May 3, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission document released a few days ago, Apple’s R&D expenditures reached 2.78 billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, equivalent to more than 5% of quarterly net sales. Apple’s R&D expenses for the same period last year were 266 million U.S. dollars. Apple officials have not stated why R&D spending will increase, but Apple’s frequent increase in R&D expenditures was attributed to the recruitment of new talent and related expenses. Like other successful technology companies, Apple’s R&D spending will increase every quarter. To a certain extent, R&D spending is usually due to the development of new products, but R&D expenditures are mostly due to maintain the existing product line. Of course, Apple will also use some of its R&D funds for future products and projects. Self-driving car projects “Titanâ€, augmented reality solutions, and health-related products are three areas Apple is currently more interested in. It is said that the focus of Apple's research and development in self-driving cars has shifted from hardware products to technologies that support hardware and software. Recently Apple has begun to test their technology on the road, and the Apple test car has also been exposed. As for augmented reality, Cook has repeatedly said that Apple is very interested in this area. In an interview earlier this year, he also compared augmented reality to a smartphone. He believes that augmented reality in the future will change our lives. In terms of healthy product development, it was previously reported that Apple is developing a blood glucose sensor. If Apple's research and development can achieve a breakthrough, it may be a "gospel" for diabetics. Apple also has other mainstream products under development, including the new generation of Mac Pro and new display products. In addition to R&D expenditures, Apple’s financial report showed that operating expenses were US$6.5 billion, accounting for 12% of net sales, compared with 9% in the same period last year.