MacRumors

Apple today announced financial results for the third fiscal quarter and second calendar quarter of 2015. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $49.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $10.7 billion, or $1.85 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $37.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Gross margin for the quarter was 39.7 percent compared to 39.4 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 64 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an upcoming dividend payment of $0.52 per share, payable on August 13 to shareholders of record as of August 10. The company currently holds $202.8 billion in cash and marketable securities.

Apple sold 47.5 million iPhones during the quarter, up from 35.2 million a year earlier, while Mac sales registered 4.8 million units, up from 4.4 million units in the year-ago quarter. iPad sales continued to decline, however, falling to 10.9 million from 13.3 million.

“We had an amazing quarter, with iPhone revenue up 59 percent over last year, strong sales of Mac, all-time record revenue from services, driven by the App Store, and a great start for Apple Watch,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The excitement for Apple Music has been incredible, and we’re looking forward to releasing iOS 9, OS X El Capitan and watchOS 2 to customers in the fall.”

Apple's guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 includes expected revenue of $49-51 billion and gross margin between 38.5 and 39.5 percent.

Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q3 2015 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.

Conference Call and Q&A Highlights are available in reverse chronological order after the jump.

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Apple today released the fourth beta of iOS 9, and as with the previous iOS 9 betas, there are quite a few new features bundled into the release. There are some major additions, such as the promised return of Home Sharing for Music, and several other minor tweaks intended to refine the look and feel of the operating system.

With approximately two months to go until release, iOS 9 is already feeling faster, more polished, and more full featured. For those eager to know all about what's coming in iOS 9 ahead of its release, we've rounded up a complete list of the changes introduced with iOS 9 beta 4 below.

You can also check out all of the changes, large and small, that have been made in previous betas: iOS 9 beta 1, iOS 9 beta 2, iOS 9 beta 3.

Home Sharing - Home Sharing for music was removed in iOS 8.4 with the launch of the new music app and the new Apple Music service, but iTunes chief Eddy Cue said Apple was working to re-add the feature in iOS 9 and it has, in iOS 9 beta 4.

iPod touch Support - People who purchased one of the new A8-based iPod touch devices last week can now upgrade those devices to iOS 9 beta 4. With this beta, Apple added a new installation profile for the device.

Volume Button Photos - In iOS 9 beta 3, there was a bug that prevented the volume button from working as a shutter button for the iOS camera. That's been fixed in beta 4 and it's once again possible to snap a photo using the volume buttons on your iOS device.

Notifications icon - In the Settings app, the icon that represents the Notification setting has been updated with a new red color. The Battery icon has also been fixed and now has rounded edges instead of square edges.

Picture in Picture for Podcasts - One of the iOS 9 features on the iPad is a multitasking Picture in Picture option that lets users watch a video while continuing to complete other tasks on their iPads. As of iOS 9 beta 4, this works with the Podcasts app.

Handoff - The Handoff feature in the App Switcher has been moved to the bottom of the app-switching interface. Pull up on the new Handoff bar to open an app. Previously, Handoff was displayed in the app carousel.

Apple Pay - There's a new option in the Settings app for Apple Pay that lets you turn off the feature that allows Apple Pay be accessed from the home screen with a double click.

Additional feature updates in iOS 9 beta 4 will be added here as they are discovered. Apple should continue to release regular updates to iOS 9 at two to three week intervals throughout the beta testing period to bring minor performance boosts and changes ahead of the operating system's official launch. iOS 9 is expected to be released to the public in the fall.

Apple today seeded the fourth watchOS 2 beta to developers, build 13S5305d, just under two weeks after seeding the third watchOS 2 beta and more than a month after announcing the new operating system update at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

watchOS 2 requires iOS 9 and can be downloaded over-the-air through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update.

watchOS 2 is the first major update to the first version of watchOS, the software that runs on the Apple Watch. The new software brings many new features that Apple Watch developers can take advantage of, including native apps that run on the Apple Watch itself instead of the iPhone. It also allows developers to access the Taptic Engine and a number of other sensors in the Apple Watch, including the heart rate monitor, the microphone, and the accelerometer.

Along with these features for developers, which will lead to much more complex and full-featured third-party Apple Watch apps, the update introduces new watch faces (photo albums and time-lapse), third-party Complications, Time Travel for viewing upcoming events in a watch face Complication, and a Nightstand mode that's activated when the watch is charging, displaying the time.

watchOS 2 is currently only available to registered developers who have also installed iOS 9 on their iPhones. Apple plans to release the software to the public in the fall.

Apple today released the fourth beta of OS X 10.11 El Capitan to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the third El Capitan beta and more than a month after unveiling the new operating system at its 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.

The update is available through the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Apple Developer Center.

It is not clear what today's update adds to the operating system, but we will add any new features and bug fixes to this post as they're discovered. Previous betas have featured primarily under-the-hood fixes to improve performance and reliability.

OS X El Capitan builds on the features introduced with OS X Yosemite, focusing on improving performance and user experience. Behind-the-scenes improvements in El Capitan have made a number of apps and processes on the Mac much faster, and the introduction of Metal makes system-level graphics rendering 40 percent more efficient.

Along with a new systemwide font, El Capitan includes a revamped Mission Control feature, a new Split View feature for using two full-screen apps at once, deeper functionality for Spotlight, and several new features for Safari, including Pinned Sites for housing frequently visited websites and a universal mute button that quiets all tabs.

OS X 10.11 El Capitan is available to both registered developers and public beta testers. After testing is completed, Apple will release El Capitan to the public in the fall.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of iOS 9 to developers for testing purposes, nearly two weeks after releasing the third beta and more than a month after unveiling the new operating system at the 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.

The update, build 13A4305g, is available through Apple's over-the-air updating system on iOS devices and is also available for download through the Apple Developer Center. Xcode 7 beta 4 is also available.

Today's beta includes the return of Home Sharing for Music, which was removed in iOS 8.4. iTunes chief Eddy Cue said Apple was working to re-add the feature in iOS 9, and he's kept his promise. This is also the first iOS 9 beta that's available for Apple's new iPod touch. For a full list of changes, make sure to check out our iOS 9 beta 4 tidbits post.

iOS 9 beta 3, which preceded beta 4, brought several much-desired features to iOS 9 including the News app, an updated Music app with support for the Apple Music service and Beats 1 radio station, folders for selfies and screenshots, 4x4 app layouts for folders on the iPad, and more.

iOS 9 is Apple's latest operating system, focusing on intelligence and proactivity with much improved Siri and Search functions, plus improvements to several apps like Notes, Maps, and Mail. iOS 9 also brings several highly desired features like split-screen multitasking for the iPad and performance boosts that improve battery life and optimize storage space.

As of early July, iOS 9 is available to both developers and public beta testers. The software will be released to the public this fall after testing is complete.

A growing number of users on Twitter are reporting issues with Apple Music, Beats 1, iTunes and the App Store as nominees are announced for the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) exclusively on Beats 1. MacRumors can confirm that many of Apple's cloud-based services are currently not loading or are displaying error messages in the United States and Canada.

Apple has updated its System Status page to reflect service disruptions for some users for the App Store, Apple TV, iBooks Store, iTunes in the Cloud, iTunes Match, iTunes Store, iTunes U, Mac App Store, OS X Software Update, Beats 1 Radio and Volume Purchase Program. The issues have been ongoing since approximately 9:45 AM Eastern.

Update 10:38 AM Pacific: Apple's System Status page now indicates that all services are online again.

Apple has announced that the Apple Watch will be available for purchase on the Apple Online Store in New Zealand, Russia and Turkey starting July 31 after 7:01 AM local time.

Turkish customers should also have the option of in-store pickup at one of two physical Apple Store locations at the Zorlu Center and Akasya Shopping Center in Istanbul.

Apple Watch will now be available in over 20 countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

New Zealand
- Apple Watch Sport: NZ$599 to NZ$699
- Apple Watch: NZ$949 to NZ$1,949
- Apple Watch Edition: NZ$17,500 to NZ$30,000

Russia
- Apple Watch Sport: 23,990 RUB to 27,990 RUB
- Apple Watch: 37,990 RUB to 78,990 RUB
- Apple Watch Edition: 660,000 RUB to 1,120,000 RUB

Turkey
- Apple Watch Sport: 1,249 TRY to 1,399 TRY
- Apple Watch: 1,999 TRY to 3,899 TRY
- Apple Watch Edition: 34,000 TRY to 56,000 TRY

(Thanks, Vladislav!)

Facebook, Google, eBay, HP, Dell and other Silicon Valley companies weighed in on the ongoing Samsung and Apple patent case, siding with the Korean company in a "friend of the court" briefing filed on July 1 to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and first spotted by Inside Sources [PDF via AppleInsider]. The companies argue that the court ordering Samsung to turn over profits would lead to stifled innovation.

If allowed to stand, that decision will lead to absurd results and have a devastating impact on companies, including [the briefing draftees], who spend billions of dollars annually on research and development for complex technologies and their components.

The companies contend that technology like smartphones, which include thousands of different components in both hardware and software, is too complex to award profits, like Samsung is being ordered to do, based on individual component infringements. They argue that any company could then be opened up to patent infringement cases for insignificant features like a specific user interface creation that only appears on a single screen of an app, therefore stifling innovation.

After the companies submitted their thoughts to the court, Apple responded by arguing their thoughts should be dismissed. The Cupertino company specifically called out Google, pointing out that the company has a strong interest in the case because its behind the Android operating system used by Samsung and that the Mountain View company cannot be an impartial "friend of the court".

In mid-June, Samsung asked the court to reconsider a central part of a recent ruling that ensured Apple would receive $548 million in damages, with Samsung wanting the court to rehear the case with a full 12-judge roster rather than the 3-judge panel it used in the previous ruling. That previous ruling reduced Apple's reward from $900 million to $548 million.

Apple recently made a major automotive hire that hints at the company's continued work on an electric car, reports The Wall Street Journal. The company hired Doug Betts, who previously served as the Senior Vice President of the Chrysler Group, where he was the global head of operations leading product service and quality.

According to Betts' LinkedIn page, he began working at Apple in July. Aside from a role in "Operations," in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are no details on what he is doing at the company.

Betts' LinkedIn profile suggests he made major customer satisfaction improvements and warranty cost reductions during his tenure at Chrysler, with job duties that included quality engineering, field issue problem solving, manufacturing operations, and supplier quality, among other tasks. Prior to working at Chrysler, Betts worked at Nissan, Toyota, and Michelin.

Along with Betts, The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple also recently recruited a researcher, Paul Furgale, with a specialization in autonomous vehicles to join its team of employees working on its car project. The company is said to be seeking out other experts with robotics and machine experience, with Furgale recruiting both students and researchers.

Earlier this year, Apple hired Paul Furgale a well-regarded autonomous vehicle researcher in Switzerland, and has begun recruiting other robotics and machine vision experts to work on a confidential project.

Mr. Furgale had been deputy director of the Autonomous Systems Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, or ETH. Mr. Furgale previously had led a European Commission project called V-Charge that sought to develop self-parking vehicle technology.

News of Apple's car project, code-named "Project Titan," leaked in February, but details on the top secret effort remain scarce. Apple reportedly has hundreds of employees working on developing an electric vehicle and has been recruiting talent from the automotive industry and other car-related fields, poaching employees from companies like Tesla, Ford, and GM. Rumors have thus far disagreed on whether Apple is focusing on self-driving capabilities for the vehicle.

Rumors have suggested Apple is aiming to produce a car by 2020, but because Apple often works on projects that never make it to fruition, it's possible that its car plans could be shelved or delayed in the future if the company is unhappy with its progress.

The NFL has long offered various packages that let football enthusiasts watch games on their mobile devices, but it's always been difficult to get that content on the Apple TV. That may be changing, however, according to a website dedicated to a revamped Game Pass program that the NFL plans to debut later this summer.

For viewers in the United States, the NFL currently offers Game Rewind, with access to on-demand NFL games after they air on broadcast television. As of July 31, 2015, Game Rewind is being discontinued in favor of Game Pass, a consolidated service that will offer all 256 NFL season games on-demand as well as access to live out-of-market preseason games.

Game Pass access will be added to the existing NFL Mobile app on the iPhone and the iPad, and the website indicates Game Pass content will also be available on "select connected TV devices" including the Apple TV. When the new Game Pass service is made available on the Apple TV, it'll be the first time the NFL has allowed full game broadcasts on Apple's set-top box, which is big news for football fans who are also cord cutters.

At the current time, there's an NFL Now channel on the Apple TV, but this is limited to historic videos, breaking news, and game highlights, rather than complete games due to contracts with television providers. With the prior Game Rewind service, the NFL went so far as to disable AirPlay mirroring to the Apple TV in an effort to keep broadcasts limited to iOS devices.

The new Game Pass works a lot like the former Game Rewind service. It includes live access to most preseason games, aside from those that are nationally broadcast, plus on-demand regular season, playoff, and Super Bowl games that are available after they air on broadcast television.

Game Pass is available in the United States, Bermuda, Antigua, the Bahamas, any U.S. territories, possessions and commonwealths (including American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands), and Mexico. Pricing for the Game Pass is not yet listed.

NFL fans outside of the United States already have access to an international "Game Pass" service that offers up live games and on-demand content, and while it confusingly shares the same name as the new service available in the U.S., it appears the international service will continue to be available.

(Thanks, Tyler!)

Apple has agreed to lease office space in the Two Union Square skyscraper in downtown Seattle, according to Bloomberg. The report claims that Apple will occupy the 44th floor and half of the 45th floor in the 56-story office building, which is a roughly 30,000-square-foot space that can house 120 to 200 employees based on standard corporate leasing ratios.

Seattle has become a hotbed recently for Silicon Valley companies because of its talent pool and lower cost of living compared with the San Francisco Bay Area, with Amazon, Facebook, Google and Alibaba Group among the tech giants with offices in the region. Apple opened its first engineering office in the city last year after acquiring Union Bay Networks.

Apple has hired more than 9,000 employees in the last year and now has a worldwide headcount of about 115,000, according to the report. The company's existing Seattle office focuses on core infrastructure services such as iCloud, suggesting the northwestern U.S. city could serve as a hub for its rumored high-speed content delivery network for faster cloud services.

While some critics within the tech media have heavily scrutinized the Apple Watch since its launch, new survey data shared by Techpinions suggests that the true mass market sentiment toward the wrist-worn device is overwhelmingly positive. In particular, the survey found that traditionally "non-tech" users liked the Apple Watch more than those with a closer connection to the tech industry.

According to research firm Wristly and Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin, overall customer satisfaction with the Apple Watch is 97%, which is the highest customer satisfaction rating of any first-generation Apple product ever released. Wristly determined that rating by combining the "Very Satisfied/Delighted" (66%) and "Somewhat Satisfied" (31%) boxes together.

The survey data is based on the Wristly Apple Watch Owner Network, a diversified panel of over a thousand Apple Watch buyers. Wristly says that it asked respondents a series of pre-qualification questions to ensure that the panel did not skew towards only early adopters and instead represented a healthy range of consumers. Among those profiled, Wristly found 34% to be "tech insiders" and 53% to be "non-tech" users.

What has been fascinating about the Wristly Apple Watch Panel is how diverse it is across the adoption cycle spectrum. We have those on the bleeding edge of adoption all the way through mainstream consumers who aren’t buying it for the sake of Apple fanaticism or love of tech and gadgetry but because they saw the utility and usefulness of the product right off the bat. They are all represented in our panel.

Apple Watch customer satisfaction was found to be higher than the original iPhone and iPad, which scored 92% and 91% ratings respectively, although satisfaction levels were contrasting among different types of users. "Non-tech" users and "tech insiders" were most satisfied with the Apple Watch, while "app builders" were slightly less satisfied, with less than half choosing the "Very Satisfied" box.

Apple has not publicly disclosed any official Apple Watch sales figures to date, and will be grouping the wrist-worn device under its "Other Products" category in quarterly earnings reports. Apple Watch global sales estimates range between 2.8 million and 5.7 million ahead of the company's third quarter fiscal results set to be announced on Tuesday at 1:30 PM Pacific.

Ten days after releasing its first two iPhone ads using the new tagline of "If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone," Apple today debuted a third ad in the series. The new ad, entitled "Amazing Apps" focuses on the array of apps available in the App Store.

This is an iPhone. And it comes with something amazing: an App Store with over one and half million of the best apps available. That's over one and a half million hand-picked, awe-inspiring, just plain surprising, who knew a phone could do that apps. If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone.

The latest campaign is the third series of ads for the iPhone, following an initial set from Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake and a more recent "Shot on iPhone 6" campaign that focuses on the phone's camera capabilities..