Revenue reached an all-time high for Apple’s most recent quarter as iPhone sales experienced an uptick due in part to consumer excitement for the arrival of Apple Intelligence, the company’s heavily advertised set of AI tools. Total sales reached $94.9 billion for the quarter, up 6 percent year-over-year and exceeding the $94.5 billion that financial analysts had predicted. The company’s iPhone business reported sales of $46.2 billion, following disappointing consecutive quarters in the first half of the year. The AI boom resulted in strong quarters for other Big Tech leaders including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft. Continue reading Jump in iPhone Business Results in Record Quarter for Apple

Apple has revealed the new iMac, which features an M4 chip and Apple Intelligence in an ultra-thin case. Refreshed versions of all three MacBook Pros are also powered by M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. With the M4, the new iMac performs “up to 1.7x faster for daily productivity, and up to 2.1x faster for demanding workflows like photo editing and gaming, compared to iMac with M1.1,” Apple says, adding that the neural engine in the M4 makes “iMac the world’s best all-in-one for AI,” with bespoke Apple Intelligence. Apple released iOS 18.1, which also includes Apple Intelligence features, among them writing and summary tools and a “more natural and conversational Siri.” Continue reading Apple Ships iOS 18.1 with New Siri, Debuts iMac with M4 Chip

Apple has released a new AI model called Depth Pro that can create a 3D depth map from a 2D image in under a second. The system is being hailed as a breakthrough that could potentially revolutionize how machines perceive depth, with transformative impact on industries from augmented reality to self-driving vehicles. “The predictions are metric, with absolute scale” without relying on the camera metadata typically required for such mapping, according to Apple. Using a consumer-grade GPU, the model can produce a 2.25-megapixel depth map using a single image in only 0.3 seconds. Continue reading Apple Advances Computer Vision with Its Depth Pro AI Model