During quarterly earnings calls, many executives 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. If it’s anything like recent calls, CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will simply lay out the good news — though it’s not expected to be as good as it was in recent quarters.

This time analysts are erring on the side of caution, expecting Q2 earning per share of $1.43 versus $1.40 in Q2 2021, with slowing growth in the market-leading services business.

In an open letter sent to Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday, more than 100 film and TV professionals called on the company to publicly commit to building its video editing software Final Cut Pro into an industry-standard tool.

The group praised FCP as as “the biggest leap forward in editing technology since the move to digital” but complained it’s not living up to its potential.

The group noted, bitterly, that even the crew on CODA — the first streaming service release to win a Best Picture Oscar, and Apple’s own release — would probably not have chosen to edit it with FCP.

Apple CEO Tim Cook called privacy a key battle of our time during a speech Tuesday. He extolled Apple’s commitment to protecting its users’ data and condemned regulations that would force Cupertino to accept app sideloading on iPhones.

“We are deeply concerned about regulations that would undermine privacy and security in service of some other aim,” he said, referring to legislation that would force Apple to allow apps for its devices to bypass the App Store.

Cook made the comments during a wide-ranging keynote address at the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit in Washington, D.C.

Read more about what he said and watch video of his speech below.

Unveiled at a special event way back in 2014, the first Apple Watch looked similar to the wearable we know and love today. But looks can be deceiving. Take the Digital Crown and Side Button, for example. Their design may not have changed, but their functionality is now very different.

Apple Watch went through a radical evolution over the past eight years. What started out as an “intimate way to connect and communicate,” has become primarily a health and fitness device.

This pivot is uncharacteristic of Apple. Products like iPod, iPhone and iPad launched with a clear vision and remained true to it. The Apple Watch’s evolution suggests a shift in Cupertino’s approach to new products, and provides tantalizing clues to the future of the company’s rumored next platform launch: realityOS.

Apple dropped out of a privacy trade group that pushes increasingly “industry-friendly data privacy laws.” The move comes ahead of Apple CEO Tim Cook headlining the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit next Tuesday.

Cupertino confirmed it will leave the trade group, known as the State Privacy and Security Coalition, through a spokesperson following an initial report about it in Politico.

Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn’t often wear colorful Apple watch bands, but he made an exception during Apple’s Peek Performance event on Tuesday.

Cook emceed the event wearing an eye-catching yellow Sport band. Paired with his blue sweater, Cook seemed to be making a subtle gesture of support for the embattled country (yellow and blue are the colors of the Ukrainian national flag).

After Apple on Tuesday confirmed that it ceased product sales in Russia, CEO Tim Cook sent out an email to all employees that promises to match donations made to help Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion at a rate of 2:1.

“With each new image of families fleeing their homes and brave citizens fighting for their lives, we see how important it is for people around the world to come together to advance the cause of peace,” the email read.

Charlie Munger, investment company Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman, laid out high praise for Apple during an interview with Yahoo! Finance on Thursday. He called the Cupertino juggernaut “ungodly well-managed.”

He also described Apple as “one of the strong companies” and said he expects it to remain so.

A shareholder advisory group is urging Apple investors to vote against a $99 million compensation package awarded to CEO Tim Cook last year.

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said it has “significant concerns” over the “design and magnitude” of the package — which is up $14.8 million from the year before. But it is Apple’s board, not investors, that make the final decision.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Will Apple blow our minds (and our wallets) with a devastating blitz of new hardware in 2022? Signs point to yes. This week we’re discussing the latest rumors about new Apple gear coming this year — and trying not to get too excited.

Also on The CultCast:

• Tim Cook’s alleged stalker sounds just plain sad in Apple’s restraining order application.
• And the Apple CEO’s house has disappeared behind a massive, Minecraft-looking wall in Apple Maps.
• You can make make your house go to blurs-ville, too!

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 livestream, embedded below.