Apple Pulls iOS 9.3.2 Update For 9.7-Inch iPad Pro

Apple has just released its iOS 9.3.2 update, but some owners of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro tablet who installed the latest OS were in for an unpleasant surprise.

Despite going through the usual beta testing and releases, the latest iOS turned a number of slates into bricks. After updating, users who encountered the bug saw a "Connect to iTunes" message. Unfortunately for them, the restoration process (via iTunes or DFU) failed to fix the "Error 56," as the bug is named.

9to5Mac reports that Apple is considering replacing the bricked iPad Pros at the Genius Bar, should the devices become a victim of Error 56. "We're looking into a small number of reports that some iPad units are receiving an error when updating the software," Apple notes.

It took a while before the manufacturing company took note of the issue and directed those affected toward contacting Apple support. The matter remained pending, until the OEM decided to curb the number of casualties among 9.7-inch iPad Pro tablets.

To do so, Apple has stopped distributing the iOS 9.3.2 to 9.7-inch iPad Pro slates. It should be noted that the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablets face no problems during the update.

This is not the first time that iOS updates have rendered Apple devices useless.

No sooner than a few months ago, the company launched iOS 9.3, which caused a number of older iOS gadgets to crash. Users who owned an iPhone 5s and earlier or an iPad Air and earlier complained of activation problems while attempting to step up to iOS 9.3.

After the incident, the iPhone maker put a pause on the update until a fixed version went live. As a reminder, the iOS 9.3 fix came rather quickly after the reports started to pile up, which allowed the update process to keep going at its normal pace.

Seeing how there is no official statement from the company about a temporary fix for those affected, there is a high chance that Apple will issue a new release for the tablets who suffered after the iOS 9.3.2 bug.

Credit: techtimes.com

Apple Announces Second Quarter Results

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2016 second quarter ended March 26, 2016. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $50.6 billion and quarterly net income of $10.5 billion, or $1.90 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $58 billion and net income of $13.6 billion, or $2.33 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.4 percent compared to 40.8 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 67 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

“Our team executed extremely well in the face of strong macroeconomic headwinds,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are very happy with the continued strong growth in revenue from Services, thanks to the incredible strength of the Apple ecosystem and our growing base of over one billion active devices.”

The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an increase of $50 billion to the Company’s program to return capital to shareholders. Under the expanded program, Apple plans to spend a cumulative total of $250 billion of cash by the end of March 2018.

“We generated strong operating cash flow of $11.6 billion and returned $10 billion to shareholders through our capital return program during the March quarter,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “Thanks to the strength of our business results, we are happy to be announcing today a further increase of the program to $250 billion.”

As part of the updated program, the Board has increased its share repurchase authorization to $175 billion from the $140 billion level announced last year. The Company also expects to continue to net-share-settle vesting restricted stock units.

The Board has approved an increase of 10 percent to the Company’s quarterly dividend, and has declared a dividend of $.57 per share, payable on May 12, 2016 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 9, 2016.

From the inception of its capital return program in August 2012 through March 2016, Apple has returned over $163 billion to shareholders, including $117 billion in share repurchases.

The Company plans to continue to access the domestic and international debt markets to assist in funding the program. The management team and the Board will continue to review each element of the capital return program regularly and plan to provide an update on the program on an annual basis.

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2016 third quarter:

• revenue between $41 billion and $43 billion
• gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38 percent
• operating expenses between $6 billion and $6.1 billion
• other income/(expense) of $300 million
• tax rate of 25.5 percent

Credit: Apple Inc. Press Release