It would seem to depend on whose estimates you are looking at. I'm seeing half the articles report "beat estimates" (in terms of earnings and in terms of iPhone

It would seem to depend on whose estimates you are looking at. I'm seeing half the articles report "beat estimates" (in terms of earnings and in terms of iPhone sales) and the other half saying "below estimates". Considering that there are a number of analysts and they produce a range of estimates, it doesn't seem accurate to reduce things to "beat" or "missed" estimates - it's possible to beat most of the estimates but miss a few of them, or vice versa.