iOS 7.1.1 Jailbreak Released! How to jailbreak iPhone, iPad and iPod?

We’ve got exciting news for the jailbreaking community: a somewhat sketchy iOS 7.1.1 untethered jailbreak has been released by the Chinese team PanGu. I [@ElieChahine] confirm that the tool works as expected, while iOS developer iH8sn0w and others have managed to install Cydia on devices running iOS 7.1 – 7.1.x…

How to jailbreak iOS 7.1.x with Pangu for Windows

Step 1: Download the latest version of Pangu from here:

• Pangu  1.0: Windows

Step 2: Plug your iOS 7.1.x device in to your computer’s USB port

Step 3: Run Pangu_v1.0.exe on your Windows machine. If you see weird characters, it may be due to Windows not displaying the Chinese character-set correctly. Simply follow along in our video above to see what we mean.

Step 4: Make sure the checkbox is unchecked, and click the Start Jailbreak button(The grey button).

Step 5: Pangu will ask you to go to Settings > General > Date & Time and disable the Set Automatically toggle. You will then need to set the date to June 2, 2014.

Step 6: The jailbreak process will start. Eventually you will see the Pangu app icon on the Home screen. Tap the Pangu icon to launch the Pangu app.

Step 7: Wait patiently, and the jailbreak will process. The video tutorial is sped up, the whole process takes about 10-15 minutes, so be patient.

Step 8: Once the jailbreak is completed, you should see a “enjoy your new jailbreak message”. Unlock your device, and you should see Cydia on the Home screen.

Congratulations. You now have an untethered jailbreak on iOS 7.1.x. Pangu should automatically set your date setting in Settings > General > Date & Time back to Set Automatically.

The jailbreak tool is currently limited to Windows, while a Mac version is in development. It would appear that the PanGu servers are currently being overloaded with users trying to download the jailbreak tool, so the download speed on the file has slowed to a crawl. We recommend that users stay away from the jailbreak until it is given the green light by trusted individuals in the community.

The jailbreak is compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPad 2 or later, iPad Air, iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch running iOS 7.1 or later. Just to state the obvious, the tool cannot be used to jailbreak the iOS 8 betas. If you decide to follow through with the jailbreak right away, against our advice, it is highly recommended that you at least back up your device.

iOS developer iH8sn0w has provided some interesting commentary on this new jailbreak, confirming that the jailbreak worked on his iPad 4 and that it is free of spyware and malicious trails. We are hearing that the jailbreak does install a piracy store, however, much to the chagrin of talented developers within the community. We are strongly against piracy of apps, and we hope you are too.

Again, while this jailbreak appears to be legitimate, we strongly recommend that you exercise caution in choosing to use the tool. There will be several incompatibilities with Cydia packages anyways, so there is little reason to upgrade if you are already jailbroken. If you’re running stock iOS 7.1.1, at least give it a few hours until the dust settles and we have a clearer picture of the jailbreak.

Stay tuned for more coverage of the iOS 7.1.1 jailbreak.

Apple Q2 2014 earnings: 43.7M iPhones, 16.3M iPads, $45.6B revenue!

As expected, Apple is out with its financial report for Q2 2014 this afternoon. In a press release issued just a few moments ago, Apple announced that it sold 43.7 million iPhones, 16.3 million iPads, and pulled in $45.6 billion in revenue during its fiscal Q2.

Other than iPad sales, Apple beat the Street estimates by a wide margin. The Cupertino company also announced an accelerated strategy for its stock buyback plans, adding an additional $30 billion to the pot (for a total of $90 billion), as well as a 7-1 stock split…

Here is the full breakdown of Apple’s Q2 earnings:

• iPhones: 43.7 million versus 37.7 million expected
• iPads: 16.35 million versus 19.7 million units expected
• Macs: 4.1 million versus 4.03 million expected
• iPods: 2.76 million versus 2.99 million expected
• Revenue: $45.6 billion versus $43.6 billion expected

And here are some comments from CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer:

“We’re very proud of our quarterly results, especially our strong iPhone sales and record revenue from services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re eagerly looking forward to introducing more new products and services that only Apple could bring to market.”

“We generated $13.5 billion in cash flow from operations and returned almost $21 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the March quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “That brings cumulative payments under our capital return program to $66 billion.” 

 

The last time Apple split its stock was back in 2005. Shareholders will receive six additional shares for each share they hold and the share price will drop to around $80. The company also increased the dividend by 8% per share, and says it plans to do so yearly.

Apple surpasses 500 million iPhone sales!

We’re now less than a week away from the end of Apple’s current quarter (January-March), and the company is expected to have sold around 38 million iPhones during the three month period. If true, the Cupertino firm has ventured into elite territory.

According to a Forbes report, Apple had sold around 472 million iPhones heading into its Q2 2014. And if its iPhone sales for the quarter come anywhere close to projections, it will mean that the company has [quietly] passed the 500 million iPhone mark…

Here’s Forbes’ Mark Rogowsky with more:

Apple has been known to mark big numerical milestones, celebrating the 50 billionth download from its App Store last May and the 30th anniversary of the Mac earlier this year. But it appears to have quietly let a big one pass within the last few weeks as somewhere on earth, the 500 millionth iPhone was sold. Despite much consternation in the media that the high-end of the market is reaching saturation, this data point demonstrates that iPhone sales continue to accelerate for Apple even if the rate of that acceleration is less breathtaking than it had been in the past.

The consensus seems to be that the 500 millionth iPhone would have been sold sometime around March 8, given the 472 million iPhones Apple had sold before the quarter and the 38 million it’s believed to have sold during the period. The math checks out.

Even though Apple didn’t announce it, the milestone is significant—particularly because the current narrative seems to be that iPhone sales are slipping due to the unsuccessfulness of the 5c and folks holding out of the oft-rumored, larger-display iPhone 6.

We should find out more about Apple’s iPhone sales during its Q2 earnings call, which is likely scheduled for late next month.

Apple Q1 2014 earnings: 51M iPhones, 26M iPads, $57.6B revenue!

As expected, Apple is out with its financial report for Q1 2014 this afternoon. It’s an important one, as it follows a number of product releases in the late fall of last year, and then of course the holiday season, where the company typically posts huge numbers.

And it continues that tradition today. In a press release issued just a few moments ago, Apple announced that it sold 51 million iPhones, 26 million iPads, and pulled in $57.6 billion in revenue during its fiscal Q1—all record-breaking for the Cupertino firm…

Here is the full breakdown:

• Revenue: $57.6 billion
• iPhone units: 51 million
  
• iPad units: 26 million
  
• Mac units: 4.8 million

And here are some comments from CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer:

“We are really happy with our record iPhone and iPad sales, the strong performance of our Mac products and the continued growth of iTunes, Software and Services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We love having the most satisfied, loyal and engaged customers, and are continuing to invest heavily in our future to make their experiences with our products and services even better.”

“We generated $22.7 billion in cash flow from operations and returned an additional $7.7 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the December quarter, bringing cumulative payments under our capital return program to over $43 billion,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.”

 

Apple may have sold record 55 million iPhones last quarter!

Morgan Stanley analyst, Katy Huberty predicts that 54-55 million iPhones have been sold in Q4 2013. If this is the case, then the iPhone could have very well had a record quarter.

The consensus on Wall Street is that Apple was able to move 53 million units of their popular smartphone; a slightly lower, but still overwhelmingly impressive number.

Q4 sales for electronics and smartphones are notoriously profitable for manufacturers due to the Holiday season. So it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise when it dips below the 55 million mark significantly in Q1 2014.

What are the predictions for 2014? Huberty sees 45 million iPhones sold through the end of March, and then 35 million until the end of June. This is only because iPhone buyers typically hold off on a new purchase in anticipation of the latest iPhone’s release. In this case, the iPhone 6. But the latest smartphone from Apple isn’t the only thing that the Cupertino-based tech giant has up their sleeve.

Huberty believes that there will be other services and products from Apple to look out for:

“We believe Apple is likely to launch new Internet-based services this year, including the potential for a mobile payments platform as early as the developer conference in June, in our view. Most importantly, we believe Apple will start to monetize services on top of the many assets they have, such as iBeacon, fingerprint sensor, 575M+ credit card accounts, and homogeneous iOS installed base. iWatch or a larger iPad form factor would also push consensus estimates higher.”

The Morgan Stanley analyst also predicts that Apple’s revenue could soar as high as $58 billion. We’ll know for sure on the 27th of this month, when Apple will release their latest quarterly results.