Analyst

What's three billion dollars between friends (and arch-rivals), right? Google will reportedly drop a cool $3bn into Apple's back pocket this year alone, one analyst firm has suggested, in return for being the default search engine on the iPhone, iPad, and other iOS hardware. Although unconfirmed by either company, it's an indication of just how valuable mobile users are, and how much importance Google places on its role there despite considerable mindshare.

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Apple's much-anticipated iPhone 8 will launch on time, one high profile analyst has predicted, but be warned: even if you can afford it, you might not be able to find one to buy. After months of back-and-forth over just how much the flagship iPhone for 2017 will cost, now J.P. Morgan analyst Rod Hall has weighed in with his own tweaked predictions. According to Hall, it's actually likely to be more expensive than he first expected.

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Prepare to dig deep if you want a shiny new iPhone 8 later this year, with analysts warning that the next-generation smartphone will command a budget-busting price tag. The iPhone 8 is expected to be just one of a trio of new iPhones that Apple launches in 2017, part of its annual upgrade cycle. However, in marking the tenth anniversary of the series, the iPhone 8 will not only debut all-new features but a new premium tier of pricing.

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Apple's controversial - and unconfirmed - decision to kill the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 might not make Bluetooth its primary replacement, it's been suggested, with a proprietary wireless standard tipped to flatter audiophiles. The new flagship smartphone, expected to be revealed at a keynote event tomorrow, has divided Apple fans amid leaks suggesting Apple will continue its war on wires by skipping the aged but still commonplace 3.5mm headphone socket.

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Ford's reluctance to allow Tesla to use the "Model E" name may have been less about heritage and more about launching its own electric car with the badge. The automaker is rumored to be planning to use at least some of the production capacity of its new $1.6bn facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to manufacture an electric vehicle that, in its various configurations, could rival Tesla's new Model 3, Toyota's Prius, and the Chevrolet Bolt.

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Apple's much-rumored iPad Pro will treat the stylus as an option, but one you'll need if you want Force Touch style pressure support according to one analyst's predictions. Tipped to be a 12.9-inch tablet focusing on graphics and multimedia professionals, the iPad Pro is widely expected to be announced later this year, but according to KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo it will have an official companion accessory never before seen with an Apple product.

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The iPad is a robust mobile productivity tool, but has also been seeing a sales decline. Over time, the fervor surrounding the tablet market has waned, and the iPad is often pointed to as a litmus test for the health of the tablet sector. A new report from KGI suggests good news is not on the horizon, and that Apple’s tablet will continue its sales tumble by roughly 30%. If you’re thinking Apple’s rumored iPad Pro (or whatever they call it) will save them, KGI says ‘think again’.

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It's not quite the android uprising Bill Gates and Elon Musk are afraid of, but it's domination of another sort, with shipments of smartphones running Google's OS topping one billion in 2014. The global milestone came as smartphone sales overall grew year-on-year, according to Strategy Analytics, with Android propelling its overall market share to more than 81-percent. For Google, it's the first year that Android shipments have reached one billion in just a twelve month period, though as we've seen in recent days, not every Android device manufacturer is celebrating.

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Apple's Q4 2014 may not only have been its best quarter ever for iPhone sales, but the point at which it overtook arch-rival Samsung in the smartphone business. The Cupertino firm announced a massive 74.5m iPhone sales in the final three months of last year, setting itself a new record and - according to at least one research firm - putting it on at least level-pegging with Samsung. The South Korean company has played coy with its Galaxy numbers, but it's clear that Apple's rapid ascent has dramatically closed (if not destroyed) the gap between the two.

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iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales will spike dramatically to more than 56.7m units, one analyst has predicted, though there may be a post-New-Year hangover in early 2015 when demand drops considerably. Apple's smaller of the two flagship smartphones will lead the charge, KGI's Ming-Chi Kuo suggests in a recently issued report to investors, expected to amount to almost 60-percent of all iPhone sales in Q4 2014 and help drive a quarter-on-quarter increase of 82-percent. The iPhone 6 Plus will also play a not-insignificant part, but there are a couple of factors which may hold it back.

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We are a data hungry country and we have the numbers to prove that. The US is on track to cross the $100 billion mark for revenue stemming from mobile data, according to analyst Chetan Sharma. You can say that it’s finally getting set in stone, that people are moving from the desktop to more mobile options like the smartphone and tablets.

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Word this afternoon comes from Timothy Arcuri of Cowen and Company that Apple's next iPhone - tentatively called the "iPhone 6" - will certainly be working with a 4.8-inch display. While it's possible this next-generation device could have a larger display - users have been waiting for such a change for quite some time, of course - the only real guarantee the public has is Apple's own word at reveal time. Regardless, Arcuri is suggesting that investors should take heed - a 4.8-inch display is on the way.

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