We went through Apple CEO Tim Cook’s earnings call with investors on Thursday, and found some genuine surprises during the discussion of the financial results of the holiday 2024 quarter. We also turned up impressive figures showing just how well the company is doing.

Financial details don’t have to be boring. Here are the high points from the call as quickly and as interesting as we can make them.

Wall Street analysts set an ambitious goal for Apple to beat by predicting the iPhone maker’s revenue had increased 4% during the critical holiday shopping season. No problem — Apple met or exceeded those expectations.

“Today Apple is reporting our best quarter ever, with revenue of $124.3 billion, up 4 percent from a year ago,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We were thrilled to bring customers our best-ever lineup of products and services during the holiday season.” Meanwhile, Apple Watch news has been making headlines, highlighting significant shifts in market trends. 

Efficiency and convenience are essential, and a tool like this ginormous 1TB USB-C and USB-A 3.2 flash drive offers both. It’s versatile enough to work with a wide array of devices. And although it’s tiny enough to put in your pocket, it offers plenty of backup space.

Even better, this 1TB USB-C flash drive is on sale for just $69.97 (regularly $109.99) for a limited time.

Noise on Super Bowl Sunday (February 9 this year) increases throughout the United States, almost everywhere, according to new Apple Hearing Study research findings this week from Apple and the University of Michigan.

The findings highlight the importance of being mindful about noise exposure during major sporting events, even when watching from home. Even those not at the big game get exposed to higher levels of noise, often for several hours, and all the more so at boisterous public viewings in bars or at parties. And that could factor into hearing loss for some, researchers indicated.

Financial analysts predict Apple revenue increased 4% during the all-important 2024 holiday quarter versus the same period of the previous year. Wall Street also expects a jump in Apple’s earnings per share. We’ll find out whether the iPhone maker met these expectations when Apple reveals its Q1 2025 financial results after the U.S. markets close Thursday afternoon.

January 30, 1995: Apple Computer launches the Newton MessagePad 120, the first truly great device in an unfairly maligned product line.

Coming 18 months after the original Newton MessagePad, the upgraded PDA packs more power — and truly shines once Newton OS 2.0 rolls out.

A featured MLS game each week will appear on Apple TV+ in a new series billed as Sunday Night Soccer.

This is a similar arrangement to Friday Night Baseball that the streaming service began offering several years ago.

In a remarkable display of sustained corporate excellence by a certain iPhone giant, Fortune magazine named Apple the world’s most admired company for the 18th year in a row on Wednesday. The winning streak began in 2006 — a year before the iPhone first came out, and went on to dominate the market, propelling Apple to new heights.

This clever bike tracker adds extra security to your bike while being incredibly discreet. It’s a bike bell with a built-in tracker that integrates with Apple’s Find My app. Think of it as an AirTag for your ride!

Give yourself some peace of mind and get this stealthy bike bell with built-in tracker while it’s on sale for only $19.99 (regularly $29.99) at Cult of Mac Deals.

For Apple users seeking a high-capacity portable power solution for all their gear, the new CukTech 30 Power Bank packs a massive 40,000mAh battery, combined charging power of up to 300 watts for up to five devices at once and some useful features, the company said Wednesday.

 T-Mobile customers don’t have to pay to enjoy the 2025 soccer season. They get an MLS Apple TV subscription with their wireless service at no extra cost.

The soccer season kicks off on February 22, so don’t waste time if you plan to switch carriers to take advantage of the deal. Check out what’s new in the first look at iPhone 17 Air’s alleged design.

Netflix introduced a new “Season Download” button in its app Wednesday that allows iPhone and iPad users to download entire seasons of their favorite shows with a single tap. That streamlines offline viewing for iOS users, who previously had to download episodes individually.

It’d be nice if Apple TV+ did that too, right?

Comcast just launched ultra-low-lag connectivity for Xfinity customers, improving video calls using FaceTime on a variety of Apple devices. The faster service is also available in other interactive applications.

“Xfinity Internet latency will be dramatically reduced to faster than the blink of an eye,” the company promised Wednesday.

January 29, 1990: Apple CEO John Sculley appoints Michael Spindler as the company’s new chief operating officer.

Nicknamed “The Diesel” on account of his work ethic, Spindler’s new job continues his upward trajectory at Apple. Three years later, he will become CEO.

 In a response to President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on imported chips from companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Taiwan’s government defended its semiconductor partnership with the United States as a “win-win” arrangement Tuesday, according to a new report. To understand more about the political and economic impact of these policies, check out this article on the trump cult.

New tariffs, meant to incentivize more U.S.-based chipmaking, could raise Apple product prices. TSMC is a primary Apple supplier.

Ah, the age-old debate: mouse or trackpad? Well, how about both? Many setups choose that more-inclusive path when adding input devices to use along with their chosen keyboard. And it’s typically for good reason. A mouse for many cursor movements and a Magic Trackpad 3 for gestures really does the trick for most users (even if some prefer one or the other, not both).

Popular Apple TV+ gaming comedy Mythic Quest may be going to heaven — and we don’t mean cancellation. The game at the show’s core may adopt the concept of heaven, accessible only by a valiant death. The show finally returns with season four on Wednesday. And the streamer offered a sneak peek at the first four+ minutes Monday, following its recent official trailer. You can watch both below.

Update: The first two episodes of season four of Mythic Quest now stream on Apple TV+. One review called it “as delightful and dysfunctional as ever.”

As an iPhone user, Apple Photos and iCloud Photos provide a great way to view, edit and back up all your precious pictures. But as a long-time Google Photos user, I find the Apple Photos experience lacking in many respects. In the great Apple Photos vs. Google Photos debate, Apple doesn’t emerge as a clear winner.

Below are five features Apple Photos must steal from Google Photos to win me over.

iOS 18.3 adds Starlink network support to iPhones on T-Mobile’s network. A report claims Apple secretly worked with Starlink and T-Mobile to roll out the feature.

Currently, T-Mobile is providing Starlink connectivity to iPhone users on its network on an invite-only basis.

The banana-shaped iPhone case in the new Andy Warhol x Casetify collection is the most bizarre Apple accessory we’ve seen in a while. It’s gigantic, fragile and expensive. And it even comes with three stickers that look like what you’d see on an actual banana at the grocery store.

It’s only one of the many Apple accessories in the eye-catching new collection, produced by Casetify under license from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

The Apple Health app on your iPhone will help you track your medications. It has a lot of advanced options for all kinds of medicine — you can set up schedules, log your activity and even get advice on drug interactions. If you can connect with your health care provider through the Health app, setting it up is incredibly simple. Otherwise, you can just scan the label on the bottle using the camera to import it.

Let me show you how to get started.

Wanna know how your favorite tech news website became a thing? Then check out the latest episode of the Apple Core podcast, featuring an interview with Cult of Mac founder Leander Kahney.

In his 30-year career, Leander has covered many pivotal moments in Apple history. Like Steve Jobs’ return in 1997 and his legendary iPhone launch keynote 10 years later.

Leander literally wrote the book on Steve Jobs, Tim Cook and Jony Ive, and he shares loads of fascinating insights in this unmissable one-hour interview.

Need faster cables in your Mac setup? Amazon just put up a limited-time sale on Anker’s various sizes of certified ultra-high-speed HDMI 2.1 cables, which are great for connecting high-resolution displays, or almost any gear where you want to transmit high-quality audio and video. The cable size with the biggest discount reaches a staggering 46% off.

January 28, 1978: Apple Computer occupies Bandley 1, its first custom-built office, giving the company a bespoke business center to house its growing operations in Cupertino, California.

A full 15 years before 1 Infinite Loop, and almost four decades before Apple Park’s stunning “spaceship” HQ  landed, 10260 Bandley Drive in Cupertino becomes the first purpose-built, permanent headquarters for the newly founded company.

macOS Sequoia 15.3 left beta testing on Monday, and is now ready for any compatible Mac to install. The major new feature is the ability to create Genmoji: custom emoji that can be used in Messages and other apps.

Apple also introduced iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, watchOS 11.3 and more.