MacRumors

The HomePod firmware Apple released early continues to offer up insight into future software and hardware capabilities for the HomePod, iPhone 8, and other devices, with the newest discovery coming today developer from Guilherme Rambo.

He's unearthed a new "SmartCamera" feature, which appears to be something that will be built into future iPhones and/or iOS 11, perhaps taking advantage of the new facial recognition software that we expect to see in the iPhone 8.

The firmware suggests the camera app will be able to detect different types of scenes, photo conditions, and photography subjects like pets and children. Several scenes are referenced, including Fireworks, Foliage, Pet, BrightStage, Sport, Sky, Snow, and Sunset/Sunrise, indicating the iPhone's camera may be able to detect a scene and then set the ideal exposure, shutter speed, and other factors to take the best photograph.

Many cameras, from point and shoot models to DSLRs, have a range of scene presets that can be selected, and it looks like Apple's planning to implement something similar.

There are also specific references to a "freezeMotion" feature that mentions face scenes, pets, and babies, perhaps pointing towards new scene detection functionality that can recognize a fast moving target and automatically capture a photo at an ideal moment.

A third screenshot covers several "Confidence" metrics and hints at the camera's ability to recognize not just pets and babies, but documents and QR codes. Both document scanning and QR code scanning with the camera are built into iOS 11, so at least some of these features will be available for all iPhone models. It's not entirely clear, however, what will require the facial recognition hardware rumored for the iPhone 8 and what will be available for other devices.

Existing iPhones running the current version of iOS already include object recognition functionality, but it's limited to the Photos app right now. The Photos app uses AI to detect objects and people in photos for smart search and organization, and it seems some of that technology could be making its way to the Camera app going forward.

The HomePod firmware contains hints about future iOS 11 functionality and the iPhone 8 because the HomePod runs a full version of iOS. The current version of iOS 11 in testing has been stripped of references to unreleased features, but Apple neglected to make the same edits to the HomePod firmware, allowing enterprising developers to dig up the company's secrets.

Apple has accidentally leaked the general design of the iPhone 8, confirmed that it has an infrared facial tracking mechanism, and given us hints of several upcoming features like a split status bar at the top and a tap to wake feature. It also seemingly confirms both a virtual Home button and function area along with the absence of an under-display Touch ID solution.

MixBin Electronics has recalled about 263,000 iPhone cases that were filled with liquid glitter, following "at least" 24 reports of users facing skin irritations, being burned, and even getting permanently scarred after the cases broke and the liquids seeped out. The cases were sold by Amazon, Henri Bendel, Tory Burch, Nordstrom Rack, Victoria's Secret, and MixBin itself, and were for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7 (via Consumerist).

In the recall notice, MixBin said that customers "should immediately stop using" the cases in question and contact the company for a full refund. The glitter-filled cases focused on in the recall were sold both in physical retail locations and online from October 2015 through June 2017, ranging in price from $15 to $65. On the list of recalled cases, 16 of the units came from Victoria's Secret.

This recall involves all liquid glitter mobile phone cases for iPhone 6, 6s and 7. The cases contain liquid and glitter that are floating in the plastic case. They were sold in various styles and colors and measure about 5.5 inches by 2.75 inches.

There are 24 reports worldwide discovered so far, 19 of which were in the United States, and they reference "skin irritation" and "chemical burns" suffered by the users. MixBin mentioned that one user reported "permanent scarring from a chemical burn," while another said she suffered "chemical burns and swelling to her leg, face, neck, chest, upper body and hands."

Among the 263,000 worldwide units that are being recalled, 11,400 were sold in Canada and 400 were sold in Mexico. To see the full list of the recalled MixBin Electronics cases, including model numbers, UPC codes, and descriptions, check out the notice on the Consumer Product Safety Commission's website.

Following its June quarter earnings results, which beat Wall Street expectations for both revenue and iPhone sales, Apple's stock opened at an all-time high of $159.52 today. Apple also opened with a market cap of nearly $830 billion, moving it closer to becoming a trillion dollar company.

Investors and analysts alike remain optimistic about the so-called iPhone 8 expected later this year. Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White today said his Wall Street firm continues to believe Apple remains among the most underappreciated stocks in the world, and maintained his lofty $202 price target.

MacRumors obtained the latest research notes from several Apple analysts with updated AAPL price targets and ratings.

MacRumors has also published a complete transcript of Apple's post-earnings conference call with CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri.

AAPL is currently trading in the $156 to $157 range after falling back a few dollars since the opening bell, but it's still up over 4 percent.

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei aims to become the world's largest smartphone maker by 2021, ahead of both Apple and Samsung, and the latest market share data suggests it continues to make progress towards that goal.

Huawei shipped an estimated 38.4 million smartphones in the June quarter, a 20 percent increase over a year ago, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. By comparison, Apple reported it sold 41 million iPhones in the same period, up nearly 2 percent from 40.4 million iPhones in the year-ago quarter.

Huawei's market share rose to an estimated 10.7 percent in the quarter, putting the Chinese company well within striking distance of Apple's estimated 11.4 percent market share in the quarter. Samsung continued to lead the market with a 22.1 percent share of shipments, according to Strategy Analytics.

"Huawei is now closing in fast on Apple and Apple will be looking nervously over its shoulder in the next few quarters," said Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics. "Huawei is outperforming across Asia, Europe and Africa with popular Android models such as the P10 and Mate 9."

Beyond the iPhone sales numbers, officially reported by Apple, it is important to acknowledge that these are estimated figures, and shipments within distribution channels do not necessarily reflect sales to customers. Apple also captures the vast majority of profits in the smartphone industry.

Third Place

Since 2011, the worldwide smartphone market has been dominated by Apple and Samsung. The elusive third-best spot, meanwhile, has failed to be held down by one vendor for an extended period of time, changing hands between Nokia, BlackBerry, Xiaomi, and Huawei over the past six years.

In 2014, it looked like low-priced Chinese vendor Xiaomi had firmly cemented its position as the world's third-largest smartphone maker, but due to a limited retail presence and declining popularity, Huawei is now firmly in the driver's seat.

Huawei has been making an aggressive push into several European markets, and it's even testing the North American market after launching its smartphones in Canada in June. Huawei isn't well known in the United States, however, largely because it lacks agreements with Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

American customers have to resort to retailers such as Best Buy or Walmart, or Huawei's direct sales website, to purchase one of their unlocked smartphones, reducing the brand's visibility in a country where Apple and Samsung reign supreme.

If Huawei can find success in Canada, then perhaps it will consider tackling the much larger market south of the border next.

Apple's Decline in China

Apple reported revenue of $8 billion in Greater China in the June quarter, a 10 percent decrease compared to the year-ago quarter, and some analysts believe that's partly due to the iPhone's declining popularity in the country.

iPhone market share in China fell to 9 percent in the first six months of 2017, from a peak of 14 percent in 2015, according to Counterpoint Research. iPhone was only the fifth best selling smartphone in China during the June quarter, behind other Chinese rivals like Oppo and Xiaomi, research firm Canalys said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook didn't have much to say on iPhone in China during its post-earnings conference call on Tuesday, but he did comment on the growing popularity of messaging app WeChat, developed by Tencent, in the country.

"In terms of WeChat, the way I look at this is, because iOS share is not nearly a majority of the market in China, the fact that a lot of people use that… it makes the switching opportunity even greater," said Cook. "I think that's more the case than the risk that a lot of folks have pointed out."

"I see Tencent as one of our biggest and best developers," added Cook, who remains optimistic about China. "They have done a great job of implementing iOS features into their apps, and we are looking forward to working with then even more to build even greater experiences for our mutual users in China."

The focus now shifts to the fall, when both Apple and Huawei are expected to unveil new flagship smartphones. Huawei reportedly said its upcoming Mate 10 handset will be able to compete better than ever with the so-called iPhone 8.

Apple today reported revenue of $45.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $8.7 billion, or $1.67 per diluted share, in its fiscal third quarter ended June 24.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri discussed the results on a conference call today. MacRumors has prepared a complete transcript of the call ahead.

Tim Cook

Good afternoon, and thanks everyone for joining us. Today, we're proud to announce very strong results for our fiscal third quarter, with unit and revenue growth in all of our product categories. We'll review our financial performance in detail, and I'd also like to talk about some of the major announcements we made in June at our Worldwide Developers Conference. It was our biggest and best WWDC ever, and the advancements we introduced across hardware, software, and services will help us delight our customers, and extend our competitive lead this fall, and well into the future.

For the quarter, total revenue was at the high end of our guidance range at $45.4 billion. That's an increase of 7 percent over last year, so our growth rate has accelerated in three consecutive quarters this fiscal year. Gross margin was also at the high end of our guidance, and we generated a 17 percent increase in earnings per share. iPhone results were impressive, with especially strong demand at the high end of our lineup. iPhone 7 was our most popular iPhone, and sales of iPhone 7 Plus were up dramatically compared to 6s Plus in the June quarter of last year. The combined iPhone 7 and 7 Plus family was up strong double digits year over year. One decade after the initial iPhone launch, we have now passed 1.2 billion cumulative iPhones sold.

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During today's earnings call covering the third fiscal quarter of 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook briefly mentioned the company's super popular hard-to-come-by wireless earphones, the AirPods.

According to Cook, production capacity has been bumped up, but because of the high level of demand, Apple is still unable to make enough to reach supply/demand balance.

We're also seeing incredible enthusiasm for AirPods. 98 percent customer satisfaction based on Creative Strategy's survey. We have increased production capacity for AirPods and are working very hard to get them to customers as quickly as we can, but we are still not able to meet the strong level of demand.

Priced at $159, Apple's AirPods are wire-free earphones that feature Bluetooth and an Apple-designed W1 chip for a better connection and simple transfers between different devices. AirPods are equipped with an infrared sensor to detect when they're in the ear, and they support a range of touch-based gestures.

Since launch, AirPod supplies have been severely constrained and ship out from the online Apple Store in the U.S. in six weeks. That six week mark has not budged since December, but Apple retail stores occasionally have them in stock as do third-party retailers like Best Buy.

It's no secret that Apple is working on an autonomous driving system, thanks to statements from Apple CEO Tim Cook, information published by the DMV, and the presence of Apple's autonomous test vehicles on the road, but during today's earnings call, Cook re-emphasized Apple's deep interest in the technology, and he even hinted Apple's work on autonomy could be used for more than vehicles.

"In terms of autonomous systems, what we've said is that we are very focused on autonomous systems from a core technology point of view," Cook said. "We do have a large project going, and we're making a big investment in this from our point of view."

Cook went on to call autonomy "the mother of all AI projects," a statement he's shared before in an interview with Bloomberg. Cook also hinted that Apple has other autonomous projects in the works beyond a car system.

"Autonomous systems can be used in a variety of ways -- a vehicle is only one, but there are many different areas of it. And I don't want to go any further with that," he said.

Apple has presumably been working on an autonomous driving system since 2014, when rumors of its efforts to create an electric vehicle first surfaced. Apple has now moved away from creating a full vehicle and is said to be focusing on self-driving technology instead.

Since April, Apple has been testing its autonomous driving system in several Lexus RX450h SUVs, which can be spotted on the roads around its Cupertino headquarters.

During today's earnings call covering the third fiscal quarter of 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about ARKit and how he foresees developers using the service when it first launches. In response, Cook once again reiterated his excitement about augmented reality, and in short, said he expects to see a wide variety of applications shortly after iOS 11 becomes available this fall.

Cook pointed towards many of the demos that we're already seeing, which have ranged from games and entertainment to more practical applications like furniture placement and measurement.

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"I could not be more excited about AR and what we're seeing with ARKit," said Cook. "What categories? What's on the web in terms of what people are doing? It's all over the place, from entertainment to gaming." He went on to say that he expects to see small business solutions, consumer solutions, and enterprise solutions, though he mentioned enterprise "takes a little longer to get going sometimes."

"I think AR is big and profound," he went on to say. "This is one of those huge things that we'll look back at and marvel at the start of it. I think customers are going to see it in a variety of ways and it feels great to get [AR] going at a level that can get all of the developers behind it."

In an interview with CNBC after the earnings call, Cook said he believes the iPhone will become even more essential than it already is once augmented reality features are widely available.

"The smart phone is becoming even more important to people because it's going across so much of your life and you can tell by some of the things we did at WWDC that that will only continue," Cook told CNBC's Josh Lipton. "And with things like AR… I think it becomes even more essential than it currently is. I know it's hard to believe, but I think that's the case."

When iOS 11 launches in the fall, it's set to become the largest AR platform in the world thanks to the myriad iPhones and iPads that are in the hands of customers. Developers are already building a huge range of ARKit-based apps and games, which will also start launching this fall.