Tech, Business, Finance and Everything Else
There is a lot of talk about the specs of the new versions in the Apple Watch series – and here is what we know so far before the next Apple event. Full specs on Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 3.
The next Apple event is getting closer and here is what to expect when they launch the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air.
Which one of these iPhone 17 versions will you be looking to get?
Refreshed iPad Air
– M2 chip
– 2 sizes for the first time: 11-inch and 13-inch
– Front facing camera now on the landscape edge
– Blue, purple, starlight, space gray
Apple Maps users in the Netherlands are now able to access cycling route data on their iPhones and Apple Watches.
Locations currently supported are:
A long time ago I wrote about Shazam and how they stopped producing the software as a Windows app.
Today I have come across the updated Shazam Chrome Extension.
Its available here in the Chrome app store – and already has over 3 million+ users.
No long will you come across a website and hear a track playing in the background and not know who released that track.
Apple Inc. is one of the largest and most successful technology companies in the world. The company is known for its innovative products, including the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, which have revolutionized the way we communicate and work. However, one of the most interesting aspects of Apple’s success is its cash reserves.
As of the end of the second quarter of 2021, Apple had a staggering $193.8 billion in cash reserves. This is a mind-boggling amount of money, and it’s hard to imagine just how much it really is. To put this in perspective, this is enough money to buy roughly 3,876,000 Tesla Model S Plaid cars, or to pay the yearly tuition fees of over 2.6 million Harvard students.
So, why does Apple have so much cash? Well, there are a number of reasons. First, Apple is an incredibly profitable company. In the second quarter of 2021 alone, the company generated $89.6 billion in revenue, with a net income of $23.6 billion. This level of profitability allows Apple to generate significant amounts of cash each quarter.
Second, Apple has a history of being very conservative with its spending. The company is known for being very disciplined when it comes to investing and spending money. This means that Apple has historically been able to generate significant amounts of free cash flow, which it can then use to build up its cash reserves.
Finally, Apple has also historically used its cash to invest in research and development, as well as to acquire other companies. This strategy has allowed Apple to stay at the cutting edge of technology and to continue to produce innovative products that consumers love.
In conclusion, Apple’s cash reserves are truly staggering, and they are a testament to the company’s incredible success and profitability. While some may argue that Apple should do more with its cash, there is no doubt that the company’s conservative approach to spending has helped it to build up a truly impressive war chest.
Since 2012, when Apple’s share count peaked, the company have repurchased more than $580 billion in stock.
That’s ~38% of the outstanding share count in ten years.
Even if the revenues remained flat the share price would increase and you would be far better off purely for holding.
Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway hold a huge number of Apple stock – they must be laughing!
Why can’t I schedule send text messages or messages on Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp?
I struggle to understand at the moment why this isn’t a standard feature in all messaging apps.
Please, Please, Please!
Apple is moving into the Whiteboard game with Freeform. Freeform is going to be a new whiteboard style app that enables groups of people to collaborate in real time in a completely open space. Freeform is coming out on the new iOS 16 – which is scheduled to come out later this year.
Apple announced back in February that they were going to launch Tap to Pay.
Tap to Pay is a new feature that will enable any merchant to accept payments with only an iPhone – this could obviously really hurt companies that take a cut in the middle like Square or Stripe.
This is going to be an amazing feature for small businesses – who wont need any new hardware or contracts. Just an Apple phone and a dream!
Now, it turns out that Apple is already testing the feature at its own Apple Park visitor center in Cupertino.
Apple is reportedly going to allow iPhones to start accepting contactless payments. This is huge news!
It will dramatically affect any card company and how they collect their fees – as well as companies like Square and other POS services.
Apple has reporting been working on this service since 2020, when it purchased a Canadian startup called Mobeewave. Mobeewave’s technology only needs an app and the phone’s NFC to work.
I expect that Apple will roll out such a service as part of Apple Pay.
Game changer!
MKBHD unboxes and then shows off the Apple Airtags and how they work.
It seems like this is a nice addition for Apple, but it is just a direct ripoff of Tile. Its not exactly the type of innovation you expected from Apple in the Steve Jobs era.
Shazam doesn’t have a web based application at the moment.
However, Shazam used to have a native Windows 10 app for desktop until it was shut down a few years ago.
Since Shazam is now owned by Apple I doubt they will be making a desktop PC or web based version any time soon.
Get share price down, for public companies. Still an issue today. Apple at $1000+ makes each share hard to buy for smaller investors.
Match a typical IPO share price, pre-IPO. Start-ups still like to IPO around $15-20 per share, plus or minus. This gives room for a “pop” and a share price still well under $100. If your private, pre-IPO share price is say $40, then a 2-for-1 forward split will get that down to $20, with the same economics for each shareholder and employee.
Apple and Tesla are both splitting their stock at present. This is to really drive some demand with smaller investors and allows them to have ownership over a great number of full stocks.
Great speech from Steve Jobs just after he returned to Apple.
At the time he gave this speech in the background the company was only several weeks away from going bankrupt.
It was a very important speech for Apple and I also think it was a very important speech for Steve Jobs himself.
Apple will soon be showing all users where their closest COVID-19 Test location is in Apple Maps. There will be a red medical glyph icon, and a special banner in the Apple Maps card.
Apple has launched a portal for hospitals, healthcare providers and businesses to register as a COVID-19 testing location. Apple will review the application and when approved, the location will start appearing on Apple Maps.
The testing locations will appear with a red medical glyph icon, and a special banner in the Apple Maps card.
Some hot news for those of us that have with held buying an iPhone (all 2 of you). Word on the street is that Apple has had an excellent 4th Quarter, and with sales of iPhones surpassing previous estimations, there is some wiggle room when it comes to price.
The iPhone which currently resides in an exclusive contract with AT&T, sells for $199 with contract. Millions and millions of people jumped on board with the first iPhone came out, and the second generation was just as popular. With over 15 million iPhone sold worldwide, it has dominated the mobile market. Outstanding sales have given Apple a cushion in case the current economic downtown starts to effect sales, they can afford to drop the price of the iPhone to $99.
What would a $99 iPhone do to the market? For starters, with such a low barrier to entry, the iPhone will clearly bleed further into the consumer market, even those on the fence would be tempted to purchase, and the market dominance would only leave true niche mobile companies like Blackberry able to withstand the onslaught.
Conjecture? Possibly, but only time will tell. Get those Christmas wish lists ready and stay tuned for more info!