Comedic Feminist Anthology “Roar” Hits Apple TV+ Friday 15 April
14 APRIL 2022 - There’s a pretty exciting show hitting Apple TV+ this week. “Roar” is an anthology series, based on a book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern. Referred to as “darkly comic feminist fables,” a press release on the series describes the show, saying:
Spanning genres from magical realism to psychological horror, these eight stand-alone stories feature ordinary women in some pretty extraordinary circumstances. In “Roar,” women eat photographs, date ducks, live on shelves like trophies. And yet, their struggles are universal.
And the cast is powerhouse, including Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, Alison Brie, and many, many more. I don’t know how this happened, but I missed the press release on the show when it posted a few weeks ago, so I missed the trailer as well. Kind of bummed. I would have been even more excited. The trailer is amazing. You can catch that below. All eight episodes of “Roar” hit Apple TV+ tomorrow - Friday 15 April.
Apple Shows Off Winners of “Shot on iPhone” Macro Challenge
“Art in Nature” (spiderweb) by Prajwal Chougule (@prajwal.photos). Shot on iPhone 13 Pro.
14 APRIL 2022 - Props to some really big pictures of really small things. MacRumors says Apple has announced the 10 top pics in its “Shot on iPhone” Macro Challenge. There’s a strawberry and a mushroom and… some sea glass…
I’m really not doing them justice. You can see the pics for yourself in Apple’s Newsroom, or other surfaces covered by Apple. MacRumors says:
The winning photos will be celebrated on Apple's website, Instagram account, and more. Apple has also said that winning photos may appear in the company's digital campaigns, such as in Apple Stores or on […] billboards.
Piper Sandler: Apple Won’t Be Hurt By China’s Latest Lockdowns
13 APRIL 2022 - While the latest round of COVID lockdowns in China will be a thing for Apple’s supply chain, they won’t be a big thing. That’s the thinking of a number of observers - most recently Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar. Apple Insider has had a peek at a note he wrote. He points out that, while smaller iPhone makers in Shanghai and Kunshan have seen disruption, Foxconn - Apple’s largest iPhone supplier - has been going full bore since sometime last mont, and should be able to pick up the slack from the shuttered facilities. Additionally, Kumar points out, the June-quarter tends to be among Apple’s slowest, so a lack of supply would not be felt as keenly as it might. And finally, he believes that people who want iPhones but can’t get them will wait until iPhones become available.
Kumar has a positive rating on Apple shares. He’s put Piper Sandler’s 12-month price target on the shares at $200.
Citigroup’s Suva Sees Apple Buying Back More Shares
13 APRIL 2022 - You know what might strengthen Apple shares? Apple buying a lot of them up. Citigroup analyst “Gentleman” Jim Suva thinks Apple will use this month’s earnings announcement to announce another round of those.
Bloomberg caught a note he posted on Tuesday. According to the piece, “Suva estimated that [Apple] might announce a buyback of $80 billion to $90 billion, while also increasing its dividend by 5% to 10%.”
That could prove to be a catalyst for Apple shares, as could new stuff we don’t know about. Suva argues that Apple’s current market value doesn’t reflect stuff we all think we know is coming, like Apple’s anticipated AR/VR plays and - of course - the elusive Apple Car.
As for current worries in the supply chain, Suva thinks those “could provide a near-term stock pullback which we would use as a buying opportunity.” Suva’s got a “Buy” rating on Apple shares. He’s put Citigroup’s price target on the shares at $200.
Cook Makes Privacy Case Against Sideloading at IAPP Summit
Image via YouTube
13 APRIL 2022 - It does not sound like Apple CEO Tim Cook broke new ground during his IAPP Summit speech on Tuesday, though the points he made are worth considering at the very least. I will confess I’ve yet to see it myself, though Cult of Mac has done a pretty extensive write-up on the presentation.
Saying that “A world without privacy is less imaginative, less empathetic, less innovative. Less human,” Apple’s CEO highlighted three fronts in the privacy fight:
Unfettered data mining
Unchecked data theft
“Regulations that could put our privacy and security at risk.”
That’s not a reference to legislation with privacy as its aim. Cook says Apple supports the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and continues “to call for a strong, comprehensive privacy law in the United States…” The regulations that concern the CEO are the ones that would require iPhone and iPad to be opened to competing app stores and sideloading. Quoting Cook:
These regulations argue that no harm would be done by simply giving people a choice, but taking away a more secure option will leave users with less choice, not more. And when companies decide they want to leave the App Store because they want to exploit user data, it could put significant pressure on people to engage with alternate app stores, where their privacy and security may not be protected.
Quoting Cult of Mac:
Apple “believes in competition,” Cook went on to say. But if Apple were forced to enable third-party app stores on its platform, he added, “the unintended consequences will be profound.”
Cook asked policymakers to “work with us to advance goals I truly believe we share, without undermining privacy in the process.”
As I said, I have not watched his speech yet. Plan to in the next day or two, though. You can see it for yourself below.
iMovie 3.0 Brings Storyboards and Magic Movie to iOS and iPad
Image via Apple
13 APRIL 2022 - A significant update Tuesday for Apple’s consumer level video app. Cult of Mac says the Cupertino-company pushed out iMovie 3.0 for iOS and iPad. Previewed at Apple’s “Peek Performance” event last month, the Cult says Storyboards and Magic Movie have made the scene.
From the sound of it, the Storyboards feature helps film and video makers think like film and video makers. Starting with a genre - cooking, DIY, film, and several others, the piece says Storyboards’ “template-based guides” help content creators “shoot and edit [their] videos.” According to the cite, “Storyboards help teach the art of storytelling and video creation directly within the editing software.”
Magic Movie, meanwhile, is for people who want to make movies without actually having to make a movie. “Starting with an album or selection of photos and videos,” Cult of Mac says:
…Magic Movie will use AI and machine learning to identify the best parts of your photos or videos, and instantly creates a movie – complete with titles, transitions, and music. Once created, you can quickly adjust the timing, remove or rearrange clips, or apply styles to change the look and tone of your video.
iOS or iPadOS 15.2 or later are required for iMovie 3. No money required, though. The app and the update are free in the App Store.
Prosumer Updates for the Pro Side
It wasn’t only the consumer side of Apple’s video making apps that got an update on Tuesday. Apple Insider says the Cupertino-crew’s pro suite of Final Cut Pro, Compressor, and Motion all met with updates to better play with Mac Studio. “Additionally,” the piece says, Apple “updated all three apps with support for the new iMovie Storyboards and Magic Movie features.”
Tom Hanks’ Playtone Inks Overall Deal with Apple TV+
Tom Hanks from Greyhound - Image via Apple
13 APRIL 2022 - Remember in the summer of 2020 when Tom Hanks got a bit snarky about his film Greyhound ending up on Apple TV+? One assumes a couple of years, a Best Picture Oscar, and bags of money can make a world of difference. Deadline says Playtone, Hanks’ production company along with Gary Goetzman, has inked an exclusive multi-year overall deal with the Cupertino-streamer.
According to the piece, the deal “encompasses series, documentaries and unscripted projects for Apple to develop, produce and distribute globally.” Apple and Playtone were already working with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television on the World War II series “Masters of the Air.” Next up for Playtone and Apple - a sequel (or a continuation, maybe) of 2020’s Greyhound.
Reboot “Bosom Buddies,” you cowards!
Big II: Even Bigger.
I’ll keep working on it.
Christa Miller Joins Apple TV+ Comedy “Shrinking”
Christa Miller - Image via IMDB
13 APRIL 2022 - The call sheet for “Shrinking” is growing. Last week we heard that Harrison Ford was joining the Jason Segel-led show. Now, a piece from Deadline says Christa Miller has joined the cast as well. Miller you may remember from “The Drew Carey Show,” “Cougartown,” and “Scrubs.”
If you don’t remember, “Shrinking” is the one about Jimmy, a psychiatrist (played by Segel) who just starts telling it like it is to his patients and the people in his life. Miller will play his next door neighbor, Liz, who the piece says:
…has become a mother figure to his daughter. A recent empty nester, she is always there for Jimmy’s family even as she embarks on a journey to figure out the next chapter of her own life.
Still no word on when the series will premier.
Maya Rudolph Show “Loot” Hits Apple TV+ on 24 June
Joel Kim Booster, Maya Rudolph and Ron Funches in “Loot,” premiering globally June 24, 2022 on Apple TV+.
13 APRIL 2022 - Maya Rudolph’s Apple TV+ comedy series has a name and a premier date. The streaming service issued a press release Tuesday, filling in some details on “Loot.” According to the description:
In “Loot,” billionaire Molly Novak (Rudolph) has a dream life, complete with private jets, a sprawling mansion and a gigayacht — anything her heart desires. But when her husband of 20 years betrays her, she spirals publicly, becoming fuel for tabloid fodder. She’s reaching rock bottom when she learns, to her surprise, that she has a charity foundation run by the no-nonsense Sofia Salinas (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez), who pleads with Molly to stop generating bad press.
No trailer for this one yet, though there’s plenty of time to get the PR machine humming. The release says “the 10-episode workplace comedy will debut globally with the first three episodes on Friday, June 24 on Apple TV+”
Apple Watch Activity Challenge Planned for Earth Day 22 April
13 APRIL 2022 - And finally today, Apple Watch owners may want to carve out half-an-hour outdoors next week. Earth Day is 22 April, and Apple is marking it with an Activity Challenge for Apple Watch.
You know the drill - do the thing, get a virtual medal and some stickers to stick in iMessage. Here is what the thing is:
Let’s get moving and celebrate the planet. On April 22, do any workout for 30 minutes or more to earn this award. Record it with the Workout app or any app that adds to Health.
You don’t have to go outside, by the way. Keep Earth Day in your own way, and let me keep it in mine…
Ming-Chi Kuo and the "Tinker Bell Principle"
12 APRIL 2022 - It is getting more difficult to clap for Tinker Bell and mean it. You know what I’m talking about, right? Tink ingests poison that had been meant for Peter Pan. She’s gonna die. Then Peter gets the audience watching or hearing the story to clap for Tinker Bell, counteracting the poison and reviving the fairy.
Maybe if none of us pointed that out it would keep working. I do worry sometimes that our constant focus on “bad” news just magnifies that bad news. Put another way, if great stores can change the world, what can bad stories do?
Stupid early Monday morning, TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo hit with a string of four Twitter posts that questioned the upcoming effectiveness of “the Tinker Bell principle.” Of course, he did not use that term.
China's COVID-19 lockdown is starting to affect iPhone assembly. Pegatron, the 2nd largest iPhone [manufacturer] has already halted assembly in Shanghai & Kunshan. In the best-case scenario, complete resumption of production may not be possible until late April or early May.
Foxconn, the largest iPhone [manufacturer], has not been affected and can partly fill the near-term supply gap. Suppose Foxconn can maintain a regular operation, and Pegatron can gradually recover. In this case, the impact of the lockdown on iPhone supply will be short-term & limited.
Although it's hard to predict future lockdown changes, Apple has the best supply chain management capabilities and a good relationship with the Chinese government, so I think Apple can minimize the impact of a lockdown on supply.
“However,” begins Tweet no. 4:
…the longer the lockdown lasts, the further effect on consumer confidence would likely [rise] and would probably be detrimental to the shipments of consumer electronics (including Apple's products) in 2H22.
I don’t know whether we’ve been practicing “the Tinker Bell principle” because it doesn’t occur to us that things won’t work out, or because we think that if those of us who can afford to buy smartphones don’t, the stores that sell the smartphones will close, the restaurants next to those stores will close, the factories that make the phones will lay people off, as will the factories that make the paper for the packaging, and there go the food trucks and coffee shops around those factories as well. The planet was stunned a couple of years ago by the ferocity and effectiveness of the clapping consumers demonstrated to keep Tink flying. “However,” says Young MC:
…the longer the lockdown lasts, the further effect on consumer confidence would likely [rise] and would probably be detrimental to the shipments of consumer electronics (including Apple's products) in 2H22.
Dude! How’m I supposed to keep clapping if you tell me my arms are getting tired?
Of course, it’s not his fault. It’s COVID-19 and Russia and inflation and uncertainty. That last one’s huge. Uncertainty has always been there. But now we’re having to face that uncertainty. And facing it, we’re faced with whether and/or how to keep clapping.
Report: Apple Producing iPhone 13 in India
Image via Apple
12 APRIL 2022 - As had been foretold, it seems Apple’s started making iPhone 13 in India. About a month ago, we heard that Apple was set to start production of its current line of iPhones at a previously problematic factory in Chennai. Now, Engadget highlights a Reuters report that says that that work is underway.
Does that mean that your next iPhone might hail from the subcontinent? Could be. Notoriously tight-lipped Apple doesn’t said a lot about what it makes where and where those things go. It seems more than likely that iPhones produced in India would go first to the Indian market. Models made and sold locally don’t face the same high import duties as models made elsewhere. That said, diversifying the supply chain has to look great to Apple - partly due to on-again/off-again political tensions between the U.S. and China and partly due to the on-again/off-again supply chain thing as China seeks to stop COVID.
Apple Corporate Starts Return to In-Person Work
12 APRIL 2022 - Apple employees have been called back to the Cupertino campus. Campuses? Campi? Anyway, they’ve started going back to the office. 9 to 5 Mac says, “Apple employees have officially started returning to in-person after working remotely since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.”
The company has planned a slow roll back into still not normal. Starting yesterday, Monday 11 April, corporate workers need to be back in one day per week. Staring Monday 2 May that creeps up to two days per week. “Then,” the piece says:
…starting on [Monday 23 May], employees will need to be in the office three days per week. This is the start of Apple’s so-called “hybrid” work plan. Apple has not revealed how long it will have this hybrid work plan in place, but Tim Cook has described it as a “pilot.” This implies that it could change sometime, and the company could eventually require employees to return to full-time in person.
Gartner and IDC: Mac Grew in March-Q Despite PC Shrinkage
Image via Apple
12 APRIL 2022 - You know… I miss when Apple would offer unit numbers. I understand why they don’t anymore. They want analysts and investors to grok the fullness of what the company’s doing - not live and die by the number of iPhones and iPads sold. But people still want those numbers. In the absence of such data from Apple, those people turn to outside sources like Gartner and IDC. Fun fact: When Apple did release sales data, IDC and Gartner were always off. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. I’m sure they did (and do) their best. But we used to get hard data from Apple on which to hang our hats. Now, it’s just the outsiders, their differing ways of doing things, and their differing sets of numbers.
Par example: Cult of Mac has new numbers from IDC that show Mac shipments up 4.3% last quarter versus the same quarter a year earlier. Meanwhile, the latest release from Gartner has Mac shipments up 8.6% last quarter versus the same quarter a year earlier. What’s funny is, they’re closer on actual unit numbers. Gartner’s got Apple shipping 7-million Macs last quarter, while IDC has Apple shipping 7.2-million.
Maybe we could talk about their areas of agreement. Both firms indicate that Mac sales grew, even as the wider PC market shrank. IDC puts the market down 6%, while Gartner puts it down 7.3%. Both also have Apple in fourth-place in terms of units moved behind Dell in third, HP in second, and Lenovo in first.
Working against PC growth is a tough compare. Gartner research director Mikako Kitagawa is quoted in that firm’s release, saying:
After an unprecedented Chromebook surge in 2020 and early 2021, driven by demand from the U.S. educational market, Chromebook growth has tempered… It was a challenging quarter for the PC and Chromebook market to achieve growth, as this time last year the PC market registered its highest growth in decades.
Meanwhile, IDC’s Ryan Reith says he and his:
…have witnessed some slowdown in both the education and consumer markets, but all indicators show demand for commercial PCs remains very strong… We also believe that the consumer market will pick up again in the near future.
Tink? Is that you? Applause, applause, applause…
Apple Resigns iOS 15.4 to Fix Studio Display Update Issue
Image via Apple
12 APRIL 2022 - The Studio Display update issue has apparently been fixed. I told you yesterday of an issue that had users of Apple’s new display unable to update the device, which runs iOS. And there’s the rub.
A piece from MacRumors points out that Apple released iOS 15.4.1 last month, aimed at performance improvements and security fixes. When it did, it unsigned iOS 15.4, meaning that users could not update to it nor go back to it, having instead to either stay with whatever version of the OS they were on or make the move to 15.4.1. There’s just one thing - unlike iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS, the version of iOS that runs Studio Display is not (or was not) updated in tandem. iOS 15.4 was the latest version to run the display, but it was unsigned, so when people tried to update, they got the big technical nope. Now, MacRumors says, Apple has “resigned iOS 15.4 for the Studio Display, making software updates for customers once again possible.”
Oops.
Apple Teases “Upcoming” Wuhan Store with Wallpapers
Image via Apple
12 APRIL 2022 - Apple has started the run-up to a new store in China. Apple Insider says the company “is preparing to open its Apple Store in Wuhan, China, promoting the upcoming launch with the release of a new wallpaper.” While the Apple Wuhan site simply lists the store as “Upcoming,” promoting it likely puts the opening in under two months. Of course, that assumes no worsening of COVID conditions and no more stringent lockdowns for Wuhan - neither of which feels like particularly thick ice. Still, as it stands now, Apple is moving ahead with opening plans.
Second Season of “Greatness Code” Premiers 13 May on Apple TV+
Scout Bassett - Image via Apple
12 APRIL 2022 - More to the glory of sport coming soon to Apple TV+. The players of ball, drivers of car, and riders of board will be hosannaed and heysannaed in season-two of “Greatness Code.” In a press release on the show, Apple says:
In “Greatness Code,” iconic athletes pull back the curtain on a pivotal career moment when they touched greatness. A stylized hybrid of live action and visual effects, this short-form docuseries sheds new light on the sports legends you thought you knew.
Soon to be featured:
English pro footballer Marcus Rashford
Super Bowl champion NFL quarterback Russell Wilson
X Games winning, pro skateboarder Leticia Bufoni
Track and Field Paralympian Scout Bassett
African-American NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace
Olympic alpine skier Lindsey Vonn
Six episodes, no waiting. Actually, there’s about a month of waiting, but once they hit, no waiting. All six episodes of “Greatness Code” season two hit Apple TV+ on Friday 13 May.
Mars or Bust for “For All Mankind”
Season Three Premiers 10 June
12 APRIL 2022 - I have not watched the first two seasons of “For All Mankind.” I’m tempted to say I have not watched them yet, but I’ve had a couple of years and still haven’t, so who knows.
Even in fiction, I know an organization like NASA moves slowly and doesn’t usually spring surprises on people, so maybe it’s not a spoiler to say season three is taking the show to Mars. Because it is. Apple TV+ issued a press release Monday, announcing a premier date for the alt-history series and news of the new destination. According to the release:
The propulsive new season of the alternate-reality series takes viewers to a new decade, moving into the early ’90s with a high-octane race to a new planetary frontier: Mars. The Red Planet becomes the new front in the space race not only for the US and the Soviet Union, but also an unexpected new entrant with a lot to prove and even more at stake.
The first two seasons of the show are available to view now on Apple TV+. Episode one of season three is set to land on Friday 10 June, with the full 10-episode season playing out one per week after that. The Cupertino-streamer also released a video that’s not so much a trailer as it is a teaser. You can check that out now below.
Kunshan Lockdowns Add Stressors to Apple and Greater Supply Chain
11 APRIL 2022 - Another city in China has gone into zero-COVID lockdown, adding another stressor to Apple production. The South China Morning Post says Kunshan, about an hour’s drive from Shanghai, has ordered its 2.1-million residents to stay inside as the country seeks to stop the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19. The site says “Factories in the city have been instructed to halt production since April 2, according to company statements…” Not everyone has had to, of course. Foxconn and Luxshare are both Apple suppliers with factories in the city. According to the report:
Both factories in Kunshan are still operating under “closed loops,” which confine staff to their quarters at the plants, with zero contact with outsiders. That slashes the productivity, as workers who live off-site cannot enter the plant, while daily Covid-19 tests disrupt the production cadence, according to people familiar with the matter.
As has often been the case since the start of the pandemic, it’s worse for companies not based in Cupertino. Kunshan is said by the piece to be home to a number of makers of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The report says:
Companies that have halted production include the PCB manufacturers Elite Material, Unimicron and WUS Printed Circuit, while the OEMs Wistron Corporation and Pegatron Corporation also suspended their production of computers, communications and consumer electronics for branded vendors.
The lockdowns in Kunshan are expected to be lifted tomorrow - Tuesday 12 April, provided the COVID situation does not get worse. Funny thing about COVID, though - it kind of does what it wants. We’ll see what happens.
Apple Supplier TSMC Sees Record Sales for March-Quarter
11 APRIL 2022 - Stressed though the supply chain may be, the situation’s not bad for specific links in it. Bloomberg says TSMC, the company that cranks out semiconductors from Apple, hit record sales in the first-quarter. That was driven by demand for cars, computers and, smartphones. The higher prices for chips due to the continued semiconductor shortage certainly didn’t hurt the company’s take.
While the company has yet to report full earnings, it has reported revenue. That came in at roughly US$17 billion for the March-quarter. That was up 36% from the same quarter a year ago. It also beat analyst expectations by close to US$1 billion.