Apple just announced its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012 ahead of its conferenced call in 30 minutes. The company has reported $36 billion in revenue and $8.2 billion in profit. 29.9 million iPhones 14 million iPads and 4.9 million Macs were sold.

Apple expected to earn $34 billion in revenue, so it beat its own estimate met Wall Street’s average estimate of $35-$37 billion. All of Apple’s product sales are up when compared to Q4 of last year, but the Mac only grew 1%. iPad sales also suffered because everyone has been anticipating the iPad mini that was announced earlier this week.

Looking ahead to its next quarter, Apple expects a staggering $52 billion in revenue due to the holiday season.

Official press release from Apple:

Each time Apple releases a new product, American TV show hosts rush out with their jokes about it. Conan O’Brien consistently comes out with the best Apple jokes, and he’s got another great one with this new video that uncovers the real reason why you want to buy an iPad mini.

Source: YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfiJOP2uGk4

Apple revealed its sweet new 13-inch Macbook Pro onstage yesterday, and today placed a new advertisement for it on its official YouTube channel. It’s probably going to be all over your TV screens soon, if you watch commercial TV, that is, and haven’t cut the cord with an Apple TV or something.

Here’s the gently-voiced, calming soothe of the new Macbook Pro ad from Apple. On YouTube. “For the pro…in all of us.” So nice, right?

Source: Apple YouTube

If you don’t have an Apple TV but want to look at all your pretty iPhone 5 pictures on your HDTV, then Apple just came out with some new Lightning adapters to help solve all your problems. For $49 you can get a Lightning to HDMI adapter, or Lightning to VGA adapter from the online Apple Store.

The new adapters ship in 2-3 weeks and would probably be pretty useful for people who are always tech their tech gear with them on business trips, but seems how the Apple TV only costs 50 bucks more to beam your content to your TV, we think it’s a better investment.

Apple has updated its YouTube channel with two new videos for the just-announced iPad mini and its Smart Cover. The first video features Apple design guru Jony Ive explaining the design process for the iPad mini, while the second video is a 37-second TV ad for the new tablet’s Smart Cover.

Ive talks about how the iPad mini is a “concentration, not a reduction.” If you have a friend who’s interested in learning about the iPad mini, then this is the video to show them. You’ll start seeing the second ad for the Smart Cover on TV.

Along with the announcement of the iPad mini today, Apple debuted a brand-new commercial for the device that’ll likely be airing on TV soon. In traditional Apple style, this ad features both the full size iPad and its mini counterpart set against an all-white backdrop.

Apple has been really stepping up their advertising game lately, first with the excellent iPod ad last month, the funny iPhone 5 spots, and now this new iPad commercial. Check it out after the break.

Apple Head of Marketing, Phil Schiller, took the stage today and asked a very important question. “What does the iPad mini do that the iPad doesn’t already do?” he wondered aloud.

His answer was only half as good – “It can fit in one hand.” Here at Cult of Mac, however, we think that’s only part of the story. The fact is that Apple’s newest, smallest, thinnest iPad makes a perfect gaming controller.

Saying that it will allow users to use the iPad in places and environments they never could before, the iPad mini is the smallest and lightest device yet.

After touting the success of the Mac by calling it the number one desktop and laptop platform in the United States, Tim Cook brought Apple’s Phil Schiller onstage to talk MacBook. Schiller then unveiled the rumored 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. The new laptop is 20% thinner and a pound lighter than the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro.

The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro leaked several days ago via a Chinese forum. The machine features a HDMI port, USB 3.0, and SD card slot like the 15-inch Retina. It’s awesome, but it will cost you.

Apple’s upcoming iPad mini media event will be held at an unusual location, the California Theatre in San Jose, California. Instead of typical locations like the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco or Apple’s own Town Hall, the company is branching out and presenting in a venue it hasn’t used in 7 years.

As usual, the venue was decorated for Tuesday’s event over the weekend. Here are some pictures of Apple’s swanky signage: