The numbers from Apple’s Q2 2016 results go a little like this. Apple made $50.6 billion in revenue, $10.5 billion in profit, and while those aren’t record-setting numbers for the company, they’re still strong results. MacStories has a few graphs to help you process the numbers, and Apple also announced an expansion to its capital return program to $250 billion.
Sales of Apple products were down across the board, but despite that, Apple still sold 51.2 million iPhones and 10.3 million iPads during the first three months of the year. The Verge reports that sales of “Other Products” — things like Beats, the Apple TV, and Apple Watch — were the only category which saw year-on-year growth.
IFixit’s teardown of the new MacBook reveals very minor changes to the hardware, followed by the same low repairability score. The logic board is still tiny, the battery remains solidly glued into the case, and while some screws have been replaced by more repair-friendly Phillips heads, there’s almost zero reason you’d want to take your MacBook apart anyway.
Ars Technica’s review of the MacBook says that it’s a speed bump in every definition of the word. It’s exactly the same machine that it was previously, only with a little extra battery life and a little faster here and there, and the same limitations on what it can and can’t do as its predecessor.
Just like previous years, Apple CEO Tim Cook is once again auctioning a lunch date for charity, along with VIP tickets to an Apple Keynote in the future.
At this point we’re probably less than six months to the release of a new iPhone, and we really don’t know much about it. The latest rumour says it could have a flush Home button with a waterproof and dustproof casing.
A report from the Wall Street Journal claims the next Apple Watch will free itself from the chains of the iPhone by having its own cellular connectivity, as well as a faster processor. I’m not sure the Apple Watch battery would be able to take the hit from being connected to a mobile network all the time like an iPhone is, but we’ll have to see what kind of magic Apple come up with.
Logitech’s Base charging stand for the iPad Pro uses the Smart Connector to charge Apple’s larger tablets. It means you can charge the iPad Pro as you’re using it, acting as a kind of dock, but at US $99 it’s also a pretty pricey accessory.
Another day, another third-party iOS keyboard. This time around, Microsoft’s Word Flow keyboard promises a better one-handed typing experience, but only for those of you that have US App Store accounts — for some reason, Microsoft hasn’t made Word Flow available in the Australian App Store.
A set of new Apple ads highlight things Touch ID can do now, as well as the greatness of 4K video recording on the iPhone 6s.
Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2016/04/wednesday-morning-news/