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The Plenty-of-Runway Edition Monday, August 1, 2022

Apple Already Sold Everyone An iPhone. Now What?, by The Economist

Apple’s business model “is evolving from maximising unit growth to maximising installed-base monetisation”, believes Erik Woodring of Morgan Stanley. He argues that pushing further into services could add another $1trn to the company’s $2.6trn market capitalisation. The average Apple user spends about $10 a month on Apple services (including app-store purchases), much less than they might spend on subscriptions to services like LinkedIn or Peloton, points out Mr Woodring, suggesting plenty of “runway” for growth.

Apple’s Hot iPhone Quarter Masks A Behind-the-Scenes Slowdown, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

I am a little bit more concerned about the iPad and Apple’s several-quarter-long struggle to produce enough supply of its tablets. Anecdotally, it appears many consumers have failed to find the iPad they’re looking for over the past year at retail stores. I also think Apple has made the iPad Air and iPad Pro a bit too similar, which may flummox some shoppers.

Coming This Fall

Third-Party Browsers Starting To Support Apple Pay In iOS 16 Betas, by Hartley Charlton, MacRumors

Moser found that ‌Apple Pay‌ is available in Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome as of iOS 16 developer beta 4, and other users have noticed ‌Apple Pay‌ support in Mozilla Firefox.

Moser noted that ‌Apple Pay‌ support continues to be unavailable on the macOS versions of Edge and Chrome, presumably since they do not use WebKit, Apple’s browser engine that is mandatory for third-party browsers on iOS and iPadOS.

Stuff

$50 Gift Card With Apple TV Purchase Promotion Available Again At The US Apple Store, Also Launches In Other Countries, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

This time, the promotion is also available in other countries. In the UK, customers can get a £40 gift card with Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD purchase at the Apple Store. The deal is also available in European countries; customers in France, Spain and other markets can get a 50 euro gift card.

The New iPhone SE Might Do The Trick For Amateur Photography, by Ronn Tan, AugustMan

Although definitely not limited to just amateur photographers, the iPhone SE is perfect for simple and light photography because there are adequate and helpful features that automatically adjust your final images for you, if necessary. There’s no Night Mode but the iPhone SE’s camera does work well with most light. Moreover, it doesn’t hurt that you can toggle between photography functions rather smoothly too.

The $1,199 M2 MacBook Air Cuts Too Many Corners, by David Price, Macworld

It’s always tempting to go for the cheapest configuration of a new Apple product in order to enjoy the new design and processor at the lowest possible outlay. As far as the M2 MacBook Air is concerned, however, we would advise against this, since testing suggests you’ll be getting a machine that in certain respects performs no better than a cheaper model from 2020, and in a few is actually worse. Admittedly, you’re getting a bigger and better display, MagSafe, and a new design, but the M2 performance boost just isn’t there.

Pebblebee Card Review: Compact Card-shaped Tracker For The Find My Network, by Glenn Fleishman, Macworld

The Pebblebee Card performs a trick I didn’t think possible: it packs a rechargeable battery into a wallet-sized wireless tracker that works on Apple’s Find My network.

OtterBox 2-in-1 Charging Station With MagSafe Review: Compact Fast Charging For iPhone & Apple Watch, by Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider

OtterBox is coming to market with a unique design as well as all the requisite certifications to make it an extremely tempting option.

Notes

Apple Brompton Road / Foster + Partners, by ArchDaily (Text description provided by the architects)

The store’s curved timber ceiling reflects the existing geometry of the building’s historic façade. The ceiling’s integrated fixtures merge seamlessly with the timber panels, having been designed to match their color and finish. A warm palette of materials has been carefully selected to create a calming and coherent environment for visitors and staff.

Apple Alleges Human Rights Violation By Colombian Court That Ordered 5G iPhone/iPad Sales Ban, Ericsson, And Its Lawyers; Invokes Art. 8 Of Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, by Florian Mueller, FOSS Patents

Apple leaves no stone unturned in its efforts to get Ericsson's Colombian iPhone/iPad injunction over a 5G standard-essential patent (SEP) lifted, and is now accusing Ericsson, its lawyers, and the court that ordered the injunction to violate basic human rights, invoking even Art. 8 of the famous Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Apple Should Scan iPhones For Child Abuse Images, Says Scanning Technology Inventor, by Alex Hern, The Guardian

“The pushback was from a relatively small number of privacy groups,” Farid said, speaking to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) on the child safety group’s latest podcast. “I contend that the vast majority of people would have said ‘sure, this seems perfectly reasonable’, but yet a relatively small but vocal group put a huge amount of pressure on Apple and I think Apple, somewhat cowardly, succumbed to that pressure.

“I think they should have stuck their ground and said: ‘This is the right thing to do and we are going to do it.’ And I am a strong advocate of not just Apple doing this, but Snap doing this, and Google doing this – all the online services doing this.”

Bottom of the Page

If I remember correctly, I started paying for Apple's services since the .Mac days, and have continued with MobileMe, iCloud, and now Apple One. Except for iCloud+, Apple services have pivoted to content-based offerings such as music and television. (I still remember iCards fondly.)

There were rumors last year that Apple will introduce another service offering this year. So far, we haven't seen anything out of Cupertino. (And, no, I don't think it's Classical music either.) I'm hoping Apple geting into all-your-can-read e-books business, but I am doubtful Apple will get into another reading business. News+ isn't exactly bringing in anything for Apple, I don't think.

Oh, I know. The timing is just right for a pre-Facebook Instagram-like service. :-)

~

Thanks for reading.