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.

• US President Donald Trump said China could have unleashed the coronavirus on the world due to some kind of horrible “mistake,” adding that he has seen evidence that the deadly disease, also known as COVID-19, came from a laboratory in Wuhan, where the infection was first reported.

• More than 3.8 million people in the US filed new claims for jobless benefits over the past week, bringing the six-week total since the beginning of coronavirus-related lockdowns to more than 30 million, as US stocks fall sharply.

• The eurozone’s economy shrunk by 3.8 percent in the first quarter, the biggest hit since records began in 1995.

• Worldwide, the number of confirmed infections stood at more than 3.25 million, with some 232,000 deaths and more than one million recoveries.

• The World Health Organization says it is “very concerned” about community spread in a number of countries in West Africa.

Here are the latest updates:

Friday, May 1

02:44 GMT – South Korean exports plunge due to coronavirus

The coronavirus crisis sent South Korean exports plunging in April at their sharpest pace since the global financial crisis, signalling a bleak outlook for international trade as the pandemic paralyses the world economy and shatters demand, according to Reuters news agency.

Exports dived 24.3 percent year-on-year in April, trade ministry data showed on Friday, the worst contraction since May 2009. It slid 0.7 percent in the previous month.

The average exports per working day, excluding the calendar effect, also tumbled 17.4 percent, far worse than the 6.9 percent fall seen in March.

South Korea, is Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

02:25 GMT – South Korea reports nine new COVID-19 cases mostly from overseas

South Korea reported nine more cases of the new coronavirus Friday, bringing the nation’s total infections to 10,774, out of whom 9,072 have recovered, the Yonhap news agency reported. 

Of the nine new cases, eight cases are believed to come from people who came from overseas, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said in a statement.

The nation’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by one to 248 total.

01:55 GMT – Funeral home in New York ‘overflowing’ with bodies

New York state officials have warned that funeral home could face fines and license suspensions, after police found that one such facility in Brooklyn had resorted to storing dozens of bodies on ice in rented trucks.

Authorities found that the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home had rented four trucks to hold about 50 corpses, Health Commissioner Dr Howard Zucker said Thursday.

A neighboring business owner called 911 to report that fluids were leaking from one of the trucks, police said.

Health officials issued guidance to all funeral homes that they would not tolerate “any of that kind of behavior,” Zucker said at the daily coronavirus briefing by New York Gov Andrew Cuomo.

Workers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the offending funeral home in New York City [Craig Ruttle/AP]

01:25 GMT – Japan to decide whether to extend state of emergency

Japan will formally decide as early as Monday whether to extend its nationwide state of emergency, according to the public broadcaster NHK, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned citizens to prepare for a “drawn-out battle” against the coronavirus.

The nationwide state of emergency is set to expire on May 6 and the government is planning to extend the emergency for about a month, sources have told Reuters news agency.

Some countries are restarting business activity after closures and social distancing measures to contain the spread of the virus, even as Japan has seen far fewer infections and deaths than hot spots in the United States and Europe.

The government is planning to extend the emergency for about a month, sources have told Reuters news agency [Eugene Hoshiko/AP]

01:00 GMT – China reports 12 new cases of coronavirus

China’s National Health Comission reported on Friday 12 new coronavirus infections as of the end of Thursday, with 6 being imported cases.

There were almost 84,000 people infected of the disease in China, but about 94 percent of the patients have already recovered. At least 4,637 were officially reported as fatalities.

Meanwhile, China announced that it will reopen the Palace Museum in Beijing to the public starting on Friday, May 1.

Beijing’s #PalaceMuseum will reopen to the public on May 1. Tickets during the Labor Day holiday have already sold out as eager visitors move quickly to snap a chance to enjoy an explosion of #spring inside the palace walls. #tourism pic.twitter.com/FVQoFghYZV

— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) May 1, 2020

01:00 GMT – Top US doctor expresses hope for coronavirus drug

News that an experimental drug seems to be the first effective treatment for the new coronavirus has unleashed a flurry of interest.

Talk turned Thursday to how quickly the federal Food and Drug Administration might act on Gilead Sciences’s remdesivir, after preliminary results from a major study found it shortened the recovery time by an average of four days for people hospitalised with the disease, also known as COVID-19.

“You do now have a drug that you have proven can actually work on the virus,” the National Institutes of Health’s Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Associated Press news agency.

“Will it be an overwhelming cure? No, of course not. But with its use, “you will free up hospital beds, you will take less stress on the health care system,” he added.

00:40 GMT – Australia plots return of sport as spread of coronavirus slows

The Australian government will meet on Friday to discuss how sport can restart as the number of new coronavirus cases dwindles and states begin to relax restrictions on social gatherings, two sources familiar with the details told Reuters news agency.

Australia has reported about 6,700 cases of the new coronavirus and 93 deaths, significantly below the levels reported in the United States, Britain and Europe. Growth in new infections has slowed to less 0.5 percent a day, compared to 25 percent a month ago.

“The agenda includes the principles for sport and other recreational activities,” one source familiar with the cabinet agenda told Reuters.

00:30 GMT – Mexico reports 1,425 new coronavirus cases, 127 deaths

Mexican health officials have reported 1,425 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 127 new deaths in the country, bringing the total to 19,224 cases and 1,859 deaths in the country.

00:01 GMT – Trump says US can never declare ‘total victory’ over virus

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he believes the US can never declare “total victory” over the coronavirus because too many people have died. But he added that he will count it a win when the virus is gone and the economy fully reopened.

With almost 63,000 Americans fallen to the virus, Trump pointed out that the death rate in the US was lower than in many other countries and he offered the optimistic prediction that the battered economy would be vastly improved in a matter of months and “spectacular” by 2021.

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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You can find all the key developments from yesterday, April 30, here.

During today’s earnings call covering the second fiscal quarter of 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook provided some insight on what we can expect from Apple in terms of new products during the global health crisis.

Cook said that Apple employees have their heads down and are working as usual.

New products are our lifeblood. We’re continuing to work. […] As you can tell from what we did this quarter despite the environment, we have our head down and are working because we know our customers want the products that we’ve got. They’re even more important in these times.

Cook was also asked about potential developments in health, and he said that it’s an area that Apple was already working on, referencing features like ECG in the Apple Watch.

You can bet that we’re looking at other areas. We were already doing this – we see it as an area of huge opportunity for the company and a way for us to help a lot of people. You will see us continue on that. I wouldn’t say that the health door has opened wider, I would say that it was already opened fairly wide.

On the topic of Apple’s supply chain and how well it’s situated to launch traditional fall products, Cook said that people should focus on the fact that Apple’s products are made everywhere rather than focusing just on the final assembly of the manufacturing process, which tends to get more attention.

We have to conclude that if you look at the shock to the supply chain that took place this quarter, for it to come back up this quickly really demonstrates that it’s durable and resilient. I feel good about where we are. That said, we’re always looking at tweaks, it’s just not something we talk about.

Cook went on to say that Apple is going to “look to see” what can be learned from this situation and how that could be used to enact change after Apple gets “totally out of this.”

Cook also commented on payment plans for iPhone on Apple Card, and said that Apple is “working on that for other products” and that we’ll see something on that topic shortly.

As for current products, when asked if customers were favoring lower cost products, Cook said that he hasn’t seen that. Apple has had strong customer response to the iPhone SE, its most affordable ‌iPhone‌, but he said that those customers wanted a smaller form factor with the latest technology or are coming from Android as opposed to “buying down.” Sales of the top-of-the-line iPad Pro have also been strong.

Rumors suggest that Apple has a number of products set to launch later in 2020, ranging from new MacBook Pro models and iMacs to four new iPhones this fall.

Vaping is a controversial habit: it certainly has its downsides, but anecdotally it’s a fantastic smoking cessation aid. The thing is, until behavioral scientists know a bit more about who does it, when, how much and other details, its use will continue to be something of a mystery. That’s where the PuffPacket comes in.

Designed by Cornell engineers, the PuffPacket is a small device that attaches to e-cigarettes (or vape pens, or whatever you call yours) and precisely measures their use, sharing that information with a smartphone app for the user, and potentially researchers, to review later.

Some vaping devices are already set up with something like this, to tell a user when the cartridge is running low or a certain limit has been reached. But generally when vaping habits are studied, they rely on self-report data, not proprietary apps.

“The lack of continuous and objective understanding of vaping behaviors led us to develop PuffPacket to enable proper measurement, monitoring, tracking and recording of e-cigarette use, as opposed to inferring it from location and activity data, or self-reports,” said PhD student Alexander Adams, who led the creation of the device, in a Cornell news release.

The device fits a number of e-cigarette types, fitting between the mouthpiece and the heating element. It sits idle until the user breathes in, which activates the e-cigarette’s circuits, and the PuffPacket’s as well. By paying attention to the voltage, it can tell how much liquid is being vaporized, as well as simpler measurements like the duration and timing of the inhalation.

An example using real data of how location and activity could be correlated with vaping

This data is sent to the smartphone app via Bluetooth, where it is cross-referenced with other information, like location, motion and other metadata. This may lead to identifiable patterns, like that someone vapes frequently when they walk in the morning but not the afternoon, or after coffee but not meals, or far more at the bar than at home — that sort of thing. Perhaps even (with the proper permissions) it could track use of certain apps — Instagram and vape? Post-game puff?

Some of these might be obvious, others not so much — but either way, it helps to have them backed up by real data rather than asking a person to estimate their own usage. They may not know, understand or wish to admit their own habits.

“Getting these correlations between time of day, place and activity is important for understanding addiction. Research has shown that if you can keep people away from the paths of their normal habits, it can disrupt them,” said Adams.

No one is expecting people to voluntarily stick these things on their vape pens and share their info, but the design — which is being released as open source — could be used by researchers performing more formal studies. You can read the paper describing PuffPacket here.

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.

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.

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 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.