iPhone X sales push Apple shares to record high

An Apple analyst is saying next year's iPhones will use bigger, newly designed batteries
Business Insider, Dec 8 2017

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently suggested that Apple would make three new iPhones next year. Two are expected to be successors to this year's iPhone X: a new, equal-size 5.8-inch model and an additional Plus-size 6.5-inch variant. There will also reportedly be a third "budget" iPhone, which will keep using LCD displays and come at 6.1 inches in size. The iPhone X's direct successors will reportedly use an optimized version of the L-shaped batteries inside the iPhone X. The cheaper LCD iPhone is said to stick to a less costly, traditional rectangular shape battery instead.

http://www.businessinsider.com/kgi-m...teries-2017-12

A "music recognition app." A lot of the songs I hear nowadays I wouldn't really call "music" -- but I digress.

Apple to buy music recognition app Shazam for $400 million

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...report-2017-12

"Watch out, Spotify -- Apple is coming for you," writes The Street market analyst Annie Palmer:

Here are three benefits Apple gets from acquiring Shazam

http://www.thestreet.com/story/14416...ng-shazam.html

Here we go, just in time for Christmas gift-giving -- if you're a millionaire.

Apple's most powerful computer ever is now available for purchase
The iMac Pro has a starting price of $4,999.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/14/imac...-purchase.html

This thread is titled "iPhone X sales push Apple shares to record high." Now we know one of the reasons iPhones sell so well. Reddit members discovered -- and Apple acknowledged -- that iPhones have software that slows the devices down as the batteries age. Users then go out and buy a new phone when probably all they needed to do was replace the battery.

Apple admits to slowing your iPhone as the battery ages

http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesk...221-story.html

Well, it didn't take long for a class action lawsuit to be filed:

California man files lawsuit against Apple for slowing down old iPhones

http://abc7.com/technology/ca-man-fi...hones/2812804/

A phone that costs $999 (plus tax) isn't selling as well as Apple had hoped. Is anyone surprised?

Analysts cut iPhone X shipment forecasts, citing lukewarm demand
High price and few innovations dimming buyer interest.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...ukewarm-demand

Apple not expected to make big acquisitions with repatriated cash
Investors Business Daily, Dec 25 2017 12:55 PM

Apple is likely to bring $214 billion in foreign profits banked overseas to the U.S. next year thanks to tax reform legislation, but don't expect the company to make any transformative acquisitions with the cash. Gene Munster, an Apple analyst managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, said in a blog post, "With the new tax structure we expect Apple will bring $214 billion back to the U.S. using a 15.5% one-time repatriation tax rate. "We don't expect this cash will change Apple's mergers and acquisitions philosophy, which will likely continue to be focused on sub-$1 billion technology acquisitions."

In the past, some analysts have speculated Apple might buy Netflix or Tesla. Instead, Apple is likely to increase its share buybacks and dividends with the foreign cash, Munster said. Apple has $269 billion in cash and investments, of which $252 billion is overseas. Apple also is likely to use the foreign cash to boost its spending on research and development in areas such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

https://www.investors.com/news/techn...atriated-cash/

Don't spend $999 (plus tax) on that new iPhone just yet -- his is from The Motley Fool:

Apple rumored to be cutting iPhone prices in early 2018
Could price cuts push demand up for Apple's most important products?

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/...-early-20.aspx

A 47% pay increase is called a "bump"? A "bump"?

Apple CEO Tim Cook gets 47% pay bump
The Wrap, Dec 28 2017 2:15 PM

Apple CEO Tim Cook enjoyed a 47% jump in compensation in 2017, pulling in $12.8 million for the year, including a $9.3 million cash bonus. It’s a healthy jump from the $8.5 million he banked in 2016 when Apple’s revenue dipped slightly. But the company bounced back in 2017, spurred on by impressive Watch sales and the release of two new iPhones; its stock performance mirrored Cook’s compensation increase, running 47% since January 1.

https://www.aol.com/article/finance/...bump/23318924/

In 2018, a replacement battery for an iPhone 6 (or later model) that is no longer under warranty will cost $29 instead of $79 and a software update will allow iPhone users to see if the condition of the battery is affecting the phone's performance. And Apple didn't mean any harm by deliberating slowing older-model phones -- honest! They said so.

Apple apologizes for slowed-down iPhones and offers cheaper battery replacement

http://www.latimes.com/business/tech...228-story.html

This article is by Business Insider writer Dave Smith -- and the first reason, as anyone could easily guess, is because the iPhone X is so much more expensive:

9 reasons you should buy an iPhone 8 instead of an iPhone X

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...phone-x-2017-9

Zut alors! Sacre bleu!

Apple's iPhone slowdown controversy is now being investigated by France's consumer fraud watchdog

http://www.businessinsider.com/franc...iphones-2018-1

iPhone X pushes Apple shares to record high. That was the headline November 3, 2017. What a difference three months has made. Apple closed today at $160.50, a drop of $7.28 (4.34%).

Apple stock loses some sheen on disappointing iPhone sales
Reuters, Feb 2 2018

Apple's hint of returning a ton of cash to shareholders was not enough to move investors who worried more about the iPhone maker's weak outlook amid reports of production cuts for its flagship iPhone X. The iPhone X was the first phone to get a major design overhaul since the launch of the iPhone 6 in 2015 and many expected it to lead to blockbuster sales. On Thursday, the Cupertino-based tech giant said it sold fewer iPhones over the holiday quarter than Wall Street expected and sees revenue of $60 billion to $62 billion and gross margins of between 38% and 38.5% for its fiscal second quarter ending in March. Analysts were expecting $65.7 billion in sales and a gross margin of 38.9 percent for the March quarter.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-a...-idUSKBN1FM1VI

We have smartphones, smart watches, smart cars, smart refrigerators, smart locks, smart thermostats, smart security systems, smart digital assistants.......what we really need to have is a greater number of smart people.

Apple shipped a record 18 million smartwatches in 2017, 54% more than in 2016

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/02/...s-in-2017.html

Apple is surging after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ups its stake
Business Insider, Feb 15 2018 2:11 PM

Shares of Apple are up more than 2% today after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it upped its stake by 23% in the fourth quarter of 2017. Berkshire added 31.2 million shares, bringing its total stake in Apple to 165.3 million shares, or 3.34% of the company. The entire stake worth is worth $28.2 billion at today's prices. Apple is up 25% in the past year, 10 percentage points more than the benchmark S&P 500 index.

https://www.aol.com/article/finance/...take/23362813/

The old saying can now be updated: People who work in glass buildings shouldn't walk with phones.

Distracted Apple employees keep smacking into the glass walls at their new headquarters

http://www.time.com/5162419/apple-ne...uarters-glass/

(Insert "rotten Apple" joke here.)

Getting a new iPhone battery is often a frustrating, weeks-long process
Los Angeles Times, Feb 20 2018

Some people across the country are reporting that they're having a tough time getting their iPhone batteries replaced through Apple's battery replacement program that launched after the company admitted that it slows down phones with older batteries to preserve the phones' performance. From Silicon Valley to Washington, from Detroit to Atlanta, people are sharing stories of long waits, dropped customer service calls and hard-to-get appointments. Apple warned customers that supplies would be limited. Different models can have different wait times. Some of the phones covered by Apple's replacement program — the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus — no longer are being manufactured, which means battery supply is limited.

http://www.latimes.com/business/tech...220-story.html

This report tells me that millions of people are finally realizing they don't need to buy a new smartphone every time a new model comes out.

Smartphone sales post first-ever year-over-year decline
24/7 Wall St., Feb 22 2018 10:35 AM

Analysts at Gartner have been tracking the global smartphone industry since 2004. Today the firm reported that global smartphone sales to end users declined by 5.6% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2017, the first decline the analysts have ever recorded. Samsung, the world’s leading maker of smartphones, sold 3.6% fewer smartphones last quarter, and Apple, the world’s second-largest seller of smartphones, saw unit sales drop 5% in the quarter.

https://247wallst.com/consumer-elect...-year-decline/

This story proves that smartphones and smart watches aren't as smart as Apple would like us to believe.

Apple repair center has accidentally called 911 about 1,600 times
CBS News, Feb 24 2018 3:24 PM

Emergency dispatchers have been flooded with false 911 calls from an Apple repair center in Elk Grove, California. Dispatchers said the calls started in October 2017 and there's usually no one on the other line. "We've been seeing these calls for the last four months from Apple," said police dispatcher Jamie Hudson. "We're able to see quickly where the call is coming from, so when we get one from Apple, the address will come up with their location."

Elk Grove Police said they've received an average of 20 accidental 911 calls a day from Apple, roughly 1,600 since October. Hudson said the calls take valuable seconds away from calls that could be real life-and-death emergencies. "The times when it's greatly impacting us is when we have other emergencies happening and we may have a dispatcher on another 911 call that may have to put that call on hold to triage the incoming call," Hudson said.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Communication Center is also receiving the calls -- 47 since January 1. Dispatchers there said they sometimes hear technicians working in the background. Apple hasn't confirmed which of their devices is causing the calls -- the iPhone or Apple watch -- but both devices can be triggered easily. With just a touch of a button, SOS comes on and 911 is called. An Apple spokesperson said, "We take this seriously and we are working closely with local law enforcement to investigate the cause and ensure this doesn't continue."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/apple-e...ut-1600-times/