By Dan Moren

November 1, 2024 8:03 AM PT

Apple sinks $1.1 billion into Globalstar’s satellite network, takes ownership stake

If you had any idea that satellite connectivity isn’t a key part of Apple’s strategy, well, the company’s satellite partner Globalstar has disclosed changes to its deal with Apple, including a new influx of $1.1 billion from Apple tied to capital improvements, and $400 million in equity, which gives Apple a 20-percent stake in the company.

That is quite a bit of money, but it’s not necessarily a huge surprise. There aren’t that many companies around with these kind of capabilities and by locking down an investment in Globalstar, Apple ensures bandwidth and access.¹

Apple’s been offering satellite connectivity since the introduction of the iPhone 14 line in 2022, which debuted with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature. At the time Apple said it would be offering two free years of service, though it later extended that by a year. Alongside the introduction of the iPhone 15 line, it added Roadside Assistance capabilities; this year, it added Messages via Satellite. All these features are under the same aegis.

Apple has never said what these features might cost after the expiration of the initial free period. The company’s been content to kick that can down the road—the latest expansion of this deal suggests that it might be happy to kick that can right into orbit. It’s gotten a whole lot of good publicity on the back of the Emergency SOS Satellite feature, not infrequently highlighting the lifesaving stories it’s enabled. It’s hard to imagine it would ever want to be in a position of dealing with a scenario in which somebody’s life could have been saved if only they’d paid Apple for the feature.

The real question is what additional features might be enabled by the improvements to Globalstar’s infrastructure: true satellite calling? Globalstar already offers some plans for that, as do competitors. FaceTime via Satellite? (Bandwidth and latency would seem to be real challenges there.) Perhaps even general internet access?

It still seems most likely to me that Apple will eventually offer tiers of these, perhaps bundled along with its Apple One subscription, leaving some features like Emergency SOS free, while others will cost an additional fee. But Apple seems confident enough that adding these capabilities are helping sell iPhones, and for the moment, that seems to be enough for it to keep investing.

[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]

By Jason Snell

October 31, 2024 2:20 PM PT

This is Tim, that was Luca: Apple’s Q4 results phone call, transcribed

Every quarter after releasing financial results, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri hop on a conference call with analysts to detail the quarter gone by, give a peek at what’s to come, and dodge—er, I mean answer—questions from analysts. This is a transcript of the call, Maestri’s last (sniff) as Apple CFO.

Continue reading “This is Tim, that was Luca: Apple’s Q4 results phone call, transcribed”…

By Jason Snell

October 31, 2024 1:45 PM PT

Apple’s Q424 results: $95B revenue–with a twist

Apple reported its financial results on Thursday for its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended on September 28. Revenue was $94.9 billion, up six percent versus the year-ago quarter and an all-time fourth quarter record.

The one twist: Apple recognized a one-time charge of $10.2 billion related to Apple finally having lost a long-time tax case in the European Union. That’s a lot of cash, and it bit into Apple’s profit for the quarter.

All in all, Apple’s business was relatively flat. iPhone sales were up 6% but flat for the fiscal year; Mac sales were up 2%, which is about how they’ve been all year; Services continues to have reliable double-digit growth, but the rate of growth slowed to 12% year-over-year.

After the results, Apple did its traditional call with financial analysts and we’ve got a complete transcript. And now, here are the charts:

Continue reading “Apple’s Q424 results: $95B revenue–with a twist”…

By Shelly Brisbin

October 31, 2024 9:11 AM PT

Taking the AirPods Pro hearing test

When Apple launched new phones and other hardware in September, I said on a couple of podcasts that the AirPods Pro’s forthcoming hearing aid tech was the most important item on that day’s bill of fare. And finally, this week, the release of iOS 18.1 and updated AirPods Pro firmware brought the promised hearing test functionality to my AirPods Pro, along with the promise of software tuning to meet any hearing loss the test found.

Of course, all of it seems to have been eclipsed by the multi-day rollout of a bunch of new Mac computers. Still, somewhere between ordering a new Mac Mini and showing my coworkers the updated iMac colors, I took the AirPods Pro hearing test—along with a family member who has a longstanding hearing loss.

Is something wrong?

I’ve suspected for a few months that I’d lost a few frequencies in my left ear for age-related reasons. I don’t seem to hear as much detail from a big Sonos speaker in the kitchen, when I’m facing the other way, in the living room. I have some tinnitus, too, which is relatively new. Meanwhile, I’ve been spending a lot of time with a family member whose hearing has never been the greatest due to a number of childhood infections. So we both took Apple’s hearing test.

Once you’ve installed iOS 18.1, the test is offered by the AirPods Pro configuration screen. First, iOS runs a version of the AirPods Pro fit test, which I don’t think I’ve ever taken before. When I got my ‘pods, I just chose the smallest ear tips in the box.

Sure enough, I passed the fit test, and it was on to the hearing check. You’re tested one ear at a time, touching the screen anytime you hear a tone. Meanwhile, the image onscreen throbs in a way that convinced me that I should be hearing something, whether I did or not. I’m sure I tapped once or twice when I thought I was something was happening, but was not.

Hearing upgrade?

When the test for both ears was completed, I got the verdict: little to no hearing loss. iOS did offer to tune my earbud so that media listening would be the best it could be for me—sure, why not? Music did sound noticeably better with Media Assist. It felt like a nice qualitative improvement. A podcast I listened to sounded as though they had slightly more high frequencies. Nice, but the improvement in music listening was greater for me.

My family member, who is not a power user by any means, had been gifted a pair of AirPods Pro precisely because of the hearing evaluation and assistance features. Her test showed mild hearing loss, and she was offered the chance to set up her AirPods Pro as hearing aids. (Despite the ruling, she believes her hearing loss is more than mild.)

She wore her AirPods at home and in the car throughout the day. She has worn hearing aids before, and says that like those devices, AirPods Pro sometimes accentuate sounds she doesn’t want to hear, like the noise of paper being crumpled. Overall, her take is that everyday sounds are sharper in tone. She said she wasn’t able to lower the required volume of her kitchen television as she had hoped. She also noted that AirPods Pro need to be charged during the day. While that process is quick, she perceives the buds’ battery life as a limitation versus other hearing aids.

For my part, it’s tough to tell if AirPods Pro have made listening to media mind-blowingly better. It’s good, though. Your mileage will almost certainly vary. It’s also worth pointing out that you can retake the AirPods Pro hearing test at any time. That might offer some peace of mind if you’re worried about the trajectory of your hearing.

[Shelly Brisbin is a radio producer and author of the book iOS Access for All. She's the host of Lions, Towers & Shields, a podcast about classic movies, on The Incomparable network.]

By Jason Snell

October 30, 2024 8:00 AM PT

16GB for everyone: MacBook Air joins the RAM upgrade party

This week, all of Apple’s Mac announcements have featured one trend beyond the arrival of the M4 processor family on macOS: The lifting of base RAM configurations from 8GB to 16GB across the board on new models.

But it’s actually not just new models that are getting this boost. On Wednesday Apple also reconfigured its most popular laptop, the MacBook Air, to feature 16GB of RAM across all configurations at the same starting prices: $999 for the M2 model, $1099 for the M3 model.

With this move, there’s not a single new Mac being sold directly by Apple with less than 16GB of RAM. This is a big deal, because Apple doesn’t change base RAM that often—it’s a source of lucrative upgrade revenue.

As pointed out by Friend of the Site David Schaub, Apple’s base RAM figures tend to stick around for a long time. On consumer Mac laptops, since 2011 the base has only increased once—to 8GB, back in 2017.

Based on Schaub’s charts and the prevailing conversation in my own circles, these changes certainly feel long overdue. But let’s not be too quick to applaud Apple for its largesse here. Remember, Apple Intelligence (and AI models in general) tend to require a whole lot of memory to run well. The advent of Apple Intelligence seems likely to be the real motivator in giving even the cheapest Macs—a $599 Mac mini and a $999 M2 Macbook Air—a full load of 16GB of memory.

Whatever the reason, I’ll take it.

By Jason Snell

October 30, 2024 8:00 AM PT

Apple introduces new MacBook Pros with M4 chips, brighter screen

Apple’s week of Mac reveals rolls on with Wednesday’s announcement of the M4 MacBook Pro line. In some ways this is the smallest update of the week, but I’d wager that Apple sells far more MacBook Pros than iMacs and Mac minis put together. So in some ways, this is the biggest announcement yet.

The new 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro base model now starts at 16GB of RAM—the days of base 8GB of RAM in Macs seem to be at an end—but retains the same base price of $1599. Unlike last year, where only more expensive configurations gained access to the Space Black shade, this year all MacBook Pro models come in just Silver and Space Black, even the base M4 model.

The M4 model sports three Thunderbolt 4 ports, one more than in the M3 model. And, yes, this means that the base-model MacBook Pro now has Thunderbolt ports on both sides.

The MacBook Pro’s best feature is its gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display, which gets a boost in the M4 generation by getting quite a bit brighter, with a maximum of 1000 nits (up from 600) in standard-dynamic-range mode. (The max peak brightness in HDR mode remains unchanged at 1600 nits.) There’s also now a nano-texture display option, for laptop users who really need to get screen glare out of their eyes.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro also comes in higher-end chip configurations, and the 16-inch model only comes with the more powerful chips. The M4 Pro, which technically debuted Tuesday with the Mac mini, is of course also available on these models. It sure seems like the M4 Pro is the chip to gain the most between generations, with 75% more memory bandwidth and performance. Apple claims the M4 Pro is 30 percent faster than the M3 Pro, and three times as fast as the M1 Pro. The M4 Pro maxes out at 14 cores, 10 for performance and four for efficiency, can have as many as 20 GPU cores, and starts at 24GB of RAM with configurations up to 48GB. M4 Pro models start at $1999 (14-inch) and $2499 (16-inch).

But of course, there’s more—the M4 Max chip is making its debut in these systems. The M4 Max just offers more of everything, from its 16 CPU cores (12 performance, four efficiency) to up to 40-core GPU, to support for up to 128GB of memory.

Both higher-end chips support Thunderbolt 5, with doesn’t just support much faster data transfers, but also twice as much power delivery (200 watts, up from 100 watts in Thunderbolt 4), which is probably more relevant to a laptop than it would be to a Mac mini.

All three chip levels get a major webcam upgrade to the 12MP Center stage camera, which is the first Mac laptop webcam upgrade in quite a while. And Apple is claiming that all models can get up to 24 hours of battery life, which seems like a bit of a major milestone, even though (as always) battery life is not a simple thing to measure, and can vary widely based on how you use the computer in question.

Apple is taking pre-orders now, and the new MacBook Pro models will arrive in customers’ hands on Nov. 8.

By Dan Moren

October 29, 2024 10:09 AM PT

The M4 Mac mini: Tricks and treats

Just in time for Halloween, Apple has delivered a new version of its smallest Mac, which you could probably even fit into one of those plastic pumpkins.

As a current Mac mini user (and someone who’s owned three or four of them over the years), I eyed today’s announcement with interest and, if we’re being painfully honest, no small amount of envy. This M2 Pro Mac mini sitting on my desk? It’s fine. Well, truthfully, it’s better than fine: it’s great. I use it every day and it never bats an eye at any task I throw in its direction. It’s just a year and a half old, and as we know with Apple Silicon Macs, these things last. (Just ask my M1 MacBook Air.)

But the siren song of the new and shiny is always alluring, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t already priced out a new M4 model within a few minutes of its announcement. But in true Halloween fashion, there are some spoooooky factors to consider that make a swap not quite straightforward as you might think.

Treat: The mini-est Mac ever

It’s jut so wee. At 5 inches square, the M4 Mac mini is more than a third smaller in both width and depth than its 7.75-inch predecessor—in fact, it’s closer in footprint to the 3.66 inches of the Apple TV 4K. (Although at 2 inches, it’s a bit taller than both the M2 mini and the Apple TV.) I won’t say my desk space is at a premium—all you have to do is look at the junk strewn across it—but the idea of freeing up some room is pleasing, as is the fact that the M4 models weigh about a pound less than the M2 models—aluminum may be light, but it’s still metal.

Trick: Memory games

My current M2 Pro Mac mini has 32GB of RAM; the M4 Pro Mac mini ships standard with 24GB of RAM, but the upgrade options are 48GB for an extra $400 or 64GB for an extra $600. That’s not an insignificant cost to meet (and, to be fair, beat) my current specs. Would I choose to pay the money or downgrade? Now that’s a dilemma.

Treat: USB-C what I did there?

I’ve been calling for this ever since Apple proved it could put ports on the front of its desktop Macs with the Mac Studio, and I’m pleased as punch it delivered. No more maneuvering behind my mini or Studio Display when I want to plug in a thumb drive or security key. I could even plug in the audio interface on my desk with a shorter cord if I needed to. Convenience! Function over form! Who would have thunk it!

Treat/Trick: Audio port affront

…Wait, there’s an audio jack in the front too? Look, having just extolled the virtues of front-mounted USB-C ports, I feel that I would be a cad to ding the design for putting the headphone jack there too. After all, if you’re plugging in headphones, you don’t want to root around in back of the mini every time.

Except I use my audio port to keep a pair of desktop speakers plugged in, which is a little awkward from a cable management perspective. Sure, I could use a dongle, I guess, but then I’m eating up a valuable Thunderbolt 5 port for speakers. Maybe it’s time to—*gasp*—finally ditch those desktop monitors in favor of the Studio Display’s built-in ones.

Trick: Trade-in shun

Yes, I did go ahead and price out exactly how much Apple would give me for my pristine Mac mini with a 10 core CPU/16 core GPU M2 Pro, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It’s practically brand new, well, from April 2023. And the result was…$445.

Look, I’m not saying that’s nothing compared to the cost of a brand new computer, but it is on the sobering side. They say your computer loses half the value when you drive it off the Apple Store lot, but that’s more like two-thirds! I’d probably fare better selling it elsewhere.

Ultimately, I think an M4 Pro Mac mini is unfortunately not in my future, even though I keep getting misty-eyed when I look at the pictures. But good news: given the last design of the Mac mini lasted effectively fourteen years, this one’s not going anywhere soon. So I guess there’s always the M5.

[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]

By Jason Snell

October 29, 2024 8:00 AM PT

New Mac mini shrinks down, gains M4 and M4 Pro chips

Apple’s big week, featuring a new iMac and the launch of Apple Intelligence, just got smaller. A lot smaller.

Just in time for Halloween, it’s a Fun Size Mac mini. The redesigned M4 Mac mini has a footprint of five inches by five inches (and two inches high), making it 60 percent less volume than the previous design and easily the smallest desktop Mac ever.

The previous Mac mini design dates from all the way back to 2010, when it was sized to incorporate an internal optical drive! That was terrible timing because of course that was the last generation of the Mac mini to even offer an internal optical drive as an option. Still, all the extra space inside that 7.75-inch-by-7.75-inch footprint was probably helpful in fitting in PowerPC and Intel hardware… and cooling it. Now, fourteen years later, the Mac mini is sized for the tiny, cool Apple silicon era at last.

Following the lead of its larger silver-aluminum cousin, 2022’s Mac Studio, the new Mac mini features two conveniently front-facing USB-C ports (but no SD card slot). On the back are three Thunderbolt ports, as well as Ethernet and HDMI. Apple says the new enclosure uses 85% less aluminum than the previous model, is partially made of recycled aluminum, and is officially Apple’s first carbon-neutral Mac.

The M4 Mac mini starts at the same $599 price point as the previous model, despite the fact that the base model now ships with 16GB of RAM, twice the previous 8GB minimum. (All M4 models come with 10 CPU and GPU cores.) Of course, prices escalate quickly from there, if you want to add RAM or storage capacity or a 10G ethernet option.

While the M4 Mac mini will undoubtedly be quite a bit faster than its M2 predecessor, there are more substantial gains to be made on the higher end. Just as with previous Apple Silicon-era models, the new Mac mini will also be available in a higher-end chip configuration.

The Mac mini with the new M4 Pro chip—which starts at $1399—supports the upgraded Thunderbolt 5 specification, comes with 24GB of RAM (upgradeable to 64GB), offers 14 CPU cores (10 performance and four efficiency) and up to 20 GPU cores, and 75% faster memory bandwidth (!!!) than the M3 Pro. The base model has 12 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores; a $200 upgrade gets you the full 14 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores. As with the M4 mini, the M4 Pro model can very rapidly cost you $2500 or $3000 if you boost RAM, storage, and more.

And keep in mind, the Mac mini was never updated to the M3—its last update was to the M2 in early 2023. So if you’re just looking at the Mac mini, the model-to-model speed boosts will be even more impressive than the gains between this chip generation and the last.

Finally, if you’re afraid Apple has cheated by moving its power supply outboard to make the Mac mini smaller, don’t worry. Just like the previous Mac mini, the new model’s power supply is internal, and it’s connected by the same two-pin power plug used in previous models. (The only difference is that Apple’s now using a braided power cable.)

The new Mac mini models will arrive in stores and customers’ hands beginning Nov. 8.