JetBrains Academy for learning code launches for free during COVID-19 pandemic

During this pandemic, many organizations are offering free or drastically cheaper courses to help people skill-up for when we eventually get out of lock-down. There are numerous outlets if you want to learn to code from, for instance, Freecodecamp or the ‘Free Fridays‘ scheme form General Assembly. And for gamers, Gamedev.tv has taken 80% off its courses where you can learn to code by building video games.

However most online coding courses, either free or paid, essentially suggest you download a project or copy-paste code from their snippets going through their courses. They tend not to include Integrated Development Environments, which are more helpful in the learning process.

But JetBrains, a startup that makes development tools for developers actually developed its own Educational IDEs, realised they could take a fresh approach to online learning, especially during this pandemic.

Their own IDE means that, while some of the learning happens in the browser, a large part is be available in the IDE on a person’s computer. That means a student learn coding through practicing tasks and integrated tests – directly in the professional environment of the IDE and get instant feedback.

This new product, JetBrains Academy, was due to be launched out of beta just prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19, and it would have been a paid-for product. But now JetBrains has decided to make the entire platform free during the pandemic, allowing people stuck at home or who were laid off or furloughed to learn new skills.

Students can learn Java, Python or Kotlin (the preferred language for Android development by Google) through 60+ projects which they would be building themselves and then get instant feedback because of the IDE. They are provided with the full curriculum that consists of single-concept topics that can be completed in about 15 minutes and try out more than 5,700 interactive challenges.

They are also offering free Educational IDEs, that help teach coding through practicing tasks and integrated tests – directly in the professional environment. These support Java, Kotlin, Python, Scala, JavaScript, Rust, C/C++, and Go, with more languages to come. Any teacher can create their own educational course right in the IDE with any number of lessons and share them privately or publicly with their students.

In addition, students, teachers, schools and courses can apply for educational licenses for full-on JetBrains IDEs and team tools and use them for free.

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Apple’s Q2 earnings show flat year-over-year revenue growth due to pandemic

Apple delivered a rough Q2 earnings report Thursday, besting investor expectations but showing a significant growth slowdown as the coronavirus pandemic deeply impacted the company’s business with year-over-year declines in iPhone, iPad and Mac sales.

Apple’s stock was largely unchanged in after-hours trading.

The company shared that in Q2 it earned $58.30 billion in revenue, better than the $54.54 billion investors were expecting. The figure represents 1% year-over-year revenue growth for the company.

In February, the company issued an update to its Q2 guidance, saying that it did not expect to meet its earlier estimates due to fallout driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company did not update its previous guidance, which said they expected to earn between $63 billion to $67 billion in Q2. Apple notably did not offer guidance for Q3 in this release.

In terms of earnings per share, the company delivered $2.55 compared to the $2.26 investors had expected. Apple also shared that they were increasing their share buyback program by $50 billion and would be hiking dividends by 6%.

Apple saw year-over-year declines in its iPhone, iPad and Mac categories, only showing gains in Services and its “Wearables, Home and Accessories” category. Hardware as a whole was down year-over-year. The company posted $28.96 billion in net iPhone sales compared to $31.05 billion in Q2 2019.

After a very rough March, most big tech stocks have been roaring back into growth in April. Apple is in a more difficult position than other ad-driven businesses given the global complexity of its hardware supply chain.

“We are proud of our Apple teams around the world and how resilient our business and financial performance has been during these challenging times,” Apple CFO Luca Maestri said in a statement accompanying the release.

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Smartphone shipments dropped 13% globally, and COVID-19 is to blame

We knew it was going to be bad — but not necessarily “lowest level since 2013” bad. As Apple was busy reporting its earnings, Canalys just dropped some of its own figures — and they’re not pretty. After two quarters of much-needed growing, the global smartphone market just took a big hit. And you no doubt already know who the culprit is.

The mobile industry joins countless others that have taken a massive hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with shipments dropping 13% from this time last year. Here’s a graph for those of you who are visual learners:

Analyst Ben Stanton used the word “crushed” to describe the novel coronavirus’s impact on the mobile market. “In February, when the coronavirus was centered on China, vendors were mainly concerned about how to build enough smartphones to meet global demand,” he writes. “But in March, the situation flipped on its head. Smartphone manufacturing has now recovered, but as half the world entered lockdown, sales plummeted.”

First it was impact on the global supply chain, which is centered in Asia, along with a drop in demand among consumers in China. As Europe, the U.S. and other locations continue to live under shelter in place order, demand in those markets has taken a significant hit. People are stuck inside and many have lost jobs — it’s not really the ideal time to consider shelling out $1,000+ for what still seems a luxury for many.

Samsung regained the top spot, while still losing significant numbers. Both it and the number two company, Huawei, were down 17% for the quarter. Apple, at number three, dropped 8%. Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi and Vivo saw some gains, at 9- and 3%, respectively.

There are bound to be rough times ahead as well. Per Stanton, “Most smartphone companies expect Q2 to represent the peak of the coronavirus’ impact.” Apple noted the uncertainty of its own earnings by opting not to issue guidance for next quarter.

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iPhone sales are down, ahead of uncertain times for the industry

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Apple device sales have taken a hit, but the company’s services are doing swell. The iPhone, the longtime cornerstone of the company’s hardware portfolio hit $28.96 billion in revenue for Q2, down from $31.1 billion from this time last year. The iPad and Mac lines saw drops for the quarter, as well.

The company had already sounded the alarm bells for a weakened demand, due to the growing threat of COVID-19. Way back in February, Apple noted that the coming pandemic was set to both impact the global supply chain and weaken demand in China. “All of our stores in China and many of our partner stores have been closed. Additionally, stores that are open have been operating at reduced hours and with very low customer traffic,” it said at the time.

Apple’s Q2 earnings show flat year-over-year revenue growth due to pandemic

While aspects of life have returned to normal in China, the virus has subsequently taken a huge hit to much of the rest of the world, including Apple’s home in the U.S., which continues to lead the world in COVID-19 cases.

Unsurprisingly, CEO Tim Cook struck a consolatory note in a press release, in spite of the company’s decision not to offer third-quarter guidance. “Despite COVID-19’s unprecedented global impact, we’re proud to report that Apple grew for the quarter, driven by an all-time record in services and a quarterly record for wearables,”  he writes.

Wearables were, indeed, up. The category, which also includes home and accessory products like the HomePod, was up to $6.3 billion from $5.1 billion. The category continues to be a success on the strength of the Apple Watch and AirPods lines. Services, too, continue to grow steadily, up to $13.3 billion from $11.5 billion. That category seems to be a reasonably safe bet, as users turn to offerings like Apple Music and Apple TV+ during the on-going stay at home period.

The next iPhone could be delayed a month, as pandemic wears on

The future for smartphones continues to be a rocky one, going forward. The company recently introduced the SE in a bid to appeal to consumers put off by $1,000+ price tags. And Apple’s certainly not alone there. The entire industry has taken a hit in recent years, well before the arrival of the novel coronavirus.

Apple and other companies were expected to get a boost from the arrival of 5G, though everything is currently up in the air, due to the pandemic. That reportedly also includes the arrival of a 5G iPhone, which is said to have potentially been pushed back a month over supply chain issues.

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iPhone sales are down, ahead of uncertain times for the industry

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Apple device sales have taken a hit, but the company’s services are doing swell. The iPhone, the longtime cornerstone of the company’s hardware portfolio hit $28.96 billion in revenue for Q2, down from $31.1 billion from this time last year. The iPad and Mac lines saw drops for the quarter, as well.

The company had already sounded the alarm bells for a weakened demand, due to the growing threat of COVID-19. Way back in February, Apple noted that the coming pandemic was set to both impact the global supply chain and weaken demand in China. “All of our stores in China and many of our partner stores have been closed. Additionally, stores that are open have been operating at reduced hours and with very low customer traffic,” it said at the time.

Apple’s Q2 earnings show flat year-over-year revenue growth due to pandemic

While aspects of life have returned to normal in China, the virus has subsequently taken a huge hit to much of the rest of the world, including Apple’s home in the U.S., which continues to lead the world in COVID-19 cases.

Unsurprisingly, CEO Tim Cook struck a consolatory note in a press release, in spite of the company’s decision not to offer third-quarter guidance. “Despite COVID-19’s unprecedented global impact, we’re proud to report that Apple grew for the quarter, driven by an all-time record in services and a quarterly record for wearables,”  he writes.

Wearables were, indeed, up. The category, which also includes home and accessory products like the HomePod, was up to $6.3 billion from $5.1 billion. The category continues to be a success on the strength of the Apple Watch and AirPods lines. Services, too, continue to grow steadily, up to $13.3 billion from $11.5 billion. That category seems to be a reasonably safe bet, as users turn to offerings like Apple Music and Apple TV+ during the on-going stay at home period.

The next iPhone could be delayed a month, as pandemic wears on

The future for smartphones continues to be a rocky one, going forward. The company recently introduced the SE in a bid to appeal to consumers put off by $1,000+ price tags. And Apple’s certainly not alone there. The entire industry has taken a hit in recent years, well before the arrival of the novel coronavirus.

Apple and other companies were expected to get a boost from the arrival of 5G, though everything is currently up in the air, due to the pandemic. That reportedly also includes the arrival of a 5G iPhone, which is said to have potentially been pushed back a month over supply chain issues.

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Apple will make it easier to unlock your iPhone while wearing a face mask

Face ID was a great idea — until large swathes of the world were forced to wear face masks, rendering it largely useless.

Apple has apparently heard our pain.

Users are reporting a subtle new feature in the latest developer version of iOS 13.5 that will make it easier to unlock your iPhone without having to take off your protective face mask.

Videos shared on Twitter by Robert Petersen and Guilherme Rambo show that Apple devices with Face ID will jump to the backup passcode-entry screen if it detects a mask. That’s not only helpful if you’re unlocking your phone dozens of times a day — which we all do — but it’s also helping to keep people safe by not forcing users to take off their masks, potentially exposing themselves to the virus.

Apple’s new Face ID unlock feature in iOS 13.5 beta (Source: Guilherme Rambo)

It’s not known if this feature will land in the final version of the software update. But one feature that will be included for sure is a new contact tracing API, built by Apple and Google in partnership, which lets national health authorities build apps that can help users privately and anonymously find out if they’ve been exposed to someone with coronavirus.

iOS 13.5 is expected to land in the coming weeks.

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Daily Crunch: Apple and Google begin releasing their exposure notification API

Apple and Google ask for developer feedback on their contact tracing efforts, Facebook sees a “significant reduction” in ads and Microsoft makes life easier for IT managers.

Here’s your Daily Crunch for April 30, 2020.

1. Apple and Google release first seed of COVID-19 exposure notification API for contact tracing app developers

This is a developer-focused release, and it’s a seed of the API in development, with the primary intent of collecting feedback from developers who will be using the API to create new contact tracing and notification apps on behalf of public health agencies.

Apple and Google first announced the combined API and eventual system-level contact tracing feature on April 10, and intend to release the first version of the API publicly in mid-May, with system-level integration to follow in the coming months. The tech is designed to be privacy-preserving, ensuring that contact IDs are rotating and randomized, and never tied to an individual’s specific identifying information.

2. Facebook stock spikes despite ‘significant reduction’ in demand for ads

While Facebook’s ad revenues in Q1 increased by 17% year-over-year growth, Facebook used its earnings announcement to hedge expectations for Q2. In its release, the company said it saw “a significant reduction in the demand for advertising, as well as a related decline in the pricing of our ads, over the last three weeks of the first quarter of 2020.”

3. Microsoft makes it easier to get started with Windows Virtual Desktops

Microsoft announced a slew of updates to various parts of its Microsoft 365 ecosystem. The thrust is to make life easier for the IT admins that help provision and manage corporate Windows — and Mac — machines, something that’s even more important as many companies try to adapt to a new work-from-home environment.

4. Twitter Q1: sales up 3% to $808M as it swings to a loss on COVID-19, mDAUS hit record 166M

None of this should come as a surprise. Twitter announced more than a month ago that it was removing its own financial guidance because of the instability of its business due to COVID-19, noting only that it would be lower than expected.

5. Freada Kapor Klein warns of ‘vulture capitalists’ during pandemic

“We have seen a lot of VCs acting incredibly badly in the last couple of weeks — taking advantage of startups that are in a precarious position,” Kapor Capital’s Fraeda Kapor Klein told us. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

6. Here’s what NASA’s Mars helicopter will look like when it makes history with the first extraterrestrial powered flight

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory created a trailer of sorts to show you approximately what the flight will look like, sometime after the Mars 2020 mission’s targeted February 18, 2021 arrival date.

7. With fresh support from its billionaire backers, Pivot Bio is ushering in a farming revolution

Pivot uses genetically edited microbes to replicate the work that naturally occurring bacteria had done for millions of years to fix nitrogen in the soil.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

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