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Breaking news from Cupertino. We’ll give you the latest from Apple headquarters and decipher fact from fiction from the rumor mill.

AAPL company Apple Park

AAPL is a California-based computer company that became the most successful smartphone company in the world.

AAPL defined by Apple

Here’s how Apple defines itself:

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Key AAPL history

From Apple I to iMac

Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs (Steve), Steve Wozniak (Woz), and (briefly) Ronald Wayne as a business partnership: Apple Computer Company. The following year it became Apple Computer, Inc. The company’s first product was the Apple I, a personal computer hand-built by Woz and sold in part-completed kit form. The Apple II and Apple III followed.

The modern Apple as we know it today began in 1983, with the launch of the first personal computer with a graphical user interface, the Lisa. Way too expensive to succeed, it was replaced by the Macintosh in 1984, launched with the single showing of a Ridley Scott commercial during the Super Bowl. The Macintosh transformed the world’s understanding of what a computer was, and would eventually lead to Microsoft adopting the GUI approach.

Steve Jobs and then Apple-CEO John Scully fell out in 1985, when Steve wanted to focus on the Macintosh while Scully wanted to put more attention on the Apple II, which was still selling well. That led to Steve being forced out of the company and going off to form NeXT.

Apple focused on selling Macintosh models at the highest possible margins, but would eventually fall foul of a mix of unsustainable pricing in the face of competition from Windows machines, and an overly complex product lineup. By 1996, the company was in trouble, and in 1997 Steve was brought back, along with the NeXT operating system, which would eventually form the basis of Mac OS X.

Steve simplified the Mac lineup and had industrial designer Jony Ive work on a whole new look for a consumer desktop Mac, the colorful iMac. The iMac, like the original Macintosh, again changed the world’s understanding of what a computer was, and who should want one.

From Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple, Inc.

In 2001, Apple launched the iPod. Although this wasn’t the first mp3 player, it was massively better than anything on the market at the time, and succeeded in turning a geeky piece of technology into a consumer electronics product with mass-market appeal.

The success of the iPod paved the way into other mobile devices. Apple was working on what would eventually become the iPad, when Steve realized that this was the basis of a smartphone. He diverted the team’s work into this, to launch the iPhone in 2007. The iPad launched later, in 2010.

The iPhone was yet another transformational product. While most other smartphones of the time were clunky devices with a keyboard and stylus, the iPhone was a sleek-looking device operated with a finger, and so simple that no user guide was needed. It was with the launch of the iPhone that Apple Computer, Inc. was renamed to Apple, Inc.

From Intel to Apple Silicon

While the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and more are made with Apple-designed processors, the Mac lineup has historically relied on third-party companies for its CPUs. Over the years, Macs progressed from Motorola 680000 series chips through PowerPC to Intel.

In 2020, Apple began a two-year transition to the final stage in that journey, with Macs too finally getting Apple-designed chips. The first such is the M1 chip, used in the latest Mac mini, MacBook Air, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. Other Apple Silicon Macs followed.

AAPL today

Apple is one of the largest companies in the world. It was the first publicly traded company to hit a trillion-dollar valuation in 2018, $2 trillion in 2020, and $3T in 2022.

The company’s product lineup includes five different Mac families (MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini); four iPad ranges (iPad mini, iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro); four iPhone 12 models (12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max); three main Apple Watch models (SE, Series 3, Series 6); as well as other products, including Apple TV, AirPods, and HomePod mini.

In addition to hardware sales, Apple derives a growing proportion of its income from Services, including the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, and Apple Pay.

Surgical complications really brought home the value of Apple’s Health Records feature

Surgical complications really brought home the value of Apple's Health Records feature | iPhone screenshot on blurred surgery photo

Apple first launched its Health Records feature way back in 2018, to provide a unified view of our own health records.

Recent complications following surgery really showed how valuable this could be if universally adopted, not just for us as patients, but also to assist healthcare providers in delivering the best standard of care …

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I effectively previewed Apple’s wall-mounted smart display in 2019, and I think it’ll be a winner

I effectively previewed Apple's wall-mounted smart display panel in 2019, and I think it'll be a winner | Wall-mounted iPad Air

A Bloomberg report yesterday suggested that Apple is working on a wall-mounted smart display panel to act as “a command center for the home” – and that it could launch as early as March of next year.

I effectively trialled this concept back in 2019, wall-mounting an old iPad Air to serve as a dedicated smart home control panel, and reactions to that were enough to convince me that the upcoming new product is likely to be a winner …

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Warren Buffett continues to trim Berkshire’s stake in Apple, building record high cash pile

Apple money

Berkshire Hathaway has continued to trim its holdings in Apple for the third consecutive quarter, with Warren Buffett selling about a quarter of his firm’s stake in Apple. As of late September, Berkshire now holds around $69.9 billion of Apple stock, down from around $84.2 billion at the end of last quarter.

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Apple reaches deal to acquire Pixelmator

Pixelmator Pro

Apple is acquiring the popular photo editing company Pixelmator. The Pixelmator Team announced the news in a blog post on Friday and said there will be “no material changes” to its apps “at this time.” The deal is pending regulatory approval.

Pixelmator has signed an agreement to be acquired by Apple, subject to regulatory approval. There will be no material changes to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps at this time. Stay tuned for exciting updates to come.

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Apple reports record Q4 2024 earnings with nearly $95 billion in revenue

Apple earnings

Apple has released its earnings report for fiscal Q4 2024. The company reports $94.93 billion in revenue during the three-month period, up 6% year-over-year. This sets a new September quarter revenue record. For comparison’s sake, Apple reported $89.5 billion in revenue in the same quarter last year.

There is, however, a $10 billion wrinkle to Apple’s earnings this quarter…

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Apple unveils new MacBook Pro line with M4, nano-texture display, Center Stage camera, more

Following the launch of the new M4 iMac and Mac mini, Apple has one more announcement today. In a press release, the company officially unveiled its new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro lineup powered by the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.

The new MacBook Pro lineup is available to pre-order today, with availability beginning November 8.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new MacBook Pro lineup powered by M4 Pro and M4 Max. For more details on the M4 version, check out our dedicated post for that model.

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Neither Apple nor Masimo could admit what the $250 case was really about

Neither Apple nor Masimo could admit what the $250 case was really about | One cent coin

The $250 (yep, there’s no missing ‘M’ from the end of that number) Apple was awarded in its patent infringement case against Masimo might seem amusing – as John Gruber wryly noted, it’s just about enough to buy one Apple Watch SE.

But what was even more amusing is than neither Apple not Masimo could admit what the case was really about for the respective parties …

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iPhone 16 now banned in Indonesia over Apple’s unfulfilled investment commitments

iPhone 16 review roundup | All the colors shown

Earlier this week, the Indonesian government has banned the sale and use of iPhone 16 models in the country, alongside other Apple products released this fall, including the Apple Watch Series 10. The ban occurred because Apple failed to meet some of its investment commitments in the country (via The Economic Times).

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Three products Apple won’t announce during its ‘exciting week of announcements’

Mac Studio vs the rest of the Mac lineup

Apple is going to be holding an “exciting week of announcements” starting tomorrow, confirmed by Apple marketing exec Greg Joswiak. Although the announcements will focus on the first M4 Macs, rumors for several other Apple products are circulating. Today, we aim to clarify what you shouldn’t expect this week.

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Jury rules Masimo smartwatches infringe Apple design patents

Apple Watch Series 7 vs 9

Apple and medical device company Masimo are currently embroiled in multiple legal battles, headlined by the ongoing fight over the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor.

In a separate case, however, Apple was handed a victory today courtesy of a jury in Delaware. The jury ruled that two of Masimo’s smartwatches and chargers “willfully violated Apple’s patent rights in smartwatch designs,” as reported by Reuters.

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Report: Apple ran ‘highly secretive’ test of blood glucose app

Apple Park | AAPL (9to5Mac image)

A new report from Bloomberg today details that Apple quietly tested an app this year designed to “help people with prediabetes manage their food intake and make lifestyle changes.”

The test comes as Apple continues its work on a noninvasive glucose tracker, a long-running moonshot project that dates back to the Steve Jobs era.

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