MacRumors

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Apple's primary iPhone and iPad assembler, has experienced a 41% jump in second quarter net profit thanks to strong iPhone sales, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The company, better known as Foxconn, saw a net profit of NT$16.98 billion, which is approximately US$566.7 million. During the second quarter of 2012, Foxconn's net profit was just NT$12.06 billion. Foxconn reportedly earns more than 40% of its revenue from Apple.

Foxconn's high profit numbers mirror Apple's own record breaking Q2 iPhone sales of 31.2 million units, first announced during the company's third quarter earnings call. Foxconn could see even greater profits in the coming quarters as Apple gears up to release its next generation iPhone, along with additional products like the fifth generation iPad and the Retina iPad mini in the fall months.

Apple is also expected to unveil a new iPhone this fall, which would help pad Hon Hai's earnings in the second half of the year, typically a strong selling season for technology companies due to the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons.

The products Apple has in the works will also have a huge impact on Pegatron, the company assembling Apple's low-cost "iPhone 5C". According to analyst estimates, the new phone could contribute as much as 40% to Pegatron's third quarter revenue. At a recent investor conference, Pegatron estimated that its sales would grow 40%–50% in Q3 2013.

Both Pegatron and Foxconn have been reported to be hiring a number of new employees as production ramps up on the upcoming devices.

Apple's next generation iPhone 5S is expected to be released during a September 10 event, but it remains unclear if the event will also include the iPhone 5C. Apple is also expected to hold a second event in the last three months of the year to debut new iPads.

Legendary investor Carl Icahn disclosed on Twitter today that his holding company has taken a 'large position' in Apple, believing that the company is 'extremely undervalued' and should increase its share buyback program.

This is similar to the advice that Warren Buffett gave earlier this year, though Buffett did not take a position in Apple.

Icahn disclosed his position on Twitter after yesterday warning investors that he may disclose material information on that account in accordance with new SEC guidelines on social media use.

We currently have a large position in APPLE. We believe the company to be extremely undervalued. Spoke to Tim Cook today. More to come. - 12:21 PM - 13 Aug 13

Had a nice conversation with Tim Cook today. Discussed my opinion that a larger buyback should be done now. We plan to speak again shortly. - 12:25 PM - 13 Aug 13

Icahn, who has an estimated net worth of $20 billion, has recently been extensively involved in efforts to keep Dell from going private and he also holds a 16% stake in Nuance, the speech recognition company that Apple uses for Siri.

Update: According to Bloomberg, Icahn has taken a position of at least $1 billion in Apple and is projecting the stock price to rise to over $600.

Update 2: Apple issued this statement regarding Icahn's investment:

We appreciate the interest and investment of all our shareholders. Tim had a very positive conversation with Mr. Icahn today.

Update 3: The Wall Street Journal has more from an interview with Mr. Icahn.

"This is a no brainer to go buy stock in a company that can go borrow" at a low rate, Mr. Icahn said. "Buy the company here and even without earnings growth, we think it ought to be worth $625."

Mr. Icahn's thesis rests on Apple borrowing at about a 3% interest rate and buying back shares right now, likely at around $525 a piece. That would send shares to $625, Mr. Icahn says, without taking into account any earnings growth.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster late yesterday released a new research note to investors centered around Apple’s upcoming product launches for the rest of the year, including key predictions on the anticipated low-cost iPhone, potentially named the iPhone 5C.

In his note, Munster predicts that the iPhone 5C will not come with Siri, the intelligent personal assistant within iOS, and that the device will replace the iPhone 4S at the bottom of the iPhone lineup. Munster also believes that the lower-cost iPhone will sell for an estimated $300 off-contract.

In terms of the phone itself, we expect the cheaper phone to have a plastic casing, 4" display, and lower end internal specs (processor, camera, memory, etc.) than the 5S/5 line up. Additionally, we believe that Apple may exclude some software features, such as Siri, which we note was not an option on the iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 upon launch.

Munster apparently believes that omitting Siri from the iPhone 5C would help differentiate the lineup enough to limit cannibalization of Apple's more expensive iPhones by the cheaper 5C model. It would, however, seem to be an odd move given Apple's efforts to promote Siri and other voice functionality, as well as the fact that the cheaper iPhone 4S currently on the market already supports Siri.

The analyst also makes remarks on the iPhone 5S, stating that the phone will indeed incorporate a fingerprint sensor into the home button, but that the feature would be limited to user authentication.

We expect the iPhone 5S to include a fingerprint sensor with a basic unlocking feature, but do not believe the sensor will be built into iOS 7 enough to introduce a feature like secure payments as we believe that Authentec has only been a part of Apple for less than one year. We believe that payments could be a key feature of the next version of iOS in 2014.

The phone is otherwise expected to follow Apple's upgrade patterns in processor speed and battery life, moving to a new custom A7 chip while featuring more memory and other spec bumps. Munster expects Apple’s new iPhone lineup to feature the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5, and low-cost iPhone, which contradicts an earlier report last month which stated Apple would discontinue production of the iPhone 5 alongside the launch of the iPhone 5S and lower cost iPhone.

Munster also makes predictions on the upcoming iPad line and other products, stating that October would be the likely release month for the fifth-generation iPad and the new iPad mini. The analyst, who has for many years been a proponent of the idea that an Apple television is right around the corner, also states that Apple is likely to introduce a new TV device before the end of 2013, with a 70% chance of the product shipping within the first half of 2014.

Finally, Munster believes that a rumored larger-screen iPhone and the rumored “iWatch” will arrive by mid-2014.

Last week, news hit that Apple would unveil its next generation iPhone at a September 10 event, but it remains unclear if the low-cost iPhone will also be revealed at that time. Apple is also expected to introduce the fifth-generation iPad as soon as next month, with an updated iPad mini rumored to be following fairly soon after.

As parts leaks have suggested, Bloomberg reports that Apple will release a thinner full-sized iPad in the final three months of this year -- this would suggest that the iPad would be released at a separate media event from the one supposedly scheduled for September 10th when the next iPhone is expected to be released.

Bloomberg also says Apple will release a Retina-equipped iPad mini in the same time-frame, similar to previous reports.

Apple Inc. is preparing to introduce a new version of the iPad with a thinner design, people familiar with the plans said, as the company works to stay atop the increasingly crowded tablet-computer market.

Apple also plans to introduce a new iPad mini, the first with a high-resolution screen, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the development is private. The new iPad models are set to be introduced in the last three months of the year, one of the people said.

The new full-sized iPad is expected to have a thinner screen bezel like the existing iPad mini, while the new mini is not expected to have any significant design changes.

Australian writer Sonny Dickson has shared some images of what he claims are the volume buttons for Apple’s upcoming low-cost plastic-shelled iPhone, dubbed the "iPhone 5C." The buttons are shown in bright shades of green, yellow, red, and blue, matching previous descriptions of the device.

The pill-shaped button design, which deviates from the round volume buttons found in the iPhone 5, matches up with design drawings leaked in June. Based on those drawings and other component leaks, MacRumors released renderings of the low-cost iPhone that clearly show what the volume buttons of the device could look like when fully assembled.

Though leaked component images and videos of the iPhone 5C have been surfacing at a rapid pace over the last couple of months, the prototype designs have thus far lacked full cut-outs for power and volume buttons.

In addition to a polycarbonate shell and a multitude of bright colors, Apple's low-cost iPhone is said to feature rear curved edges and a slightly thicker design. It is also said to share components with the current iPhone 5 and may be priced anywhere from $450 to $550.

Over the weekend, news hit that Apple would unveil its next generation iPhone at a September 10 event, but it remains unclear if the low-cost iPhone will also be revealed at that time. Additional images of the volume buttons in all four colors can be seen on Dickson's website.

According to a new report from App Store analytics firm Distimo, Apple's App Store revenue still tops Google Play revenue despite the latter’s increase in growth over the past six months.

While Apple's App Store revenue increased 15% over the course of the last six months, Google Play revenue increased 67%. In July alone, Google Play saw 11% growth, compared to the App Store's 3%.

A similar report from App Annie two weeks ago confirmed that App Store revenue remains 2.3 higher than Google Play revenue even though Google Play downloads eclipsed App Store downloads during the second quarter of 2013.

The majority of the App Store's revenue comes from the United States, followed by Japan and the United Kingdom. Though some countries like Russia spent more on iPad apps than iPhone apps, iPhone apps remain the biggest earners. While South Korea was also a top app spender, it was a majority contributor to Google Play revenue.

Distimo also looked at the top earning apps for July, finding that Candy Crush Saga continues to generate the most revenue in both the App Store and Google Play. In April, the company behind Candy Crush announced that it had earned more than $195 million in revenue, and it is estimated that the app earns approximately $800k per day.

While freemium-based Candy Crush Saga earned the highest amount of revenue overall, WhatsApp Messenger and Minecraft - Pocket Edition were the highest earning paid apps. Despicable Me: Minion Rush, another free app, saw the highest number of overall downloads, followed by Google Maps.

Distimo's app data comes from its app store analytics tool AppIQ, which tracks more than three billion downloads per quarter for developers worldwide.

Apple has quietly launched an over-the-air update to its Apple Store app today, replacing its first free content offering, Color Zen, with the children’s book Away in My Airplane by Margaret Wise Brown.

The free iBook offering was detailed in a note to Apple’s retail employees this morning (via 9to5Mac), notifying them that the download is intended to give them a reason to discuss the iBooks app and the iBookstore when communicating with customers.

Earlier this month, Apple launched an "iBooks Discovery" initiative, providing its employees with free iBooks in order to prepare them for the launch of OS X Mavericks and iOS 7. Mavericks will include the first Mac iBooks app, allowing users to read ePub files on their desktop computers.

Apple has begun offering free content via its Apple Store app in order to entice customers to download and visit the app on a regular basis, increasing their exposure to Apple products. The effort is part of a push to boost in-store sales of the iPhone, as 80% of Apple’s iPhone customers purchase their phones at third party retail locations. In a July meeting, Tim Cook noted that he would like to increase the company's iPhone sales, as it is considered to be Apple's central "gateway product."

Apple has also initiated other programs to increase iPhone sales, including an upcoming trade-in program and a Back to School program that offers customers a $50 gift card with the purchase of a new iPhone.

Away in My Airplane will be available through August 28 in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Sweden. Not all customers appear to have access to the new book at this time, which likely means Apple is delivering the update on a rolling basis.

Over the weekend, AllThingsD reported that Apple will hold an iPhone-focused media event on September 10, introducing its next-generation iPhone 5S and perhaps a lower-cost "iPhone 5C".

AllThingsD has an excellent track record with such reports, suggesting that the event will indeed take place on that date, but in case there was any doubt, The Loop's Jim Dalrymple is now confirming the report with a simple "Yep" post.

Dalrymple is well connected at Apple and has on many occasions either confirmed or refuted other reports and rumors in simple one-word posts with 100% accuracy. Such reports are generally taken as coming directly from Apple but delivered through an unofficial channel.

Official media invitations for the introduction should appear roughly a week before the event.