News

Along with releasing its Q2 fiscal results today, Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an increase to its program to return capital to its investors. On top of that, the company also announced that its shares will be undergoing a seven-for-one stock split in June.

The expanded program allows Apple to spend up to $90 billion on share repurchases, up from the $60 billion that was announced last year. The company expects to use a total of $130 billion under the expanded program by the end of 2015. The increased buyback will generate capital for stockholders and is something

Apple today released its Q2 FY 2014 (ended March 29, 2014) earnings report, and the numbers did not disappoint. Tim Cook spoke glowingly of the better-than-expected performance, "We’re very proud of our quarterly results, especially our strong iPhone sales and record revenue from services." Almost all numbers were up, only iPad and iPod sales fell.

Apple posted a $45.6 billion quarterly revenue and a quarterly net profit of $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per diluted share. These numbers are up from last year's Q2 results, which were $43.6 billion, $9.5 billion and $10.09 respectively. The quarterly gross margin increased from 37.5 percent a year ago to 39.3 percent. Not only did this quarter outperform last year's Q2, but it also outperformed Apple's disappointing Q2 guidance, which caused a dip in stock prices in late January. The

Starting on February 11, 2015 Sprint will "provide any applicable MSL Code" to any customer who requests that their smartphone or tablet be unlocked so it can be used with another carrier. The change in Sprint's unlocking policy was spotted today by Android Police, and comes after the Federal Communications Commission pressured all five major U.S. carriers to give customers the choice to unlock their devices and switch mobile providers as they see fit.

Sprint notes on the company's unlocking FAQ page that "not all devices are capable of being unlocked," and that some devices will not retain all their functionality. For example, all iPhone models and other "devices manufactured with a SIM slot within the past three years cannot be unlocked to accept a different domestic carrier's SIM for use on another domestic carrier's network," according to Sprint. Your device and all its functionality will also need to be supported by the carrier you wish to switch to for it to work on that carrier's network.

Apple has released its first iOS update in over a month. iOS 7.1.1 brings "further improvements" to the Touch ID fingerprint recognition sensor on the iPhone 5s, and it fixes two keyboard bugs. The minor update is available now for the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPhone 4s and iPhone 4, iPad Air and iPad mini models.

iOS users can access the OTA update by navigating to Settings > General > Software Updates. You should avoid iOS 7.1.1 if you have a jailbroken device and want to keep it that way. Here's the very brief change log for the iOS 7.1.1:

Apple is celebrating Earth Day by launching a revamped reuse and recycling program for used electronics. The company is also highlighting its environmental focus in a new film titled Better. While the film mostly shows off Apple's large-scale solar arrays, the expanded recycling program continues to divert used electronics from landfills worldwide.

The recycling program is divided into two parts. The iPod and Mobile Phone Recycling Program will accept used iPods and any manufacturer's mobile phone free of charge. Bringing an iPod to any Apple store for recycling qualifies the customer for 10 percent off the purchase of a new iPod. Apple will also pay for packaging and shipping for those who mail the iPod or mobile phone out for recycling.