Apple celebrates World Emoji Day

New emoji characters including redhead and bald options make it even easier to personalize every message.
More than 70 new emoji characters are coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac later this year in a free software update. The new emoji designs, created based on approved characters in Unicode 11.0, include even more hair options to better represent people with red hair, gray hair and curly hair, a new emoji for bald people, and new smiley faces that bring more expression to Messages with a cold face, party face, pleading face and a face with hearts.
Joining the growing list of animals represented on the emoji keyboard are beautifully designed characters for the kangaroo, peacock, parrot and lobster, with the addition of new food emoji for mango, lettuce, cupcake, moon cake and other popular items.
Many additional characters across sports, symbols and more, will launch later this year, including a new superhero emoji, a softball, nazar amulet and infinity symbol.
Thousands of emoji are currently available on iOS, watchOS and macOS, including emotive smiley faces, gender-neutral characters, various clothing options, food types, animals, mythical creatures and more.

Trillion-dollar companies – will Apple get the first bite?

The race to become America’s first trillion-dollar company is likely to be settled sooner rather than later, with Apple in pole position to finally cross the 13-digit threshold.

Recently valued at $950 billion, the iPhone maker is within touching distance, and might well attain trillionaire status when it announces its second-quarter earnings later this month. However, a number of other technology mega-caps are not far behind. Amazon is worth some $830 billion, Google parent Alphabet is hovering around the $800 billion mark and Microsoft is valued at $775 billion.

The race towards the trillion mark follows a huge surge in the value of tech shares over the last year. Amazon has the most momentum, having gained 75 per cent over the last 12 months, but Microsoft and Apple are also defying the law of large numbers, having gained by roughly 50 and 35 per cent respectively. Google is the relative laggard, although a 20 per cent gain is hardly to be sniffed at.

Dotcom days
The last time there was widespread talk of trillion-dollar companies was at the height of the dotcom bubble back in the late 1990s. Not long after the AOL-Time Warner merger was announced in 2000, AOL chief executive Steve Case said he wanted to make the new firm “the world’s first trillion-dollar company”.

For a time, network equipment maker Cisco was the most valuable company on the planet and many excited observers thought it might be the first to cross the trillion-dollar level. The biggest market capitalisation seen during the dotcom era belonged to Microsoft, which was worth $619 billion at the end of the century.

Of course, the trillion-dollar talk died down once the dotcom bubble burst in March 2000. Microsoft didn’t reclaim its dotcom-era peak until last year; Cisco went on to lose almost 90 per cent of its value during the crash and is worth around $200 billion today; the AOL-Time Warner merger is widely regarded as the worst of all time.

While some say sentiment towards the technology sector is once again euphoric, the current race towards the trillion-dollar level looks much more sustainable than the last.

At its dotcom peak, Microsoft traded on over 70 times earnings – four times greater than today’s valuation of Apple. The iPhone maker may be worth a fortune but it’s far from expensive. The stock trades at a discount to the wider market and is lauded by value investing icon Warren Buffett. The Berkshire Hathaway chief has stocked up on Apple shares over the last year, so much so that Apple is now the company’s second-largest shareholding.

The second-most valuable company in the world, Amazon, trades on what appears to be an eye-watering valuation multiple, but tech valuations are largely undemanding, according to a recent Goldman Sachs research note. It found that over the last decade, 87 per cent of the share price gains enjoyed by today’s tech megacaps (Apple, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook) came from profits and only 13 per cent from increases in valuation multiples.

“Unlike the technology mania of the 1990s, most of this success can be explained by strong fundamentals, revenues and earnings rather than speculation about the future,” Goldman concluded.

Not unprecedented
Similarly, while Apple may be the most valuable company in history, worth more than $300 billion more than Microsoft at its dotcom era peak, things are not quite as unprecedented as they seem. Adjusted for inflation, Microsoft’s $619 billion peak in late 1999 equates to about $900 billion today.

According to data from the University of Chicago’s Centre for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), General Electric’s peak valuation of $594 billion in August 2000 translates to an inflation-adjusted figure of some $850 billion, while Cisco and Intel’s dotcom-era peaks also equate to more than $700 billion today. Similarly, while Apple has been the top dog for some time now – it has been the most valuable company on the US market for almost all of the last six years – CRSP data shows other companies have been far more dominant than Apple is today.

Apple accounts for 3.2 per cent of the entire US stock market. Contrast that with telecom giant AT&T, which comprised 13 per cent of the entire market in 1932; General Motors, which constituted almost 8 per cent of the market in 1928; and IBM, which had a 6.8 per cent weighting in 1970. Overall, Apple ranks only ninth in terms of historic index weightings. Of course, the US stock market was much smaller in the old days, so too much attention should not be paid to 1930s data. Even if one sticks to relatively modern times, however, Apple’s current weighting appears unremarkable. Since 1980, five companies – IBM, AT&T, Microsoft, Exxon Mobil and General Electric – have at one stage or another constituted a greater share of the US stock market than Apple in 2018. In particular, Apple’s current dominance pales in comparison to that enjoyed by IBM in the mid-1980s. Between 1983 and 1985, IBM accounted for more than 6 per cent of the S&P 500 index – well ahead of Apple, which constitutes 4.1 per cent of the same index today. While Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft are not far behind Apple in terms of market value, IBM was worth more than twice as much as its nearest competitors in each of those years.

If IBM had appreciated at the same rate as the overall market over the last three decades – a big if, given its troubles in recent years – it would be worth approximately $1.5 trillion today. In spite of the rapid appreciation in Apple shares over the last year, the company actually accounted for a larger share of the stock market in 2012. This was also the case in 2015, when Apple was briefly worth twice as much as the next biggest S&P 500 company.

Inevitable
The point is, today’s record-breaking market capitalisations aren’t quite as record-breaking as they appear. Stocks typically rise over time, so it’s inevitable that hitherto untouched levels – $1 trillion, $2 trillion, $5 trillion, and so on – will eventually be breached. The US stock market has quadrupled since March 2009, gaining some $20 trillion over that time, so it’s hardly surprising that a number of companies are now nearing the mythic $1 trillion milestone. Apple’s current lead means it remains the most likely to wins the race, although unexpectedly strong earnings from Amazon, Alphabet or Microsoft later this month might well narrow Apple’s advantage.

Earnings aside, the continued strength in the technology sector in what has been a lacklustre year for the overall market suggests the iPhone maker may well have company in the trillion-dollar club later this year.

Is Apple Brave Enough to Make an iPad With Face ID?

I know what you’re thinking: Innovation has slowed in Cupertino. I agreed until I heard this news.

For years we’ve lamented that some of Apple’s biggest big ideas haven’t been big at all. Perhaps the most sterling example is the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, which I exclusively use for the purpose of accidentally activating Siri. But Face ID on the iPhone X is maybe the most transformative technology the company has introduced of late. Sure, Microsoft had installed similar and very good facial-unlock tech in Windows already, but putting it in the device you unlock 100 times every day, and implementing it so seamlessly that it never fails, has completely changed how people who’ve bought in use their phones. It’s kind of hard to imagine life without it. No more entering pesky codes—look at your phone, and you’re in.

That’s why my mouth is literally agape. The biggest tech news of the summer so far seems to be that Apple will bring this magical technology to another of its products. The latest comes to us from developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who discovered iOS 12 code indicating that the iPad will get AvatarKit, which won’t work properly without Face ID’s TrueDepth camera—WHICH MEANS FACE ID ON THE IPAD!!!

It’s not the first we’ve heard of this either. Shortly after the first beta of iOS 12 landed in the hands of developers in early June, hints of the new Face ID-friendly iPad were immediately dredged up. And, in fact, rumors of the new tablet were cropping up even before WWDC, although, it didn’t quite launch on schedule.

At this point, we’ve seen enough hints to know that this iPad is probably coming, and I’m prepared to eat my Apple Pencil if it doesn’t. And friends, I just can’t believe it. First, Apple puts legitimately useful technology into the iPhone, flaunting people’s potential squeamishness with the idea of Apple making a recording of their face. Then, after the critical success of the iPhone X and its widespread adoption, the company turns around and figures out a way to squeeze the facial recognition technology into a much larger device. Like, uhhh, how are they even going to get a TrueDepth camera into an iPad, if it was so hard to put it in the iPhone? It takes a brave and audacious company to make bold moves of this kind.

This would almost certainly be the first time that Apple debuted a technology in the iPhone only to have it show up in a future product. Next, you’ll tell me that the MacBook will get Face ID one day, too.

Apple’s New iPhone X Has A Nasty Surprise

We already know a lot about Apple AAPL +0.45%’s new iPhone plans and there’s a lot to like, especially their reduced prices. But there’s always a ‘but’, and now insider information has revealed a nasty surprise which has the potential to derail Apple’s biggest ever iPhone…

‘Great Secret Features’ and ‘Nasty Surprises’ are my regular columns investigating the best features / biggest problems hidden behind the headlines.

Mac Otakara
3D prints of Apple’s 2018 budget iPhone X (left), second generation iPhone X (middle), iPhone X Plus (right)

Bloomberg reports Apple will source OLED panels for its flagship 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus from LG rather than Samsung. The driver behind this is said to be cost, with Apple looking to “gain leverage in price negotiations with Samsung, the sole supplier of OLED displays for the iPhone X”. But the cost could ultimately be felt most by buyers of Apple’s massive iPhone.

Why? Because to date, LG has yet to make a single smartphone OLED display which is not subpar.

LG’s most recent efforts can be seen in Google’s Pixel 2 XL, a brilliant phone that was almost sunk due to controversy about its poor quality display, and LG’s current V30 flagship which has a screen so bad it has been singled out as a dealbreaker. As The Verge noted in its review of the V30:

“It’s painfully apparent that LG’s so-called plastic OLED screens are multiple generations behind Samsung’s alternative”.

What has forced Apple’s hand, however, is Samsung has the company over a barrel. At launch, the iPhone X was rightly lauded for having the best smartphone display on the market and Bloomberg notes Samsung’s asking price for the component “is a key reason iPhone X pricing starts at $1,000 and sales haven’t met initial expectations.”

Ghostek, Gordon Kelly
6.5-inch iPhone X Plus schematics

With Apple determined to correct this by substantially cutting new iPhone prices, LG is its way of achieving that. Can Apple bring this underperformer up to its famously exacting standards, or will customers not mind a drop-off in quality if the asking price is lower?

Bloomberg states LG is likely to make only a portion of Apple’s new iPhone displays which could result in ‘good and bad’ models and no-way for a customer to know which one they are getting prior to purchase.

Interestingly, one crumb of comfort for Apple fans could be Google. Recent leaks revealed Google will again go back to LG for its Pixel 3 XL displays. Having been so badly burned by the Pixel 2 XL controversy, it stands to reason that LG must have impressed Google with its next-generation panels for the company to risk going back.

The 6 biggest highlights from Apple WWDC 2018

Apple kickstarted its annual WWDC event today with a keynote led by CEO Tim Cook, where he introduced all the latest updates for iOS 12 and the new macOS. The keynote this year comes off of a quieter season for Apple. The company just had a press event back in March for its educational iPad launch in the midst of strong iPhone sales but unfavorable news cycles around HomePods leaving ring marks on wooden tables, defective MacBook Pro keyboards, and the fallout since confirming that it throttled iPhone speeds for depreciating batteries.

Starting today, the company hopes to set a new tone for the year. Here are some of the highlights.

IOS 12 GETS IN ON TIME WELL SPENT
As Craig Federighi puts it, the next unsurprising update to your Apple devices’ mobile OS, “you guessed it” — iOS 12. The breakout highlight is the digital health dashboard that leaked last week and was confirmed today, which Apple says is designed to help curb smartphone overuse. Now, you can set Do Not Disturb for when you’re heading to bed, group notifications so you aren’t overwhelmed by too many lock screen bubbles, and set a timer for how long you want to use apps daily.

Image: The Verge
Unlike Android’s rendition of the feature, Apple will allow users to ignore and snooze the screen time limit they’ve put on themselves. iOS 12 users can also set allowances for managed devices for kids.

MORE VISUAL FUN ON IOS 12
Apple is following up Samsung’s AR Emoji with Memoji, which let users customize the faces to whatever they’d like to look like. There’s also a “Tongue Detection” mode now, so you can make Animoji… stick their tongues out.

There’s a whole lot of stuff coming in the form of suggestions. In Photos, Apple is drawing a lot of inspiration from Google Photos by offering search suggestions for specific people, places, or events. There’s even a Facebook-like On This Day reminder of a picture you took years ago. You can also use multiple search terms to search for images. Again, this is all stuff Google Photos has had for a while.

In Messages, there are new Animoji, stickers, text, and a drawing tool built into the app camera, and iOS 12 will now support Group FaceTime that lets you chat with up to 32 people. You can FaceTime in your Animoji or Memoji overlay as well.

SIRI GETS AN UPDATE… BUT NOT QUITE THE ONE YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
Siri is getting suggestions, too, with some app actions that it thinks you may want to do based on your smartphone usage behavior. A new Shortcut app lets you add your own action as well if you want to customize an action, such as an order at the coffee shop with all your specific dietary preferences. You can combine multiple actions as well, such as what radio station to play, a thermostat setting, or a text message to your kids letting them know you’re on the way — all set to the Siri command that you’re headed home.

You can also combine the shortcuts with third-party devices, such as a Tile, so you can ask it to locate lost items with your own personalized trigger phrase.

MACOS MOJAVE ANNOUNCED
Apple is continuing with its macOS naming structure after beautiful landscapes, with macOS Mojave. The new operating system brings Dark Mode, which not only turns Finder windows black, but it comes with an inverted look to XCode, too.

Coming off the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, there’s an obvious emphasis on privacy, with a new Safari feature that preemptively blocks tracking sites like Facebook’s Like and Comment feature and asks you to allow it to appear when you’re browsing a website. Apple will also only give sites a “simplified system configuration” to help prevent them from being able to identify and fingerprint your device for advertisements.

The Mac App store is getting a redesign that features new sections that better highlight video previews, ratings, and editor’s choice picks. Some new apps coming include Office 365, Lightroom CC, and BBEdit.

In productivity, Mojave will add a bunch of quick actions, such as organizing your desktop by Stacks to clean up all the files sitting around or choose to watermark multiple files or sign a PDF document just by selecting a menu option from the sidebar. Even screencapping videos will not be quicker from the keyboard shortcut, rather than going through QuickTime to screen record. In Keynote, a neat new tool lets you sync up with your phone so you can snap photos and automatically add them to the document.

Home is coming to Mojave as well, so you can adjust all your smart home gadgets from a Mac dashboard or ask Siri on the desktop to make changes.

WATCHOS 5 TAKES ON FITBIT
The Apple Watch’s fitness features are about to become more social with the new watchOS 5. Soon, you can challenge friends to fitness competitions, get digital awards, and record workouts retroactively in case you forget to press start or if workout tracking doesn’t start automatically.

Apple’s adding WebKit for watchOS so users can browse some website on the Watch, such as a restaurant menu optimized for the tiniest screen Apple sells. Podcast support will also come to the latest Apple Watch OS, as well as interactive notifications such as Siri Suggestions and Shortcuts.

There’s a new Walkie-Talkie feature coming as an Apple Watch app. Once you grant permission for a contact to send you a message, they can drop in and send you a voice memo. It won’t work like an Amazon Echo Show, per se; you still have to click to play the recording (sent over cellular or Wi-Fi connection) instead of the sound just immediately playing when a message is received.

DOLBY ATMOS ARRIVES ON APPLE TV 4K
At last, Dolby Atmos support is coming to Apple TV 4K. In the fall, Apple says it will update its iTunes library to include Dolby Atmos on supported movies, TV shows, and music videos for free. The Apple TV will also support cable service with Charter Spectrum, as well as Live News and Sports channels on the app.

Charter Spectrum support is expected to arrive late this year, where Apple TV will also provide “Zero Sign-On” to let you automatically log into streaming account without requiring secondary authentication.

Want more Apple news? For a comprehensive look at everything coming to iOS 12, macOS Mojave, and more, check out our storystream.

Apple hits Facebook, again

Apple is taking active steps to block Facebook’s data collection practices.
The Safari-maker said Monday that it will give users the ability to stop Facebook, Google and other platforms from tracking them across the web through “like” and “share” buttons.

The announcement is Apple’s most significant counter yet to Facebook’s data collection practices, and comes after years in which Apple executives have criticized Facebook as reckless with user privacy.

“We’ve all seen these like buttons and share buttons,” Apple software VP Craig Federighi said at the company’s annual developer conference. “Well it turns out, these can be used to track you, whether you click on them or not. So this year, we’re shutting that down.”

When Safari users arrive at a page with a Facebook like, a pop-up window will appear that asks: “Do you want to allow ‘facebook.com’ to use cookies and website data while browsing [this site]? This will allow ‘facebook.com’ to track your activity.”

Facebook’s chief security officer Alex Stamos immediately took issue with the move, questioning on Twitter whether it was a serious effort to protect privacy or “just cute virtue signaling.”

Apple has put a premium on user privacy for years. In 2010, then-CEO Steve Jobs said Apple had “always had a very different view of privacy than some of our colleagues in the Valley.”

“Privacy means people know what they’re signing up for, in plain English and repeatedly,” Jobs said. “I believe people are smart and some people want to share more data than other people do. Ask them. Ask them every time. … Let them know precisely what you’re going to do with their data.”

Current Apple CEO Tim Cook has returned to this theme in recent months as Facebook has come under fire for its collection of a huge amount of user data and its failure to protect that data from abuse by third parties — most notably Cambridge Analytica.

In an interview with CNN’s Laurie Segall on Monday, Cook said, “I think that the privacy thing has gotten totally out of control and I think most people are not aware of who is tracking them, how much they’re being tracked and the large amounts of detailed data that are out there about them … We think privacy is a fundamental human right.”

Facebook has made itself vulnerable to Apple’s criticism. Less than 24 hours before Apple’s conference, the New York Times reported that Facebook’s data-sharing partnerships with device makers, including Apple, were still in effect despite Facebook’s claim that they’d cut off such data sharing in 2015.

Meanwhile, Apple has seized the opportunity to cast itself as the best behaved player in tech. In addition to the new privacy measures, Apple also introduced new features that will encourage users to limit the amount of time they spend on their phones.

“[Apps] try to draw us in for fear of missing out,” Federighi said. “We may not even recognize how distracted we’ve become.”

Apple reveals MacOS Mojave and desktop dark mode

Apple revealed a new operating system for the Mac on Monday.
It features a dark mode that sets text and images against black backgrounds.
The MacOS update follows major update announcements for iPhone and iPad software, and for the Apple TV.
Apple reveals new Mac software Apple reveals new Mac operating system
19 Hours Ago | 06:45
Apple revealed a new operating system for the Mac on Monday, dubbed MacOS Mojave.

The update comes as Apple has vowed to refocus its desktop “pro” line for power users, as graphic-heavy fields like virtual reality become more popular. It features a dark mode that sets text and images against black backgrounds.

“Dark mode is not just about the dock or the menu bar, it extends to your windows’ chrome, your side bar and even the content of the windows,” top software executive Craig Federighi said. “It’s so great for the pros. It makes photographic content absolutely pop off the screen.”

The MacOS update follows major update announcements for iPhone and iPad software, and for the Apple TV. The desktop update is all about easy, customizable editing:

Mojave will automatically arrange a user’s desktop with “Stacks” — grouping files according to type, date or tag.
The Finder file folder will make it easier to convert images into a single PDF, and to run custom actions on a group of files.
Quick Look will integrate Mark-Up, allowing users to sign or highlight a document in seconds.
The screen capture tool can take a video recording.
Phones and Macs that are synced can share instant document or image scans.
Federighi also announced popular iPhone apps — Home, Apple News and Voice Memos — are coming to the Mac on Mojave.

Finally, Federighi addressed the persistent rumor that iOS and MacOS would merge, showing a single slide saying “No.” However, he said that Apple is taking some developer frameworks from iOS and bringing them over to the Mac, which will make it easier to bring iOS apps to the Mac. Apple already tested this capability with apps like News and Stocks, which are coming to Mojave, and this advance will come to developers in 2019, Federighi said.

Apple is close to becoming the first $1 trillion American company

Apple is on the verge of becoming the first American company to be worth $1 trillion.
Apple is now worth about $945 billion. Shares are up more than 13% this year, far better than the overall market. For Apple to hit a $1 trillion market valuation, the stock would need to go up just another 6% to $202.30 a share.

Even though some think Apple (AAPL) needs a new product to keep sales and profit booming, Apple has inched closer to an $1 trillion thanks to solid sales of the iPhone 8 and X — particularly in China and Japan — and surging services revenue from the App Store.

Apple’s sales increased 16% in the first three months of 2018 — not bad for a company of its massive size.

It also has been using its more than $267 billion in cash to boost its dividend and stock buyback program as a way of rewarding investors, which include Warren Buffett.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB)bought nearly 75 million shares of Apple in the first quarter, making it Berkshire’s top stock holding.

Related: Apple is showering its investors with cash

But Apple is benefiting from investor euphoria surrounding the tech sector broadly as well.

Amazon (AMZN) is also trading at an all-time high and is now worth more than $800 billion — that’s lifted the net worth of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to nearly $140 billion, according to lists by Forbes and Bloomberg tracking the world’s wealthiest people.

Watch the full exclusive interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook
Watch the full exclusive interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook
Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) have rallied to near record highs this year too. They are each now worth more than $775 billion.

Facebook (FB), despite its Cambridge Analytica woes, is not far from its all-time high either. It has a market value of nearly $560 billion.

Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are now collectively worth about $3.9 trillion.

But Apple would not be the first publicly traded company in the world to surpass the trillion dollar mark.

Oil giant PetroChina (PTR) briefly topped a trillion dollar valuation in 2007 when its stock began trading in Shanghai, but shares quickly plunged afterward. PetroChina, which is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is now worth about $240 billion.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak still hates this iPhone X feature after months of using it

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak famously said the iPhone X would be the first model of the device he would not get on day one.
In December, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent “The Woz” — as he is often called — an iPhone X.
“The worst thing about it is the combination power and home key button which has about eight different functions in terms of when you push it and how you push it and how long you push it. It’s kind of confusing,” Wozniak told CNBC.
Apple’s products are worth the price, co-founder Wozniak says Apple’s products are worth the price, co-founder Wozniak says
1 Hour Ago | 04:03
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak famously said the iPhone X would be the first model of the device he would not get on day one. In December, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent “The Woz” — as he is often called — an iPhone X.

And the Woz’s verdict? “Plus and minus,” he told CNBC in an interview on Monday.

When he got the device he criticized the Face ID function, which lets you unlock the phone with your face, saying that he prefers using a fingerprint.

And he also had an issue with the home button that is located on the side of the device. It has a number of functions, such as activating Apple’s voice assistant Siri or to wake the handset up. A few months on, The Woz is still not impressed by the home button.

“The greatest thing about the iPhone X for me is a little more screen space that’s in my pocket. As far as the face ID, it really hasn’t worked as well for me as Touch ID and I really like the ones where you touch on the back. It hasn’t been like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s the greatest thing in the world,'” Wozniak said.

“The worst thing about it is the combination power and home key button which has about eight different functions in terms of when you push it and how you push it and how long you push it. It’s kind of confusing… and that’s not the nature of Apple products.”

Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976, spoke to CNBC at an event at the Money 20/20 conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands, hosted by Feedzai.

Apple’s annual developers conference also kicks off Monday. Several rumors have suggested that the company could unveil a refreshed version of its lower-priced iPhone SE. This could help it continue to grow iPhone sales with people who don’t want to fork out for the $999 iPhone X, but also in emerging markets such as India.

“I’m actually for the lower cost models,” Wozniak said. “At one point, we actually introduced two iPhones — the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S. The S had the fingerprint detection, the C did not. It was $100 cheaper, a smaller, little classic-y looking phone.

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“I loved that phone. I loved the design of it. I think it was one of the best designs Apple ever did for how it looked and felt and did the main things for a good price. It was a good trade-off. So I think that is an appropriate place for Apple to be.”

Apple may lower the price of this year’s updated iPhone X

Apple might lower the prices of its crop of new iPhones, if the latest research note from well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (now at a new gig at TF International Securities) is to be believed, via MacRumors.

According to Kuo, those prices will be somewhat cheaper than the last wave of iPhones, which saw the popular smartphone cross the $1,000 mark for the first time with the iPhone X. Instead, Kuo claims that the second-gen iPhone X will cost between $800 and $900, the iPhone X Plus will be $900 to $1,000, and the entry-level 6.1-inch LCD option will be in the $600 to $700 range.

IT’S NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR WHY APPLE WOULD WANT TO LOWER THE PRICE ON THE IPHONE X
While Kuo is generally pretty reliable when it comes to his predictions for Apple, it’s worth pointing out that, historically, his sources have been more placed in the supply chain as opposed to higher up in Apple’s management. Therefore, it’s worth taking these pricing rumors with a grain of salt, especially because of how far out we are from any potential announcement. It’s also unclear if Apple would even be looking to lower the price point of the iPhone X because the higher profit margins of the more expensive phone were the main driver for Apple’s overall increase in revenue despite selling fewer phones last quarter.

As a reminder, the rumor mill — both from Kuo and others — has stated for a while that Apple is expected to release three new iPhones this fall: an updated OLED 5.8-inch iPhone X, a larger 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus, and a 6.1-inch LCD iPhone that will offer the same bezel-less design as the iPhone X at a cheaper price point.