Apple Retains Top Spot as World’s Most Valuable Brand in Latest Interbrand Rankings

Apple has retained its top spot as the world’s most valuable company in the latest rankings from consulting firm Interbrand, reports The New York Times. With its top spot in the rankings, Apple also bested fellow technology companies Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Samsung, which came in 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th place, respectively.

On September 9, 2014, Tim Cook held up a wallet and said, “Our ambition is to replace this.” A bold statement to be sure—but we’d expect nothing less from Apple, #1 on the Best Global Brands list for the second year in a row. Referring to Apple Pay, a new mobile payments platform that enables consumers to pay for items with Apple devices, Cook signaled that Steve Jobs’s 2001 vision of Apple becoming the “digital hub” of its consumers’ lives (Macworld Expo 2001) has finally been fulfilled.

In what CNNMoney.com called “one of the most ambitious product launches in its history,” Apple unveiled not only Apple Pay, but also the long-anticipated Apple Watch, a wearable device that combines health and fitness monitoring with mobile computer capabilities, and launched two new iPhones that are faster and smarter than previous versions and feature larger screens. The iPhone 6 Plus, which embraces the larger-form factors, could pose a serious challenge to Samsung’s GALAXY Note. Though iPhone sales were up prior to the new product launch, particularly in China where China Mobile is now signed as a carrier, the iPhone 6 Plus may further assist penetration in Asian markets where larger-screened devices are preferred.

In last year’s survey, Apple overtook Coca-Cola as the most valuable brand in the world after the beverage corporation spent 13 years in the top spot. Apple was valued at $118.9 billion in this year’s survey, up $20.6 billion from its $98.3 billion valuation in 2013.

Apple launched the larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 last month, with both devices selling a record-breaking ten million units during their first three days on sale. The company also announced its highly-anticipated Apple Watch wearable device in September, which will come in multiple screen sizes and collections when it launches next year. Apple is expected to unveil new iPads, a 27-inch iMac with Retina Display and perhaps a new Mac Mini at an event next Thursday, October 16.

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Apple Opening Princes Street Retail Store in Edinburgh, Scotland on October 18 [Mac Blog]

Apple today announced (via ifoAppleStore) that its new Princes Street retail store in Edinburgh, Scotland will open next Saturday, October 18. The date was revealed this morning on the multi-colored banner that has been surrounding the location since July. Apple spent over a year constructing the store, which was followed by nine months of delays as it attempted to finalize its design.

Image credit: ifoAppleStore
According to the Edinburgh News, the building containing the retail space was built in 1769 as the Crown Hotel. Throughout the past 40 years, the location has been occupied by a number of tenants including Woolworth’s, Burger King, Waterstones, and Evans. The new store will also follow Apple’s recent trend of constructing retail stores in historical buildings, most recently done with its MacArthur Chambers Store in Brisbane, Australia.

Image credit: ifoAppleStore
The Princes Street location will be Apple’s 38th in the United Kingdom, and will join the company’s Braehead and Buchanan Street stores in Glasgow. Like with other store openings, it is likely that Apple will give out free shirts to the first 1,000 customers to visit the new location.

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New Photo Claims to Show 2GB Elpida RAM Chips for iPad Air 2

Third-party Apple service provider GeekBar has shared a picture (via Weibo, Google Translate) of what is said to be a 2 GB Elpida RAM module for the iPad Air 2. The units shown appear to be similar to the 1 GB of Elpida DDR3 SDRAM found in the first-generation iPad Air, and the photo follows a report from last month which stated that the next-generation iPad Air would receive a memory upgrade to 2 GB of RAM.

Apple first offered 1 GB of RAM with the iPad 3, keeping the same amount of memory in the iPad 4 and the iPad Air. It is likely that previous iPads have not seen a memory increase to keep costs low and preserve battery life, but Apple may offer 2 GB of RAM with the iPad Air 2 in order to offer optimal performance on iOS 8.

Apple is also said to be working on split-screen multitasking for the iPad Air, which would require more memory than running just a single app. That report also noted that feature would allow two apps to run side-by-side in multiple sizes, and offer users the ability to drag content like text or images from one app to another.

Geekbar does not have an established track record with Apple rumors, however the company’s Weibo account did reveal the barometric pressure sensor that was eventually included in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPad Air 2 and next-generation Retina iPad mini at a media event next Thursday, October 16. Some reports have also claimed that the company will announce updated Mac Minis and updated iMacs with at least the 27-inch model carrying a high-resolution Retina display.

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Apple Begins Reminding Two-Factor Authentication Users About App-Specific Passwords

Apple has begun emailing iCloud users who have enabled two-factor authentication on their Apple IDs, reminding them that application specific passwords will be required when trying to access iCloud data on third party apps starting tomorrow.

In addition to the email reminders, Apple last week published a new support document educating users on how to use app-specific passwords. While the feature was originally intended to require the feature on October 1, it’s unclear why two-factor authentication users are being reminded of it a week later.

App-specific passwords are a new feature Apple introduced in mid-September, following the launch of two-factor authentication for accessing iCloud.com. The changes arrived after a hacking incident that saw the iCloud accounts of several celebrities compromised due to weak passwords.

CEO Tim Cook has promised to improve iCloud security by increasing awareness around Apple’s security features like two-factor authentication as well as a sending out email notifications whenever a device is restored, an account is accessed or a password change is attempted.

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iOS 8.1 Code Hints at Retina HD Display for New iPads

With the iPhone 6, Apple debuted a new display technology called Retina HD, which resulted in wider viewer angles, higher resolutions, higher contrast and a thinner display. Developer Hamza Sood has now discovered frameworks within iOS 8.1 Beta 2 that contain ‘3x’ assets that point to higher resolution displays in the new iPad models.

While the assets don’t confirm that Retina HD displays will be on the new iPad models, it does suggest that Apple is looking at introducing the feature. Currently, it is unclear as to which iPad models would receive Retina HD displays, although some rumors have pointed to the rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro sporting a higher resolution. Apple did include a Retina HD display with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, as the larger device received a higher resolution than its smaller counterpart.

Apple is expected to debut the new iPad Air (and potentially the next generation iPad Mini with Retina Display) at a media event on October 16 in its Cupertino campus. The company is also expected to introduce new iMacs, with at least the 27-inch variety coming with a Retina Display. It’s also likely Apple gives a full overview of OS X Yosemite before its public launch.

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Apple Ranked as Fifth Largest Global PC Vendor Due to Price Cuts, Improved Demand

Apple saw its worldwide PC marketshare climb to 6.3 percent in the third quarter of 2014, launching it into the top five worldwide vendors, according to new data released from IDC. While Apple has long held a position as one of the top PC vendors in the U.S., it has not made it into the list of top five worldwide vendors in quite some time.

With nearly 5 million shipments during the quarter compared to 4.5 million in the year ago quarter, Apple saw overall growth of 8.9 percent year over year, allowing it to edge out ASUS as the number five vendor. Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Acer, meanwhile, held their top four positions. Lenovo, as usual, was the top worldwide PC vendor, with more than 15 million shipments and 20 percent marketshare.

IDC’s Preliminary Global PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q14 (In Thousands)

Apple moved into the number 5 position on a worldwide basis, slightly overtaking ASUS. The company’s steady growth, along with recent price cuts and improved demand in mature markets, has helped it to consistently outgrow the market.

As for U.S. shipments, Apple retained its number three vendor position with more than 2.2 million shipments and 13 percent marketshare, up 9.3 percent year over year. HP and Dell held their positions as the top two vendors in the U.S., with 27.7 and 24 percent marketshare, respectively.

IDC’s Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q14 (In Thousands)
Overall, worldwide PC shipments totaled 78.5 million units and saw a year over year decline of -1.7 percent, while PC shipments in the United States totaled 17.4 million units and saw a 4.3 percent year over year growth.

Gartner has also released its shipment estimates for the third quarter of 2014, but its numbers rank ASUS as the number five worldwide PC vendor with 5.7 million shipments. On the U.S. front, Gartner’s estimates also place Apple as the third U.S. vendor with 2.4 million shipments and 14.3 percent marketshare.

It is important to note, as always, that the global and U.S. PC shipment estimates from both IDC and Gartner are based on preliminary data, which explains the discrepancies between the two separate shipment estimates.

Apple’s move into the number five worldwide vendor comes as the company prepares to launch new iMacs and possibly other Mac upgrades at an event on October 16. Apple has also launched minor updates to its Retina MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and iMac lineup throughout 2014, and has introduced price drops on the two latter products.

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