Apple Opens New Store in Wuhan, China
Apple Wuhan - Image via Apple
23 MAY 2022 - News of a brand new Apple Store. Apple Insider says the Cupertino-company has opened Apple Wuhan in Wuhan, China. A few points make this store notable now:
It is the company’s first retail location in the Hubei province
It is Apple’s first location in China with a “dedicated Apple Pickup area, so customers can quickly and easily get their online orders,” according to the report
They still take COVID seriously. According to Apple Insider:
The outlet will be abiding by the local government's epidemic prevention policy, which will require both staff members and visitors to abide by strict health measures. This includes wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and undertaking temperature checks.
What a throwback.
College Discount Price Rises for Apple Music in Some Countries
23 MAY 2022 - It looks like the cost for Apple Music is going up for students on some parts of the planet. A piece from MacRumors says the Cupertino-company has been emailing college kids in affected regions, though it’s not made price increases globally. In one such email to a customer in South Africa, Apple said:
Thank you for subscribing to Apple Music. We wanted to let you know about an upcoming change to this subscription… Apple is raising the price of this subscription from USD 1.49 per month to USD 1.99 per month…
In addition to South Africa, other countries known by MacRumors to see such increases include Australia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. It’s not clear whether that’s everyone since Apple has not announced anything, choosing instead to email those affected.
Harry Styles Album Sets New 2022 Record on Apple Music
Harry Styles - Image: Apple Music Twitter Account
23 MAY 2022 - A little over a week ago, Kendrick Lamar’s latest album set the 2022 record for first-day streams. Now that record has been broken, and it was done in practically no time. A piece from iMore says Apple Music Tweeted out congrats to Harry Styles on the success of his latest album. According to the Twitter post:
In its first two hours, #HarrysHouse earned the most first-day streams for a pop album released in 2022.
“WandaVision’s” Shakman Tapped to Direct Apple’s Monsterverse Series
Image via Apple
23 MAY 2022 - After tackling the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Star Trek universe, Matt Shakman is headed to the Monsterverse. Deadline says Shakman, who helmed the Disney+ series WandaVision and its set to direct the fourth film in “Star Trek’s” Kelvin timeline, has been tapped by Apple to direct the first two episodes of the Cupertino-streamer’s Godzilla show.
Announced earlier this year, Apple describes the show, saying:
Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series explores one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.
No word on when the show will land in Apple’s stream.
Lupita Nyong’o Drops Out of Apple TV+ Series “Lady in the Lake”
Lupita Nyong’o and Natalie Portman - Image via Apple
23 MAY 2022 - Lupita Nyong’o is apparently out of Apple’s “Lady in the Lake.” According to Apple’s March 2021 press release on the show:
The limited series takes place in 1960s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz [played by Natalie Portman] to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood, a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.
Portman is also an executive producer on the show. Nyong’o was meant to play Sherwood. They’re looking for a replacement - probably PDQ. A piece from Variety announcing Nyong’o’s exit says the limited series is already in production.
Apple Original Films to Produce Christos Nikou film “Fingernails”
23 MAY 2022 - Apple has picked up a film at Cannes, though we’ll not see it anytime soon. A piece on the acquisition from Deadline indicates that the film has not been made yet. Titled Fingernails (gross), Deadline says:
In this sci-fi love story, a test has been discovered that measures whether married couples are truly in love, and institutes have opened to help couples succeed. Anna [played by Jessie Buckley] is skeptical of the positive result she’s received with her longtime partner, so she starts working in a love institute as an assistant to Trevor [played by Riz Ahmed] a mysterious and dedicated instructor.
The film will mark the English language debut of director Christos Nikou. Deadline says production is set to start later this year.
Bloomberg: Apple’s Board Has Tried on the Company’s Mixed-Reality Headset
20 MAY 2022 - I’m not a huge fan of product rumor stories, but I will way make an exception for this one… A report from Bloomberg (via AdAge) says Apple demonstrated its mixed-reality headset to the board of directors last week. That’s a sign “that development of the device has reached an advanced stage, according to people with knowledge of the matter,” according to Bloomberg.
The piece says the first device will be an AR/VR combo, though a set of stand-alone AR glasses is also in the works. Bloomberg also says that work on rOS - the operating system that’ll run the thing or things - has kicked into high gear in recent weeks. And, the piece says, the device could still see introduction later this year or early next year. As for show-and-tell for the board, the report says they have, in the past, “been the first group outside of Apple’s regular employees to see future products.”
So - If I don’t like product rumor stories, why am I doing this one? I’m glad I asked. There are a few reasons:
Though the piece cites secret sources only, it was written by Mark Gurman. His sources tend to be pretty sound.
I am a believer in the potential of both virtual reality and augmented reality, so any chance to talk about it is cool with me.
I thought it might be fun to have a top story of the day that was not about COVID, supply chain issues, governments trying to stifle Apple, Apple trying to stifle employees, or war.
This is (or at least may be) a story about the future of Apple. The way Gurman puts it:
The headset, which combines elements of virtual and augmented reality, is Apple’s next big bet. It represents the company’s first major new product category since the Apple Watch in 2015 and would vault the tech giant into a still-nascent industry…
And I am here for that all day long.
The story has details about the hardware, which I’m not going to hit here. Who knows how closely the thing members of the board put on their heads will resemble whatever we eventually get to try. Check out the story if you want to grok the gear, as it’s rumored to stand currently.
BofA Drops Apple Target to $200 on Macro and Supply Chain Headwinds
Image via Apple
20 MAY 2022 - News of a lowered price target on Apple shares, though not a lowered rating. On Thursday, Apple 3.0 ran part of a note from BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan. He still really likes Apple and the iPhone. He sees good times ahead for both. Better times, even. Among the positives listed:
Size of the global iPhone installed base was about 1.1bn units at the end of 2021
“The used iPhone installed base has been growing faster than the new iPhone installed base,” a trend Mohan expects to see continue
“A larger installed base can eventually drive higher consumption of services and sales of incremental devices (halo effect)”
“The iPhone installed base in China has been growing faster than other regions,” he expects that to continue
“Secondary market growth presents a large services opportunity.”
What’s not to love? Macroeconomic headwinds and supply chain headwinds. Those make the firm’s previous target of $215 too rich for Mohan. He’s kept his “Buy” rating on Apple shares but lowered his price target on the shares to $200.
I’ve gotta say, he’s left that target in a pretty respectable neighborhood considering Apple’s current stock price. Shares closed Thursday (19 May 2022) at $137.35. Mohan’s had been the street’s highest 12-month price target for Apple shares. That “honor” is split now between Evercore’s Amit Daryanani and Loop Capital’s Ananda Barauh. They’ve each got a $210 target on AAPL. “For those keeping score,” says Apple 3.0, “that’s $72.65 (35%) above Thursday’s closing price.”
Market Trackers: iPhone Still Tops in Smartphone Performance
Canalys: iPhone Took Half of U.S. Smartphone Shipments in March-Quarter
20 MAY 2022 - Though past performance is not indicative of future results (just like they say on the radio), a couple of market trackers seem to offer support for the faith BofA’s Mohan has in iPhone. One has Apple shipping half the smartphones in North America last quarter, while the other has iPhone claiming “double the revenue” of any competing smartphone.
Starting with the shipments, TechCrunch has word of new numbers from Canalys. According to the report:
Sales of the iPhone 13 propelled [Apple] to 51% of the total (North American) market, with 19.9 million units shipped. That’s up 45% from Q1 2021.
Canalys says an emphasis by Apple on the U.S. was helpful, as international markets got a bit shaky. “The new iPhone SE also helped the company capture more of the mid-range market,” according to the piece.
Running down the March-quarter North America smartphone top five:
Apple 51%
Samsung 27%
Lenovo 10%
TCL 4%
Google 3%
The other 5% went to a motley crew of “Others.”
Counterpoint: Apple Made Close to Half of Global Smartphone Revenue in March-Quarter
What’s the old phrase? “He who dies with the most toys wins?” Shipping the most toys looks better. A piece from Cult of Mac has Counterpoint Research doing the dollars thing. According to the report:
[Global] iPhone revenue in the first three months of 2022 hit $50.6 billion, up 5% year over year and a March quarter record.
By Counterpoint’s reckoning, that was almost half of the global take. Running through that firm’s worldwide top five in terms of smartphone revenue for the March-quarter:
Apple $50B (+5% YoY)
Samsung $21B (+4% YoY)
Xiaomi $8B (-3% YoY)
OPPO $8B (-9% YoY)
vivo $7B (-29% YoY)
And again, a motley crew of “Others” made some money - $17B among the lot of them. That was down 11% from the same quarter a year earlier.
It’s weird that Canalys credits iPhone’s performance in the U.S. to Apple focusing on the states while the rest of the world goes squiffy. Cult of Mac has Counterpoint indicating that:
Apple’s (global) revenue increase in the March quarter is a result of “double-digit growth in China and Western Europe, despite a marginal annual shipment decline…”
WSJ: TSMC Eyes “Legacy Node” Facility in Singapore
Image via TSMC
20 MAY 2022 - TSMC, the world’s largest chip producer and Apple’s manufacturing partner on its A-series and M-series processors, may be eyeing new facilities in Singapore. Secret sources tell The Wall Street Journal (via Apple News+) that that is the case. For the chipmaker’s part, a spokesperson says, “TSMC doesn’t rule out any possibility but does not have any concrete plan at this time.”
That said, they’re said to be talking. One source indicates that “preliminary talks involve a major plant whose cost would run into the billions of dollars…” Other sources indicate that the Singaporean government “might help fund the plant,” and that “negotiations are under way with the government’s Economic Development Board…”
Current direction would have the plant making seven-nanometer to 28-nanometer chips, according to yet another secret so-and-so. The piece says those chips “are based on older production technologies and are widely used in cars, smartphones and other devices.” You know the “legacy nodes” that Apple CEO Tim Cook says have caused supply constraints for the company? This plant or plants would apparently address that shortfall. One assumes that that would be years from now, though. You can’t build a “billions of dollars” facility overnight. Plus it’s not just chips that are in short supply, but also the machines that make the chips.
It looks like the processor hungry planet is still a ways away from relief. But more relief may be on the way.
First Betas of Next Round of Apple OS Updates Out to Public Testers
20 MAY 2022 - Apple is not lollygagging with the latest beta parade. Just one day after releasing them to developers, several posts on iMore had Apple offering up the first betas of iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, macOS Monterey 12.5, watchOS 8.7, and tvOS 15.6 to participants in its public testing program. If you’re part of that, you know what to do. If you’d like to be a part of it, the place to learn more and sign up is beta.apple.com.
Most 2022 Audis Gaining Access to Apple Music
Image via Audi
20 MAY 2022 - Apple Music is getting a new home behind the wheel of an Audi. Well… in the dash, I guess. MacRumors had the carmaker saying this week that access to Apple’s music streaming service will be available soon in “nearly all” 2022 models, thanks to an over-the-air software update.
This is not Audi adding CarPlay. Rather, the piece says Audi owners will gain “the ability to access their personal Apple Music library directly in their vehicle's Multi-Media Interface (MMI) screen…”
CarPlay sounds easier, but what do I know? “Available in Europe, North America, and Japan,” the report says:
…Apple Music integration will be rolled out to “nearly all” existing 2022 model year Audi vehicles via an automatic over-the-air update, and will come in many new Audis as standard.
Third Season of “Trying” Starts 22 July on Apple TV+
Esther Smith and Rafe Spall star in the third season of “Trying," premiering globally Friday, July 22, 2022 on Apple TV+.
20 MAY 2022 - Apple TV+ has announced a premier date for the third season of “Trying.” The most most I can say without spoiling anything is that season three, apparently, picks up right where season two left off.
I know that’s not overly helpful, but I really hate the whole spoiler thing. Here’s what I can tell you. Season three is eight episodes long. The first hits Apple TV+ on Friday 22 July. They’ll land one-per-week on successive Fridays. If you’re cool having the show spoiled, more info is available on Apple’s site.
Apple TV+ Outs Second Trailer for “Prehistoric Planet” Ahead of Its Debut
20 MAY 2022 - next week is dinosaur week on Apple TV+ and the company has one more sneak peek before it kicks off. Oh, they’re not calling it “dinosaur week,” though I kind of wish they were. Instead, Cult of Mac says the Cupertino-streamer has released a new trailer for “Prehistoric Planet,” a “five-night docuseries” that will “explore the age of the dinosaurs from the Arctic to the oceans.”
There is so much that is interesting about what Apple’s doing here. First, there’s the show itself. According to the report:
It is being produced for Apple by BBC Studios Natural History Unit (creators of the Emmy-winning Planet Earth). It’ll also feature photorealistic visual effects from MPC (The Lion King, The Jungle Book).
To me, though, the most interesting bit is the week-long reveal. Quoting the Cult again:
The five-part series is set to debut globally on Apple TV+ from Monday, May 23 through Friday, May 27. The focus will be on a different habitat every night: coasts, deserts, freshwater, ice worlds and forests.
They’re doing a week of appointment viewing, starting Monday. Kind of crazy. Between now and then, you can see the short, second trailer below.
CWA Accuses Apple of “Union Busting” at WTC Store
Apple World Trade Center - Image via Apple
19 MAY 2022 - Another charge of “union busting” against Apple. We heard yesterday of a Communications Workers of America (CWA) complaint against Apple on behalf of Apple retail workers in Atlanta. Now the CWA is leveling similar charges on behalf of workers at Apple’s World Trade Center store in New York.
Engadget has the CWA accusing Apple of violating multiple federal labor laws…” Among them, “unlawfully” enacting a rule banning workers from “posting union flyers in work areas during their breaks,” and holding “captive-audience” meetings meant to discourage unionization. Those we heard about yesterday, with Atlanta retail workers saying that start-of-shift meetings, which used to be for store and corporate happenings, have increasingly included talk of corporate culture, benefits, and “anti-union messaging…”
Accusations at the World Trade Center store seem to go further. According to Engadget:
The complaint alleges that Apple interrogated workers at the WTC store regarding their “protected concerted activities.” Apple also allegedly monitored those activities, or at least made employees believe that they were being monitored.
Tim Dubnau, CWA's Deputy Organizing Director, is quoted in the piece, saying:
The best thing Apple can do is allow workers to choose for themselves whether or not they want a union. When we learn of situations where Apple is violating labor law, we intend to hold the company accountable and help the workers defend their rights under the law.
Developers Get First Betas of Next Round of Apple OS Updates
19 MAY 2022 - Some sites I saw earlier this week guessed that Monday’s updates for almost everything Apple makes would be the last before the moves to the 16-dot-zero updates, watchOS 9, and wherever we go after macOS Monterey. Those sites were wrong, it seems. No surprise, really. It feels like this happens every year about this time.
While they probably won’t have a lot on the way of whiz-bang features, there is at least one more round of updates coming before whatever is announced at WWDC. A few pieces from iMore say that Apple, on Wednesday, released betas to developers of iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, macOS Monterey 12.5, and watchOS 8.7. Additionally, a piece from MacRumors said Apple also let developers have the first betas for tvOS 15.6 and version 15.6 of the HomePod software.
This early in the game, there is no telling what new things they do (if they do anything new). One assumes that betas for Apple’s public testing program will be out in the next few days.
Apple Releases Security-Focused iTunes 12.12.4 for Windows
19 MAY 2022 - Did any part of you feel bad Monday for our Windows using brethren? Here we were, updates for almost everything Apple makes, and what did they get? Nothing from Apple. Nothing, that is, until yesterday. A piece from MacRumors on Wednesday said Apple had released iTunes 12.12.4 for Windows. Five fixes included, according to the release’s security support document. No “outward-facing changes” according to the report, but - you know - security. So… win!
Apple Fixes Apple Card Detailed Billing Issue
19 MAY 2022 - If the problem with billing details for Apple Card and Apple Pay has been vexing you or keeping you up - rest your weary head. Earlier this week, we heard word that Apple Wallet was not showing payment amounts, payment locations, nor specific times payments were made for Apple Card and other payment methods tied to Apple Pay. The balance was said to be correct, but the details were missing. They are back.
A piece from MacRumors says Apple skipped the part where it acknowledged the issue, jumping straight to the part where it fixed it. Checking Apple’s System Status Page, the report says, “Apple has resolved an issue where ‘some users may have experienced delays in receiving transaction notifications.’” MacRumors says, “If you're still not seeing your transactions, try force quitting the Wallet app and then re-launch it on your iPhone.” I say, “Or, try hitting it.”
Vietnamese PM Meets with Tim Cook at Apple Park
19 MAY 2022 - The Prime Minister of Vietnam paid a visit to Apple Park this week. Apple Insider cites a report from Saigon Online that had Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
According to the piece, the PM talked about his country’s love for Apple products. He also expressed joy over Vietnam’s growing place in the global supply chain - including in the manufacture of Apple gear. And he prodded Cook to “step up [Apple’s] business activities” in the country.
For his part, Cook thanked Chinh “for the favorable business environment in Vietnam.” He also prodded the PM for “even more favorable policies” to attract more U.S. tech investment. And, the piece says, “He committed to considering an increase in the number of domestic suppliers and the rate of domestic products used in Apple production lines.”
Committing to considering is so close to when mom would say, “we’ll see.” But… you know… we’ll see.
Apple Sued Over Child’s Hearing Damage Linked to Amber Alert and AirPods Pro
AirPod Pro - Image via Apple
19 MAY 2022 - Did you hear about the family suing Apple over a kid’s ruptured eardrum? Citing a report from NBC News, a piece from Engadget says, “a couple from Texas filed the suit,” saying that “their then 12-year-old son (…) was using AirPods [Pro] to watch something on his iPhone at a low volume when he received an Amber Alert.” The suit says the alert "went off suddenly, and without warning, at a volume that tore apart [the 12-year-old’s] ear drum, damaged his cochlea and caused significant injuries…”
I found myself wondering whether a loud noise could actually rupture an eardrum. The answer seems to be “yes,” but it would have to be really loud. According to the site BetterHearingofAustin:
A sudden very loud noise can cause an eardrum to tear or rupture. The noise intensity to rupture an eardrum would have to be very loud, usually 165 decibels or more. This would correspond to the sound intensity of a gunshot at close range, fireworks or extremely loud music.
At the same time, the site for the Mayo Clinic lists “Loud sounds or blasts (acoustic trauma)” as a possible cause. According to the site:
A loud sound or blast, as from an explosion or gunshot — essentially an overpowering sound wave — can rarely cause a tear in the eardrum.
For their part, the Texas couple claims that:
…AirPods don't “automatically reduce, control, limit or increment notification or alert volumes to a safe level (…)” and that Apple doesn't provide instructions to limit the volume of alerts to prevent hearing damage.
No word in the piece on what sort of legal damages the couple is seeking. Apple did not offer comment for the NBC News report, nor - it seems - for Engadget.