Apple’s sales have fallen, and will continue to fall, the company warned in its latest results. But the company’s long-term investment in services – such as its streaming TV and music platforms and other monthly subscriptions – helped offset the fall in the number of people buying products such as iPhones and iPads. Apple shares dropped about 2% after the company predicted what could be the fourth quarter in a row of declining sales. For the just-ended period, strength in services drove the profit beat, but weaker than expected sales of Apple‘s most famous device, the iPhone, underwhelmed investors. Executives said iPhone sales would improve in the fourth quarter, but did not say how much. Apple is in a delicate position, with its entrenched iPhone battling for share against Android rivals in a mature market, while its next big product - the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset announced in June - is not yet in the hands of consumers. Apple said sales for the fiscal third quarter ended July 1 fell 1.4% to $81.8 billion and earnings per share rose 5% to $1.26. That topped analyst expectations of $81.69 billion and $1.19 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Weaker iPhone sales were balanced by strong sales in the services segment that contains Apple TV+ and by sales in China that grew 8% year over year. Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said the company expects a year-over-year revenue performance in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter ending in September similar to the drop the company reported on Thursday. That sales forecast is below analyst expectations of roughly flat fiscal fourth-quarter sales of $90.19 billion, according to Refinitiv data. “There is a real concern about when volume picks up and what the horizon is for iPhone sales growth,” said Daniel Newman, chief executive and principal analyst at research firm Futurum Group. Apple pegged the gross profit margin in the September quarter at 44% to 45%, above analyst expectations of 43.4%, according to Refinitiv data. While Appleexpects growth in its service segment that contains Apple TV+, iPad and Mac sales will fall by “double digits,” Maestri said on the call. Apple‘s research and development spending also hit $22.61 billion for the fiscal year so far, about $3.12 billion higher than at this point in the previous year. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told Reuters in an interview that the increased R&D spending was in part driven by work on generative artificial intelligence, the same field that is driving spending at other big technology companies. “We’ve been doing research across a wide range of AI technologies, including generative AI, for years. We’re going to continue investing and innovating and responsibly advancing our products with these technologies to help enrich people’s lives,” Cook said. “Obviously, we’re investing a lot, and it is showing up in the R&D spending that you’re looking at.” In the meantime, Apple appeared to outperform what has been the weakest smartphone market in China in almost a decade. Overall smartphone sales declined 8% in China in the calendar second quarter to their lowest levels since 2014, according to Counterpoint Research. By contrast, Cook told Reuters that Apple‘s iPhone sales in China grew by “double digits” and that sales were also high in other segments in China. That helped Apple push sales in its greater China region to $15.76 billion, from $14.60 billion in last year’s same quarter. “This was really done by attracting a quarterly record of switchers to the iPhone, as well as having a strong upgrader activity,” Cook said. “We also set quarterly records in China for both wearables, home and accessories, and services.” Apple said iPhone sales were $39.67 billion, below analyst expectations of $39.91 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Cook said the installed base of iPhones hit a new high but gave no numbers. “The company continues to face headwinds caused by waning growth in the smartphone market,” said Insider Intelligence analyst Jeremy Goldman. “All eyes are now on its earnings call for any potential Vision Pro or AI-related announcements that could further push the boundaries of their business model.” Apple‘s services segment, which includes its Apple TV+ service which has announced a deal to carry Major League Soccer, had $21.21 billion in revenue, compared with analyst estimates of $20.76 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Cook said Apple now has 1 billion subscribers on its platform, which includes both Apple services and third-party apps, up from 975 million a quarter ago. The company’s wearables business, which includes the Apple Watch and AirPods, had revenue of $8.28 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $8.39 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Mac and iPad sales were $6.84 billion and $5.79 billion, respectively, compared with analyst estimates of $6.62 billion and $6.41 billion, according to Refinitiv data. “Almost half of the Mac buyers during the quarter were new to the product, and we continue to see strong upgrader activity to Apple Silicon,” Cook told Reuters. Additional reporting by Reuters Read More Apple planning new version of AirTags – but not for some time The iPhone 15 is going to help Apple achieve one very big dream New iPhone might have a mysterious button on its side – and this is what it could do iPhone users urged to check their photo library amid fears they could be deleted Rumours are growing about some bad iPhone news Meta’s Twitter rival Threads sees ‘steep drop in daily users by 80 per cent’

Matt Berry is in talks to star with Jason Momoa in the 'Minecraft' film adaptation.

Although we’re probably still a long way off from the sentient forms of AI that are depicted in film and literature, we can turn to fiction to probe the questions raised by these technological advancements.

European Union officials are working on a plan that can help provide electric buses to Latin American nations

FREMONT, Calif. & AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 13, 2023--

OpenAI, the company behind the viral AI chatbot ChatGPT, is reportedly in talks with renowned Apple designer Jony Ive to create an artificial intelligence device. The venture, which also involves SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, aims to build the “iPhone of artificial intelligence”, according to the Financial Times. Several brainstorming sessions between Mr Ive and OpenAI boss Sam Altman have already taken place, while Japanese tech giant SoftBank is said to have pledged more than $1 billion towards the project. Few details are given about what form the device might take, with possibilities ranging from a standalone ChatGPT-enabled smart speaker, to headphones that allow wearers to interface directly with the AI bot. Mr Ive left Apple in 2019 after 27 years at the company to form his own design company, called LoveForm, which is involved in the latest collaboration. Alongside the iPhone, Mr Ive played a crucial role in designing other Apple products like the iPad, iPod and MacBook. His latest creation is likely to forego a screen, according to people familiar with the matter. The Independent has reached out to OpenAI for comment. Reports of the partnership emerged in the same week that OpenAI announced that ChatGPT now has direct access to the internet, as well as the ability to “see, hear and speak”. The addition of voice and image recognition tools gives the generative AI similar capabilities to virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. The internet connectivity feature also brings it in line with other leading AI tools like Google’s Bard. “ChatGPT can now browse the internet to provide you with current and authoritative information, complete with direct links to sources,” OpenAI announced on Wednesday. “It is no longer limited to data before September 2021. Browsing is particularly useful for tasks that require up-to-date information, such as helping you with technical research, trying to choose a bike, or planning a vacation.” Meta also announced the launch of several new chatbots this week, with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg saying the AI bots will come with different personalities based on real people. The chatbots will work through Meta’s apps, which include Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Read More ChatGPT boss says he’s created human-level AI, then says he’s ‘just memeing’ Elon Musk says he’ll live stream himself doing ‘silly stuff’ on X tonight TikTok finds and shuts down secret operation to stir up conflict in Ireland ChatGPT now has direct access to the internet

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 12, 2023--

DANBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 10, 2023--

TL;DR: As of August 20, get the Babbl USB-C Plug & Play Microphone for PC

The US Federal Trade Commission urged an appeals court to delay Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion takeover of Activision

The impact of the SEC crackdown on crypto appears to be fading for the 19 tokens designated as

Experts have explained the reason why every glass of water we consume has dinosaur urine in it and it's not as gross as it sounds. When you get a cold glass of water from the tap, chances are you don’t think much about it before getting it down the hatch, so long as it looks clean. But, water experts have explained that the water you’re drinking may have gone through a dinosaur or even through your neighbour, before getting to you. This is because every drop of water on Earth has gone through a continuous water cycle over billions of years, and the amount of water on the planet at any given time is always the same. Severn Trent Water explained more, telling the Birmingham Mail how our planet's water cycle works. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter They explained: “ Heat energy from the sun causes water to evaporate into the atmosphere from sea, lakes and the soil. “Air currents containing water vapour rise over higher ground into cooler temperatures which causes condensation and creates clouds. “More air currents cause the clouds to move around the Earth, across sea and land. As the clouds cool, precipitation as snow, sleet, hail or rain.” They explained that the vast majority of precipitation on Earth ends up back in waterways, such as seas, lakes and rivers. Continuing, they revealed: “97 per cent of the world’s water is salty sea water, two per cent is frozen in the polar ice caps and one per cent is fresh water for us to use.” Water companies collect and store water in reservoirs, which is then treated and tested by the Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate. It can then be distributed to homes through pipes. Then, the wastewater that has been used is transported through drains and sewers to sewage treatment works and returned to streams and rivers. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.