Can Apple finish 2018 on a high note? We’ll find out Thursday

Apple (NASDAQ: APPL) has had a great 2018.

Even as the other FAANG stocks slumped, the trillion-dollar electronics company has continually satisfied Wall Street with quarter-over-quarter revenue growth. But will Apple’s momentum continue after it reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday?

The consensus, so far, is yes. Apple is expected to post revenue of $61.43 billion (earnings per share of $2.78), an increase of 17 percent year-over-year and GAAP EPS of $2.78, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Investors will be paying close attention to iPhone unit sales, which account for the majority of Apple’s revenue, as well as Mac sales, which accounted for roughly 10 percent of the company’s revenue in Q3.

The company reported its Q3 earnings on July 31, posting $53.3 billion in revenue, its best June quarter ever and fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth, the company said.

At today’s hardware event in Brooklyn, Apple’s chief executive officer Tim Cook shared that the company’s Mac business had grown to 100 million monthly active users — a big accomplishment for the nearly 10-year-old product. Cook also showcased the new MacBook Air and introduced the new iPad Pro and Mac Mini.

Not even Lana Del Rey’s surprise performance at the event was enough to rile up Wall Street. Apple’s stock was unreactive today, as is typically the case with hardware spectacles like these. Apple ultimately closed up about .5 percent. That’s a better outcome than its last hardware event in September, which despite the highly-anticipated announcements of the iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series 4, forced the company’s stock down about 1.2 percent on the news.

Apple’s stock performance year to date.

Year to date, Apple’s stock has risen more than 30 percent from a February low of $155 per share to an October high of $229.

If it fails to meet analyst expectations on Thursday, it’s bad news for the stock market: “Apple is the last domino standing,” Market Watch wrote earlier today. “Its FAANG brethren have all crashed, even the mighty Amazon, which has slumped about 25% from all-time highs.”

If you missed today’s event, we live-blogged the whole thing here and detailed all the new hardware here.

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Up close and hands on with the new MacBook Air

Why, it seems like only yesterday that Steve Jobs first pulled the MacBook Air from a manilla envelope for the world to see. It wasn’t, of course — that was 10 years ago this January. In that past decade, the ultraportable laptop has become a massive hit for the company, helping to redefine the notebook space.

But the world moves on, of course. In fact, that was kind of a theme at today’s big event in Brooklyn — bringing some overdue updates to some of the company’s most iconic lines. Heck, even the Mac Mini got some love on stage today. But no Apple product deserved a makeover more than the MacBook.

The big change to the product is the most obvious — and far and away the most requested. Apple FINALLY brought a retina display to the device. That puts the new 13-inch screen at 2560 x 1600 — and it looks great. The bump up will be like night and day for long time Air users who are finally ready to upgrade.

Of course, the update also means a bit of a price bump from $999 to $1,999, which is one of many things that will further blur the line between the redesigned Air and the entry level MacBook.

As it happens, the new Air also looks an awful lot like the rest of the MacBook line. No surprise there, of course. Today’s announcements kept with a theme of aesthetic consistency, with even the iPad Pro and Mac Mini joining in on the space gray aluminum club.

In fact, at first glance, it’s harder to distinguish the laptops, as evidenced by the above picture. That’s the new Air (top) with my 13-inch MacBook Pro (bottom). A closer look, however, reveals the same beveled design that defines previous generations of Airs.

The keyboards are new, which is kind of a mixed back. Apple has certainly improved upon things on that front over three generations, including the most recent version, which are quieter, courtesy of a kind of rubber bladder that also doubles as protection against spills. Touch ID is now present up top — a great addition — though Apple opted not to include the Touch Bar.

That could be for any number of reasons. There’s some speculation that the company will ultimately move away from the feature, but more likely, it was simply a cost cutting measure. After all, price has long been one of the Air’s selling point. The trackpad, too has been made much larger, in keeping with the rest of the line.

There are two USB-C ports on the left side. I know I’ll personally miss the end of the SD card reader, but we all saw things moving in this direction. The headphone jack, thankfully, is still on-board.

All in all, a solid and long awaited update to Apple’s best loved laptop. It’s nice to see the company keeping the model around, rather than simply doing away with it in favor of the low end MacBook.

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Apple’s new iPads delete the home button for good

Apple drove the final nails in the home button’s coffin on Tuesday, removing the once ubiquitous feature from its new line of iPad devices.

The new iPad Pro devices, revealed at Tuesday’s Apple event in New York, no longer have a home button. The design move, which is meant to make room for a bigger, more compelling display, follows the home button’s removal on the iPhone. Apple also dropped the Lightning port with the new iPad Pro and moved to the USB-C.

The new iPad Pro, which comes in two sizes, is now unlocked with face ID. It’s been redesigned to work in any direction too, so there’s no “wrong way” to unlock it.

Once the device is unlocked, users will be able to perform actions using on-screen gesture controls to access the feature they need. For instance, users can swipe down from the upper right hand corner to get to the control center, or swipe up from the bottom to access to the dock.  In short, it’s going to be the same kind of gestures used for the new iPhone 10.

Apple started phasing out the home button in 2017, beginning with its premium iPhone X handset. It kept the physical home buttons on cheaper iPhones. But we all knew their time would come.

That hammer dropped in 2018 and Apple cleared the home button from its new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max or iPhone XR.

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Apple ditches the headphone jack on latest iPad Pro models

The headphone jack is missing from the latest versions of the iPad Pro. It’s gone. Dead. Worse yet, the headphones that come with the iPhone will not work either. Apple ditched Lightning for USB-C. Instead, Apple is selling a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle for $9.

The latest iPad Pro models follows the trend lines set by the iPhone. Just like on the iPhone, the Home Button is missing, and the headphone jack is gone. It’s a concession some users might find surprising. On the iPhone, there’s obviously less real estate to integrate a large port but that’s, in theory, less of an issue in a large device like a tablet. But it makes sense. Apple tends to maximize margins by ensuring different products use a similar set of hardware. And since the iPhone hasn’t had a headphone port since 2016, it’s about time the trend hits Apple’s other mobile device.

Headphone users are not the only users left in the dark. The iPad has long been a great device for a stationary audio controller. Now, instead of simply connecting the tablet to a stereo with a 3.5mm cable, a $9 dongle is required. Want to use headphones? Apple would obviously prefer if owners use $159 AirPods though there are a handful of USB-C headphones including these from Google.

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Up close and hands-on with the new iPad Pro

The new Pro marks what is arguably the single largest design change to the iPad line in its eight and a half year existence. In fact, the new slate is almost unrecognizable as an iPad from the front, on.

That’s probably a good thing, of course. The tablet-defining line was long overdue do for a rethink. After nearly a decade in existence, it’s time to shake off the cobwebs. And naturally, most of the design upgrades on the new product will ultimately filter down to the rest of the line.

As a starting point, however, Apple took a good, long look at the iPhone for a few insights into to how remove some of that unsightly bezel. Not altogether, of course — after all, the user needs somewhere to put their hands.

Anyone who’s ever held the iPhone X in their hands can tell you that your fingers and the edges of your hands still have the tendency to accidentally come into contact with the screen, which is a perfectly fine way to mess yourself up, mid-game. As such, there’s still the remnants of black bezel around the edges here.

The loss of the home button feels like a big deal, from a legacy standpoint, at least. The iPad marks the last stand for the familiar design flourish. As someone who’s been carrying around an iPhone XS for some weeks, however, I can attest to the fact that you won’t ultimately miss it.

The key is getting used to the new interactions in iOS, swiping down from the bottom to close an app, for example. The iPad, however, marks the intersection between the iPhone and Mac experience, so there are a lot more options here for interaction, including, notably, the menu bar borrow from MacOS. The much larger screen real estate, meanwhile (11 and 12.9 inches), means gestures don’t have to do nearly as much heavy lifting as with the iPhone.

The device is certainly thing, as advertised, leaving the edges — while rounded — feeling a bit sharper than on their predecessor. The rear of the device, with its brushed, space gray aluminum, meanwhile, brings nothing to mind more than the latest MacBooks, marking an interesting sort of aesthetic consistency that we really haven’t seen at this level between iOS and MacOS devices.

You’ll find the camera at the top of the device — the thinner design does mean it juts out a bit here, so as ever, you’ll probably want to nab a case to keep that bit safe. Along the bottom are a trio of magnetic connectors for the optional keyboard case, which will also help orient the device when it’s time to put it back.

Along the bottom edge, you’ll find the USB-C port. Far and away the most surprising change here, as Apple abandons its long standing proprietary connector in favor of something far more universe — and, as it happens, something that sends power both ways, making it possible to charge your phone and smaller devices with the iPad itself.

Something Apple didn’t mention during its keynote, however, is the sad, inevitable end of the headphone jack. RIP, little buddy.

On the top edge is a small gray patch. That’s where the new Apple Pencil connects magnetically on its single flat edge (which has the added bonus of making sure it doesn’t roll away when it’s on a table). Apple’s added a nice touch to iOS here, which pops up a charging status for the pencil when it’s connected to the top of the device.

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Apple’s new iPads delete the home button for good

Apple drove the final nails in the home button’s coffin on Tuesday, removing the once ubiquitous feature from its new line of iPad devices.

The new iPad Pro devices, revealed at Tuesday’s Apple event in New York, no longer have a home button. The design move, which is meant to make room for a bigger, more compelling display, follows the home button’s removal on the iPhone. Apple also dropped the Lightning port with the new iPad Pro and moved to the USB-C.

The new iPad Pro, which comes in two sizes, is now unlocked with face ID. It’s been redesigned to work in any direction too, so there’s no “wrong way” to unlock it.

Once the device is unlocked, users will be able to perform actions using on-screen gesture controls to access the feature they need. For instance, users can swipe down from the upper right hand corner to get to the control center, or swipe up from the bottom to access to the dock.  In short, it’s going to be the same kind of gestures used for the new iPhone 10.

Apple started phasing out the home button in 2017, beginning with its premium iPhone X handset. It kept the physical home buttons on cheaper iPhones. But we all knew their time would come.

That hammer dropped in 2018 and Apple cleared the home button from its new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max or iPhone XR.

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Apple ditches the headphone jack on latest iPad Pro models

The headphone jack is missing from the latest versions of the iPad Pro. It’s gone. Dead. Worse yet, the headphones that come with the iPhone will not work either. Apple ditched Lightning for USB-C. Instead, Apple is selling a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle for $9.

The latest iPad Pro models follows the trend lines set by the iPhone. Just like on the iPhone, the Home Button is missing, and the headphone jack is gone. It’s a concession some users might find surprising. On the iPhone, there’s obviously less real estate to integrate a large port but that’s, in theory, less of an issue in a large device like a tablet. But it makes sense. Apple tends to maximize margins by ensuring different products use a similar set of hardware. And since the iPhone hasn’t had a headphone port since 2016, it’s about time the trend hits Apple’s other mobile device.

Headphone users are not the only users left in the dark. The iPad has long been a great device for a stationary audio controller. Now, instead of simply connecting the tablet to a stereo with a 3.5mm cable, a $9 dongle is required. Want to use headphones? Apple would obviously prefer if owners use $159 AirPods though there are a handful of USB-C headphones including these from Google.

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