Channing Tatum to Replace Chris Evans in Apple Original “Project Artemis”
Channing Tatum in the 2016 film “Hail, Caesar!” - Image via IMDB
18 JULY 2022 - Scarlet Johansson and Chris Evans will not be teaming up on Apple TV+ anytime soon. The two were supposed to star together in the Apple Original Ghosted, though Johansson had to back out due to scheduling issues. Then they were both signed to star in the sci-fi flick Project Artemis for the Cupertino-streamer. Now, Captain America’s got timing issues of his own.
A piece from Deadline says Evans is off the picture “due to scheduling conflicts with his upcoming pics Pain Hustlers and Big Red One.” Magic Mike and Logan Lucky star Channing Tatum is set to take his place.
Lead actors aren’t the title’s only shakeups. About a month ago the film’s planned director, Jason Bateman, amicably parted ways with the production over creative differences. He’s been replaced by Greg Berlanti. Better known as a writer and producer, Berlanti’s biggest turn as a director so far was the 2018 film Love, Simon.
No word on when production begins on Project Artemis, though Deadline thinks it’s likely to hit quick. Apple is said to have spent over $100 million on the movie. Once Tatum’s deal is finalized, Deadline says “the film will likely get fast-tracked into production.”
Apple Music Sessions: Exclusive Performances in Spatial Audio
“Tenille Townes: Apple Music Sessions - EP” is an exclusive live release in Spatial Audio, recorded at Apple Music’s state-of-the-art studios in Nashville.
18 JULY 2022 - Apple Music is upping its exclusives game. TechCrunch says Cupertino’s audio streaming service has started rolling out Apple Music Sessions, “exclusive releases in spatial audio (...) recorded in Apple’s music studios around the world.”
Somewhat appropriately, the new music offering starts in Music City, USA. The first sessions feature multi-award winning country artist Carrie Underwood and rising star Tenille Townes, recorded at Apple’s studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The next acts on the schedule will be country as well, with Sessions with Ronnie Dunn and Ingrid Andress already announced. While that’s as far out as the schedule goes now, the company does plan to move into other musical genres.
Of course, as long as you’ve got them performing, might as well roll video as well. TechCrunch says Apple’s doing just that, making “companion live music videos” available as well.
Apple Music Sessions join a growing number of Apple Music exclusives. Those include the Apple Music Live series of concerts, as well as a series of DJ Mixes presented in Dolby Atmos.
Report Puts iPhone 14 On-Track for September Launch
15 JULY 2022 - While the world has been out of whack for years now, news of something refreshingly normal. Cult of Mac cites a report from ITHome, saying “Apple has begun to test production of the iPhone 14 and plans to mass-produce it in August.” If so, the Cult says “that puts in on schedule to launch in September,” which is oh so comforting in its normalcy.
The same piece has Apple reportedly facing difficulty getting displays for the largest phone at the high-end of its planned offerings. That may leave Apple’s premium 14 in short supply to start. Again - kind of comforting, because… kind of normal.
TSMC Sees Excessive Inventory for Latest Chips
15 JULY 2022 - News that sounds weird at first: A report from Gizmodo has Apple processor partner TSMC complaining of “excessive chip inventory.” I’m sorry. It’s not fair to say “complaining.” Also, what?!? Too many chips? When for months it’s been too few?
Relax. It still is. What the world’s been short on is legacy chips - the kinds used in cars and data centers. Supply for those is still “tight,” according to Gizmodo. As for the more modern processors, the report has TSMC indicating that:
…softening demand in PCs, smartphones, and other consumer segments has led to an “excess inventory in the semiconductor supply chain.” The chipmaker predicts it will take “a few quarters” before things rebalance.
What’s the problem? You name it. Anybody building out their home office has probably gotten that done over the past couple of years. There’s “geopolitical tension.” There’s “soaring inflation.” And there’s the meltdown in crypto. “Another culprit of the chip supply shortage,” says Gizmodo, “crypto mining, has imploded in recent months as crypto values continue their bottomless freefall.”
It looks like rough sledding near-term for the chipmaker, though things should smooth out. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei is quoted in the report, saying:
While macroeconomic headwinds bring near-term uncertainties that may persist, we believe the fundamental structural growth trajectory in the long-term semiconductor demand remains firmly in place…
Less “the sun will come out tomorrow,” more “it can’t rain all the time.”
Sensor Tower: Non-Games Apps Top App Store Spending For First Time
15 JULY 2022 - A seismic shift seen by Sensor Tower. A piece from The Hollywood Reporter has the app business tracker indicating that “user spending on non-game apps in [Apple’s] App Store [in the U.S.] now outpaces mobile game spending for the first time ever…” Just barely, but still. The piece says subscription models drove non-game spending to 50.3% of the mobile apps market - passing $1 billion in revenue.
Why’s The Hollywood Reporter reporting on this? Because Hollywood has a lot to do with it. According to the piece:
The majority of non-game app revenue can be attributed to a select group of apps that primarily operate off subscription revenue. As of Q2, there are seven non-gaming apps that receive more than $50 million in consumer spending: YouTube, HBO Max, TikTok, Tinder, Disney+, Hulu and Bumble.
Evercore: Average U.S. Citizen Not Into Regulating Big-Tech
15 JULY 2022 - Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani has a message for Capitol Hill: U.S. citizens aren’t into the whole regulating big tech thing. That’s the finding of a series of surveys by the Chamber of Progress. Worth noting, as Daryanani does - that is an organization funded by big tech.
Apple 3.0 ran part of Daryanani’s note. According to that, “The surveys were conducted across 27 states and each survey asked 500 people in the state a variety of questions about big tech regulations.” Their findings:
Only 4% of respondents listed regulating tech companies as a priority, by far the least selected of the 8 options (second lowest was cutting prescription prices at 15%).
Less than 25% have deep concerns about how technology companies operate while the other 75%+ either have no concerns, or have some concerns, but believe the positives outweigh the negatives.
53% of respondents feel that big tech anti-trust regulation would have a negative impact on their life.
The results were bipartisan with no significant delta in how red vs. blue states responded.
Summing up the findings, Daryanani says:
Anti-trust action will remain a risk for Apple, but these results seem to confirm that average voters rank anti-trust regulation as a low priority. In our view, this reduces the risk of material legislation passing congress as representatives are more likely to focus on issues that are of higher priority to their voters.
That is practically Capra-esque. Then again, Apple 3.0’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt says the Chamber of Progress has “been using [its] survey results to put pressure on Congress to back off.”
Daryanani has an Outperform rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $180.
Apple Back-to-School Promo Launches in Europe and UK
15 JULY 2022 - Apple’s back-to-school promotion has made its way to Europe. Having gone live last month in some countries in Asia, Canada, and the US, a piece from 9 to 5 Mac says student shoppers in several European countries “can get a free gift card of up to €150 after buying a new Mac or iPad.” The offer is also live in the UK, where qualified purchases will net a gift card worth up to £120.
Enzo Ferrari Biopic Series Racing onto Apple TV+
15 JULY 2022 - News of a new biopic series for Apple TV+. CNET says “‘Peaky Blinders’ creator and Academy Award nominee Steven Knight is writing” a series for Apple’s streaming service, chronicling the life of racing legend Enzo Ferrari. Based on the biography Ferrari Rex by Luca Dal Monte, the piece says:
…the show depicts Ferrari as “a titanic man, complex and multifaceted, who dedicated his genius to the mission of building the fastest racing car in history,” but whose legend included “a trail of tragedy and torment along the way.”
This is not Steven Knight’s first time around the Apple track. He was actually the creator of the flagship Apple TV+ sci-fi drama “See.” No word on when the Ferrari series will get underway.
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Series “Gutsy” Hits Apple TV+ 9 September
15 JULY 2022 - There’s a new docuseries with a couple of big names hitting Apple TV+ relatively soon. The Cupertino-streamer issued a press release Thursday, announcing “Gutsy,” a show featuring Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. Based on their New York Times bestseller The Book of Gutsy Women, the release says the series has the two traveling and speaking with “pioneering women artists, activists, community leaders and everyday heroes…” Featured guests include “Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, Dr. Jane Goodall, Gloria Steinem, Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson and many more.”
The eight-episode series hits Apple TV+ on Friday 9 September.
Apple TV + MLB Keeping Friday Night Baseball Free Through August
15 JULY 2022 - If you’re a fan of the free “Friday Night Baseball” in the Apple TV app, get ready to be happy. MacRumors says the Cupertino-company and Major League Baseball have announced the roster of games for August. Once again, they’re available to watch with no subscription. If you’ve missed them to this point, the piece says:
The weekly “Friday Night Baseball” doubleheaders, along with live pregame and postgame shows, can be watched in the Apple TV app across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD boxes, select Xbox and PlayStation consoles, select smart TVs, on the web at tv.apple.com, and elsewhere. The games are available to watch in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and the UK.
If you’re not particular about which teams are playing, there’s your Friday night planned through next month. If you are particular, here’s the rundown:
Friday, August 5
Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies
7 p.m. ET
Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers
8 p.m. ET
Friday, August 12
San Diego Padres at Washington Nationals
7 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets
7 p.m. ET
Friday, August 19
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees
7 p.m. ET
Texas Rangers at Minnesota Twins
8 p.m. ET
Friday, August 26
Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
7 p.m. ET
Cleveland Guardians at Seattle Mariners
10 p.m. ET
A Tale of Two Price Target Cuts
14 JULY 2022 - News of two more lowered price targets - one a sensible sounding trim, the other a bit more drastic. We’ll start on the sensible side.
Citi Analysts Lover Apple, But…
Citi analysts “Gentleman” Jim Suva and Asiya Merchant issued one of those “it’s not Apple, it’s the planet” notes midweek. MarketWatch had the two citing “[cautious] consumers, macroeconomic worries and continued supply chain bottlenecks” as concerns. It’s those “cautious consumers” that seem most troublesome. Quoting the analysts:
A more concerning metric is the potential for lengthening device replacement cycles (currently at approximately 4 years for smartphones) amid consumer spending contraction in an inflationary/recessionary environment that could compress annual iPhone shipments and drive lower units as consumers await a major iPhone redesign, which we believe is unlikely until 2023 with the foldable…
I’d like to pause here and stress, it’s the cut that’s sensible, not everything in the note. I have yet to hear a compelling reason for a foldable iPhone, and really have a hard time believing. Merhcant and Suva do believe, though. In fact, a foldable iPhone tops their list of five reasons to keep buying Apple shares.
1. The iPhone 14 build is expected to launch Sept. 14, with a foldable phone seen in 2023
2. A mix shift that continues to skew away from lower-priced Android phones toward mid-end and premium priced products
3. Apple’s plans to buy back around $90 billion in stock
4. “Sticky” services revenue and potential for more devices-as-a-service offering
5. New product launches such as AR/VR headsets and the Apple Car in 2025, neither reflected in current estimates and market cap.
Cool as all of that sounds, the analysts think their old price target of $200 is too much of a climb in the next 12-months. Citi has kept its “Buy” rating on Apple shares. Price target’s lower though - down to $175.
Tracking the Elusive Lynx
Now’s probably a good time to remind you that I am not a financial analyst and certainly not a financial advisor. I’m just a guy who’e been watching Apple, Apple watchers, Apple analysts, and other Apple related stuff for 17-years-and-change.
When I said we had news of two price cuts - one sensible, one drastic - that’s not to completely discount the second note. Barron’s (via Apple News) wrote up that one, from Lynx Equity Strategies analyst KC Rajkumar.
They’re not among the raft of analysts listed by TipRanks. I’ve never heard of Lynx Equity Strategies, nor have I heard of their analyst Rajkumar. For what it’s worth, Apple 3.0’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt has never heard of him either. Reading the Barron’s write-up of their note, it sounds like Rajkumar might be missing Apple’s… Appleness? Quoting Barron’s:
Rajkumar writes in a research note that Wall Street estimates for the September 2023 fiscal year look too high given softening demand for PCs and smartphones. “The Street has been toying with the idea of cutting Apple’s estimates but finds itself unable to make meaningful cuts,” he writes. “We think FY ‘23 estimates have meaningful downside.”
Things that make him think so include:
Reports of “softening” orders for iPhone 14 components, though that’s been a bone of contention among some Apple watchers
Word of weakened wafer starts for TSMC, though - as Barron’s points out - Apple is not TSMC’s only customer
Worry that global 5G adoption (and thus iPhone adoption) could slow #InThisEconomy
Those all sound like sensible concerns, though - again - they leave out whatever “thingness” it is that tends to keep Apple humming even in tough economic times. It also sort of sounds like he’s never heard of Apple’s Services business. But - even if we chuck in a slowdown for that, his cut on Apple seems aggressive. Apple is currently trading around $145. Rajkumar’s price target had been $150. That is now lowered to $125.
He’s not the first to assume that the fates of HP and Samsung will be Apple’s fate as well. He also wouldn’t be the first to be wrong about that. Then again, he might not be.
We’ll find out in the future.
Signs of Strength for iPhone 13 and iPhone 14
14 JULY 2022 - An interesting assertion:
Amid signs of a cooling global smartphone market, two sources in Apple's iPhone supply chain have told Reuters that the company's most recent handsets are still selling well in July — months after their release.
So says a report from Apple Insider. Kind of surprising this late in iPhone 13’s run, especially #InThisEconomy. And yet, it looks like things will get even better with iPhone 14.
At the start of July, TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that “demand for iPhone 14 in the Chinese market may be stronger than that of the iPhone 13…” He based the assertion on the extremely high prepaid deposits being shelled out by “distributors/retailers/scalpers” for Apple’s next iPhone. While China is not the planet, good news for Apple in China tends to be good news for Apple overall. Now, that Apple Insider piece has good news for Apple along a similar line. Quoting it again:
Apple itself is expecting its iPhone 14 to do better still. Reuters reported that Apple recently conveyed its higher-than-usual expectations to suppliers in initial forecasts as it carried out trial production of the company's next-generation smartphone.
Canalys: Apple Not Among Top-Five PC Vendors in June Quarter
14 JULY 2022 - The confusion and contradiction around Mac shipments continues. Earlier this week I told you of conflicting reports from market trackers IDC and Gartner. For the June-quarter, IDC had Apple shipping 4.8-million Macs, down over 22% from the same quarter a year earlier. Gartner, meanwhile, had the Cupertino-company shipping 6.4-million Macs, an increase of just over 9%. Now, a piece from Apple 3.0 has market tracker Canalys failing to mention the Mac at all, as far as the June-quarter is concerned.
“Global PC shipments [were] down 15% in Q2 2022,” according to a Canalys report. The way that firm sees it, the problem last quarter was supply. Too few computers to go around, thanks to production disruptions due the huge number of COVID lockdowns in China. Looking ahead, the firm anticipates a problem with demand - at least from the consumer side.
Conspicuous in its absence from the note is Apple. Putting together its top-five computer vendors (both desktop and laptop) for the June-quarter, Apple’s not in it. Number five on the Canalys list was ASUS with estimated shipments of 4.66-million units. That means Canalys thinks Mac sales fell under that relatively low bar. Again though, that’s the same quarter that IDC pegged at 4.8-million Macs and Gartner pegged at 6.4-million.
Let me know if you need me to pass the salt.
Apple VP of Industrial Design Talks Latest MacBook Air
14 JULY 2022 - Maybe it’s coincidence, but just a day after news breaks of the end of Apple’s association with former Chief Design Officer Jony Ive, Apple’s current VP of industrial design is talking product and process. A piece from Apple Insider says:
Evans Hankey, [Apple’s] vice president of industrial design, recently spoke with GQ Magazine UK about topics ranging from the MacBook Air's careful design, what inspired one of its new colors, and how the svelte laptop has always been “provocative.”
If you want to know more about that, either report will tell you more. Personally, I’m more interested in Apple possibly playing off a name you knew with a name you’ll come to know more.
Tim Cook Among CEOs Calling for Greater Computer Science K-12 Education
14 JULY 2022 - What do Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have in common? If you said a deep, searing hatred for each other, maybe. There’s a good thing they have in common, though. A report from 9 to 5 Mac points to a letter the two have signed, calling for a greater emphasis on teaching kids to code. The letter, addressed to “Governors and Education Leaders of the United States of America,” calls on those leaders to “update the K-12 curriculum in each state, for every student in every school to have the opportunity to learn computer science.” Quoting the letter:
At a time when every industry is impacted by digital technology, our schools should teach every student how technology works, to learn to be creators, not just consumers. Instead, this basic skill is taught only to the lucky few, leaving most students behind, especially young women and students of color.
The need is there on a few levels. For one, the letter says, the US “has over 700,000 open computing jobs but only 80,000 computer science graduates a year.” Additionally, the letter says:
…global cyber attacks have put a new spotlight on cybersecurity, making computer science a national security imperative for government and business alike.
And they say, “Studies now show that students who learn computer science outperform in school, university, and beyond.” As for where to get the necessary computers, the letter says when schools closed for COVID-19, “America funded laptops for 90% of students to learn from home. As schools reopen,” they say, those laptops should be used “to teach computer science.”
Other strange bedfellows on the list include Sheryl Sandberg, Michael Dell, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and the list goes on. You can read the full letter and list of signatories at ceosforcs.com.
Apple TV+ Releases Full Trailer for “Five Days at Memorial”
“Five Days at Memorial” premieres globally August 12, 2022 on Apple TV+.
14 JULY 2022 - Apple TV+ has put out a full trailer for “Five Days at Memorial.” That’s the limited series about a hospital in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Apple’s latest press release on the show says:
When the floodwaters rose, power failed, and heat soared, exhausted caregivers at a New Orleans hospital were forced to make decisions that would follow them for years to come.
Adapted from the book of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sheri Fink, “Five Days at Memorial” looks… really brutal. The first three episodes hit Apple TV+ on Friday 12 August. They’ll run one-a-week after that through Friday 16 September. You can, of course, catch the trailer below.
KeyBanc Lowers Apple target to $173
13 JULY 2022 - The downward slope continues for Apple price targets. Reassessing Tuesday, KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel. A short post from The Fly indicated a tiny bit of a mixed message form the analyst. According to the piece, KeyBanc data “suggests Apple Hardware revenue is below consensus for Q3…” While Nispel “sees a difficult setup for Q3,” he also thinks that’s “largely priced in” to the Apple story today - hence my mixed message comment.
The note is not without its positives. For one, the analyst indicates that issues born of supply constraints and COVID-related lockdowns in China are alleviating. For another, he’s still “Overweight” on the shares. His previous price target of $191 in the next 12-months looks a little high from here, though. Nispel used Tuesday’s note to lower KeyBanc’s price target on Apple shares to $173.
BofA: Apple Trade-In Payouts Don’t Need to Be High
13 JULY 2022 - An interesting note from BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan. Apple 3.0 ran some of what he wrote, addressing Apple’s recent lowering of maximum trade-in values for older hardware. I told you last week that the Cupertino-company had reduced the high-end of what it’ll pay when trading-in your old Mac, iPhone, or iPad. According to Mr. Mohan, that was a change Apple made in China, the UK, and the US.
Basically, his thinking seems to be that the lower trade-in values indicate continued strong demand for Apple hardware - at least where iPhone is concerned. Makes sense - why incentivize upgrades when incentives don’t seem to be required?
Mr. Mohan has a “Buy” rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $200.
Apple Brings Its First Ever SEP Suit Against Ericsson
Image by louvainlaneuve9 from Pixabay
13 JULY 2022 - Wireless tech company Ericsson seems to have poked the bear. I told you earlier this week of a court in Bogota, Colombia barring the import, sale, or advertising of any 5G products made by Apple, over alleged patent infringement. Now, a piece from 9 to 5 Mac says “Apple appears to be set on obtaining an injunction against the import and sale of Ericsson products.”
Ah yes, the old “I’m rubber, you’re glue” strategy.
The piece outlines a legal escalation between the two companies, starting when Apple stopped paying Ericsson for the use of its 5G patents. This seems to have been in the hopes of negotiating a better deal, according to the report. Apple then sued Ericsson last December, “claiming that the Swedish company violated FRAND terms.” 9 to 5 Mac says:
This is international law that requires standards-essential patents (SEPs: technology without which it is impossible to make a smartphone) on terms which are fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory [FRAND]. In other words, Apple claimed that Ericsson was charging too much for the patent license fees.
This led to suits and countersuits, all the way to Colombia - where you can no longer buy or even hear about 5G Apple devices. “Of course you know,” as Daffy Duck might say, “this means war.”
Apple has some standards-essential patents of its own, picked up when it acquired Intel’s modem business in 2019. Noting a number of firsts in the Apple v. Ericsson v. Apple v. Ericsson v. Apple fight, the 9 to 5 piece has a report from Foss Patents noting a new one:
…the first-ever SEP lawsuit brought by Apple – which has been on the receiving end of SEP assertions for well over a decade but is only now striking back with a SEP for the first time in its history.
According to the report, the “patent in question is for 4G/LTE tech.” Yeah, remember that? While Apple has not said that it’s trying to stop the sale and import of Ericsson products, Foss Patnets says the court in Munich where it’s brought the latest case is “the world’s #1 SEP injunction hotspot…”
Apple Seeds Release Candidates for Current Software Updates
13 JULY 2022 - Members of Apple’s developer program have some new betas to check out, and - who knows? - members of Apple’s public testing program may as well. Apple Insider ran a couple of pieces Tuesday - one saying that release candidates for macOS Monterey 12.5 and macOS 11.6.8 had been seeded to developers, while the other said the same for iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, and tvOS 15.6. The question around Apple’s public testing program comes by way of MacRumors. That site said that release candidates for iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6 had been seeded to developers and Apple’s public beta program.
It’s possible MacRumors jumped the gun. It’s possible that Apple Insider was behind the times. It seems likely that all of the the release candidates are out to both groups at this point. If you’re in either camp, you know how to check for yourself. If you’d like to be one of Apple’s public testing people, get thee to beta.apple.com.