As we close out the week, we see opaque takes on iPhone demand, Apple grows a workforce in India, and dinosaurs are back in action.
A Positive (?) Note on Apple from UBS
UBS Analyst David Vogt wrote a note on January iPhone sales this week, though very little of it made sense to me. Please allow me to read you one part:
On a global basis, we estimate iPhone sell-through (source: Counterpoint) in January was down ~11% YoY (20.9 million), a 700 bps improvement from the 18% YoY decline in December (22.6 million) and down 8% MoM following extensive supply chain disruptions late last year… If we extrapolate Jan-23 sell-through, we estimate Mar-23 quarter sell-through is tracking to ~52M units, in-line with our sell-in estimate.
There were three more paragraphs that were even less intelligible, so⊠you know⊠you tell me. It was Philip Elmer-DeWittâs Apple 3.0 that posted the note. While I know I donât know everything, I can usually pretty much follow notes like these. I was happy to read Elmer-DeWittâs addendum, which said, âMust confess that I got lost in the details.â
Glad it wasnât just me.
Here are two quotes that did make sense: âiPhone strength in China and U.S. offset by weakness in Europe,â and, âWhile China sell-through was solid, iPhone sell-through improvement in the US was more muted.â His is not reaching for the parachute though. Vogt has a âBuyâ rating on Apple shares. Heâs set the UBS price target on the shares at $180.
Jefferies Up on iPhone Demand Thanks to Web Traffic
A somewhat easier to understand note comes our way from Jefferies analyst Kyle McNealy. He thinks iPhone demand is better than the rest of Wall Street thinks, based on â the internet.
Apple 3.0 posted this one as well. Itâs got McNealy saying:
Web traffic to iPhone pages for the month of January at wireless carrier sites and apple.com was up 2% M/M and down -23% M/M, respectively. Wireless carriers are the bigger channel so overall it’s tracking ahead of normal historical seasonality (down -30% Q/Q) and Street iPhone unit expectations (down -21%).
That plus the fact that people are going for the Pro phones more than the others where the current iPhone line is concerned have him expecting a bit of strength for the March-quarter.
I am not saying heâs wrong, but hanging your hopes, your hat, or anything else on web traffic feels tenuous. But these are the times in which we live. Quoting his note again:
We see page traffic tracking ahead of expectations as a positive sign that Apple isnât seeing as much macro pressure as anticipated, at least through January. Nonetheless, weâre keeping our estimates unchanged given weâre still early in the quarter and any deterioration through Mar could derail the positivity.
Shake it off, Tink. Shake it off.
Mr. McNealy has a âBuyâ rating on Apple shares. Heâs set Jefferiesâ price target on the shares at $195.
Report: Apple Responsible for 100,000 Indian Jobs Since August 2021
While the world ponders the diversification of Appleâs supply chain, an interesting assertion from AppleInsider. That site cites data from the Indian technology site Inc42, saying since the start of Indiaâs Production Linked Incentive (PLI) program in August of 2021, âApple has become the largest single job creator in the nation’s electronics sector, with 100,000 new positions.â
The site breaks it down to ~62,000 folks working for Apple contract manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. The other ~40,000 work for component suppliers such as Salcomp.
Small numbers compared to China to be sure. But itâd be hard to argue that this train isnât picking up steam.
In Wake of Violence, Apple Shutters North Carolina Store
Surprising news for a North Carolina Apple Store. Bloomberg says the Cupertino-company suddenly and unexpectedly closed its Northlake Mall store in Charlotte, North Carolina â permanently.
The problem? A bit too much gunplay, it seems. Citing local news reports, Bloomberg says:
âŠshots were fired outside of a Macyâs at the Northlake Mall on Tuesday, while another shooting took place in early February. There were additional shootings reported in December and in 2021.
So, not a rash decision, though a surprising one â even to employees. The store actually opened for business Wednesday morning, though employees were told that day that the store would be closing for good, effective immediately.
It was apparently employees who said the shootings were the issue. Bloomberg says, âApple confirmed the closure, but declined to comment further on the reasoning.â
Now the good news: Despite the loss of a store, nobody is losing their job. The piece says:
Apple told employees that there will be no layoffs and that staff at the Northlake Mall site would be transferred to the nearby SouthPark location in Charlotte or roles working at the companyâs online store.
Plans were already underway for a new store in Charlotte next year. Even before this weekâs closure, the new store was meant to replace the Northlake store, according to the report.
Apple Releases âMysteryâ Studio Display Beta
On the heels of this weekâs developer betas and public testing betas, something 9to5Mac refers to as a âmystery beta.â According to the piece, âthe latest firmware beta update for Appleâs Studio Display is now available.â
Oh. Mystery solved, then? Not really. While we know what the beta is for, we donât know what itâs doing or is meant to do. ââŠApple doesnât give any release notes or clues to whatâs changed or improved with the release,â according to the report.
Signs of Life for Appleâs High-Yield Savings Account
Signs of life for Appleâs high-yield savings account. AppleInsider points people to a Twitter post from Bloombergâs Mark Gurman. Thatâs got him pointing people to a change in the terms and conditions for Apple Card. And that has Apple making ready.
Talk of the savings account turns up two places, according to AppleInsider. âFirst,â the report says:
âŠas a definition: “‘Savings’ means the savings account provided by us that can be accessed through Apple Wallet.â
The second set of occurrences can be found under the section labeled âHow you receive Daily Cash.âÂ
AppleInsider says that second one explains how people can choose a destination for Apple Cardâs Daily Cash â either on the Apple Cash card or in Savings.
No indication in any of it on exactly when the Savings will begin.
Apple TV+ Announces Second Season for âPrehistoric Planetâ
Apple has announced a second season for the dinosaur docuseries âPrehistoric Planet.â Hey that reminds me â I still need to watch the first season of the dinosaur docuseries âPrehistoric Planet.â If you missed it, as I have so far, Apple says:
âPrehistoric Planetâ combines award-winning wildlife filmmaking, the latest paleontology learnings and state-of-the-art technology to unveil the spectacular habitats and inhabitants of ancient Earth for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.
Well, two of a kind now. The Cupertino-streamer issued a press release Wednesday, announcing the seriesâ return. Still executive produced by Jon Favreau and still narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the release has Apple:
âŠthrilled that viewers will once again have the opportunity to be immersed in the wonders of our world as it was 66 million years ago and to experience even more weird and wonderful creatures in season two.
As they did for the first round, Apple is billing the second season as a âfive-day, week-long eventâŠâ That five-day week begins on Monday, May 22. No trailer for season two yet. You can, of course, catch the first season now on Apple TV+.
Docuseries âMonster Factoryâ Headed to Apple TV+
And finally today â You know whatâs annoying? When you watch something you think youâll have no interest in, then come dangerously close to getting hooked. For example â I watched the Nashville SC versus NYC SC MLS soccer match last Saturday. Just wanted to see how Apple was gonna do. Now, I wanna see how Nashville is gonna do.
Iâm not signing up for MLS Season Pass. Yet.
Ed. Commentary: Y’all notice, he said “Yet.” Just wait until the free matches dry up on him.
I checked out the latest Apple TV+ trailer with the same sort of⊠reluctance. Iâm not a fan of pro wrestling. So what are the chances Iâd be interested in a reality show about a bunch of people who want to be pro wrestlers and a guy who trains them?
Then I watched the trailer.
Apple TV+ issued a press release Thursday announcing âMonster Factory.â According to the release:
âŠâMonster Factoryâ is the story of misfit dreamers at a wrestling school on the outskirts of a gritty New Jersey factory town who, with the help of their tough yet loving coach, fight for their big break as professional wrestlers.
Whatâs annoying about the trailer is â theyâre real people with real dreams. And I care, because Iâm not a robot. Yet.
Six episodes in the docuseries. All six of them hit Apple TV+ on Friday, March 17. You can find out whether youâre a robot by checking out the trailer. Itâs available now on YouTube.
Today on The Mac Observerâs Daily Observations Podcast
TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and I bring Mailbag Monday back for a second round. Email on China, AirDrop, and Passcodes. First though, the EC wants every messaging app to interoperate with every other messaging app. The TDO duo has thoughts â all today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.