A new report has found that mobile device shipments, including notebooks, tablets and smartphones, exceeded 300 million units in the first quarter of 2013. According to research from Canalys, shipments increased 37.4% year-over-year to reach 308.7 units. Android manufacturers continue to ship more devices than any other vendor, totaling 59.5% of all shipments. Strong demand for the iPhone and iPad gave Apple a 19.3% share, ahead of Microsoft’s 18.1% share from shipments of Windows-powered notebooks, tablets and smartphones. More →
Apple’s negotiations with Warner Music and Sony Music to launch its “iRadio” streaming music service have hit a snag, The Financial Times reported. Earlier reports suggested Apple was close to striking deals with two major labels, and Universal Music has reportedly already agreed to terms that will see its catalog made available on Apple’s upcoming streaming music service, which should be similar to those offered by Pandora and Spotify. Apple’s most recent offer to Sony and Warner was 12.5 cents per 100 streamed tracks, the report claims, but neither label has accepted the terms at this point. According to FT, they want Apple to pay more than the standard rate paid by Pandora and similar services because of its “broader ambitions for iRadio.” It is unclear exactly how Apple plans to structure the upcoming service, which the company seemingly hopes to launch this summer.
Images of what is claimed to be part of the motherboard from Apple’s next-generation iPhone 5S handset leaked on Thursday. The photos were originally published by Japan-based cell phone parts and accessories vendor Moumantai, and they show redesigned internal components that suggest earlier rumors claiming the iPhone 5S will include an upgraded rear camera may be accurate. Apple’s next iPhone is expected to launch this fall with an upgraded processor and a new camera, which may feature 12-megapixel resolution and improved low-light image capture capabilities. The photos of the purported iPhone 5S part, which features a new shape and redesigned connectors, follow below alongside comparison shots of the iPhone 5 motherboard. More →
The iPhone 5 has come under a lot of scrutiny lately, with both analysts and Apple suppliers claiming that they’ve seen disappointing demand for the device, but now it seems that demand for the iPad mini may be falling as well. Bloomberg reports that iPad mini manufacturer Pegatron is projecting that its second-quarter revenue “will drop 25% to 30% from the previous three months,” which marks the biggest drop since “a 37% decline in the fourth quarter of 2011.” Pegatron CEO Jason Cheng said that falling demand for Apple’s smaller tablet was a significant part of the plunge in revenues, while adding that it’s “not just tablets, also e-books and games consoles, almost every item is moving in a negative direction.” Bloomberg says that the iPad mini accounts than more than 50% of Pegatron’s revenue. More →
Apple claims Google is withholding information about Samsung’s use of the Android source code. The company is now asking a judge to force Google to turn over documents related to Android as part of its second patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung, Bloomberg reported. Apple argued that Samsung uses Android in all of its infringing products and the platform “provides much of the accused functionality” in its claims. Apple is concerned that Google isn’t doing proper research to locate the files and would like U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal to intervene. More →
The rumors that Apple is preparing several different new iPhone models for release this fall gained more steam on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said in a research note that Apple suppliers are planning to start building the new models in June and July. Per AppleInsider, Huberty reports that after meeting with multiple Apple component suppliers in Asia, she believes Apple will start manufacturing both a low-cost iPhone and the iPhone 5S over the summer for a likely release date in September. Huberty also says that carriers expect Apple to increase its iPhone shipments over the long haul not only with a low-cost iPhone in the fall but eventually also with a larger 5-inch model that would pit Apple against such noted phablet vendors as Samsung and LG.
According to Fortune’s Apple 2.0 blog, The Wall Street Journal’s recent report suggesting that the smartphone patent wars have been a big bust for all involved misses the point. Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt writes that while much of the Journal’s argument makes sense, the paper fails to differentiate between standards-essential patents (SEPs) and non-essential patents, and therefore fails to distinguish between claims made by Apple from claims made by the likes of Samsung. More →
Apple’s iPhone 5S is still eagerly awaited despite the expectation that it will be an iterative update similar to the bump from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S, and now we’re one step closer to seeing the handset launch. According to a report from Japan’s Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Apple supplier Sharp will begin mass production of the iPhone 5S’s display next month. LG Display and Japan Display will supply Apple with next-generation iPhone displays as well, according to the report. More →
According to data from Canaccord Genuity, Apple and Samsung managed to capture 100% of the mobile industry’s profits last quarter. In the first quarter of 2013, Apple took home 57% of the global smartphone industry’s profits, while Samsung grabbed almost 43% to leave nothing for BlackBerry, Nokia or HTC. In fact, the only company that managed a mobile profit share above 0% was LG with its 1% share. Even at nearly 100%, however, Apple and Samsung’s share of mobile profit has actually declined from last year. The research firm previously reported that the two companies captured 103% of handset industry profits in 2012. More →
When Apple unveiled the iPad in 2010, smartphone vendors were caught off guard and they rushed to launch similar tablets to take advantage of the new market that had been created. Their early efforts were absolutely awful, however. Android slates have gotten much, much better since those early days and now Android vendors’ combined tablet market share looks ready to pass Apple’s share. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company isn’t done setting trends though, and its iPad mini is the latest device Android vendors will look to base their new models on moving forward. More →
See if this scenario sounds familiar: A longtime Apple manufacturing partner looks to move away from its dependence on the company and focus more on creating its own products that it can sell at higher margins. While this has certainly been the story of Samsung’s success over the past couple of years, a new report from The New York Times suggests that iPhone manufacturer Foxconn may be drawing up a similar path for itself by designing and manufacturing its own brand of televisions while also inching itself away from depending on Apple as its major source of income. More →
Given its history over the past decade, it’s easy to see why investors have come to expect Apple to turn the whole tech market on its head every few years — after all, the iPhone, the MacBook Air and the iPad all respectively created mass markets for smartphones, ultrabooks and tablets. Many of these game-changing innovations are credited to the vision of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, whose passing in 2011 has created a sense of anxiety among some investors that the company has lost its innovative edge under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook. And given how quiet Apple has been in the first half of 2013 so far, speculative fears about the company’s ability to innovate have only grown in recent months. More →
