Apple unveils its first microprocessor for Mac computers

Apple on Tuesday introduced its first microprocessor for Mac computers, called the M1, a move that will tie its Macs and iPhones closer together technologically.

The change of chips will mark a move away from Intel Corp technology that has driven the electronic brains of Mac computers for nearly 15 years.

The change will be a boon for Apple computers, whose sales are overshadowed by its iPhone but still total tens of billions of dollars per year. Apple hopes developers now will create families of apps that work on both computers and phones.

Apple Inc said in June that it would begin outfitting Macs with its own chips, building on its decade-long history of designing processors for its iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches.

Apple's phone chips draw on computing architecture technology from Arm Ltd and manufactured by outside partners such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, or TSMC.

Power efficiency - that is, getting the most computing done per watt of energy consumed - is one of Apple's key aims.

Microsoft Corp and Qualcomm Corp have been working together for four years to bring Arm-based Windows laptops to market, with major makers such as Lenovo Group Ltd , Asustek Computer and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd offering machines.

But for both Microsoft and Apple, the true test will be software developers. Apple is hoping that the massive group of iPhone developers will embrace the new Macs, which will share a common 64-bit Arm computing architecture with the iPhone and be able to use similar apps.

In the meantime, Apple has seen a boom in Mac sales due to the coronavirus pandemic, notching record fiscal fourth quarter Mac sales of $9 billion earlier this month - all of them Intel-based. In June, Chief Executive Tim Cook said Apple will continue to support those devices for "years to come" but did not specify an end-of-life date. 

-reuters-

Apple to supply parts to independent repair shops for first time

Apple Inc said on Thursday it will begin selling parts, tools and repair guides to independent shops to fix broken iPhones, a major change after years of lobbying against laws in some US states that would have compelled it to do just that.

Apple said the program, which should help ease heavy demand on Apple and its authorized partners to fix millions of cracked screens and fried charging ports, will launch in the United States before being rolled out to other countries.

The back flip means that independent repair shops will be offered official parts for out-of-warranty repairs at the same price offered to authorized service providers, such as Best Buy Inc, which perform warranty work.

Ben Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies, said the move could create more opportunities for Apple to sell services or accessories if it encourages iPhone owners to hand down used phones to friends and family.

"That helps them get the product more affordably into the hands of more customers and increases the base," Bajarin said. "Every data point seems to say, if you get someone into the Apple ecosystem, they generally don't leave."

Apple's iPhone sales have declined in the past two fiscal quarters, but sales of accessories such as its AirPods wireless headphones and the Apple Watch, along with paid services like Apple Music, have helped make up for some of the revenue falls.

Independent shops have long complained that the high purchase volumes required by Apple to become an authorized service provider priced them out of the repair market.

The tech giant had previously lobbied against "right-to-repair" bills to supply independent businesses in several U.S. states, including New York and California, citing concerns about maintaining a high service standard. It earlier this year allowed all U.S. Best Buy stores to handle warranty work.

However, the unofficial repair industry that sprang up, using mostly aftermarket parts supplied by third parties, was often unreliable.

Apple said it trialed the new repair program for a year with 20 businesses across North America, Europe and Asia. It did not give a timetable for the international launches.

The program will allow independent stores to set their own prices for repairs and also offer cheaper aftermarket parts. They will be required to return any collected broken Apple parts to the company for refurbishment or recycling.

The program will be free for shops to join, but they will be required to have an Apple-certified technician who has taken a free 40-hour training course and test provided by the company.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; editing by Jane Wardell)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LOOK BACK: Apple's road to a $1 trillion enterprise

SAN FRANCISCO -- Launched on a shoestring budget in a Silicon Valley garage more than four decades ago, Apple survived a near-miss with bankruptcy before soaring to a trillion-dollar market value on Thursday.

The California-based company born of a friendship between Steve Wozniak and the late Steve Jobs is credited with giving rise to smartphone lifestyles and "apps" for nearly everything.

Here are some of the milestones in Apple's history:

April 1976: Jobs, Wozniak and Ronald Wayne create Apple Computer to sell an eponymous computer hand-built by Wozniak. The company is incorporated the following year.

January 1984: Apple heralds the arrival of its first Macintosh computer with a "1984" television commercial directed by Ridley Scott portraying a bold blow struck against an Orwellian computer culture.

September 1985: Jobs leaves Apple after a power struggle with chief executive John Sculley. Wozniak also departs.

1990s: Competitive pressure from lower-priced personal computers from Microsoft running on Windows software, and some failed products, puts a financial squeeze on Apple, which cuts staff and changes top executives.

September 1997: Jobs returns as chief executive as the company teeters near bankruptcy. Microsoft helps Apple survive with a $150 million investment.

August 1998: Apple releases the all-in-one iMac computer.

October 2001: Apple unveils the iPod and opens its first real-world shops.

April 2003: Apple opens its online iTunes store for digital content, pricing music at 99 cents per song for iPods.

June 2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.

July 2008: Apple launches the online App Store to sell applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. 

January 2010: Apple introduces the iPad.

October 2011: Jobs, 56, dies after battling pancreatic cancer, having turned over command of Apple to Tim Cook earlier in the year.

September 2014: Apple introduces the Apple Watch.

June 2015: Apple Music streaming service launches including internet radio from Beats, a startup Apple bought the prior year in a deal valued at $3 billion.

January 2016: Apple announces that more than a billion of its devices are in use around the world.

August 2018: Apple surpasses $1 trillion in stock market value.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple expected to refresh ageing computer line with new MacBook Pro

Apple Inc is expected to unveil a revamped MacBook Pro on Thursday with a fingerprint reader and faster ports, returning to the product line it build the company on after updating smartphones with the iPhone 7.

"Hello again," reads the invitation from Apple to the Thursday product launch, likely a reference to the original Macintosh that debuted with "hello" scrolled across its black and white screen.

Technology websites, including Techradar, expect the new MacBook Pro to remain the workhouse of the notebook computer line while getting updates like a fingerprint reader and high-speed USB ports. Like the iPhone 7, it will drop a standard headphone jack.

Apple reported its third straight quarter of declining iPhone sales earlier this week, although it also sees a record holiday quarter by sales, thanks to the new iPhone 7.

The Mac line accounted for about 11 percent of Apple sales in the just-finished fiscal year, with the number of machines sold down by 10 percent to 18.5 million. Apple said that was in line with an overall market decline, but analysts and investors said Apple needs to start growing again.

"What they really need to do is get people buying Macs again, instead of upgrading old ones. They haven't had a new, powerful MacBook Pro in a while and the MacBook Air is getting old," said Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.

He said the fingerprint reader could help sell more Macs. "Touch ID for Apple Pay could be interesting," he said.

Macs still outsell iPads in dollar terms, and old rival Microsoft Corp on Wednesday debuted its first desktop computer in a bid to re-energize the sector with software that allows 3D editing.

HP Inc meanwhile has claimed that it has the thinnest notebook computer, a prize Apple held for some time.

Bob O'Donnell, president of TECHnalysis Research LLC, said the Mac announcement comes during a time when the market believes focus on the iPhone means Apple has "almost given up on Macs," which has lead to lose market share to personal computers.

"It'll be good to have Apple keep themselves relevant" with new Macs, he said. "Though many had written the category off, it's fascinating to see both Microsoft and Apple make big PC-related announcements this week. It clearly shows the relevance that computers still have."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com