q2
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Keychron's Q2 is a compact take on its popular customizable keyboard
We really liked the 75% Q1 keyboard, so when Keychron revealed a smaller, 65% version with the same customization we were intrigued.
Leica's latest Q2 camera only shoots in black-and-white
Leica has unveiled the Q2 Monochrom, a version of its compact full-frame camera focused on black-and-white photography.
Apple achieves a quarterly record amid iPhone launch uncertainty
It seems like Apple's steady cadence of product releases in the midst of a pandemic has seriously paid off. The company released its Q3 2020 earnings this afternoon, in which it reported $59.7 billion in quarterly revenue and $11.25 billion in net income -- that's up significantly compared to Apple's performance in the year-ago quarter. According to CEO Tim Cook, healthy growth across Apple's product and services divisions and notable sales gains around the world over the past three months have been enough to make this a record-setting quarter.
Samsung looks forward to quantum dot TVs, new game systems and phones
Samsung will launch its new Galaxy Note and Galaxy Fold devices next week, but its Q2 earnings rose on higher prices for memory chips and a one-time payment. Later this year it's predicting more growth in the mobile business from 5G, plus more demand for RAM due to new consoles launching.
Spotify says listener habits are almost back to pre-pandemic levels
People are trying to get back to normal, at least as far as Spotify knows.
Twitter sees record surge in user numbers
COVID-19 has pushed user numbers even higher, but at the cost of profitability.
Netflix plans to have even more originals in 2021
Netflix is fighting off competition HBO Max, Peacock and Disney+, adding more than 10 million subscribers in Q2 and racking up 99 million households viewing its big action release 'Extraction.'
Spotify adds 8 million paying customers in three months
In the three months since Spotify crested the 100 million Premium user mark, the company has added another 8 million paying customers. It's another sign of health from a music streaming service that continues to grow in the face of tough and well-heeled competition. In its second-quarter earnings, Spotify said that its overall membership grew from 217 million last quarter to 232 million now.
Samsung to fight falling profits with midrange phones, 'mainstream' 8K
As Samsung expected, its Q2 profit is off from last year's by about 56 percent. An operating profit of $5.6 billion (6.6 trillion Korean won) is no small figure, but obviously not up to par for the electronics giant, and follow a similar result in Q1 of this year. A big reason for the fall is a drop in prices for memory chips, which Samsung is a major supplier of for products like smartphones and servers. It's also negatively affected by weak iPhone sales since it supplies Apple with parts, and is facing slower sales for its own high-end phone models. Last year Samsung was looking toward foldable devices to help turn around the trend, and after a delay it's still expecting the Galaxy Fold to join its Galaxy Note 10 as an "innovative" new product launch. According to the company's report, it's also pushing ahead on 5G.
Twitter reports small user growth and small profits
If you ever needed proof that Twitter has reached a natural ceiling for its user figures, then its second quarter numbers are perfect. In the last three months, the company added just five million new daily active users, and coined a net profit of $37 million. Those aren't blockbuster numbers, but they do show that the platform now exists in a pleasant, and profitable, form of stasis.
Netflix Q2 report points to price hikes for lower than expected growth
Netflix just released its financial results for the second quarter of 2019 (PDF), and a number that jumps out is that its service grew by 2.7 million subscribers. That's a problem for shareholders because in its last report, the company predicted it would be up about 5 million in Q2, and in the US it actually lost more subscribers than it added for only the second time ever, dropping by 130,000. While any results tied to its juggernaut Stranger Things won't show up until the Q3 report arrives in a few months, Netflix said "Our missed forecast was across all regions, but slightly more so in regions with price increases." Another possible reason for the gap between expectations and reality is its big Q1 -- the company experienced its second-largest period of subscriber growth ever with 9.6 million new customers. Whatever the reason, Netflix's letter is quick to make sure no one makes the mistake of attributing the gap to competition (which mostly hasn't launched yet: Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max or NBCU) or highly-viewed licensed content that will go away in the future like The Office. Apparently Netflix believes this opens up more space in its budget for original content, and that even hits like that only make up a "low single digit percentage of streaming hours" that members quickly replace with other options on its service. Otherwise, it updated numbers for some of its big hits, like Murder Mystery, which stars Jennifer Aniston alongside Adam Sandler and is now the service's most-viewed Sandler flick with over 73 million households watching in its first four weeks. It also confirmed that in India, it will launch a lower-priced mobile-only package in Q3, and pushed back against rumors that it will add advertisements, saying that it prefers to be like HBO.
Leica's compact, full-frame Q2 captures 47MP photos and 4K video
Leica made a few waves with its original Q camera in 2015, and not without merit: the Q was a compact full-frame camera that took advantage of the company's reputation for high-quality lenses. You'll be glad to hear, then, that Leica is back with a full-fledged sequel. The just-unveiled Q2 borrows the same basic formula, including the non-removable 28mm f/1.7 prime lens, but gives you a much higher-resolution 47.3-megapixel sensor and, at last, 4K video capture. It's also billed as the only camera in its class (admittedly a rather small class) with dust and water resistance.
Samsung looks to foldable OLEDs as phone sales slow down
As expected, Samsung's Q2 2018 earnings report shows that operating profit is still up from last year and net profit for the same periods came in 0.1 percent lower as growth is slowing. While its memory chip and processor businesses remain strong, the premium smartphone market is "sluggish" and has more competition, so it's introducing the new Galaxy Note slightly earlier this year to expand sales. The new Note 9 will be revealed on August 9th, and could show us what Samsung has planned for its "unbreakable" flexible OLED technology. Samsung said it expected sales of flexible OLED to rebound in the second half, and said "the Company will incorporate more value-added features into panels and reinforce its competencies in new applications such as foldable displays" like the YOUM prototypes it showed off a few years ago or the device already rumored for launch in 2019.
The only Sony division to lose money this quarter was Mobile
Kaz Hirai's slimmer, fitter Sony hasn't just turned a corner, it's well on its way to earning its highest annual profit in years. The latest update on the company's financial health revealed that it pulled in $18.25 billion in revenue and squeezed out a quarterly net profit of $1.15 billion. As usual, it's Sony's two most prized businesses that stand out on the balance sheet: PlayStation and smartphone image sensors.
Tesla is getting 1,800 Model 3 reservations per day
After narrowly meeting its promise to launch the Model 3 in July, Tesla has released its latest earnings report (PDF). Other than slightly higher than expected revenue, the company says that since the delivery event, it has averaged 1,800 Model 3 pre-orders per day. Of course, if you're getting in line now you could be in for quite a wait. The company expects to build about 1,500 Model 3s during the third quarter, but is maintaining its prediction that it will expand production to reach 5,000 of the cars per week by the end of this year.
Over a million Americans quit Twitter in just three months
Controversial presidential announcements and celebrity revenge porn are all in a day's work for the social network everyone loves to hate. Now, Twitter has announced its most recent financial results and things aren't looking good for the microblog beloved by the leader of the free world.
Netflix blows past the 100 million subscriber mark
A year after subscriber growth slowed due to price hikes, Netflix says (PDF) it added more US customers in the last quarter than it has since 2011. The company is now up to 103.95 million subscribers worldwide, up 5.2 million from last count. The company also unveiled a new strategy (PDF) for explaining its spending on content, that's presumably more appropriate for its abundance of award-nominated shows. In the letter to investors, execs also discussed recent series cancellations, saying "As much as we dislike ending a series early, it consoles us that it frees up investment for another new show, or two."
The cloud and Office keep Microsoft afloat during PC slump
It's been clear for a while that a big part of Microsoft's future is ensconced in the cloud, and its latest (Q2 2017) earnings report just drives that point home. Wall Street types have been paying close attention to the company's Azure cloud services, and with good reason — Microsoft almost doubled its Azure revenue since this time last year, making up a considerable chunk of the Intelligent Cloud unit's 8 percent revenue bump.
When will LG's smartphone patience run out?
LG is happy to announce that, thanks to its home appliance and entertainment divisions, it's made a record quarterly profit. But the company is less delighted to concede that its mobile division has suffered another weak quarter, ostensibly due to lukewarm sales of the LG G5. But LG's problems run a lot deeper than just an underwhelming flagship: It hasn't booked a profit since the second quarter of 2015. Even then, it was making a measly 1.2 cents in profit on every handset it sold, which wasn't much to brag about.
Apple iPhone sales and revenue finally decline
The inevitable has finally happened. After years of continually growing iPhone sales (and corresponding revenue growth), Apple has hit a bump. The company just announced its fiscal Q2 2016 results, and the company sold 51.2 million iPhones, a 16 percent decline from the 61 million it sold one year ago. It's the first time iPhone sales have ever declined year-over-year. Similarly, revenues of $50.6 billion were down 13 percent from the $58 billion it made in Q2 2015. The company warned on its last earnings call that this was likely to happen, but it's still quite notable. Apple has describing its quarterly revenue as "record-breaking" for so long that it's hard to remember the last time it had a down quarter. (The Wall Street Journal says it's been an incredible 13 years.)
