By John Gruber
WorkOS launches auth.md: an open protocol for agent registration.
Linked List: August 3, 2023
Thursday, 3 August 2023
- Apple Q3 2023 Results ★
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Jason Snell, Six Colors:
Apple announced its results for its fiscal third quarter on Thursday. As expected, it was a down quarter — though at a 1% drop over the year-ago quarter, it’s a better result than the previous quarter, which was down 3% year-over-year. The company reported $81.8B in revenue and $19.9B in profit.
The three key hardware categories were all down year-over-year: Mac was down 7%, iPad was down 20%, and the all-important iPhone was down 2%. Things were a little different in the two portions of Apple’s business that have shown indefatigable growth in recent years: Services revenue was up 8% and the Wearables, Home, and Accessories category was up 2%.
In a press release accompanying the results, Apple CFO Luca Maestri trumpeted that it has broken the billion paid subscriptions barrier.
No big surprises. Still lots of switchers coming to iPhone and Mac, and a lot of first-time iPad buyers. That, to me, is a healthy pulse check.
- Apple Card’s Savings Account Reached $10 Billion in Deposits ★
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Apple Newsroom:
Today, Apple announced that Apple Card’s high-yield Savings account offered by Goldman Sachs has reached over $10 billion in deposits from users since launching in April. Savings enables Apple Card users to grow their Daily Cash rewards with a Savings account from Goldman Sachs, which offers a high-yield APY of 4.15 percent.
Last week, in The Information:
As of earlier this year, the Apple Card had roughly 10 million users, according to a person with direct knowledge of the figure, which hasn’t been previously reported.
That works out to a nice even $1,000 average per Apple Card user. I’m guessing though, that the median is much lower, and the mean average is $1,000 because a smaller number of users have transferred large amounts to take advantage of the 4.15 percent interest rate. (I currently get 3.93 percent from TD Bank, so I just use my Apple Card savings account for my cash back rewards.)
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 to Be Available in Dark Titanium, Says Leaker ★
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Leaker ShrimpApplePro, on Twitter/X:*
Apple Watch Ultra 2. Same design. And I can confirm this year we will have the black titanium this year along with the current standard titanium.
Yours truly, reviewing the Apple Watch Ultra last year:
I don’t own the silver link bracelet to try it, but I suspect it doesn’t play paired with the Ultra. Brushed stainless steel and titanium are too different to be considered a match, but too similar to have deliberate contrast. I wish Apple were committed enough to the Link Bracelet to make a new one in titanium to match the case of the Ultra. (I also hope that future generations of Apple Watch Ultra are available with a space gray or black coating.)
The last Apple Watch I bought for myself was a Series 7 in space black titanium. Given that the original Ultra was a hit, it seems like a no-brainer to offer it in a dark option this year. I think the biggest logistical complication for Apple with this is that it will multiply the number of Ultra straps they need to offer — the Alpine Loop and Trail Loop bands have titanium fixtures that ought to match the watch case, and ideally, they’d color match the buckle hardware on the elastomer Ocean Bands too. But there’s a reason they put the COO in charge of Apple Watch.
One question I have: is the Action button going to remain orange, or is that color going to change each year? I’m hoping it stays orange. (The orange hints on Vision Pro’s head strap suggest the color is more than a seasonal fad.)
* I’ll drop the “Twitter” when twitter.com starts redirecting to x.com, and not the other way around. Even with the slapdash way they’ve enacted this name change, you’d think that would’ve happened by now. Must be a complicated mess behind the scenes.