Money

Apple said to be planning holiday launch for Apple Pay loyalty program

Cody Lee ∙ October 21, 2014

Apple is hoping to launch its rumored Apple Pay loyalty rewards program in time for the holiday season, reports Bank Innovation. The program was initially thought to be part of Apple Pay 2.0, expected in the fall of 2015, but new reports claim Apple pushed up the time table.

How the program will work is still unknown, but Bank Innovation says it will likely utilize Apple's iBeacon tech. It offers an example that includes the Apple Pay user receiving a push notification while in a clothing store that reads: "hey if you buy this now, you can get this for free."

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15 interesting points from today’s earnings call

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple announced its financial results for Q4 2014 this afternoon, and for the most part it beat the Street’s expectations. The company sold 39.3 million iPhones and pulled in $42.1 billion in revenue during the three month period, and iPad sales fell short at just 12.3 million.

We’re just finishing up the conference call, where Tim Cook, CFO Luca Maestri and other members of the executive team have discussed Apple’s performance, and offered some insight into its future. As usual, we’ve rounded up the to 15 most interesting points for you below.

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Apple Q4 2014 earnings: 39.3M iPhones, 12.3M iPads, $42.1B revenue

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has posted its [fiscal] fourth quarter earnings report this afternoon, announcing that it has sold 39.3 million iPhones and 12.3 million iPads. The numbers are just about as expected, with iPhones coming in a little higher than anticipated, and iPads coming in quite a bit lower.

It's been a significant quarter for Apple in terms of announcements, as it unveiled two new iPhones, Apple Pay and Apple Watch. It's worth noting, however, that neither Apple Pay nor Watch were available in September, and the new iPhones were only on sale for the last 10 days.

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AT&T forced to pay $105 million over bogus billing

Cody Lee ∙ October 8, 2014

The US government has just handed AT&T a significant fine for allowing third party companies to stealthily tack on their charges to customer phone bills for things like spam SMS text messages. The announcement was made on Wednesday in a joint press conference by the FCC and FTC, who say this is the largest "cramming" settlement in history.

In total, AT&T will pay out $105 million to settle the case—$80 million is earmarked for the FTC, which it will use to set up a reimbursement program, $5 million will go to the FCC, and $20 million will go to individual states. Additionally, the carrier has been ordered to begin proactively informing subscribers if extra fees are going on their accounts.

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Apple reportedly withheld $139 million payment from GT Advanced prior to bankruptcy filing

Cody Lee ∙ October 7, 2014

Apple withheld its final payment of $139 million it was due to make to GT Advanced, reports The Wall Street Journal, ahead of its decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It's not known why the company withheld the money, but it's been speculated GT was not able to meet sapphire yield requirements outlined in its deal.

That deal involved Apple loaning GT Advanced a total of $578 million to help get a large sapphire factory in Arizona up and running. The two companies announced the partnership last fall, which many believed would result in the production of a large amount of sapphire display covers earmarked for Apple's newest iPhone models.

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Gold ‘Edition’ Apple Watch could cost as much as $1,200

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

The high-end version of the new Apple Watch could cost over $1,000, according to TechCrunch. The website has spoken to experts within the jewelry industry who say that if the 18-karat gold 'Edition' version of the Watch is actually made of gold, it could sell for as much as $1,200.

It's not clear if the entire case is made of gold, or the device is just gold-plated, but TC's contacts say it's more likely the former. For one, an all-gold case matches up with the size and weight provided for the watch, and two, gold-plating doesn't really live up to Apple's design standards.

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Apple will reportedly get a 0.15% cut of all Apple Pay transactions

Cody Lee ∙ September 12, 2014

Apple has negotiated a never-before-seen deal for its new mobile payment system, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Citing sources familiar with the terms of the agreement, the outlet says that the Cupertino firm stands to make 15 cents of every $100 spent (or 0.15%) using Apple Pay.

We knew that Apple stood to make a lot of money from its new Pay service, but this is the first time we're hearing hard numbers. "It's unprecedented," says Dickson Chu, former engineer at PayPal and Google Wallet. "It’s somewhat surprising that Apple was able to negotiate something Google couldn’t.”

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Apple shares drop 4% amidst iCloud security concerns

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Shares of Apple dropped 4% today, closing this afternoon at $98.94. That's the stock's worst percentage slump since late January, and its worst value since it began its march towards its highest price ever in early August.

The news comes amidst the recent iCloud scandal, in which Apple's cloud security was blamed for the leaking of several revealing celebrity photos, and ahead of the company's highly anticipated iPhone event next week.

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New reports suggest only more expensive 4.7-inch iPhone 6 to be unveiled next month

Cody Lee ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

Apple this morning sent out invitations for a media event on September 9th, where the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 6 and a new wearable device. We've heard conflicting theories on whether or not we'll see one or two new handsets on stage, but a new report out this afternoon suggests the former.

According to website GforGames, "informed sources" are telling Chinese media outlets that only the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 will make an appearance at the event, alongside a new 5s model with 8GB of storage. Apparently the larger 5.5-inch iPhone will make its debut later this year in limited quantities.

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You can now send money via text message for free with Square Cash

Cody Lee ∙ August 26, 2014

Square has released a big update for its Cash app this afternoon, bringing it to version 2.0. The app, first released in October of last year, facilitates the quick transfer of money from one user to another via e-mail, and today's update makes the process even faster.

The UI for sending and contact screens has been optimized in Square Cash 2.0, making it easier to send money, and you can also now add notes to your payments. But perhaps the biggest addition in today's update is the ability to send cash to anyone via text message.

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Apple’s stock closes at record high of $100.56 per share

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

After hovering just under the $100 mark for several weeks, shares of Apple finally surpassed the mark today and closed at an all-time high of $100.56. That breaks the Cupertino company stock's previous closing record of $100.30, set on September 19, 2012 in the run up to the launch of the iPhone 5.

Today's news comes just a few months after Apple authorized a 7-1 stock split (before the split, today's closing price would be shown as $703.92), and amidst a barrage of rumors regarding the company's plans for product releases this fall which include two new iPhones and possibly a smartwatch...

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