This Week's Sponsor:

HomeSnap

A Private, Read-Only Window Into Your HomeKit Home

Posts tagged with "apple"

Vintage Apple Ads On YouTube→

Husain Sumra:

Old Apple commercials from the 1980s have been resurfacing on YouTube channel EveryAppleAds over the past few days, offering an extensive look at vintage Apple advertising that is normally overshadowed by Apple’s famous Super Bowl commercial “1984”.

The channel’s Recent Uploads section is where you can easily to watch all the videos. Some of them are utterly “vintage” in the way they’re meant for an audience who couldn’t have decades of computer experience like we do today; others are still fascinatingly modern in how they imply the product’s superior functionality in a casual, familiar setting. A great find.

Permalink

Apple Cyclicality→

Benedict Evans:

For the first two cycles Apple launched the new iPad in the June quarter and sales then rose in the September quarter (back to school?) and again in the Christmas quarter (presents) before falling in March (old product, new one coming). But then in 2012, iPad Mini rumours led to sales falling in September and then Apple launched the Mini and a 4th gen model in the December quarter. So sales shot up in the December quarter, held up well in March (newer product plus Chinese new year) and then slipped this quarter as it’s now a nine month old product.

Some solid analysis of yesterday’s Q3 results. The first chart really shows the seasonality of Apple products, and the inevitable decline of the iPod.

Permalink

Apple Q3 2013 Results: $35.3 Billion Revenue, 31.2 Million iPhones, 14.6 Million iPads Sold

Apple has published their Q3 2013 financial results for the quarter that ended on June 29, 2013. The company posted revenue of $35.3 billion. The company sold 14.6 million iPads, 31.2 million iPhones, and 3.8 million Macs, earning a quarterly net profit of $6.9 billion.

We are especially proud of our record June quarter iPhone sales of over 31 million and the strong growth in revenue from iTunes, Software and Services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are really excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, and we are laser-focused and working hard on some amazing new products that we will introduce in the fall and across 2014.

The company generated $7.8 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter. Read more

QuickRadar for Apple Radar

Since iOS 7’s release, I have been submitting entries to Apple’s Radar, the company’s bug tracking system. The problem with Radar is that, for some reason, it comes with an outdated and slow interface that’s prone to errors and random logouts, making the process of filing radars tedious and unpleasant. A number of apps to “fix” Radar have surfaced over the years, but lately I’ve been trying an enjoying QuickRadar. I remembered it deserved a mention here thanks to Clark’s link two days ago.

QuickRadar is a menubar app for the Mac that signs you into Apple’s Radar and that can be activated with a keyboard shortcut. Instead of redirecting you to Radar’s web UI, it lets you write your bug report in a window on your Mac, and when you click “Submit” it’ll take care of uploading the report for you without launching the website. The app can also file duplicates, handle rdar:// URLs to launch them in OpenRadar or filing them as duplicates, and it comes with sharing options for WordPress and App.net if you want to share your radar’s number with the world. Like Tokens (another app made out of frustration with an Apple-made web UI), QuickRadar uses web scraping to communicate with Apple’s bug reporter.

QuickRadar is still in the alpha stages and has some rough edges. For instance, it doesn’t support file uploads for attachments, although the developer says they’re on the roadmap. Version 0.7 was released earlier this week with improved Preferences and support for Mountain Lion’s Notification Center.

You can download QuickRadar here.

WWDC 2013 Session Videos On YouTube→

Update: According to iMore’s Rene Ritchie, Apple confirmed that the videos are not official and, as suspected, in violation of the NDA.

After the release of the keynote’s video on its website, iTunes, and YouTube, WWDC 2013 session videos have surfaced on YouTube under the account WWDCVideos.

Originally tweeted by Safari and WebKit engineer Timothy Hatcher, the WWDCVideos channel has the following description:

Get an in-depth look at what’s next in iOS and OS X, and learn how to take your apps to the next level. With over 100 sessions, extensive hands–on labs, and engaging events, you’ll connect with Apple engineers and fellow developers for an incredible week of inspiration.

If confirmed official, this wouldn’t be Apple’s first YouTube channel, as the company has been uploading keynotes, promo videos, and TV commercials on the Apple channel for years now; it’s unclear, however, how such videos would be available publicly on YouTube considering Apple’s NDA, which prevents developers from discussing upcoming iOS and OS X features publicly.

Permalink

The Next Five Years of App Store

Five

Five

A great man once said that we should look up at the stars, be curious, and keep asking questions. With the App Store now a five-year-old business, I would like – allow me to paraphrase that great man for a much more trivial endeavor – to look ahead and trying to imagine what the next five years of the App Store could look like. I already wrote my in-depth App Store retrospective last year, and I touched upon the changes introduced with iOS 6 back in September 2012. Now, it’s time to think about what’s next. The past can be functional to contextualizing the future, but eventually somebody has to think of that future. This is my humble, brief attempt.

The App Store will soon hit the impressive milestone of 1 million apps available for iPhone and iPad. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to know Apple is figuring out a way to time the announcement of 1 million apps with the release of iOS 7 (and possibly new iPhone hardware) this Fall. The App Store’s soon-to-be-millionaire catalogue pales in comparison to the iTunes Store’s music offerings, but it’s still impressive when considering that the modern concept of app was born only five years ago, whereas music goes, euphemistically, “a long way” back in human history.

I don’t think that the App Store’s growing catalog will ultimately change the nature of the Store itself: if you look back at the past 10 years of iTunes, you’ll see that, in spite of new releases and additions, the iTunes Store’s core mechanics haven’t changed much. Customers go to iTunes, they buy music, and they enjoy that content on their devices. With the App Store, I think we’ll keep seeing a front page, categories, charts, and a download/purchase mechanism that will go unchanged for the foreseeable future. Apple doesn’t need to alter the simplicity of the App Store model, but they must enhance it and modernize it.

I discussed many of my ideas for a better App Store in my piece from February, and I’ll revisit them today with a knowledge of the announcements Apple made with iOS 7. Read more

Apple’s Desktop Pictures→

The public unveiling of each new version of Mac OS X has brought a new default desktop picture, and a new hunt to find a full-res copy of that wallpaper before the official release. The introduction of OS X Mavericks was no different, only this time instead of a space-themed galaxy or nebula, Apple decided to bring Mac’s default look and feel back to earth.

Thomas Brand takes a look back at Apple’s history with Mac OS and OS X default desktop pictures.

Permalink

Apple Announces Q3 2013 Conference Call for July 23

Apple’s third quarter earnings report and conference call will take place on July 23rd, 2013, according to an Investor Relations update on Apple’s website first noted by 9to5mac. Apple will provide a live audio webcast of the event.

Apple plans to conduct a conference call to discuss financial results of its third fiscal quarter on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET.

In the second quarter (which ended on March 30, 2013), Apple posted revenue of $43.6 billion. The company sold 19.5 million iPads, 37.4 million iPhones, and  ”just under” 4 million Macs, earning a quarterly net profit of $9.5 billion. The company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $145 billion.

In April, Apple posted its guidance for the third quarter, with revenue set between $33.5 billion and $35.5 billion and operating expenses between $3.85 billion and $3.95 billion. During the quarter, Apple hit the milestone of 50 billion apps downloaded from the App Store, introduced a new low-end iPod touch, and held its annual Developers Conference in San Franisco, where it released an updated line of MacBook Airs and announced new versions of iOS and OS X coming this Fall. Apple also previewed the new Mac Pro, a completely redesigned new machine coming later this year.

In the year-ago quarter, Apple posted revenue of $35 billion, with 17 million iPads, 26 million iPhones and 4 million Macs sold. Last year, Apple held its Q3 2012 earnings call on July 24, and released OS X Mountain Lion on July 25. Apple’s Q3 2013 call will provide insight into sales of the iPhone and iPad over the past months, which lacked updates to both lines. On July 23, the iPhone 5 will reach the 305th day of its cycle, and the iPad mini its 263rd.

We will provide live updates from the conference call on our site’s homepage on July 23rd starting at 2 PM PT.

The Potential of iOS 7 Game Controllers

Chris Plante:

If Apple finds a way to standardize traditional controls, every iOS device will become a transportable console. In a year, both iPhones and iPads will approach the processing power of the current-generation devices. Companies will have the ability to port controller-based games for the mobile devices in millions of pockets — an install base far greater than they’ve ever had before.

Today, using Airplay and an Apple TV, players can stream their games from their iOS device to their high-definition television. With controller support, players will be able to play more traditional, non-touch games.

I agree with Chris’ take: the new game controller APIs for developers have great potential, but, ultimately, it’s up to Apple to believe in this opportunity. What’s indisputable is that later this year, when controllers will be released by third-parties, games supporting them will already work with the existing Apple TV’s AirPlay streaming features. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple will publicly acknowledge this new scenario for gamers and Apple TV owners (as Tim Cook often notes, Apple doesn’t advertise the Apple TV aside from a product page on Apple.com).

We’ve already discussed how the potential of dual-screen AirPlay gaming is largely untapped, and I suspect the addition of physical controllers will allow iOS game developers to explore even more possibilities. Essentially, controllers that will attach to iPhones will create a DS-like experience – with the “top screen” being the Apple TV.

Today’s hardware, as recent ports show, isn’t yet capable of handling the same amount of power and definition of modern console games. The App Store needs improvements (especially for curation and discovery), but Apple has the advantage of having a solid platform where free-to-play is an established model and where everyone can develop games (with great new game-related APIs coming in iOS 7) as long as they are registered developers. With 575 million iTunes Store accounts with credit cards on file, Apple also has the largest user base – customers already buying software from the App Store. And, let’s not forget the iPod touch, Apple’s cheapest way into App Store gaming, which recently received an even cheaper option.

On the other hand, in the current state of App Store economics, it’s difficult to imagine how Apple could lure major console publishers to release AAA titles under $30 and that aren’t low-res ports, companion apps, or dumbed-down versions of console/PC games. Does Apple care about having the next Destiny on iOS first? The new Call of Duty? Will future iOS hardware be capable of running those kinds of games? Or is Apple just fine with attacking the market from the low end, taking more time to see how game developers will react to new iOS software and hardware in the next five years?

Will Apple ever develop a culture and appreciation for gaming as a medium, not just an App Store category? While others (namely Microsoft) are trying to add more media and entertainment layers on top of existing game infrastructures, Apple is in the opposite situation – running the largest media store and selling devices that are increasingly used as gaming machines, but that still lack the catalog and support of dedicated home consoles.

As far as third-party developers are concerned, things have changed since 2008. Five years ago, imagining a console hit like Metal Gear Solid 4 on iOS would have been absurd; today, we have a port (albeit low-res) of XCOM eight months after the original release. Compare this example to Metal Gear Solid Touch, “based on” Metal Gear Solid 4 and released nine months after the original game, in 2009. What’s the App Store going to be like in 2018? Can we imagine, two or three years from now, simultaneous and equal releases of AAA games across consoles and iOS? And if so, how will the App Store’s numbers play to Apple’s advantage against Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Valve?

Apple is testing the waters (having to buy separate iOS devices, Apple TV, and third-party game controllers isn’t a simple message) and they seem extremely cautious with their Apple TV strategy, but it does look like some pieces of the gaming puzzle are slowly coming together. We’re seeing more full ports of console games nowadays, alongside, obviously, the brand new iOS gaming experiences that have shaped the modern industry. iOS 7 game controllers will likely make developers more comfortable with the idea of “serious” games on iOS (although Apple wants controllers to be optional…for now), and I’m curious to see which parts of Apple’s grand vision for TV will relate to games, the App Store, and iOS.