The AppAdvice week in review: Apple's 'iPhone 6,' Amazon's Fire phone, and 'Sharknado 2'
New iPads Meanwhile, the word is that new iPads won’t arrive in stores until later this fall. This sounds about right. Apple has held October iPad launch events in both 2012 and 2013. OS X 10.10 Yosemite Finally, it looks like the public launch of OS X Yosemite won't occur until October. Its arrival could coincide with the launch of a 12-inch MacBook and a 4K iMac or standalone monitor. This news comes as Apple launched the first public beta of OS X Yosemite this week. 2. Apple's earnings are good As Brent Dirks reported on Tuesday:
Apple has just announced its earnings report for the 2014 fiscal third quarter. The company beat Wall Street expectations and posted revenue of $37.4 billion with a net profit of $7.7 billion.
That’s compared to revenue of $35.3 billion and $6.9 billion in profit during the same quarter a year ago.
During the time period, Apple sold 35.20 million iPhones, 13.27 million iPads, 4.41 million Macs, and 2.96 million iPods.
Compared to the year-ago quarter, iPhone sales were up more than 10 percent while iPad numbers were down more than 1 million units. Coming as no surprise, iPod sales continue to fall off a cliff.
3. The Fire phone launches
Compare all Smartphones | FindTheBestAmazon officially released its first smartphone this week, the Fire phone. Early reviews for the iPhone competitor haven't exactly been kind.
As Joe White noted:
Engadget and Re/code both concluded that the first-generation Fire Phone just isn’t good enough, with the former publication’s review noting: By no means is the Fire a horrible phone, but it’s a forgettable one. You might want the eventual Fire Phone 2, perhaps, but for now, you’re better off sticking with what you know. Business Insider, on the other hand, drew attention to the device’s limited support for the latest mobile apps (“This is a phone for folks who only want to live in Amazon’s world and don’t need access to the latest and greatest apps and services rival devices offer”), while The Verge awarded the device an unimpressive 5.9 out of 10.For further consideration
Viral video of the week A fictionalized version of New York City is about to have a major fin problem as Syfy's "Sharknado 2: The Second One" is set to premiere on Wednesday, July 30. The campy film won't be winning any awards, but it is getting some love from Philips Hue. The home light bulb system now pairs with the free Syfy Sync app. What's all the fuss about? Take a look:
- Apple announces its 2014 iTunes Festival London, scheduled for this September
- Bose files suit against Apple-owned Beats over noise-canceling headphone patents
- Rovio unveils the first trailer for Angry Birds Transformers
- FiftyThree's Pencil stylus now works with more than just Paper
- FXNOW, featuring Simpsons World, will arrive on the Apple TV in the next year
- Siri might be improving, but Google Now on Android is still more accurate
