Apple's research and development budget was increased by $500 million this quarter, which a significant increase over the same period last year.
In just the first six months of its fiscal year, Apple has put some $2.129 billion into its R&D budget, another step above over its $1.599 billion last year. If this rate continues, Apple could put up to a whopping $4 billion into R&D this fiscal year.
(http://cdn.gsmarena.com/vv/newsimg/13/04/apple-spending-r-d/gsmarena_001.jpg)
In a statement found in its quarterly report (http://investor.apple.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-13-168288&CIK=320193), published yesterday, Apple had this to say regarding its increase in R&D spending:
The Company continues to believe that focused investments in R&D are critical to its future growth and competitive position in the marketplace and are directly related to timely development of new and enhanced products that are central to the Company