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Samsung to Become Apple's Main Components Supplier
According to the latest reports from supply chain insiders, Apple has recently decided to make Samsung one of its major hardware suppliers. I'm now talking not only about the chips for next generations of iPhones and iPads. As noted by BusinessKorea, the guys from Cupertino plan to use Samsung as a primary components manufacturer for the long-anticipated Apple Watch as well. This indicates that Apple will soon once again become extremely dependent on its market rival from South Korea.
Sony Drops Steve Jobs Movie, Universal Picks It Up
As you've probably heard, Sony Pictures has recently refused to film Aaron Sorkin's long-anticipated movie about Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs. Don't begin to panic as it doesn't mean the work on the biopic has stopped. According to The Wrap, after about a week after Sony's sudden decision, another well-known company, namely, Universal Studios agreed to pick up the movie. Moreover, as noted by the same insiders, Michael Fassbender has been also approved to star as Jobs.
Apple's Market Capitalization Reaches Incredible $700 Billion
Apple's market capitalization has recently hit another record-breaking point of $700 billion. This is a new milestone in the history of the company, which indicates that the stock value continues to grow making Apple one of the most successful, financially stable and richest firms of the entire world. Such a result has positive impact on Apple's status on the market as well as in the eyes of stock holders and rivals.
World Tablet Sales to See Decrease This Year - Analysts
According to the latest report from a research firm called International Data Corporation (IDC), world's tablet market is expected to see a noticeable decline this year. In particular, the experts claim the year-over-year growth will be equal to only 7.2%, down from 52.5% in the last year. In general, world's tablet sales in 2014 will account for 235.7 units shipped.
Apple Releases Two New iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Ads
Following the release of Microsoft's ad mocking Apple and its virtual assistant called Siri, the guys from Cupertino published two own ads, which tell us about the recently-released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as about their gaming capabilities and the ability to use both handsets to make calls from iOS and OS X devices. Like all the previous iPhone 6 and 6 Plus ads, these are voiced by Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake, who talk about the advantages of using Apple's handsets. Both commercials are available below, take a look.
Release of New iPhones Caused Noticeable Increase in App Downloads
According to the results of the latest research conducted by a marketing firm called Fiksu, the release of both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus caused a substantial increase in app downloads in October. As noted in the latest report prepared by company's analysts, the number of downloads managed to reach an enormous figure of 7.8 million per day among the top 200 free iOS apps. I must admit, it is a truly impressive result for Apple's virtual marketplace.
Apple Looks for Virtual Reality Software Specialist
As you probably know, Apple is one of those companies that show interest in the development of virtual reality technologies. Over the past few years, the guys from Cupertino have filed a number of patents related to all kinds of virtual reality gear. Apple is an inventor of the 3-D viewing headset similar to the Oculus Rift, moreover, it possesses other technical documentation required for creation of virtual reality devices. But why haven't we seen any gadget from Apple so far? Let's find out.
Apple Updates App Store with (Product) RED Apps
As you already know, Apple is an active member of the (Product) RED initiative, which raises money for fighting AIDS. Every year, the guys from Cupertino create a special (Product) RED lineup of devices and apps, sell them and give all the money they get to a special charity fund.
Apple to Support (Product) RED Initiative This Year
According to the latest announcement made by Apple, the company will support the (Product) RED initiative this year. The guys from Cupertino promised to send a part of money they get from sales on Friday, November 28th and Monday, December 1st to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Moreover, they have already updated the App Store with a new (RED) category of apps. This category features 25 apps connected with the charity initiative. The money from selling these apps will be sent directly to the aforementioned fund.
Apple to Sell 71.5 Million iPhones in Holiday Quarter - Analyst
According to the latest report from Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, Apple will sell as many as 71.5 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units during the holiday quarter. The analyst believes that the 4.7-inch device will account for about 60% of sales. The larger 5.5-inch iPhone won't be as popular as the smaller one as the suppliers won't manage to catch up with the demand causing serious supply constraints.
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today, so you're probably waiting for our traditional roundup of the most interesting posts of the past seven days. Let's take a look at them right now.
IBM Created Smartwatch with Digital Crown Long Before Apple?
Looks like the concept of the smartwatch is much older than we all have thought. According to the video, which I managed to find on 9to5Mac this morning, back in 2001, IBM created a kind of smartwatch with small black-and-white display with touch input and something very similar to Apple's Digital Crown. The video is available below, so take a look and tell me what you think.
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Microsoft Releases New Cortana vs. Siri Ad
Microsoft has recently released another anti-Apple ad. This time it's a short clip featuring an iPhone 6 with Siri virtual assistant and a handset with Windows Phone 8.1 and Cortana on board. As you might have guessed, the guys from Redmond mock Apple's creation claiming their product is more efficient, functional and user-friendly.
Anyway, let's get back to the main topic. Today, Microsoft advertises Cortana's ability to create contextual reminders and traffic alerts based on the latest traffic data. Take a look at the video below and you'll understand what I mean.
Apple's A8 Chip Supports 4K Video Playback?
According to the latest reports from people familiar with the matter, the A8 chip found inside of Apple's latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is capable of playing 4K video. And that is rather strange, I must admit, as the aforementioned devices have a display resolution of "only" 1334 x 750 and 1920 x 1080 pixels respectively. The support of ultra high-definition video has been discovered by developers who created a popular Mac app called WALTR.
iOS 8.1.1 Slightly Improves Performance of iPhone 4S and iPad 2
As you probably know, after the release of iOS 8 back in September, many iPhone 4S users began reporting various performance issues. On Monday, Apple released iOS 8.1.1, which, according to the release notes, was expected to improve performance on older devices, namely, the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2. As noted by the researchers from Ars Technica, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system does improve the stability and performance of the older handsets and tablets, however, only slightly. Moreover, average users are very unlikely to notice these improvements as nearly all the build-in apps still work slower than that of iOS 7.
