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Apple Provides More Detail About Its Emergency SOS Service Coming Later this Month

Apple announced that later this month, it will launch Emergency SOS via satellite, a new service for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro that allows users who are out of range of mobile and WiFi networks to message emergency services. The company also said that the upcoming service is the result of a $450 million investment by the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which predominantly went to Globalstar, a global satellite service company.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Globalstar operates 24 low-earth orbit satellites that will relay messages from iPhone 14 users via satellite and ground stations to emergency services or a relay center with Apple-trained emergency specialists if local emergency services cannot receive text-based messages. The ground stations use high-powered antennas designed for Apple by Cobham Satcom. In addition to Emergency SOS, iPhone 14 users will be able to send their location via satellite using the Find My app.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, said:

Emergency SOS via satellite is a perfect example of how American ingenuity and technology can save lives. We are proud this service is enabled by leading US companies, and that our users can explore off-the-grid areas knowing they are still within reach of emergency services if they are in need.

Seeing the infrastructure that goes into Emergency SOS really drives home the complexity of the technology that underlies the service. I hope I never need to use Emergency SOS, but I’m looking forward to trying the Find My integration the next time I’m beyond the reach of a mobile or WiFi network.

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Apple Music Announces Its 2022 Artist of the Year

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple Music announced that Bad Bunny is its 2022 Artist of the Year. Un Verano Sin Ti, which Bad Bunny released in May, is the most streamed album on Apple Music and the biggest Latin album of all time.

In Apple’s press release, Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats, said:

We’re thrilled to celebrate the achievements of Bad Bunny, whose influence on every corner of culture could not be ignored in 2022. Watching Bad Bunny ascend from an Apple Music Up Next artist in 2018 to our Artist of the Year this year has been nothing short of extraordinary. We congratulate him on his record-breaking year and for continuing to bring Latin music to a massive global audience.

Apple Music has created a dedicated section of the Music app celebrating Bad Bunny’s achievement and music. Bad Bunny has also taken over the La Fórmula playlist to spotlight some of his favorite Latin tracks. Plus, Apple Music 1 is dedicating today to Bad Bunny’s music, interviews with the artist, and more.

Apple’s Artist of the Year is celebrated with a unique award featuring a 12-inch silicon wafer suspended between a sheet of glass and anodized aluminum. Last year and in prior years, Apple announced additional awards like the Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and more. This year, though, only an Artist of the Year was named.

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Last Week, on Club MacStories: MusicBox, a Screenshot Shortcut, the Underlying Problem with Stage Manager, and Ventura Tips

Because Club MacStories now encompasses more than just newsletters, we’ve created a guide to the past week’s happenings along with a look at what’s coming up next:

MacStories Weekly: Issue 343

Monthly Log: October 2022

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MacStories Unwind: Apple TV 4K, the TV App, and Midnights by Taylor Swift

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps


This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and John talk about the new Apple TV 4K, changes to the TV app, and Taylor Swift’s latest album, Midnights.

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Last Week, on Club MacStories: A Third-Party Twitter Client, Game Controllers, and Time Tracking

Because Club MacStories now encompasses more than just newsletters, we’ve created a guide to the past week’s happenings along with a look at what’s coming up next:

MacStories Weekly: Issue 342

Spring

Spring

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AppStories, Episode 303 – macOS Ventura: The MacStories Review

This week on AppStories, we cover Apple’s controversial App Store advertising moves before going in-depth on my macOS Ventura review to discuss Stage Manager, System Settings, and Shortcuts.

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On AppStories+, I explain the unique challenges of finishing this year’s macOS review and some of the tools I used in the process.

We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

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Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

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MacStories Unwind: A Breaking Bad Rewatch and Metal 3 Comes to macOS Ventura with Resident Evil Village

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps


This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico is rewatching Breaking Bad having recently finished Better Call Saul, and I share what the Metal 3 frameworks could mean for Mac gaming having tested Resident Evil Village, the first Metal 3 game released on the Mac App Store.

Federico’s Pick:

John’s Pick:

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Apple Reports Expectations-Beating Q4 2022 Results of $90.1 Billion

Foreign exchange headwinds dampened Apple results. Source: Apple.

Foreign exchange headwinds dampened Apple results. Source: Apple.

Today, Apple announced its fourth quarter 2022 earnings, exceeding Wall Street expectations and setting a record for Q4 results. During the quarter, Apple recorded $90.1 billion in revenue, an 8% year-over-year increase. Annual earnings per diluted share were $6.11, which is an increase of 9% year over year. In after-hours trading, Apple’s stock was trading down.

Apple's quarterly revenue.

Apple’s quarterly revenue.

According to Apple’s CFO Luca Maestri:

Our record September quarter results continue to demonstrate our ability to execute effectively in spite of a challenging and volatile macroeconomic backdrop. We continued to invest in our long-term growth plans, generated over $24 billion in operating cash flow, and returned over $29 billion to our shareholders during the quarter. The strength of our ecosystem, unmatched customer loyalty, and record sales spurred our active installed base of devices to a new all-time high. This quarter capped another record-breaking year for Apple, with revenue growing over $28 billion and operating cash flow up $18 billion versus last year.

Services were down for the quarter.

Services were down for the quarter.

Looking at the results, Services revenue declined slightly, and iPhone sales were less than analysts expected, both of which contributed to the decline in Apple’s stock price after hours. iPad sales were down too. Although Apple just recently refreshed the iPad lineup, none of those sales were part of today’s results.

Mac had a good quarter, while iPad sales were down a bit, changing the overall mix of the company's revenue sources.

Mac had a good quarter, while iPad sales were down a bit, changing the overall mix of the company’s revenue sources.

Foreign currency exchange rates had a significant impact on Apple’s latest results too. Tim Cook, who was interviewed by CNBC, told Steve Kovach:

The foreign exchange headwinds were over 600 basis points for the quarter. So it was significant. We would have grown in double digits without the foreign exchange headwinds.

To help control ongoing costs, Cook also revealed to CNBC that it has slowed hiring.

Despite some areas of softness, the results reported by Apple were positive overall, especially compared to other recent earnings misses in the tech world. Yesterday, Meta announced a significant earnings miss that led to a nearly 25% drop in its stock price today. Then today, Amazon came up short compared to Wall Street expectations leading to a 16% dip in its stock price.

Additional details regarding Apple’s fourth-quarter performance, including its consolidated financial statement are available on the company’s website. If you missed the earnings call, you can replay it on Apple’s Investors site or read the transcript prepared by Jason Snell at Six Colors, where you’ll also find additional charts.

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Apple Previews Redesigned iCloud.com Website

Today, Apple launched a preview of changes coming to iCloud.com, the website that allows users to access their iCloud data and apps, including Mail messages, notes, photos, tasks, and more. The new card-like UI is available to anyone who wants to try it by visiting beta.icloud.com and logging in with your Apple ID.

The cards are laid out in a grid with a rectangular and square tile per row on larger screens and a single column of cards on narrow screens like the iPhone. When you first launch the preview page, you’ll see your Apple ID profile picture, email address, and type of iCloud account, plus several app tiles.

iCloud.com's new profile page.

iCloud.com’s new profile page.

However, other than your profile tile, everything on the preview page is fully customizable. Currently, there are tiles available for Mail, Photos, Notes, Reminders, iCloud Drive, Calendar, Numbers, Pages, and Keynote. Contacts and Find My are also accessible from the preview page but don’t have their own tiles.

iCloud.com's menu for accessing apps and other features.

iCloud.com’s menu for accessing apps and other features.

Editing and arranging iCloud.com's tiles.

Editing and arranging iCloud.com’s tiles.

To customize the page, select the button in the top right corner that looks like a grid of icons, and the webpage’s UI will go into a jiggle mode similar to when you long-press on an iPhone or iPad’s Home Screen. From here, you can rearrange existing tiles, remove ones you don’t want, and add new tiles.

Each tile works a lot like a Home Screen widget, displaying recent data stored in that app. Click on the tile, and the full web app opens. Clicking on your profile tile offers details about your iCloud subscription and links to related actions. The same button you use to access the preview’s customization features also provides access to all of the iCloud web apps, iCloud+ features, like Hide My Email, and more. Finally, there’s also a dedicated ‘Plus’ button for creating new items or documents in many of the iCloud web apps without the need to launch the associated app first.

My rearranged page.

My rearranged page.

I like the preview’s design a lot. It beats the static grid of web app icons of the existing site, which is still available if you don’t use the preview, by providing an overview of recent data in each apps. I’m also a fan of the page’s customization tool, which makes it simple to organize the page with an emphasis on the apps you use most.

Based on my very limited testing, the preview page is quite stable too. I did run into an error accessing my iCloud Drive documents, but that’s been it so far. Once finalized, the new iCloud.com page is going to be a very nice upgrade for anyone who needs to access their account and data from a device that’s not their own, such as a work PC.

To give it a try yourself, go to iCloud.com, log in with your Apple ID, and use the link above your profile picture on the existing page design, or go straight to beta.icloud.com and log in there.

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