Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Apple plunges after earnings, wiping out $46B in market cap

Apple's (AAPL) stock tumbled nearly 8 percent in early trading Wednesday as analysts expressed their disappointment with the tech giant's latest quarterly report.

The company's stock fall took out $46 billion from its market cap, but it still remains the largest company in that regard.
Click here to check Apple's latest price
At least a dozen investment firms slashed their price targets on the stock, which was once considered a Wall Street darling. Among them was Drexel Hamilton, which cut its price target to $185 from $200.
"As the iPhone 6-Series nears the end of this two-year cycle and the macro backdrop remains challenging, volatility in Apple's results is to be expected," Drexel analyst Brian White said in a Wednesday note to clients, adding that he reduced his fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates to $1.37 a share and $42.05 billion, respectively, from $1.60 a share and $44.55 billion.
The tech giant posted fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.90 a share on $50.56 billion in revenue, marking its first quarter-over-quarter revenue decline since 2003. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected Apple to report earnings of about $2 a share on $51.97 billion in revenue.
Apple also recorded its first-ever iPhone year-over-year sales decline last quarter. Despite this, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC on Tuesday that the company is in "the early innings of the iPhone."
Nonetheless, the Dow component recently fell back into bear-market territory.
AAPL in the past year
© Provided by CNBC
Apple is the latest major tech company to disappoint on earnings. Last week, Microsoft (MSFT) and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL) posted weaker-than-expected earnings, sending their stocks lower.

Monday, April 25, 2016

One of the most reliable Apple analysts doesn’t see “many attractive selling points for iPhone 7

Martin Hajek Concept iPhone se iPhone 7 iPhone Pro image 001
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has arguably the strongest track record among his peers when it comes to anticipating unreleased Apple products. That being said, his most recent research note that he issued to clients last evening is something of a surprise to ardent Apple watchers.
In it, the revered analyst pours cold water on various iPhone 7 expectations, stating he doesn’t see “many attractive selling points” for the upcoming handset. A copy of Kuo’s note to clients was obtained by AppleInsider.
As a matter of fact, Kuo believes Apple will be the only top-five smartphone vendor to see its shipments decline this year before they rebound in 2018, in time for a rumored monster iPhone 8 refresh.
“We don’t see many attractive selling points for iPhone 7 in fiscal 2016 and are conservative on shipments in the second half of fiscal 2016,” reads the research note.

The iPhone needs a makeover

“While we believe the high-end smartphone market still has room for growth, the development of a newer, more innovative user experience is a prerequisite for growth,” wrote the analyst.
He thinks iPhone shipments will drop due to these three reasons:
  • Intensification of market competition
  • Time needed for commercialization of new user experience technologies
  • iPhone needs a makeover to keep attracting consumers
Despite this, Apple is projected to retain its place as the second-largest smartphone vendor in the world, after Samsung. As for Samsung, Kuo thinks its smartphone sales will grow one percent this year.
Huawei will be third thanks to its sales growing 15.1 percent to 122 million handsets. OPPO will be fourth with a 51.1 percent sales spike to 74 million units and Vivo will take the fifth spot on an estimated 45.5 percent growth and 64 million units, Kuo wrote.
So, what kind of an iPhone makeover is Kuo talking about?
In the analyst’s mind, the Cupertino firm should revitalize the user experience with a new form factor design, new software feature and boosted hardware specifications.

Unimpressive iPhone refresh

Kuo’s research note slashes anticipated iPhone shipment down to between 190 million units (worst case scenario) and 205 million units (best case scenario) in the 2016 fiscal year versus Wall Street consensus of 210-230 million iPhones this year.
Assuming the worst-case estimate proves true and Apple ships 190 million iPhone units in fiscal 2016, it’ll be a worrying eighteen percent reduction in shipments. By comparison, Apple shipped 169.22 million iPhones in its fiscal year 2014 and 231.22 million iPhone in fiscal 2015.
A stronger-than-expected sales of the iPhone SE (Kuo revised iPhone SE shipments projection up from twelve million to eighteen million units) won’t be enough to offset these declines, especially with lower-than-expected iPhone 6s demand, he concluded.
Apple during its most recent earnings call warned investors to brace themselves for a year-over-year decline in iPhone sales, which has never happened since the iPhone’s 2007 debut. Apple is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings tomorrow.

iPhone 7 or iPhone 8 features? You decide!

The problem with Kuo’s analysis is the fact that we simply don’t know which of the rumored features will make it into this year’s iPhone refresh. Some of the features that may or may not be in tow for a 2017 or 2018 iPhone include:
So, what do you guys think?
Which of the aforementioned features will appear in the iPhone 7 come this fall?

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Apple Seeds iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to Developers

Two weeks after Apple released the first beta of iOS 9.3.2 to its registered developers, the company today released iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to members of the Apple Developer Program. The new beta has a build number and can be applied over-the-air on devices running an iOS 9 beta in Settings → General → Software Update or you can download the full installer from the Apple Developer Center, which requires a paid membership in the Apple Developer Program for full access.



It doesn’t seem this new build has any new features aside from performance and bug fixes, including a fix for a longstanding Game Center bug. Apple continues to single out Dictionary, iBooks, Safari and Simulator as the focus areas.

What’s New in iOS 9.3.2:
Quick Actions: The Quick Actions feature tends to stutter when opening in Landscape mode for may users using the current version of iOS 9.3. However, many testers are noting that in the first beta of iOS 9.3.2, Quick Actions now opens smoothly in Landscape.

Low Power Mode and Night Shift: According to those already trying out the second developer beta, the new software brings with it, in addition to the above fix, the ability to launch Low Power Mode and Night Shift at the same time. While it was removed in earlier beta releases, it’s made its triumphant return, and will now let you activate both features simultaneously.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Apple opens registration for WWDC ticket lottery

wwdc
Apple on Monday confirmed Siri’s claim that WWDC will take place June 13-17 this year, and opened registration for its WWDC ticket lottery. The company’s annual conference has become so popular that it has to randomly issue tickets to registered developers.
Registration will be available from April 18, to Friday April 22nd. You must be a member of Apple’s developer program (having joined prior to today’s announcement) to qualify for the lottery, and if you are lucky enough to be selected, tickets are priced at $1,599.
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off at the historic Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for an unforgettable Monday as Apple’s renowned developer community comes together to learn about the future of OS X, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. The Keynote and State of the Union promise exciting reveals, providing inspiration and new opportunities to continue creating the most innovative apps in the world. End the day by honoring the most remarkable developers of the year at the Apple Design Awards.
Additionally, throughout the week there will be over 1,000 Apple engineers on hand supporting more than 150 hands-on labs and events to provide developers with very personal and expert assistance. There will also be several guest speakers, live music and more.
So if you’re a developer and want to get in on the WWDC action, make sure to register for the lottery by Friday.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Apple reaches $2.6 billion agreement for Samsung to supply OLED panels in 2017

A new report from the Korean Herald suggests that Samsung and Apple have proposed a deal which Samsung would supply more than 100 million OLED display units to Apple beginning in 2017.




The report from the Korean Herald and many other reports similar to this have suggested also that Apple plans to switch to OLED panels beginning in 2017.

The agreement between Samsung and Apple is reportedly worth around $2.59 billion, both companies are expected to maintain the agreement for three years. However, the report makes no mention of Samsung providing any 4.7-inch panels. Obviously, Samsung declined to confirm the deal to reporters, meeting expectations for its privacy policy.

Under the deal, Samsung Display will supply around 100 million units of 5.5-inch panels annually, with the value being estimated at 3 trillion won ($2.59 billion). Samsung Display, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co., declined to confirm the deal, citing its privacy policy.
Rumors in regards to Apple's iDevice displays have been picking up a bit of heat. A report last month suggested that Apple would be switching to the OLED panels in the 5.5-inch iPhone. Other reports have states Apple is aiming to use OLED technology by 2018 or 2019 however it’s looking more promising that we will see the first OLED iPhones in 2017, obviously nothing is for certain until Apple officially makes an announcement.

KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple would entirely revamp its iPhone lineup in 2017. Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple would switch to a device with a “completely new form factor design” with more narrow bezels and a “more comfortably grip” and an all-glass design like the iPhone 4/4s.

The report also noted that Apple was considering a 5.8-inch model, as well as wireless charging.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

WhatsApp Announces Full Encryption on All Platforms

WhatsApp Announces Full Encryption on All Platforms
WhatsApp, the world's most popular instant-message app with more than 1 billion users, is now fully encrypted on all platforms: Android, iPhone, Blackberry and others.
That's good news for users who care about security and privacy, including journalists and dissidents. At the same time, it represents the intensification of a trend toward ubiquitous encryption that has posed challenges for law enforcement in the United States and around the world.
"The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us," WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton wrote in a blog post Tuesday.
Such encryption, in which only the sender and receiver can decrypt messages, makes it virtually impossible for foreign governments and U.S. agencies to intercept instant messages and voice calls, even with a warrant.
WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, has frustrated federal investigators in criminal investigations, but the Justice Department has not taken the matter to court publicly in the way it did recently with Apple.
The Apple case involved data stored on an iPhone used by one of the terrorists in San Bernardino, California. By contrast, WhatsApp provides chat, group chat and voice call services to users - or "data in motion."
WhatsApp and Facebook are "great American companies," FBI General Counsel James A. Baker said Tuesday in a moderated discussion at a conference of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. But "this presents us with a significant problem."
If the trend continues, he said, "encryption like that will continue to roll out in a variety of different ways across the technological landscape." Some of it is good, he said, noting that his own data has been stolen by hackers a number of times and he wished that the data had been encrypted. "But the key thing is, that it has costs."
His boss, FBI Director James B. Comey, has often said that the Islamic State is using encrypted apps to direct people to kill "innocent people" in the United States. And it is hindering investigations of murder, child pornography, organized crime and a range of other crimes, law enforcement officials said.
Still, Comey said at a congressional hearing last month: "It is not our job to tell the American people how to resolve that problem. . . . Our job is simply to tell people there is a problem."
But for WhatsApp and Open Whisper Systems, a group of software developers that has helped the company integrate the "end-to-end" encryption into its platform, the issues are security and privacy. "What we're doing is trying to make private communications simple," not thwart criminal investigations, said Moxie Marlinspike, founder of Open Whisper Systems.
Criminals and terrorists will use encryption regardless of what commercial firms do, he said. Some al-Qaida-linked groups have released their own encryption platforms.
Koum and Acton said in their blog post: "While we recognize the important work of law enforcement in keeping people safe, efforts to weaken encryption risk exposing people's information to abuse from cybercriminals, hackers, and rogue states."
Koum, who is WhatsApp chief executive, said he has a personal stake in privacy. "I grew up in the USSR during communist rule and the fact that people couldn't speak freely is one of the reasons my family moved to the United States."
Open Whisper Systems developed the encryption protocol for WhatsApp - the same protocol used for an Open Whisper messaging app called Signal, which has millions of users. Over the next year, Open Whisper Systems will continue to work with additional messaging platforms to incorporate strong encryption, the group said.