Samsung’s request to keep some of its sales data sealed in an ongoing patent dispute with Apple in the United States has been denied by District Judge Lucy Koh. The Korean electronics giant wanted to keep its figures secret while it appeals an earlier sealing order, but it will now have to disclose the information to Apple.
Productions rates for the iPhone 5 are improving, supply sources claim, just in time for the handset to make its debut in more than 50 additional markets throughout December. Now that Apple has caught up with demand, the handset’s shipping delay has been reduced from four weeks to just 2-4 business days. Suppliers now expect the Cupertino company to sell 45 million iPhone 5 units during the fourth quarter alone.
Editor’s Note: We will be updating this post with more deals as we find them, so make sure to check back later. Also, if you see a deal we missed, let us know in the comments and we’ll add it!
Here we go again – the big retailers are starting to preview their Black Friday sales to whip us all into a frenzy. Target, Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart, so far, have stepped up early to let potential shoppers know what, exactly, they can expect to find at each respective online or brick and mortar store this holiday season. Here’s what’s in store (pun totally intended) for you. We’ve also started rounding up the online store specials for this most festive retail season of the year, as well.
Apple has posted a teaser page for its annual Black Friday sale on its Australian online store. “The one-day Apple shopping event is Friday, 23 November,” reads the graphic. “We’ll help you make the most of the day, no matter how you shop.”
If you’re a longtime Apple customer, you know that the company’s Black Friday deals are infamously weak. The biggest kind of discount you’ll typically see is $40-$60 off an iPad or $100 off a Mac. Still, it’s the only time of the year that Apple discounts anything, so the deals are worth noting. Nothing specific has leaked out yet about the deals that will be happening this Friday, but expect some modest price cuts on all of the new products Apple introduced over the past few months.
Apple’s online and actual retail store deals should be the same. Don’t expect to stop by your local Apple store in the wee hours of the morning this Friday though, because the majority of stores won’t be opening at abnormally early hours.
Apple’s much-anticipated iPad mini went on sale last Friday alongside the new fourth-generation iPad, and the Cupertino company just announced 3 million units were sold during the launch weekend alone — breaking its previous iPad launch record.
The iPad mini already seems to be a huge hit with buyers, with Apple’s diminutive little tablet already selling out at the 5th Avenue Apple Store. You know, the one in New York City, a town ravaged by Hurricane Sandy that it is still half-flooded and half without power? Even a natural disaster can’t seem to keep people away.
Apple is the only consumer electronics company in the world that consistently releases new gadgets that sell in their millions during the first few days of availability. During their respective launch weekends alone, Apple sold 3 million third-generation iPad units, 4 million iPhone 4S units, and 5 million iPhone 5 units.
In fact, the company’s iOS devices have become so popular that they’re now considered a failure if they don’t sell several million within their first 72 hours on the market. According to one analyst, the iPad mini has to shift at least 3 million units this weekend for it to be considered a successful device.
“We’re very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record September quarter results,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in today’s fourth quarter earnings report. “We’re entering this holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product pipeline.”
While Apple didn’t see a ‘blowout’ quarter this time around, things are still looking very good for the Cupertino company. Apple is still the most valuable company on earth, and its flagship products are seeing crazy growth in sales. We’ve collected all of the big numbers from today’s earnings call:
The iPhone 5 has been a sell-out since it went on sale on September 21, and it’s still incredibly difficult to get hold of in some markets even a month later. With five million units sold, it’s the fastest-selling iPhone to date, so it’s no surprise one analyst is predicting that iPhone sales could be even better than originally expected.
iPhone 5 is selling like hot cakes covered in chocolate sprinkles.
Apple has announced that iPhone 5 sales surpassed a whopping five million units in just three days following the handset’s launch on Friday, September 21. Demand for the device has exceeded Apple’s initial supply, and while the majority of pre-orders have been shipping, many are scheduled to arrive in October.
We know the iPhone 5 is going to be huge for Apple. With its rumored 4-inch display, a new dock connector, LTE connectivity, and more, it will be the most significant iPhone upgrade since the device made its debut back in 2007. It’s going to be so big that one analyst believes Apple will sell a staggering 10 million new iPhones in the week after its launch.
Last chance for this great freebie for all you Cult of Mac fans. We have a slick looking WordPress theme designed to show off your new iOS app idea. Simple as that. A premium theme usually $37 now FREE for you for just a short time. So, go check out the theme for yourself and then come back and download it. Why? Because it’s free and I’m sure there is always a project that you can find a great theme for.
Speaking of free, you should definitely enter our iPhone 5 Giveaway. The rumors are heating up for the highly anticipated Apple phone and it sounds like it’s shaping up to be amazing! We’ll drop the cash and wait in line; you, simply make a couple clicks and keep your fingers crossed.
We told you last week that Sprint was selling iPhone 4S models for discounted prices, and that Apple had quietly authorized its retail employees to match discounts from other carriers as well as from Sprint.
Well, in a second surprise move, Sprint has started selling new iPhone 4S devices for $50, which represents a huge discount even on top of the $150 it started selling them for the last time we reported on it.
Rumors surrounding Apple’s next iPhone have reached a fever pitch in the weeks leading up to the expected announcement date, September 12th. With pre-orders rumored to begin on the same day, Apple is expected to see record sales this holiday season. Anticipation for the next iPhone is higher than it’s ever been, and smartphone sales from the past quarter reflect that fact.
Gartner’s results for Q2 show slowed iPhone growth, with Apple sitting behind Samsung and Nokia in worldwide smartphone sales.
Beyond the numbers, there were some tantalizing tidbits about Apple and the company’s future plans during today’s quarterly financial call. While nothing quite lived up to Tim Cook comparing Windows 8 to someone trying to converge a toaster and a refrigerator into a single device during the last call, there were several choice comments.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer presented the results of the company’s spring 2012 quarter. The quarter included extensive growth for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac product lines though iPod sales declined 10% from the same quarter a year ago.
Here are the financial numbers delivered during the call.
According to Apple’s CFO Peter Oppenheimer, iPhone and iPad rumors are continuing to affect sales of the devices.
We’re reading the same rumors and speculation about a new iPhone as you are, and we think this has affected sales.
It’s no surprise that consumers are scared away by rumors, after all, details about the new products often get leaked months in advanced, causing consumers to think twice about buying.
Apple is set to announce its quarterly earnings today and host a conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, so naturally, analysts have been making last minute predictions about what they think today’s results may bring.
To make sense of all these predictions, Phillip Elmer-Dewitt has compiled a list of predications from 68 analysts over at CNNMoney. The results? Divided expectations.
AT&T announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2012 today, and yet again the iPhone driving the company’s sales. Of the 5.1 million smartphones the carrier sold, a whopping 72.5% were iPhones.
Apple’s reach in the consumer market is certainly great, but it turns out that they are just as influential when it comes to the retail world. This is pretty clear initially, when looking at how companies like Microsoft and Samsung blatantly rip off Apple’s retail store design.
Looking a little deeper, though, Apple also has a great amount of influence on salesmen themselves. Many companies are adopting Apple’s retail strategies due to the amazing success of the Apple Store.
Intel’s attempt to knock the MacBook Air down a peg seems to be failing them. Some depressing sales figures were released that show how little of an impact the Ultrabooks have had on the MacBook Air. In Q2, only 500,000 total Ultrabooks were shipped, compared to 2.8 million MacBooks. Ouch.
Just days after word broke that Apple had decided to withdraw its products from the EPEAT registry, San Francisco announced that the city would will stop procurement of Apple’s Mac desktops and notebooks. The move may be the first of many such announcements as many local, state, and federal agencies mandate purchases of only computers that meet the EPEAT criteria.
Apple’s decision to remove 39 of its products from the registry is puzzling to many considering that Apple is very vocal and transparent about the environmental friendliness of its products and processes. Apple was also one of the companies that helped create the EPEAT standards in 2006.
In its first year, the Mac sold just 372,000 units. PC clones were reaching two million units, or six times the amount of sales of the Mac. And things got worse from there, climbing to a vertiginous 60x by 2004.
Now, though, according to everybody’s favorite Apple analyst and Christopher Walken soundalike Horace Dediu, the gap has dropped to just 2:1 – if you count iOS in with OS X.
Not many surprises here. According to the latest research from the NPD Group, Android and iOS continue to dominate the OS arms race. Combined, these two powerhouse operating systems account for 90% of smartphone sales. Report after report, we continue to see the same thing: Android an iOS on top.
Update: In an official statement today to Cult of Mac, Walmart U.S. confirmed that these new price listings were a mistake that have been corrected at certain stores throughout the country. “Yesterday, we experienced a pricing error in limited stores,” said Walmart. “This has been addressed and the normal prices are in effect (iPhone 4S – $188, iPhone 4 – $88, iPhone 3GS – $0.97).”
We’ve gotten word that Walmart has dropped its prices on the AT&T iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S in its retail stores. Without any notice, the price of the 8GB iPhone 4 on AT&T has dropped from $88 to $34. Also, the white and black 16GB flavor of the iPhone 4S on AT&T is now being offered for $114, down from the original $188 listing.