Money

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge costs more to build than iPhone 6

Sébastien Page ∙ April 14, 2015

Samsung is taking another hit in the battle for profit and market share, with a bill of materials for the new Galaxy S6 Edge pegged at about $290 for the 64GB version, as reported by Recode. For comparison, the more expensive iPhone 6 Plus money can buy only costs Apple $263 to build. Of course, this doesn't take into account cost of R&D, marketing, etc, but it still paints a dark picture for Samsung who's had a few rough quarters due to its mobile division bleeding profits. Spending more to build a device that will be sold for less doesn't seem like the best idea either.

Apple has spent $38 million on Apple Watch ads since March

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple has spent $38 million on its "Watch Reimagined" television campaign, according to US ad-tracking firm iSpot.tv. Reuters points to the report, and notes that the company spent just under $42 million on TV ads for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus over the past 5 months.

iSpot.tv says that there has been more than 300 airings of the Apple Watch commercial within the last month, almost half of which have been in primetime spots. The ad played during the NCAA Championship game, AMC's "The Walking Dead," and other hit TV shows.

Apple to announce Q2 2015 earnings on April 27

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple just confirmed via its Investor Relations portal that it will be announcing the financial results for its second fiscal quarter of 2015 on Monday, April 27. As usual, the company will be hosting a live conference call to discussing its earnings, beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET.

While Q2 is typically an uneventful quarter for Apple this one should prove quite interesting. Industry watchers are anxious to see how it follows up its record-breaking holiday quarter, and the firm is sure to share initial thoughts and feedback regarding the just-launched Apple Watch.

Facebook Messenger gains new peer-to-peer payments feature

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Facebook announced on Tuesday that US-based Messenger users will be able to use the app to send money to their Friends. The process, similar to Square's 'Cash,' involves linking a debit card to the service, which you can use to send money just as easily as a photo or text.

Users who have received the update will notice that the Facebook Messenger app now includes a small “$” icon above the keyboard, next to photo and sticker icons. Tapping this opens a payments screen where users can enter in the amount they wish to send to the recipient.

Tim Cook calls into CNBC’s ‘Mad Money’, talks ResearchKit, Apple Pay and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

It seemed like just another episode of Mad Money, CNBC's polarizing financial TV show, until host Jim Cramer took a call from "Tim in California." As you've probably guessed by now, it was Apple CEO Tim Cook on the line, prompting cheers from a surprised studio.

Cook began the call by congratulating Cramer on "10 great years of Mad Money," but it was clear he had other things to talk about. The first thing was ResearchKit, Apple's medical research app platform it unveiled on Monday, which as already had over 10,000 signups.

Apple Watch: you can rent it before you buy it

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

If you find Apple Watch's $349 price tag a bit on the expensive side, you may be happy to know that you'll be able to take it for a test drive for far less than that. Gadget rental startup Lumoid says that it plans to rent out the Watch for $45/week, once it launches next month.

Lumoid, which already rents out FitBits and similar devices, says the $45 will get you the Sports version of Apple Watch, and $25 of that will go towards the purchase price if you decide to buy it. The firm will also offer the Steel version for $55, but will not carry Edition models.

These are the most expensive Apple Watches you can buy

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple's online store has come back up, offering new details regarding the Apple Watch and its various pricing tiers. We found out during this morning's event that the 18K gold Edition model will begin at $10,000, but we thought it'd be interesting to see how expensive the line goes, so we've put together a roundup of all 8 Edition models.

Judge approves $415M payout in Apple, Google anti-poaching suit

Cody Lee ∙ March 4, 2015

US District Judge Lucy Koh granted preliminary approval on Wednesday for a settlement between Apple, Google, Adobe, and Intel and their former employees. The payout is said to be worth around $415 million, and would effectively end the long-running anti-poaching lawsuit.

Chase says it’s activated over 1 million Apple Pay accounts

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Chase Bank has provisioned over one million wallets with Apple Pay since the service launched in October 2014. As noted by AppleInsider, the company made the announcement during an investors conference call on Tuesday.

"We continue to see good growth in the number of consumers that are provisioning Chase cards in their Apple Pay wallet," said Chase's Eileen Serra. "And as more merchants adopt, I would expect to see more traction here, as well."

While Apple is reaching new heights, Samsung is hitting new lows

Sébastien Page ∙ January 29, 2015

Apple and Samsung might be sharing the crown for top smartphone maker, with both companies reportedly shipping 74.5 million units in the last quarter, there are still wide discrepancies between the financials of the two giants. While Apple is reaching new heights following the record-smashing financial results for the last quarter it reported on Tuesday, Samsung is reaching new lows as its mobile division is crumbling to turn a profit, a situation that is the result of two very different strategies.

Tim Cook made a little over $9 million last year as Apple’s CEO

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Tim Cook received compensation of $9.22 million last year for his work as Apple's Chief Executive Officer, according to a new SEC filing by the company. Bloomberg points to the documents, noting that Cook was paid out $1.75 million and $6.7 million in non-equity incentive compensation for the fiscal year that ended in September.

The amount is more than double Cook was paid for his work in 2013, with much of the boon coming as Apple's stock reached an all-time high late last year. Apple unveiled several new products in the fall, including long-awaited larger-screened iPhones, a new payment system, and a wearable that it expects to sell well when it launches in March.

Monument Valley devs reveal $5.8M in revenue and other interesting stats

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Mobile game developers Ustwo published a blog post today revealing some interesting figures on their hit game Monument Valley. For those unfamiliar with the title, it's a popular indie puzzler that took home several awards and was Apple's iPad Game of the Year in 2014.

Among the stats provided by the devs is that Monument Valley has been installed on over 10 million unique devices since it debuted in April last year. Due to piracy and promotions, it's only seen around 2.4 million "official sales," but that still translates into $5.8 million.