production volume of iPhone 6s/6s Plus by OEM suppliers and the sales volume of these devices by Apple for the third quarter of 2015 (Apple's fiscal fourth quarter of 2015). As a result, a total of 13-15 million iPhone 6s devices will be booked as deferred sales by Apple for the fourth quarter of 2015 (Apple's fiscal first-quarter 2016).

Given that OEM iPhone orders for the fourth quarter of 2015 totaled over 75 million units, Digitimes Research believes that deferred sales booking will continue in the first quarter of 2016, widening the gap between end-market sales and orders to OEM suppliers for the quarter.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160108VL201.html
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[CityFarmer]

Apple car coming?

Apple registers automobile domain names, including “apple.car”

WASHINGTON - Apple has registered domain names related to automobiles, adding to speculation about the company’s plans to develop an automobile.

The iPhone maker registered the domain names, which include apple.car, apple.cars and apple.auto in December, according to domain information provider Who.is.

MacRumors had first reported the news yesterday (Jan 8), but said the domain names could be related to Apple’s CarPlay, which lets drivers access contacts on their iPhones, make calls or listen to voicemails without taking their hands off the steering wheel.

While never openly acknowledging plans to build a car, Apple has been aggressive in recruiting auto experts from companies such as Ford or Mercedes-Benz.

Car technology has become a prime area of interest for Silicon Valley companies including Google Inc, which has built a prototype self-driving car. REUTERS
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-re...g-applecar

[Boon]

Apple warns iPhone sales set to fall for first time

Apple has reported the slowest growth in iPhone sales since the product's 2007 launch and warned sales will fall for the first time later this year.................................................
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35412892
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[CityFarmer]

Apple chief reacts consistently, on both FBI request, and China authority request of "back-door-access" of technology companies operated in China... ;-)

Apple chief calls FBI iPhone case 'bad for America'
25 Feb 2016 07:18
[SAN FRANCISCO] Apple chief Tim Cook went public on Wednesday in his battle with the FBI, saying that unlocking an iPhone in the name of fighting terrorism would be "bad for America." "I think safety of the public is incredibly important - safety of our kids, safety of our families is very important," Mr Cook said during a television interview with ABC News.

"The protection of people's data is incredibly important, and so the trade-off here is we know that doing this could expose people to incredible vulnerabilities."
...
AFP

Source: Business Times Breaking News