Apple Begins Selling Unlocked SIM-free iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Models in America
The guys from Cupertino have recently begun selling unlocked and SIM-free iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models in the USA. Such smartphones are currently available on Apple’s American online store. Still, there’s one drawback: those who plan to purchase one of such carrier-free handsets will have to wait several days. The shipping estimates for the aforementioned models are 3-5 business days.
Apple to Announce Financial Results in Fiscal Q1 2015 on January 27th
According to the data that can be found on Apple’s official Investor Page, the guys from Cupertino will officially announce their financial results in the first fiscal quarter of 2015 on Tuesday, January 27th. The conference devoted to the earnings in the first quarter is scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM Pacific / 5:00 PM Eastern time. The report on sales and financial results will be published on Apple’s official website immediately after the conference call.
Apple Won't Release 4-inch iPhone This Year - Supply Chain Sources
Back in December, a rumor appeared on the Internet, which suggested that the guys from Cupertino were planning to release a smaller 4-inch iPhone 6 mini in 2015. Looks like this rumor turned out to be untrue.
Image Showing Something Similar to iPad Pro Panel Appears Online
NowhereElse.fr reporters on Sunday published a new image showing something very similar to the panel for the long-anticipated larger iPad called presumably iPad Pro. While there's no way to confirm the legitimacy of the picture shown below, French journalists claim they obtained it from sources, which were reliable in the past. Still, I suggest that you should take everything with a few pinches of salt.
New Drone Video Shows Progress at Apple's Campus 2 Construction Site
A new drone flyover video showing the progress at the construction site of Apple's "spaceship" Campus 2 has recently appeared on the Internet. This time its a high-quality 4K clip, shot by a YouTube user nicknamed Myithz. It should be noted, however, that only those users, who have a compatible 4K monitor can watch the clip in the highest quality. For all those people who use computers with usual displays, the video is available in HD quality below.
As usual, the flyover clip is rather short. Still, it gives us the opportunity to see how many things have been done since the release of the last suchlike video. We can see that the earthwork is nearly finished and the construction workers continue to give shape to the walls of Apple's new headquarters.
Apple Watch to Account for 36% of Apple's Calendar Revenue in 2015
According to the latest report from the Evercore analyst Rob Cihra, the long-anticipated Apple Watch will account for as many as 36% of Apple's calendar revenue in 2015. The company from Cupertino will reportedly sell 18.5 million Apple Watch units this year and 22.9 million in 2016. As you probably know, the smartwatch is expected to be released either in February, or a bit later in March.
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today and that means it is high time we talked about the most interesting posts of the last seven days. Although due to all kinds of holidays last week was rather boring, there’re still some articles worth your attention. Let’s take a look at them.
Bank of America Promotes Apple's iPhone 6 and Apple Pay in New Ad
Bank of America has recently released a new ad highlighting the iPhone 6 and Apple Pay. In such a way one of the largest banks in the USA has joined the army of banks and retailers that promote the NFC-based payments service created by the guys from Cupertino and launched in the United States of America back in October.
In the short clip, which is available below, Apple Pay is called "the new, easy, secure, smart way to pay with a simple touch." Well, after watching the ad it is very difficult not to agree with this statement, don’t you think so?
Apple Expands Its 'Start Something New' Campaign to Retail Stores [Images]
Yesterday I told you about the new campaign called “Start Something New” and its launch on Apple’s websites in the USA and in a number of countries of Europe and Asia. According to the latest reports from reliable insiders, the guys from Cupertino have begun expanding the campaign to their retail stores across the globe. Below you may see some photos taken at one store presumably in the USA.
Apple Raises Developer Program Subscription Fee and Product Prices in Several Countries
The guys from the Cupertino have recently raised prices for their developer programs in a number of European countries. The reporters from an Apple-related German blog called Apfelpage write that German developers now should pay as many as €99 ($119) for the developer subscription for one year. Earlier those who wanted to develop apps for Apple’s gadgets had to pay €80 ($96), so the change in pricing is quite noticeable, I must admit.
Digital Music Sales Fell 9%, Streaming Services Saw 54% Growth
While streaming music services are gaining popularity, digital music sales continue to fall. According to the latest statistics published by a research firm Nielsen SoundScan, streaming services, which offer music and music-related video content saw a 54% growth in 2014. As to the amount of digital albums sold through world’s largest online stores, it fell 9% last year.
'Lucky Bag' Promotion Takes Place in Japan, Customers Are Happy
The stores are closed, which means that one more “Lucky Bag” promotion in Japan is over. Most of the customers, who decided to risk and spend about $300 on sealed Fukubukuro packages, managed to obtain such goods as Apple TV set-top boxes, external battery packs, backpacks, iPods, Beats headphones and iTunes gift cards. Moreover, some of the Japanese shoppers were lucky enough to get Apple’s iMac, MacBook Air or iPad Air.
Apple Expanded Its 'Start Something New' Campaign to New Countries
As you probably know, back in December, Apple launched its Start Something New campaign in Japan. The aim of this campaign is to show works of art users can create with the help of Apple’s Macs, iPhones and iPads and such products as VSCO Cam, Brushes, Slow Shutter, iDraw, Waterlogue, iMovie, Procreate and Final Cut Pro. Looks like the guys from Cupertino have decided to expand their new art campaign worldwide as now it can be found on Apple websites across the globe. In particular, the new section of the website was spotted by the users in the USA, Europe and Asia.
TSMC May Still Become Apple's Main A9 Chip Supplier?
Although in December it was reported that Samsung had already began the production of the next-generation A9 processors for Apple, a couple of days a new rumor appeared on the Internet suggesting that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) may actually become tech giant’s main chip supplier. According to what people familiar with the matter write, TSMC demonstrates higher production yield and that is the key factor that can possibly make Apple give most of the orders to produce A9 chips to Taiwanese manufacturer.
Samsung Customers Are More Satisfied with Their Smartphones than Apple Customers
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Samsung users are more satisfied with their gadgets than Apple users. In particular, the satisfaction rate grew 6.6% over the last 12 months to 81%. If to speak about Apple, it saw a 2.5% decrease in customer satisfaction in 2014. “Only” 79% of users are fully satisfied with their iPhones.