Weekly Highlights: iPhone 6 Plus Demand Soars, BlackBerry-Lenovo Rumor And More

Could the rumored BlackBerry-Lenovo merger live up to expectations? Analysts are hopeful.

"It'd be a great deal for Lenovo," Sean Udall, CIO of Quantum Trading Strategies and author of The TechStrat Report, told Benzinga. "There's security issues, though. Will a Chinese company be allowed to buy a Canadian and/or U.S.-centric company?"

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Apple might not be able to keep up with demand for the hugely popular iPhone 6 Plus.

The 5.5-inch handset has sold so well that Apple may have increased payments to Foxconn to accelerate production.

Apple does not break down the sales of individual models, but the company sold 39.2 million iPhones and set a new record during the fourth quarter.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

It's the rumor that won't die: Microsoft is reportedly developing a smartwatch.

Very little is known about the unconfirmed product, but analysts think it will be a "me-too" product.

"While it's a me-too product at this point, [Satya] Nadella and Microsoft need to penetrate the wearables category given their consumer push," FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives told Benzinga.

"While it's an uphill battle, Nadella recognizes Microsoft needs to go full blast on every consumer and enterprise category to expand its brand awareness for the 'new, more innovative Microsoft.'"

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Not all Apple news is good news. This week the company suffered a minor blow when it was revealed that iCloud was hacked in China.

The cloud storage service was targeted by individuals who were hoping to steal users' personal information. It did not appear that the attacks were successful.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Life is very good for LG Display, which has reportedly inked a stellar deal with Apple.

The company will reportedly supply panels for several products, including the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Watch, iPad Air 2 and the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Apple Pay's race for mobile payment dominance could be one lengthy marathon.

New research highlighted three key points that could prevent Apple from leading the market.

"You can say what you will: 'it won't be a problem for Apple,'" Greg Weed, director of Card Performance Research at Phoenix Marketing International, told Benzinga.

"But the fact remains that there's a big gap between having an app on the phone and it actually being used. There's a number of factors that relate to that. Apple has a big opportunity to solve these things, but it still remains to be solved."

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

It's the ultimate question on every iPhone user's mind: is Apple Pay safe?

"Is it foolproof? I don't think so," Scott Schober, CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems, told Benzinga. "Is there going to be ways to hack it and find vulnerabilities? Yeah, there probably will be -- but it's a lot harder, and thieves are not going to spend a lot of time trying to do what's hard. They're going to go for the easy money, as always."

Robert Neivert, COO of Private.me, thinks Apple Pay is an improvement over standard credit card use.

"…It's an improvement from the existing [options]," Neivert told Benzinga. "It takes away one of the most prominent ways in which security breaches happen, which is intercepting that credit card number."

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The preceding slideshow was just the beginning. Check out these other hot stories right here on Benzinga.

• Cable-Free HBO Go Could Be A 'Monumental' Success
• Is Google's Delivery Service A Threat To Amazon?
• Could Netflix Drop To $250 In 90 Days?
• Show Off Your Trading Skills At The Inaugural World Cup Championship of Binary Options Trading