Appleviews – 4th November 2022
Welcome along
Apple TV 4K – I love mine, but do I buy the new one?
Hello everyone. I hope you’ve had a great week. So, the new Apple TV launches today, and again, I find myself sorely tempted. Help me fight temptation…please!
As we are talking Apple TV, why don’t we take a quick look at that, before checking out the rest of this week’s Appleviews.
TV time
Available now, from the online store at Apple, is the latest version of their set-top box – the new Apple TV 4K. The boxes are available now, with no delay, or pre-orders.
There are two options available – either a Wi-Fi only option for £149 or a Wi-Fi and ethernet version for £169. The Wi-Fi only box has 64GB of storage, whilst the other model comes with 128GB.
The subscription to Apple TV + has just gone up this week, and will now run you £6.99. Honestly, that still represents amazing value, compared to other streaming services. The quality of their Originals is simply stunning. Series I have loved this year include Black Bird, Slow Horses, Bad Sisters, and We Work.
But should I buy the new version…hmm, when my box is only just a year old?
The weather is news
Well, according to Apple, it is.
In the latest beta releases of iOS 16.2, you’ll now find links to local news feeds in the weather app. Currently, the service is limited to users in the States, but is expected to roll out fairly quickly.
For instance, if you lived in San Francisco, at the top of your weather feed, would be a link to The San Francisco Chronicles. Tapping the link, will open the page in Apple News.
The idea seems to be a holistic idea, enabling you to get a snapshot of everything going on locally to you – weather, headlines, financial & sports news.
Apple Watch to the rescue
Can you believe that an Apple Watch has made the news this week, in relation to a domestic violence case?
A man, living in Washington State, has been accused of attacking his wife, and tying her in duct tape. Despite the tape, the man’s wife managed to make an emergency call via her Apple Watch.
Once he realised that she had raised the alarm, the attacker smashed the watch from her wrist, before abducting her. But, the call remained live and active. It appears that her Apple Watch really did save her that day.
Feeling the freeze
This week has seen Apple put a freeze on hiring across all departments, except for R&D, as it attempts to tighten its belts, and reduce spend.
After the financial announcements I covered last week, the company is expecting some slower months ahead, and is putting plans in place to account for it.
Teams working on future devices and long-term initiatives will not be affected, but will affect corporate functions and standard hardware and software roles. In a statement, Apple said, they continue to hire but is “taking a deliberate approach in some parts of the business.” Jobs are still being advertised on their website.
Apple earned $90.15 billion in revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2022. Annual revenue of $394.3 billion, up 8% year-on-year, and with annual earnings per diluted share of $6.11, up 9%.
No Macs, so what next?
During those same financial statements, it was made clear that we will not be seeing any more Macs released this year. Tim Cook went as far as to state that the product lineup was set for the year.
This means, the next big release, could be the AR/VR headset that we have been waiting on for an age now.
The reliable Ming-Chi Kuo, believes that Apple Reality Pro, the expected name for the glasses, may well be launched in January 2023. The last January event that Apple held, was when Steve Jobs announced iPad. No pressure then! The release of the headset would equal the magnitude of the tablet, so a January event is possible, I guess.
Deeper in to India
Apple has added to its production facilities in India, by opening its second plant, with partner Pegatron. The Taiwanese company, will now produce iPhone 14 in the country, alongside Foxconn. Apple began production in India, with Foxconn, last September.
Exports of iPhone from India have only amounted to $1 billion in the five months since April. That may seem small when compared to China, but signals how serious Apple’s are at investing into the country.
The wonders of MagSafe
Yesterday, I wrote about the distinct possibility that Apple could start to ship future devices with MagSafe rather than lightning cables. With an eye on the impending changes being forced on them, that looks a potential work-around for the company. But, MagSafe is useful in more than just one way. Not only is it a charger, but, a great recovery device too.
YouTuber David Cogen put up a video showing how the cable helped him retrieved his iPhone 14 +, after it fell through a gap in some floorboards. Rather than pulling up the floorboards of the bar, Cogen returned the following day, and, essentially, used a travel MagSafe charger as a type of fishing line.
The magnet was strong enough to make a successful recovery. You watch the rescue mission here!
Christmas is coming
And Apple is ready to help lighten you of a pound or two!
This week, the company released its gift guide, supported by festive features within Apple’s apps. “This year’s Holiday Gift Guide features the most innovative lineup ever of iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and more,” says the company. There is an online gift guide, listing Apple’s latest devices, and quick picks, such as AirTag key-rings, or Beats Fit Pro.
There will be two-hour courier delivery services offered from Apple Stores, free next-day delivery & curbside collections as well.
And Apple’s services are getting a festive make-over for the season as well. Apple Music will be getting a genre-agnostic Carols Covered playlist. Apple TV + will not be left out, with the Peanuts holiday special ’Spirited’ making its debut, and there will even be a holiday episode of Ted Lasso.
And, to warn off the extra Christmas pounds, in weight this time, there will be over 3000 new studio-style workouts to help with the post-Christmas waistline.
Just in time
In the future releases of PayPal, and Venmo apps, Tap-To-Pay will become a reality. The feature allows compatible iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets with no additional hardware required.
Currently, Tap-To-Pay is only available in Apple Retail locations, with an iPhone XS or later. Sellers will simply open the app, register the sale, and then offer up their iPhone to the buyer.
No limits
Lastly, for this week’s Appleviews, Apple made financial headlines once again this week.
For a brief moment, Apple eclipsed the value of Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta combined. Apple had a market value of $2.307 trillion while the three companies, mentioned above, had a sum value of $2.307 trillion. Apple was the only company out of Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet that had increased market share after reporting their latest earnings.
By Thursday, there had been a small adjustment, as the value at the close of trading was then $2.21 trillion.
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