retrogusto
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Apple TV gift card offer extended in US, spread internationally
I’d like to think that all of these tv promotions we’ve been seeing in recent months are in anticipation of a hardware upgrade (with the return of toslink being high on my feature wishlist, however unlikely), but if it happens, I doubt they’d do it in August when so much of the US and Europe are on vacation.Why toslink? If you want to use it with a projector, as I do (and I doubt I’m the only one), you need a good way to extract audio. I have an excellent external DAC, one of the very few that accepts HDMI, but doesn’t support the latest HDMI specs, so no HDR or 4K. The tv also makes a great lossless audio streaming device, and many more people could use it for this if it still had toslink, as earlier models did. A separate HDMI audio extractor is always an option, but it’s more clutter, cables and cost. But again, I’m not saying I think this is a likely upgrade.
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Apple plans to slow hiring, spending in some teams in 2023
The very strong dollar will make things look worse than they would otherwise. Apple reports results in dollars, but much of their profits are made in other currencies and then converted. For instance, a year ago, the euro was worth almost 18% more in dollars than it is now, so euro-zone profits would have to be up a lot to not appear to be down year-over-year once converted to dollars. Luca Maestri will surely note these “currency headwinds” when reporting the results, but a lot of people will just look at the bottom line and be spooked, or will expect others to be spooked, which has basically the same effect. And journalists are always looking for a shocking headline, so they will take the opportunity to make it look as bad as possible, unless Apple does so in well that it’s easier to justify sensationalism in the opposite direction.
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M2 Pro, M2 Max MacBook Pro models could arrive by the fall
macxpress said:Unless you're doing something where you think the M2 series SoC's would really benefit you I don't see why you wouldn't just buy one of the current models. You're never going to have the latest and greatest forever anyways.It can be frustrating to buy something new and then watch the price drop by hundreds of dollars after a few weeks of use. You’re essentially paying a big premium for a few extra weeks of better performance, and then stuck with something not quite as good for years to come.If someone doesn’t want or “need” the latest thing and doesn’t mind that it will become obsolete/unsupported sooner, you can wait a few months and buy the current models at a big discount once the upgraded models come out. And if you buy it refurbished and/or used, it’ll be even cheaper. And you could always use the savings towards the next upgrade. But sometimes it’s nice to get the latest thing in perfect condition and enjoy it for as long as you can.Industry observers have been saying that chip prices will be falling soon, due to increasing production capacity, and it will be interesting to see if any of that translates into better value for customers or whether it just gets absorbed by inflation and company margins.
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Volkswagen CEO isn't sure that Apple wants to build cars
If Apple were to sell their own car, it wouldn’t surprise me too much if they invented their own model for sales and support. They do have a history of doing things differently, as we’ve seen with their stores, their credit card, etc. And Tesla seems to have already paved the way with some innovations in the way cars are sold. Also, a lot of car parts are designed and built by third parties, including the examples you mentioned like seats, air bag systems, bearings and door locks. This recent Economist article claims that 70% of Mercedes Benz cars are third-party parts, and for Stellantis (Fiat/Chrysler/PSA etc.) it’s 85%.DAalseth said:I’ve thought the same for a while now. It’s one thing to produce a system that is used in other people’s cars, and making the whole thing yourself. The latter involves setting up a dealer network, service and support systems, dealing with warranty claims and more. The current network of AppleStores would simply not work at all for this. Apple would have to build a new car dealership network from scratch. Apple has experience designing software. It’s another story with seats, air bag systems, wheel bearings, door locks, and all the rest of the stuff that goes into a car.
Why reinvent the wheel, when they can make something to go on other people’s products. Far less hassle and far more money to be made in the latter.
I also don’t think Apple would do their own manufacturing, given how they currently operate. But I agree that they might prefer to just stick to the high-margin software side of things.Odd that Herbert Diess would seem to think that Apple’s valuation was the source of their “virtually unlimited access to resources.” Apple has a ton of cash, a very reliable revenue stream with excellent margins, and one of the most respected brands in the world, so they have billions to spend, with more coming in every day, and can borrow billions more at a very good rate anytime they like. The valuation would only make a difference if they were to issue new shares to raise money, but they’ve been doing the opposite (buybacks) for years.
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Apple may release a cheaper Apple TV streaming device in 2022, says Kuo
Yeah, they could probably afford to drop the price of the remote to $50, too.22july2013 said:
Do you mean with, or without, the $50 remote?dhawkins541 said:Why don't they make the HD model at least somewhat cheaper it's got an A8 which is older than the iPod touch they just discontinued? Just a thought $99 that would be a way easier sell to people that want 4K but want in on the apple hardware.
