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News - page 31

Trump tariffs will cost Apple almost $1 billion this quarter

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AI image of an Apple logo in a post-apocalyptic landscape, with the words
Newly imposed tariffs could cost Apple $900 million dollars this quarter -- and that's just the start.
Illustration: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that he expects the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump to add at least $900 million to the company’s costs during the current quarter, which ends in June.

Speaking with investors after the company announced its quarterly earnings results, Cook also said Apple will assemble most of the products it sells in the United States outside of China this quarter to avoid the tariffs fueling an ongoing trade war between the two countries.

What economic problems? Apple posts solid growth.

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AI image of the Apple logo, with a see-through, glassy look, and the word
Revenue from services like Apple Music jumped to an all-time high last quarter, and strong iPhone 16e sales didn't hurt, either.
Illustration: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

Apple revenue increased 5% annually to $95.4 billion during the first three months of 2025, and profits grew 8%. Those are the top takeaways from the March-quarter financial results Apple revealed after Wall Street closed Thursday. Both numbers beat analysts’ expectations.

“Today Apple is reporting strong quarterly results, including double-digit growth in Services,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement.

Stop using these stupid, stupid passwords immediately

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Stupid passwords
You’re not a idiot. Stop acting like one.
Photo: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

Some people simply can’t stop using stupid, weak passwords. An analysis of the phrases used to secure various accounts in 2024 finds that “123456” was used 3 million times, making it the most popular. And the rest of the top 10 are all easily guessed also, with “password” showing up in the No. 4 slot.

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

Brush up on financial lingo for Apple’s quarterly earnings call

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Learn the financial lingo to get the most out of earnings call chatter.
Learn the financial lingo to get the most out of earnings call chatter.
Photo: Kevin Dooley/Flickr CC

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 true bottom line.

So CEO Tim Cook and new CFO Kevan Parekh will report on all the numbers (former CFO Luca Maestri stepped down January 1, 2025). Because many tariff impacts are yet to come, analysts predict a 4% revenue increase year-over-year, plus a jump in earnings per share. Note that Apple starts its fiscal year with Q1 in the previous year’s holiday season, so calendar quarters trail its fiscal quarters.

Google Gemini might land on iPhones this year

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Gemini logo with concept iOS 19 logo
iOS 19 could finally bring deeper Gemini integration to iPhones.
Photo: Concept logo: Kevin Kall/Google

Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, hopes to strike a deal with Apple to bring Gemini to iPhones by the middle of this year. The CEO revealed this during his testimony in an antitrust trial against Google.

Pichai discussed the possibility of bringing Gemini to iPhones with Apple CEO Tim Cook last year.

Judge blasts Apple for willfully defying order on App Store payments

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Photo of an iPhone with the App Store app on the screen
Judge's ruling will force Apple to make big changes to the App Store.
Photo: Brett Jordan

In a major blow to Cupertino, a judge ruled Wednesday that Apple “willfully chose not to comply” with a 2021 injunction that required the company to let developers include in-app links directing users to third-party payment options on the web.

“Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,” said U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the ruling.

She also found clear evidence that an Apple executive lied under oath in his court testimony, and asked U.S. attorneys to investigate whether Apple’s vice president of finance should be charged with criminal contempt of court.

Despite tariff turmoil, Wall Street expects good news from Apple

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Apple financial results expectations: Bullish
It seems a bit surprising, but analysts think Apple is about to deliver some upbeat financial news.
AI image: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac

Wall Street is putting out positive vibes about the March quarter results Apple will announce Thursday. Analysts anticipate a 4% increase in Apple’s revenue, plus a jump in earnings per share.

That might seem surprising in the wake of President Donald Trump imposing a 20% tariff on electronics coming in from China. However, the Apple financial results about to be revealed are for the quarter that ended in March. Trump didn’t announce the tariffs until April, so they don’t affect these numbers. That won’t happen until Apple provides its June quarter results.

Meta, Match and Spotify join forces against Apple and Google

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Meta Match and Spotify join forces against Apple and Google
Once again, conflicts arise over App Store practices.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

A new battle brews in the tech world as major app developers band together to challenge Apple and Google’s control over the mobile ecosystem, according to a new report. Meta, Match and Spotify join forces against Apple and Google, forming a lobbying coalition aimed at influencing policy around age verification requirements and addressing long-standing grievances about app store practices.

Meta AI lands on iPhone with a dedicated app

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Meta AI iPhone app
Meta AI's dedicated iPhone app now available on the App Store.
Photo: FB Blog

You can now access Meta AI through a dedicated iPhone app, bringing the Llama AI assistant right to your fingertips. Until now, you could only access Meta AI through WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.

Meta calls the app a first step toward creating a “more personal AI experience.”

Apple soft-launches all-in-one site to follow celebs

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Apple Snapshot website
Apple's new Snapshot website offers a limited way to see your favorite celeb's work across Apple entertainment services.
Photo: Apple

With zero fanfare Apple launched a new website Tuesday called “Snapshot.” It appears they designed it as a discovery platform for fans to learn more about celebrities across Apple’s ecosystem of services, like Apple TV+, Apple Music and Apple Podcasts.

While the concept shows promise, the execution leaves much to be desired in its current form because it’s so limited.

Sound like a superhero with new wireless AI gaming microphone

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Maono DM40 Pro Wireless Gaming Microphone
In white or black, Maono's new USB/Wireless microphone offers AI-powered voice effects and more.
Photo: Maono

The new Maono DM40 Pro Wireless Gaming Microphone brings professional-grade audio quality and cool features like AI voice effects, the company said Tuesday. Also sporting Apple-esque design sensibilities, the new mic looks like a great companion for your Mac gaming and streaming setup. And you can get 10% off right now, too.

iPhone 17 Pro might miss out on major display upgrade

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Will iPhone SE owners buy iPhone 16e
No anti-reflective upgrade for this year's iPhone.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 17 Pro will reportedly miss out on a key display upgrade. Apple seems set to skip the planned anti-reflective coating on its next Pro iPhones.

Apple offers a similar nano-texture coating as an optional upgrade on the MacBook Pro lineup.

3 Apple TV+ shows score BAFTA TV craft awards

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3 Apple TV+ shows score BAFTA TV craft awaards
Darkly funny espionage thriller "Slow Horses" won two BAFTA Television Craft Awards.
Photo: Apple TV+

Celebrated Apple TV+ shows Slow Horses, Bad Sisters and The Velveteen Rabbit won BAFTA Television Craft Awards at a ceremony Sunday in London. Espionage thriller Slow Horses nabbed two while the others took home one apiece.

BAFTA’s craft awards are similar to technical Emmy and Oscars awards, bestowed separately from the main awards. The main BAFTA awards ceremony takes place May 11.

Apple plans to make all US iPhones in India

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More iPhones are made in India than you might think
Made in India iPhones could become common in the United States next year.
Photo: Cult of Mac

In a major supply chain shift, Apple plans to move the production of all iPhones sold in the United States to India by the end of 2026. This move should allow the company to avoid the extra tariffs the U.S. government imposed on China amid escalating trade tensions.

Apple shifts robotics team to hardware as leadership shuffle continues

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Apple robotics team gets new leadership
This fanciful AI image may or may not approximate future Apple robotic products.
AI image: Grok

In another significant leadership reshuffle at Apple, a little-known robotics team will soon move from AI chief John Giannandrea’s oversight to John Ternus, Apple’s senior VP of Hardware Engineering, according to a new report Thursday.

This shift follows last month’s decision to remove Siri from Giannandrea’s responsibilities after concerns about execution on product development.

iOS 19 might transform your iPhone into a mini Mac

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iPhone mini mac
What if your iPhone could become a mini Mac?
AI concept: ChatGPT

An iPhone running iOS 19 will be able to display applications running in windows on an external screen, according to a Thursday report from a noted tipster.

If true, it’ll enable iOS to act much more Mac-like than ever before. If Apple continues developing in this direction, an iPhone could eventually be someone’s only computer .

iPhone 17 ‘Air’ and Pro models set to get memory boost for AI

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iPhone 17 rumors
Even the rumored super-slim iPhone 17 "Air" may get 12GB RAM to handle AI tasks.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Most of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 lineup may receive a significant memory upgrade that will power the next generation of Apple Intelligence features, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Thursday. The iPhone Series 17 RAM boost will even come to the rumored ultra-thin iPhone 17 “Air.”

iPadOS 19 may add Mac-like home screen menu bar

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iPadOS 19 menu bar rumor
iPadOS 19 might get a home screen menu bar similar to the one in macOS.
Photo: Majin Bu

iPadOS 19 will include a menu bar at the top of the screen like the one in macOS, according to a noted tipster on Thursday. If true, it’ll be a major step toward making iPads act more like Macs.

In addition, the system for managing floating application windows is supposedly in for an upgrade in iPadOS 19.

Meet the greatest con artist of all time

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Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story
The podcast debuts June 23.
Photo: Apple TV+

In 1920, Italian immigrant Charles Ponzi defrauded investors in the Boston area and across the nation of what would today be a quarter of a billion dollars, going from penniless to the high life in no time and giving the classic “Ponzi scheme” its name, Apple TV+ said Thursday. It plans to tell the story of Ponzi’s mercurial rise and devastating fall in Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story, an eight-episode docudrama set to premiere on Apple Podcasts June 23.

And to listen, you can hook up your Apple TV+ account to Apple Podcasts to gain full access to the series. I’m betting it’s worth the investment of your time (but keep your money safe).

Thursday: Apple Watch users reap rewards on Global Close Your Rings Day [Updated]

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Global Close Your Rings Day
Apple Watch users who close their Activity rings on April 24 can earn a special Global Close Your Rings Day limited-edition award.
Photo: Apple

With Global Close Your Rings Day upon us, Apple Watch owners around the world showed off the pins they earned Thursday by participating in Apple’s fitness-oriented special event. The day marks a decade of Apple Watch Activity rings helping keep users active for their health.

“Apple Watch has changed the way people think about, monitor and engage with their fitness and health,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, in a press release Monday announcing the event. “A decade ago, we introduced Activity rings — and since then, Apple Watch has grown to offer an extensive set of features designed to empower every user. People write to us almost every day sharing how Apple Watch has made a difference in their life, from motivating them to move more throughout the day, to changing the trajectory of their health.”

iPhone 16e shines while Pro sales take a hit

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iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16e laying side by side, showing the difference in rear camera size.
iPhone 16e inadvertently ate into the sales of its Pro sibling.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 16e already seems to be a winner for Apple. US sales data analyzed by CIRP show the new budget iPhone accounting for 7% of sales in Q1 2025.

This is with the device only launching at the end of February. So, it spent just one month on sale during the entire quarter.

‘Ultimate backyard projector’ features 3 lasers and first-ever liquid cooling

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Nebula X1 Smart Projector backyard
And you thought your backyard shenanigans already annoyed the neighbors.
Photo: Nebula

The advanced new Nebula X1 4K smart projector features triple-laser light projection and the first liquid-cooling system in the industry, Nebula said Wednesday. Calling it “the ultimate backyard projector,” the Anker subsidiary hopes the device will revolutionize backyard entertainment with innovative features and easy setup.

Apple’s chipmaker promises AI enhancements for next-gen processors

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TSMC chip production
Improvements to TSMC chip-making tech benefit Apple users.
Photo: TSMC

TSMC unveiled its A14 chip-making process Wednesday, which is designed to increase the AI capabilities of future smartphones, among more general improvements. The Taiwanese foundry is perhaps best known for making all the processors for iPhone, Mac and other Apple computers.

A14 will follow the N2 process set to go into production later this year, and the A16 process scheduled for 2026.