Apple’s Q3 Growth Spurt

Apple’s Q3 Growth Spurt

Apple sales are on the rise according to their latest stock reportings. Setting a record high on Wednesday, Apple stocks rose 5% to $157.14 per share. With the highly anticipated new product release later this year, Apple stocks are expected to increase again before their Q4 reports are released.
This news comes one year after the quarterly revenue fell for the first time in 13 years due to decreased sale in the Chinese markets. This year, Apple reports 2% increase in phone sales in the Chinese markets, but iPhone sales are not the only Apple product on the rise. The number of iPad sales increased 15% which can be accredited to changes in features as well as price ranges. By lowering the base price, consumers were inclined to purchase upgrades to the base model furthering sales. The newly redesigned iMac and MacBook Pros are also reportedly gaining interest in the declining personal computer industry. Sales in iTunes and the app store have increased 22% since the last quarter.

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Even with Apple’s growth in sales, other companies such as Google and Youtube are competing for the final quarter to see which Silicon Valley company prevails.

Google launched the Google Pixel earlier this year rivaling the iPhone and seems to be the solution to storage limits that iPhones often have. By using the Google cloud and allowing users free access to store millions of pictures rather than charging for storage increases, Google may be on top at the end of the year. Alphabet, the parent company to Google and Youtube successfully allocate funds that allow Youtube to grow as an advertising service and move into the autonomous car realm.

Facebook balances its earnings by limiting the amount of advertisements in news feeds by increasing the number of ads on their other platforms, Instagram and Facebook Messenger. Since it’s acquisition of Oculus, Facebook has taken a small loss as it struggles to come out on top on the virtual reality business.

Apple generally experiences cyclical sales, increasing rapidly as the new product drops in the Fall every two years. The holiday season also aids sales as consumers rush to buy their loved ones the newest technology on the market. Investors are hopeful to see the effect on sales this year, as the newest products come 3 years following the last big release.

The iPhone 8 is rumored to cost $1,000 which is an increase over the standard $800 predecessors. Will the sharp increase in price turn consumers away or will it further increase Apple’s net worth? As new information and specifications are leaked, consumers will be the ultimate deciding factor in how Apple performs in the final quarter. By the end of the third quarter, Apple has $45 billion in revenue and $262 billion in cash and marketable securities. Safe to say, they are expected to do well in the last quarter once initial excitement ends.

Get A Head Start On Upgrading Your iPhone

Get A Head Start On Upgrading Your iPhone

Since the first iPhone release in 2007, Apple continues to create unique smartphone products favorable for any person of any age, or gender. Apple is now in its 7th generation of iPhones, as well as the “s” and “c” series of the iPhone 5 and 6. Each generation and series is an upgraded version, with better-improved camera quality, speaker clarity and loudness, brightness, touch screen, sensitivity, and more. The release of iPhone 7 may have turned Apple lovers off due to the new headphone set, but as a 7 owner, I can honestly say it is a great phone. It’s stronger, the camera quality is fantastic. As with all iPhones, it comes with headphones adapted to the new port as well as a removable piece, so you can still use your old headphones.

sell iphoneThis isn’t to convince you to buy the 7. Instead, this is to explain why selling your current iPhone is beneficial prior to the release of the next generation. If you know that you plan to get the iPhone 8, or if you have a box full of old iPhones, selling your products can give you a pocket full of cash. Depending on the generation, accessories, and condition of your iPhone, you are looking at a decent amount of cash for your personal spending or to put toward the newest Apple product you’ve been desiring. You can make anything from $98 with a 16G Phone 6 with its charger and USB in “very good” condition. See how much your series is worth at SellMyMac. 

SellMyMac sells all Apple products from phones, MacBooks, iMacs, Apple Watches, Mac Minis, and other products. Surf their sale page to see which products they will buy from you.

sell iphone

 Although there are many other sites such as eBay and competitor sites, SellMyMac is a much simpler and quicker process and offers competitor prices. The process includes filling out the form and receiving a quote, wipe and delete personal data and iCloud, and printing the shipping label. You will receive your payment in either check form or through PayPal one day after it is received. Avoid long lines and seeking out buyers, sell iPhone(s) at SellMyMac for fast and efficient service.

Contact us by phone at 212 840-0415 or fill out the form provided by clicking on the link for any and all questions!

16 Free iPhone Apps to Download in 2017

16 Free iPhone Apps to Download in 2017

 

Apps rise and fall on the app store every day, few even struggling to make the top 100. Sure there are the mainstream apps such as Youtube, Facebook and Snapchat that are always on the chart but there are newbies that are sure to keep you entertained for a few hours. Most of them start off as free trials that can be upgraded with either a monthly subscription or one-time unlock code. The best part of them being free is that you can try them out before shelling out an iTunes gift card.

Entertainment:
  1. Lake: Lake is a freemium coloring book app that’s great for relaxing and winding down after a stressful day, and is great with kids and adults alike. The app comes with a selection of free illustrations, and each day, users can unlock and color a single new illustration, using coloring tools such as an acrylic or watercolor brush, spray paint, or a fill tool, with a gradient color wheel and custom palettes. In-app purchases can unlock new coloring books, and a subscription unlocks all content.
  2. Marvel: Color Your Own: Experience the Marvel Universe like never before. Full of action-packed designs and exclusive coloring tools, you can become a part of the creative process and bring your own artistic choices to the Marvel Universe. An unlimited access subscription unlocks new pages every week, premium brushes and allows you to save your masterpiece in high resolution without a watermark.
  3. Pigment: Pigment is the ultimate stress reliever on the go! Take a break and relax with this unique coloring book app that lets you color like you would on paper, unlike other “tap-to-fill” coloring apps. Choose from the largest collection of hand-curated, professionally drawn illustrations, 21 different kinds of pencils, markers and brushes, and an unlimited number of colors to choose from. Once you’re done, easily share them with your friends and family, and even print them out using AirPrint. Subscribe to Premium Access for unlimited access to the entire library, premium brushes, and exclusive color palettes.
  4. SeetGeek: SeetGeek is the easiest way to find great deals on tickets to thousands of sporting event, concerts, and Broadway shows. Every deal is color coded from best to worst and mapped on an interactive seating chart with real photographs from every section. Also, allows you to send tickets to friends, and discover new events tailored to you.
Health and Fitness:
  1. 8fit: Your roadmap to a healthier, leaner, fitter you. 8fit is your personal fitness trainer. Get customized workout & meal plans to get fit & healthy. Skip the gym and realize your potential. 8fit’s plans take 15-20 minutes and can all be done at home. 8fit provides customized and highly efficient exercise and nutrition plans to make getting fit simple. Download 8fit and try the free workouts. The Pro edition includes customized meal plans and complete workout programs, targeted to your fitness level.
  2. Calm: Calm is the #1 app for mindfulness and meditation to bring more clarity, joy, and peace to your daily life. Join the millions experiencing less anxiety and better sleep with our guided meditations, breathing programs and Sleep Stories. Recommended by top psychologists and mental health experts to help you de-stress. Calm is the perfect meditation app for beginners, but also includes hundreds of programs for intermediate and advanced users. Guided meditation sessions are available in lengths of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes so you can choose the perfect length to fit with your schedule.
  3. Map My Run: Track and map every run with MapMyRun. For every mile you go, you’ll get feedback and stats to help you improve your performance. Discover new work out routes and save or share your favorites, and get inspired to reach new running goals with a 40 million member strong community of runners. Whether you’re a beginner looking to log your first mile or a seasoned runner, you’ll find the features and tools you need to stay on track and motivated along the way.
  4. Myfitnesspal: Lose weight with MyFitnessPal, the fastest and easiest-to-use calorie counter for iOS. With the largest food database by far (over 5,000,000 foods) and amazingly fast and easy food and exercise entry, we’ll help you take those extra pounds off! And it’s FREE! There is no better diet app – period. Easily connects and seamlessly integrates with over 50 apps and devices including Apple Health, Fitbit, Jawbone UP, Garmin, MapMyFitness, Runkeeper, Strava, Runtastic, Misfit, Withings, and more! Works with virtually every fitness app and device.
Photo & Video:
  1. Giphy: The world’s largest library of animated GIFs, now on your mobile phone! GIPHY for iOS is the fastest, simplest way to search and share GIFs across all of your favorite social channels. Faster than ever, but still wicked easy. Now with an Auto-Play on/off switch for those annoying moments spent on a poor connection to the inter webs, and 3D touch for quick access. Don’t forget to switch on the iMessage extension in iOS 10 for even quicker access to all of the GIFs, right from your keyboard. Send GIFs and add stickers without leaving your conversation!
  2. Filmmaker Pro: Create and manage unlimited projects. Manage, share/export projects’ underlying assets through the unique File Manager view. 4K video support on iPhone SE, iPhone 6s/Plus, iPhone 7/Plus, and iPad Pro. Support for unlimited video clips, audio tracks, voiceovers, and text overlays. Auto save ensures that edits are never lost.
  3. PicsArt Photo Studio: With 1000s of amazing features, PicsArt’s photo editor has everything you need to make every picture awesome. It includes tools to create cutouts, crop, stretch, clone, add text and adjust curves. It also has a full library of artistic photo filters (including HDR), frames, backgrounds, borders, callouts and more. All tools have a brush mode for fine-tuning and applying selectively on a part of your photo. PicsArt provides 100s of fonts for adding text to your pictures and making killer text overlays. PicsArt also provides a rapidly evolving set of AI-powered, Prisma-style effects. With the collage maker, drawing tools, photo editor, camera and more, PicsArt’s your all-in-one creative suite. And it’s FREE.
  4. VSCO: VSCO (formerly VSCO Cam) is the best mobile app to edit, share and discover your photos. Best of all, this powerful photo editor is free to download. Capture an image, then enhance it with your favorite filter to get the look you want. Choose from a host of free editing tools like fade, clarity, skin tone, tint, sharpen, saturation, temperature and more, each with manual adjustments. Transform your photos into something beautiful and express yourself creatively. Unlock more with a yearly subscription!
Productivity:
  1. Bear: Bear is a flexible writing and note-taking app that works great for jotting down quick notes, doodling, writing poetry or prose, or even collecting snippets of code. Focus mode lets you get right down to business, and a markup editor supports 20 different programming languages. Inline image and photo support combined with Apple Pencil and hand sketching makes adding scribbles, doodles, and illustrations a simple task. Bear also includes cross-note links and tag support for easy searching. A pro subscription includes note syncing, export options for multiple file types and extra editing tools.
  2. Hotspot Shield: Free trial for 7 days. Hotspot Shield VPN is the most trusted security, privacy and access platform with top performance on speed, stability, and security. Hotspot Shield enables users’ online activities, sites visited, searches and personally identifiable information to always stay private and secured. Get complete protection from cyber criminals – Hotspot Shield’s banking-level encryption hides your IP address from snoopers.
  3. Nebo: MyScript’s Nebo is a feature-rich note-taking app built with the iPad and the Apple Pencil in mind. Featuring MyScript’s Interactive Ink technology, Nebo automatically parses your handwritten notes into text, while allowing you to easily format your text, add extras like emphasis, underlining, bullet points, diagrams, mathematical notations, and picture annotation. Users can write equations and calculate or export to LaTeX, export text into Microsoft Office documents or text files, and search through your notes to quickly find something you’ve scribbled down. If you’re more about jotting down notes as opposed to typing them down, MyScript Nebo is an incredibly versatile note-taking tool.
  4. Word Flow: The Microsoft Garage continues churning out interesting app projects for mobile devices, among them, Word Flow, an iOS keyboard alternative designed to work with one-handed, thumb-swiping typing while on the go. Word Flow displays the keyboard in a radial arc, allowing you to more easily swipe with your thumb to the right keys without having to go through painful contortions. In addition, the app comes with the usual features of a good mobile keyboard such as a recommendation and autocorrect engine and neat extras like customizable backgrounds.

Thinking of trading your phone into the Apple store? Avoid the long lines and sell your device to us instead! We buy devices from all major carriers including but not limited to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon as well as unlocked phones. If you have the original box and charger we will pay you more for your device! We make the process easy and convenient with our calculator program that gives you an accurate price and takes care of the shipping label as well. Sell My Mac offers top dollar for used or broken electronic equipment with a quick and simple transaction. Turn your old apparatus into cash towards your upgrade. It doesn’t get any simpler than this!

Interested? Simply visit our website, answer a few questions about your device and we will send you a free kit to ship us your product. You will also receive a quote from our site notifying you of your device’s value. Once we receive your item, we will be in contact to verify some details about your device and process your payment. It’s that easy!

Remember the quote is good for 10 days after the shipping label is printed out, so time is of the essence when selling your products to us in shipping them to our location as soon as possible.

Questions? Send us an email and we will be in contact soon.

Top Business/Productivity Apps for iPhone

Top Business/Productivity Apps for iPhone

When it comes to using a smartphone in a work environment, most people prefer using an iPhone. While there are definitely some well made arguments on both sides from Android users and IOS users, it is still not a bad idea to have options out there. For those using an iPhone there are a lot of business/productivity apps for every preference. Many of these apps also work on Android and all of them are FREE!

Microsoft Office  Apps:

iphone appsThere are a variety of Microsoft Office apps in the iTunes store. They come separately as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Note, etc. There’s also an all-in-one version that is old. Do not download that one since it is very limited and has been abandoned by Microsoft. The new and improved apps will allow you to edit your files on the go and keep them synchronized across all your devices. You can also edit your files offline, making it easy to be productive even when you do not have a wireless connection.

Freshbooks:iphone apps

As an accounting app, Freshbooks stands as one of the best in the iTunes store. Its easy to use interface allows you to record and track your expenses and even help you file your taxes! It also works great for businesses, especially when working on projects that are on a budget, so each expense is carefully recorded and tracked so that you know where each cent goes!

Google Docs/Sheets/Slides:

Working in the cloud has never been more convenient.  Using Google’s apps for editing files, in their Docs, Sheets, and iphone appsSlides apps are helpful when creating a presentation, report, or anything else. This is even more useful when working in teams/groups. Everything is edited in real-time, but if for any reason you are offline, you can still edit the files and then it updates to the cloud when a wireless signal connects to your device. While this may not be for everyone and not as professional looking as Microsoft Office’s apps, it still provides a free and easy to use interface that the Office apps do not have at the moment.

Adobe Reader:

iphone apps

Having a PDF reader app is essential when working in a business. Many companies are starting to convert their files to PDF format since it preserves the formatting of the file. This is also a great work-around for when there are people using different operating systems.  It is especially helpful when there are forms to be filled out and digital signatures are needed.

Mail Chimp:

iphone appsIf you are looking to distribute emails, then Mail Chimp is for you. It allows users to manage their lists, edit and even create new ones on their phone without needing a desktop! So the next time you want to send an email blast, consider using Mail Chimp to help you with that!

 

 

Thinking of trading your phone into the Apple store? Avoid the long lines and sell your device to us instead! We buy devices from all major carriers including but not limited to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon as well as unlocked phones. If you have the original box and charger we will pay you more for your device! We make the process easy and convenient with our calculator program that gives you an accurate price and takes care of the shipping label as well. Sell My Mac offers top dollar for used or broken electronic equipment with a quick and simple transaction. Turn your old apparatus into cash towards your upgrade. It doesn’t get any simpler than this!

Interested? Simply visit our website, answer a few questions about your device and we will send you a free kit to ship us your product. You will also receive a quote from our site notifying you of your device’s value. Once we receive your item, we will be in contact to verify some details about your device and process your payment. It’s that easy!

Remember the quote is good for 10 days after the shipping label is printed out, so time is of the essence when selling your products to us in shipping them to our location as soon as possible.

Questions? Send us an email and we will be in contact soon.

Should I Upgrade to the iPhone 7?

Should I Upgrade to the iPhone 7?

It seems as soon as you get used to your iPhone, Apple releases a new one. As technology advances, Apple is constantly under pressure to release a better device that can compete with other top brands such as Samsung, LG, Motorola, and Google. While we await the next iPhone release, let’s compare the iPhone 6, 6s and iPhone 7. What makes them different and should you consider upgrading your device or should you just wait for the iPhone 8?

The iPhone 7 (left) and iPhone 6 (right) show how little the iPhone has changed externally in three generations. Image credit: Apple

 

 

 

The iPhone 7 (left) and iPhone 6 (right) show how little the iPhone has changed externally in three generations. Image credit: Apple

 

 

 

 

Appearance:

It’s easy to mix up these three phones with a quick glance as they all use the same core design Apple introduced with the iPhone 6 in 2014:

  • iPhone 6 – 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 in) and 129 g (4.55 oz)
  • iPhone 6S – 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in) and 143 g (5.04 oz)
  • iPhone 7 – 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in) and 138 g (4.87 oz)

The iPhone 6 uses Series 6000 aluminum, which is prone to bending, but this is fixed by the iPhone 6S which uses much stronger Series 7000 aluminum. Meanwhile, the iPhone 7 retains this stronger chassis while adding water resistance (allow 30 minutes full submersion at depths of up to one meter) and a fixed home button with haptic (vibration) feedback which eliminates an infamous point of failure.

The iPhone 7 has external dual stereo speakers after Apple beefed up the earpiece speaker. This makes a dramatic difference to audio and is ideal for listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

But you also pay a price for the iPhone 7 as Apple has removed the headphone jack. If you use wireless headphones this won’t matter, but if you prefer wired you will need adapters and you can’t listen to music and charge your phone at the same time without an additional adapter. Apple says its removal allowed it to add water resistance, but Samsung achieved this while keeping the jack (at least for now).

The iPhone 7 also drops the iPhone 6S’s Space Grey color option leaving Rose Gold, Gold, Silver, Black and (for just 128GB and 256GB options) introducing the truly dreadful Jet Black – avoid it like the plague!

Display:

Apple’s inability to source OLED panels in large enough quantities for its iPhone range has long given rivals a welcome advantage. As such on paper, the iPhones’ screens look rather pathetic, but there is more to these raw specifications than meets the eye:

  • iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 – 4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD, 1334 x 750 pixels (326 ppi), 65.6% screen-to-body ratio

Firstly Apple has been making these panels brighter and more color accurate with each generation. For example, the iPhone 7 is 25% brighter than the iPhone 6S (which was already brighter than the iPhone 6) and has support for a wide (P3) color gamut. It’s not OLED and the resolutions are low by today’s standards but iPhones represent the best LCD panels you’ll find.

In addition to this the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 offer 3D Touch which gives users pressure sensitive ‘peek and pop’ shortcuts. It’s hard to tell what is and isn’t 3D Touch enabled which stops the system being intuitive, but where it does work (notably previewing emails and URLs and shortcuts on app icons) there are signs of its undoubted potential.

Performance:

Apple keeps setting new records:

  • iPhone 6 – Apple A8 chipset: Dual-core CPU,  Quad core GPU, 1GB of RAM
  • iPhone 6S – Apple A9 chipset: Dual-core CPU, GPU: Six Core GPU, 2GB of RAM
  • iPhone 7 – Apple A10 Fusion chipset: Quad Core CPU, Six Core GPU, 2GB of RAM

What do these changes mean? In short, the iPhone 6S CPU and GPU are 70% and 90% faster respectively than the iPhone 6, while the iPhone 7 has a 40% faster CPU and 50% faster GPU than the iPhone 6S. It’s a tremendous change in two generations. That said speed is relative to your needs and an iPhone 6S will still deliver top notch performance for the next few years.

Lastly, the iPhone 6S introduced a second generation Touch ID fingerprint sensor which is twice as fast and accurate as the iPhone 6, but it is unchanged in the iPhone 7.

Camera Quality:

But what if you’re committed to Apple’s ecosystem? Looking at the specifications alone, a lot has changed:

  • iPhone 6 – Rear: 8-megapixel sensor, f2.4 aperture, Focus Pixels, EIS, dual-LED flash, 4K video recording. Front: 1.2MP Front Camera, f2.4 aperture, 720p video recording
  • iPhone 6S – Rear: 12-megapixel sensor, f2.2 aperture, Focus Pixels, Software Image Stabilisation, dual-LED flash, 4K video recording. Front: 5MP Front Camera, f2.2 aperture, 720p video recording
  • iPhone 7 – Rear: 12-megapixel sensor, f/1.8 aperture, Focus Pixels, Optical Image Stabilisation, quad-LED (dual tone) flash, 4K video recording. Front: 7MP sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 1080p recording

Elsewhere the iPhone 7 also adds ‘Raise to Wake’ (pick up the phone to preview notifications), which isn’t available on the other two models while ‘Tap to View’ (double tap the screen for the same effect) is coming but set to be an iPhone 8 exclusive.

Battery Life: 

While the Plus models remain stamina kings, the 4.7-inch models fall way behind both them and iPhone rivals with minimal capacity changes:

  • iPhone 6 – 1810 mAh
  • iPhone 6S – 1715 mAh
  • iPhone 7 – 1960 mAh

Yes, the iPhone 6S actually took a step backwards so Apple could squeeze in the haptic vibration motor for 3D Touch and the iPhone 7 doesn’t improve much over the iPhone 6 despite removing the headphone jack as Apple used most of the space to enlarge the haptic motor so it also could power the fixed home button.

One still relatively unknown hack is you can speed up iPhone charge times by using an iPad charger, but Apple still provides a low power charger in the box. Even then there remains no comparison to the mature quick charging technologies in Android rivals which can deliver a 30% charge in 15 minutes. What about wireless charging? Again that’s off the list, though yet again the iPhone 8 offers hope.

Storage and Pricing:

Apple doubled storage for both the iPhone 7 and (retrospectively) the iPhone 6S:

  • iPhone 6 – 16GB, 64GB, 128GB (no longer available to buy new)
  • iPhone 6S – 32GB ($549) and 128GB ($649) – no 256GB option available
  • iPhone 7 – 32GB ($649), 128GB ($749) and 256GB ($849)

 

A quick glance between the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 would suggest Apple has been standing still for the last three generations, but there have been consistent improvements each year. Given their price differences, choosing between the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 is more difficult than it should be but the iPhone 6 is a model that is now starting to show its age. Or you could hold onto your device until the release of the iPhone 8, which is meant to dramatically change the look of iPhones after the initial release 10 years ago.

Thinking of trading your phone into the Apple store? Avoid the long lines and sell your device to us instead! We buy devices from all major carriers including but not limited to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon as well as unlocked phones. If you have the original box and charger we will pay you more for your device! We make the process easy and convenient with our calculator program that gives you an accurate price and takes care of the shipping label as well. Sell My Mac offers top dollar for used or broken electronic equipment with a quick and simple transaction. Turn your old apparatus into cash towards your upgrade. It doesn’t get any simpler than this!

Interested? Simply visit our website, answer a few questions about your device and we will send you a free kit to ship us your product. You will also receive a quote from our site notifying you of your device’s value. Once we receive your item, we will be in contact to verify some details about your device and process your payment. It’s that easy!

Remember the quote is good for 10 days after the shipping label is printed out, so time is of the essence when selling your products to us in shipping them to our location as soon as possible.

Questions? Send us an email and we will be in contact soon.