Apple earnings calls are usually a time for celebration and gloating, but for the first time in over a decade the company is poised to post declining profits.
Tim Cook warned Wall Street that this would likely happen due to declining iPhone sales. Have we really reached “peak iPhone”?
Analysts and reporters will be grilling Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri during today’s Q2 2016 earnings call. Investors will be looking for signs that Apple still has room to grow. And Cult of Mac will be right here, liveblogging the entire Apple earnings call — and translating the financial gibberish — when the big event starts at 2 p.m. Pacific.
Investors just got some bad news. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple’s phenomenal run of growing profits has come to an end. For the first time in 13 years, Apple announced that its profits declined year-over-year during the last fiscal quarter.
The company just posted its earnings report for Q2 2016 and, as predicted, iPhone sales took a serious hit. Apple only shipped 51.6 million devices last quarter, resulting in $50.6 billion in total revenue and a quarterly net income of $10.5 billion.
Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted the company had a challenging quarter but is still incredibly optimistic, despite what many analysts are calling “peak iPhone.”
Kate Appleton will be in charge of getting more businesses to use iPhones and Macs. Photo: BlackBerry
Apple’s push to become a great company for large companies as well as consumers is getting a big boost this week with the hiring of former Box employee Karen Appleton who has joined the company in an enterprise-focused role.
Appleton revealed last week that she was leaving Box after working with the company since 2007 as employee number 8, but she hasn’t said what exactly she will be doing for Apple.
Well, you can add one more to the list — as police in Bangkok recently captured a violent armed gang responsible for a string of vicious robberies in the country’s northern region — all thanks to their ill-advised decision to steal an iPad mini with the feature enabled.
Apple is being transparent about government requests. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple has released its latest report on government information requests, showing how many times it has been asked to hand over data on its users over the six month span running from July to December 2015.
At a time when Apple was increasingly finding itself at odds with the Justice Department over the topic of encryption (something which exploded earlier this year with the San Bernardino shooting case), U.S. law enforcement made requests relating to 5,192 individual Apple accounts.
How many years do you use your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac before shutting it down for the last time and sending it to the big Apple Store in the sky?
While Apple products are typically far more solid and long-lasting than those made by rivals, the company offers a clue in a newly released document concerning Apple and its commitment to the environment.
A new threat targeting iOS devices has been discovered by security researchers Patrick Kelly and Matt Harrigan, promising to “brick” your iPhone or iPad if you happen to log onto malicious Wi-Fi networks.
Why would anyone log onto a malicious Wi-Fi network? Because by exploiting the auto-reconnect feature found on iOS — whereby your Apple device will automatically log into Wi-Fi networks it thinks it’s previously connected to — you might not even realize it’s happening.
Make your own fun collage with Pixlr right on your iPad. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Don’t let the backlash against scrapbooking get you down — photo collages are fun. You can go to the store and buy a multi-framed monstrosity to put your hardcopy photos in and mount it on your wall, or you can use an app on your Mac or iPad to take some of the work out of it.
If you’re looking to make your own collage on your iPad, Pixlr is a fantastic choice, as it makes putting various photos together and adding fun effects incredibly simple and fun.
"Android? Whatever!" Photo: Yoga Hosers/Kevin Smith
iPhone sales may be slowing down, but the popularity level of Apple’s handsets among teenage customers is higher than ever — and increasing all the time.
In an extensive new survey carried out by analysts at Piper Jaffray, entitled “Taking Stock with Teens,” a whopping 69 percent claim to be iPhone owners. Better still, 75 percent of teens say they expect their next phone to be an iPhone.
According to a new report, a plan to provide around 20,000 iPads to London’s Metropolitan Police Service in the U.K. has failed to materialize — despite $8.6 million spent developing custom software, licenses and training.
Control your Mac (or PC) from your iOS device with this slick new system. Photo: Quadro
I just used my iPad to control my MacBook Pro. I watched a video on YouTube, did some image manipulation with Lightroom and edited an essay in Microsoft Word, all without touching my laptop.
Sounds like something you’d expect with a screen sharing app, but Quadro makes it even simpler with a new iOS app that will let you connect to and control your Mac or PC with a grid of commands that look like something out of Star Trek.
Finally the reason for no native calculator app adds up. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
As crazy as it sounds given the wide range of use-cases Apple makes possible with the iPad, it has never shipped with a built-in calculator app. And, according to a recent post on Twitter from a user claiming to be an ex-Apple employee, we may finally have an explanation.
Shock horror: it involves Steve Jobs being a perfectionist.
This flash drive will connect to your Mac and your iPhone. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Best List: Xtra Drive by Naztech
We’ve all been using flash drives on our Macs for ages, ever since Apple dropped the disk drives from its computer lineup.
iPhones and iPads don’t have a USB port, so it’s hard to use the same external thumb drives on the go.
The new Xtra Drive from Naztech is the best of both worlds, providing a single microSD card-based solution that has both a USB and a Lightning connector that will let me back up and transfer files from my iOS device to any computer.
But it seems the Transportation Security Administration has yet another use in mind: It spent $1.4 million on a TSA iPad app to determine which passengers to randomly search when they’re about to board a flight.
iPad Pro is even better at 9.7 inches. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple really, really wants you to replace your laptop with an iPad — especially if that laptop is powered by Windows. But before that switch can even be considered, the iPad needs to do everything your laptop can and more. That’s where iPad Pro comes in.
With its new A9X chip, it’s the most powerful iPad to date. It does everything your old iPad did, but it does it better. It’s compatible with the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, and now it’s available in a smaller form factor with a 9.7-inch display.
This new model is easier to carry around all day, but it packs almost exactly the same punch as the 12.9-inch iPad Pro — and the same stellar speakers. It has also adopted the incredible 12-megapixel iSight camera from iPhone 6s, with the dual-tone LED flash.
Apple is 40 years old today. In that time, the Cupertino company has delivered some incredible products and services, and revolutionized smartphones, tablets, and music players. But is it boring now?
Some say Apple’s innovation has stalled in recent years, and it has become too predictable. The surprises we used to see during its big keynotes no longer show up, and despite its secrecy, you can almost predict its product roadmap for the next year.
Are those claims harsh? Is Apple really past its best, or will it deliver groundbreaking new products again that can shake up the consumer technology industry?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we fight over Apple at 40.
Admiring fans check out the first iPhone in its public debut. Photo: Traci Dauphin/Cult of Mac
Apple turns 40 years old today, and what a journey it’s been: from a promising homebrew startup to an underdog fighting off bankruptcy to an industry-straddling behemoth with $233.7 billion in revenue, all thanks to the vision of theco founder of apple.
It’s impossible to boil down every significant Apple event into one story, but we did our best to pick out the 40 most significant moments in the company’s past.
Check out these key moments in Apple history below.
Get your fill of high-quality film recommendations here. Photo: Tribeca Shortlist
Looking to watch peerless films on your Apple TV? Look no further than Tribeca Shortlist, a service for film lovers that showcases a high-quality, curated list of films that are worth watching.
Already chosen as a Best New App for iPhone and iPad by Apple, Tribeca Shortlist is now available on the biggest screen in your home via Apple TV.
March yourself right into fun. Photo: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac
There’s nothing better than kicking back and playing an iOS game that respects your time, money and energy. Games that keep you entertained without costing you too much (especially at first) can be a great way to spend your time, whether you’re chilling on the couch at home, on the subway home after a long day at work, or waiting at the dentist’s office.
Here are all the hot new iOS games we found ourselves playing this month.
We found your lost iPhone... Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Finding your iPad or iPhone is about to get a whole lot easier, even under the worst circumstances, thanks to a new app from TrackR that can locate your lost iOS devices regardless of whether or not its connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data.
The new free app called TrackR tablet, runs on both iPhone and iPad, and simplifies the way you find lost iDevices. There’s no sign in process to get into the app. Just open it up and ring your lost iPhone.
Size does matter, in fact. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Once again, Apple has refreshed its iPhone and iPad line with some better (albeit smaller) iOS devices, the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
If you’re looking for all the details on these two new gadgets, or just want to know which is the right iPad or iPhone for you, be sure to grab this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, which also includes all the cool things you can do with iOS 9.3, a look at Cupertino’s new Apple Watch pivot, and a deeper dive on the keynote itself.
Using Apple Pay to buy items has been limited to physical retail stores and apps, but Apple is reportedly planning to rollout the service soon to mobile websites, putting it in closer competition with PayPal and other platforms.
The mobile website version of Apple Pay will allegedly be ready in time for the 2016 holiday shopping season. Once launched, the mobile version will allow shoppers to complete purchases using their fingerprint rather than entering credit card info on websites.
Which iPad model is best for you? Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
With the iPad lineup now verging on unwieldy, it’s harder than ever to decide which Apple tablet to buy. Which iPad is best for you? That’s going to depend on your needs, desires and budget — but your iPad buyer’s guide can help!
Do you go for the massive appeal of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro or opt for the smaller-but-newer (and slightly gimped) 9.7-inch iPad Pro? Will a tiny iPad mini suit you, or should you opt for an iPad Air 2, which is still a very capable, thin tablet?
All good questions! We’re here to help you answer them with this handy iPad comparison, just in time for when the new iPad Pro goes on sale Thursday, March 24 (most likely at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, according to Apple Support).
See all of Apple's latest software in action Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Along with the iPhone SE and new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Apple unleashed a slew of new software updates this week, bringing all-new features to your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV.
Find out what’s awaiting you in the new Apple updates, as well as how to update all your Apple devices, in a series of Cult of Mac videos you can watch below.