But once you cross the line, it's hard to stop. First, it's local cafés; then, it's gas stations; then maybe "fastest route sponsored by Shell." You laugh now, but you know how this works. The tension here is classic Apple. The company that sells privacy as a product is now selling ads in one of its most personal apps. It's the kind of contradiction Steve Jobs would have hated, but Tim Cook's Apple has different goals.
Apple has become the third company to see its market capitalization top $4 trillion, underscoring its role as one of the leading publicly traded tech companies and making it the second-most valuable company in the world. Shares of the company briefly topped $269.53 soon after trading began on Tuesday, putting it above the milestone. Apple was the first company to top $1 trillion, $2 trillion, and $3 trillion in market capitalization. But Nvidia beat it to the $4 trillion mark, on the back of surging investor interest in artificial intelligence. That company's staggering chip sales have boosted its stock more than 400% since October 2023.
The fact is, among the seven mega-tech stocks, Apple has underperformed this year, compared to all the others but one. Apple's stock is up about 7% this year. Among the Magnificent 7, only Amazon.com Inc. ( NASDAQ: AMZN) has a worse performance, with an increase of 5%. Every other stock on the list is up by mid-double-digits. Nvidia's advance is nearly 40%, and this leads the group. Alphabet Inc. ( NASDAQ: GOOGL) is up close to 30%.
Earlier this year, Apple sued leaker Jon Prosser alongside Michael Ramacciotti, alleging the two had a "coordinated scheme to break into an Apple development iPhone, steal Apple's trade secrets, and profit from the theft." However, in a new filing, Ramacciotti "denies that he planned or participated in any conspiracy or coordinated scheme" with Prosser" and that, to the best of his recollection, any payment he received from Prosser "was paid after the fact and was not agreed to in advance of the actions and communications."
The A18 Pro chip is the same processor that powers the iPhone 16 Pro, and Apple claims it delivers performance comparable to the M1 MacBook Air. That's a legitimately capable chip for everyday computing tasks like web browsing, document editing, video streaming, and light photo work. You're looking at a 12.9-inch display housed in what's described as an ultra-thin, lightweight frame, with color options including silver, blue, pink, and yellow.
The way we download apps onto our phones could be about to change after a ruling from the UK's competition regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has designated the two tech giants as having "strategic market status" - effectively saying they have a lot of power over mobile platforms. This means Apple and Google may have to make changes, after the CMA said they "may be limiting innovation and competition".
I was thrilled this week when Apple issued a press release announcing that its original film, F1 The Movie, starring Brad Pitt, would make its streaming debut on the company's video service December 12. But it wasn't the news about the movie that excited me. Rather, it was a small line at the end of the press release that quietly announced something else: "Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity."
When Steve Jobs wanted to motivate his Mac team at Apple, he didn't give them corporate pep talks or send them to management retreats. Instead, he told them they were "pirates" fighting against the "navy." The message was clear: stay scrappy, stay rebellious, and don't let the corporate machine slow you down. That pirate mentality worked. The Mac team moved fast, took risks, and delivered something revolutionary.
Apple just unveiled the first glimpses of its new 14-inch MacBook Pro with the , promising 3.5 times more AI performance, 24 hours of battery life, and faster, overall storage: up to 4TB. AI is at the forefront of the M5 MacBook Pro's feature set, with the latest-gen GPU bringing an enhanced neural engine and higher memory bandwidth to the table, translating to overall better performance running on-device LLMs. To compare, Apple says the M5's 10-core GPU delivers six times faster AI performance than the M1.
I'm usually not a fan of companies rebranding themselves or their products unless there's a compelling reason. And, there is almost never a compelling reason. Sure, inside the company, there are people who think there is a compelling reason, and agencies that bill by the hour will sell you on a number of reasons they assure you are compelling. But of the time its a waste of money, time, and brand equity.
Apple is facing a tough new rival in the era of AI, according to the company's former CEO. Speaking at the Zeta Live conference in New York City on Thursday, Apple's former CEO, John Sculley, said OpenAI represented "the first real competitor" that Apple has had "in many decades." "AI has not been a particular strength for them," Sculley said of Apple.
According to a new report today, Apple and Meta's regulatory woes in the EU are almost over. Both companies are allegedly close to settling their antitrust cases with the European Commission (EC), which will definitely be good for them as they'd avoid some additional hefty fines that the EC might impose otherwise. This information isn't official yet, the report says it comes from "officials briefed on the discussions" between the EC on one side, and Apple and Meta respectively on the other.
If you're looking to upgrade your laptop, there are already some solid Prime Day laptop deals available. While this season's Prime Day (formally known as Prime Big Deal Days) doesn't start until Tuesday, major brands like Apple, HP, Dell and Microsoft are offering up early discounts-including 21% off the Microsoft Surface Pro (our pick for the best 2-in-1 laptop for working from home) and 25% off the Dell 14 Plus (our favorite Dell laptop overall).
