eXtensions - Monday 2 February 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
Apple's record Q1 2026 results included some downs, with a couple of warnings on chip supply for the future: some useful comments included. Apple Creator Suite arrives, although not everyone is 100% convinced. There is some good value if all component are used. Questions raised on the inclusion of iWork apps. There have been several comments about Tim Cook's actions of late. This was not helped by a tardy statement on Minneapolis. N.B.: the apostrophe does not indicate a plural, with one exception.
The opening sentence of a Bloomberg newsletter was a reminder to companies that high AI spending may not be a guarantee of success: "On Wednesday Wall Street gave Microsoft a rap on the knuckles over its surging AI spending and slowing cloud sales growth." I was looking forward to reading about Apple's Q1 2026 results which followed those from Microsoft. There was nothing in my emails, so I looked at the Apple Investor site where a PR outline was available, to read about a "record-breaking quarter, with revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16 percent from a year ago". I would later read some of the comments from pundits as I went through the news. I wondered how Wall Street would react, despite a few positive expectations in recent days.
Apple Investor PR put out the following release:
Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2026 first quarter ended December 27, 2025. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16 percent year over year. Diluted earnings per share was $2.84, up 19 percent year over year."Today, Apple is proud to report a remarkable, record-breaking quarter, with revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16 percent from a year ago and well above our expectations," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "iPhone had its best-ever quarter driven by unprecedented demand, with all-time records across every geographic segment, and Services also achieved an all-time revenue record, up 14 percent from a year ago. We are also excited to announce that our installed base now has more than 2.5 billion active devices, which is a testament to incredible customer satisfaction for the very best products and services in the world."
"During the December quarter, our record business performance and strong margins led to EPS growth of 19 percent, setting a new all-time EPS record," said Kevan Parekh, Apple's CFO. "These exceptionally strong results generated nearly $54 billion in operating cash flow, allowing us to return almost $32 billion to shareholders."
Apple's board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.26 per share of the Company's common stock. The dividend is payable on February 12, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 9, 2026.
Comments began to appear shortly after:
The first I looked at was from Jason Snell (6 Colors) whose reports are always full of informative charts. This one also has a video commentary;
Also from Jason Snell the "This is Tim" complete transcript of the Conference Calls;
Marcus Mendes (9to5Mac) has a good report with a number of charts;
As well as charts and comments, Jordan Golson (MacRumors) includes a conference call recap;
Malcolm Owen, reports that Apple Blows away Wall Street Expectations with its $148 billion quarter - comments and a revenue chart, too;
Lewis Wallace (Cult of Mac) started with Tim Cook's opening statement, and follows with a list of relevant (and significant) figures. There is also Apple's guidance for the next quarter - strong, despite constraints;
Roman Loyala (MacWorld) comments on the record iPhone sales;
Ed Hardy (Cult of Mac) also commented on the sales of iPhones and high revenue from Services, but mentioned areas which showed drops in revenue, like Macs and wearables;
Joe Rossignol (MacRumors) looked at the excellent iPhone sales and the revenue (up 16%), noting that the iPhone 17 appears to have been the main driver.
Ever the party pooper, Martin Peers in "The Briefing" newsletter (Investor), opens comments with "Investors' love affair with Apple is well and truly over" noting that, despite the revenue, the share prices hardly moved (1%). By market close on Friday the price had risen from a low of $254 to $261.64 (3%) before dropping back for the weekend. Peers is awed by AI while some envisage a bubble ready to burst, and rarely has a good word for Apple.
Questions during the Conference Call addressed the problem of rising costs for memory and other components. The effect was minimal for Q1, but will have more of an effect in Q2, and is expected to sting in Q3 (William Gallagher, AppleInsider).
Although the Apple Creator Studio suite was announced a couple of weeks ago, it was released this week with events in LA. Users also saw updates to a number of apps: Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Final Cut Pro, all of which saw new icons. Final Cut Camera was also updated, as were Pixelmator Classic iOS and Photomator Pro (bug fixes and improvements). The iWork apps in Creator Studio had unnecessary subtitles to describe what they do, although mercifully these did not appear onscreen. For Creator Studio subscribers a number of new features were included, but there were also new features for the vanilla versions.
As some reviewers had advanced access to the Creator Suite, their reviews appeared online late Wednesday (here) and I include comments from some of these. John Voorhees (MacStories) provides us with an extended look at the suite, its values and some minor criticisms, particularly related to legacy users: those of us who bought the apps a while back. Jason Snell (6 Colors) also had a long look at the suite, calling it a "bittersweet bundle". He notes that while he does use some of the main parts of the suite, he is not as immersed as some creators. He appreciates the quality of Pixelmator Pro, despite describing himself as "a Photoshop Sicko" and (like me) is hoping for a Photomator Pro - a component missing from Creator Studio currently. Also like me, Snell has questions about the inclusion of the iWork apps in the Suite.
If users are accessing all of the apps in the bundle, he thinks the subscription is a good value. As part of his conclusion he notes, "It's only the clumsy inclusion of Pages, Keynote, Numbers (and later Freeform) that gives things a sour taste." Also outlining the new suite, Georgie Peru has a fairly extensive look at what it is, and the cost. There was an interesting comment about cancelled subscriptions and cancelled projects: "Apple says projects and content you create with an active subscription remain licensed as part of your original work." If you want to open them in the apps that created them, the subscription needs to be active, but they can be copied or shared elsewhere.
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On the iPad, the iWork apps were updated normally, with new icons. This was different on the Mac and I updated a couple of days later. I still prefer to develop new presentation in Keynote on the Mac. As I was working on a new teaching unit, I opened the app, but was required to download a new version. All of the previous projects were available to me. My simple spreadsheet requirements are usually covered by the iPad app, but this week, I needed to make entries in a spreadsheet on the Mac. That too needed a new app download. As a check, I tried Pages, but I was not required to download a new version. I checked the app store and there is a new app, so as a precaution I installed it.
Another app that was updated the same morning as the iWork apps on iOS and iPadOS was Halide. This is a serious photography app that is aimed at those who prefer to use RAW image files: perfect for me. I picked this up as soon as it was released in. It is now Halide II and the update this week incorporates a look at Halide III features.
The developers are keen for user feedback, which is not a surprise as they have always maintained a relationship. I had a quick look and some of the features are interesting. I will look forward to this new version.
One of the developers was Sebastian de With and it has always been clear that he has a keen interest in photography. Not long after the original Halide was made available, he wrote a couple of interesting article on the relevance of RAW photography. I did not need any convincing, but found his input useful and have referred to the articles on a number of occasions since. Part 1, The Power of Raw and Part 2 Editing Raw are still online and worth a look.
It appears, however, that Sebastian may have left Halide and returned to Apple (I did not know he had been there before). Chance Miller (9to5 Mac) reports that he has joined the Human Interface Design Team. There is no doubt in my mind that this unit needs some help. Miller writes, "I'm very optimistic about this move and what it means for the current focus of Apple's design team." No disagreement here.
Last weekend Tim Cook was reported to have attended a private showing of the new Melania movie. Although Cook has been seen several times liaising with the President in the last year or so, there were furrowed brows when he gave an award to the White House incumbent. The initial visibility in Washington was thought to be Cook pleading the case for Apple after tariffs were hitting world markets, but his attendance at the movie last weekend just after major incidents in Minneapolis caused a wave of negative comment. I must admit I rolled my eyes and mouthed, "Why?"
Of all the comments I read, it hit home when I read a column from The Macalope (MacWorld). This humorous column tends to diss many of the comments from commentators outside Apple, particularly those who are predicting doom. On the whole, The Macalope is pro-Apple with a few nudges to put Cupertino in its place. The column on Cook attending the movie was of a different tenor: sad, angry, dismayed. It was like when mega-Apple fan John Gruber wrote despairingly about the unnecessary changes being made to software. Stuff is just not working as it used to. When you have lost the Macalope, it is time for a rethink.
Belatedly it seemed to me, Tim Cook put out a statement on the events in Minneapolis: days after the events and also after the screening of Melania. Wesley Hilliard comments, "there is little doubt that the words will ring hollow to many frustrated with the ongoing situation." Too little, too late.
MG Siegler, a longtime commentator on Apple and technology in general is also repulsed by the recent actions of Cook in relation to the White House and in particular the Melania movie. This, we should not forget, was financed by another tech mogul, Jeff Bezos, who similarly has been sniffing round the Oval Office in the last 12 months. Some may say that Cook and Bezos know which side their bread is buttered, but the reaction of the tech press and many Apple supporters, may suggest that a line has been crossed. Or alternatively, that Cook in particular does not know where to draw the line.
I mentioned last time that although the new AirTag was being released in several countries, this is still not available in Thailand. Joe Rossignol (MacRumors) follows up with an article that shows a list of 9 countries, 5 of which are in SE Asia. Although orders will open in South Korea on 28 January, the others are marked as, "Coming soon."
I commented recently on the appalling misspellings in two documents that were visible in the movie, The Bricklayer. I was interested to see a comment from Adrian Chiles (Guardian) concerning the erroneous wording on a sign brought about by the use of the apostrophe. The words that originally caught his attention to the sign as he drove into Cardiff, was "Wale's Largest Vape Shop. . ." But the same sign also had, "Cheapest Price's". Despite the number of times we might see this, the apostrophe is not a way to write a plural, except in one case, depending on different style guides (100s or 100's) as a way to avoid confusion. I also hate to see "alot" when the write means "A lot" (although there is the verb "allot" - to allocate).
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader. No AI was used in writing this item.
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