Two former Apple executives have today launched a new game broadcasting service called Caffeine, which allows users to watch and broadcast games and other entertainment on Mac, PC, and iPhone. In a press release, the company likened Caffeine to Amazon's Twitch platform, "only easier, safer, and more social."
Caffeine was founded by Ben Keighran and Sam Roberts, a former product design lead for Apple TV and lead user experience designer for Apple, respectively. Other than games, Caffeine will be a "social broadcasting platform" with tools for entertainment as well as other artistic content, and is backed by $46 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners
“We're incredibly excited to be sharing more details on the pre-release version of Caffeine,” said Ben Keighran, CEO of Caffeine. “I left Apple to create a company that would fundamentally change the way we create, consume, share, and monetize live content. Our goal was to re-imagine every aspect of live broadcasting -- ignoring the good things we could do and focusing on the really great things instead.
We are committed to building the best experience for creators, giving them everything they need, from the broadcasting software all the way through to how the audience discovers and enjoys their content. We have put together a world-class engineering and content team that will transform the way the world thinks about live broadcasting.”
The company described Caffeine's interface as simple and straightforward to use, with "1-click easy" controls and no additional software required to stream content. Users can broadcast games in three ways: using PC game broadcast software, a webcam from a Mac or PC, and through the iOS application.
Once you start using Caffeine, the app will showcase content and broadcasts from the people you follow in a "social circle," and you can join and watch content with them together. "There are no endless feeds of meaningless comments," the company said, because the app highlights personal conversations between friends and creators, helping to dispel toxicity in a real-time chat environment.
On the creator side of things, Caffeine is also touted as a way to "build more personal, meaningful relationships" with viewers, leading to more opportunities to monetize content as well. The company said that a monetization system that backs Caffeine's "easy to use" mantra will be coming in early 2018.
Right now, all versions of the service are technically in a pre-release build. If you're interested you can find the desktop site at caffeine.tv and the iPhone app on the iOS App Store [Direct Link]. As a few readers have pointed out, Caffeine does not currently support Safari on Mac, but instead encourages users to try Firefox or Chrome.
Following a report that the United States government is investigating Apple's power management function that slows down some older iPhone models, Apple issued a statement on late Tuesday confirming that it has "received questions from some government agencies" and is "responding to them."
In the statement, Apple also confirmed the timing of its promised power management toggle, allowing customers with an iPhone 6 through iPhone 7 Plus to disable the function: it will be rolling out in a future iOS 11.3 beta version in February. The software update will be publicly released later this spring.
Apple's full statement was shared by Axios earlier today:
About a year ago, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on certain iPhones with older batteries. We know that iPhones have become an important part of the daily lives of our customers and our intention was to improve the customer experience.
We sought to further improve the customer experience in December by announcing a significant discount on replacement batteries for certain iPhones. We also announced that we began developing a new iOS feature to show battery health and which would recommend when the user should consider replacing their battery. These actions were taken to further assist our customers and help extend the life of their iPhones. In addition, users will be able to see if the power management feature is being used to prevent unexpected shutdowns, and turn if off if they so choose. These features will be included in a developer release next month and a user release this Spring.
As we told our customers in December, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love. Making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.
We have received questions from some government agencies and we are responding to them.
In related news, Apple recently added a "Reserve a Battery" option to its support website in Canada. This system, not available elsewhere yet, allows customers with an iPhone 6 or newer to reserve a battery online and have Apple contact them when a battery is available at their preferred Apple Store.
This system can be found by signing into your Apple ID on Apple's Get Support page and selecting Battery, Power, and Charging → Battery Replacement → Reserve a Battery. These steps can also be completed in the Apple Store app on the iPhone itself without needing to enter a serial number.
A tipster named K.C. told us that Canada is a trial country, suggesting Apple may choose to expand this reservation system to other regions.
Apple promises to contact customers within three to five days to let them know when their battery replacement can be completed. Its support website currently quotes an estimated two to four week wait in Canada.
MacRumors previously obtained an internal Apple memo that stated iPhone 6 Plus replacement batteries were in short supply and unavailable until late March or early April around the world. Apple's internal document quoted a shorter wait of "approximately two weeks" for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s Plus batteries.
Apple said batteries for all other eligible iPhones were expected to be available "without extended delays" in most countries.
In addition to probes from the United States government, over 50 class action complaints have been filed against Apple since it fully disclosed the power management changes it made in iOS 10.2.1, nearly a year after the update was released. Apple apologized for its lack of communication in a letter to customers.
Update: While Apple has yet to add a dedicated "Reserve a Battery" button to its U.S. support site, the company is asking customers in the United States who need a battery replacement to contact Apple support via a phone call or online chat session to reserve a battery before visiting an Apple Store. Calling ahead of time should prevent customers from going to an Apple Store only to find that the necessary battery is out of stock.
Nintendo recently reported earnings for its fiscal third quarter of 2017, including data related to the company's two-year-old smartphone game business. In the report, Nintendo confirmed that its smart device and intellectual property related earnings increased from 10.6 billion yen (about $98 million) in the nine months ended December 31, 2016 to 29.1 billion yen (about $267 million) in the same period in 2017.
While this includes income from Nintendo's smartphone games as well as royalty income, Bloomberg reported that Nintendo's smartphone game profits specifically grew from 8.8 billion yen in the year-ago quarter to 11.2 billion yen this fiscal quarter. The only smartphone game that launched this fiscal quarter for Nintendo was Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, which is said to have generated $17 million globally and reached a download number of 22 million since its launch in November. The other major smartphone game to debut from Nintendo in 2017 was Fire Emblem Heroes.
Nintendo said it plans to get its players to continue returning to and enjoying previously released iOS and Android games through ongoing updates, not including the recently confirmed imminent shut down of its first iOS app Miitomo.
In our smart-device business, consumers not only continued to enjoy Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes, which became available for download during the previous fiscal year, but also had fun with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, released globally during October and November. Smart devices and IP related income were up to 29.1 billion yen (172% increase on a year-on-year basis).
In our smart-device business, we will focus on operations that encourage more consumers to continue to enjoy playing the applications that they have downloaded
Although Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp are free-to-download apps, they're believed to net Nintendo more of a profit in the long run thanks to players who become enticed to spend money on in-app purchases. Alternatively, Super Mario Run is a free-to-start app where users can play a few levels and then must spend $9.99 to gain access to the full game.
At one point, Nintendo described the freemium model of Fire Emblem Heroes as an "outlier" in its overall smartphone game plan and that it prefers Super Mario Run's pay-once structure, but so far that's been the only app to go that route. Additionally, the company's previous earnings report mentioned Super Mario Run had yet to reach an "acceptable profit point" around 10 months after launch.
Otherwise, Nintendo's earnings report detailed a huge success for the company's Switch console, selling 12.13 million units from April to December 2017 and now totaling 14.86 million units sold to date. Upon this report, Nintendo increased its operating profit outlook from 120 billion yen to 160 billion yen for the year ending March 2018, and bumped up the Switch sales forecast from the already-surpassed 14 million units to 15 million units for the same period.
Mark Gurman and Ina Fried, reporting for Bloomberg News and Axios respectively, both claim the framework for combined apps remains on Apple's software roadmap for 2018, despite some planned iOS 12 features likely being pushed back to 2019, including a new home screen with a redesigned grid of app icons.
Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi reportedly revealed the plans during a meeting with employees earlier this month.
Last month, Gurman reported that developers will be able to design a single third-party app that works with both a touchscreen, and a mouse or trackpad, depending on whether it's running on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Apple would presumably also streamline its own apps on the desktop and mobile.
The report didn't explain how all of this will work, but Apple could be planning to release a new SDK with new APIs that enable true cross-platform functionality. Right now, Apple's UIKit and AppKit frameworks provide the required infrastructure for iOS and macOS app user interfaces respectively.
It's worth noting that Apple already has a private framework called UXKit, used for the Photos app on Mac. In 2015, Jason Snell said UXKit "sits above the Mac's familiar AppKit frameworks and strongly resembles UIKit on iOS."
Apple tentatively plans to begin rolling out the change in iOS 12 and macOS 10.14, so there will likely be an announcement at WWDC 2018 around June. Following a few months of beta testing, major new versions of iOS and macOS are typically publicly released in September and October respectively.
The project is reportedly codenamed "Marzipan" within Apple. Gurman speculated that universal apps would make it easier for Apple to one day create a single operating system for all of its devices, should it ever go down that avenue. At the very least, it could bring some renewed attention to Mac apps.
Apple would be following in the footsteps of Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform, aimed at helping developers create universal apps that run across Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile, the latter of which is being phased out.
Apple's main iPhone manufacturer in India is closing in on a land deal in the tech hub of Bengaluru that will see the firm invest around $157 million to assemble iPhone SE and potentially iPhone 6s models on the site, according to Reuters.
Unnamed Indian government officials on Wednesday reportedly confirmed the Taiwanese contractor's intentions, which could result in its iPhone SE assembly unit taking over about 100 acres in and around the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
Wistron executives reportedly toured the area in November and met with the industries minister of Karnataka earlier this month, and a deal on the land lease could be struck in a few weeks, according to one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to publicly comment on the plans.
Another source who spoke to Reuters said Apple will likely begin assembling iPhone 6s models in India soon, using Wistron's expanding manufacturing capacity in the country, as it looks to cut costs and diversify its production base beyond greater China. Launched over two years ago, the iPhone 6s is still popular in emerging markets because of its affordability relative to Apple's iPhone 7, iPhone 8, and iPhone X.
Apple sees opportunities to save on import taxes, price phones cheaper and potentially widen its customer base in India if it assembles phones locally. However last month India raised import taxes on electronic goods, which caused Apple to raise the price of most iPhone models there except for iPhone SE.
Vivaldi web browser for Mac, the spiritual successor to Opera 12, released version 1.14 on Wednesday, introducing an innovative new vertical reader mode, Markdown support, and other notable improvements.
Vivaldi's Reader View works similar to reading modes in other browsers, allowing users to view content in a clutter-free reading environment where they can change the font, adjust line height, column width and switch to dark or light background.
With the latest update, however, a new vertical reading option can be found in the Reader View settings, allowing Chinese, Japanese and Korean users to read online text in a vertical direction with no distracting page elements.
Moving on, Vivaldi has improved its notes feature, accessed in the browser's side bar, which lets users annotate websites and attach screenshots while they browse. In 1.14, Markdown support has been introduced, making it possible to easily format note text on the fly while surfing the web.
Elsewhere, the location of individual quick-access Web Panels can now be customized in the browser sidebar, while users are also able to rearrange search engines in the list layout using drag and drop for the most convenient order.
As well as the above updates, newcomers to Vivaldi should check out the app's in-depth browsing habits overview, which is backed by statistics and visual data, along with its tab stacking and tab tiling features, not to mention an exhaustive set of browser customization options. Vivaldi browser is a free download for Mac available directly from the Vivaldi website.
Earlier this afternoon, a bug with the Apple News app caused notifications for a single CNN news story to be sent out to iPhone and iPad users over and over again.
The issue, which lasted for approximately 15 minutes, appears to have impacted all Apple News subscribers who had alerts turned on for CNN based on a slew of complaints that popped up on reddit, Twitter, and the MacRumors forums.
It wasn't clear if the problem was with CNN or the Apple News app, but on Twitter, CNN claims it was the latter. According to the news organization, CNN only sent a single notification, and the company is working with Apple to identify the problem.
We are aware that some Apple News users recently received multiples of the same alert. Our server log shows CNN sent only one. We are working with Apple to identify their issue, as users on CNN-owned platforms did not experience a problem. Apologies to those who did.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) January 30, 2018
Customers who were affected by the repeated notifications received somewhere around a hundred notifications, and the notifications in question were interrupting normal device operation. It appears that the issue centered around a single CNN news story, but we've also seen reports that some notifications from Fox News also repeated.
The only fix for the issue at the time was to turn off Apple News notifications, but the problem was resolved by Apple quickly and customers who did turn off their notifications due to the CNN alert bug can now safely re-enable them.
Over the weekend, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller did a quick fifteen minute interview with Sound & Vision, where he once again explained some of the technology behind the HomePod, shed some light on why Apple ultimately decided to create an in-home speaker, and explained how the HomePod will stand out among other smart speakers on the market.
Schiller believes that Apple is in a position to create a "new kind of music experience" that not only "sounds incredible," but is also "fun to interact with." He says that's the driving force behind Apple's work on the smart speaker. Apple's focus, though, isn't on a single product -- the company wants to design a unified experience that's the same throughout the day.
We don't think it's just about HomePod though, or any one product, it's about creating an experience that moves with you throughout the day -- so the experience you have at home, is replicated in the car with CarPlay, at work with iPad and Mac, and when you're out for a run with Watch and iPhone. You can listen to the same music, control your home accessories or ask Siri to do something for you, wherever you are.
Schiller says that Apple Music, Siri advancements in personal music discovery, and Apple's innovative audio work "come together" in the HomePod to deliver an "amazing music experience" to customers.
He went on to explain many of the technological advancements that improve sound quality in the HomePod, including machine learning to allow the HomePod to sense and adapt to its environment, the A8 chip for real-time acoustic modeling, audio beam-forming, and echo cancellation, and a more advanced thinking of speaker arrays to "create a wide soundstage."
Schiller also explained in detail how the HomePod's spatial awareness features work. From the moment it's plugged in, the HomePod senses its location. The built-in microphone array listens to how sound reflects from neighboring surfaces to determine where it's located in a room and what's nearby, adjusting audio accordingly. The A8 chip beams center vocals and direct energy away from walls that are detected, while also reflecting ambient reverb and back-up vocals against the wall for better dispersion into the room.
The end result is a wide soundstage with a feeling of spaciousness and depth. This entire process takes just seconds and it doesn't stop with the initial setup. Every time you move HomePod, it uses the built-in accelerometer to detect a change in its location and continues to make sure the music sounds great and is consistent, wherever it's placed. We've also done some great things to help minimize the audible side effects of compression artifacts by developing studio level dynamic processing to optimize for rich, clean bass even at loud volumes.
Thus far, it appears Apple's efforts to focus on sound quality have been successful. While full HomePod reviews have not yet been shared, initial first impressions from reviewers who were able to spend a short amount of time with the HomePod have been positive. Many reviewers were highly impressed with the sound quality of the device, which has been described as "warm," "astonishing," "precise," and an "aural triumph."
Apple will, however, need to convince its customers that sound improvements are worth the premium price the company is charging for the device. HomePod is more expensive than competing products from Google and Amazon, but some reviewers have questioned whether the average consumer will value sound quality more than affordability.
Phil Schiller's full interview, which goes into more detail about Apple's aim with the HomePod, how voice recognition works, HomeKit integration, and more can be read over at Sound & Vision.
The HomePod, which is priced at $349 in the United States, can be pre-ordered from the online Apple Store. The first HomePod orders will be delivered to customers starting on Friday, February 9, the official launch date of the device.
Microsoft today announced a major update for its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps, which will see the introduction of real-time co-authoring, drag and drop support on the iPad, universal link support for shared files, and more.
With support for real-time co-authoring, multiple people can contribute to and edit documents in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iOS devices. Changes made by each user will sync within seconds, plus you'll be able to see everyone that's working on a document and what they're working on.
Real-time co-authoring support on iOS devices follows the introduction of the feature in Microsoft's Mac apps earlier this month.
Microsoft is also adding drag and drop support for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the iPad, which means you'll be able to drag files between Microsoft apps and quickly add links, text, photos, graphs, and more.
The three apps will also support universal links, which means anytime you're sent a shared Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file, it'll open right in the app rather than requiring you to authenticate in a browser, and there are new Accessibility features like improved VoiceOver support for better navigation.
Microsoft today also announced major changes for the OneDrive app, which includes an overhauled interface, support for the Files app, drag and drop support, and several other new features.
Microsoft says the new functionality in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will be available "in the coming days" through updates available in the iOS App Store.
When the HomePod launches, it will receive regular updates much like Apple's iOS devices, Macs, Apple TVs, and Apple Watch models. Apple hasn't shared details on how these updates will be installed, but some digging into the iOS code by 9to5Mac has revealed that updates will be available via Apple's dedicated Home app for HomeKit devices.
As we learned before the launch of the HomePod, the speaker runs a version of iOS, and it's actually a lot like an iPhone sans display. Because it's running an iOS variant, we can expect the HomePod to receive updates right alongside iOS devices.
Apple employees have been testing the HomePod for months, and in that time, Apple has released several software updates for the device. The latest updates have indeed coincided with iOS releases, and the last HomePod software update came when iOS 11.2.5 was released. When it launches on February 9, the HomePod will likely be running its own dedicated version of iOS 11.2.5.
When a new software update is released for the HomePod, users will receive an alert and will likely be directed to the Home app to install it, similar to how Apple Watch updates are installed through the Watch app. HomePod will be listed as an available HomeKit device in the Home app.
HomePod update screenshot via 9to5Mac
As with the Apple TV, there will be a setting to enable automatic HomePod updates, and updates will be available for either a single HomePod or multiple HomePods if you have more than one.
The first update to the HomePod may be iOS 11.3, and that update is expected to introduce key features Apple wasn't able to make available ahead of its launch. When the HomePod launch date was announced, Apple said multi-room audio and support for pairing two or more HomePods together for stereo sound, two features requiring the not-yet-implemented AirPlay 2 protocol, would come in an update set to be released later this year.
Apple implemented AirPlay 2 features in iOS 11.3, which suggests we won't be waiting too long to see new functionality in the HomePod. iOS 11.3 is expected to see a spring launch, which means anytime between March 20 and June 21, if we're going by the dates for spring 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere.
HomePod is available for purchase from Apple for $349, and the first HomePod orders will be in the hands of customers on February 9, the official launch date for the device.
Over the course of the last week, we've learned several new details about the HomePod from hands-on first impressions and additional information released by Apple, so make sure to check out our HomePod roundup for an updated overview of the speaker with everything you need to know about it.
Force Touch is one of those Apple Watch features that's so discreet and unassuming it's easy for users to forget it even exists. That's a shame, because just like 3D Touch on iPhone, Apple has implemented the haptic feedback technology across the entire watchOS interface, putting additional hidden functionality right at your fingertips.
In this article, we've collected 10 of our favorite Force Touch features that work on Apple's digital timepiece. Some are more well known than others, but hopefully you'll learn at least one thing new about what a firm press on your Apple Watch screen can do.
1. Clear All Notifications
The Apple Watch's notifications dropdown can get busy pretty quickly, especially if you often forget to dismiss an incoming alert after reading it. Rather than deleting notifications one by one, you can clear all of them with a Force Touch gesture. Simply press firmly on the Notifications panel and tap the Clear All option.
2. Create and Remove Watch Faces
To create a custom watch face with a background picture, open the Apple Watch Photos app and select a photo. Next, press firmly on the display, tap the Create Watch Face option that pops up, and then select the Photos Face. Alternatively, you can select Kaleidoscope Face to make the picture the basis of a new animating Kaleidoscope.
When you're done, return to the current active watch face and swipe left or right to find your new creation. If you later decide you don't like your new watch face, press down on it to enter Customize Mode, and swipe up on the offending item to delete.
3. Compose a New Message
Opening the Mail and Messages apps, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Apple Watch only supports replies. That's because the option to compose a new message is revealed with a Force Touch gesture: Press firmly on the display and tap the New Message button that appears.
You'll now be able to choose a recipient from your Contacts, input a subject if it's an email you're sending, and write your message using dictation, a scribble, or a short pre-defined phrase. Tap send when you're done.
4. Change Move Goal and Get a Weekly Activity Summary
Press down on the Activity screen to reveal a Weekly Summary option that shows how many times you've beaten your daily move goal so far this week.
If you're beating your move goal far too easily – or if you need a little help closing that long red ring on a daily basis – press down on the Activity screen again and tap the Change Move Goal button to adjust the amount of calories you're aiming to burn.
5. Stream Music to an AirPlay Device
If you store music on your Apple Watch, you probably listen to it over connected Bluetooth headphones. But did you know it's also possible to stream it to any audio device that supports AirPlay?
Next time you're on the Music app's Now Playing screen, press firmly on the display and tap the AirPlay button that appears. Choose a nearby AirPlay-supporting device from the list, and you're good to go.
6. Share Your Location With a Contact
To quickly send your location to someone in an iMessage, open the Messages app on your Apple Watch, select an existing conversation, and activate Force Touch by pressing firmly on the screen. Then simply select the Share Location option from the menu options that appear.
If you haven't enabled it already, you'll be asked to let Messages access your location while using the app (allow it to, otherwise this feature won't work).
7. Switch Map View and Search Local Amenities
Whenever you're looking at a map in the stock Maps app, don't forget that you can change to the Transit/Public Transport view at any time with a simple Force Touch. The same action will also bring up the Search Here option, which lets you dictate or scribble a search term or look up local amenities by selecting from the Food, Shopping, Fun, and Travel submenus.
8. Switch App Screen to List View
To re-arrange Apple Watch apps in the standard Grid layout, long press the app in question and drag it to where you want it. If you still can't get on with the default Grid view, press down firmly on the screen and try the List view instead.
9. Hourly Temperature Forecast and Chance of Rain
The standard forecast display on the Apple Watch's stock Weather app shows the general weather conditions for the day ahead. But there are two more forecasts available to you. A firm press on the same screen will let you check either the likelihood of rain or any changes in temperature over the next 12 hours.
10. Control Camera Settings Remotely
It's not just the shutter of your iPhone's camera that you can remotely control from your wrist. With the Apple Watch Camera app open, press firmly on the screen to reveal a hidden submenu offering access to your iPhone's HDR, Flash, Live Photo, and Flip controls.
Apple is continuing to face scrutiny over the power management features it introduced in older iPhones last year, with the U.S Department of Justice and the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission launching an investigation into the company, reports Bloomberg.
The DoJ and the SEC are aiming to determine whether Apple violated security laws "concerning its disclosures" when it launched an iOS 10.2.1 update that throttled some older iPhones with degraded batteries in order to prevent unexpected device shutdowns.
According to Bloomberg's sources, the government recently requested information from Apple and the investigation is in the early stages.
Apple in iOS 10.2.1 introduced a new power management feature to address complaints of unexpected shutdowns in iPhone 6 and 6s iPhones. The shutdowns were caused by batteries below optimal health drawing too much power.
At the time, Apple did not make it clear that to solve the issue, it was throttling the iPhone's processor at times of peak usage to limit power draw, and that lack of information has led to the company's current predicament.
The full details behind the power management feature implemented in iOS 10.2.1 were not explained until benchmark testing revealed older iPhones with degraded batteries were being deliberately slowed down, and without an adequate explanation from Apple, customers were outraged and dozens of lawsuits were filed.
Apple has since apologized and made reparations in the form of a new no-questions-asked discounted battery replacement program available to customers who have an iPhone 6 and newer, and the company is planning to introduce much more detailed battery information in an upcoming iOS 11.3 update. iOS 11.3 will let customers know when their iPhones are being throttled due to battery degradation, and it will also allow them to opt out of the power management features.
Despite these efforts, Apple is still facing the aforementioned lawsuits and in addition to the U.S. investigation, the company will need to deal with inquiries in other countries including China, Italy, South Korea, France, Brazil, and more.
Update: Apple has confirmed to Bloomberg that it is responding to questions from some government agencies.
Apple is set to report its earnings results for the first quarter of its 2018 fiscal year at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday.
The quarter reflects Apple's sales between October 1 and December 30 of 2017.
Apple provided the following guidance for the quarter back on November 2:
• revenue between $84 billion and $87 billion • gross margin between 38 and 38.5 percent • operating expenses between $7.65 billion and $7.75 billion • other income/expense of $600 million • tax rate of 25.5 percent
Apple's guidance suggests the company will easily beat its current all-time quarterly revenue record of $78.4 billion set a year ago.
Wall Street analysts forecast that Apple will report $87.06 billion revenue and earnings per share of $3.83, according to 29 estimates averaged by Yahoo Finance.
A quarter-by-quarter look at Apple's revenue since the 2009 calendar year:
MacRumors has compiled fiscal first quarter estimates from several financial institutions and analysts tracking Apple's earnings results and stock.
Key Takeaways and What to Look For
• Was the iPhone X a hit? Apple began taking iPhone X orders on October 27, roughly four weeks after the quarter began, so investors will be closely examining Apple's total number of iPhones sold to see if the flagship smartphone had a measurable impact. Apple doesn't reveal iPhone sales on a model-by-model basis, however, so its total will include sales of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and older models in its smartphone lineup. Apple's mark to beat is 78.3 million iPhones sold in the year-ago quarter.
As noted by Apple analyst Neil Cybart in his earnings preview for Above Avalon, Apple's average selling price for iPhones will also be an important metric. With the iPhone X starting at $999 in the United States, investors will undoubtedly be looking for an increase in how much customers are spending on iPhones.
• Will the HomePod delay have any affect? Apple originally said that its HomePod speaker would launch in December, which would have been within the final month of the quarter. Instead, orders began last week, after the quarter, and this could have a marginal impact on Apple's forecasted revenue.
• How strong will Apple's second quarter guidance be? Apple's forecasted revenue for the second quarter of its 2018 fiscal year, reflecting the January-March period, should prove whether iPhone X demand has significantly declined as suggested by The Wall Street Journal and Japan's Nikkei Asian Review. Apple CEO Tim Cook has dismissed these types of reports in the past, noting that the company's supply chain is very complex and that any singular data point is not a great proxy for what's going on.
• Will there be services growth? Apple said it reached over $30 billion revenue in its 2017 fiscal year for services, such as the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, and iTunes, making this part of its business the size of a Fortune 100 company. Investors will be looking for continued growth in this category. The mark to beat is $7.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.
• iMac Pro orders began on December 14, roughly two weeks before the end of the quarter, which could give a small boost to Mac sales.
Cook and Apple's financial chief Luca Maestri will discuss the company's earnings results on a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday. MacRumors will transcribe the call as best as possible for those unable to listen.
Gurman's sources corroborate an earlier report from Ina Fried at Axios, which claimed that Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi disclosed the revised plans during a meeting with employees earlier this month.
While the shift in strategy appears to extend to macOS, it reportedly will not affect the development cycles of watchOS or tvOS.
The company told its software engineering groups about the change this month, one of the people said. The shift will also affect this year's update to Mac computer software, but to a lesser degree, the person said, adding that planned upgrades to Apple Watch and Apple TV software won’t be affected.
Apple's plans to focus on the quality of its current software platforms will presumably result in a greater emphasis on bug fixes, performance improvements, and the general stability of its operating systems.
The shift in strategy follows a few embarrassing mishaps for Apple in recent months, including a major security vulnerability that enabled access to the root superuser account with a blank password on macOS High Sierra version 10.13.1. Apple promptly fixed the critical bug in a security update.
Just weeks later, MacRumors was alerted to a security flaw in macOS High Sierra version 10.13.2 that allowed the App Store menu in System Preferences to be unlocked with any password. While this bug was much less serious, it was still system behavior that obviously shouldn't have been possible.
Apple had a similar shift in strategy in 2015 with the release of iOS 9, and with some other macOS updates in recent years, according to the report, so this isn't Apple's first time doubling down on the polish of its software.
The report also corroborates that Apple was planning a redesigned grid of app icons on the home screen in iOS 12, but that change is now delayed until 2019 along with expanded photo management capabilities. There's also word of a multiplayer mode for augmented reality games, but it's unclear when it'll be ready.
Gurman still expects some smaller improvements to the Photos app to roll out in 2018, while the original report by Fried mentioned enhancements to the Health app and parental controls are still planned for release this year.
Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue has been announced as a Featured Speaker for 2018's South By Southwest Conference event. SXSW takes place from March 9-18 in Austin, Texas, and Cue will lead a talk focused on startup companies and the tech sector, accompanied by CNN senior reporter Dylan Byers.
Other speakers include Steve Jobs biography writer Walter Isaacson, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson, Waymo CEO John Krafcik, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, and more.
During last year's SXSW conference, Apple Music Beats 1 radio host Zane Lowe appeared as a speaker.
“The speakers announced today feature a diverse group of leaders and innovators that make SXSW the foremost destination for creative people,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. "As SXSW celebrates the 25th year of Interactive and Film, the cross-industry talent announced today reflects the ongoing convergence of the modern world, the trends we see throughout our programming, and the paramount reason for our now unified conference experience."
The full schedule of events for this year's SXSW can be found online. Besides keynote speakers discussing a variety of topics, the Austin-based festival includes film screenings, concerts, gaming events, a comedy festival, and more.
At Apple, Cue oversees the iTunes Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, Apple Maps, iCloud, and the iWork and iLife suites of apps. He had previously headed Siri development, but work on Apple's AI assistant shifted to software engineering chief Craig Federighi sometime last year. The move was confirmed by Apple in September.
Apple's ongoing struggles in India have been highlighted this week in a report by CNBC, which interviewed locals to ask about their experiences with the cost of Apple devices and the company's services. Indian users were favorable of Apple Music over rival services -- thanks to an improved catalog and affordable subscription price -- but Apple Maps and Siri received much lower marks.
Echoing some complaints about the two services heard in other countries, including from United States users, Indian customers said that Apple Maps has sparse data for a number of cities and towns, misses landmarks, and lacks basic turn-by-turn directions. One user in Bangalore, Mihir Sharma, summed it up by stating, "Apple Maps is a joke in India."
Other mapping complaints in India included the lack of similar navigation features within CarPlay. CNBC's report on the topic comes nearly two years after Apple announced the opening of a new Hyderabad-based development center focused on improving Apple Maps in India.
Otherwise, many of the issues users had with Apple in the country focused on Siri, which is said to not understand "many words of Indian origination" and "often struggles" to make sense and correctly respond to Indian accents. Apple added Hindi dictation in iOS 11 last fall, including support for 11 local languages, but those locals asked said it still "isn't good enough." Rival AI assistants from Google and Amazon are both reported as performing better in India.
The poor performance of Apple's services in India carries into the low sale volumes of its hardware, and analyst Faisal Kawoosa explained that the "Apple ecosystem isn't aligned much to the usage and value of Indian users." Data gathered by research firm Counterpoint said that Apple represented a total of 2.5 percent of India's smartphone market as of the quarter that ended in December 2017.
"There is no denial that Apple ecosystem isn't aligned much to the usage and value of Indian users. So, the services offered don't have flavors that would entice the Indian users," Faisal Kawoosa, an analyst with research firm CMR India said. "At the same time, the typical segment buying Apple products isn't that typical Indian user. But, no brand can afford to underserve a segment — big or small," he added.
In addition to the issues with Apple services, iPhones are more expensive in India due to the country's charge on imported electronics, further lowering sales volume in the country. Apple has begun to manufacture the iPhone SE locally in India to sell it cheaper, as well as allow retailers to reduce the price of older iPhones, but all other models remain expensive. The cheapest iPhone 8 costs Rs 66,120 ($1,040) and the cheapest iPhone X costs Rs 92,430 ($1,450).
Even as Apple attempted to gain market share with older and cheaper iPhone models, the company increased the prices of most of its newer iPhones sold in India following the Indian government's decision to raise taxes on imported smartphones. In the wake of this, Apple appointed Michel Coulomb as lead of sales operations in India, with the aim to help Apple in its attempts to gain a bigger share of the country's smartphone market and boost local manufacturing.
During Apple's Q4 2017 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook likened the company's current struggle in India to "the many years" it put into fostering growth in China. Cook said it'll take time to see India meet up with China in this regard, and will come with building stores, building the developer ecosystem, and more. He finished by stating, "I feel like we're making good progress there and are gaining understanding of the market. But we still have a long way to go, which I sort of see as an opportunity, instead of a problem."
If you've followed all of my Thunderbolt 3 dock reviews over the past year, you know that in general these docks carry a lot of the same features in slightly different combinations. But usually, there's at least one fairly important feature that's missing in each model, whether it be enough USB ports, an SD card reader, or enough power output to fully support a 15-inch MacBook Pro. Price tags pushing to $300 and beyond are also an issue for many potential customers.
So if any of those concerns resonate with you, you're going to want to read on to learn more about CalDigit's upcoming model, the Thunderbolt Station 3 Plus.
The TS3 Plus takes the original TS3 dock that I reviewed last May and addresses nearly every concern I had with it and even lowers the price during the promotional pre-order period to $250 with a 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable included. Packages with a 1.0-meter or 2.0-meter cable are also available for $270 and $280 respectively.
Design
The general design here is nearly identical to that of the earlier TS3 and even the Thunderbolt 2-based TS2 dock that preceded it. While most Thunderbolt docks have horizontal designs, CalDigit has generally opted for a boxier design that can sit either horizontally or vertically on a desk. Oriented vertically, the TS3 Plus stands just over 5 inches tall, a little under 4 inches deep, and just over an inch and a half wide, and weighs a hint over a pound. That makes it almost exactly the same size as and quite a bit lighter than the TS3.
If that's too tall for your desktop, just slide on the included pair of rubber strips for cushioning and tip the dock over on its side, and it'll fit just about anywhere. The aluminum casing has a ribbed design that gives it a bit of an industrial look while also offering some extra surface area for heat dissipation.
CalDigit touts a total of 15 ports on the TS3 Plus, with the front of the dock housing one USB-A port, one USB-C port, separate analog audio in and out ports, and even an SD card slot. A small blue LED lights up to let you know the dock is powered up and has a connection to the host computer.
Turn the TS3 Plus around and you'll find a host of other ports, including four more USB-A ports, another USB-C port, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a DisplayPort 1.2 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, an S/PDIF digital optical audio port, and the DC-in connection from the power supply.
USB Ports
If you did the math in the previous section, you've realized that the TS3 Plus has a total of seven USB ports. The previous TS3 had just three, while about the most I've seen in other competing docks is five. The inclusion of five USB-A and two USB-C ports and their distribution between front and back of the dock give you some great flexibility in what you can connect to this dock. The USB-C port on the rear is even a 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard, the first time I've seen that in a dock I've reviewed. The remainder of the USB ports are 5 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 1, which is the speed typically seen on these docks.
In my testing with a 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 CalDigit Tuff external SSD and Blackmagic's speed testing software, I saw read and write speeds come in around 350 MB/s and 315 MB/s respectively through all of the 5 Mbps USB ports, both Type-A and the front Type-C style. Those are very typical speeds for these types of docks.
CalDigit Tuff connected to 5 Gbps USB-A port
Where the TS3 Plus has a leg up on the competition in the speed department is the extra Type-C 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 port on the rear of the dock. Connecting the CalDigit Tuff to that port yielded a 45–50 percent increase in transfer speeds, coming in at around 500 MB/s read and 475 MB/s write.
CalDigit Tuff connected to rear 10 Gbps USB-C port
Other docks can match that performance if you use the downstream Thunderbolt 3 port, but then you have to sacrifice connecting a Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C display to that port. With the TS3 Plus, you can have both, and transfer speeds over the 10 Gbps USB-C port aren't impacted by also having a 5K display connected to the Thunderbolt 3 port, as there is enough bandwidth over Thunderbolt 3 to support both without compromise.
SD Card Reader
An SD card slot is another one of those features that a lot of people like to see on these docks, eliminating the need for a separate reader to plug into one of the dock's USB ports. For a long time, OWC was about the only major company to offer an SD card reader on a Thunderbolt 3 dock, but Promise Technology joined the club a few months ago with its TD-300 that I just reviewed last week.
CalDigit is now joining the club by offering an SD card reader in the TS3 Plus, and it even supports the SD 4.0 spec over a UHS-II bus interface for the faster speeds with compatible SD cards. Theoretical transfer speeds of 312 MB/s are three times that of the UHS-I bus with SD 3.0 used on other docks. The reader supports standard SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards.
Displays
As with other docks of this type, the TS3 Plus includes a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports, one for connecting to the host computer and one for connecting other peripherals such as a Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C display. The dock can support a single 5K external display at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt 3, or a pair of 4K displays using the Thunderbolt 3 port and the DisplayPort 1.2 port. Various adapters sold separately allow the Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort connectors to be used with various types of displays including HDMI and DVI.
The TS3 Plus and other CalDigit Thunderbolt 3 docks support a variety of combinations of displays up to 4K from the two ports, and I experienced no issues testing with several LG 4K displays. A single LG UltraFine 5K display connected via Thunderbolt 3 also worked fine, maintaining a 60 Hz refresh rate.
It's worth noting that the two USB-C ports on the TS3 Plus, including the 10 Gbps one on the rear, are data-only, so they can not be used for connecting additional USB-C displays.
Charging
While many other Thunderbolt 3 docks offer up to 60 watts of upstream charging for a host computer, the TS3 Plus offers a full 85 watts of charging power to support even the 15-inch MacBook Pro. If you're running your 15-inch MacBook Pro under very heavy loads or you want to ensure the fastest recharge of a depleted battery, 85-watt support is a feature you definitely want to look for in a dock. Unlike some other docks, the TS3 Plus can also support charging of PCs over Thunderbolt 3.
The higher 85-watt charging power of the TS3 Plus drives up the size of the external brick, which is quite large, but many users will have the ability to hide it away behind other items on their desks or even off their desks entirely.
Nearly all of the USB ports also support pass-through charging, allowing connected devices like iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches to charge even when the dock doesn't have an active connection to a host computer.
The TS3 Plus will also support CalDigit's downloadable drivers and software utility to boost USB power output to 1 A for slightly faster iOS device charging and to support Apple's external USB SuperDrive. The software utility is a menu bar item that makes it easy to eject all peripherals connected to the dock with a single click.
Wrap-up
Of all the Thunderbolt 3 docks I've tested so far, CalDigit's TS3 Plus is my new favorite. It has all of the features I'm looking for in a dock, including a plethora of USB ports with both Type-A and Type-C options and even a 10 Gbps Type-C port. It also has an SD card reader, 85-watt charging, and a compact footprint in either vertical or horizontal orientation. And to top it all off, it’s currently priced at just $250 during pre-orders, below the $300–$350 pricing seen on most other feature-rich docks. Pricing for the TS3 Plus will rise to $350 once the pre-order promotion ends.
The TS3 Plus does away with the pair of eSATA ports found on the original TS3, but with eSATA usage dwindling, I find it a very worthwhile tradeoff to instead make room for many more USB ports, optical audio, and an SD card reader.
The TS3 Plus begins shipping on February 20, but CalDigit will be offering pre-orders through its own site with a temporary $100 discount off the regular price. For pre-orders, the TS3 Plus with 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable is priced at $249.99, while versions with 1-meter ($269.99) and 2-meter ($279.99) cables will also be available.
In addition to the new TS3 Plus temporarily starting at $249.99, CalDigit is also dropping the price of its TS3 to $199.99, down from $299.99. CalDigit claims this makes the TS3 the first Thunderbolt 3 dock with 85-watt charging priced under $200, so be sure to check out our earlier review of the regular TS3.
Update: This review has been revised to remove a section addressing active vs. passive cabling. As a Thunderbolt 3 accessory, the TS3 Plus will offer maximum performance regardless of whether a passive 0.5-meter cable or an active 1-meter or 2-meter cable is used.
Note: CalDigit provided the TS3 Plus to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.
Apple's iPhone X made it into the top three best-selling smartphones in December 2017 "across all key regions," according to new data tracked by Kantar Worldpanel. Specifically, Apple's new iPhone X climbed best-selling charts in Europe, Japan, Australia, the United States, and China, where it was the top selling model during the holiday season this year.
Although iOS market share fell 0.5 percentage points in the U.S. during the October to December 2017 period (down to 43.9 percent), the researchers noted that iOS loyalty "reached a new high of 96 percent." Ultimately, Kantar argued that Apple's staggered release of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X has been a "sound" strategy with multiple price points offering entry points for a wider variety of consumers and "boosting" Apple's smartphone OS share in these key markets.
“The full results for the last quarter of the year show that Apple’s decision to release three new handsets over a staggered period, including the ultra high-end iPhone X, has been a sound one. With Apple’s existing release structure, expectations would always be that the flagship model would be the top selling device in key developed markets, but with the premium price of iPhone X, real life affordability has come into play. Given that in December iPhone X made it into the top three best-selling devices across all key regions, particularly in urban China where it was the top selling model, the pricing strategy seems to have been vindicated.”
In total, Apple's piece of the global smartphone OS market saw a percentage point increase across six markets in the three months ending December 2017. iOS market share climbed 0.5 percentage points in Spain and Japan, 0.7 in Europe, 1.2 in Australia, 2.5 in Germany, and 10.1 in China. Apple's growth in China has "continued to impress" Kantar, with the iOS smartphone sales share in China growing from 24.3 percent in September-November to 28.6 percent in October-December 2017.
Besides Apple, Kantar also discussed Samsung and the Android OS market share, noting Android's losses in a few markets (down 10.1 percentage points in China amid Apple's rise). The researchers pointed out that these losses were "cushioned" to an extent by the "rapid fall of Windows," which has a share now of under 1 percent in every market tracked by Kantar except Italy (1.9 percent).
With today's report from Kantar, this marks the final time we'll see smartphone OS market share data only focused on months in 2017. It should be interesting to see how Apple and iOS perform following the 2017 holidays and into the new year, amid ongoing reports in recent weeks focused on "weakened demand" and lowered production volume for the iPhone X in Q1 2018.
Apple is set to 
Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue has been 
