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May 5, 2003: Just a week after launching the iTunes Music Store, Apple reaches an incredible milestone with more than 1 million songs sold.

Particularly notable is the fact that more than half the songs purchased are albums. This quickly dispels fears that selling tracks individually will kill the record industry’s dominant format. In addition, more than half of the 200,000 songs initially available on iTunes get downloaded at least once.

“In less than one week we’ve broken every record and become the largest online music company in the world,” says Steve Jobs in a statement. “Apple has created the first complete solution for the digital music age — you can purchase your favorite music online at the iTunes Music Store, mix your favorite tracks into playlists with iTunes, and take your entire music collection with you everywhere with the super-slim new iPods.”

It’s a roaring success for Apple’s newest venture!

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: With Apple’s “Let Loose” event just days away, it’s time for one of our favorite endeavors — trying to predict what, exactly, Tim Cook & Co. will trot out. This time, it looks like the event will be all about new iPads (plus iPad accessories like Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard). But whose predictions will prove most accurate?

Erfon, Griffin and I go on the record with our “Let Loose” event predictions (and talk plenty of trash). Plus, for the first time, listeners can download their own scoresheets and play along.

Let the crystal-balling begin!

Also on The CultCast:

• The European Union is on a technocratic rule-making rampage. Now Brussels is targeting the iPad.
• We chew on some big changes reportedly coming in iOS 18.
• And finally, don’t miss our exclusive deal for Cult of Mac readers (and CultCast listeners): Get an exceptional iPhone charger with MagSafe battery pack for just $44.99. This 60% deep discount ends soon!

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Casetify partnered with Lucasfilm to release an exclusive collection of iPhone cases and other accessories in honor of Star Wars Day. It’s all about the Dark Side of the Force, with a range of styles featuring Darth Vader, the Death Star, stormtroopers and more.

These are limited editions so don’t procrastinate about ordering.

The action-comedy romance film Argylle stayed near the top of streaming popularity charts for a third week. The Apple TV+ spy-vs-spy thriller is chock full of celebrities.

Plus, the dark, gritty series Sugar continues to pull in big audiences on Apple’s streaming service for another week, too. It features Colin Farrell as a private investigator solving a mystery.

May 4, 2011: Reports circulate that Apple is negotiating with carriers to bring over-the-air updates to iOS, beginning with iOS 5.

Such a move would free iPhone owners from using iTunes to get updates for their devices. That means no more plugging an iPhone into a computer via USB to download the latest version of iOS.

iPad shipments declined 8.5% year-over-year in the first quarter of the 2024, according to a market research firm. The drop can be partially chalked up to the complete lack of new models for the last 18 months.

But it demonstrates Apple’s dominance of the global tablet market that it’s still on top despite a hefty decline during winter quarter.

A new Find Your Friends ad Apple dropped Friday connects the Find My universe with the Star Wars universe, as Boba Fett uses his iPhone 15 in the video to locate fellow Mandalorians in a crowded mall. Or wait, maybe it’s a convention center.

Yeah, it’s a guy in homemade Mandalorian battle gear going off to find like-minded nerds at a raucous Star Wars convention. It’s pretty funny.

May 3, 1984: Apple marks the all-important first 100 days of Mac sales, signaling whether the product launch is a hit with customers.

The results outstrip even Steve Jobs’ most optimistic targets. Unfortunately, not everything is as positive as it seems following the successful Mac launch.

Another Mac and PC computer setup stands in the spotlight today — this time a MacBook Pro and PC laptop driving a 4K display and an array of peripherals through an Orico Thunderbolt 3 dock bristling with 15 ports.

The setup emphasizes gaming, too, with a PlayStation 5 mounted under the desk. We’ll take a look at that, too.

CEO Tim Cook is very enthusiastic about the artificial intelligence features coming to iPhone, Mac and iPad. On Thursday, he spoke glowingly about Apple’s unique advantages in this area, and talked about the “transformative power and promise of AI.”

iOS 18, macOS 15 and iPadOS 18 are all expected to include new AI features when they launch this autumn.

Apple saw its revenue drop 4% year over year in the first quarter, the company reported Thursday. But revenue and earnings dropped less than analysts had expected, setting off a surge in the share price.

In a conference call with investors and analysts after the financial results had been announced, CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri talked about this being the quarter of the “challenging compare,” were upbeat about iPhone sales in China, bragged about the M3 MacBook Air, and fended off questions about the company’s AI plans.

Apple responded to protests about the Core Technology Fee it charges European developers every time one of their applications is installed. It removed the requirement for apps that generate “no revenue whatsoever.”

Currently, the CTF is only charged in the EU, but it has the potential to expand globally so prudent developers should pay attention to any changes no matter where they live.

The new SoundLink Max Portable Speaker adds a bit of heft and a bunch of powerful sound to the Bose line of SoundLink Bluetooth speakers, the company said Thursday.

“This all-new portable speaker has lasting power, rugged durability, and delivers incredible sound for its size,” Bose noted. “Now you can set the vibe with your favorite playlist no matter where you go.”

May 2, 1995: Apple enters the wearables space with its first watch. However, the first Apple watch is a timepiece with no fitness-tracking tech, no on-screen notifications and a whole lot of 1990s styling.

The device comes two decades before wearables actually will become a thing. A regular wristwatch, the freebie gadget is available via a special mail-in offer to Mac OS upgraders.

Soccer fans can watch the rest of the MLS season for $69. That’s $30 less than what Apple typically charges for an MLS Season Pass.

Subscribers can stream every match plus analysis and exclusive content. No Apple device required.

For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) qualified a digital technology — Apple Watch’s AFib History feature — for a special research program. AFib, or atrial fibrillation, is a type of abnormal heart beat associated with heart attacks.

Apple Watch’s AFib History now qualifies for FDA’s stringent Medical Device Development Tools (MDDT) program. The program says which tools research sponsors can choose from to help develop and evaluate medical devices.

Some people simply can’t stop using stupid, weak passwords. An analysis of the phrases used to secure various accounts in 2023 finds that “123456” was used 4.5 million times, making it the most popular. And the rest of the top 10 are all easily guessed, too.

It’s World Password Day, a good opportunity to change the horribly weak ones you’re using now. Especially as Apple makes it easy

When companies talk about quarterly earnings, executives often deploy language designed to puff up, excuse or obfuscate their companies’ recent performance. The goal is to excite investors over implied future success. And ultimately to give the company more money. Always. More. Money. The Apple quarterly earnings call takes place Thursday afternoon.

But when you’re the iPhone giant — with a mind-blowing market cap and a seemingly never-ending supply of hit products, including ongoing growth in services — you typically don’t need to craft hopeful-yet-non-material statements or deflect questions designed to get at the bottom line.

So CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will report on all the numbers. Analysts expect poor iPhone sales to dampen the quarter while artificial intelligence developments might bring hope for the future. Note that Apple’s counts the period as Q2 because it starts its fiscal year with Q1 in the previous year’s holiday season.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3, due to launch this year, will have “almost no” hardware upgrades. The claim comes from reputed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Last year’s Apple Watch Ultra 2 packed modest improvements over its predecessor. Apple will seemingly follow the same trend with this year’s model.

Google paid Apple $20 billion for Google to remain the default search engine across all Apple devices. This figure came to light through court documents submitted in the US Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google.

During the course of the hearing, Google and Apple tried their best not to reveal the amount publicly.

Tennis love-triangle movie Challengers looks like a contender so far in theaters, but one co-star is getting panned — the iPhone alarm on the sports drama’s soundtrack. Social media shows viewers and listeners saying they find it “triggering,” among other rants.

Maybe that’s not the sort of product placement Apple would prefer, but hey … all press is good press, right?

The first three months of 2024 were probably not good ones for Apple. When the company reveals the financial results from its March quarter on Thursday, analysts predict a 5% annual drop in revenue will be one of the announcements.

But part of the reason for weak sales is customers anticipating AI-powered iPhones and Macs later this year. CEO Tim Cook almost certainly will drop hints about what’s coming in a conference call also scheduled for Thursday.

Jake Gyllenhaal is a lawyer in love in the teaser trailer for thriller series Presumed Innocent — and it looks like he might just be a murderer, too. Apple TV+ dropped the arresting trailer Wednesday.

Gyllenhaal stars in the eight-episode limited series from David E. Kelley and J.J. Abrams, which debuts June 12 on Apple TV+.

The affordable and popular Baseus Bowie MA10 wireless noise-canceling earbuds just got a big upgrade with spatial audio, alongside a more compact design and a digital display for battery life on the case, the company said Tuesday. The new ones are called Baseus Bowie MA10s.

Baseus called the previous version its best-selling product on Amazon last year and said the buds “have been recommended by Oscar-class composers to ensure a quality sound experience.” And you can get them for a lot less than buds like AirPods Pro 2 — just $40.

Slip the Ekster Finder Card into your wallet and it can be located with Apple’s Find My network. It’s much like an AirTag, except a lot flatter.

The credit card-size accessory just hit the market.