Tim Cook

[This post has been  updated .] The panel at Macworld was called "The State of Apple 2013. " But it could just as well have been called "In Defense of Apple. "  The Friday afternoon panel was moderated by Macworld senior editor Dan Moren and gathered four panelists he described as Apple fans. The group included Ryan Block, co-founder of the blog gdgt ; Christina Bonnington, a Wired writer; Jacqui Cheng, a senior editor at Ars Technica ; and John Gruber, who writes the influential Daring Fireball blog.

Apple Inc. is keeping up its economic momentum, selling 35 million iPhones and 12 million iPads on the way to its best second quarter ever. The company reported $39.2 billion in revenue, including $11.6 billion in profit, a near-doubling in earnings over the same quarter a year ago. The results once again surpassed the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who have repeatedly underestimated the company's rapid global growth.  The Wall Street consensus...

Apple Inc. reports its fiscal first-quarter earnings after the closing bell Wednesday. With the tech giant's shares falling as of late, and worries about demand and supply constraints for the iPhone 5, we're expecting the company's performance to be carefully dissected by analysts and investors. Here's what to look for: Apple has told Wall Street analysts that for its first quarter, which ended in December, investors should expect the company to report $52 billion in revenue and earnings of $11.75 a share. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that Apple will report $54.7 billion in revenue and $13.41 a share in earnings.

Apple began its new era with a creation unlike anything it had produced in years: disappointment. Instead of a major new product, the electronics giant unveiled an updated version of the iPhone 4 that it released 16 months ago. Even the name, iPhone 4S, resembled the old phone. Most observers had expected that in the company's first unveiling without co-founder Steve Jobs, Apple would try to show it was still capable of wowing crowds with stunning new devices. Immediately after the company showed off its updated smartphone, shares of Apple plunged nearly 5%. Though they largely recovered by the time the market closed, investors agreed that Tuesday's unveiling was not Apple's best performance.

Apple will today unveil its next iPad, with a higher resolution screen, upgraded processor, (hopefully) better cameras and (possibly) 4G LTE connectivity -- we think. The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant has invited the media to a company event at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts , where the first two generations of iPads have been launched at about the same time of year for the last two years. And since the iPad 2 made its debut on March 2, 2011, in a presentation by then-Chief Executive Steve Jobs -- who came back from his medical leave to unveil the device -- rumors have been sprouting as to what the next iPad would do and would look like to make it different than the first two Apple tablets.

The Justice Department laid out its price-fixing case Wednesday against Apple and five major publishers, three of whom settled without admitting any wrongdoing. On Friday it was Apple's turn to speak. As ever,  the company was terse. Here's the entire statement released by spokesman Tom Neumayr: The DOJ's accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true. The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry.

The decision by Apple Inc. boss Steve Jobs to take a medical leave after learning that his health issues were "more complex" than originally thought renews questions about the succession plan of a company whose fate has been closely linked to its charismatic leader. On Wednesday, only a week after assuring investors that he felt fit to lead the Silicon Valley giant, Jobs wrote in an e-mail to employees that he would pass day-to-day management duties to Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, until the end of June.

Apple Inc.'s 125% jump in quarterly profit stunned Wall Street, but it may be just a prelude to even bigger gains ahead. Apple managed to post a record $7.3 billion in fiscal third-quarter earnings despite not having released a blockbuster product in nearly six months. Now as the company prepares to roll out a slate of new products — including a new iPhone, Macintosh computers and a new mobile operating system — analysts say Apple could post larger profit in the second half of the year.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' death sparked an outpouring of sentiment and statements from fellow chief executives and other major figures in Silicon Valley, government and the entertainment industry. IN TECHNOLOGY: Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder , reached at dinner with his son, said he was so overwhelmed by calls that he could not get in touch with his emotions: "People sometimes have goals in life. Steve Jobs exceeded every goal he ever set for himself. " Tim Cook, Apple chief executive and Jobs' successor , in an email to employees: "Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.… We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

With Apple's stock hobbling and questions lingering about its ability to innovate in the post-Steve Jobs era, investors and fans are latching on to hopes that the tech giant's next big thing will be the iWatch. While little is known of the mythical gadget that has recently become the hottest topic of Silicon Valley's rumor mill, boosters envision a device that would let users read emails, Facebook notifications or caller ID by simply glancing down at their wrists. The smartwatch, connected wirelessly to the iPhone, would tap the power of the voice assistant Siri to control music, dictate messages or get directions.