July 2, 2010: Apple opens up about “Antennagate,” addressing iPhone 4 reception problems for the first time publicly.
In a letter to customers, Apple admits to being “surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and … immediately began investigating them.” However, the company’s findings do little to dispel the growing Antennagate controversy.
July 1, 2012: Apple shuts down its MobileMe web service, pushing users to switch to iCloud.
Launched in 2008, MobileMe was a subscription-based suite of online services and software created by Apple. It included features like Find my iPhone, a MobileMe photo gallery, chat facilities, online calendar, storage and other cloud-based services.
After letting it limp along for four years, Cupertino finally decided to pull the plug, giving MobileMe users until the end of July to remove their data from the service.
June 30, 2015: Apple launches 24/7 radio station Beats 1. Part of Apple Music, Beats 1 features top DJs ranging from former BBC presenter Zane Lowe to top musical artists like Lil Wayne.
Apple calls Beats 1 “the biggest radio station in the world” and says it beats (no pun intended) all other music stations when it comes to concurrent listeners. However, without hard figures to back that up, some call Apple out on this claim.
June 24, 2010: Apple’s fourth-generation smartphone, the iPhone 4, goes on sale.
While the device is perhaps most remembered for the infamous “Antennagate,” it is otherwise a pretty great handset. In its first weekend, it sells 1.7 million units. That’s a major triumph for Apple.
June 21, 2010: Apple releases iOS 4, which introduces a range of productivity features as well as the FaceTime videotelephony service.
iOS 4 represents a big step forward for Apple’s flourishing mobile devices. Due to the arrival of the first-gen iPad earlier in the year, iOS 4 also brings a transition from the mobile operating system’s original name, “iPhone OS.”
June 16, 2010: Apple reports a massive surge of interest in iPhone 4, with 600,000 sales on the first day of preorders.
The company calls the number “far higher” than expected. At the time, it’s the most iPhone preorders Apple has ever taken in a single day. AT&T suffers server problems thanks to the demand — with 10 times the usual traffic on its website. It’s proof positive that Apple is onto a winner!
June 15, 2011: Three people get sentenced to prison in China for leaking information about the iPad 2 prior to its release.
The Foxconn R&D employees receive sentences ranging from one year to 18 months. They also must pay fines between $4,500 and $23,000. If you ever wonder why more Apple products don’t leak prior to release, this might help explain why!
June 13, 2013: Eddy Cue takes the stand to defend Apple’s iBooks business strategy in an antitrust case against Cupertino regarding e-book pricing.
Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, is the Apple exec in charge of the iBooks Store initiative. His testimony proves vital to a case brought by the Department of Justice, in which potential damages climb well into the nine figures.
June 10, 2013: Apple passes a major milestone in iOS history, as payments to app developers top $10 billion on the App Store’s fifth birthday.
Speaking at WWDC 2013, Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals that the company paid out half of this money in the previous year. He also notes that this outrageous total is three times more than all other app store platforms combined. With 575 million user accounts registered, Apple has more credit cards on file than any other company on the internet.
People have downloaded 50 billion apps in total out of a collection of 900,000 available, Cook says, with 93% of the apps downloaded at least once every month.
June 3, 2011: iOS overtakes Research in Motion’s BlackBerry operating system for the first time.
While Android remains comfortably in the lead in terms of market share, the news marks the beginning of the end for BlackBerry as a smartphone powerhouse.
