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Apple earnings: Analyst expects strong showing on steady iPhone demand
Monday, May 1, 2023 9:35 am
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives expects Apple to report strong iPhone revenue when it issues its second-quarter earnings report on Thursday. Ives says that Chinese demand is fueling sales. Apple’s iPhone revenue is expected to be at least in line with expectations, according to Ives. He says that the company is benefiting from strong demand in China, which is its second-largest market.
Apple’s earnings report will be closely watched by investors. The company is the world’s most valuable company, and its earnings are a bellwether for the tech industry.
Adam Clark for Barron’s:
Consensus forecasts are for Apple to report $92.91 billion in revenue for the March quarter with $48.8 billion coming from iPhone sales, according to a FactSet poll of analysts’ estimates.
“We believe iPhone units… could show some upside despite the shaky macro as higher ASPs [average selling prices] and overall upgrade activity on iPhone Pro 14 carry the day,” Ives wrote in a research note on Monday.
Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and $205 target price on Apple stock… “We would expect relatively conservative June guidance as this is all about the drumroll to the main event with the anniversary iPhone 15 launch slated for the September timeframe,” Ives wrote.
MacDailyNews Note: As always, we’ll have Apple’s results on May 4th right around 1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET. followed by live notes from Apple’s conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/05/01/apple-earnings-analyst-expects-strong-showing-on-steady-iphone-demand/
Apple loses top AI, Siri engineers to Alphabet
Friday, April 28, 2023 10:06 am
Apple is having a hard time convincing top engineers that Siri can keep up with AI-focused rivals. Apple has recently lost three top engineers working on AI technology to Google-parent Alphabet, The Information reports.
Hasan Chowdhuryfor BusinessInsider:
Apple has lost three top engineers working on ChatGPT-like technology to Google, in a sign the iPhone-maker is struggling to supercharge its AI efforts and Siri as large language models go mainstream.
Srinivasan Venkatachary, Steven Baker and Anand Shukl quit because they believed Google was a better place to work on the large language models underlying tools like ChatGPT, which went viral on its release in late November.
They were personally poached by Google CEO Sundar Pichai after shunning Apple boss Tim Cook’s efforts to keep them, the report said.
Linkedin shows that all three left Apple for Google through October and November last year…
Former Apple employees who worked on AI told The Information that “organizational dysfunction and a lack of ambition” had proven to be crucial barriers in the company’s ambitions to become a serious AI player, with few improvements made over the past five years.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote earlier this month, we’ve long ago given up on Siri to make any great leaps in terms of capabilities, as has, seemingly, Apple. It’s sad, really. Were Steve Jobs still with us, we expect Siri would not be the embarrassing, charred, abandoned dumpster it is today.
We asked Siri, “”Where is Apple’s generative AI?”” Siri responded “here’s what I found” and offered some article links discussing Apple’s silence on the matter.
So, we asked ChatGPT the same question. ChatGPT responded:
Apple has been investing in generative AI technologies in various ways, but the specifics of their current status and location are not publicly disclosed. Apple is known for being very secretive about its product development and research initiatives, so it’s hard to say exactly where or how their generative AI is being developed or deployed.
However, Apple has made several acquisitions in the AI space in recent years, such as Xnor.ai, Voysis, and Vilynx, which suggests that they are likely actively exploring and developing generative AI capabilities.
Apple has also integrated AI technology into many of their products, such as Siri, the digital assistant that uses natural language processing to interpret user requests, and the “Photos” app, which uses machine learning algorithms to automatically organize and categorize users’ photos.
In short, Apple’s generative AI is likely being developed and deployed across various products and services, but the specifics of their initiatives are not publicly known.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/28/apple-loses-top-ai-siri-engineers-to-alphabet/
Judge cuts Apple’s damages exposure as Masimo trade secrets case goes to jury
Thursday, April 27, 2023 4:02 pm
Apple would have to pay a maximum of $1.85 billion if it’s found liable of illegally profiting from Masimo’s blood-oxygen monitoring technology, a little more than half the $3.1 billion the firm was seeking.
Joe Schneider for Bloomberg News:
A federal judge in Santa Ana, California, dismissed business and marketing claims against the iPhone maker at the end of a three-week trial, leaving for the jury to decide only if Apple improperly used trade secrets related to a blood-oxygen monitoring sensor in its Apple Watch.
Apple poached Masimo employees to learn about its technology after Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook nixed an internal proposal to buy the company, Masimo’s lawyer, Joseph Re, told the jury in closing arguments Wednesday.
Apple has denied any wrongdoing, with its lawyer, Joseph Mueller, telling jurors that all its employees involved in the development of the blood-oxygen center had denied on the witness stand using any Masimo trade secrets.
MacDailyNews Take: The end of this one is near (hopefully). How Apple would ever find a whole $1.85 billion if the jury sides with Masimo? (Apple last quarter posted quarterly revenue of $117.2 billion while generating $34 billion in operating cash flow.)
Also of note: Apple in October 2022 filed a lawsuit against Masimo alleging that that Masimo’s W1 watch copies the design and functionality of the Apple Watch.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/27/judge-cuts-apples-damages-exposure-as-masimo-trade-secrets-case-goes-to-jury/
What's Going On With Mullen Automotive Stock Monday? [from Monday]
Benzinga
Apr. 24, 2023, 09:28 AM
Mullen Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:MULN) shares are trading higher Monday. The company announced that it will begin executing on a previously awarded contract for the government.
What To Know: Mullen subsidiary Mullen Advanced Energy Operations was awarded a $680,000 contract by the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., which covers the purchase and installation of Energy Management Module units on General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) Chevrolet Bolts within the D.C. city government's vehicle fleet.
On Monday, Mullen will install and perform testing of its energy management units, which are expected to substantially increase driving range and efficiency of the EV batteries.
"The DC city project is the first of many that we have planned for the new EMM technology. Municipal city fleets are a perfect use case for EVs and even better with our Energy Management Modules added for extending vehicle range and performance," said David Michery, chairman and CEO of Mullen Automotive.
Mullen is a California-based EV company with two assembly plants in the U.S.
MULN Price Action: Mullen Automotive shares are down more than 92% over the last year.
The stock was up 9.23% at 11 cents Monday morning, according to Benzinga Pro.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/what-s-going-on-with-mullen-automotive-stock-monday-1032254449
Also from Mullen Automotive Inc. website:
https://investors.mullenusa.com/
TSMC struggles to fabricate enough 3nm Apple Silicon chips
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 10:31 am
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is struggling to meet demand from top customer Apple for 3nm Apple Silicon chips.
Alan Patterson for EE Times:
The company’s tool and yield struggles have impeded the ramp to volume production with world-leading technology, according to analysts surveyed by EE Times.
“TSMC, in our view, remains the preferred foundry choice for leading-edge nodes as Samsung Foundry has yet to demonstrate a stable leading-edge process technology, all while IFS [Intel Foundry Services] is years away from offering a competitive solution,” Hosseini said in a report he provided to EE Times.
Apple will pay TSMC for known good die rather than standard wafer prices, at least for the first three to four quarters of the N3 ramp as yields climb to around 70%, Brett Simpson, senior analyst at Arete Research, said in a report provided to EE Times.
“We think TSMC will move to normal wafer-based pricing on N3 with Apple during the first half of 2024, at around $16-17K average selling prices,” Simpson said. “At present, we believe N3 yields at TSMC for A17 and M3 processors are at around 55% [a healthy level at this stage in N3 development], and TSMC looks on schedule to boost yields by around 5+ points each quarter.”
For the iPhone A17 chip, TSMC will do 82 mask layers with a die size likely in the 100-110 mm square range, the Arete report said. That means a yield of around 620 chips per wafer with a wafer cycle time of four months, the report added. M3 is likely to be around 135-150 mm square die size and around 450 chips per wafer, according to Arete.
In the second half of 2023, TSMC will ramp Apple’s A17 and M3 processors at the N3 node… according to Hosseini.
MacDailyNews Take: The early yield struggles are SOP. It’ll all work out fine. With the move to 3nm, expect even crazier performance and even longer battery life from future Apple Silicon!
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/26/tsmc-struggles-to-fabricate-enough-3nm-apple-silicon-chips/
Peter Lynch: How dumb was I not to invest in Apple?
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 11:02 am
Legendary investor Peter Lynch has a winning investing track record, but he still has regrets for not buying Apple shares when they were cheap.
Lynch famously managed Fidelity’s Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990 during which time the fund earned an annualized return of 29.2%, consistently more than doubling the performance of the S&P 500.
Yun Li for CNBC:
The former Fidelity Magellan fund manager revealed Tuesday that he wished he hadn’t missed out on the explosive growth in Apple.
“Apple was not that hard to understand. I mean, how dumb was I?” Lynch, vice chairman of Fidelity Management & Research, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Apple has a “nice balance sheet. I should have done some work on Apple… it’s not a complicated company.”
Lynch recounted how his daughter had bought an iPod for $250 at the time and how he recalled thinking Apple was making a high margin on it. Yet he didn’t buy the stock.
Lynch, 79, acknowledged that Warren Buffett saw Apple’s potential and capitalized on it. The “Oracle of Omaha” had shied away from tech stocks for decades, claiming they were outside of his expertise. But under the influence of his investing lieutenants, he bought into Apple in 2016 and made it his single biggest holding in his portfolio.
MacDailyNews Take: Those who have iron stomachs in the face of risk, year after year, can make millions of dollars with relatively very little invested, if they go “all in” on the right company long term.
Diversification is protection against ignorance. It makes little sense if you know what you are doing. – Warren Buffett
On December 20, 1996, when Apple announced the acquisition of NeXT and the return of Steve Jobs, an Apple share sold for 18-cents.*
As recently as April 2003, Apple shares sold for 20-cents each.* Even on January 07, 2019, Apple closed at just $35.64*!
Anyone who invested in AAPL, even in later years, without the loss-making hedges in the name of diversification, sports an incredibly better annualized return than “legendary investor” Peter Lynch’s 29.2% (which is rather laughably weak when viewed by long-term, mainly AAPL investors).
The actual “legendary investors” would be those who began buying AAPL upon the return of Steve Jobs, never stopped buying AAPL year after year, reinvested dividends in AAPL every quarter, never wasted money on diversification in the name of mitigating risk (which also, in the absence of investing perfection (which does not exist), mitigates profit), but who instead went all in on AAPL and never sold a share.
*Prices adjusted for splits and dividend distributions.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/25/peter-lynch-how-dumb-was-i-not-to-invest-in-apple/
Apple supplier Corning beats profit estimates
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 8:59 am
Apple supplier Corning beat profit estimates for the first quarter on Tuesday as the specialty glassmaker’s price hikes more than made up for higher raw material costs and a demand decline.
Shares of the company, whose Gorilla glass is used in Apple’s revolutionary iPhones, rose 2% in premarket trading.
Reuters:
Price increases meant that “profitability improved despite sequentially lower sales, which were impacted by recession-level demand in several key markets and overall weakness in China, as anticipated,” CEO and Chairman Wendell Weeks said.
Core gross margin increased by 160 basis points sequentially to 35.2% in the first three months of the year, helping Corning post an adjusted profit of 41 cents per share that was more than expectations of 39 cents, according to Refinitiv data.
The company said it expects the pricing action and a recovery in the display technologies business to drive an increase in second-quarter sales and profitability.
MacDailyNews Take: Corning gave a net sales guidance range of between $3.4 billion and $3.6 billion for the second quarter vs. analysts’ consensus estimate of $3.58 billion.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/25/apple-supplier-corning-beats-profit-estimates/
Mullen Advanced Energy Operations Announces Its Partner EV Technologies, LLC’s Contract with the District of Columbia
April 24 2023 - 08:00AM
GlobeNewswire Inc.
via InvestorWire -- Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) (“Mullen” or the “Company”), an emerging electric vehicle (“EV”) manufacturer, announces that its majority owned subsidiary, Mullen Advanced Energy Operations (“MAEO”), will today begin execution of a $680,000 contract that was previously awarded by the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., to EV Technologies, LLC. The contract is for the purchase and installation of Energy Management Module units on Chevrolet Bolts within the D.C. city government’s vehicle fleet.
Mullen and EV Technologies’ team of engineers are onsite in DC today to commence installing the EMM units onto the Chevrolet Bolts and to perform the required tests included in the pilot. Previous testing indicates that Energy Management Module (“EMM”) technology substantially increases the driving range and efficiency of any current EV battery. In March 2021, Element Materials Technology conducted specific vehicle testing on 2020 Chevy Bolts installed with EMM units with test results being a calculated increase in range from 269 to 431 miles, which is a 60% increase in efficiency.
“I am very proud that the first major field application is with the DC city government, where we will demonstrate the benefits of our EMM technology. We have been working on this bid to secure the business for some time and it is a great achievement to win this opportunity. I would like to thank the many D.C. government officials who made this a reality,” said Lawrence Hardge, CEO of EV Technology and chief scientific officer of MAEO.
“The DC city project is the first of many that we have planned for the new EMM technology,” said David Michery, CEO and chairman of Mullen Automotive, Inc. “Municipal city fleets are a perfect use case for EVs and even better with our Energy Management Modules added for extending vehicle range and performance. Ideally, the vehicles can spend less time charging and more time in the local communities for civic use and support.”
Mullen Advanced Energy Operations is a 51%-owned subsidiary of Mullen Automotive with EV Technologies, LLC and Global EV Technology, Inc. as partners.
About Mullen
Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ: MULN) is a Southern California-based automotive company building the next generation of electric vehicles (“EVs”) that will be manufactured in two Company owned United States-based assembly plants. Mullen's EV development portfolio includes the Mullen FIVE EV Crossover, Mullen Commercial Class 1 and 3 EVs and Bollinger Motors, which features both the B1 and B2 electric SUV trucks and Class 4-6 commercial offerings. On Sept. 7, 2022, Bollinger Motors became a majority-owned EV truck company of Mullen Automotive, and on Dec. 1, 2022, Mullen closed on the acquisition of all of Electric Last Mile Solutions' (“ELMS”) assets, including all IP and a 650,000-square-foot plant in Mishawaka, Indiana.
To learn more about the Company, visit www.MullenUSA.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Words such as "continue," "will," "may," "could," "should," "expect," "expected," "plans," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, many of which are generally outside the control of Mullen and are difficult to predict. Examples of such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: (i) the timing of the commencement of the installation and testing of the Energy Management Module (“EMM”) units and whether the installation of the EMM units on the D.C. city government’s Chevrolet Bolt vehicle fleet will be successfully implemented; whether the contract awarded by the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., to EV Technologies, LLC will be assigned to MAEO as contemplated by the agreement between Mullen and EV Technologies; whether the terms of the city government contract will be honored by the contracting parties; whether the pilot program with the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., will be successful or result in additional orders or contracts; whether any other purchase orders or agreements for the EMM technology will materialize; whether the test results, which indicate that applying Energy Management Module (“EMM”) technology to an electrical vehicle significantly increases vehicle range, are accurate; whether the results achieved from the initial testing by Element and Mullen are sustainable, scalable, or will produce the expected results when deployed in the city government’s fleet of Chevrolet Bolts, the Company’s or other vehicles; whether any expected vehicle range increases can be achieved at a low cost; whether the Company’s recently acquired joint venture technology will greatly improve current EV performance by increasing EV vehicle range or otherwise; whether the projected increase in range and mileage are accurate or achievable; whether the EMM product will be successfully completed or integrated into the city government’s fleet of Chevrolet Bolts or any other vehicles; and whether the EEM product and associated technology will prove beneficial; (ii) whether the commercial product launches contemplated for 2023 will materialize within the slated timelines; (iii) Mullen’s ability (or inability) to obtain additional financing in sufficient amounts or on acceptable terms when needed; (iv) Mullen's ability to maintain existing, and secure additional, contracts with manufacturers, parts and other service providers relating to its business; (v) Mullen’s ability to successfully expand in existing markets and enter new markets; (vi) Mullen’s ability to successfully manage and integrate any acquisitions of businesses, solutions or technologies; (vii) unanticipated operating costs, transaction costs and actual or contingent liabilities; (viii) the ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; (ix) adverse effects of increased competition on Mullen’s business; (x) changes in government licensing and regulation that may adversely affect Mullen’s business; (xi) the risk that changes in consumer behavior could adversely affect Mullen’s business; (xii) Mullen’s ability to protect its intellectual property; and (xiii) local, industry and general business and economic conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements can be found in the most recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed by Mullen with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mullen anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause its plans, intentions and expectations to change. Mullen assumes no obligation, and it specifically disclaims any intention or obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by law. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and should not be relied upon as representing Mullen’s plans and expectations as of any subsequent date.
Contact:
Mullen Automotive, Inc.
+1 (714) 613-1900
www.MullenUSA.com
Corporate Communications:
InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN)
Los Angeles, California
www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com
310.299.1717 Office
Editor@InvestorBrandNetwork.com
Attachment
First contract for EMM technology is Washington, D.C.’s city government
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/mullen-automotive-MULN/stock-news/90836268/mullen-advanced-energy-operations-announces-its-pa
Apple said to limit app sideloading to regions mandating it by law
Friday, April 21, 2023 5:29 pm
Bloomberg News’ Mark Gurman believe that Apple may not even mention app sideloading for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV at WWDC, as the company will likely limit the feature to regions that require it by law.
Andrew Orr for AppleInsider:
“I think it will be a Europe-only feature,” Gurman said. “I think that they’re not going to shoot themselves in the foot and expand this globally if they don’t have to.”
“They’re not gonna do anything extraneous that would further hurt their grip on the App Store,” he continued. “They’re really going to stick to the letter of the law here.”
Gurman believes that Apple may charge developers to be part of the sideloading program, using a process based on configuration profiles. The company may also have a review process for these apps, even though they would be installed outside of the App Store.
Europe approved the Digital Markets Act rules in July 2022, and they entered into force in November. The rules will be applicable starting on May 2, 2023.
MacDailyNews Take: Sounds like a good way to get laws passed, Apple.
Bring ’em on! The company is not “shoot[ing] themselves in the foot.” It’s a win-win for both iPhone/iPad users and Apple.
Those who want safety, security, and privacy will stick to Apple’s App Store, but a single point of control is always a danger, especially when it comes to capricious censorship (see: pre-Musk Twitter, Apple’s App Store in China, etc.).
iPhone and iPad users must, like Mac users, have the ability to install third-party apps; even if they never do, for it will keep Apple honest. The ability to ban an app loses all power when it’s simply available in another App Store.
These moves, including removing the mandate to use WebKit, Apple’s Safari browsing engine, in third-party browsers, as Gurman also reports Apple is considering, will greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the threat of anti-trust actions against Apple for the foreseeable future.
Also, expect Gatekeeper to come to iOS and iPadOS from macOS. – MacDailyNews, December 13, 2022
Adding the ability to access third-party app stores for iPhone and iPad also removes a selling point for Android phones and tablets, a crucial selling point for some, that is likely to result in further acceleration of Android to iPhone upgraders. So, third-party app stores for iPhone and iPad won’t hurt Apple too much. In fact, it might even benefit Apple. – MacDailyNews, December 14, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/21/apple-said-to-limit-app-sideloading-to-regions-mandating-it-by-law/
With splashy new financial offerings, Apple charges further into the world of money
Friday, April 21, 2023 12:49 pm
Apple, the world’s most valuable company, has announced a number of new financial offerings, including a credit card, a buy-now-pay-later service, and a high-yield savings account. These offerings are part of Apple’s ambitious plan to become a one-stop shop for all things financial.
Apple has a large and loyal customer base, and it has a deep understanding of how people use their devices. This gives Apple a significant advantage over traditional financial institutions.
Apple’s new financial offerings are also coming at a time when consumers are looking for more convenient and affordable ways to manage their money. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to online and mobile banking, and Apple is very well-positioned to capitalize on this trend.
Telis Demos and Dan Gallagher for The Wall Street Journal:
Consumer loans and retail purchases in the U.S. add up to more than $10 trillion annually — some of the few things still bigger than selling smartphones. And with the turmoil surrounding many lenders and digital payments players, Apple’s ambitious plan might be ripening at just the right time.
After years of slow burn, this past holiday season appears to have been a big one for Apple Pay. E-commerce sales in the U.S. tracked by Salesforce showed that Apple Pay transaction volume grew 62% in the 2022 holiday season versus the prior year, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank. That bumped it up to a 7% share of all the e-commerce sales it tracked. Though that is still only single digits, the move was enough to get investors’ attention across the payments industry.
“Apple Pay hit that inflection point of consumer habituation and merchant adoption,” says Bernstein analyst Harshita Rawat… By one measure, Apple Pay represented about half of all payments made with a smartphone wallet app in stores, almost triple the share of the next player, Google Pay, according to a survey of U.S. consumers conducted last June by Pymnts, a payments data, news and analysis firm…
The company earlier this week launched a savings account for holders of its Goldman Sachs-issued credit card with a 4.15% annual percentage yield… In its initial rollout, Apple Pay Later — a buy now, pay later split-payment offering — is going to be available for online and in-app purchases in the U.S. Were it ever to become available for in-store taps, it could introduce additional competition for card taps and swipes. And the business seems to be an especially attractive one for Apple: People who can afford the most expensive phones are likely an attractive population to extend credit to.
MacDailyNews Take: The fintech future belongs to Apple
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/21/with-splashy-new-financial-offerings-apple-charges-further-into-the-world-of-money/
Mighty Apple looks to take a big bite out of the banks
Friday, April 21, 2023 4:08 pm
The question for banks and financial services companies is how worried they should be about Apple, a tech company with 1.2+ billion (and growing) iPhone users, a $2.6 trillion market cap and a history of disruptive innovation making moves into their market.
Patrick McGee and Joshua Franklin for Financial Times:
Apple’s scale makes even the world’s largest banks look little. Its services division alone, where it earns recurring subscriber revenues and App Store payments, generated $55bn in profit last year — higher than JPMorgan and Citi combined. But [services] makes up just one-fifth of its total revenues.
For JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon, the risk is clear enough for him to label Apple a bank. “It may not have insured deposits, but it’s a bank,” he said in June last year. “If you move money, hold money, manage money, lend money — that’s a bank.”
Dimon again warned investors of the looming threat this month, saying “large tech companies” have “enormous resources in data and proprietary systems — all of which give them an extraordinary competitive advantage”.
Stephen Squeri, chief executive of American Express, admitted to analysts on Thursday that he too is “paranoid” about Apple and Amazon, which he called “phenomenal” companies with deep links to the consumer.
“They move at the speed and force of a glacier,” says Gene Munster, managing partner of Deepwater. Commenting on Apple’s next moves in banking, he adds: “This will take five to 10 years, but by then we’ll think of Apple in the same vein as Citi, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.”
The iPhone maker is playing a long game in finance and payments, say three former Apple employees, and its current moves are laying the technical groundwork for taking a bigger share of the market.
MacDailyNews Take: There’s no stopping Apple in fintech. The sky’s the limit.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/21/mighty-apple-looks-to-take-a-big-bite-out-of-the-banks/
JP Morgan ups Apple price target to $190
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 4:03 pm
JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee on Wednesday maintained an “Overweight” rating on AAPL shares and increased his Apple price target from $175 to $190.
William Gallagher for AppleInsider:
“Expect Mar-Q beat to targets on iPhone revenue tailwinds from channel inventory build,” says the firm in a note seen by AppleInsider. “We are modestly raising our revenue and earnings forecast for the Mar-Q to $94.9 bn/$1.49 from $92.7 bn/$1.44 (vs. consensus of $92.5 bn/$1.43).”
JP Morgan says that this “improved Mar-Q outlook is led by” its estimate that Apple will produce around 58 million iPhones instead of the previously expected 54 million. This is “led by tailwinds from the channel building inventory over the past ninety days, and is partially offset by weaker demand for other Hardware categories.”
“We are raising our Dec-23 price target to $190 vs. $175 prior, despite lower earnings estimates,” continue the analysts, “as we see the earnings multiple expanding in response to the resilient positioning.”
MacDailyNews Note: Apple has an average outperform rating and price target range of $116 to $210, according to analysts polled by Capital IQ.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/19/jp-morgan-ups-apple-price-target-to-190/
India IT minister sees Apple nearly tripling investment, exports in coming years
Thursday, April 20, 2023 10:24 am
Apple could double or triple investments in India, along with exports, over the next few years, a minister said, as the company opened a second retail store in the country.
Reuters:
Apple mainly assembles iPhones in India through Taiwan contract manufacturers but plans to expand into iPads and AirPods, as it looks to cut reliance on China.
Its iPhones made up more than half of total smartphones worth about $9 billion exported from India between April 2022 and February, data from the India Cellular and Electronics Association shows.
“I am very confident that this Apple-India partnership has a lot of headroom for investments, growth, exports and jobs – doubling and tripling over coming years,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the deputy minister for information technology, told Reuters.
His comments came after a meeting on Wednesday with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook in the capital, New Delhi.
Cook, who also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Apple was “committed to growing and investing across the country.”
MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, even more than that.
The CCP’s lunacy is India’s gain. – MacDailyNews, March 3, 2023
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/20/india-it-minister-sees-apple-nearly-tripling-investment-exports-in-coming-years/
Apple CEO Cook meets India PM Modi, commits to growth and investment
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 11:06 am
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday met with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi and committed to growth and investment across the country.
Reuters:
Cook is on a visit to India this week and inaugurated the iPhone maker’s first retail store in the country on Tuesday in Mumbai. Apple will also open a retail store in New Delhi on Thursday.
Cook’s visit to India underscores Apple’s growing ambitions for the country, where despite having just a 3% market share the company has been expanding iPhone assembly via contract manufacturers, and also boosting its exports.
MacDailyNews Take: Here’s the Twitter exchange:
An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India. https://t.co/hetLIjEQEU
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 19, 2023
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/19/apple-ceo-cook-meets-india-pm-modi-commits-to-growth-and-investment/
One of Apple’s biggest product launch events ever happens at WWDC this June
Monday, April 17, 2023 9:38 am
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June will be one of the most critical events in the company’s history, featuring one of Apple’s biggest product launch events ever with its new reality headset, a new xrOS operating system and accompanying SDK, new MacBooks, macOS 14, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The updated versions of iOS and iPadOS aren’t likely to offer major new features — unlike last year’s software, which ushered in a new lock screen. But they should satisfy a checklist of user requests with more minor improvements. I’m also not expecting major macOS or tvOS changes. The new Apple Watch operating system, however, will bring bigger enhancements, including an updated interface.
With the Reality headset — which I detailed in-depth here — Apple is preparing for a future beyond the iPhone and iPad. I’m told the device will come with a clear story for developers — in terms of how they’ll want to use it — and much of the weeklong conference will showcase the headset’s on-board App Store and accompanying tools…
Moving on to the Mac, Apple has several new models in the works: a 15-inch MacBook Air, an updated 13-inch MacBook Air, an entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, a refreshed 24-inch iMac, the first Mac Pro with in-house chips and updated high-end MacBook Pro models. All of these should go on sale either this year or in early 2024. There are also two Mac Studio follow-ups planned, but their timing is less clear.
At least some of the new laptops will be announced at WWDC, I’ve been told. But there’s a big caveat: The models coming in June probably won’t boast major new M3 chips. Instead, they’ll run something in line with the current M2 processors.
MacDailyNews Take: We’d love to see at least a preview of the new Mac Pro at WWDC, even if it isn’t yet ready for sale, as it’s the prefect event to unveil a machine meant for developers.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/17/one-of-apples-biggest-product-launch-events-ever-happens-at-wwdc-this-june/
Apple CEO Cook to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid expansion
Monday, April 17, 2023 8:49 am
Apple CEO Tim Cook will meet India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of his visit to inaugurate Apple’s first retail store in the country this week, Reuters reports citing “familiar with the plans.”
Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil for Reuters:
The visit by Cook to open the first official company-owned outlets in Mumbai and New Delhi this week underscores Apple’s growing ambitions for India, where despite having just a 3% market share the company has been expanding iPhone assembly via contract manufacturers, and also boosting its exports.
Cook will meet Modi on Wednesday in New Delhi, said the two sources, who included an Indian government official.
One of the sources added the Apple chief would also meet India’s deputy IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
The sources did not elaborate, but Cook’s meetings come amid Apple’s growing focus on India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market.
MacDailyNews Take: Last week, Observer reported that Apple’s long-term goal is for their contract assemblers to make up to 45 percent of iPhones in India in its belated shift away from CCP-controlled China.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/17/apple-ceo-cook-to-meet-indian-prime-minister-narendra-modi-amid-expansion/
In latest move away from China, Apple in talks to move MacBook assembly to Thailand
Thursday, April 13, 2023 3:01 pm
In its latest move to distance itself from CCP-controlled China, Apple is in talks with assemblers about moving MacBook production to Thailand.
lauly li for Nikkei Asia:
The Apple suppliers involved in the talks already have manufacturing complexes in Thailand for other clients and are discussing possible assembly and production of components and modules for MacBooks, according to sources from three suppliers directly involved in the conversations with Apple.
“Ideally, Apple asked us to set up facilities in Vietnam for MacBooks, following in the footsteps of other Apple suppliers, but we offered an alternative option of building the product at our Thailand plants, which still have a massive space that can be reserved for the client,” a senior executive at one of the suppliers told Nikkei Asia. “As MacBook assembly will begin in Vietnam first, we could support the components from our Thailand plants, too. … It will only take two to three days of logistics and custom clearance.”
An executive at another supplier said his company is building new plants in Thailand for Apple, and construction of a new factory for MacBooks and other products will be completed this year.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple plans to move some MacBook assembly from China to Vietnam for the first time this year as the company continues its efforts to diversify away from China following the CCP’s failed “Zero COVID” lockdown insanity, rampant IP theft, and escalating tech tensions between the U.S. and China.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/13/in-latest-move-away-from-china-apple-in-talks-to-move-macbook-assembly-to-thailand/
Apple now makes almost 7% of its iPhones in India in effort to reduce its reliance on China
Thursday, April 13, 2023 11:58 am
Apple assembled more than $7 billion of iPhones in India last fiscal year, tripling production in the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market after accelerating a belated move to diversify production reducing its reliance on CCP-controlled China.
Sankalp Phartiyal for Bloomberg News:
The US company now makes almost 7% of its iPhones in India through expanding partners from Foxconn Technology Group to Pegatron Corp., people familiar with the matter said. That’s a significant leap for India, which accounted for an estimated 1% of the world’s iPhones in 2021.
Apple is exploring ways to reduce its reliance on China as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate… The world’s most valuable company struggled last year with chaos at Foxconn’s main “iPhone City” complex in Zhengzhou, which drove home vulnerabilities in Apple’s supply chain and forced it to cut output estimates.
Of the total production, Apple exported $5 billion of iPhones in the year ended March 2023, nearly four times as much as the previous period, the people said. Apple will likely try to manufacture the next iPhones in India at the same time as in China, sometime in the fall of 2023. If so, that will be the first time that iPhone assembly begins concurrently in the two countries. And if the aggressive expansion of its suppliers continues, Apple could assemble a quarter of all its iPhones in India by 2025.
MacDailyNews Take: Finally, China begins to reap what it has sown.
The “plan” seems to be: Work on finally diversifying production out of China while making it look to everyone (especially the CCP) like China is Apple’s No.1 partner and top priority until it isn’t. ???? – MacDailyNews, April 5, 2023
See also: Tim Cook firmly latched Apple onto China’s CCP teat. What’s his plan for weaning it off? – November 2, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/13/apple-now-makes-almost-7-of-its-iphones-in-india-in-effort-to-reduce-its-reliance-on-china/
Tax agreement between Apple and Cupertino under scrutiny from California regulators
Thursday, April 13, 2023 11:28 am
A tax agreement between Apple and its hometown of Cupertino has come under scrutiny from California regulators, potentially nuking the amount of money that the company sends to the city.
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration launched an audit of the arrangement in 2021, and Cupertino’s finance director is scheduled to explain the findings to the city council on Thursday. The upshot for Cupertino is that local tax revenues are expected to fall 73% this year.
Although Apple isn’t named in the city staff report, the company is Cupertino’s largest source of sales tax revenue. According to the audit, revenue will drop to $11.4 million in the current fiscal year from $42.1 million, and Cupertino may be required to return money to the state that it has received in previous years. The city may have to cut staff and other spending to cover the shortfall…
Apple treats all online purchases of products in the state of California as if they were made in Cupertino, setting aside the 1 percentage point local portion of the 7.25% state sales tax for its hometown. The arrangement applies to Apple’s online sales to consumers in the state, as well as transactions with other businesses in California, sales at its two retail stores in Cupertino, and use tax on the company’s own equipment purchases, city officials have said.
The company remits all sales tax it receives to the state tax department, which then allocates the local portion to Cupertino. The city passes on 35% of its total to Apple. Those payments to Apple have added up to $107.7 million since 1998, according to city payment records examined by Bloomberg Tax.
Even so, the sales tax revenue at issue in Cupertino is a small portion of the total taxes that Apple pays to California, the city and other jurisdictions.
MacDailyNews Take: According to the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, California’s total population declined by more than half a million people between April 2020 and July 2022. Counting just out-of-staters coming in versus Californians leaving, the state’s population saw a 871,127 net population decline in that period. California’s population decline led to the state losing a U.S. House seat for the first time in its 170-year history in the 2022 elections.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/13/tax-agreement-between-apple-and-cupertino-under-scrutiny-from-california-regulators/
Apple opens two retail stores in India: Apple BKC in Mumbai on April 18th and Apple Saket in Delhi on April 20th
Tuesday, April 11, 2023 12:02 pm
This week, Apple announced it will open its doors to customers at two new retail locations in India: Apple BKC in Mumbai on April 18th, and Apple Saket in Delhi on April 20th.
These new retail locations mark a significant expansion in India that will offer great new ways to browse, discover, and buy Apple products with exceptional service and experiences for customers.
The barricade for Apple Saket was revealed this morning and features a unique design that takes inspiration from Delhi’s many gates, each signifying a new chapter to the city’s storied past. The colorful artwork celebrates Apple’s second store in India — located right in the nation’s capital. Beginning April 20, customers will be able to stop by to explore Apple’s latest product lineup, find creative inspiration, and get personalized service and support from the store’s team of Specialists, Creatives, and Geniuses.
In celebration of the first Apple Store opening in India, Apple BKC announced a special Today at Apple series — “Mumbai Rising” — running from opening day through the summer. Bringing visitors, local artists, and creatives together, these sessions will offer hands-on activities with Apple’s products and services that celebrate the local community and culture in Mumbai. Customers can explore the “Mumbai Rising” sessions and sign up at apple.com/in/today.
Ahead of opening day, customers are invited to download custom Apple BKC and Apple Saket wallpapers, specially curated playlists on Apple Music to move to the sounds of Mumbai and Delhi, and visit apple.com/in/retail/bkc and apple.com/in/retail/saket to learn more about the upcoming openings in India. Apple BKC opens Tuesday, April 18, at 11 a.m. IST, and Apple Saket will open for customers April 20 at 10 a.m. IST.
MacDailyNews Take: Congrats, Mumbai and Delhi!
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/11/apple-opens-two-retail-stores-in-india-apple-bkc-in-mumbai-on-april-18th-and-apple-saket-in-delhi-on-april-20th/
Maybe we have a future Green Mountain Coffee:
https://www.vermont.com/businesses/green-mountain-coffee/
here is their history:
https://www.company-histories.com/Green-Mountain-Coffee-Inc-Company-History.html
Beleaguered Apple supplier Japan Display teams up with China’s HKC in latest turnaround bid
Monday, April 10, 2023 8:54 am
Japan Display will team up with China’s HKC on next-generation display technology it said on Monday, as the beleaguered Apple supplier launches its latest turnaround bids after eight consecutive years of losses.
Kiyoshi Takenaka for Reuters:
News of the tie-up, against the backdrop of Washington’s push to curb China’s ability to make advanced chips, sent Japan Display’s shares soaring. The stock closed up 21% in its biggest one-day gain in a year.
Formed a decade ago when the LCD businesses of Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba Corp, and Sony Corp merged in a government-brokered deal, Japan Display has been selling assets to try to return to profit.
The two companies will jointly plan and build display-making plants, using Japan Display’s eLEAP OLED technology, targeting mass production in 2025, Japan Display said… [Japan Display], which is majority-owned by Cayman Islands-based Ichigo Trust, makes the small displays used in smartphones, cars and other products.
MacDailyNews Take: Has Japan Display’s rather impressive string of failures finally come to an end?
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/10/beleaguered-apple-supplier-japan-display-teams-up-with-chinas-hkc-in-latest-turnaround-bid/
Apple stock dips on lower Mac shipments
Monday, April 10, 2023 5:04 pm
Apple stock dipped Monday on an IDC estimate that its Mac shipments dropped some 40% in the first quarter.
Reinhardt Krause for Investor’s Business Daily:
Apple’s personal computer shipments declined by 40.5% to 4.1 million in the first quarter, according to market research firm IDC. Overall, global shipments fell 29% to 56.9 million, IDC said.
Lenovo and Dell also posted drops of more than 30%.
Apple stock fell 1.6% to close at 162.03 on the stock market today… Meanwhile, Apple stock had been up 27% in 2023 as of Thursday’s market close.
MacDailyNews Take: This is not in any way a surprise to anyone familiar with the company.
Apple CFO Luca Maestri during Apple’s Q123 conference call on February 2, 2023:
For Mac and iPad, we expect revenue for both product categories to decline double digits year over year because of challenging compares and macroeconomic headwinds.
We have low share and we have a competitive advantage with Apple silicon. And so, strategically, I think we’re well-positioned in the market, albeit I think it will be a little rough in the short term. – Apple CEO Tim Cook, February 2, 2023
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/10/apple-stock-dips-on-lower-mac-shipments/
U.S. House Select Committee to meet with Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss China
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 1:29 pm
The U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is set to meet with corporate executives including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Disney CEO Bob Iger to discuss China-related topics.
Lauren Feiner for CNBC:
A group of lawmakers will travel to California to meet with tech and media executives, including Apple.
Nearly a dozen lawmakers representing both parties on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party are set to make the three-day trip, led by Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., a spokesperson for the committee told CNBC.
The trip highlights how the committee’s work could affect the tech and media industries, which have an interest in both the large consumer market and the workforce in China. Just last week, Cook, whose company relies on Chinese labor for phone production, met with the country’s minister of commerce about supply chain issues.
Gallagher has previously said he wants Iger and Big Tech executives to testify before the panel.
The committee wants to press businesses to diversify their supply chains enough so that they are not overly reliant on Beijing and to ensure forced labor isn’t employed.
MacDailyNews Note: Representative Gallagher in January said that he wants executives like Tim Cook to testify before the panel.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/05/u-s-house-select-committee-to-meet-with-apple-ceo-tim-cook-to-discuss-china/
Apple sales VP Doug Beck leaves for role at U.S. Department of Defense
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 12:11 pm
Extending a wave of key executive departures at Apple, Apple sales VP Doug Beck is leaving the company for a senior role at the U.S. Defense Department.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
Beck will lead the Defense Innovation Unit, which promotes the use of commercial technology within the military. He also will advise Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on technology strategy, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.
For Apple, Beck’s departure marks yet another senior exit. In recent months, the company has lost executives overseeing industrial design, hardware and software engineering, procurement, sales in emerging markets, subscription and cloud services, online retail, and information systems.
“We support Doug’s public service and wish him all the best,” Apple said in a statement. The Defense Department said that the job is a full-time role.
Beck is one of fewer than 20 executives to report directly to Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. He managed sales to governments, health institutions and schools, serving as one of the Cupertino, California-based company’s two sales chiefs.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s brain drain continues.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/05/apple-sales-vp-doug-beck-leaves-for-role-at-u-s-department-of-defense/
First official Apple Retail Store set to open in India
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 8:55 am
Apple is set to open its first official retail store – a flagship location called “Apple BKC” – in India’s financial hub of Mumbai.
Apple’s 2021 plans for the launch of its first retail store in the country were delayed due to the various and sundry responses to COVID-19.
Reuters:
The Cupertino, California-based company launched an online retail store in India in 2020.
Apple products have been sold in India for years on ecommerce platforms such as Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart as well as through resellers.
India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market, with nearly 700 million smartphone users.
MacDailyNews Take: Well, this took just about forever, but it’s finally happening and it portends more growth for Apple which should be very good news AAPL shareholders in the long term.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/05/first-official-apple-retail-store-set-to-open-in-india/
Apple expected to boost its dividend and stock buybacks once again
Monday, April 3, 2023 2:07 pm
When Apple reports earnings late this month, the company is widely expected to increase its dividend and boost stock buybacks once again.
Eric J. Savitz for Barron’s:
Over each of the last 10 years, in fact, Apple has used the announcement of March-quarter earnings to provide the market with an update on its capital-return policy.
Apple has been aggressively returning cash to holders for years now, mostly in the form of stock repurchases, but also with gradually increasing dividends.
Apple currently pays a quarterly dividend of 23 cents a share, for a yield of 0.6%. The company raised the rate last year by a penny, or a little under 5%. The year before that, the increase was 7%. It would seem logical to think Apple will raise the rate this year once again by a penny, which would be 4%, to 24 cents quarterly—although a 2-cent increase, or a little under 9%—would bring the annualized rate to a nice round dollar.
Last year, Apple’s board approved a $90 billion buyback authorization, matching the one from the year before. Over the last five years combined, the company has announced $405 billion in stock buybacks. Since the end of fiscal 2017, the company on a split-adjusted basis has repurchased 4.7 billion shares, reducing share count by 23%.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s best use for its copious amounts of excess cash is to return it to its shareholders via buybacks and dividends.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/04/03/apple-expected-to-boost-its-dividend-and-stock-buybacks-once-again/
I wonder if their coffee is available in any Miami area restaurants?
https://havanaroasters.com/pages/contact (includes map of area that they are located)
When I clicked on the gift card at the below link it showed "283 customers are viewing this product"
https://havanaroasters.com/collections/all
Drunk driver arrested after his iPhone crash detection automatically calls the cops after crash
Thursday, February 9, 2023 1:44 pm
Apple’s crash detection technology led to a suspected drunk driver being detained by police after his iPhone automatically called them after a crash.
Hamish McNeilly for Stuff New Zealand:
The 46-year-man was driving along Andersons Bay Rd in Dunedin when he crashed at about 1am on Thursday, driving into a tree on the centre barrier.
“His iPhone activated the emergency function and called police advising us of the crash,” Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said.
The driver spoke to the 111 operator telling them that police “should not worry about it”.
But because the man sounded heavily intoxicated, a police patrol car was sent to the scene.
Officers found the suspected drink-driver, who was less than pleased to see them.
He allegedly pushed at police as they began drink-driving procedures, and refused a blood sample being taken.
He was charged with refusing a blood sample and assaulting police, and will appear in court on February 16.
MacDailyNews Take: Luckily, no one was hurt. Don’t drink and drive.
Crash Detection is designed to detect severe car crashes—such as front-impact, side-impact, and rear-end collisions, and rollovers—involving sedans, minivans, SUVs, pickup trucks, and other passenger cars.
When a severe car crash is detected, your iPhone or Apple Watch sounds an alarm and displays an alert.
• Your iPhone reads the alert, in case you can’t see the screen. If you have only your phone, the screen displays an Emergency Call slider and your phone can call emergency services.
• Your Apple Watch chimes and taps your wrist, and checks in with you on the screen. If you have only your watch, the screen displays an Emergency Call slider. If you have a watch with cellular or your watch is connected to Wi-Fi, it can call emergency services.
• If you have your iPhone and Apple Watch, the Emergency Call slider appears only on your watch, and the call is connected and the call audio plays from your watch.
• If you’re able, you can choose to call emergency services or dismiss the alert.
• If you’re unable to respond, your device automatically calls emergency services after a 20-second delay.
• If you’ve added emergency contacts, your device sends a message to share your location and let them know that you’ve been in a severe car crash.
• If you’ve set up your Medical ID, your device displays a Medical ID slider, so that emergency responders can access your medical information.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/02/09/drunk-driver-arrested-after-his-iphone-crash-detection-automatically-calls-the-cops-after-crash/
Apple AirTag alerts Texas woman to unwanted tracking
Thursday, February 9, 2023 11:17 am
Apple released AirTags on April 30, 2021 to help people track and locate important items, but some criminals have used the devices to stalk and harass people. In Texas, a woman was recently notified of an AirTag that was found taped under her car.
Paul Best for Fox News:
a woman received an alert that an AirTag was traveling with her while she was driving on Sunday in Irving, Texas, according to KXAS. She immediately drove to the nearest police department and officers were able to locate the device taped under her car within 10 minutes.
“It’s an uneasy feeling,” Officer Robert Reeves told the local news outlet. “We may be looking at an offense of either harassment or stalking which is a high misdemeanor or felony offense.”
A spokesperson for Apple pointed Fox News Digital to a recent update from the company that noted it frequently works with law enforcement on tracking down errant AirTags.
“Every AirTag has a unique serial number, and paired AirTags are associated with an Apple ID,” Apple recently explained. “Apple can provide the paired account details in response to a subpoena or valid request from law enforcement.
MacDailyNews Take: Clearly, Apple’s AirTag, AirPods, and other Find My network accessories which include features to guard against unwanted tracking worked well in this case.
You won’t get that from any other item tracker.
With any other tracker, you would be tracked for as long as the tracker remains functional without notification.
Apple AirTags are the most anti-stalking, pro-privacy, and safest trackers on the market.
Obviously, AirTags should not be used to track people without their knowledge, and should not be used to track property that does not belong to you. Using these products to track people without their consent is a crime in many countries and regions around the world. If an AirTag, set of AirPods, or Find My network accessory is discovered to be unlawfully tracking a person, law enforcement can request any available information from Apple to support their investigation.
If any AirTag, AirPods, or other Find My network accessory separated from its owner is seen moving with you over time, you’ll be notified in one of two ways. These features were created specifically to discourage people from trying to track you without your knowledge.
1. If you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Find My will send a notification to your Apple device. This feature is available on iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later. To receive alerts, make sure that you:
• Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services, and turn Location Services on.
• Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services. Turn Find My iPhone on.
• Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services. Turn Significant Locations on to be notified when you arrive at a significant location, such as your home.
• Go to Settings > Bluetooth, and turn Bluetooth on.
• Go to the Find My app, tap the Me tab, and turn Tracking Notifications on.
• Turn off airplane mode. If your device is in airplane mode, you won’t receive tracking notifications.
2. An AirTag, AirPods Pro (2nd generation) charging case, or Find My network accessory that isn’t with its owner for a period of time will emit a sound when it’s moved.
If you’re stuck with a Android device, you can download Apple’s Tracker Detect app from the Google Play Store. Tracker Detect looks for item trackers within Bluetooth range that are separated from their owner and that are compatible with Apple’s Find My network. These include AirTag and compatible item trackers that use the Find My network. If you think someone is using an AirTag or another item tracker to track your location, you can use the Tracker Detect app’s scan feature to try to find it. If the app detects an AirTag or compatible item tracker near you for at least 10 minutes, you can play a sound to help find it.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/02/09/apple-airtag-alerts-texas-woman-to-unwanted-tracking/
Apple Services alone now generates more revenue than McDonald’s and Nike combined
Thursday, February 9, 2023 10:46 am
Apple Services business has now grown to become one of the company’s most lucrative segments, with revenue surpassing that of major corporations, generating more revenue than McDonald’s and Nike combined.
Justinas Baltrusaitis for Finbold:
In particular, data acquired by Finbold on February 9 indicates that Apple Services recorded a revenue of $79.4 billion in 2022. The revenue emanated from services including Apple iCloud, Apple TV+, Apple App Store, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and Apple Fitness+.
The revenue by Apple Services exceeded that of several established Fortune 500 companies. Apple Services surpassed aerospace manufacturer Boeing, which recorded a revenue of $66.6 billion in 2022. Among the selected companies, Intel recorded $63.1 billion, followed by Nike at $49.1 billion. American Airlines, with a revenue of $49 billion.
Other companies trailing Apple Services include beverage giant Coca-Cola at $42.3 billion, Netflix at $31.6 billion, and McDonald’s at $23.3 billion. Interestingly, Apple Services’ revenue for 2022 was more than that of McDonald’s and Nike combined which stood at $72.3 billion.
MacDailyNews Take: Perspective can be dizzying.
Those who can wrap their heads around Apple’s massive cash mountain and the company’s unparalleled ability to generate cash can clearly see who the winner will be. – MacDailyNews, January 3, 2018
https://macdailynews.com/2023/02/09/apple-services-alone-now-generates-more-revenue-than-mcdonalds-and-nike-combined/
Couple uses Apple AirTag to track ‘lost’ luggage to storage locker
Monday, February 6, 2023 3:45 pm
Nakita Rees and Tom Wilson of Cambridge, Ontario, say they fought with Air Canada for some four months to get back a piece of luggage — during which the couple was told it was lost and then donated to charity, all the while being track by them via an Apple AirTag — before it was finally returned to them on Monday.
CBC News:
Rees and Wilson were on their honeymoon and returned to Canada from Greece on Sept. 10. Their flight landed in Montreal and they had to recheck their bags before continuing to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
When the couple landed in Toronto, the Apple AirTag tracker in Wilson’s luggage showed it was still in Montreal.
After filling out the paperwork for misplaced luggage, the couple went home, certain the bag would be returned within a day or two, Rees said.
She said the AirTag, which allowed them to track the bag using an app on their iPhone, gave them “complete peace of mind…”
MacDailyNews Take: Each of our bags always has its own AirTag inside.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/02/06/couple-uses-apple-airtag-to-track-lost-luggage-to-storage-locker/
Apple to hold in-person, employee-only annual ‘AI Summit’ at Steve Jobs Theater
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 11:49 am
Apple will hold its annual AI summit for employees next week inside Apple Park’s Steve Jobs Theater, the first fully live in-person event at the company’s Apple Park headquarters since many parts of the world experienced a series of wild, cascading, unscientific, hysterical, and illogical COVID overreactions.
Mark Gurman via Twitter:
On the heels of OpenAI, ChatGPT noise and Google + Microsoft AI launches, Apple is holding its (previously scheduled) annual internal AI summit next week. It’s like a WWDC for AI, but only for Apple employees.
Interestingly, the event will be held in the Steve Jobs Theater at the Apple HQ and the in-person event will be streamed to employees as well. So, essentially how Apple held media events pre-Covid. Have to wonder if Apple will also return to that for public product launches.
Tim Hardwick for MacRumors:
The last fully live, fully in-person product event was for the ?iPhone? 11, which was held on Tuesday, September 10, 2019. Whether the AI summit is a sign that future product events will finally return in their traditional guise is now the question on many people’s lips.
As Gurman notes, the latest AI summit comes at a time of much tech industry excitement surrounding the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot and Google’s recent announcement that it is releasing its own LaMDA-powered AI chatbot, called Bard.
MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, this oh-so-dangerous in-person “AI Summit” bears some, er… fruit for Apple’s personal assistant as, currently, Siri is to AI as to Manis was to Albert Einstein.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/02/07/apple-to-hold-in-person-employee-only-annual-ai-summit-at-steve-jobs-theater/
U.S. Senator urges Apple to ban TikTok from its App Store
Thursday, February 2, 2023 10:20 am
A member of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee is calling on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores over concerns about national security.
Brian Fung for CNN:
In a letter sent to the two tech giants on Thursday, Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet calls TikTok “an unacceptable threat to the national security of the United States” and cites the same concerns that have prompted the federal government and more than half of US states to restrict TikTok from official devices and networks.
Writing to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Bennet highlighted fears that China could use its national security laws to force TikTok or its parent, ByteDance, to hand over the personal information of the app’s US users. The laws in question, Bennet wrote, require organizations in the country to “cooperate with state intelligence work” and to allow the government to access company resources. ByteDance’s founder is Chinese and the company has offices in China. TikTok has also disclosed to European users that their data may be accessed by employees based in China.
China could potentially try to shape what US users see on the app, Bennet warned, with possible implications for foreign policy and democracy.
“We should accept the very real possibility that [China] could compel TikTok, via ByteDance, to use its influence to advance Chinese government interests,” Bennet wrote, “for example, by tweaking its algorithm to present Americans content to undermine U.S. democratic institutions or muffle criticisms” of China’s handling of Hong Kong, Taiwan or ethnic minorities.
MacDailyNews Take: Tick-tock, TikTok.
See also:
• FCC Commissioner wants Apple and Google to remove TikTok from app stores – June 29, 2022
• 15 U.S. state attorneys general demand that Apple, Google raise TikTok to ’17+’ age rating – December 14, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2023/02/02/u-s-senator-urges-apple-to-ban-tiktok-from-its-app-store/
All eyes on Apple ahead of earnings today; here’s what the analysts expect
Thursday, February 2, 2023 8:51 am
Apple on Thursday reports fiscal first quarter 2023 (calendar fourth quarter 2022) after market close, right around 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET. The compnany will follow the release with a conference call with analysts scheduled to begin at 2pm PT / 5pm ET.
Eric J. Savitz for Barron;s:
The consensus view on Wall Street is that Apple (ticker: AAPL) will report sales of $121.7 billion for its fiscal first quarter, down 1.8% from the year-earlier quarter, marking the first year-over-year quarterly decline since 2019. Profits are projected at $1.95 a share, down from $2.10 a year earlier.
Also keep in mind that this time around, the December quarter had 14 weeks, rather than the usual 13. That was widely known, but an extra week can sometimes distort the Street’s estimates.
The biggest swing factor is likely to be iPhone sales, where the Street is anticipating a hit from the company’s well known production problems for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. The wild card is how the weakening economy has affected demand for those high-end phones.
Wall Street analysts tracked by FactSet expect iPhone revenue in the quarter of $68.3 billion, down 4.6% from a year earlier with Mac revenue of $9.3 billion, off 14%. The Street sees iPad revenue of $7.9 billion, up 9.6%. Wearables, home, and accessories revenue is projected to be $15.2 billion, up 3.4%. Analysts project services revenue of $20.5 billion, up 5%.
MacDailyNews Note: As usual, we’ll have Apple’s results for you right around right around 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET and then cover the company’s Q123 conference call with live notes starting at 2pm PT / 5pm ET.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/02/02/all-eyes-on-apple-ahead-of-earnings-today-heres-what-the-analysts-expect/
National Labor Relations Board claims Apple executives violated worker rights
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 8:59 am
U.S. National Labor Relations Board prosecutors claim that comments by Apple executives and policies imposed on employees violate workers’ rights.
Josh Eidelson for Bloomberg Law:
The NLRB general counsel’s office has determined that “various work rules, handbook rules, and confidentiality rules” imposed by the tech giant “tend to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees” from exercising their rights to collective action, spokesperson Kayla Blado said Monday.
In addition, she said, the agency “found merit to a charge alleging statements and conduct by Apple — including high-level executives — also violated the National Labor Relations Act.” Unless Apple settles, the board’s regional director will issue a complaint against the Cupertino, California-based company, Blado said in an email.
The agency’s investigations stemmed from cases brought in 2021 by former employees Ashley Gjovik and Cher Scarlett. Scarlett accused the company of maintaining work rules that “prohibit employees from discussing wages, hours, or other terms or conditions of employment.” Gjovik’s filings alleged that an email Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook sent pledging to punish leakers, as well as a set of policies in Apple’s employee handbook, violated federal law.
Gjovik cited policies restricting staff from disclosing “business information,” talking to reporters, revealing co-workers’ compensation or posting impolite tweets.
In his all-staff email, sent in September 2021, Cook wrote that “people who leak confidential information do not belong here.” Cook’s message said that Apple was “doing everything in our power to identify those who leaked” and that it didn’t “tolerate disclosures of confidential information, whether it’s product IP or the details of a confidential meeting.”
Complaints issued by NLRB prosecutors are reviewed by administrative law judges, whose rulings can be appealed to labor board members in Washington — and, from there, to federal court. The agency lacks the ability to impose punitive damages or hold executives personally liable for violations, but can order companies to change workplace policies.
MacDailyNews Take: Ooh, an NLRB complaint. That and a nickel will get you a nickel. In the future, Apple should refrain from hiring Karens.LOL
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/31/national-labor-relations-board-claims-apple-executives-violated-worker-rights/
Apple’s indomitable Macintosh may bolster earnings amid iPhone uncertainty
Monday, January 30, 2023 4:25 pm
Apple’s last earnings report was bolstered by the indomitable Macintosh and the same dynamic may show up in the Cupertino Colossus’ holiday earnings.
Emily Bary for MarketWatch:
Macs posted record revenue of $11.5 billion that was more than $2 billion ahead of expectations in the September quarter, making up for a shortfall in Apple’s iPhone sales. Apple may be looking for a boost from its white knight yet again when it reports holiday-quarter results Thursday afternoon, since its iPhone business has faced supply disruptions amid COVID-19 shutdowns in China.
Management’s own outlook called for Mac revenue “to decline substantially” from a year before, and analysts tracked by FactSet expect the company to post $9.4 billion in Mac revenue for the December quarter, 13.5% below its sales from a year earlier. That year-ago period benefited from a MacBook Pro launch.
Still, revenue of that magnitude would be Apple’s fourth highest on record for the category, despite the lack of a big product refresh, and there could be room for upside on Macs again this quarter. Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring recently boosted his expectations for Mac revenue to $9.8 billion, up 12% from his prior forecast due to “stronger-than-expected Mac shipments.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s Macintosh will continue to outperform the struggling “PC” industry because Apple’s well-heeled Mac customers are also most likely to be inflation- and recession-resistant and because the Mac hardware and software continues to outperform the imitators.
Imagine, some of these IP- and trade dress-trampling hacks have spent nearly 40 years trying to copy the Mac and still not getting anywhere near it!
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/30/apples-indomitable-macintosh-may-bolster-earnings-amid-iphone-uncertainty/
Analysts expect Apple to post its first revenue decline – however slight – since 2019
Monday, January 30, 2023 2:38 pm
Apple reports December quarter earnings on Thursday, and analysts expect the company to post its first revenue decline – however slight it may be – since 2019.
Kif Leswing for CNBC:
The company couldn’t build enough of its high-end iPhones when its primary assembly facility in China was shut down for weeks during covid lockdowns.
Apple gave a rare warning to investors that month explaining that production issues would result in lower shipments than “previously expected.” It was a data point that caused many analysts watching the stock to cut their estimates.
“We believe the peak impact of the disruptions was felt in early to mid November as wait times hit an extreme level (link) as the wait time in the US for the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max reached 34 days while wait time in China at the high-end hit 36 days,” UBS analyst David Vogt wrote in January.
Analysts polled by Refinitiv expect Apple to report just over $121 billion in revenue in the December quarter, which would be a slight decline from the company’s $123.9 billion from a year ago.
MacDailyNews Take: For Apple’s holiday 2022 quarter, it’s not a demand issue, it’s a supply issue – because somebody painted Apple into a CCP-controlled corner and began to try to extricate the company from its trap way too late. At least that effort has finally begun in earnest.
It’s smart for both Apple and Foxconn to diversify assembly outside of China. There’s no sense having all of your eggs in one basket. — MacDailyNews, April 2, 2019
India will help power Apple’s growth for many years. – MacDailyNews, January 4, 2017
MacDailyNews Note: As always, we’ll have Apple’s earnings results for you on the 27th right after market close (1:30 p.m. PDT / 4:30 p.m. EDT) and follow that with live notes from Apple’s Q422 conference call.
Here’s what Wall Street is expecting for Apple’s Q123 (calendar Q422), according to Refinitiv consensus estimates:
• Revenue: $121.19 billion
• Earnings per share: $1.94 per share
• iPhone revenue: $68.29 billion
• Mac revenue: $9.63 billion
• iPad revenue: $7.76 billion
• Other products revenue: $15.26 billion
• Services revenue: $20.67 billion
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/30/analysts-expect-apple-to-post-its-first-revenue-decline-however-slight-since-2019/
Dog eats Apple AirTag. Once retrieved, it still works.
Monday, January 30, 2023 2:07 pm
When Colin Mortimer used his iPhone to locate a lost AirTag, one meant to track his dog, normally attached to her collar, his fear was realized when his dog Sassy began to beep.
Dalvin Brown for The Wall Street Journal:
The 25-year-old fired up Apple’s Find My app, which showed that the white, bottle-cap-size disc was still in his home. He tapped a button on his iPhone to trigger the AirTag to beep. That’s what he heard coming from the belly of Sassy, a 50-pound Labrador retriever foster pup.
“I was like ‘Oh my God,’ ” said Mr. Mortimer, director of a public policy organization. “Luckily, we got her to throw it up.”
The AirTag, which was personalized with a puppy emoji, has a few bite marks but still works. He bought a new, $7 plastic holder from Amazon, and reattached the tracker to the collar of his older Lab, Sophie, he said.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s AirTag literally takes a licking and keeps on ticking!
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/30/dog-eats-apple-airtag-once-retrieved-it-still-works/
Apple supplier Jabil begins making AirPods components in India
Monday, January 30, 2023 9:00 am
Apple supplier Jabil has begun making components for AirPods in India, marking a significant step in Apple’s push to diversify production, and reduce its dependence on China by expanding production in India.
Sankalp Phartiyal for Bloomberg News:
The Indian unit of Jabil Inc. has begun shipping AirPods enclosures, or plastic bodies, to China and Vietnam, where the wireless earphones are assembled, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named as the move isn’t public.
Apple is building out production in India to reduce its reliance on China, where US trade restrictions and Covid-related disruptions have made manufacturing more risky. Its India output has thus far been limited to the iPhone, making AirPods the second Apple product now partially manufactured in the country.
US manufacturing services provider Jabil operates a 858,000 square foot (80,000 square meter) facility employing more than 2,500 workers in Pune, western India, according to its website…
New Delhi has given initial clearances to more than a dozen of its Chinese suppliers to ramp up via joint ventures with Indian partners. Luxshare Precision Industry Co Ltd., one of Apple’s Chinese suppliers which makes AirPods, is among the companies gaining that approval. Luxshare in 2020 agreed to take over a shuttered Motorola plant in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state, but is yet to begin manufacturing Apple products locally.
MacDailyNews Take: At a Software conference in May 2007, then Motorola Chairman and CEO Ed Zander was asked about Apple’s iPhone, due to be released the next month, “How do you deal with that?” Zander quickly retorted, “How do they deal with us?”
Answer: They turn your plants into shuttered hulks to be purchased for pennies on the dollar in order to be repurposed to make Apple iPhone accessories, that’s how.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/30/apple-supplier-jabil-begins-making-airpods-components-in-india/
U.S. DOJ antitrust lawsuit against Google could benefit Apple
Thursday, January 26, 2023 12:52 pm
A landmark lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department against Alphabet’s Google subsidiary over its abusive digital advertising monopoly could help Apple, other rivals, and websites that sell ad space, but leaves an uncertain future for the advertisers themselves, experts told Reuters.
Sheila Dang and Diane Bartz for Reuters:
The Justice Department’s complaint against Google on Tuesday called for the company to divest Google Ad Manager, a suite of tools including one that lets websites put ad space up for a sale and another that served as an ad marketplace that automatically matched advertisers with those publishers.
If the Justice Department lawsuit succeeds, “advertisers and publishers could have more leverage with more options with expanding players – and consequently more competition,” said Neil Begley of Moody’s Investors Service.
Apple Inc, which is steadily growing its nascent advertising business and promoting it as privacy-focused, could be a winner if Google ads become less effective, said Brian Mandelbaum, chief executive of marketing firm Attain.
Apple has “an ability to be a new dominant force,” in advertising because Apple has data through its ownership of phones, its Safari web browser and the distribution of apps through the App Store, he said.
With more options besides Google, publishers will have more transparency over how much they can sell ad space for, and could end up paying less in fees, Mandelbaum said.
If successful, the lawsuit could be “the beginning of serious business model changes for Google,” said Paul Gallant, managing director at Cowen Washington Research Group.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, this is a decade or so too late, but at least it’s finally happening!
As regular readers know, we’ve been talking about this issue for years, as ad revenue dwindled – yet Alphabet/Google magically got richer. We’ve all lost many great sites over recent years as the Google-dominated broken ad-supported model failed. This is the very reason why there are too many ads on the site (cluttered is better than dead).
Candidly, it may be too late for us (but, for now, we’re still trying to survive). This will take many years to be rectified and for the once-vibrant digital advertising model to begin working again for publishers, if it ever happens. If you can help keep our independent Apple-focused blog afloat, you can do so here. Thank you in advance!
Even as we attempt to move away from the ad-supported model, we back whatever remedy or remedies will introduce competition back into the online advertising business, which is broken, in part, because far too much power is concentrated with Google/Facebook. This situation is exactly why antitrust laws exist. — MacDailyNews, February 2, 2021
Imagine if your livelihood depended on one company that had not only monopolized web search (and, thereby, basically controlled how new customers find you), but also controlled the bulk of online advertising dollars which funded your business and which they could pull, simply threaten to pull, or reduce rates at any time? Now also imagine if you believe this monopolist basically stole the product of another company that is the very subject of your business? How much would you criticize the monopolist thief’s business practices?
You might guess that it would be a tough road to walk. (We’re only imagining, of course!)
That would be a good example of why monopolies are bad for everyone…
In the meantime, stop using Google search and Google products wherever possible. Monopolies are bad for everyone. — MacDailyNews, July 14, 2016
If you haven’t already, give DuckDuckGo a try! https://duckduckgo.com
With this unprecedented power, platforms have the ability to redirect into their pockets the advertising dollars that once went to newspapers and magazines. No one company should have the power to pick and choose which content reaches consumers and which doesn’t. — MacDailyNews, November 9, 2017
We’d like to see real competition in the online search and advertising markets restored someday. — MacDailyNews, March 20, 2019
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/26/u-s-doj-antitrust-lawsuit-against-google-could-benefit-apple/
Apple Maps app feature can help you find a parking spot
Tuesday, January 24, 2023 3:19 pm
Apple Maps has partnered with SpotHero, integrating the service into Apple Maps on iPhone and Mac, so you’ll be able to find information on parking spots close to your destination – all without leaving the Apple Maps app.
Kurt Knutsson for Fox News:
Apple Maps app allows you to search for parking availability, check prices and even reserve a spot for your vehicle. You can even make your search a bit more specific by looking for spaces with electric vehicle charging stations and wheelchair accessibility.
Apple has made this possible by partnering with digital parking company SpotHero to provide information to Apple users on 8,000 parking venues.
The SpotHero website is now embedded in the Maps app and will give you all the information you need. Just keep in mind the feature is only available in the United States and Canada, and only features paid parking spots.
MacDailyNews Note: Check out the screenshots in the full article here.
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/24/apple-maps-app-feature-can-help-you-find-a-parking-spot/