MacRumors

AT&T today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2012, revealing that the carrier activated 3.7 million iPhones during the quarter, down from 4.3 million in the previous quarter as customers begin to slow their purchases ahead of the next-generation iPhone launch.

Notably, AT&T's 3.7 million iPhone activations accounts for roughly 73% of the carriers 5.1 million total smartphone sales during the quarter, down slightly from last quarter's share. With smartphones now accounting for 77% of AT&T's total postpaid device sales, the iPhone represents approximately 55% of the carrier's total phone sales to contract customers, down slightly from last quarter's 60% share.

AT&T sold 5.1 million smartphones in the second quarter. Smartphones represented 77 percent of postpaid device sales. At the end of the quarter, 61.9 percent, or 43.1 million, of AT&T's postpaid subscribers had smartphones, up from 49.9 percent, or 34.1 million, a year earlier. AT&T's ARPU for smartphones is twice that of non-smartphone subscribers, and about 88 percent of smartphone subscribers are on FamilyTalk® or business plans. Churn levels for these subscribers are significantly lower than for other postpaid subscribers. More than one-third of AT&T's postpaid smartphone customers use a 4G-capable device.

Android, iPhone and Windows device sales were supported by AT&T's 4G network. Only AT&T's 4G network lets iPhone 4S download three-times faster than any other U.S. carrier's network. In the quarter, the company activated 3.7 million iPhones, with 22 percent new to AT&T.

Although Verizon reported a 16% quarter-over-quarter drop in iPhone sales and AT&T's numbers reveal a similar 14% decline, the performances are generally being viewed as a positive for Apple, which will report its earnings after the close of trading today. Analysts were already expecting Apple's overall iPhone sales to decline this quarter ahead of the next iPhone launch, and with the company's domestic sales holding up relatively well and international sales likely still booming, the company is likely to post solid results for its primary revenue generator.

In line with a fresh report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claiming that Apple will be updating the iPod touch later this year with an "all-new" design using the same in-cell touch display technology rumored to be used in the next iPhone, Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports that Apple will also be moving the iPod touch to a 4-inch display from the current 3.5-inch display. Apple is otherwise said to be basing the iPod touch's internals on the iPhone 4S, although the case will include a "buffed aluminum" rear shell rather than the glass back of the iPhone 4S or the mirrored stainless steel of the current iPod touch.

According to asian source, new iPod touch (5th generation) will have 4 inch LCD which is the same size with coming iPhone 5.

CPU or other spec is considered to be same with iPhone 4S, and has different back-case design, which will be not mirror polished but buffed alminum one. And it seems to be prepared black and white color model.

The report's source also indicates that there is an additional hole in the lower portion of the rear shell, separate from the camera found on the current model. It is, however, currently unknown what the function of the hole will be.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today released a significant new report outlining his estimates of Apple's product launch schedule for the second half of this year, pointing to all-new iPod touch and iPod nano models as well as new iPhone and iPad mini models and tweaked internals for the full-size iPad.

Kuo's report also touches on the Mac side, reiterating his earlier claims that Apple will be launching its 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro in that timeframe. He believes, however, that impact from the launch will initially be muted amid tight supplies and consumer budgets that will likely prioritize purchases of new iPhone and iPad mini models.

We think consumers who initially planned to purchase the 13” MacBook Pro and Air will turn to the 13” Retina MacBook Pro instead because it has an attractive panel, its price is similar to MacBook Pro and it has a better balance between power consumption and form factor. However, as supply is limited due to panel and assembly yield rate issues, shipment of the 13” Retina MacBook Pro won’t be able to satisfy demand. And we think consumers’ budgets will transfer to new iOS products after Apple launches them, which suggests that overall MacBook shipments will not grow meaningfully on the 13” Retina MacBook Pro.

While early 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro sales may be modest, Kuo does believes that with Retina displays clearly being the future of Mac notebooks the stage will be set for explosive growth heading into 2013.

As for the iMac, Kuo believes that new Ivy Bridge-based iMacs have been delayed by screen lamination issues, with Apple's supply chain status suggesting it will be a tight schedule to meet an end of September launch for the updated models.

The chances of the new iMac debuting in September are slim. But, judging by the current supply chain situation, it could be rolled out by end-September. [...]

[Supply chain] shipments for Mac desktop models will be low due to inventory adjustment in July, and will see the most dramatic MoM rise in August as shipments for the new iMac begin.

Several other sources have claimed that Apple will be targeting an October launch for updated iMacs, although there has been disagreement over whether the new models will include Retina displays, which are almost certainly the most highly-anticipated feature in the product's future. Kuo's report does not address whether or not he believes the feature will be included in the next revision or held for a later update.

In addition to coverage of all-new iPod touch and iPod nano models in his report released earlier today, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also offered more predictions about Apple's iOS device plans for the September-October timeframe. According to Kuo, Apple is looking to launch the next-generation iPhone in September, perhaps closer to the beginning of the month. But with component shortages and limited on-sale time during the quarter following an expected pullback from consumers in expectation of the launch, he predicts only a modest bump in unit sales over the second quarter's numbers.

iPhone 5 to debut in September. But due to in-cell touch panel and casing yield rate limits, ability to offset older models' shipments decrease will be moderate.

On the iPad front, Kuo is expecting the iPad mini to debut later in September following component ramping in August. He predicts sales of just 1.8 million units during the short time the device will be on sale during the third quarter, exploding to overtake the full-size iPad in the fourth quarter with an estimate of over 13 million units.

Interestingly, Kuo also claims that Apple will be tweaking the internals of the current full-size iPad around the same time, making changes to address thermal issues and reduce costs. Digitimes had previously claimed that Apple would be revamping the third-generation iPad later this year with a thinner enclosure, IGZO display, and new heat dissipation capabilities, but Kuo's sources indicate that the changes will be invisible to users.

Though shipments of iPad mini’s components will start in August, the new iPad line will end production, ready for transition to a modified New iPad line. As such, component shipments will drop in August as iPad mini’s components shipments growth will be offset. On a side note, the modified New iPad shares the same exterior as the original model, but contains modifications to correct its thermal dissipation problem and lower-cost components.

Overall, Kuo is predicting massive iPhone and iPad sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 once the new models have full quarters of sales to build upon. His estimates put total iPhone sales at over 55 million and iPad sales at nearly 24 million during the quarter, spurred in large part by momentum from the iPhone and iPad mini launches.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has in the past offered remarkably accurate information on Apple's product plans, today released a new report addressing Apple's upcoming release plans, indicating that the company is planning for a very busy September-October schedule.

Kicking off the schedule of launches are said to be "all-new" iPod touch and iPod nano models. Details on the new models are currently slim, but the revised iPod touch is said to include the new in-cell touch display technology that has been rumored by several sources for the next-generation iPhone.

Overall, Kuo believes that strong quarter-over-quarter growth in iPod sales for the third calendar quarter will be driven by the new iPod nano rather than the iPod touch, which will see constrained supplies due to the move in-cell touch display technology.

Though all new design iPod touch and iPod nano will be launched, growth momentum will mainly come from the latter. The new iPod touch, like iPhone 5, uses in-cell panel, whose availability is limited in the initial stage. Shipments will therefore be hindered.

Apple of course did not make any substantial hardware changes to the iPod touch last September, electing to merely add white models and lower the entry-level pricing from $229 to $199. Consequently, the iPod touch retained the A4-based hardware introduced in September 2010 even as the iPhone 4S moved to the new A5 system-on-a-chip.

Apple likewise did not offer any major changes to the iPod nano last September, merely lowering pricing and rolling out a software update for the line. One recent rumor has claimed that the iPod nano will be seeing a complete redesign with an oblong body, rectangular screen, and home button similar to that found on iOS devices. It is unclear, however, whether Kuo's sources are hearing similar details or if they only have generic information about a forthcoming redesign.

Apple has released a new television ad featuring the iPhone 4S and Siri, featuring legendary film director Martin Scorsese. The director uses Siri to reschedule appointments, find where a friend is, and see how traffic is in Manhattan.

Scorsese: What's my day look like?

Siri: Another busy day today.

Scorsese: Are you serious?

Siri: Yes, I'm not allowed to be frivolous.

Scorsese: Ah, OK. Move my 4 o'clock today to tomorrow. Change my 11AM to 2.

Siri: OK, Marty. I scheduled it for today.

Scorsese: Is that Rick? Where's Rick?

Siri: Here's Rick.

Scorsese: Oh, no that's not Rick. Now, how's the traffic headed downtown?

Siri: Here's the traffic.

Scorsese: Oh, it's terrible, terrible. Driver, driver, cut across. Cut across. We'll never make it downtown this way. I like you Siri, you're going places.

Siri: I'll try to remember that.

The ad is the fourth in Apple's series of celebrity television ads featuring celebrities using the technology. Prior ads have seen actors Samuel L. Jackson, John Malkovich, and Zooey Deschanel using Siri.

Thanks Sean!

With Reuters becoming the latest publication to report that the next iPhone will include a smaller dock connector, many are continuing to wonder what will happen with legacy accessories that take advantage of the current 30-pin dock connector that has been in use since 2003.

iMore, which was first to report on the smaller dock connector back in February, has now confirmed with its sources that Apple will indeed be offering an adapter to provide backwards compatibility with accessories designed for the 30-pin connector.

While this seems like it should have been filed in the obvious drawer, because of all the questions we've been getting, and posts we've been seeing, iMore reached out to the original sources that gave us the new Dock connector story way back in February just to make doubly sure -- and yes, there will be an adapter for the iPhone 5's smaller Dock connector that will let it work with many of the accessories designed for the old 30-pin Dock connector.

We haven't heard if one will be included in the box along with the iPhone 5, or will only be sold separately, but either way, come October, you'll be able to get a new-to-old Dock adapter from Apple.

The report notes that some accessories may not be compatible with the adapter given their fit, but many accessories will continue to work using the forthcoming adapter.

While Apple is generally not afraid to abandon legacy standards in order to make changes advancing new standards or designs, the company has sometimes offered adapters to help ease the transitions. Perhaps the latest example is Apple's new MagSafe 2 power connector found on the new MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro. Apple offers a separate adapter priced at $9.99 to allow users to use older MagSafe power supplies with the new machines. The company is also including a free adapter with the Apple Thunderbolt Display, which still uses the original MagSafe connector for providing power to portable machines.

Alongside other OS X Mountain Lion announcements at its Worldwide Developers Conference last month, Apple announced an Up-to-Date program allowing any customer purchasing a Mac on or after June 11 to receive a free upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion once the operating system is released to the public. With OS X Mountain Lion being released only via the Mac App Store, the free upgrade is being delivered a redemption code for the store.

While the company has yet to officially announce it and almost certainly will not do so until OS X Mountain Lion itself actually launches, the company's Up-to-Date online application form is already live. Users are required to enter their date and location of purchase for the qualifying Mac, fill out personal contact information, and enter the serial numbers of machines eligible for the free upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion. Once all information has been submitted, Apple generates a reference number for the claim and the actual redemption code is delivered via email.

In our testing, the redemption code arrived as a password-protected PDF attachment within seconds of submitting the online form, with a second email containing a password for opening the PDF arriving at the same time.

Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for participating in the OS X Mountain Lion Up-To-Date program. The content code that allows you to download and install OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store is in the file attached below. You will receive the password to unlock the attached files in a separate email. Your content code may be redeemed immediately through the Mac App Store and will not expire.

Please follow these steps to redeem your copy of OS X Mountain Lion:

1. Open the Mac App Store application.

2. Select “Redeem” in the Quick Links section of the Mac App Store.

3. Enter your content code.

If you have questions regarding the redemption or installation of your software from the Mac App Store, visit www.apple.com/support/mac/app-store/.

To redeem your content code you need the latest version of the Mac App Store application, an Apple ID, and Internet access (fees may apply). You can create an Apple ID at appleid.apple.com/us.

As a reminder, content codes may not be resold and can only be redeemed by people above the minimum age specified by the terms and conditions of the Mac App Store in your country. Apple is not responsible for lost or stolen content codes. You may review the Terms of Service for the Mac App Store at www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ww/.

Thank you for choosing Apple!

Attempting to redeem the OS X Mountain Lion code in the Mac App Store does not yet provide access to the update, however, as it has yet to go live in the store. Entering the code simply yields an error noting that it is "not recognized as a valid code".

OS X Mountain Lion will be released later this month, with hints suggesting that it could arrive this Wednesday, July 25.

(Thanks, Justin!)

Update 10:12 AM: Apple appears to have taken the Up-to-Date application offline.

Back in January, we reported on ZEVO, an effort by former Apple file system engineer Don Brady to finally bring the Sun-backed ZFS file system to OS X. Brady's company, Ten's Complement, had begun releasing a set of software packages to support the robust file system on OS X, but planned launches for the some of the more advanced packages had begun to slip in recent months.

As noted by TUAW, Brady has now announced that ZEVO has been acquired by GreenBytes a storage appliance hardware company that already uses ZFS in its products. Brady will also be joining GreenBytes as a development engineer.

As to the future of the project, GreenBytes' spokesman Michael Robinson responded to TUAW's inquiry: "ZEVO's ZFS on OS X is safe. Ten's Complement has joined GreenBytes to continue their work and now they have more development support." Robinson says that GreenBytes will have more to share regarding ZEVO's future "down the line."

A blog post from GreenBytes expresses a similar sentiment, although it remains unclear exactly what the company's plans for ZFS on OS X will be, with some ZFS fans having expressed concern that GreenBytes will be refocusing the product for its own internal needs.

GreenBytes has been an enthusiastic supporter of ZFS (including ZFS on OS X) for many years and is absolutely committed to the continued development and support of Don's work on ZEVO (ZFS on OS X) into the foreseeable future.

With the transfer of ZEVO to GreenBytes, Ten's Complement has ceased sales of the Silver Edition software package that had been available, and it remains unclear how and when ZEVO will be redeployed for OS X by GreenBytes.

Reuters seems to confirm circulating rumors and expectations that Apple will be moving from the traditional 30-pin dock connector to a smaller 19-pin version for its next generation iPhone:

The iPhone 5, Apple's next generation iPhone expected to go on sale around October, will come with a 19-pin connector port at the bottom instead of the proprietary 30-pin port "to make room for the earphone moving to the bottom", two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Reuters also seems to confirm that the headphone jack of the new iPhone will move to the bottom of the device, as shown here:

Reuters notes this will represent a big opportunity for accessory manufacturers as customers upgrade their existing accessories to new 19-pin compatible ones. Apple launched the original 30-pin dock connector with the 3rd generation iPod in 2003. Subsequent iPods, iPhones and iPads have shipped with the port and resulted in a large ecosystem of compatible accessories. The first report that Apple would be replacing their dock connector with a miniaturized one came in February 2012 from iMore.

Digitimes seemingly confirms a previous report that the next generation iPhone has already started production in China.

Pegatron has begun production of a new version of the Apple iPhone at its factory in Shanghai, eastern China, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

The newspaper cites "industry sources" for the knowledge.

Earlier this month, Japanese blog Macotakara first reported that the next generation iPhone had already gone into production. These reports do somewhat conflict with a BGR report that the next generation iPhone is still in an engineering verification test. BGR believes that the new iPhone will carry 1GB of RAM as well as both LTE and NFC support. Regardless, it seems there are ongoing signs that the next iPhone is approaching.

The next generation iPhone will likely launch in the September or October -- approximately one year after the launch of the iPhone 4S.

With just over a week left in the month of July that is expected to see the launch OS X Mountain Lion, 9to5Mac reports that Apple has officially distributed the final version of OS X Mountain Lion to members of its AppleCare support team. The company has provided employees with Mac App Store download codes to allow them to install the forthcoming operating system on their main work machines.

AppleCare representatives have been testing OS X Mountain Lion on special Macs and via remote computing for the past few weeks, but today’s news marks that the OS X Mountain Lion Golden Master seed has been supplied to representatives to be installed on their main work Macs.

The OS was supplied today to all AppleCare employees via a Mac App Store redeem code. Employees who have installed the build have confirmed that their seed is build 12A269, the same build provided to developers on July 9th.

Apple has yet to announce an exact launch date for OS X Mountain Lion beyond "July", but it appears that it could be targeting this Wednesday, July 25, with an announcement perhaps coming on the company's earnings conference call the day before. Apple used a similar launch strategy last year for OS X Lion, announcing as part of the introductory remarks for its earnings conference call that the operating system would launch the following day.

Just a little over a week since shipping estimates for new Retina MacBook Pro orders through Apple's online store saw their first improvement from 3-4 weeks to 2-3 weeks, timeframes have again been reduced. As with the previous improvement, the change has first appeared in Apple's Asia-Pacific markets, which have seen shipping estimates drop to 1-2 weeks.

Shipping estimates in Apple's other main distribution regions of the Americas and Europe/Middle East/Africa are holding steady at 2-3 weeks for the time being, but they will almost certainly see similar drops to the 1-2 week timeframe in the very near future.

Shipping estimates for the Retina MacBook Pro peaked at 3-4 weeks roughly 36 hours after the models were unveiled at last month's Worldwide Developers Conference, with estimates remaining at that level until last week's drop to 2-3 weeks. Availability at other online and brick-and-mortar retailers is also improving, in many cases beating Apple's online store estimates for stock models, but the company's online store is the primary source for customized orders.

Update: Estimates in Apple's online stores in the Americas have also moved to 1-2 weeks.

Update 2: Apple's European stores have now also seen improvement to 1-2 weeks.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that he wants other companies to "invent their own stuff", and that Apple shouldn't be "inventor for the world".

Google General Counsel Kent Walker disagrees, and this month wrote a letter to the US Senate Judiciary Committee arguing that commercial inventions that impact "consumer welfare" should be just as important as technical patents.

All Things D's John Paczkowski interprets Walker's argument thusly:

In other words, Google’s view is that just as there are patents that are standard essential, there are also patents that are commercially essential — patents that cover features that are so popular as to have become ubiquitous. The latter are just as ripe for abuse as the former, and withholding them is just as harmful to consumers and the competitive marketplace. Viewed through that lens, multitouch technology or slide-to-unlock might be treated the same way as an industry standard patent on, say, a smartphone radio.

Apple strongly disagrees. Bruce Sewell, Apple's top lawyer, writes a rebuttal letter to the committee, saying in part, that simply because a "proprietary technology becomes quite popular does not transform it into a ‘standard’ subject to the same legal constraints as true standards."

In other words, simply because an Apple technology is extremely popular with consumers, doesn't mean Apple has to license that technology to competitors. Apple owns numerous patents regarding nearly all iOS technologies, a fact that Steve Jobs touted when he launched the first iPhone in 2007.

From Sewell's letter:

The capabilities of an iPhone are categorically different from a conventional phone, and result from Apple’s ability to bring its traditional innovation in computing to the mobile market. Using an iPhone to take photos, manage a home-finance spreadsheet, play video games, or run countless other applications has nothing to do with standardized protocols. Apple spent billions in research and development to create the iPhone, and third party software developers have spent billions more to develop applications that run on it.

Though Tim Cook has said that he hates lawsuits -- once calling them "a pain in the ass" -- he has said he will staunchly defend Apple's inventions from copycats.

Steve Jobs was quoted in his biography as threatening to "go thermonuclear" on Google for what he considered the theft of Apple's intellectual property regarding the Android operating system. He pledged to spend every penny Apple had in the bank, a war chest that has since grown to more than $100 billion, fighting a legal battle with the company.

All Things D has the full text of both letters, as well as a much deeper analysis of the legal aspects of the situation.