Thursday Apple Rumors: iPhone’s Q2 U.S. Market Share Rises

by Christopher Freeburn | August 8, 2013 11:06 am

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Advancing: While smartphones running Google‘s (GOOG[3]) Android operating system still account for slightly more than half of the U.S. smartphone market, Apple (AAPL[4]) is slowing increasing its market share[5], AppleInsider notes. During the second calendar quarter, Apple held a 39.9% share of the U.S. smartphone market, up from 39% in the first quarter of the year, according to an analysis by industry research firm ComScore. Android accounted for 52% of the smartphone market in both quarters, showing no growth. Among smartphone makers, both Apple and Samsung saw their shares of the U.S. smartphone market grow, while HTC, Motorola and LG saw their shares slip. Samsung, however, saw its share of the market rise by 2 percentage points, compared to Apple’s 0.9 percentage point rise. BlackBerry (BBRY[6]) now accounts for just 4.4% of the U.S. smartphone market, sliding from 5.2% in the prior quarter. By contrast, Microsoft‘s (MSFT[7]) Windows edged up from 3% of the market in the first quarter, to 3.1% during the second quarter.

Objection: The U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed remedy for Apple’s e-book price fixing isn’t sitting well with the five publishers accused of colluding with the iPad-maker[8], Reuters notes. The government accused Apple of conspiring with the publishers to increase the price of e-books sold through its iBookstore, which competes with e-book retail operations of Amazon (AMZN[9]) and Barnes & Noble (BKS[10]). The five publishers settled with the government prior to trial, leaving Apple to contest the charges on its own. Last month, a federal judge ruled that Apple had colluded with the publishers to raise e-book prices. The Justice Department has asked the court to impose restrictions on Apple’s e-book sales. The five publishers have filed a motion with the court arguing that the the government was seeking “to improperly impose additional, unwarranted restrictions on the settling defendants, thereby depriving each publisher of the benefit of its bargain” with the government. The five publishers collectively paid $166 million in fines to the government to settle the charges against them.

Double: Components allegedly made for the upcoming iPhone 5S show a possible change from the iPhone 5’s current camera[11], MacRumors notes. The purported iPhone 5S camera module was obtained a French-language website. Unlike the iPhone 5’s camera module, it does not include a ribbon attaching a flash device. This supports previous rumors that the iPhone 5S will include a dual-LED flash, which would be more powerful than the single-LED flash used in the iPhone 5. Some pictures of rear casings — claimed to be for the iPhone 5S — posted over the past few months, have shown a small oval portal that would accommodate a dual-LED flash. Apple is widely expected to launch the iPhone 5S in late September or early October. The new iPhone is also expected to feature a 12-megapixel camera, compared to the iPhone 5’s 8-megapixel camera.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[12] stories.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/08/thursday-apple-rumors-iphones-q2-u-s-market-share-rises/

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