Phone case maker Burga crunched the numbers and worked out that Apple will lose about $3 million a day in iPhone sales alone. This means some $1.1 billion over a year. A drop in the ocean for Apple, a company that generated revenues of $123.9 billion last quarter alone. But it’s important to remember that there’s more at stake here than iPhone sales. First, consider growth. Smartphone sales, and in parallel, iPhone sales, have been rising steadily in Russia over the past few years, growing some 200% between 2014 and 2021....

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DJxZ0HVQXo8#!] Apple posted the first TV spot for the all new iPad unveiled earlier today and it —not surprisingly—focuses on the device’s Retina display. The ad’s tagline: “When a screen becomes this good, it’s simply you and the things you care about.” Check below for our full coverage of today’s announcements: Apple March 7th iPad event Liveblog (9to5mac.com) Apple drops 16GB iPad 2 to $399, $529 for Wi-Fi + 3G (9to5mac....

Ladies and gentlemen, we have lift-off. Apple this morning has introduced new supercharged iMacs, an all-new Mac Pro, new displays and — finally at last taken the wraps off of the much-expected ‘Magic TrackPad’. That’s quite a morning. To the iMac: This is a significant update. You’re seeing these machines get the latest Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors and powerful new graphics. Good prices too: starting at $1,199, the new iMac line is the fastest ever with dual-core processor speeds up to 3....

As the world grows ever more curious at what Apple will reveal at its keynote event today, and commentators ponder a Sky News report in which Yoko Ono said music from The Beatles will indeed make it to iTunes, Apple has quietly applied price cuts across its existing iPod touch range. The price cuts – presumably to offload existing stocks of older models to make way for the new – also lend some weight to claims Apple will introduce an iPod touch at a new low price, perhaps $149 (you can now buy a refurb 2nd Gen iPod Touch for exactly $149)....

You can see the area for solar has been cleared away in a picture taken earlier this week. Thanks PilotJohn! Apple has just published its 2012 Facilities Report and Environmental Update detailing Apple’s environmental footprint, contributions, and energy savings throughout Apple retail stores, R&D buildings, and its data centers. Apple said in 2011 it recorded energy savings of 5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in Cupertino, and “dramatic reductions” in overall energy use....

Data from Bloomberg today shows just how profitable Apple’s recent buybacks have been with the company experiencing the highest returns of any company in over a decade. The buybacks, which were also the biggest ever since Bloomberg and S&P started tracking these numbers, came as Apple stock increased 77 percent over the last 15 months and 25 percent since its $18 billion buyback last year: The report notes that other companies have been less successful with Microsoft experiencing a 16 percent increase in 2014 following its $3 billion buyback, while others including EBay and Boeing experienced shares falling....

As announced at WWDC, Apple is bringing live radio stations from several online providers for Siri users on iPhone, iPad and HomePod. Although marketed as a fall iOS 13 feature, Siri live radio is already partly working on the HomePod, and for iPhones and iPads running the iOS 13 beta. Apple said that it will be sourcing from TuneIn, iHeartRadio and Radio.com — touting a total figure above 100,00 stations. This should mean there is a decent selection of top stations available to play....

Apple (AAPL) had its best single-day performance at the stock market today, seeing a 7.04% rise, the highest in one day since April 2014. The Dow Jones rose over 1,000 points, as the entire market — particularly FAANG stocks — rebounded after a tumultuous few bearish days. Tesla (TSLA) also saw significant gains today, rising to over $300 a share after losing 21% of its value over the previous weeks....

Apple has sent a response to the Wall Street Journal with a full response to this morning’s report regarding Pegatron’s working conditions: Much of the report is “PR speak,” but the company addresses claims of Pegatron holding worker IDs and employees working excessive hours. As a part of our extensive Supplier Responsibility program, Apple has conducted 15 comprehensive audits at Pegatron facilities since 2007, covering more than 130,000 workers making Apple products including annual audits of Pegatron’s final assembly locations and surprise audits at both RiTeng and AVY within the past 18 months....

Beat the Black Friday rush, get latest AirPods from $130 Rakuten is offering Apple’s latest AirPods from $130 with the wireless Qi charging case version dropping to $150. That’s as much as $49 off the regular going rate. The second-generation AirPods offer support for “Hey, Siri” and include Apple’s upgraded H1 chip for fast pairing. Great for a holiday gift this year or for yourself upgrading a mobile work setup. We loved them in our hands-on review....

Beddit, the sleep tracking company that Apple bought two years ago, is launching a new beta program to allow customers to test and offer feedback on new features before release. The new Beddit Beta Program is free for participants who enroll, but there are a few requirements for participation. For starters, participants will need the latest Beddit Sleep Monitor hardware released in December. Apple Stores currently sell the 3.5 model version required for $149....

As Apple and Qualcomm’s FTC trial continues today, we’re learning more details about the quarrels between the two companies. As reported by CNET, one of the more interesting tidbits from Apple’s COO Jeff Williams was that the company wanted to put Qualcomm’s 4G chips in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, but Qualcomm refused to sell them to Apple. This legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm dates back two years....

The iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are powerful tools in the right hands, and artist Rob Zilla is a great example of what’s possible with the latest hardware. Apple is showcasing his work illustrating NBA stars like Kevin Durant using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil with an exclusive look at how Zilla creates from start to finish. Zilla uses the excellent Adobe Illustrator Draw app for iOS to create these incredible illustrations....

Chief Executive Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer are live on Apple’s Q3 2012 call to give opening remarks, and the execs just revealed Apple saw its best quarter ever for U.S. education institution Mac sales. Rutherford County, N.C., for instance, purchased 6,000 MacBook Airs. Other education-related statistics: — 14 million iTunes U downloads, 700,000 new schools, and 750 new courses — iPad 2 in K-12 market particularly strong—nearly doubling y-o-y (Apple sold 17 million iPads in Q3 2012, compared to 9....

A new report today from Axios details that a new name has popped up on Intel’s shortlist to fill its open CEO position: Johny Srouji. The company’s search has been ongoing for half a year and Apple’s SVP of Hardware has a strong history of working with the chipmaker. Johny Srouji is Apple’s SVP of Hardware Technologies. He joined Apple back in 2008 to spear head the development of the company’s first custom chip, the A4....

Update: Several readers have noted that Vaghaye Gostar Fars claims to be the first to receive approval from the government in Iran to import Apple products following the sales ban, but is not necessarily officially associated with Apple. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment. Following the U.S. government lifting a United States embargo for exports of products into Iran on May 30th of last year, reports from Fars News Agency and other local publications note the first company has now been granted permission by authorities in the country to start selling Apple products (via zoomit....

A new report today from Bloomberg looks at the tricky situation Apple may be in as it looks into sourcing 5G modems for its 2020 iPhone lineup. While using Intel may be the company’s first choice, there could be a major downside in using those chips. Meanwhile, Apple’s other 5G modem supplier options are also less than ideal. While Android smartphone manufacturers are launching 5G capable smartphones this year, carriers won’t be launching widespread coverage of the new cellular standard until late this year and into 2020....

Apple touted the improved capabilities of the iPhone XS camera during the launch, and shared a ‘Shot on iPhone XS‘ video. We’ve also shared some of our own sample photos, together with a hands-on of the real-time preview of apparent depth of field effects. Apple has now shared iPhone XS photo examples, shot not by the company but rather by owners of the phone from around the world … The photos shared by Apple were pulled from Instagram and Twitter, the company apparently searching for #shotoniphonexs and #shotoniphonexsmax hashtags....

I was writing some time ago about analyst research with component manufacturers saying that a smaller tablet from Apple could be in the works. It looks like things are going in that direction. At that time, it was estimated that the smaller iPad would make its way to the market for the winter holidays and, since the WSJ’s sources say that manufacturers were told to gear up to start mass production around September....

As it continues to battle robberies at retail stores across the country, Apple is turning to police for help in deterring thieves and beefing up Apple store security. While many stores around the country have long had police and security standing by, CBS Sacramento says Apple is expanding its efforts at local stores. In Sacramento and Roseville, California, Apple is contracting with police to provide “tighter security” at its retail stores....