CultCast #229 - Alex’s Apple Orchard

This week: Apple’s 13-year record revenue streak is broken;  our best picture yet of iPhone 7 features; rumors point to a faster, untethered Apple Watch 2; Apple has a huge increase in R&D spending, but where’s the money going?  And stick around for more stories from the Cult of Mac.  This week: a 15-year-old mows lawns, then uses the money to build one of the world’s best Apple collections.   This episode supported by   Freshbooks, the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster.  And I can vouch for this from experience, it also makes tax time a cinch.  Get started with a free trial at Freshbooks.com/cultcast, and please enter “CultCast” in the “How did you hear about us?” section!   TunnelBear, the simple privacy app that makes it easy to browse privately and enjoy a more open internet. Visit GetTunnelBear.com to get your free TunnelBear today.   We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.   On the show this week @erfon / @bst3r / @lkahney   Submit your CultCast intro, win some CultCloth! https://www.reddit.com/r/TheCultCast/comments/4fsumv/cult_caster_intros_listener_made/   Intro - Hamilton Morris loves his iPod  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE6G2TICSJQ   8 optimistic takeaways from Apple’s slumptastic earnings call http://www.cultofmac.com/425131/apple-earnings-call-q2-2016-takeaways/

• R&D spending at Apple increased by $1.1 billion dollars compared to the same six month period last year, according to a new SEC filing
• The tech giant is fighting itself here, being forced to compare this year’s numbers to the killer iPhone 6 sales that drove 2015’s overwhelming revenue
• Apple’s tablets are doing fine, really, selling 10.3 million units this quarter. But in general, tablets are stinking up the place.
• Apple surprised by SE demand and can’t keep up

  Apple Watch made $1.5 billion more than Rolex last year http://www.cultofmac.com/425038/apple-watch-made-1-5-billion-more-than-rolex-last-year/

• The Apple Watch, which celebrated its first birthday this week, is just such a product. How much of an impact did the Apple Watch make in its debut year? Enough to bring in $1.5 billion more than Rolex did in 2015.
• While Apple has yet to make its Watch sales public knowledge, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the debut Apple wearable likely brought in around $6 billion in its first year. That’s considerably more than Rolex’s $4.5 billion in total revenue for the equivalent time frame.
• Apple Watch also outsold the iPhone in both products’ respective first years by a margin of 2-to-1.

  Apple Watch 2 Rumored to Include Cellular Connectivity Amid Push for iPhone Independency http://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/25/apple-watch-2-cellular-connectivity/

• The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is working on including cellular network connectivity and a faster processor in the so-called Apple Watch 2.
• LTE would undoubtedly require an additional data plan, on top of one they might already have for both the iPhone and iPad, benefits like using GPS, making phone calls, and streaming Apple Music without an iPhone nearby could outweigh the cons for some users. 

  iPhone 7 may make bigger splash than expected http://www.cultofmac.com/424854/iphone-7-may-make-bigger-splash-than-expected/

• Apple will supposedly make its next iPhone both waterproof and dustproof
• Digitimes claims the device will also have a new touch-sensitive home button that sits flush with the rest of the screen
• Other features Apple is rumored to be adding include a new Smart Connecter, dual lens camera, bigger battery, wireless charging, no headphone jack, and a cleaner rear shell design with minimal antenna lines.
• Design will be pretty much the same as the 6 and 6s.