Apple Supplier LG Display to Build New Plant
According to the latest report from people familiar with the matter, one of Apple’s main suppliers, LG Display, is currently building a new manufacturing facility capable of producing OLED displays for the Apple Watch and other devices. This new plant will allow to increase the number of components manufactured each quarter and as a result, will help Apple and other LG Display partners avoid delays in production and shipment of new smartwatches to customers. DigiTimes reporters, who cite Korea’s Digital Times, claim that the facility will cost the company about $4 billion.
4-inch iPhone to Be Released Next Year, iPhone 7 to Get 3GB of RAM and Be Waterproof
According to the latest report from TrendForce, Apple will indeed release a 4-inch iPhone in the second quarter of 2016. Apart from that, the most recent report indicates that the next-generation iPhone dubbed iPhone 7 will be waterproof and get 3GB of RAM.
iFixit Team Performs Teardown of Apple Pencil [Images]
The iFixit team has recently performed a teardown of one interesting iPad Pro accessory. This accessory is the Apple Pencil, which is sold for $99 separately from the 12.9-inch tablet and is currently available for purchase in a number of countries of the world.
Apple Looking for Second Apple Watch Supplier, Plans to Sell 4 Million Smartwatch Units This Quarter
According to the latest report from usually-reliable DigiTimes reporters, Apple is looking for a second supplier of the Apple Watch. Currently, Quanta Computer is a sole manufacturer of the wearable device, but the Cupertino-based company is reportedly in talks with Inventec, Wistron and Foxconn Electronics to share orders for the smartwatch between one of these suppliers.
More Than 100 Million iPhones Are in Use in USA, Most Are iPhone 6 or Later
According to the latest report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there’re more than 100 million iPhone units in use in the United States. 58 million are iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units and 4 million are iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus units. With reference to the data published by experts, we can make a conclusion that 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch smartphones are of greatest popularity among the customers in the USA. Another interesting thing is that the demand for devices, which were released in 2014, namely, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, is still very strong. Smaller devices like the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, are gradually losing their share of the US market because of relatively old hardware and their form-factor.
Apple’s Global Smartphone Market Share Grows, Android Remains Top Platform
According to the latest figures from Gartner analysts, Apple’s market share on global smartphone market grew 0.6% year-over-year to as many as 13.1% in the third quarter of 2015 ending in September. Still, even such results didn’t help Apple to beat Google’s Android, which is now the most popular smartphone platform.
Ming-Chi Kuo Talks About iPad Pro Sales and A9X Chip Manufacturer in New Report
A well-known reputable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has recently released a new report with predictions about the iPad Pro sales in the upcoming holiday quarter. According to the expert, in the fourth quarter of 2015, Apple may sell between 2.4 million and 2.6 million iPad Pro units. As to the sales results in the Q1 2016, they may become a bit more modest. Kuo expects Apple to ship about 2.1 million - 2.3 million iPad Pro units to customers worldwide in the first quarter coming after the holiday period.
Apple Pencil Torture Test Appears on YouTube [Video]
As it was already mentioned on our website, the iPad Pro went on sale on November 11th. Together with this device, Apple released one smart accessory targeted at designers, photographers and all those who plan to use the 12.9-inch tablet for work. This accessory is called the Apple Pencil and this is a stylus capable of functioning on the 3D Touch display of the large tablet.
The Apple Pencil is equipped with a Lightning connector for charging and this is probably the weakest component of the device that can be easily broken by neglectful users while being on charge. At least you might think so.
Apple Has Second-Gen iPhone 5s Ready for Production?
Rumors about the release of a 4-inch iPhone early next year are becoming more and more informative. According to the latest report from Macotakara reporters, Apple already has a second-generation iPhone 5s ready for production. Reliable sources close to Apple’s supply chain claim this device is equipped with an A8 processor. Other specs include Wi‑Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1, better FaceTime camera and possibly something else.
iOS 9 Adoption Rate Reaches 67% - App Store Data
According to the latest data shared by Apple, the adoption rate of iOS 9 has recently reached 67%. The data is based on the App Store usage and reflects the number of active iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners accessing the store to download applications and use Apple services. The adoption rate has grown only 1% since November 2nd, however, that’s not strange since Apple hasn’t released any firmware updates that usually boost the adoption speed.
Some iPad Pro Users Claim Tablet Becomes Unresponsive After Being Charged
A number of users on the Apple Support Communities forum have reported various issues with the recently-released iPad Pro. In particular, they claim that the tablet becomes unresponsive after being charged for a long period of time. Hard restart usually helps to resolve the problem, however, such glitches are not what you expect from a brand new device that went on sale only last week.
Apple Takes 94% of Global Smartphone Market Profits
Back in summer, we reported that despite having a relatively small market share on global smartphone market, Apple managed to get 92% of the profits. Today, a new report from a research firm called Canaccord Genuity appeared on the Internet suggesting that thanks to strong iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales as well as due to the release of the updated handsets in September, Apple is now taking 94% of the entire smartphone industry profits.
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Apple Apps Are Incorrectly Ranked on Some iOS Devices
As it was spotted by analysts from Sensor Tower, the iOS App Store Top Free Charts section may display incorrect ratings for such apps as Pages, Keynote, Numbers and iMovie on a number of devices. The researchers claim that on some iOS gadgets the aforementioned apps have higher ratings than on the desktop App Store version and other iOS devices. As an example, the experts show the screenshots of the App Store Top Free Charts on the iPad mini 2 and on the iPhone 6s Plus. In the first case, we can spot iMovie, Keynote and Numbers in the Top-10 list. In the second case, we don’t see any of these applications among the first ten most popular.
Apple Once Again Rumored to Release 4-inch iPhone Next Year
According to the latest report from IHS Technology researcher Kevin Wang, the long-awaited 4-inch iPhone called probably the iPhone 6c may be released in mid-2016. Previous report from this source pointed to the release of the device in the fourth quarter of 2015, however, because of the new report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo or under some other circumstances, Wang decided to change the forecast.
Tim Cook Says Apple Won’t Create ‘Converged Mac and iPad’
Apple CEO Tim Cook has recently assured the reporters and Apple fans that the company is not planning to create a "converged Mac and iPad." According to Cook, the company is interested in creating the best tablet in the world and the best computer in the world, however, these should be two separate products, not the one. Such words once again prove that Apple fights against the so-called ‘hybrid’ products that combine the features of tablets and laptops. Still, the statement looks quite strange as in recent weeks, the company has been heavily promoting the iPad Pro with a Smart Keyboard that makes this device reminiscent of the MacBook.