News from category ‘Financial’

Last month, we heard rumors that Apple had signed an agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for production of the next-generation A6 and A7 chips destined for future iOS devices. Samsung manufacture the A4 and A5 chips for Apple, but Apple seems to try to shift to TSMC because of difficult relations and legal battle between Apple and Samsung.

The Korea Times now reports that Apple will indeed primarily be sticking with Samsung for A6 production.

"Apple has been in talks with Samsung over shipment of its A6 quad-core mobile processor (AP) chips to be used in the next iPhone. It appears that Apple clearly has concluded that Samsung remains a critical business partner," an executive from an Apple parts supplier based in Korea said on condition of anonymity.

He said that Samsung has been increasing the output of the Apple-designed A6 chips in its manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.

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Samsung made a next step in its battle with Apple and filed for a preliminary injunction against the iPhone 4S in Australia and Japan. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Japan filing that is also attempting to halt sales of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, accuses Apple of infringements in technology and user interface patents. The patents apparently relate to “the display of a flight mode icon, the utilization of homescreen space, and an app store menu structure”. Samsung claims that in Australia Apple has infringed on patents related to wireless telecommunication standards.

A Samsung spokesperson said that the company is “now counterattacking Apple again”. Though, many believe that Samsung’s attack will certainly fail. Moreover, an Australian judge will unlikely consider patents Samsung using in the filing as enough for a preliminary injunction, because they are essential for the 3G telecommunications network. As for Japan filings, the situation here is not so obvious like in Australia. This means Samsung could seek injunctions on them and it would be up to Apple to contest their validity.

Today senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing in Apple Philip Schiller said that iPhone 4S sales topped 4 million units during opening weekend surpassing the 1.7 million units sold during last year’s debut weekend. Also he said:

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A new survey conducted among customers waiting in line at Apple Store to purchase the new iPhone 4S demonstrates that nearly three-quarters are upgrading from a previous version of the iPhone. Investment firm Piper Jaffray polled 550 people at Apple retail stores and found out that 73 percent of iPhone 4S buyers are upgrading from a previous version, compared with 77 percent for the iPhone 4 launch in 2010, 56 percent in 2009, and 38 percent in 2008.

The results of the survey also demonstrate that 19 percent of the first-day buyers preferred to purchase the new high-capacity 64GB iPhone 4S model, which costs $399, while the most part of customers (49%) chose 16GB iPhone 4S for $199 and 32% purchased 32GB iPhone 4S for $299. Last year numbers for the iPhone 4 were different: 54 percent customers preferred to buy 32GB model while 46 percent – 16GB model.

Analysts expect that Apple have sold between 2 million and 2.5 million iPhone 4S units over this launch weekend. If it is true, so that is a new record for Apple that beats the company's previous record of 1.7 million iPhone 4 units sold in 2010.

Today is the iPhone 4S launched day. And Apple’s stock just closed at $422 a share. The company costs $391.23B. This is all-time high for the company. Amazing!!

Today Apple has begun selling its new iPhone 4S in seven countries: US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Australia. The device is available in two colors (black, white) and three storage sizes (16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB).  As usual, lines have begun forming near Apple Stores worldwide and Apple Store employees were pulling overnight shifts to put up new displays and promo materials for the iPhone 4S launch.

The Japanese launch was hampered by registration slowdowns from Softbank, according to the Wall Street Journal:

The launch of the iPhone 4S in Japan was interrupted when Softbank – the main service provider for Apple products in the country—suffered a server glitch that temporarily suspended sales nationwide. A company spokesman said the servers were unable to process registration information.

Apple has already received more than one million pre-orders for the iPhone 4S. Analysts are predicting that weekend sales will exceed the iPhone 4 which were sold 1.7 million units its opening weekend. Estimates range from 2 million to 4 million.

Yesterday Apple issued a press release stating that the company will announce its fourth fiscal quarter of 2011 financial results on Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 and will be followed by a conference call relating to the announcement.  The earnings release comes around 4:30 PM Eastern and the conference call at 5:00 PM Eastern / 2:00 PM Pacific.

Apple’s conference call webcast discussing Q4 – 2011 financial results will begin at 2:00pm PT/5:00pm ET on Tuesday, October 18, 2011. Please note that comments made in this call may include forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. For additional information at the factors that may influence results, please seek advice from Apple’s SEC filings.

Apple is expected to announce $25 billion in revenue with profits of $5.50 per share, that less that the previous quarter record-breaking results - $7.31 billion in profit on revenue of $28.57 billion.

The Federal Court in Australia has issued a preliminary ban on sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country. The Justice believed that Apple had presented sufficient evidence conforming violation two of its touchscreen- and multitouch-related patents by Samsung. Previously the Korean company had agreed to delay launch of their new tablet in Australia, waiting for the Court’s decision. Samsung even offered Apple a compromise deal that would allow the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to launch with minor concessions. But Apple was not accepted that offer.

In September Apple won the proceedings in Germany, where the Galaxy Tab 10.1’ sales were also preliminary banned. The legal battle between the companies has grown increasingly fierce since it began in April of this year, when Apple accused Samsung of copying the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad. Apple reported that they had tried to solve the problem not suing to the Court, but negotiations were not successful.

Apple has posted a press release where confirmed that had received more than one million pre-orders of the iPhone 4S in the first 24 hours of availability. In the first 12 hours of the iPhone 4S availability AT&T reported that had received 200,000 pre-orders, Sprit, which also offering the iPhone 4S, said that they were very pleased with initial demand. This is the new record for Apple. The iPhone 4 saw 600,000 pre-orders in 24 hours last year.

Apple today announced pre-orders of its iPhone® 4S have topped one million in a single day, surpassing the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 held by iPhone 4. iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.

“We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.

AT&T has officially announced that they have processed 200,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4S. It looks like new Apple smartphone is the most successfully launched iPhone yet. These 200,000 orders only come during the first 12 hours of sales

AT&T has seen extraordinary demand for iPhone 4S with more than 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours alone, the most successful iPhone launch we’ve ever had. It’s obvious customers like AT&T’s 4G network, which is the only one that lets their iPhone download twice as fast and talk and surf simultaneously.

These numbers don't include Apple's own online pre-orders or the orders through Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

The iPhone 4S officially launches on Friday, October 14th.

Samsung and Google announced that they would cancel a special event which is scheduled for Tuesday and at which the companies were going to introduce their new handset Nexus Prime. The particular feature of this smartphone is the brand new software, Google's latest "Ice Cream Sandwich" version of Android. Rumors immediately turned to the possibility that the companies postponed the launch in respect for Steve Jobs who passed away on October 5th.

Samsung and Google decide to postpone the new product announcement at CTIA Fall. We agree that it is just not the right time to announce a new product. New date and venue will be shortly announced.

AllThingsD has confirmed that speculations. The site claims that Samsung and Google did indeed cancel the event due to Jobs' death.

The decision to postpone things was made late last night at the top levels of both companies, sources said, with Jobs’ death being the reason. There are no delays with the product itself, sources insisted.

But Apple is not going to cancel its plans for the iPhone 4S, having started accepting pre-orders for the device.

Mobile carrier Sprint has confirmed rumors that it will start offering unlimited data plan for the iPhone when it launches on the carrier.

“We will be offering the benefit of our unlimited plans that start at just $69.99,” said spokeswoman Michelle Leff Mermelstein. Sprint’s $69.99 plan includes unlimited data and 450 voice minutes as well as unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Unlimited calling and data costs $99 a month.

The new iPhone 4S alongside 8 GB iPhone 4 are to debut on Sprint, AT&T and Verizon in the United States on Friday, October 14th. It seems that Sprint is indeed "very excited" to begin offering the iPhone, AllThingsD noted. Though, the mobile carrier has been quiet since yesterday.

UBM TechInsights posted their estimates  on price of the major components of the iPhone 4S. They suggest that the value of the components used to make the Apple iPhone 4S comes to $203 for the 32GB model which will be sold for $299 on a subisidized basis.

The most expensive part is the flash memory which costs $38. The second most expensive component   is Retina display wearing a $31 price tag. That is followed by the dual-core A5 processor, which costs $26. Making the new iteration of the iPhone a World Phone added $6 to the cost of a GSM-only unit, while the updated 8MP camera added only $3 to the price of the components.

iPhone’s rival HTC ThunderBolt was valued at $262 according to TechInsights. It includes such components as a LTE chipset, bigger battery, but lower resolution screen, and slightly slower processor, comparing with the iPhone 4S’.

The recently-announced 8GB Apple iPhone 4 indicated that Apple now offers the phone with small margin. Its component cost is $156 and the company is going to sell it for $99 with a signed 2-year contract.

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Some analysts predict that Apple could keep its iPhone 3GS longer than predicted. The company might, probably, offer their handset for free on contract. As far as we know, the two-year old iPhone 3GS still remains the second best-selling smartphone in the United States of America. The first place belongs to the iPhone 4. Such situation only confirms suggestions that cost of a device is the key factor in customers' purchasing decisions.

Yesterday Mike Abramsky, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, issued a new research note where he told us about his expectations for the today’s iPhone event. Many of his predictions are in line with recent rumors we’ve heard -  HSPA+ iPhone 4S or 5 based on an A5 chip – he also believes that Apple keeps offering iPhone 3GS alongside the new smartphone(s).

We expect Apple to reduce the price of the prior iPhone 4 to $99 subsidized ($499 unsubsidized) and the iPhone 3GS to $0 subsidized ($399 unsubsidized, see 11/06/29 note for more detail and rationale); the prior iPhone 4 may be available only with 8GB memory.

According to Reuters, the $12 billion deal between Brazil and Foxconn to produce Apple’s iPad in a new Brazil-based Foxconn factory is now in doubt. It seems that negotiations between Brazilian government and the iPad-manufacturer have temporarily stalled. The main reasons are high taxes and lack of skilled workers that meet Faxconn expectations.

"We’re dealing with a lot of issues, like the (Taiwanese) trying to figure out how to do business in Brazil … and Brazil figuring out how to produce these complicated products,” a second government official told Reuters. Maybe we will end up starting with something smaller.

Start of production was already put off twice. We see that it still unclear whether the company will manufacture any Apple tablets in this country. As far as we know, Foxconn would like to build a new industrial complex with its own energy system, roads and infrastructure outside Sao Paolo. But the situation is complicated by the fact that the Brazilian government is now engaged in building more profitable $1 trillion projects related to the World Cup and the Summer Olympics the country will host in 2014 and 2016. The other problem includes lack of companies to partner with Foxconn in order to share costs in Brazil.

It’s a requirement to have Brazilian partners, (but) in the technology area the partners we have do not have the financial muscle for investments near that value.