Apple's EFI Firmware 2.9 Update for 2011 MacBook Airs Appears Bugged, Some Users Unable to Install [Mac Blog]

Apple's recent EFI Firmware 2.9 update for 2011 MacBook Air models appears to be causing trouble for several MacBook Air users, according to a thread on the Apple Support Communities.



Released on July 15 to fix sleep/wake issues and a bug that caused fans to run at full speed after waking from sleep, the EFI update has caused some MacBook Air machines to shut down completely for several hours and on other machines, the update is still listed in the App Store after being installed.





Multiple users have said their machines turned off and did not reboot for several hours after attempting to install the update, while others have been unable to install the update at all. Some users have also reported completely bricked machines even after several hours.



One user attempted to install the update multiple times with no luck, while another user took his machine to the Apple Store where employees were also unable to get the update to install.

I had the same issue. The machine simply shuts off and doesn't restart so the firmware update is never applied. The power button stopped working and the machine would not turn on at all. So I took it the the Apple Store and they cracked it open to do a physical SMC reset.



It booted up fine after that. We tried the install again and no dice. Same thing happened. This time the guy at the Genius Bar did some kind of "soft" SMC reset. He pressed SHIFT+FN+CONTROL+POWER at the same time (the first 3 keys are in the lower left corner) ... held it for a few seconds and let them go. When he pressed the Power button after that the machine booted up fine. Still didn't apply the firmware update though. The guy at the Genius Bar said he would report this issue to Engineering to alert them to the problem with the update.

It is not clear if the issue is widespread or limited to just a 2011 MacBook Air users, but as none of the affected users in the thread have discovered a solution, those who have not yet attempted to install the 2.9 update might wait to wait for an official fix from Apple.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:12PM, July 22

iPad Sales Total 225 Million Units Since 2010 as Apple Claims 'Significant Innovation' Coming

During today's earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared new information on the state of the iPad, including details on overall sales since the product launched a little over four years ago, recent growth in different markets, and hints at future plans. It was revealed earlier that sales of the iPad were down for the second straight quarter in a row, as the company sold a total of 13.3 million iPads, down from 14.6 million in the year-ago quarter.





Cook said that iPad sales have totaled to 225 million units since 2010, as the current iPad Air and iPad mini have hit 98% and 100% customer satisfaction, respectively. According to recent market studies, 63% of customers planning to buy a tablet are planning to buy an iPad, while half of all iPad buyers were planning to buy their first iPad.



Additionally, Apple noted that 2.5 iPads are being sold for every Mac, as the tablet now holds an 85% share of the U.S. education market. Internationally, the iPad also experienced a 50% growth in China and 60% growth in the Middle East year-over-year.



In reaction to iPad sales being down, Cook noted "significant innovation can be brought to the iPad", stating "[Apple] plans on doing that" and that the tablet category as a whole is still "in its infancy." Recent reports have pointed to Apple launching updated models of the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini later this year, with each likely to come with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor and a faster A8 processor.



The company is also rumored to be preparing a larger "iPad Pro" which is said to feature a 12.9-inch ultra high-definition display. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the iPad Pro in 2015, but a recent report noted that Apple's plans may be on hold for the foreseeable feature.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:22PM, July 22

Apple Reports Third Quarter Results

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 third quarter ended June 28, 2014. The company posted quarterly revenue of $37.4 billion and quarterly net profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $35.3 billion and net profit of $6.9 billion, or $1.07 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.4 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $.47 per share of the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 14, 2014, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 11, 2014. “Our record June quarter revenue was fueled by strong sales of iPhone and Mac and the continued growth of revenue from the Apple ecosystem, driving our highest EPS growth rate in seven quarters,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are incredibly excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, as well as other new products and services that we can’t wait to introduce.”

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Posted in 2014 at 08:54PM, July 22

iTunes by the Numbers: Billings up 25% Year-Over-Year, $20B Paid to Devs, 75B App Downloads [iOS Blog]

During its financial results call covering the third fiscal quarter (second calendar quarter) of 2014, Apple shared details on the success of its iTunes Store, which has become an increasingly important revenue source for the company in recent years, mainly due to the ever-growing popularity of the App Store.



For the first fiscal nine months of the year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said iTunes software and services were the fastest growing part of Apple's business. iTunes billings grew 25 percent year over year to an all time quarterly high, largely due to the App Store.



In the third quarter, iTunes generated $4.5 billion, an increase of 12 percent year over year. There have been 75 billion cumulative App Store downloads, and Apple has now paid a total of $20 billion to developers. In January of 2014, Apple had paid out $15 billion, meaning $5 billion of that total has been paid out in 2014 alone.



During the call, Tim Cook said that he expects iOS 8 with more than 4,000 APIs and the company's new developer language, Swift, to result in significant growth and improvement for apps and the App Store.



Overall, Apple posted revenue of $37.4 billion and a net quarterly profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $35.3 billion and net quarterly profit of $9.5 billion ($1.07 per diluted share) in the year-ago quarter. Year over year, Apple's revenue is up 6 percent and its profit is up 12 percent.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:48PM, July 22

Apple Reports Q3 2014 Results: $7.7 Billion Profit on Record $37.4 Billion in Revenue

Apple today announced financial results for the second calendar quarter and third fiscal quarter of 2014. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $37.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $35.3 billion and net quarterly profit of $6.9 billion, or $1.07 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.



Gross margin for the quarter was 39.4 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 59 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an upcoming dividend payment of $3.29 per share, payable on August 14 to shareholders of record as of August 11. The company currently holds $164.5 billion in cash and marketable securities.





Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 35.2 million, up from 31.2 million in the year-ago quarter, and the company sold 13.3 million iPads, down from 14.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 4.4 million Macs, up from 3.8 million in the year-ago period.

“Our record June quarter revenue was fueled by strong sales of iPhone and Mac and the continued growth of revenue from the Apple ecosystem, driving our highest EPS growth rate in seven quarters,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are incredibly excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, as well as other new products and services that we can’t wait to introduce.”

Apple's guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 includes expected revenue of $37-40 billion and gross margin between 37 and 38 percent.





Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q3 2014 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:34PM, July 22

BREAKING: Apple reports Q3 results!

Apple's stock has been soaring lately, up more than 24% over the past three months. Shares took off in late April when Apple announced a 7-for-1 split that would take place in early June, and the stock has kept climbing gradually ever since, inching closer to an all-time high that now sits just north of $100 after adjusting for the split. And if Apple managed the blowout quarter some industry watchers are expecting it to report on Tuesday afternoon, $100 might not be far behind.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:31PM, July 22

Meet Humin, the Google Now-like assistant you desperately need

Humin is a new iPhone application that can aggregate certain data from all sorts of sources to make your life easier, The Wall Street Journal reports. Specifically, Humin is able to pull contacts from various interactions, keep them in order on all devices and offer context-aware features. Humin founder Ankur Jain described the service as a “social OS,” with the app's main purpose being making contacts management a much easier day-to-day chore.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:40PM, July 22

Are we witnessing Windows Phone’s last stand?

Much has been written about Microsoft’s unsettling plan to cut loose some 18,000 of its employees by the end of 2014. You could argue that it’s a necessary evil, or you could argue that it’s a short-sighted misstep. From what I’ve read, this is about Microsoft repositioning itself for the current reality it finds itself a part of.

In many ways, Ballmer never took the steps to shape the company into a viable behemoth. Just as he laughed off the iPhone in 2007, he never really figured out that the company was slipping in a lot of ways — not the least of which was mindshare.

Out of the 18,000 announced cuts, a staggering 12,500 will come from Nokia’s devices division. A division that Ballmer was hellbent on acquiring before heading for the exits. To me, however, the question shouldn’t be on Microsoft’s commitment (or lack thereof) to building phones. The question should be about Windows Phone.

I’ve long since believed there are some battles worth fighting, and some worth conceding. The trick, as you know, is figuring out which slots where.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:15PM, July 22

Images Depict Possible iPhone 6 Lightning/Headphone Flex Cable, Rear Shell

With the 4.7-inch iPhone entering mass production this month, part leaks and rumors surrounding the device are beginning to pick up. Several different internal and external parts said to be destined for the iPhone 6 have surfaced and today, Apple.club.tw [Google Translate] has shared images depicting the flex cable for the Lightning and headphone parts along with another image of the iPhone 6 rear shell.



The flex cable said to be for the iPhone 6 includes the headphone jack on the far left, a microphone next to that, and the Lightning port located on the middle of the part. It looks very similar to the Lightning/headphone flex cable designed for the iPhone 5s, but the headphone jack has dual screw holes towards the top of the part, a variation from the iPhone 5s design.





These two holes appear to accurately line up with the dual holes in the bottom left of the rear shell of the device, suggesting the headphone jack would fit correctly into the iPhone 6 rear shell and lending credence to the authenticity of the part.



As for the rear shell, it appears very similar to previously shared images of the iPhone 6 rear shell, including a near-completed rear shell with embedded Apple logo that surfaced yesterday. Like that shell, this one features an iPad-style embedded Apple logo, clear cutouts for the camera and flash, and very prominent antenna breaks.




Yellow circle indicates two holes that match the holes on the headphone jack of the flex cable, red circle indicates the difference in screw hole location between iPhone 5s/iPhone 6.


Some reports have speculated that the embedded Apple logo is designed to light up, but it is more likely that the embedded logo is for aesthetic and/or radio transparency purposes.



As we creep closer to the prospective September launch date of the iPhone 6, part leaks may grow even more frequent. Thus far all part leaks have centered around the 4.7-inch iPhone, and this is because it is believed to be entering mass production ahead of the 5.5-inch version. The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may enter production in August or September according to rumors, which means 5.5-inch part leaks could pick up over the next month or two as well.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:30PM, July 22