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Tag: Apple Watch

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
Clear Destination Launches New Apple Watch-Compatible Web App, Lets Customers Track Home Deliveries

Clear Destination has announced the launch of a new web app that customers can use to track the delivery of large household items, like furniture and appliances. The web portal is available on all web browsers, iPhone, Android, Windows phone, Blackberry (through a software development kit), and on the new Samsung and Apple watches.

Clear claims it is the first home delivery tracking web app to provide such complete details on each step of the delivery, “from the moment customers make the purchase and schedule the shipment, to real-time updates on the item’s location until it’s been delivered.”

To use the app, a customer first signs in via their computer or smartphone, and can instantly locate their item in real-time on a map. Customers can also arrange to receive notifications by texts or emails.

The site has a comprehensive set of tracking features: on top of seeing their purchase, address, and scheduled delivery date, customers will also see pictures of the delivery team assigned to their items, a map with a truck icon displaying the real-time location of the delivery team, the number of deliveries the team has to make before arriving at the customer’s home, an estimated time of arrival (ETA), a customer service chat window, and the ability to cancel or reschedule a delivery at any time.

Plus, if the delivery team arrives at the customer’s home when no one is available, they’ll take a picture of the house or building and upload it to the tracker to demonstrate that they attempted a delivery.

April 8, 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
Meet Apple Pay, Apple’s new mobile payment system

Apple has plunged into the world of mobile payments with the introduction of Apple Pay. This new service is integrated in the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. The payment service is designed to allow users to scan tickets, buy merchandise, and even engage in other payment actions by waving their mobile device at the reader.

With Apple Pay, you may no longer need to carry your credit or debit cards around as you can have all of them stored in your Passbook.

How it Works

With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, you don’t even have to open an app to use the service, simply place your finger on Touch ID and hold your phone near the contactless reader. You do not have to look at the screen as a subtle beep and vibration tells you that the information was sent successfully.

For the Apple Watch, hold the face of your Apple watch near the contactless reader and double click the button that is just below the digital crown. You will know your information was sent successfully when you feel a gentle pulse and a beep. This feature will become active in early 2015.

How to Setup

Setting up is easy as all your debit and credit card info can be stored in your Passbook. To get started, you can add the debit or credit card from your iTunes a/c to Passbook by entering the security code of your card.

Use the iSight Camera to add new card information. You could even type it in manually if you wish. The first card you add becomes your default payment card, but you can always change this by going to Passbook settings and choosing another card to be your default.

Security

Every time you add a card to your Passbook, a unique Device Account Number is created and encrypted. This number is then stored safely in a secure element on your iPhone or Apple Watch. Apple does not store these numbers in their servers. When you are making a payment, the Device Account Number, together with a dynamic transaction-specific security code are used to process your payment. This therefore means that your actual debit or credit card numbers never get to be transmitted with payments or shared with merchants.

In case you lose your iPhone, you could always wipe it clean or put it in Lost Mode using Find My iPhone.

You will be able to use Apple Pay in over 220,000 stores that accept contactless payments.

September 11, 2014
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