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Apple Reports Record Q3 2015 Results
Apple has just announced financial results for its fiscal 2015 third quarter (ended June 27, 2015). The company posted quarterly revenue of $49.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $10.7 billion. These results compare to revenue of $37.4 billion and net profit of $7.7 billion in the year-ago quarter.

In the Q3 2015 Apple sold:
- iPhone: 47 million units (35 mln in Q3 2014)
- iPad: 10.9 million units (13 mln in Q3 2014)
- Mac: 4.7 million units (4.4 mln in Q3 2014)
Revenue by product:
- iPhone: $31.3 b
- iPad: $4.5 b
- Mac: $6 b
- Services (iTunes, AppleCare, Apple Pay, licensing and other services): $5 b
- Other products ( Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats Electronics, iPod and Apple-branded and third-party accessories): 2.6 b
Gross margin was 39.7 percent compared to 39.4 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 64 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

According to Apple, “the growth was fueled by record third quarter sales of iPhone and Mac, all-time record revenue from services and the successful launch of Apple Watch.”

“In the third quarter our year-over-year growth rate accelerated from the first half of fiscal 2015, with revenue up 33 percent and earnings per share up 45 percent,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We generated very strong operating cash flow of $15 billion, and we returned over $13 billion to shareholders through our capital return program.”

Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $.52 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 13, 2015, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 10, 2015.
July 21, 2015
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook Says Chinese Tastes Considered in Apple Product Designs

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook recently admitted that Apple takes into account Chinese consumer tastes as it designs its products. He further revealed that Apple considers details such as color palettes that are specifically tailored to suit local tastes.

The decision to include a gold iPhone last year for instance was a bold statement of inclusion of its Chinese customer’s tastes where gold is a favorite. Greater Chine, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, is now Apple’s 2^nd largest market and it is also a battleground for the American company as it faces stiff competition from Xiaomi Corp. and Samsung Electronics.

Tim made this comments last month during a tour to China where he was visiting the company’s largest store worldwide in eastern city of Hangzhou. Tim also commented on the Apple Watch saying that it had already had a promising start having attracted more developer interest than the earliest iPads and iPhones had. Developers are developing more than 3,500 apps for the wearable and that is far ahead of the 500 apps available for the iPhone (2008 edition) and the 1,000 apps for the 1^st iPad back in 2010, he added.

Apple is still silent on the initial sales for the watch, which is considered its first truly new product after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. It is also seen as a key test on Tim’s ability to shape the company’ products.

June 25, 2015
A Number of Macs and iPhones are about to become ‘Vintage’ or ‘Obsolete’ in June, losing Apple Repair Support

Starting 9^th June, 2015 a couple of Apple products will be classified as either vintage or obsolete in Europe, Canada, Asia-Pacific, United States, Japan, Latin American and Apple Retail Stores.

According to Apple, vintage products are those that have been in production for more than 5 years and less than 7 years. Apple has discontinued hardware service for all vintage products apart from Macintosh products purchased in Turkey and Products purchased in California, United States.

Obsolete products on the other hand are those that were discontinued more than 7 years ago. These products hardware service has been discontinued with no exceptions.

Some of the iPhone models that are about to get the boot include the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G (China), iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS (China). These models will achieve the vintage status if they were bought in California.

Other Apple products that are becoming obsolete come 9^th include iMac (24-inch, Mid 2007), iMac (20-inch, Mid 2007, and MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid-2009). These products will no longer be supported for service or repair unless they were bought in Turkey. In addition, a few more Apple products lose the vintage status after they were marked as obsolete in the US and they include Xserve RAID (SFP, Late 2004), Xserve (Late 2006), AirPort Express Base Station, MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.4/2.2GHZ), and MacBook Pro (17-inch, 2.4GHZ).

The above products will achieve their new status (vintage or obsolete) sometime next month and they will therefore no longer be supported for repair by authorized resellers or Apple Stores. However, Apple will continue offering support to AppleCare customers by phone.

A comprehensive list of the vintage and obsolete Apple devices is available here.

May 26, 2015
Confirmed: Apple HomeKit Products to Start Shipping in June

Soon your iPhone will control your locks, cameras, lights, thermostats, doors, plugs and switches via corresponding apps.

Apple has confirmed to Mashable that the HomeKit products will start shipping in June this year. This news comes in the wake of another published by Fortune claiming that Apple users might have to wait longer for HomeKit products.

Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman, said in an email directed to Mashable that the HomeKit had already attracted dozes of partners who are ready to provide HomeKit accessories, with the first hitting the market as early as next month.

The HomeKit platform was first announced in June last year during Apple’s developers conference promising to replace garage clickers, thermostat dials, and light switches with a single control panel that seamlessly integrates with Apple devices. Siri could for example be extended to respond to commands for HomeKit enabled products.

It is important to note that Apple won’t be launching HomeKit by turning on a switch since the HomeKit products will be available once the approved accessory developers go live with their products.

Apple opened the certification process last November and the first batch of approvals came in January. Apple says it is now waiting for the device makers to launch their products.

Also read: Apple TV will be the center of Apple’s smart home

May 22, 2015
Broadcom’s Internet of Things WICED Platform Now Offers Full HomeKit Support
Broadcom has announced that its Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) SDK now offers full HomeKit support. As the first company to meet HomeKit technical specifications for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart, Broadcom expands its Internet of Things (IoT) portfolio offerings.

Broadcom’s WICED platform enables developers and OEMs to take advantage of the growing Apple’s HomeKit ecosystem. By helping companies create IoT products that are HomeKit compliant, Broadcom is said to reduce time-to-market and improve the consumer experience.

Broadcom’s WICED platform can also connect endpoints through a process known as bridging that delivers the benefits of HomeKit through a hardware module. This allows a product like a Bluetooth Smart light bulb to connect to a smart plug containing Broadcom’s WICED module, creating a bridge from the light bulb to the user’s HomeKit-supported app on their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

HomeKit offers a set of common protocols making it easier for customers to control HomeKit-enabled accessories using Siri or iOS applications. HomeKit is built on a secure foundation with end-to-end encryption which provides customers a secure connection between their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and HomeKit-enabled accessory.

Key Features:
- Support for 802.11ab/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart
- Compact design to support multiple microcontrollers (MCUs) and systems-on-a-chip (SOCs)
- Low memory footprint
- Integrated development tools
- Reliable interoperability and integrated security
- Upgradeable over wireless connections
Availability
Broadcom’s WICED SDK and hardware module with HomeKit support are available now.
May 14, 2015
Vodafone and Dropbox Team up on Cloud Storage

Vodafone and Dropbox are partnering to provide the telco’s Android and iPhone users with free cloud storage for a year.

Starting this month, new Vodafone users will have 25 GB of cloud storage space on Dropbox. This service will be available to Vodafone’s Android and iPhone users. A majority of Vodafone’s Android phones will come preloaded with the Dropbbox app.

What’s the implication? Well, Vodafone users can now count on extra space that can also make switching over to a new phone a much easier process as all you have to do is save all your videos, photos, and all your files on your old phone to Dropbox and then just sign in to your Dropbox app in your new phone and all your files will be there waiting for you.

Vodafone also said that it will use Dropbox as its platform for its Backup+ service that allows Vodafone users to backup messages, multimedia content, and contacts on the cloud. The Backup+ service will start rolling out by the end of March, 2015 and will be ready for use over the coming months.

The partnership between Dropbox and Vodafone is not entirely a new concept as just last year around October 02 entered a partnership with Box to resell the cloud storage service to SMEs.

March 12, 2015
Apple Watch Full Specification, Availability and Prices Announced
We’ve all been waiting for the launch of the Apple Watch since September, and just a few weeks before it hits the retail stores, Apple has released its full specifications together with its prices.

The Apple Watch is the newest device to be added to the Apple family. According to Apple, the watch is designed to cater to a variety of personal styles and preferences since they believe that what you wear is an expression of who you are. That said, you can get the watch in a variety of designs and they include: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition.

Looking to get fit?

The Apple Watch is your comprehensive fitness companion as it will allow you to measure your day’s activity with a simple 3-ring graphic. The watch will tell you exactly what you need to do so as to keep fit. For instance, sit less and move more often blah blah… The watch will also suggest at the beginning of the week what you need to do more so as to achieve your fitness goals.

Other than time-keeping, fitness, and being your smart partner, the watch also hosts lots of great apps. The Apple Watch app is now available on iOS 8.2 for download. This is how you connect the watch to the phone. With this app you can choose what notifications you want to receive.

What about the battery?

Well, Apple has used state-of-the-art battery that is able to last up to 18 hours on a typical day. Charging the watch is a breeze, you will only need to attach a magnetic charger at the back.

Availability

Apple says that the Watch will be available for pre-order starting 10^th of April, 2015. It will also start shipping on the 24^th of April and will at first be available to a select few countries US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Hong Kong, China, Germany, and Japan, with more to follow.

Prices

The Watches will all sell at different prices with the cheapest being the Apple Watch Sport (tailored for athletes) and it will start selling at $349.

The more fashionable stainless steel Apple Watch will cost between $549 and $1,040 for the smaller version and between $599 and $1,099 for the larger version.

The price range for each will depend on the band. The 18-karat Apple Watch Edition is the most expensive of all starting at $10,000.

Other Products/News
- Welcome HBO NOW for Apple TV
With Apple TV you can now get all the best programs from the best provides, HBO included. With HBO NOW you do not need to have a satellite or cable subscription as you can now watch all on Apple TV. This service will be exclusively available in the U.S. only starting April. It is set to cost $14.99 a month.

Read more about HBO NOW on Apple TV.
- The thinnest MacBook yet released
Apple has also announced a new MacBook laptop that weighs just 2 pounds and 13.1mm at its thickest point and according to Philip Schiller (Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing) says that this is the thinnest MacBook that Apple has ever created.

The MacBook is fitted with a trackpad with sensors that will detect just how hard you are pressing. For example, a soft-click on the forward button on a video will forward the video slower and a hard click will forward it faster.

The MacBook also comes with a revolutionary new port – the USB-C that allows you to do 5 things in one! For instance, you can use the port for hooking up a USB device, plug a video monitor, or use it for charging.

The MacBook like the new iPhones is available in dark gray, silver, and gold and it will retail at $1,299 and shipping starts on April 10.
March 10, 2015
Telsyte: Australia’s smartwatch market to exceed $400M by 2018

With some 370,000 smartwatches sold in 2014, Australians are warming to wearable computing with the market poised to exceed $400 million by 2018, according to new research from emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte.

According to Telsyte’s Australian Smartphone & Wearable Devices Market Study 2015, the smartwatch market is expected to grow by at least 50 per cent in 2015 due to the arrival of an Apple Watch.

Samsung, an early entrant in to the smartwatch market is the current market leader.

Watch jewellery is a mature market with around 40 per cent (more than 7 million) of Australians (age 16 and above) wearing a watch almost every day. Notwithstanding the challenges, smartwatches have the potential to disrupt the traditional market as people consider wearable devices an extension to their smartphone and apps they use for fitness and communications.

Telsyte Managing Director Foad Fadaghi says smartwatches will become more appealing to consumers as new stylish and featured devices enter the market, with the 25 to 44 year-old age group representing the best sales opportunity in 2015.

“There is a lot of anticipation for the Apple smartwatch and our research indicates half of all smart fitness band users are looking to upgrade to a smartwatch, creating a potentially vibrant new product category” Fadaghi says.

Telsyte research showed that over 800,000 smart wristbands such as those made by Fitbit and Garmin were sold in 2014.

As with smartphones, consumers consider ease of use, pricing and battery life the most important attributes of smartwatches. Many current smartwatches have been criticised for their short battery life and limited unique usage scenarios.

Telsyte’s research found the top three applications people want from a smartwatch are to (1) check the time and date (2) use it as an alarm clock or a reminder alert, and (3) read messages, including e-mail.

Smartphone sales mature as hand-me-down devices shake up the mid-market

According to Telsyte research, there were 16.8 million smartphone users in Australia at the end of December 2014 with sales of just below 5 million units in the second half of 2014.

This was around 10 per cent less than Telsyte expected over H2, despite very strong iPhone 6 sales.

Telsyte Senior Analyst Alvin Lee says the iPhone gained market share in H2 2014, but the overall share trends are likley to change again as an Android-users upgrade cycle in expected to commence in early 2015.

However, Telsyte has recognised increased competition to Android device by older model iPhones, typically received through a “hand-me-down”.

“The durability of handsets and the hand-me-down phenomenon is impacting the market, along with a flood of second hand iPhones cutting into sales of mid-tier Android handsets in the second half of 2014,” Lee says.

Telsyte estimates 1.3 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units sold in Australia last year, with the iPhone 6 outselling the iPhone 6 Plus, at a ratio four to one. Despite this Telsyte believes the demand for phablets or larger form factor smartphones is growing and will represent around a quarter of smartphones in use by 2019.

February 26, 2015
Apple introduces Apple Watch

During the iPhone 6 launch yesterday, Apple announced the Apple Watch, which is its first incursion into the world of wearable tech. The Apple Watch is a smartwatch with a rectangular face, swappable bands, sapphire glass, inductive charging, rotating digital crown, and a heartbeat sensor.

You will have an opportunity to choose between 6 different straps, including a leather loop, a sport band, stainless steel strap and a classic leather buckle that is easy to adjust.

The watch will also be available in 2 different sizes and 3 different collections, including the Watch Edition, Watch, and Watch Sport.

Of course, the Apple Watch will only work in conjunction with an iPhone, so you will have to own a relatively new model starting with iPhone 5.

Revolutionary you think?

During the launch, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said “We love to make new products that improve people’s lives. We love to make things that allow our users to make things that they could never have imagined.” He also added that the Apple Watch will redefine what people expect from its category.

How Different is it from the iPhone?

Cook stressed that they did not just take the iPhone and transformed it into a watch. Take the Pinch to Zoom for instance, this wouldn’t work on a watch and for that matter, Apple has a small dial on the side of the watch known as the digital crown. Pressing the dial takes you to the home screen which you can personalize.

They also introduced the digital touch that allows users to quickly share a sketch that is drawn on the watch’s face. Since the watch doesn’t have a keyboard, the digital touch allows you to still communicate relatively complex ideas using sketches.

It is also important not to forget the basic function of the watch – it’s a timepiece. The watch is able to keep unfailingly precise time of 50 milliseconds of the global standard time.

You can also receive and send texts from the watch. You will feel a gentle tap whenever you get a message and you can also send out quick replies. There are customizable animated emoji too.

The watch is also your intelligent fitness companion as it will provide you with a complete report of you day’s physical activity. This includes the number of steps taken, the frequency, and quality as well. Your Activity App will simply display your fitness level in 3 rings that show your progress and thus provide you with all the motivation you need to exercise more and keep fit.

The Apple Watch retail price will start at $349 and will be available early 2015.

September 10, 2014
Apple and IBM partner to bring a ‘new class’ of business iPhone and iPad apps to enterprise
Apple and IBM announced yesterday an exclusive partnership to transform enterprise mobility through a ‘new class’ of business apps – MobileFirst for iOS that will bring IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone and iPad.

The partnership aims to ‘address key industry mobility challenges’ by creating:
- a new class of more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions including native apps, developed exclusively from the ground up, for iPhone and iPad;
- unique IBM cloud services optimized for iOS, including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration;
- new AppleCare® service and support offering tailored to the needs of the enterprise; and
- new packaged offerings from IBM for device activation, supply and management.
As part of the agreement, IBM will also sell iPhones and iPads with the industry-specific solutions to business clients worldwide.

Specifically, the two companies are working together to deliver the following elements of enterprise mobile solutions:

– Mobile solutions that transform business: The companies will collaborate to build IBM MobileFirst for iOS Solutions—a new class of “made-for-business apps” targeting specific industry issues or opportunities in retail, healthcare, banking, travel and transportation, telecommunications and insurance, among others, that will become available starting this fall and into 2015.

– Mobile platform: The IBM MobileFirst Platform for iOS will deliver the services required for an end-to-end enterprise capability, from analytics, workflow and cloud storage, to fleet-scale device management, security and integration.

– Mobile service and support: AppleCare for Enterprise will provide IT departments and end users with 24/7 assistance from Apple’s customer support group, with on-site service delivered by IBM.

– Packaged service offerings: IBM is introducing IBM MobileFirst Supply and Management for device supply, activation and management services for iPhone and iPad, with leasing options.
July 16, 2014