| Cult of Mac

5 reasons to ignore Apple’s rare revenue dip

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Apple logo overlayed in front of a stormy sky with sun breaking through the clouds, and the text,
Despite a 3% year-to-year drop in quarterly revenue (to "only" $94.8 billion), Apple delivers plenty of reasons for optimism.
Photos: Michael & Diane Weidner and Sumudu Mohottige/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac

Perhaps the best phrase to describe the results of Apple’s most recent financial quarter is, “It could have been worse.” Total revenue dropped 3% as the company battled inflation and other macroeconomic problems not of its making.

Still, Apple’s quarterly numbers beat the overly pessimistic Wall Street estimates. And there is more good news buried in the results Apple reported Thursday (and in the company’s earnings call with investors). Read on for five reasons to be optimistic about Apple’s future.

How to make sense of 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

During quarterly earnings calls, executives often deploy language designed to puff up, excuse or obfuscate their companies’ recent performance. The goal is to make investors pant with delight over implied future success. And ultimately to give the company more money. Always. More. Money.

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

Apple’s next earnings call takes place this afternoon. CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will report on all the numbers. Analysts figure there will be a decline in revenue for the latest quarter.

Wall Street expects Q2 2023 earnings per share of $1.43 (down 6% from last year) with revenue falling 4.4% to $93 billion..

New features coming in iOS 17 [The CultCast]

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iOS 17 mockup and The CultCast logo
iOS 17 is starting to come into focus.
Image: Cult of Mac
WWDC23

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The iOS 17 leaks start drip, drip, dripping out as we approach Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Sounds like a minor update overall, but there’s some interesting stuff coming down the pike.

Also on The CultCast:

  • Apple Watch and the Health app might break their chains this year.
  • The journaling app that Apple’s working on sounds kind creepy.
  • Does Apple have an actual plan for its mixed-reality headset?
  • Get the Apple Watch face that keeps Tim Cook cookin’ (free download).

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.

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Download the Apple Watch face Tim Cook uses

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Image of Tim Cook with his Apple Watch highlighted.
There’s just enough detail in this photo to go from.
Photo: Apple

How does Tim Cook customize his Apple Watch face? During his recent tour of India, people zoomed in on this picture of him meeting with developers to dissect his choice of watch face and complications.

I’ll break down Cook’s watch and show you how to download it yourself.

After all, the Apple Watch is celebrating eight years since its release on this very day in 2015. What better way to mark the occasion than with a celebratory new watch face?

Tim Cook goes on a grand tour of India (and can’t stop tweeting about it)

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Tim Cook goes on a grand tour of Indian (and can’t stop tweeting about it)
A visit with PM Narendra Modi capped Tim Cook's trip to India.
Photo: Tim Cook/Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. It’s part of a busy agenda for the executive, including opening two Apple stores — the first in the subcontinent. But that’s just a small part of his activities as the executive traveled around to highlight how Apple products are being used in India.

Cook posted tweets from all the many events and meetings.

Apple’s first retail store in India opens, and Tim Cook is there

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Apple BKC with Apple logo upfront.
Apple BKC features huge glass walls and a timber ceiling.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s first retail store in India opened its doors to shoppers Tuesday, and CEO Tim Cook showed up to celebrate. Apple BKC — housed in an energy-efficient structure with some stunning architectural details — is located inside Jio World Drive, a huge shopping complex in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The Indian store opening marks an important milestone for Apple, as it seeks to expand its retail and manufacturing presence in the world’s most populous country.

Tim Cook becomes Apple’s longest-serving CEO… but with a twist

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AI-generated image of Apple CEO Tim Cook sitting on an ornate golden throne.
Tim Cook has been Apple CEO longer than Steve Jobs was... sort of.
Image: Canva

Steve Jobs is no longer the man who spent the longest time as Apple CEO. Tim Cook, the executive currently in charge, has now surpassed Jobs’ record of 4,249 days with that title, making him officially Apple’s longest-serving CEO.

But it turns out the calculation isn’t that simple. Steve Jobs spent several additional years in charge of Apple. He just wasn’t officially “Apple CEO” at the time.

Tim Cook sees augmented reality as tool for collaboration, not isolation

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Tim Cook sees augmented reality as tool for collaboration
Tim Cook is very optimistic about the potential for augmented reality once practical AR glasses become possible.
Illustration: Open AI/Cult of Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook sounds very upbeat about the potential for augmented reality in a new interview. He says the technology “could greatly enhance people’s communication, people’s connection.”

Cook stayed mum about a related tech, virtual reality, though.

Tim Cook touts ‘symbiotic’ relationship between Apple and China

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Tim Cook speaks with university students in Naples, Italy, after accepting an honorary Master's degree.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was a prominent attendee at the China Development Forum.
Photo: Federico II online canale 1

Apple CEO Tim Cook was one of the few executives from U.S. companies to attend the China Development Forum in Beijing over the weekend as tensions between the two countries continue.

In a speech, Cook spoke about the “symbiotic kind of relationship” that Apple and China have.

A HomePod with special skills + Tim Cook’s VR power play [The CultCast]

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AI-generated image of a HomePod smart speaker with an embedded display.
No, the next-gen HomePod isn't gonna look like this. AI can't do everything! (At least not yet.)
Image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: That old rumor about a HomePod with a built-in display for FaceTime calls and smart-home wizardry resurfaces. But this time, some fresh details make Erfon even more cranked up than usual about Apple’s smart speaker.

Also on The CultCast:

  • It sounds like Tim Cook pulled a power move on Apple’s design team to make sure the company foists an expensive AR/VR headset on the masses sooner rather than later. Who’s excited? Show of hands?!?
  • Apple TV+ racks up another Oscar, and Erfon is almost intrigued enough to resubscribe. (Especially if his “get three months free” trick works again.)
  • The baton’s about to wave on Apple Music Classical. We’re all quivering with excitement!

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.

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