Apple last year updated its online store with a new feature called “Shop with a Specialist over Video.” As the name suggests, it lets customers connect with an Apple Specialist using one-way video when buying certain products, such as the iPhone. This functionality is now coming to the Apple Store app on iOS as well.

Following on from the announcement of Apple’s second quarter fiscal 2024 results, Apple CEO Tim Cook joined the company’s chief financial officer Luca Maestri on a call with investors. During this call, Cook again teased Apple’s upcoming generative AI and said that the company has advantages over its competitors.

Apple on Thursday announced its earnings for the second fiscal quarter of 2024, slightly beating expectations with $90.75 billion in revenue. During an interview, Cook also took a moment to talk about the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) antitrust lawsuit against Apple, calling it “misguided.”

AT&T thinks people are willing to pay $7 extra per month for what it claims is “enhanced data connectivity for real-time responsiveness.” This new AT&T “Turbo” option is rolling out now, and the carrier says it “boosts all the high-speed and hotspot data” while active.

Update: It turns out Tim Cook was misunderstood in the CNBC story. The full quote in context does not imply an AI software announcement at next week’s hardware event, although Apple does infuse its silicon with AI readiness. Here’s the full quote in context:



”Looking ahead, we’re getting ready for an exciting product announcement next week that we think our customers will love. And next month, we have our Worldwide Developers Conference, which has generated enormous enthusiasm from our developers. We can’t wait to reveal what we have in store.

”

Additionally, with a pause inserted to explain what happened:

“And we’re getting into a period of time here where we’re extremely excited like I’m in the edge of my seat literally because next week, we’ve got a product event that we’re excited about. And then just a few weeks thereafter, we’ve got the developers Worldwide Developers Conference coming up and we’ve got some big plans to announce in in both of these events. [pause] From an AI point of view…”

Apple is still expected to unveil its AI software innovations in June during its Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple has disclosed its fiscal year 2024 Q2 earnings results. The company reports $90.75 billion in revenue during the three-month period, dropping 4.31% year over year. Analysts expected revenue around $90.33 billion. Apple netted $23.64 billion in profit, 2.15% decline.

Apple reported revenue of $94.8 billion for the same quarter a year ago. Apple argues that last year’s results included around $5 billion in revenue from “pent-up demand from the constraints” of Covid-19 factory shutdowns.

Other numbers from Apple’s quarterly results:

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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There is no shortage of great third-party podcast clients on the App Store, such as Castro, Overcast, and Pocket Casts. But when Apple Podcasts introduced transcripts in iOS 17.4, the app immediately won me over.

Podcast transcripts are a fantastic feature for all kinds of users. For Deaf users there’s a clear benefit, since content that was previously limited to audio suddenly became accessible in written form. For researchers trying to quickly find key info, transcript search is an invaluable tool.

For me though, the biggest win with podcast transcripts has been their ability to save me significant time by filtering down the content to only what I actually want to hear.

We’re excited to announce the launch of something new for the amazing 9to5Mac community: YouTube channel memberships! This is your opportunity to directly support the channel you love and unlock some fun perks as a result.

Why support the channel?

9to5Mac has been going strong on YouTube for eight years and is inching closer to one million subscribers. Your support helps us to continue growing and creating the in-depth video content you love. We provide in-depth iOS guides, walkthroughs, tutorials, news, reviews, and, most recently, the 9to5Mac Overtime podcast.

Of course, our YouTube content will always remain free and accessible, and you are not obligated to become a channel member. However, for those who especially appreciate our work, here is your chance to support us directly.

Apple’s “Let Loose” event is almost here and we’re expecting the official launch of the new iPad Pro, iPad Air, and more. Here’s how to watch the iPad event (including below), plus a reminder that the start time is three hours earlier than most of the company’s events.

Update May 2, 2024: Another day, another Beats Pill comeback teaser. This time, F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was spotted carrying an unreleased Beats Pill speaker in Miami this week.

Back in January 2022, Apple discontinued the years-old Beats Pill+ without announcing a replacement of any sort. It looks like that could be about to change, at least based on a teaser this week.

TwelveSouth recently sent me their latest HoverBar Duo product to test with FaceTime on Apple TV 4K. HoverBar Duo is primarily marketed as an adjustable iPad mount for using the tablet hands-free. However, the arrival of FaceTime for Apple TV 4K makes HoverBar Duo a versatile solution for positioning your iPhone camera just right. Before trying it with FaceTime on Apple TV 4K, the TwelveSouth HoverBar Duo has proved useful with the iPhone in lots of other ways.

Benjamin and Chance assess the final iPad rumors ahead of next week’s ‘Let Loose’ event. Beats launches an incredibly compelling new addition to their headphones lineup, the Beats Solo Buds. At the same time, Apple fails to acknowledge what happened with people getting locked out of their Apple IDs over the weekend, in the same week as it releases a statement promising to fix an issue with iPhone alarms. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin and Chance discuss what podcast client they currently use and why, and how their listening habits reflect their app preferences. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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We’re getting closer every day to a password-free future. Less than two years after Apple launched passkeys with iOS 16 and macOS 13, more and more companies continue adding support. Following in the footsteps of Amazon and Nintendo, among others, today Microsoft announced that passkey support is rolling out for all its consumer accounts across Apple platforms, Windows, and Google products.

Users of Word, Excel, and the host of other popular products requiring Microsoft sign-in will be able to authenticate using simple biometric tools like Face ID or Touch ID.

Apple has launched its newest specials when using its payment platform. For Mother’s Day, use Apple Pay to get up to 20% off a range of gifts from flowers, jewelry, chocolate, clothing, gift boxes, and more. Here are the details.

Thursday’s best deals are now live and headlined by Apple’s Magic Keyboard Folio for 10th Gen iPad at $199. It comes joined by the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e Headphones at $319, which are our favorite AirPods Max alternatives at $80 off. Plus, Satechi’s new SM1 Slim Keyboard for Mac is seeing a rare discount to $85. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are Apple’s latest and greatest devices. While the iPhone 15 Pro is naturally more feature-rich and powerful, it may be overkill for many. And the iPhone 15 has gained pro features of its own this year like the Dynamic Island, 48MP main camera, and more. Follow along for a deep dive into the iPhone 15 vs 15 Pro for all the differences and advice on which to buy for yourself or someone else.

Today, Arc Search, the iOS app from the Browser Company that debuted earlier this year, has been updated with three key feature improvements: widgets for your Home screen, Voice Search that can be triggered from an iPhone’s Action button, and handy new tab controls for controlling page zoom and requesting a desktop site.

All of these added conveniences aim to take the AI-focused search and web browsing tool to a new place of frequent engagement for users.

While Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust law forced Apple to allow developers to sell apps outside the company’s own App Store, there were a number of potential problems with the company’s terms and conditions – not least of which is that an unexpected viral hit could have bankrupted an indie developer.

Apple had already made a number of changes to its terms to reduce the risk, and has now added two more protections which should prevent that nightmare scenario …

Earlier this week, the European Commission announced that iPadOS is now designated as a gatekeeper platform in the European Union, just like the iPhone and the App Store.

In a new developer announcement today, Apple acknowledged this change and confirmed it will bring features like alternative app marketplaces, third-party browser engines, and more to the iPad in the EU later this fall.

In February this year, we learned that after more than a decade of work, Project Titan – the Apple Car effort was officially canceled. Naturally, details have been sparse around the topic as it was a secret project. But today an interesting detail has surfaced about how Apple is dismantling the project.

Anyone following Apple supply chain reports knows that the company has been working toward adopting OLED displays on the iPad Pro for quite some time. Though the iPhone has featured an OLED display since the 2017 iPhone X, bringing the technology to the iPad lineup has proven difficult.

Delays seem to finally be reaching their end, however, as this new display technology should see its debut at the May 7 Apple event. A new report details how exactly the 2024 iPad Pro has produced fresh challenges for suppliers, and another highlights OLED supplier changes coming to the iPhone 16.

A new report says that Apple CEO Tim Cook will “hint” at upcoming AI features during next week’s Let Loose event.

New iPads are the main focus of the event, but there are possible reasons for suggesting that Apple might also use it to outline new artificial intelligence features ahead of a detailed briefing at WWDC …