Apple

Salvador Rodriguez, CNBC:

Facebook on Monday will begin urging some iPhone and iPad users to let the company track their activity so the social media giant can show them more personalized ads.

The move comes alongside Apple’s planned privacy update to iOS 14, which will inform users about this kind of tracking and ask them if they want to allow it.

I actually have no problem with Facebook’s approach here. I don’t see this as striking back, but more as playing by the rules.

Follow the headline link and check out that pair of iPhone screen shots, about halfway down the page. Facebook is making their case to the user, then asking for permission to do their tracking thing. Key for me is that Facebook’s “learn more” link goes to a page that is honest about what happens to the user’s data.

Problem 1 is captured in the headline linked Washington Post article:

Under a new “App Privacy” label added last month, there’s a blue check mark, signaling that the app won’t share a lick of your data. It says: “Data not collected.”

I downloaded a de-stressing app called the Satisfying Slime Simulator that gets the App Store’s highest-level label for privacy. It turned out to be the wrong kind of slimy, covertly sending information — including a way to track my iPhone — to Facebook, Google and other companies.

And:

As I write this column, Apple still has an inaccurate label for Satisfying Slime. And it’s not the only deception. When I spot-checked what a couple dozen apps claim about privacy in the App Store, I found more than a dozen that were either misleading or flat-out inaccurate.

And:

Apple’s big privacy product is built on a shaky foundation: the honor system. In tiny print on the detail page of each app label, Apple says, “This information has not been verified by Apple.”

Apple’s response:

“Apple conducts routine and ongoing audits of the information provided and we work with developers to correct any inaccuracies. Apps that fail to disclose privacy information accurately may have future app updates rejected, or in some cases, be removed from the App Store entirely if they don’t come into compliance.”

Problem 2 is highlighted in this thread:

https://twitter.com/keleftheriou/status/1356011069395755009

The problem showcased here is the App Store’s infestation with scammy, copycat apps. Read the thread. It does a great job laying out all the details.

Is the App Store simply too big to police properly?

Apple:

To celebrate Black History Month, Apple commissioned more than 30 Black photographers to capture and share their hometowns with the world through their unique lens, all shot on iPhone 12 Pro. All across the US, these photographers set out to showcase the people and the pockets of their cities that embody their local culture.

Follow the headline link, check out the pics. And don’t miss Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, highlighted on their front page.

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Apple is now selling standalone ear cushions designed for the AirPods Max, allowing AirPods Max owners to purchase cushions in different colors.

And:

The ear cushions are available in all of the ‌AirPods Max‌ colors – silver, black, red, sky blue, and green – and are priced at $69. ‌AirPods Max‌ ear cushions attach to the ear cups magnetically and can be popped right off, so making a swap to a new color is simple.

Here’s a link to the Apple Store AirPods Max ear cushion replacements purchase page.

As you’d guess, you get two ear cushions for $69. Can’t help but wonder if we’re gonna see people doing the mix and match thing, walking around with mismatched colors. Team up with a friend and buy two different color sets, trade so you each have mismatches.

And I suspect we’ll see a wave of “singles”, with a bit of a markup, on eBay.

Apple:

January 28 is Data Privacy Day, a time to raise awareness about the importance of protecting people’s personal information online. Apple is commemorating Data Privacy Day by sharing “A Day in the Life of Your Data,” an easy-to-understand report illustrating how companies track user data across websites and apps. The report also shares how privacy features across Apple’s products give users more transparency and control, empowering people with the tools and knowledge to protect their personal information.

From A Day in the Life of Your Data:

John and his 7-year-old daughter, Emma, are spending the day together. In the morning, John uses his computer to look up the weather, read the news, and check a map app on his smartphone for traffic conditions for a trip to the playground next to his daughter’s school.

So far, so good.

During the ride, there are 4 apps on his phone collecting and tracking their location data periodically in the background. After the data has been extracted from the device, app developers sell it to a host of obscure third party data brokers that John has never heard of. Although the location data collected is claimed to be anonymous, user tracking allows data brokers to match John’s location history from these apps with information collected from his use of other apps. This means information tracked across different apps and from multiple sources is available for any company or organization to purchase, and could be used to create a comprehensive profile about him that includes his precise day-to-day movements.

Apple does a great job making the case for its privacy model. Facebook complains that Apple is abusing their position to their own benefit. But at the heart of Apple’s new ruleset is transparency. If you don’t track a user’s data without their knowing, you won’t have an issue. If you want to track your user’s data, tell them and ask their permission.

To me, this is a clearcut issue. Transparency is good. Surreptitious tracking is evil. The end.

Canalys:

In Q4 2020, worldwide smartphone shipments reached 359.6 million units, a small decline of 2% year-on-year. Apple shipped its most iPhones ever in a single quarter, at 81.8 million units, up 4% against the previous year.

Samsung took second place, shipping 62.0 million units for a -12% decline. Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo completed the top five, with each seeing share gains from a beleaguered Huawei (including Honor).

And:

“Apple is better positioned than its competitors on 5G, being heavily skewed towards developed markets, and mobile operator sales channels. But it also made savvy moves behind the scenes to propel its sales and profitability. The omission of a power plug from the iPhone retail box, which reduces weight and size, is making logistics significantly more efficient, amid the ongoing high cost of air freight due to the pandemic. And it also implemented channel-centric growth initiatives to target SMB customers, which have bolstered demand for its entire range of iPhones.”

Even more doomed.

Brand Finance:

Apple has overtaken Amazon and Google to reclaim the title of the world’s most valuable brand for the first time since 2016, according to the latest report by Brand Finance – the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Apple has the success of its diversification strategy to thank for an impressive 87% brand value increase to US$263.4 billion and its position at the top of the Brand Finance Global 500 2021 ranking.

Doomed.

With each quarter’s Apple financial results, Jason Snell does the heavy lifting of generating a transcript of the call (starting with Tim and all the way through the Q&A) as well as a (headline linked) set of charts that tell all the stories.

This quarter’s charts are particularly easy to read, since they are boom all the way. Just look at that first one, how clearly that revenue number (in billions) out distances its predecessors.

Great stuff. Thanks, Jason.

Start off with Apple’s official announcement:

Apple today announced Dan Riccio will transition to a new role focusing on a new project and reporting to CEO Tim Cook, building on more than two decades of innovation, service, and leadership at Apple. John Ternus will now lead Apple’s Hardware Engineering organization as a member of the executive team.

John Gruber’s take (headline linked):

This is not an easing-out-the-door of Riccio: he really is taking over something big and new.

And:

I still don’t know which project Riccio is heading, but my guess is that it’s the headset, not Titan, simply because I’m certain the headset is closer. I think it’s a sign that the headset is ready to get real, and Apple wants someone as capable as Riccio to lead it with nothing else on his plate.

This really clicks for me. Mostly because of something Horace Dediu said in this post about Apple entering the highly competitive car market:

The reason Apple’s market revenue shares are so much greater is because it largely created the markets in which it participates. Rather than hacking out share from incumbents, it created its own and iterated to sustain.

Apple Watch and AirPods are perfect examples here. Folks weren’t wearing smart watches or Bluetooth EarPods (at least not in great numbers) before Apple entered the market and, in doing so, expanded the market considerably.

With Apple Glass (or whatever branding such a product might use), Apple would be entering a failed and tiny market. With a vehicle, Apple would be entering a massive market with many competitors. Like night and day.

I’m with Gruber on this.