We've begun tracking early Black Friday deals in our dedicated Black Friday Roundup, and in an effort to prepare our readers for the big shopping event we're highlighting sales store-by-store in the lead-up to November 27.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This year we're starting with Best Buy, which announced its Black Friday sales earlier in the week while simultaneously kicking off a notable early sale on a huge variety of products, including Apple devices.
Best Buy's Black Friday Schedule
Every Best Buy location in the United States will be closed on Thanksgiving in 2020, so the focus on November 26 will be online deals. Best Buy's full schedule for the week of Black Friday can be seen below, and you can check out the Best Buy Black Friday newspaper ad right here.
Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) - Closed
Black Friday (Nov. 27) - 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time
Saturday, Nov. 28 - 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time
Sunday, Nov. 29 - 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time
Of course, these dates won't be the only times to snag deals at Best Buy in November, with a total of four extra discount events planned by the retailer next month. We don't know specifics of the early November sales yet, but the important sale here is on November 16, when My Best Buy Members will be able to shop thousands of deals from the Black Friday ad one week early.
Nov. 5 to 8 - The Wish List Sale
Nov. 11 - The Treat Yourself Sale
Nov. 12 to 15 - Our Coolest Deals Sale
Nov. 16 to 17 - My Best Buy Member Early Access Sale
Nov. 22 - Black Friday Starts Now! Sale
Covid-19 Safety Efforts: Best Buy is requiring all employees and customers to wear face coverings if they plan to shop in stores on Black Friday (and in general). There will be a limit to the number of people within each location, and social distancing efforts will be in effect.
For anyone who doesn't want to shop inside a Best Buy store during the holidays, contactless curbside pickup is available at all Best Buy stores. Orders are ready within an hour, and an employee can safely bring it out and place it inside your car. Next-day and same-day delivery options are also expanding to include more items on Best Buy's website.
Of course, there's also the Early Black Friday event running right now, which you can read about in more detail in the next section.
Early Black Friday - Oct. 28 through Nov. 1
There are quite a few categories covered in the early Black Friday sale, including video games, TVs, Apple products, headphones, small kitchen appliances, printers, vacuums, and much more. Head to Best Buy's landing page for the sale to shop the entire sale.
Below we've gathered some of the more notable items being marked down in Best Buy's early Black Friday sale. In regards to Apple, this mainly includes deals on Apple Watch SE and Series 6.
Best Buy Black Friday - Weeklong Savings Begin Nov. 22
Like most retailers, Best Buy's Black Friday is really a week-long event that starts the Sunday before Thanksgiving: November 22. This will stretch through to Thanksgiving day with an online-only set of deals, and then end on Black Friday, November 27, with the expected selection of doorbusters.
Similar to years past, you'll find a lot of markdowns on quality TV sets, Blu-Rays, smartphones, Dyson vacuums, smart speakers, video games, and much more. Many of the sales listed below are available thanks to Best Buy's early Black Friday event that runs through November 1, but after that ends you won't be able to get the discounts again until November 22 (or November 16 if you're a My Best Buy member).
Video Games This year will see the launch of a new generation of video game consoles. While the PS5 and Xbox Series X won't have any deals, you'll definitely be able to save with solid markdowns on previous generation consoles and a wide assortment of video game software.
We don't know much about hardware deals yet, but Best Buy is showcasing a deal on the Nintendo Switch bundle with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and three months of Nintendo Switch Online for $299.99.
iFixit has discovered that it is not possible to repair the iPhone 12's camera without access to Apple's proprietary, cloud-linked System Configuration app, raising questions over the repairability of the device.
iFixit says that it conducted exhaustive testing, compared notes with multiple repair technicians, and reviewed leaked Apple training documents to reach the conclusion that the iPhone 12's camera "is entirely unreliable when swapped between iPhones."
The matter was first addressed by Hugh Jeffreys on YouTube:
After detecting "extremely odd results" when conducting a camera repair, iFixit found that the iPhone 12 camera, when transferred to another iPhone 12, appears to work on launch, but fails in actual use. It reportedly refuses to switch to the ultrawide camera, responds only to certain camera modes, and occasionally becomes completely unresponsive.
iFixit also recalled that until now, cameras have "generally been easy" to swap between iPhones of the same model. Although similar, resolvable issues occurred with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8's LCD screens and Taptic Engines, iFixit believes that there is now more cause for concern.
Apple's internal training guides for the iPhone 12, seen by iFixit, reportedly said that starting with the 12, authorized technicians will need to run Apple's proprietary, cloud-linked System Configuration app to fully repair cameras and screens.
Although it may theoretically be possible to complete camera and screen repairs without Apple's proprietary technology, iFixit is pessimistic about what the move means for independent repairs.
Apple, by design or neglect or both, is making it extremely hard to repair an iPhone without their blessing... It doesn't look good for independent repair. Apple is putting yet another question mark on a core component of the iPhone. Why? Why does a camera need to have its serial number authorized remotely by Apple just to let someone take pictures with their phone?
It is possible that Apple could address the iPhone 12's camera swap behavior with a future software update, but iFixit believes this is unlikely.
Taken together with the System Configuration document, and all the other bugs, tricks, and intentional lock-outs that Apple has put in the way of fully functioning iPhones, we take this as a sign that things won't get any better unless there is major change—from within, from customer demand, or from the law.
There is an argument to suggest that warning an iPhone owner about non-genuine parts, especially if the phone was bought used, is useful information, but iFixit notes that the camera module is not a security component.
It's a part prone to malfunction and damage, and can be harvested from otherwise-broken iPhones. Putting an authentication check on a simple camera swap poisons the iPhone repair and resale market. With no obvious benefit for iPhone buyers, it reeks of greed. Or worse: planned obsolescence.
Last week, iFixit scored the iPhone 12 a six out of ten for repairability. In response to this discovery about the camera module, iFixit is now actively reevaluating how its repairability scale scores iPhones going forward.
Apple One bundles are now available in the United States and over 100 other countries, allowing customers to subscribe to multiple Apple services through a single plan, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud, and more.
To sign up for Apple One on an iPhone:
Open Settings App
Tap on Your Name at the top
Tap on Subscriptions
Tap on Apple One
The prompt for Apple One is still in the process of showing up for all users, so keep checking if you don't see it right away. Alternatively, see this for more detailed instructions:
In addition to getting unified billing, customers can save money by bundling services together with Apple One. At the low end, the Individual tier offers savings of $6 per month, while the Family plan offers a savings of over $8 per month, and the Premier plan offers a savings of over $25 per month, compared to standard monthly pricing.
An overview of the three tiers of Apple One available:
Individual: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage for $14.95 per month
Family: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200GB of iCloud storage for $19.95 per month, can be shared among up to six family members
Premier: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 2TB of iCloud storage for $29.95 per month, can be shared among up to six family members
At launch, the Premier tier is limited to the United States, Australia, Canada, and the UK, as these are the only countries where Apple News+ is currently available. And while the Premier tier includes Apple's new Fitness+ service, which will offer workout videos and more, the service does not launch until later this year.
Apple One includes a 30-day free trial for any Apple services that customers do not already have. Once subscribed, customers can use the services included in their bundle on any platform where the services are available, such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, and more.
To save even more, customers in the United States can pay for their Apple One subscription plan with the Apple Card to receive 3% Daily Cash per month.
Apple's new Leather Wallet with MagSafe for iPhone 12 models is available for pickup today or tomorrow at select Apple Stores in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
A few customers have started sharing photos of the Leather Wallet on Twitter after completing a pickup at an Apple Store today.
As noted by 9to5Mac, it also appears that some customers are beginning to see their online orders marked as shipped earlier than expected. Many of these customers are seeing an estimated delivery range of November 2-9.
Priced at $59 in the United States, the MagSafe Wallet is designed to magnetically attach to the back of iPhone 12 models, allowing customers to carry a few credit cards or IDs with their device. The wallet is designed with tanned European leather and is offered in four colors: Baltic Blue, California Poppy, Saddle Brown, and Black.
Apple has shipped 10.6 percent fewer iPhones year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020, meaning that it has been overtaken by Xiaomi for the first time, according to new data shared by IDC.
The report details how Apple is now ranked as the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer by market share. This is the first time that Apple has ranked fourth, with Xiaomi, Huawei, and Samsung exceeding Apple's 11.8 percent share.
In total, Apple is believed to have shipped 41.2 million devices in the third quarter, which is five million less than the same time last year.
The drop was expected on the back of the delay in launching the iPhone 12 lineup, which usually appears in the third quarter. Irrespective of the belated arrival of the iPhone 12, the iPhone 11 and iPhone SE contributed to the majority of Apple's volume and performed "exceptionally well."
Going forwards, IDC expects Apple to grow in coming quarters due to strong early demand for the iPhone 12 and solid trade-in offers from major carriers, particularly within the United States.
Samsung reclaimed the top position with a market share of 22.7 percent, shipping over 80 million smartphones. Huawei followed with a 14.7 percent share, and this was a significant reduction of 40 percent year-on-year. vivo also returned to the top five with a market share of 8.9 percent.
Xiaomi overtook Apple for the first time with a market share of 13.1 percent, achieving a 42 percent growth. The rise is supposedly due to strong gains in India and China.
Overall, the global smartphone market declined by only 1.3 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020. The results were stronger than IDC's previous forecast of a nine percent year-over-year decline. An important trend was the strength of shipments in India, which is the second-largest market globally, and other emerging markets, such as Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia.
Apple's new Apple One series of services bundles launches on Friday in over 100 countries and regions, but the top Premier tier will be limited to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
The limited rollout of the $29.95 Premier tier is down to the fact that Apple News+ is currently only available in the above countries. Apple News+ is exclusive to the Premier tier, along with Apple Fitness+, which isn't expected to arrive until later in the year.
Here's how the Individual, Family, and Premier tiers stack up:
Individual: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage for $14.95 per month
Family: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200GB of iCloud storage for $19.95 per month, can be shared among up to six family members
Premier: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 2TB of iCloud storage for $29.95 per month, can be shared among up to six family members
Apple One's Individual tier offers savings of $6 per month, while the Family plan offers savings of over $8 per month, and the Premier plan offers a savings of over $25 per month, compared to standard monthly pricing. Apple One includes a 30-day free trial for any services that customers do not already have.
New adventure game "South of the Circle" arrived on Apple Arcade today. Made by State of Play, developers of developers of "Kami," "INKS," and "Lumino City," the title is notable for its unique aesthetic inspired by mid-century screen printing.
South of the Circle has a narrative focus set in 1964 in Antarctica. Following an aircraft crash, Cambridge academic Peter must fight for survival as he crosses desolate terrain in an attempt to reach British, Norwegian, and Soviet Antarctic bases. As conditions deteriorate, the past and the present blur together, and Peter is forced to come to terms with survival, reality, and the consequences of his past.
State of Play used full 3D motion capture for added realism, and the game features a host of award-winning actors such as Gwilym Lee, Olivia Vinall, Richard Goulding, Anton Lesser, Adrian Rawlins, and Michael Fox. South of the Circle is out now on Apple Arcade with controller support, and comes as a 2.3GB download on iOS.
There are now more than 125 games available on Apple Arcade, with Apple adding new titles regularly. Apple Arcade is priced at $4.99 per month, and that price point allows the whole family to play games without ads or additional in-app purchases. In a currently running promotion, Apple is also offering new iPhone 12 owners three free months of Apple Arcade.
Many users running iOS 14 beta are reporting that they are seeing a dialog box pop up repeatedly asking them to update from the latest iOS 14 beta.
Threads in our forums, Reddit, and Twitter are reporting the issue. The dialog has been appearing for a few days now, but as of tonight has started appearing more frequently, every time an iPhone is unlocked. There's been further discussion in our iOS 14.2 Beta 4 thread.
Getting the notification to update my iOS every time I unlock my iPhone. This issue was present like 5 years ago with one beta, the only way to stop it was by Apple having to push an emergency update, I remember it was the only time I was updating iPhone in the morning (in the EU) as they pushed it late night in Cali.
Previous betas have reportedly seen the same issue, according to postings in our forum.
Update: There's a new golden master version of iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 available to developers and public beta testers, which fixes the issue. Simply upgrade to 14.2 GM and the notices should stop.
Apple last week released the iPhone 12 Pro, which is being sold alongside the iPhone 12, 12 mini, and 12 Pro Max. The Pro Max has the best camera of the bunch, but since it's not out yet, we thought we'd take a look at the improvements introduced in the iPhone 12 Pro and see how camera quality compares to the iPhone 11 Pro.
The iPhone 12 Pro has the same triple-lens camera setup as the iPhone 11 Pro with a Wide lens, Ultra Wide lens, and Telephoto lens, but there are improvements across all three cameras plus the addition of the LiDAR Scanner, which improves low-light performance. The faster A14 chip and new image signal processor also bring new photographic capabilities, ultimately introducing quite a few improvements.
TrueDepth Camera
When it comes to the front-facing camera, it's still using the same f/2.2 12-megapixel lens with no real improvements to the hardware, but thanks to the A14 chip, it now supports Night Mode selfies, Night Mode time-lapse videos, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 3, and Dolby Vision HDR video recording, none of which are available in the iPhone 11 Pro.
Deep Fusion's addition to the front-facing camera allows it to pull out the best pixels from multiple exposures to make one crisper image with more detail and less noise, and it primarily activates in medium lighting conditions.
Smart HDR 3 improves highlights, shadows, and white balance so you get more natural lighting that looks truer to real life, and Dolby Vision HDR recording lets you record and edit HDR video from the front-facing camera for selfie videos that look better than ever.
In practice, you need specific conditions to see the improvements that the software brings to the front-facing camera, and so you might not always see huge differences between the 11 Pro and 12 Pro, with most changes being subtle. Night Mode selfies are where you'll see the most noticeable updates.
Rear Camera Improvements
Smart HDR 3 and improved Deep Fusion have also been added to the rear cameras of the iPhone 12 Pro, plus there's a new 7-element Wide lens with an f/1.6 aperture that lets in 27 percent more light for improvements to low-light photography.
A Wide lens comparison
Auto stabilization is improved, and there's a new f/2.0 telephoto lens with a 52mm focal length, and while the Ultra Wide lens hasn't changed, it does offer a Lens Correction feature to account for distortion that can come from a wider-angle lens, and it supports Night Mode thanks to the LiDAR Scanner. Deep Fusion works across all lenses for improvements to color and texture, and Smart HDR 3 includes scene recognition that allows the iPhone to recognize everyday scenes and adjust accordingly to make photos look more true to life.
Pictures in Ideal Lightning
In practice, standard photos in good lighting from the iPhone 12 Pro look fantastic, and Smart HDR 3 does an excellent job with white balance and preserving important image details for photos that look crisper and slightly more realistic than those that come out of the iPhone 11 Pro. The new lens ekes out a bit more sharpness and detail by cutting down on noise and getting a better balance between varying lighting in photos.
A Wide lens comparison
While images do look a little bit better out of the iPhone 12 Pro, it's subtle. Comparatively, photos from the 11 Pro and 12 Pro look a lot alike unless you're pixel peeping and zooming in for detail. The iPhone 11 Pro could put out some sensational images in ideal lighting conditions, so it's no surprise to see only subtle improvements here.
A telephoto comparison
Portrait Mode Images
Apple's A14 chip and the LiDAR Scanner (which takes a depth map of the scene) improve Portrait Mode photos by better separating the subject from the background, and this is noticeable in the fine details. Edge detection is better than before, especially for fur and hair.
The LiDAR Scanner even allows for Night Mode Portrait images, so you can get some incredible low-light portrait shots that just aren't possible to capture in the same way with the iPhone 11 Pro.
Low Lighting and Night Mode
In lower lighting conditions, there are more noticeable improvements in the photos coming from the iPhone 12 Pro, again thanks to the A14 chip and LiDAR Scanner. Night Mode photos capture more detail, are sharper, and are just a bit more vibrant.
Night Mode photos can also be taken with the Ultra Wide lens for the first time, for impressive night time wide-angle shots, and LiDAR brings much faster autofocus in poor light.
Video Capture
The camera improvements introduced for photos also apply to videos, and there are some improvements to the iPhone 12 Pro over the iPhone 11 Pro. In our testing the iPhone 12 Pro was able to focus faster because of the LiDAR Scanner, and HDR Dolby Vision is a new A14-enabled feature that's not possible on the iPhone 11 Pro.
HDR Dolby Vision recording looks great as you can see in the video up above, but it's limited right now. Video you capture is easiest to edit right on the iPhone because of a lack of Mac compatibility for editing Dolby Vision video, and playback needs to be on a Dolby Vision-compatible device like your iPhone or a Dolby Vision TV.
If you capture a video in Dolby Vision on the iPhone 12 Pro and then play it back on the iPhone it looks fantastic. Elements in the video are bright, crisp, and well-defined, but again, you need the right device to see the improvements over iPhone 11 Pro video. Dolby Vision HDR comes on by default so keep in mind video you're recording might not look as great to someone you send it to. Dolby Vision HDR is a big deal for those who want to capture movies on their iPhones and do serious iPhone video recording, but it's less useful for the average iPhone user.
For video mode, there's a new Night Mode Time-Lapse option that's fun if you want to take longer exposure night sky videos, but most people likely won't get a ton of use out of this because it requires a tripod.
Bottom Line
The iPhone 12 Pro definitely offers camera improvements over the iPhone 11 Pro, but the differences aren't super major except for when it comes to new features and some low-lighting photography, so camera tech alone probably isn't a reason to upgrade except for the most dedicated iPhone photographers.
This year's iPhone 12 Pro Max has even more improvements than the iPhone 12 Pro, so we'll be doing another comparison when the larger model is released. Let us know in the comments what you think of the 11 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro comparisons and whether you're seeing image improvements in your own usage.
Multiple Apple products are seeing supply constraints, including the new iPhone 12 models, Macs, iPads, and some Apple Watch models. Apple CEO Tim Cook today told investors that Apple is "working really, really hard" to remedy the supply issues.
If you look at iPhone, we're constrained today. Not a surprise at the front end of the ramp, and how long we'll be constrained is hard to predict. We haven't taken orders yet for iPhone 12 mini or Pro Max, so those are coming and we shall see. Right now we are supply constrained, and for avoidance of confusion, we're constrained on Mac and iPad and some Apple Watches.
A fair number of areas of focus right now and we're working really, really hard to remedy those as quickly as we can. At this point, I can't estimate when we'll be out of that.
Several of Apple's iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models sold out within a few hours of launch, and many new orders are now shipping out later in November. We can likely expect to see similar constraints for the upcoming iPhone 12 Pro Max and 12 mini, as these devices were held back due to rumored production issues that required Apple to wait to build up enough supply.
Given the situation with iPhone 12 and 12 Pro pre-orders, those planning to purchase a 12 mini or 12 Pro Max should plan to do so right when pre-orders go live on Friday, November 6 at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
As for the Mac and iPad, there have been long shipping delays on some models throughout the last several months, and many Apple Watch models also sold out quickly after launch in September.
During today's earnings call covering the fourth quarter of 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about Apple's payment services, where he said that contactless payment usage could see growth in the United States due to the pandemic, where people are aiming to use cash less and less.
As you can imagine in this environment, people are less wont to hand over a card. Contactless payment has taken on a different level of adoption and I don't think we'll go back. The United States has been lagging in contactless payments and I think the pandemic may very well put the U.S. on a different trajectory there. We are very bullish on this area and there are more things that Apple can do in this space so this is an area of great interest to us.
Cook also said that Apple in general continues to be enthusiastic about payment services. Apple Card is "doing well," and Apple Pay is "doing exceptionally well."
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
With many people continuing to learn and work from home, Apple's Mac sales in the fourth quarter of 2020 hit a new all-time revenue record, hugely outpacing sales in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Apple's Mac category brought in $9 billion, up from $7 billion in the year-ago quarter, marking growth of 29 percent. Apple says that sales were up despite supply constraints that the company was facing during the quarter.
Mac sales saw double digit growth in each geographic segment, with all-time revenue records set in the Americas and Asia Pacific, and September quarter records in both Europe and Japan.
Apple's Mac sales may see significant growth in the coming quarter as the company prepares to launch the first Mac with an Arm-based Apple-designed Apple Silicon chip. The first Apple Silicon Mac is coming before the end of the year, and an announcement could take place in November.
Apple's Wearables, Home, and Accessories category, which was previously known as the "Other" category, brought in record revenue in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2020, hitting $7.9 billion, up 21 percent from $6.5 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that Apple hit September quarter records in every geographic segment in these categories. Apple's wearables category alone, which includes Apple Watch, AirPods, AirPods Pro, and Beats headphones, is now the size of a Fortune 130 company.
When it comes to Apple Watch sales in September, 75 percent of buyers were new to the Apple Watch, suggesting the Apple Watch is still seeing significant growth among those who have not yet used the product.
Apple during the call announced a new Lumi Health partnership with the government of Singapore, which is an Apple Watch program designed to encourage healthy behaviors.
During today's earnings call for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2020 (third calendar quarter), Cook said that while he doesn't want to give too much away, "this year has a few more exciting things in store."
Cook is likely speaking about the Apple Silicon Macs, as Apple has previously said the first Apple Silicon Mac will be coming before the end of 2020. There are rumors of a third fall event coming in November, which would likely be Mac focused.
There are also other possible products that could be coming, such as the AirPods Studio and the AirTags, though launch dates for these products are less certain than the new Apple Macs and it continues to be unclear if we'll see one or both before the end of the year.
According to today's earnings report covering the fourth fiscal quarter of 2020 (third calendar quarter), Apple's services segment brought in $14.5 billion, up from $12.5 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2019.
Over the course of the last fiscal year, services earned $53.8 billion, up from $46.3 billion in fiscal 2019.
Apple's number of paid accounts reached a new all time high with double digit growth, and paid subscriptions grew more than 35 million compared to last quarter. Apple now has 585 million paid subscribers, up 135 million from a year ago.
Apple has plans to add to its services offerings, with new products coming as soon as tomorrow. Apple One will offer bundles of services like Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and Apple TV+ at reduced prices, while Fitness+ is a new $9.99 per month service that will provide guided workouts to Apple Watch users.
Apple Oneis launching on Friday, October 30, and Apple Fitness+ is launching later this quarter.
Apple's iPhone 12 lineup launched too late to be included in the Q4 earnings results being shared today, but Apple CEO Tim Cook today said in an interview with CNBC that he's "optimistic" about Apple's iPhone 12 sales because of 5G support, carrier promotions, and a loyal install base.
According to Cook, initial data points on iPhone 12 sales are "really quite good." During the earnings call, Cook went on to say that the iPhone 12 lineup is the strongest lineup that Apple has hard by far. 5G also represents a once in a decade opportunity due to the excitement around 5G technologies. "We're off to a great start," said Cook.
iPhone 12 sales will be included in Apple's Q1 2021 earnings results rather than this quarter, but Apple declined to provide guidance for Q1 2021. Cook says that Apple again declined to offer guidance due to the ongoing global health crisis leading to a "sufficient level of uncertainty" that's "not an environment to guide into."
Sales in China were down for the year, and were a weak point for Apple. Sales dropped to $7.95 billion, down from $11.13 billion in fiscal 2019. Cook said he's confident that will turn around next quarter.
A larger percentage of China revenue is made up of new iPhones. And so that's the reason the number for the total quarter started with a minus sign. But given what we see in the early going with the new iPhones, we're confident we'll grow in Q1."
Apple today reported record Q4 2020 results with $12.7 billion profit on $64.7 billion revenue, with services revenue hitting a new all time high.
Apple in September announced Apple One, a new series of services bundles that will let Apple device customers purchase several services together in one package instead of separately, saving money for those who use multiple Apple service products.
Ahead of Apple's earnings call, Apple CFO Luca Maestri told Bloomberg that Apple One is set to launch on Friday, October 30.
Individual ($14.95 per month) - Includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB iCloud storage.
Family ($19.95 per month) - Includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200GB of iCloud storage, with the services able to be shared between up to six family members.
Premier ($29.95 per month) - Includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Fitness+, and 2TB iCloud storage, with the services able to be shared between up to six family members.
Apple's newest service, Apple Fitness+, is not launching tomorrow but Maestri said that it will be coming later this quarter.
Apple today announced financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2020, which corresponds to the third calendar quarter of the year.
For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $64.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $12.7 billion, or $0.73 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $64.0 billion and net quarterly profit of $13.7 billion, or $0.76 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Apple set a new record for September quarter revenue, as well as all-time quarterly records for Services and Mac revenue.
Gross margin for the quarter was 38.2 percent, compared to 38.0 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 59 percent of revenue. Apple also declared a quarterly dividend payment of $0.205 per share, payable on November 12 to shareholders of record as of November 9.
For the full fiscal year, Apple generated $274.5 billion in sales with $57.4 billion in net income, compared to $260.2 billion in sales and $55.3 billion in net income for fiscal 2019.
“Apple capped off a fiscal year defined by innovation in the face of adversity with a September quarter record, led by all-time records for Mac and Services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, Apple is in the midst of our most prolific product introduction period ever, and the early response to all our new products, led by our first 5G-enabled iPhone lineup, has been tremendously positive. From remote learning to the home office, Apple products have been a window to the world for users as the pandemic continues, and our teams have met the needs of this moment with creativity, passion, and the kinds of big ideas that only Apple can deliver.”
As has been the case for the past several quarters, Apple is once again not issuing guidance for the current quarter ending in December, as considerable uncertainty surrounding the global health situation's impact remains.
Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q4 2020 financial results conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.
Apple earnings call recap ahead...
1:44 pm: Apple's stock price is down roughly 4% in after-hours trading following the earnings release.
1:46 pm: Apple did just over $9 billion in Mac revenue during the quarter, smashing the previous record of $7.4 billion set in the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
1:48 pm: iPhone revenue at $26.4 billion was Apple's lowest in a September quarter since 2014, thanks in part to the iPhone 12 launch being pushed back into the December quarter.
1:55 pm: Services revenue of $14.5 billion topped Apple's previous record of $13.3 billion from the second fiscal quarter of this year, while iPad revenue of $6.8 billion was the best since the first fiscal quarter of 2016.
2:03 pm: The call should be starting momentarily. There appear to be some technical difficulties with the conference call and stream.
2:03 pm: "Stand by just a moment."
2:04 pm: Call is starting. On the call are Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri.
2:05 pm: Turning the call over to Tim.
2:05 pm: Back in April, I said we were in the most challenging environment in which Apple has ever operated.
2:06 pm: Making difficult calls with limited information has not only come to define Apple's year but has been the case for all of us around the world. We've stayed focused on what we do best.
2:06 pm: "Something new, something creative, something better on behalf of our customers."
2:06 pm: This quarter, Apple achieved revenue of $64.7 billion, a September quarter record, despite the anticipated absence of new iPhone availability in the quarter and closures at many of our retail locations.
2:06 pm: Strong double-digit growth in non-iPhone categories.
2:07 pm: Launched new iPhone models in October, later than last year, and up until mid-September, customer demand for iPhone grew double digits. Services saw stronger than expected performance across the board.
2:07 pm: September record in India thanks to launch of online store in that country.
2:07 pm: Beat internal expectations in China, growing non-iPhone revenues in strong double-digits and iPhone customer demand growing through mid-September.
2:08 pm: Pull back to fiscal year, a testament to team's work and resilience of the business in era of COVID-19. $274.5 billion in revenue, growing 6% year over year. All-time yearly records in Mac, wearables and accessories, and services. Grew double-digit in every category outside of iPhone.
2:09 pm: We not only launched our most compelling generation of hardware, software, and services ever, but we did it in a way that pushed us to reimagine every part of that innovation process, from how we share these products with the world to how we get them to our customers' hands.
2:09 pm: The team rebuilt every part of the plane while it was midair and the results speak for themselves.
2:10 pm: Cook now praising the retail and customer support teams for being flexible and innovative this year.
2:11 pm: Now talking about the company's anti-COVID efforts, and donations to racial justice fund and other nonprofit work.
2:11 pm: In a typical year, the back-to-school season is a bustling time for us. This year that was true in the biggest way ever.
2:12 pm: Started 9 of 10 school district deployments this year that alone will support more than 1,000,000 students and teachers.
2:12 pm: Looking forward, we feel great optimism about the road in front of us. We're in the midst of the most prolific product introduction period ever. In addition to HomePod mini, we just marked the beginning of a new era for iPhone with the arrival of our first 5G-enabled devices.
2:13 pm: He's now reciting iPhone 12 features and benefits.
2:14 pm: And Apple Watch Series 6.
2:14 pm: Government of Singapore and Apple launched a new program to help encourage healthy behaviors with Apple Watch.
2:15 pm: Now Apple One (launching tomorrow) and Apple Fitness+.
2:16 pm: Without giving away too much, I can tell you that this year has a few more exciting things in store.
2:16 pm: I want to offer one more comment on resilience. If I had to describe our quarter in a single word, it's resilient. I don't think this year will be one any of us look back on with great fondness or nostalgia.
2:17 pm: There is the great pain of a lost loved one, the uncertainty and fear of a lost job, and a deep well of concern for people we care about who we are not able to see.
2:18 pm: Teams and colleagues have been leaning on each other more than in normal times. That instinct, that resilience, is an essential part of how we navigate this year. A shared sense of purpose goes a long way. A belief that we can do more together than we can alone. People of goodwill, driven by creativity and passion and that certain itch of a big idea can help people in small ways.
2:18 pm: You never wish for a year like this one, but I could never be prouder of our team.
2:18 pm: Luca coming in to talk more details.
2:19 pm: Fiscal 2020 set new all-time records for revenue, earnings per share, and free cash flow, in spite of an extremely volatile and challenging macro environment.
2:20 pm: Total revenue of $64.7 billion for quarter, up 1% YoY. Very impressive level of performance when we consider that we didn't launch and ship any new iPhone models during the quarter. Outside of iPhone, we grew 25% in aggregate and had strong double-digit year-over-year revenue growth in each product category. All-time records for Mac and services, and September quarter record for wearables, home and accessories. September quarter records in the vast majority of countries that we track including US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Russia, India, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
2:20 pm: Our products, outside of iPhone, grew a combined 30% despite supply constraints of Mac, iPad and Apple Watch through the quarter. Through September for iPhone, customer demand grew double digits.
2:20 pm: All-time high in aggregate and each major product category for active users.
2:20 pm: $14.5 billion and 16% growth year over year in services.
2:21 pm: 38.2% gross margin, up 20 basis points sequentially due to mix and cost savings.
2:21 pm: Services gross margin was 66.9%, down 30 basis points due to mix.
2:21 pm: $26.4B for iPhone revenue.
2:22 pm: COVID-19 and social distancing impacted store operations, but demand for iPhone remained very strong. Through mid-September, customer demand grew double digits and was well above expectations. Active install base reached new all-time high thanks to exceptional loyalty of customer base and ecosystem. Last survey from 451 Research indicates iPhone customer satisfaction of 98% for 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max combined.
2:23 pm: Services set all-time records in App Store, cloud services, music, advertising and payment services. Also AppleCare.
2:23 pm: New services, Apple TV+, Arcade, News, Card are contributing to user and services growth. Key drivers for services growth continue to be moving in the right direction. Install base continues to grow.
2:23 pm: Number of transacting and paid accounts reached a new all-time high with paid accounts increasing double digits in each geographic segment. Paid subscriptions grew 35 million sequentially.
2:24 pm: Confident to reach and exceed our increased target of 600 million paid subscriptions before the end of calendar 2020.
2:24 pm: Breadth and quality of current services offerings are growing, including Apple One and Apple Fitness+.
2:24 pm: Wearables, Home and Accessories established a new record with revenue of $7.9 billion, up 21% YoY. Records in every geographic segment and each category.
2:25 pm: Wearables business is size of Fortune 130 company. Watch extends reach with 75% of Watch purchasers in September new to the product.
2:25 pm: Mac revenue was an all-time record at $9 billion, up 29% over last year, $1.6 billion above the previous record in spite of supply constraints during the quarter. Strong double digits in each geographic segment and all-time revenue records in Americas and Asia-Pacific and September quarter records in Europe and Japan.
2:26 pm: iPad performance: Revenue of $6.8B, up 46%. Highest September quarter revenue in eight years.
2:26 pm: Both Mac and iPad are incredibly relevant products for our customers in the current environment.
2:26 pm: 93% customer satisfaction for Mac, 95% for iPad.
2:27 pm: Active install base for Mac and iPad reached all-time high. In the enterprise market, helping companies grow their business while achieving sustainability goals.
2:27 pm: Now talking about enterprise companies using Apple products to improve operations.
2:28 pm: Turning to cash, Apple ended the quarter with $192 billion in cash plus marketable securities. Issued $5.5 billion in new debt and decreased short-term borrowing facilities by $6.2 billion. Total debt of $112 billion. Net cash of $79 billion.
2:29 pm: $22 billion returned to shareholders. $3.5 billion in dividends and $18 billion of open market repurchases. Retired 3.1 million shares in final settlement of 16th ASR.
2:30 pm: Highlights for fiscal 2020: Revenue grew 6% to $274.5B. Install base of active devices grew in every quarter. Most challenging economic environment we can remember, new revenue records in Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Earnings per share up 10% to all-time record. Delivered innovative products and services.
2:31 pm: Moving to December, some color on what we're seeing: Given continued uncertainty, we will not be issuing revenue guidance for the coming quarter. Expectations for December for product categories... assuming COVID-related impacts are similar to what we're seeing in October. Shipping iPhone 12 and 12 Pro... off to a great start. Preorders for 12 mini and 12 Pro Max next Friday. Given tremendously positive response, we expect iPhone revenue to grow during the quarter despite shipping 12 and 12 Pro four weeks into the quarter and the other two seven weeks into the quarter. All other products in aggregate to grow double digits and services to grow double digits. Gross margin to be similar to most recent quarters.
2:31 pm: For operating expenses, between $10.7 and $10.8 billion. OI&E around $50 million, and tax rate around 16%.
2:31 pm: Board of directors declared cash dividend.
2:32 pm: Q&A time
2:34 pm: Q: Shannon Cross - Tim, talk a bit more about China and in terms of linearity, services in all regions was at an all-time high. Give us an idea of whether you're seeing blowback or benefit from Huawei situation, bit more into trends from China.
A: If you look at China, last quarter and this corner, what we saw was our non-iPhone business was up strong double digits for the quarter. iPhone, pre-mid September, that period of time which was bulk of quarter, iPhone was growing from customer demand point of view. Not shipping new iPhones for last two weeks of Septemner makes that number in the aggregate a negative.
Net, underlying business in China was strong and perhaps different from what you might think from stated number. In terms of this quarter, given the explanation for last quarter and the momentum that we've got, and as importantly, given the initial data points that we see on iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, though we don't guide to revenue, I would tell you that we're confident that we'll grow this quarter in China. We're very bullish on what's going on there. A little more color on last quarter, we had a much more significant inventory drawdown on the channel side than other regions, so that's one reason why numbers are different from other regions. Additionally, the new products in the year-ago quarter were a higher percentage of iPhone sales than in other regions.
2:35 pm: In terms of the market there, 5G is fairly advanced there. We're very confident there.
2:36 pm: Q: Cadence that you see for 5G adoption/launch, what do you see will be the key driver, subsidies in the US at this point?
A: Want the best experience for iPhone users. We've been collaborating with carriers all around the world to ensure iPhone has great throughput and coverage and battery and call quality. Completed testing on more than 100 carriers in 30 regions, so it's pretty pervasive around the world but granted, it will continue to roll out in more places as carriers expand their coverage. It's just going to get better. Obvious places where it's more ahead than others, but we feel like we are entering at exactly the right time.
2:38 pm: Q: Deutsche Bank - Relative to seasonality, over the last 5 years you're up 50% quarter on quarter, can you beat that with later release?
A: Luca: We're not providing a range for the reasons that I explained, keep in mind a couple of things about this quarter versus the past. The launch timing of the phones is different from the past, so we're launching the new iPhones four weeks into the quarter for two models and seven weeks into the quarter for the other two models. Keep in mind with growth rates. With regard to other product categories, we are expecting to grow double digits across the board for the rest of our products and services. We are incredibly optimistic for what we're seeing so far. A lot of tailwinds for iPhone the entire cycle. Best lineup that we've ever had. Installed base that is very large, continues to grow. All-time high. 5G is once in a decade opportunity. In some markets, carrier offers are very aggressive which is very good for consumers and ultimately very good for us. Very optimistic given what we've seen so far.
2:40 pm: Q: Apple One bundle is desire to bundle in the first place. Why wouldn't you take rationale to bundle to hardware? AirPods and iPhone and Watch... wouldn't it make sense to bundle hardware? Are there benefits to services bundling that don't transfer to hardware bundling.
A: Nothing to announce on a hardware bundle. We do view that people like to pay for their hardware, or some substantial portion of it, monthly. That's why we have installments in stores and online, and that's why you see in some channels selling hardware on per month basis. That begins to look like subscription to some buyers because they're used to holding the phone for a fixed period of time and turning it over and using the residual value of that phone in a way that gives them a subsidy on a new phone. Something today in the market that works somewhat similar. On services side, we have customers coming to us and asking for an easier way to buy all of our services and we wanted to provide that. We're looking forward to tomorrow to getting Apple One out there.
2:42 pm: Q: Katy Huberty - Morgan Stanley: New technologies including the chips that support 5G put upward pressure on costs this year but you manage to leave ASP for iPhones relatively unchanged, how should we think about the margin profile of iPhone 12 relative to past iPhone cycles?
A: Luca: Obviously we don't provide any outlook at gross margin level for product categories. In my prepared remarks, we expected total gross margin to be pretty much in line with what we see in last quarters. It's very good because we are offering the new phones at price points that are essentially unchanged and we take on a lot of new technologies into the phones. Commodity environment is good, for the first time in many quarters, I don't have to say that FX is a headwind getting into the quarter. Won't be a factor during the quarter. In our comments, we are bullish about sales performance expectations so we should be getting some leverage. Gross margin dynamics are good and it's very good to see that we're able to offer so much more technology and still able to deliver the level of gross margins that investors are expecting.
2:44 pm: Q: Services... this isn't dependent on any one service but licensing and other historically... when you think about Google antitrust pressure that you see shrinkage in licensing and other segments and opportunities to make up for weakness?
A: As you know, we've announced a number of services over the last couple of years. We're ramping those between Apple TV+ and Apple News+ and Apple Arcade, Card, Fitness+, we have a number of services that have been launched a bit longer that are doing really well from the App Store to iCloud. There's a lot of room there and potential there. I have no idea how the DOJ suit will go, but I think it's a long way from a conclusion on it.
2:46 pm: Q: On iPhone, you talked about iPhone install base high, sat, replacement cycles are getting elongated, if iPhone users are like me with embarrassingly high weekly usage rates, does that give you better clarity that we could enter extensive period of iPhone revenue growth?
A: We're very bullish on this cycle. As I step back from it, we have for the first time ever launched four iPhones and there is an iPhone for everyone there. It is the strongest lineup we've ever had by far. We have a very large loyal and growing install base and we're also reaching out to switchers and I'm very optimistic there. We have a once-in-a-decade opportunity with 5G. Lot of excitement about 5G. We've got aggressive offers in the marketplace. So when I think about all of those, I am really, I look at the initial data points on iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, we are off to a great start.
2:48 pm: Q: Services gross margins, are these levels at 67% sustainable and what do you think of 2-3 factors that are enabling gross margin to remain there going forward?
A: Pleased with gross margins in services. Expanded 300 basis points on a YoY basis. Reason for that, of course we are growing services revenue and getting leverage on a lot of these services. Some of it, as explained in the past, we have a portfolio of services that have different margin profiles. Depending on the mix of products, we can see margin expansion through mix as well. But launching new services, where we need to invest heavily up front, show for example that we've launched a lot of new services, made investments and still able to expand gross margin. We feel quite confident about projection that we have for services and we're very happy to see the customer response to really all of them because as we've mentioned earlier, we've seen revenue record across every category. And, across the entire world. September quarter records in every geography around the world. All the dynamics and levers that we have in the services business are working very well here and that translates to margin.
2:50 pm: Q: With iPhone lineup and carrier subsidies on iPhone sales, some other factors. iPhone was seeing a bump with stimulus checks going out, as we see some things on that front, is macro impacting how you see iPhone sales with new product lineup?
A: Prior to mid-September, we were seeing double-digit growth in customer demand on iPhone. There is a lot of momentum there. Still a lot of momentum now given the launch of the 12 Pro and 12. If you're asking whether it could have been even more with a different spending environment, I believe the answer to be yes but you can't run the experiment so I don't know for sure. I suspect that just the COVID in general takes something off from a worldwide economic point of view.
2:51 pm: Q: Potentially looking at second wave which you discussed as well in your prepared remarks, some thoughts into how you're preparing or sourcing from supply chain to prepare for disruption like earlier this year?
A: Doing everything we can do. Prioritizing safety first obviously. With our stores, we've come up with a new concept that essentially turns the store into an express store. Helps with safety of employees and safety of customer. Allows interaction to take place. Put more people on the phones because more people are reaching out to us in that way. Online store has stayed up and running through the whole of this. Everybody to the best of their ability is putting in contingency plans and finding a way to adapt to the environment. Difficult to call and there's a level of uncertainty in it obviously.
2:53 pm: Q: Don't want to give color on gross margin by segment, but gross margin should be similar or grow... on iPhone side, how should we think about the different gross margin levels into December?
A: Positive factors in December thanks to leverage sequentially, and improved mix particularly this year with new iPhone. At same time, shouldn't forget that we have launched a lot of new products during the last several weeks. Four new iPhones, new Apple Watch, iPad, so clearly every time we launch a new product the cost structure is higher so that is the other side of the coin. We think that those two things should balance out and again, we're accomplishing this while delivering a lot of new technologies and features to our customers. FX is not a factor and that's a bit different from the past, but those are the pluses and minuses.
2:55 pm: Q: Didn't say a lot about payments ecosystem, curious to find out from your vantage point for your payments ecosystem for Apple Card, Apple Pay, Apple Cash and how you're finding FinTech environment.
A: We continue to be enthusiastic about payment services area. Apple Card is doing well, and Apple Pay is doing exceptionally well. As you can imagine in this environment, people are less wont to hand over a card. Contactless payment has taken on a different level of adoption and we'll never go back. US has been lagging in contactless payment and I think the pandemic may well put the US on a different trajectory there so we are very bullish on this area and view that there are more things Apple can do in this space so this is an area of great interest to us.
2:57 pm: Q: Supply chain given later start for manufacturing for iPhone lineup this year, will supply be able to meet demand through calendar year and are there component shortages or actions you can take to increase weekly output vs last year?
A: If you look at iPhone, we are constrained today. Not a surprise at front end of the ramp, and how long we'll be constrained it's hard to predict. We haven't taken orders yet for iPhone 12 mini or Pro Max, so those are coming and we shall see. Right now we are supply constrained and for avoidance of confusion, we're constrained on Mac and iPad and some Apple Watches. A fair number of areas right now of focus and we're working really really hard to remedy those as quickly as we can. At this point, I can't estimate when we'll be out of that.
2:59 pm: Q: How do you think about durability of strength with Mac and iPad? Stronger than seasonal pullback after back to school and holiday? Supply constraints make it seem strong demand trends will continue but what should we think about seasonality into December and March?
A: We placed our thoughts in the color that Luca provided when he said that all products excluding iPhone would grow in double digits. We continue to be bullish on what Mac and iPad can do. I think the moves that have taken place to remote learning and remote work are not going to go back to normal. Normal will become something different because I think people are learning that there are aspects of this that work well and I don't believe we'll go back to where we were. I think that means iPads and Macs are even more important in those environments. The growth in both of these last quarter were phenomenal. Mac at 29 and iPad at 46. These are tremendous numbers and as Luca said, the September quarter was the all-time high for Mac in the history of the company and not by a little bit but by $1.6B. A substantial difference. Had an aggressive promotion for college students going back to school and that was invariably part of it but the other part of it, the remote work thing, is not something that's going to snap back to the way it used to be any time soon.
3:01 pm: Q: Gap between 12 and 12 Pro is smaller and that's after you made adjustments?
A: iPhone 12 family starts at $699 in many places. Deals that people are really paying are very different than that because a lot of people in this country and several others in the world connect to a carrier plan and those offers are much more aggressive. The price that customer is paying is more important one. We have no data other than 12 and 12 Pro, lack data on 12 mini and Pro Max because we're not taking orders yet. What we always do in pricing is give the customer a great value and we've done that this year despite the extra features that we placed into the phones including 5G.
3:03 pm: Q: Carrier subsidies in the US, in the years ago, carrier incentives were a lot larger but does this represent a shift for carriers into other geographies? Is this something that we expect as they go from switchers or higher incentives from carriers?
A: Don't want to speak for carrier partners. Generally I think it's to the vast majority of carriers around the world to their interests to move customers to 5G and I think it's in the customer's interest to move to 5G. Obviously we like that as well. Situation where everyone is oaring in the same direction. That's a very different kind of situation than normally we would have. It is one of the things that I alluded to that makes me very bullish. The other things are very important too, size of install base, the product lineup, these things are critically important as well.
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