News from category ‘Official’
iOS 8 Adoption Rate Reaches 68% - Apple
According to what the guys from Cupertino have recently posted on their Support page for developers, iOS 8 is now installed on 68% of active devices. Such a figure shows that over the last month, the number of iOS 8 users has grown 5%. As to the reasons for such growth, they include immense popularity of Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as strong smartphone and tablet sales during the holiday period of 2014.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Half of Devices Activated During Christmas Week Were Apple Devices
According to the latest report from a research firm Flurry, more than a half of new mobile devices activated during the Christmas week were Apple’s iPhones. This means that the sales results of the holiday quarter will surely please the guys from Cupertino.
To be precise, I should say that Apple accounted for 51.3% of new smartphone activations in the period of time between December 19th and December 25th. As to the closest rivals, they include Samsung with 17.7%, Nokia with 5.8%, Sony with 1.6% and LG with 1.4% of activated devices. As you may see in the chart below, the gap between Apple and its rival from South Korea is massive.
Apple Now Offers 14-Day Return Policy for iTunes Users in Europe
Apple has recently updated its iTunes terms and conditions in a number of European countries and allowed users to return songs, apps, books etc. within 14 days after paying for them. The new 14-day return policy covers the purchases made in the iOS App Store, Mac App Store, iBooks Store and iTunes Store.
Apple Patents Its Own Smart Pen for Transforming Handwritten Text into Digital
Apple on Tuesday was granted a patent for a smart pen capable of capturing handwritten text and drawings and turning them into digital notes or images to be displayed on the screen of a smartphone or tablet. Apple’s rights for the technology described in a document entitled “Communicating stylus” were granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent has a registration number 8,922,530.
iOS Users Prove to Be More Active Online Christmas Shoppers
According to the results of the IBM survey first shared by VentureBeat reporters, iPhone and iPad users managed to beat the users of Android devices in terms of online mobile sales and shopping traffic during this year’s Christmas Day. Last year, by the way, the analysis of user’s shopping activity showed similar results. iOS users were using their devices to make purchases online more often than the owners of smartphones and tablets running Google’s Android.
Apple to Arrange Its 'Lucky Bag' Promotion in Japan on January 2nd
I have a piece good news for all the Japanese customers. Apple has recently confirmed that it will arrange its traditional annual “Lucky Bag” promotion on January 2nd at the retail stores across the country.
Rockstar Consortium Sells 4.000 Patents to RPX Corp
The Rockstar Consortium, which includes such tech giants as Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Ericsson and Sony, has recently sold its portfolio of smartphone-related patents to a firm from San Francisco called RPX Corp. This may mean that the end of the patent war between the guys from Cupertino and their rivals is near. As noted in the latest press release published by RPX Corp, the company plans to licence the aforementioned patents to Google, Cisco Systems and a number of other high-profile vendors.

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