Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
More Bad News: One bank says that demand for iPhones and iPads is falling and that Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) current quarter results will fall short of its own estimates, Business Insider reports. In a note to investors, Citigroup (NYSE:C) estimates that Apple will post second quarter sales of about $40.45 billion. That’s less than Apple’s own previously-stated guidance of between $41 billion and $43 billion. Citigroup analysts cited lower iPhone and iPhone component orders by Apple as evidence of declining demand for the products. Citigroup predicts that Apple will sell 34 million iPhones during the quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 35 million units. It also estimates that the company will sell 18 million iPads, with sales of the iPad Mini flattening during the quarter.
School-Bound: Apple has introduced a new iMac model specially designed and priced for learning institutions, PC Magazine notes. Pricing for the new iMac begins at $1,099 a unit. The new educational iMac offers the same exterior appearance, including a 21.5-inch screen, but features lower-cost internal components. Instead of quad-core Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) i5 processor, the new iMac offers a dual-core i3 chip. The amount of RAM has also been cut in half from 8GB in the consumer model, to 4GB in the educational iMac. The cheaper internals allowed Apple to cut the educational iMac’s price by $200 compared to the starting price for consumer iMacs.
High End: Apple’s Siri voice assistant integration now comes as a standard feature in Ferrari’s new four-wheel drive sports car, CNET notes. The new FF is the first four-seat car in Ferrari’s history and comes with two iPad Minis. The Italian luxury car-maker is currently negotiating to expand its existing partnership with Apple, which started last year after Apple SVP Eddy Cue became a member of Ferrari’s board. Apple has been working with a number of car-makers, including General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Honda (NYSE:HMC) to introduce iOS “Eyes Free” functionality, which uses Siri to accept and respond to voice commands in automobiles.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
