John Voorhees

5779 posts on MacStories since November 2015

John is MacStories' Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015, and today, runs the site alongside Federico. John also co-hosts four MacStories podcasts: AppStories, which covers the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, which explores the fun differences between American and Italian culture and recommends media to listeners, Ruminate, a show about the weird web and unusual snacks, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about the games we take with us.
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Apple Reports Q3 2024 Financial Results

Last quarter, Apple reported revenue of $90.8 billion, which was a 4% year-over-year drop. The decline reflected weak iPhone sales in China, which were somewhat mitigated by increases in the company’s services business.

Today, third-quarter earnings are out and Apple reported revenue of $85.8 billion, a 5% year-over-year gain.

Quarterly Revenue.

Quarterly Revenue.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook:

Today Apple is reporting a new June quarter revenue record of $85.8 billion, up 5 percent from a year ago. During the quarter, we were excited to announce incredible updates to our software platforms at our Worldwide Developers Conference, including Apple Intelligence, a breakthrough personal intelligence system that puts powerful, private generative AI models at the core of iPhone, iPad, and Mac. We very much look forward to sharing these tools with our users, and we continue to invest significantly in the innovations that will enrich our customers’ lives, while leading with the values that drive our work.

Revenue by region.

Revenue by region.

Going into today’s earnings call, Reuters reported that analysts expected a 2.2% decline in iPhone sales, which is substantially less than the 10.5% decline the previous quarter. The same report also explained that analysts expect the iPhone 16 to sell well this fall, driven, in part, by iOS’s upcoming artificial intelligence features.

Services revenue continues to grow.

Services revenue continues to grow.

This fall will be an interesting one for the iPhone. Many of the Apple Intelligence features that were shown off at WWDC are unlikely to ship with the iPhone 16. That could have a negative impact on the bump in iPhone 16 sales that analysts are expecting. However with iOS 18.1 already in developer beta, I expect Apple will be able to deliver enough of its promised AI features to keep Wall Street happy for another quarter.

Developers Claim Apple Arcade is ‘Directionless’→

Earlier this year, Neil Long of mobilegamer.biz published an inside look at Apple Arcade from game developers’ perspectives. The story reflected developers’ frustration stemming from their interactions with Apple, project cancelations, declining revenue, and more. The story didn’t paint a pretty picture.

This week, Long is back with a follow-up story that cites anonymous developer sources, claiming that developers have to wait months for payments, Apple is slow and unresponsive to support requests and other inquiries, and the Vision Pro struggles to run ‘complex’ games.

The list of problems cited is long and worth reading in full because it has led some of Long’s sources to conclude that they’re symptoms of a more fundamental problem:

…[J]ust like last time, most developers agreed that Apple sees games and game developers as a ‘necessary evil’, and that Arcade appears to be directionless and lacking in support from the rest of the tech giant.

“Arcade has no clear strategy and feels like a bolt-on to the Apple company ecosystem rather than like it is truly supported inside the company,” said one source. “Apple 100% does not understand gamers – they have little to no info on who plays their games that they can share with developers, or how they interact with games on the platform already.”

It’s important to take the complaints of unnamed sources with a grain of salt. However, it’s impossible to look at what’s going on with Arcade and App Store gaming in general – which Brendon and I discussed on NPC: Next Portable Console this week – and not conclude that Apple needs to shake up its approach to videogames.

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Six Ways to Get Started with The Three Ps of Productivity

If it's important to get done today, it's in my weekly Obsidian list.

If it’s important to get done today, it’s in my weekly Obsidian list.

Philosophy and theory are all well and good, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t lay a few tips on Club members, too. These tips are purposefully not app-specific. In fact, you don’t even need an app to follow most of them. They’re more like rules of thumb that I try to follow throughout my...

Process, Planning, and Practice

My weeks start with a loose outline of what I need to accomplish each week.

My weeks start with a loose outline of what I need to accomplish each week.

I arrived home from London two nights ago after 23 hours of travel that included a stopover in Dublin and long delays. It was a grueling day, but it gave me time to start reactivating my work brain. My trip to Ireland and England was the longest true vacation I’ve had since before the pandemic....

The Latest from NPC: Next Portable Console

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

In the latest episode, Brendon and John go it alone without Federico with Powkiddy V10 follow-up, a report on Brendon’s first week with the Nothing CMF Phone 1 and a first look at the Ayn Odin2 Mini. Along the way, they also consider the less-than-stellar sales of AAA games on the iPhone, Analogue’s spendy aluminum Pocket, and the Xreal Beam Pro, before veering into a philosophical discussion of gaming on phones versus dedicated devices, comparing notes on their Miyoo Mini A30 setup experiences, and mulling over whether to start modding handhelds.

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AppStories - Ep. 396 - 36 minutes

macOS Sequoia Preview

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 396 - macOS Sequoia Preview

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, John tours the highlights of the macOS Sequoia public beta.

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Three Favorite Mac Menu Bar Apps

Not long ago, I spent some time trimming my Mac’s menu bar. Among the apps that I kept are three relatively recent additions that I wanted to share today. Mercury Weather I use Mercury Weather differently on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. On the iPhone and iPad, I usually start by checking the app’s widget...

Previously, On MacStories

Stories Apple Announces New Immersive Video Content for the Vision Pro Chris Lawley’s In-Depth Interview About Smart Script and Math Notes Federico’s Updated Setup Is Designed for Modular Simplicity New Projects, New Setup My Top Amazon Prime Day Picks Overcast Celebrates Its Tenth Anniversary with a Redesigned Interface iOS 18 After One Month: Without AI,...

Interesting Links

Federico

I have no idea how actually useful this accessory that promises to turn the Apple Watch into an iPod will be (my understanding is that you’ll either have to disable passcode authentication on the Watch or enter your passcode every few minutes?), but, let’s be honest, did anyone think I could resist the temptation...