Apple Corporate

The untold story behind Apple's $13,000 operating system

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS, Calif. -- In the common retelling of Apple's history, it was Steve Jobs' and Steve Wozniak's second computer, the Apple II, that launched their fledgling company toward stratospheric growth and financial success. The machine's triumph as a single platform for business software, games, artistic tools -- and more -- set the stage for the later debut of the first Mac, and later OS X and iDevices.

What many forget -- or may not even know -- is that when the Apple II was introduced at the inaugural West Coast Computer Faire in April, 1977, it suffered from what, in retrospect, was a glaring shortcoming: It had no disk drive. … Read more

Apple sued over EarPods product name

A new lawsuit claims Apple's latest headphones could be confused with a line of hearing aids bearing a similar, trademarked name.

In a complaint filed late last week, Randolph Divisions and Hearpod Inc. said Apple's EarPods headphones infringe on its trademark for "Hearpods." Randolph Divisions filed for the name in February 2005, and ended up using the name in its line of hearing aids.

"Both Plaintiffs' Goods and Defendant's Goods are similar in nature in that, among other things, they are inserted into the ears of their users and are used to facilitate and … Read more

Apple's mea culpa works wonders in China

Apple CEO Tim Cook's apology to China over his company's warranty apology seems to have succeeded in reducing tension with the Chinese government.

Global Times, a state-run media outlet in China, today wrote that Apple's "apology letter has eased the situation, softening the tense relationship between Apple and the Chinese market," according to Reuters, which was first to report on the statement. The Global Times also said that Apple's apology was "worth respect."

Tim Cook yesterday issued an apology, saying his company was sorry for the lack of communication on its warranty … Read more

Apple looks to be amping up Siri with hiring binge

Siri could be getting a lot better at her job.

Apple posted 12 new Siri-focused jobs over the weekend, according to Fast Company. The open positions include software engineers, operations engineers, and interaction designer. This means that Apple's speech recognition personal assistant may be getting an overhaul.

The job description for Siri software engineers says, "The Siri team is looking for an exceptional engineer to help build out new areas of expertise for Siri, expanding the product's capabilities for millions of users," while the description for Siri interaction designer says, "The successful candidate will contribute … Read more

Apple to reveal Q2 2013 earnings on April 23

Apple said today it will discuss its financial performance for its fiscal second quarter 2013 in a conference call on April 23.

The call, which as usual will be streamed, is expected to cover the company's revenue and sales figures. CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer will likely be on hand to provide a financial forecast for the next quarter.

The iPhone maker recorded a monster first quarter of 2013, posting revenue of $54.5 billion and earnings of $13.1 billion on sales of 47.8 million iPhones and 22.9 million iPads. That was just below … Read more

Apple CEO apologizes to China over warranties, offers fixes

Following weeks of scrutiny over its warranty policies in China, Apple now says it has improved services in the region.

That message came from the top, in an apology note from Apple CEO Tim Cook, posted in Chinese on Apple's Chinese site today.

In it, Cook apologized for a lack of communication on the matter, and said that the company is implementing improvements in three areas of its warranty policy and related services.

Those changes:

A new repair policy for the iPhone 4 and 4S that provides a new phone exchange or new parts replacement for a year after … Read more

Chinese animation studio sues Apple over iTunes Store sales

A Chinese animation film studio has sued Apple for allegedly selling its movies in its iTunes store without permission.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, citing a report from the South China Morning Post, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, which is backed by the Chinese government, has sued Apple for more than $500,000. The company argues that Apple sold over 110 of its movies, including "Calabash Brothers" and "Black Cat Detective," in the iTunes store without permission.

Apple has faced its fair share of troubles in China. The company last year was forced to pay $60 million to settle a lawsuit with Proview … Read more

Communist Chinese media mouthpiece bashes Apple again

Three's usually a charm -- but not when you're talking about the government of China and Apple. For the third day running, the country's state-controlled media has taken a swipe at Apple, ostensibly over its warranty policy.

The Wall Street Journal refers to an article in the People's Daily, which describes Apple's defense of its policy as "arrogant." While that description might not shock people who follow the company closely, it's unclear why the official state organs have decided to cuff Apple around.

Under the heading "Apple unmoved by repairs complaints&… Read more

Apple closes gap on Samsung in smart connected devices

Apple is starting to catch up to Samsung Electronics when it comes to smart connected devices, or total sales of desktop PCs, laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

That's according to IDC, which pegged leader Samsung at 21.2 percent of the market for smart connected devices as of the end of 2012, with No. 2 Apple just behind it at 20.3 percent.

Given the premium price on its products, Apple already dominates Samsung from a revenue perspective. Apple captured 30.7 percent of the industry's total revenue, to Samsung's 20.4 percent share.

The smart connected devices … Read more