Beddit Sleep Monitor 3.5 Sleeps with the Fishes
The Beats Pill+ wasn’t Apple’s only hardware to get the hook on Monday. A piece from Apple Insider says the Cupertino-company has also deep-sixed the Beddit Sleep Monitor 3.5. The piece says:
Beddit, the Apple-owned sleep tracking and monitoring service, launched the Beddit Sleep Monitor 3.5 in late 2018, roughly a year and a half after the firm was acquired. Three years later, it's no longer being sold.
It’s off of Apple’s site, according to the report. Additionally, “attempts to buy the product from Beddit's website [are] failing to go through.” The companion app is still available, though. Apple Insider figures it’ll stay there for a while for folks who still own the device.
Apple Can’t Block Shareholder Proposal on App Store in China
Apple’s going to have to address a few questions it would rather not at this year’s shareholder meeting. We heard last week that the meeting was going socially distanced again this year - compliments of the dreaded virus. When they do get together virtually, Apple will have to answer to shareholders for the way it handles dealing with the App Store in China.
According to a piece from Apple Insider, an individual filing on behalf of Azzad Asset Management wants to know why certain apps are removed from the App Store. While Apple says its annual transparency report answers the questions at hand, the filing apparently seeks specific answers about specific apps, not the aggregate numbers Apple offers.
Apple had asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to block six shareholder proposals. The SEC agreed to block three, including one tied to right to repair. It seems Apple’s Self Repair service announcement addresses those concerns as far as the Commission is concerned. Three shareholder proposals will face a vote though, including one regarding issues tied to forced labor, one tied to employee non-disclosure agreements, and the one about the App Store in China. Of course, Apple can still advise shareholders to vote the way it wants when the items come up for a vote. That usually works for the company, if memory serves.
Apple’s socially distanced shareholder meeting is scheduled for Friday 4 March.
Bloomberg’s Gurman: Apple’s Not Making a Metaverse for its MR Helmet
So there was a story from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman over the weekend, with which I’m having a bit of difficulty. 9 to 5 Mac highlights the story, which has Gurman saying Apple’s not building a metaverse for the mixed reality headset many (and plenty more) expect Apple to announce this year. “Here’s one word I’d be shocked to hear on stage when Apple announces its headset,” writes Gurman:
…metaverse. I’ve been told pretty directly that the idea of a completely virtual world where users can escape to — like they can in Meta Platforms/Facebook’s vision of the future — is off limits from Apple.
According to the report:
…Apple’s focus is said to be on a mixed reality headset that is used for “bursts of gaming, communication and content consumption,” but it will not be “an all-day device.”
Hold up - wait a minute: Who thought Apple was going to make its own metaverse? Apple thrives on the app economy. Sure, it made its own video streamer, its own bookstore, its own music service - it barely makes its own games (“Texas Hold ‘em,” and is there another?) and hasn’t tried a social network since Ping, unless I’m forgetting something, which is very possible.
As for not thinking about it as “an all-day device,” isn’t that going to be determined by the apps developers build for it and the services people sell through it?
I have no problem believing Apple’s not going to make its own metaverse. So little problem, I have trouble seeing this story as a story.
Apple Adds to Its Fitness+ Programming
Image: Apple
New year, new workouts. iDownloadBlog has a write-up of a bunch of new offerings for Apple Fitness+. Starting slow with something we know, the piece says Time to Walk is back for a third season. According to the piece, the new season of Time to Walk will include “such celebrity guests as Rebel Wilson, Bernice A. King, and Hasan Minhaj…”
If walking is not your speed, maybe it’s time to run. This one’s a tiny bit confusing. According to Apple’s announcement:
Time to Run on Fitness+ is a new audio running experience designed to help users become more consistent and better runners, with each episode focused on a popular running route in some of the most notable and iconic locations.
London first, then Brooklyn, then Miami Beach, according to iDownloadBlog. I assume they’re “inspired by” not, “you have to be those places.” I might try it and see.
Next up - New Artist Spotlight workouts, featuring the music of Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams, Shakira, and the Beatles. Those will be coming out once a week each Monday, according to the report.
Finally - Collections. According to iDownloadBlog:
Collections is a feature that brings in one place a curated selection of workouts and meditations from the library of 2,000 studio-style workouts and guided meditations. Best of all, collections organize this content in a way that helps you reach specific goals.
That does sound cool. Collections include:
30-Day Core Challenge
Improve Your Posture with Pilates
Perfect Your Yoga Balance Poses
Run Your First 5K
Strengthen Your Back, Stretch Your Hips
Wind Down for a Better Bedtime
An Apple Fitness+ subscription is required for all of the new guidance and workouts. An Apple Watch Series 3 or later is require for Apple Fitness+. The new offerings should start rolling out today - Monday 10 January - according to the report.
Big Birthdays for iMac and iPhone
Image via YouTube
It was a big weekend for Apple history and, it would not be hard to argue, for world history. A piece from MacRumors says Friday 7 January marked the 20th anniversary of the unveiling of the “sunflower” iMac G4. This was the one with the floating display attached to a sort of half-dome base. “Sunflower,” “lamp,” call it what you want. The piece says “the iMac G4 was innovative for its time as an all-in-one computer with a flat screen that can be moved around freely.” Introducing the machine, the piece has Apple co-founder and then CEO Steve Jobs saying, “The new iMac ushers in the age of flat-screen computing for everyone. The CRT display is now officially dead…”
Grand as that sounds, that’s not the thing that made world history. Yesterday - Sunday 9 January - marked the 15th anniversary of the unveiling of the iPhone. A separate piece from MacRumors says:
The original iPhone was a tiny little thing with a 3.5-inch LCD display, a plain old Home button, a thick chassis, huge bezels, a Samsung processor, and a 2-megapixel camera, but it was still unlike anything else that was on the market at the time.
The piece goes on to describe how limited other smartphones were, and how Apple has “led mobile phone design” ever since. If you doubt that, try finding a smartphone that doesn’t look like an iPhone. It can be done, but it’s not easy to do.
Maybe the most telling piece on what the iPhone hath wrought was from CNET. It ran through a list of products “vaporized” by iPhone. That list includes:
Stopwatches, point-and-shoot cameras, video cameras, personal digital assistants, calculators, GPS devices, watches, iPods and music players, calendars, books, landlines, magazines, paper maps, alarm clocks, portable gaming, audio recorders, and newspapers.
Personally, I find some of that debatable. If we accept the idea that the book is dead, I think Kindle and Amazon had more to do with that than did iPhone. As for magazines and newspapers - one could argue that Twitter did those in, though would Twitter have changed the world without modern smartphones, which - again - only happen because of iPhone?
Apps. Maybe that’s the real change. A category not destroyed, but created, for all intents and purposes.
Anyway - the whole thing’s worth pondering. Some piece I saw somewhere wondered what iPhone will look like in another 15-years. If it doesn’t look like glasses or contacts, I want my money back.
Report: CD Sales Up for First Time in 17-Years
As iPhone killed iPod, so too did iPod kill the CD. Though as Miracle Max might say, it turns out CDs are only mostly dead. According to a piece from MarketWatch, “CD sales increased in 2021 for the first time in 17 years.” It was not a big increase. “According to a yearly report from music data compiler MRC Data," says the piece:
…sales of CDs increased from 40.16 million units in 2020 to 40.59 million in 2021, marking the first time CD sales have increased on a year-over-year basis since 2004.
Vinyl sales were also up, but that’s been happening for a while. As for the rise in CDs, the report attributes most of that to three female artists in particular. MarketWatch says, “Adele, Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo all moved heavy volumes of physical CDs in 2021 as each artist released albums last year.”
Fun and anachronistic as the physical sales seem, it is still a streaming world. The MRC report says, “Audio on-demand streaming reached a new single-year high of 988.1 billion streams in 2021 (up 12.6% from 877.2 billion in 2020)…”
Audrey Hepburn Biopic in the Works for Apple TV+
Image by Arthur Halucha from Pixabay
Apple has inked a deal for a high-profile biopic. Variety says Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara is set to star as Audrey Hepburn in an untitled film from Academy Award nominated director Luca Guadagnino. Mara was nominated “for her work in 2011’s ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ and 2015’s ‘Carol.’” Guadagnino was nominated for his film “Call Me by Your Name.” And, of course, Hepburn you know from “Sabrina,” “Charade,” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s…” you think you remember that film, don’t you?
Variety says “plot details are being kept under wraps…” But, it’s a biopic about Audrey Hepburn so I say, well… that’s one thing we’ve got.
Apple and Harpo Working on Sidney Poitier Documentary
Sidney Poitier from “To Sire, with Love” - Image via IMDB
Renowned actor Sidney Poitier died on Friday at the age of 94. “The first Black winner of the Academy Award for best actor,” a piece from Apple Insider says:
…Poitier was known as a trailblazer in Hollywood, earning his first Oscar nomination for “The Defiant Ones” in 1958 then later winning for “Lillies of the Field.” Other films he starred in include “Patch of Blue,” “Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,” and “The Blackboard Jungle.”
Someone worthy of a documentary to be sure, and Apple has been working on one, it seems. Since his death last week, Apple Insider says “it has been revealed that work has been ongoing on a documentary about the landmark actor.” According to the report:
Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment are working on the film under Apple Original Films, with [Oprah] Winfrey executive producing the effort, [according to] Variety. It will be directed by Reggie Hudlin, known for films "House Party" and "The Black Godfather," as well as regularly serving as an executive producer for the NAACP Image Awards.
No word on when the documentary will be released.
Jason Sudeikis Wins Golden Globe for Lead Role in “Ted Lasso”
Image: GoldenGlobes.com
The Golden Globes, put on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are usually a glitzy, drunken kickoff to the seemingly endless Hollywood awards season. This year, they were a much more muted affair. A piece from CNET says:
Questions over lack of diversity, voting processes and finances saw the awards, run by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), boycotted by celebrities.
The awards were not televised. They were not live-streamed. But they did happen on Sunday 9 January, and Apple TV+ won one. Though a number of actors, series, and films from the Cupertino-streamer garnered nominations, the only award picked up was by Jason Sudeikis for Best actor in a TV series, musical or comedy for his role as Ted Lasso. No word on who - if any of the recipients - actually picked up their awards.
Piper Sandler Survey: Apple Still Strong with U.S. Teens
The kids continue to be alright with iPhone. Apple Insider has numbers from the latest survey of U.S. teens by Piper Sandler. If the numbers are right, they’re stunning.
In a survey of 10,000 teenagers across 44 states between mid-August and mid-September, the firm found teen-ownership of iPhone at 87%. That’s 9-out-of-10 kids toting an iPhone. That’s better than Trident numbers!
If there’s anything worrisome in the survey, it’s intent to buy. The piece says the percentage of kids who say their next phone will be an iPhone has dropped from 89% to 88%. In other words, nothing worrisome in the survey. Piper Sandler managing directors Harsh Kumar and Chris Donat are quoted in the piece, saying “the 87% iPhone ownership and 88% intention to purchase an iPhone metrics are near record highs for [the] survey,” and are notable for the “maturing premium smartphone market.” The analysts go on to say:
…these trends are encouraging as [Apple] continues to introduce new 5G iPhones, which could provide a significant product cycle refresh. We think these positive trends can also be a catalyst for further services growth as well, as the install base for Apple hardware continues to grow.
Continues to grow, indeed. Take Apple Watch, for example. Ownership among teens is bigger for Apple’s wearable, as are intent to buy and the device’s popularity. According to the report, 15% of teens surveyed plan on picking up an Apple Watch in the next six-months - up from 13% in the previous survey. Ownership by survey respondents stands at 30% - up from 25% in the previous survey. And the cherry on top, “Apple Watch is now the most liked watch brand with 39% of teenagers saying it is their favorite,” according to Apple Insider, “unseating Rolex which is now [at] 35%.”
As for growth in Services, when it comes to paying for things, cash is tops with kids by a wide margin. At the time of the survey, the piece says, “cash had been used in the last month by 85% of teenagers…” Apple Pay was second though, used by 35% in the month prior to the survey - up from 32% in the previous survey. PayPal was third with 22% prior-month usage - down from 24% in the survey before.
Apple Sets Remote Annual Shareholder Meeting for Friday 4 March
Apple has set the date, time, and location for its annual shareholder meeting. The date is Friday 4 March. The time is 9:00 AM Pacific. The place is wherever shareholders happen to be. 9 to 5 Mac has Apple saying that the meeting will be remote this year to “provide a safe experience for [its] shareholders and employees.’”
The meeting is open to shareholders of record on 3 January or earlier. While attendees won’t be crowding into any one location, even virtual space is said to be limited. According to Apple:
Online access to the webcast will open approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the Annual Meeting. Attendance at the Annual Meeting is subject to capacity limits set by the virtual meeting platform provider.
Expecting more people than WWDC are they? Actually, there does seem to be an interactive component. “Your vote is important to us,” Apple tells shareholders, adding:
Even if you plan on attending the Annual Meeting, we encourage you to vote your shares in advance to ensure that your vote will be represented at the Annual Meeting.
While it does not have the pep of an iPhone event nor the pizazz of a new Mac announcement, Apple Insider says the annual meeting is “a good indicator of what the company intends to focus on in the months to come.”
Tim Cook Took Home Nearly $100 Million in 2021
You know something Apple might discuss at this year’s shareholder meeting? The gobs of money made by Apple CEO Tim Cook. I mean, it would be gauche, but it still might come up. Because it was gobs of money. The Wall Street Journal (via Apple News+) says Cook marked his tenth year as Apple CEO by taking home nearly $100 million in 2021. A separate piece from Cult of Mac puts the exact number at $98.7 million. According to the Journal:
The bulk of Mr. Cook’s pay increase came from the award of restricted stock units valued at $82.3 million. Mr. Cook’s base salary of $3 million remained unchanged.
According to an Apple filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission:
Our executive compensation program is designed to motivate and reward outstanding performance in a straightforward, consistent, and effective way, commensurate with Apple’s size, performance, and profitability.
And profit the company has. The Journal points out:
Apple has benefited from a new iPhone with 5G cellular capability and workers and students stuck at home during the pandemic buying laptops and iPad tablets. The company’s stock rose about 80% last year…
Report: Some Messages Sending Read Receipts Even When Option is Off
Source: Apple
If you’ve got read receipts turned off on Messages for iOS, you may only think you have them turned off. Apple Insider highlights a - hold onto your hat - Macworld report that says some folks who’ve turned read receipts off are sending them anyway.
I can’t imagine you don’t know what they are, but just in case, Apple says when Send Read Receipts is on, “people are notified when you have read their messages.” I’m not always ready to respond, so I leave that option off. And hopefully it’s staying off. Indications are that a number of people are sending them against their own wishes. What stinks is the only way I can imagine them finding out is when people with whom they’re texting say, “I know you read my message…”
Apple Insider says it “was unable to produce the bug,” leading that site to see the issue as sporadic. The site also says “a simple reboot of an iPhone or iPad could fix the issue temporarily. It's likely that Apple will provide a patch in a future version of iOS 15,” according to the report.
Facebook Says It’s Still Working on an AR/VR Operating System
A Facebook response to a story this week leaves one with a question: Did we get bad information from The Information, or is Facebook trying to fool us?
Earlier this week, The Information reported that the social network had scrapped plans to build its own operating system for augmented reality and virtual reality devices. It would instead continue to use customized versions of Android for future Oculus hardware and other hardware of its ilk.
Now, a piece from 9 to 5 Mac says Facebook has refuted that story. Gabriel Aul, VP of Reality Labs Engineering for the company, took to Twitter to say:
There are several technical directions we’re pursuing in our efforts to build @RealityLabs operating systems, we’re still working on a highly specialized OS for our devices – we remain very much invested in this work and continue to dedicate the resources necessary to build this.
We are growing this team, not shrinking it.
Sounds like an outright refutation to me, though not to the folks at 9 to 5 Mac. They say:
…“a highly specialized OS for our devices” could easily describe the same approach used on current Oculus devices, namely a very tailored version of Android. So the statement may mean nothing more than that the company continues to work on this path, having indeed abandoned plans to build its own OS from scratch.
I can’t help wondering whether 9 to 5 Mac reads it that way because of a total trust in The Information, or a total lack of trust in Facebook. Anyway - that’s where the story stands now.
SoC Architect Jeff Wilcox Leaves Apple for Return to Intel
Source: LinkedIn
One of the Directors of Mac System Architecture has left the big, round building. The Mac Observer says after eight-years at Apple, Jeff Wilcox is “returning to his previous employer, Intel.” According to TMO, Wilcox:
…led the transition from Intel chips to Apple Silicon and also developed the System on a Chip (Soc) and system architecture behind the T2 coprocessor. He is now an Intel Fellow working on SoC architecture for the chipmaker’s clients.
In a farewell to Apple post on LinkedIn, Wilcox said:
It has been an incredible ride and I could not be prouder of all we accomplished during my time there, culminating in the Apple SIlicon transition with the M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max SOCs and systems. I will dearly miss all of my Apple colleagues and friends, but I am looking forward to the next journey…
Apple TV+ Releases Official Trailer for The Tragedy of Macbeth
Source: YouTube
Apple looks set for a triumph with The Tragedy of Macbeth. iDownloadBlog says Apple on Thursday released an official trailer for the film. Kind of funny since it’s actually been in theaters for a couple of weeks. Then again, the source material’s about 500-years old, so maybe they thought a trailer wasn’t important.
This trailer… well… I don’t know if trailers can be important, but this one is knock your socks off stunning, in my opinion. Shot in black-and-white, the cinematography and art direction are stunning. Seriously - this trailer… well… it does what one wants a trailer to do.
The film stars Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Kathryn Hunter, Corey Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, and others. It is directed by Joel Coen. Be warned, it is rated R for violence. The Tragedy of Macbeth hits Apple TV+ next Friday 14 January. Between now and then, you can catch the seriously stunning trailer below.
Wedbush: Tech Downturn Creates Buying Opportunities
Source: Apple Stocks App 01.05.2022
The markets took a hit on Wednesday, as did Apple. Shares ended the day at $174.92 - down about eight-dollars from Monday’s all-time high of $182.94. Of course, Apple wasn’t alone. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter - they were all down on the day, prompting a question from Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives: “Is this the end of the tech party or is it a major buying opportunity during a white knuckle sell off?”
You’ll never guess his answer. Apple 3.0 ran part of the note posing the question. Answering his sell-off question, Ives says:
…the underlying growth in the tech sector (which is being underestimated by investors) is unparalleled to any period of time we have seen in the last 21 years covering the tech sector on the Street.
He and his have put together what they call the “Wedbush Tech Sell-Off Shopping List.” For large cap stocks, there are two: Apple and Microsoft. According to the note, he and his believe:
…a robust earnings season around the quarter for the tech sector with healthy guidance for 2022 will calm the nerves of investors in the near-term. We would use this sell-off as a buying opportunity to own the tech winners for the next 12 to 18 months.
Ives has a “Buy” rating on Microsoft and a price target of $375. He’s also got a “Buy” rating on Apple and a price target of $200.
Counterpoint Research Expects Huge Growth in XR Shipments
Rumors around AR, VR, and a mixed reality headset from Apple have keyboards clacking and tongues wagging. Already this year we’ve heard Loup Ventures opine on the subject, we’ve heard TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo say how many he thinks will be available when, and this year is only six-days old. Now, Counterpoint Research is joining the call.
The firm issued a press release Wednesday, addressing anticipated shipments of XR headsets. While many have gone with “mixed reality” for the virtual reality/augmented reality combo, Counterpoint counters with “extended reality,” which they’ve shortened to the initials XR. Fells like it should be ER, but who wants to talk about spending time in that?
Any. Way. Last year, the firm says, the XR industry shipped 11-million units. By 2025, Counterpoint expects that number to grow to 105 million units. Props to Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 for the 2021 performance. Now please make way for the Cupertino-crew. Quoting Counterpoint:
We believe XR headset volumes will start picking up significantly in 2022, as it will be the biggest year for new XR product launches, with offerings from the Oculus Quest series, Sony PlayStation VR2 and the most awaited Apple AR glasses. Oculus and Sony have created a strong demand for their devices and built a good user base for upgrades, while Apple has a strong history of gaining volumes in a new category.
Their thinking on all of it is… interesting. Counterpoint says consumers and the businesses that serve them are favoring standalone versus tethered when it comes to virtual reality devices. “However,” the firm says:
…with Apple expected to enter the AR Tethered segment, we expect it to become the fastest growing and the second biggest form factor by 2025. This will catalyze the participation of many other brands, especially [other smartphone makers].
It’s interesting that they think Apple’s mixed reality offering will start tethered and will still be tethered in 2025.
The way they see it, “North America will remain the biggest XR market, given the size and advancement of its consumer and enterprise users." China will be the fastest growth market, thanks to early adoption of 5G, “a common language that makes content creation easy,” and a slew of smartphone makers ready to follow Apple into the space. Growth in Europe will lag, in Counterpoint’s estimation. While it is “a major XR market at the moment,” having to deal with a plethora of languages will limit content production.
Also, the metaverse. Industry is really excited about producing for the metaverse, even though no one’s 100-percent certain what the metaverse is.
Report: Facebook Cans AR/VR OS Work
We know one thing that will apparently not be driving the metaverse - the Meta operating system. That’s because Meta has killed it. Meta, which I’m gonna keep calling Facebook (sorry/not sorry), has reportedly canned a years-old project building an operating systems for realities augmented and virtual. So says a report from The Information, highlighted by Ars Technica.
According to The Information’s information, Facebook will stick with a modified version of Google’s Android for Oculus hardware and maybe mixed reality devices that might come down the pike. It’s unclear why the plug was pulled, but - whatever the reason - Ars Technica says it doesn’t look great. “From the outside,” says the piece:
…the decision appears to be a major setback in a brewing war over mixed reality between Meta, Apple, and potentially other tech giants. Apple's upcoming VR or AR headsets will without a doubt run a custom-made operating system that is designed to leverage tight integration with the hardware for strong performance and a stable experience.
The piece goes on to say:
It could be difficult for Facebook to compete with [Apple’s offering] without its own, ground-up software. That said, Facebook and Apple may end up targeting very different use cases for AR and VR; their ultimate strategies remain a mystery to most.
Apple Starts Back-to-School Promotion in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, and S. Korea
Source: Apple New Zealand
It’s back to school time in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, and South Korea. That means time for another back to school promotion from Apple. Apple Insider says the Cupertino-company is giving away free AirPods to “teachers and students who purchase an eligible Mac or iPad” in those those countries. According to the report:
Users who add one of the eligible Macs or iPads to their carts through the education store will receive the option to add the AirPods or upgrade to the third-generation AirPods or AirPods Pro.
On top of the free AirPods, the piece says “current or new college students, parents purchasing gear for students, and teachers or educational staff” can get their qualifying hardware at a discount. Folks who want that have to sign up through UNiDays to get that discount. Checking the Apple New Zealand website, the promotion appears to be running for the next couple of months.