Details of Apple’s upcoming iPhone have been revealed via an apparent leak, according to multiple foreign media outlets on Monday.
The name of the latest iPhone, which was said to be sold at a price of over 1,000 US dollars, will be “iPhone X”, multiple sites have reported, adding that the other two new iPhone would be called the “iPhone 8” and “iPhone 8 Plus”. More details about the new facial recognition technology, called “Face ID”, as well as a new messaging app using 3D technology to make emojis have been released as well.
FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2015 file photo, a man walks past the Apple logo during a product display for Apple TV following an Apple event in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
It is reported that the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be the basic models upgraded from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The two new iPhones will feature glass back panels and wireless inductive charging, the rumors said.
What makes Apple fans most excited is the iPhone X, which is expected to be the biggest “surprise” at Tuesday’s launch event. As the newest high-end model of Apple, the iPhone X is reported to use controlling gestures instead of the traditional home button on the front. At the same time, the iPhone X will also introduce a high-definition 5.8-inch OLED display.
Apple has declined to comment.
In fact, it is not the first time that details of Apple’s new products were leaked, even though the California-based company takes great efforts to keep its technologies secret, such as in August when Apple published codes for its HomePod speakers.
In the case of the iPhone X and the series of iPhone 8, some Apple watchers pointed out that they were almost “certain” the leak was deliberate this time.
This Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, photo shows the Apple logo at a store in Miami Beach, Fla. Apple has set Sept. 12, 2017, as the date for an annual post-Labor Day showcase. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
“Someone within Apple leaked the list of URLs to 9to5Mac and MacRumors,” said John Gruber, a famous blogger known for his coverage of Apple.
“I’m nearly certain this wasn’t a mistake, but rather a deliberate malicious act by a rogue Apple employee. Whoever did this is the least-popular person in Cupertino. More surprises were spoiled by this leak than any leak in Apple history.”
Will such a large-scale leak make Tuesday’s launch lose its power to surprise the public?
"For other companies this might have huge impact on the effectiveness of their grand official launches, but for Apple there is such insatiable demand for even the smallest details and such an obsessive fan-following of its products that even a very detailed leak will do little to dampen the enthusiasm of bloggers and others to report its news," said Ben Wood from tech consultancy CCS Insight in an interview with BBC.
Apple on Thursday disclosed its steepest quarterly decline in iPhone sales since the pandemic’s outset, deepening a slump that’s increasing the pressure on the trendsetting company to spruce up its products with more artificial intelligence.
The 10% drop in year-over-year iPhone sales for the January-March period is latest sign of weakness in a product that generates most of Apple’s revenue. It marked the biggest drop in iPhone sales since July-September period in 2020, when production bottlenecks caused by factory closures during the pandemic resulted in a delayed release of that year's model.
The current iPhone downturn was the main reason Apple’s revenue for the latest quarter decreased 4% from last year to $90.8 billion. It marked the fifth consecutive quarter that Apple’s revenue dipped from the previous year. Apple’s profit in the past quarter totaled $23.64 billion, or $1.53 per share, a 2% dip from last year.
But both Apple's revenue and earnings per share came in slightly above analysts projections, according to FactSet Research. Apple also predicted its revenue for the April-June quarter will rise modestly from a year ago, which would end the recent streak of erosion.
Part of the iPhone deterioration during the first three months of the year stemmed from a big boost in sales during the same period last year when Apple said it was filling pent-up demand caused by pandemic-driven shipment delays.
Even as it stumbles slightly, Apple remains one of the world’s most prosperous companies. The Cupertino, California, company hammered home that point by announcing a 4% increase in its quarterly dividend to 25 cents per share. The company also committed to spending $110 billion buying back its own stock, a move that investors cheered but may fuel criticism that Apple is spending more money catering to Wall Street than creating more innovative products.
Bolstered by the increased dividend and stock repurchase commitment, Apple's shares rose nearly 7% in extended trading after the news came out. The stock price has fallen 10% so far this year, erasing about $300 billion in stockholder wealth.
Although investors have been dismayed by the weakening iPhone sales, they are also concerned Apple may be losing its edge as other tech giants such as Microsoft and Google sprint out to the early lead in artificial intelligence technology that is expected to reshape the industry and technology.
The latest quarterly report “leaves no margin for doubt about Apple’s current state of affairs,” said Investing.com analyst Thomas Monteiro. “More than ever in the past decade, the company needs new products and solutions.”
Apple is widely expected to unveil more AI services in June during an annual conference showcasing the next version of its software for the iPhone and Mac computers.
“We believe in the transformative power and promise of AI and we believe we have advantages that will differentiate us in this new era,” Apple CEO Tim Cook assured analysts during a Thursday conference while promising more details will be announced soon.
Weak sales in China were again a factor in the latest quarter, with revenue in that region falling 8% from last year to $16.37 billion as rival smartphone makers gained ground in one of the company’s largest markets. Even so, analysts had been anticipating an even bigger sales decline in the results, providing investors with a measure of relief.
Apple had a few bright spots in the past quarter too, most notably in its service division, which saw its revenue rise 14% from the year before to $23.87 billion.
The division reaps a significant portion of its revenue from a lucrative deal that locks in Google as the search engine that automatically answers queries on the iPhone — an arrangement that is a focal point of an antitrust trial currently wrapping up with closing arguments in Washington this week.
Commissions collected on digital transactions within iPhone apps are also a major revenue source within Apple’s services division, an area being targeted in a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit alleging the company is running an illegal monopoly that locks out competition to the detriment of consumers.
That case is expected to take several years to resolve, but European regulators already are forcing Apple to allow more alternatives to its proprietary iPhone app store as part of the Digital Markets Act.
FILE - In this June 16, 2020 file photo, the sun is reflected on Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York. Apple will reports earnings on Thursday May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
