Let’s Talk Apple – Ep. 38 (October 2016)

Panel:

• Bart Busschots (host) – @bbusschots
• Gazmaz from the My Mac Podcast – @gazmaz
• Lynda Gousha from the Silicon Valley MUG – @llg4cdg
• Victor Cajiao – @victorcajiao

The show starts with a quick look at some Apple-related statistics and legal stories which broke in October. The five main stories are the death of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Apple’s lawsuit against an Amazon reseller for selling dangerous counterfeit chargers, Microsoft’s new Surface products, Apple’s Q4 2016 earnings call, and the ‘hello again’ Apple event. The show finishes with a quick rundown of some other shorter stories that made the news in October.

You’ll find detailed show notes below the fold, and if you enjoy this free show, please consider clicking on the donate button at the top of the left side bar – the show is free for you to listen to, but not for Bart to Produce!

Notable Numbers

• iOS 10 adoption already over 50% by 11 October. Apple’s own numbers put it at 54%, and numbers from Mixpanel put it at 67% – www.imore.com/… & www.loopinsight.com/…
• Numbers released by IBM show that each Mac they deploy in their business saves them $535 compared to deploying a PC – www.jamf.com/…

Legal Latest

• The US Federal Appeals Court has overturned its own ruling, Samsung does owe Apple $120M for violating Apple’s slide to unlock patent after all – www.macobserver.com/…
• The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Apple -v- Samsung case. The question is not whether Samsung violated the patents, but just how expensive that should be for a company. The VW Beetle’s iconic shape played a big part in the discussions – www.macobserver.com/… & fortune.com/…

Main Stories

1. Samsung kills the Galaxy Note 7 as it fails to find the cause of their explosive tendencies – www.bloomberg.com/…
   • Galaxy Note 7s banned from all US flights as hazardous material – www.macobserver.com/…
   • Samsung set up booths at some large airports to exchange phones – www.theverge.com/…
   • Samsung are currently estimating that this mess will cost them $5.3Bn – www.macobserver.com/…
   • A video showing Samsung’s fire-resistant packaging for Galaxy Note 7 returns – www.youtube.com/…
   • Samsung abused US copyright law, and the DMCA in particular, to go after game modes that parodied their fiery phones – www.techdirt.com/…
2. Apple sues Mobile Star for selling dangerous counterfeit Apple chargers through Amazon – www.patentlyapple.com/… & tidbits.com/…
3. Microsoft announces new Surface products – www.macobserver.com/…
4. Apple’s Q4 2016 Results – www.apple.com/…
   • Summary data – images.apple.com/…
   • Apple beat it’s guidance, and it’s guidance for the next quarter is above what analysts were expecting (on average) – www.macobserver.com/…
   • This is Tim – transcripts of Tim Cook’s contributions to the earnings call – www.imore.com/…
   • In answer to a question from a journalist, Tim Cook makes the point that when it comes to Siri, privacy -v- AI is a false choice – you can have both – www.macobserver.com/…
5. hello again Apple Event
   • Apple announced a new TV app for the US later this year. The app collects content from multiple video apps into a single interface – arstechnica.com/… & www.imore.com/…
     • Netflix is noticeably absent from TV app – daringfireball.net/…
   • Apple announce 3 new MacBook Pros – a basic 13” model, a 13” model with Touch Bar, and a 15” model with Touch Bar – arstechnica.com/… www.imore.com/…
     • The biggest new feature is the Touch Bar, which replaced the function keys – www.imore.com/…
     • Like the 12” MB, these new MBAs have no illuminated Apple Logo, and no Mag Safe keyboard – www.imore.com/…
   • Apple discontinue the 11” MBA – www.imore.com/…

Quick Stories

• RIP 3rd Gen Apple TV – 9to5mac.com/…
• Apple release Portrait Mode for the photos app on the Phone 7+ to the public (though still call it a beta) – www.macobserver.com/…
• Apple delays shipment of Air Pods – did not ship in October as originally announced – www.macobserver.com/…