Panel:

• Bart Busschots (host) - @bbusschots
• Simon Parnell from the Essential Apple Podcast - @serenak
• Lynda Gousha from the Silicon Valley MUG - @llg4cdg

The show starts with a look at some followups to previous stories followed by some notable numbers, one quick legal star and two small Apple HR stories. The five main stories are Apple's China problem, Apple's flood of buggy software released and patches, Apple's new headphones, the launch of Apple TV+, and Apple's Q4 2019 earnings call. The show finishes with a quick rundown of some other Apple-related stories that made the news in October.

You'll find detailed show notes below the fold, and if you enjoy this free show, please consider clicking on the donate button at the top of the left side bar - the show is free for you to listen to, but not for Bart to Produce!

[audio mp3=”http://www.mymac.com/podcast/lta/LetsTalkApple-EP74-October2019.mp3”]

Followup

• Spotify has been updated with Siri support on iOS 13, CarPlay support, and an Apple TV app — www.macrumors.com/…
• iPhone XR production has begun in India with iPhone 11 next up — www.imore.com/…
• The US–China trade war rumbles on:
  • US-China trade talks cause for optimism as new tariffs may be “delayed” — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple asks for Tariff Exemptions on iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods — www.macobserver.com/…

Notable Numbers

• Piper Jaffrey’s annual “Taking stock with Teens” report on US teens attitudes to tech has found that 83% own an iPhone (marginally up from 82% last year), and 86% want their next phone to be an iPhone — www.imore.com/…
• The latest numbers from Sensor Tower show app revenue increased by almost a quarter to $21.9b in 2019 Q3 — www.imore.com/…
• One-third of Apple Store customers now using Apple Trade In — www.imore.com/…
• Apple Pay roasts Starbucks to become number one mobile payment system in US — www.imore.com/…

Legal Latest

• Apple’s long-running fight against patent claims by the University of Wisconsin finally comes to an end with then US Supreme Court refusing to hear an appeal against Apple’s victory in the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington — www.imore.com/…

Apple HR & Acquisition News

• Apple hires Columbia University Cardiologist in health push — www.imore.com/…
• Apple gains five new VPs, including an early iPhone executive — www.imore.com/…

Main Stories

1. Apple’s China Problem
   • Apple initially rejected HKmap.live, an app that mapped police & protestor locations in Hong Kong, then approved it, then removed it again:
     • Chinese state media condemns Apple decision to allow “poisonous” Hong Kong maps app in scathing attack — www.imore.com/…
     • Apple removes app that tracks Hong Kong police and protestors — nakedsecurity.sophos.com/…
     • Apple bans Hong Kong mapping app citing contravention of “guidelines and local laws” — www.imore.com/…
     • Tim Cook wrote a company-wide memo explaining Apple’s decision to remove the app:
       • Leaked memo shows Tim Cook agrees with Apple’s decision to remove Hong Kong mapping app — www.imore.com/…
       • Tim Cook Defends Removal of Hong Kong Protest App in Email to Apple Employees — www.macobserver.com/…
       • Related Opinion: Tim Cook’s Company-Wide Memo on HKmap.live Doesn’t Add Up — daringfireball.net/…
     • Hong Kong lawmaker says Apple should “uphold its commitment to free expression” — www.imore.com/…
     • 7 Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge Apple to Reinstate Hong Kong Protestor App — www.macobserver.com/…
     • AOC and Ted Cruz wade into Apple’s China censorship debate — www.imore.com/…
   • There’s a brief kerfuffle as some wrongly assume Apple have started sending browsing data to Chinese firm Tencent:
     • Here’s Apple’s statement on Safari Fraudulent Website Warning and Tencent — www.imore.com/…
     • Code Reveals Tencent Only Gets Your Data if Your Device’s Region is Set to China — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Apple has removed the Quartz news app from the Chinese App Store at the request of the Chinese government — www.imore.com/…
   • Tim Cook named chairman at China’s Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management — www.imore.com/…
   • Report suggests Apple told TV+ content creators not to paint China in a bad light — www.imore.com/…
   • Opinion & Analysis:
     • 8 numbers that explain why Apple is kowtowing to China — www.wired.co.uk/…
     • Opinion: Apple’s relationship with China is turning into a massive liability — 9to5mac.com/…
     • Apple cracked China when Facebook and Google couldn’t. Now that’s a problem for Apple. — www.vox.com/…
2. “Patch Early & Patch Often”
   • A fascinating opinion piece by a former Apple engineer: Six Reasons Why iOS 13 and Catalina Are So Buggy — tidbits.com/…
   • Apple release macOS 10.15 Catalina
     • Apple delays iCloud Drive file sharing until next spring — www.cultofmac.com/…
     • Catalina got off to a rocky start for DJs (because of the demise of iTunes):
       • macOS Catalina removes iTunes… and XML file support for DJ apps — www.imore.com/…
       • Serato brings macOS Catalina compatibility updates to DJ Pro and DJ Lite — www.imore.com/…
     • Apple Mail bug causing data loss in macOS Catalina — www.imore.com/… (Patched in 10.15.1)
     • macOS Catalina causing problems with external GPUs — www.imore.com/…
     • Scattered reports suggest an EFI firmware issue may be bricking some Macs when updating to Catalina — www.imore.com/…
     • Apple releases new version of macOS Catalina Supplemental Update — arstechnica.com
     • Catalyst gets off to a rocky start:
       • Report says developers encountering issues porting iPad apps to Mac — www.imore.com/…
       • Developer outlines his experience with Apple’s Catalyst — www.imore.com/…
       • Gurman on Catalyst’s Shaky Debut — daringfireball.net/…
       • Twitter for Mac, one of the first Catalyst apps, now available for download on the Mac App Store — www.imore.com/…
       • Apple’s Todd Benjamin praises Mac Catalyst developers for ‘amazing’ achievements — www.imore.com/…
     • Apple extends GPU support to AMD RX 5700 with latest macOS Catalina Beta — www.imore.com/…
     • Review: macOS Catalina 10.15 is what Apple promised the Mac could be, and is a crucial upgrade — appleinsider.com/…
   • iOS & iPadOS
     • Apple Releases iOS 13.1.3 and iPadOS 13.1.3: Bug Fixes for Incoming Calls, Mail, More — www.macobserver.com/…
     • Apple released iOS 13.2 — arstechnica.com/…
       • Apple resumes human reviews of Siri audio with iPhone update — apnews.com/… & iOS 13.2: How to Turn off Siri Grading so Audio Snippets Won’t be Shared — www.macobserver.com/…
       • What Deep Fusion is on iPhone 11 and how to make sure it’s working — www.imore.com/…
       • Multi-user support on HomePod opens access to Siri Shortcuts — www.imore.com/…
       • iOS 13.2 bricked some HomePods before Apple could rush out a fix — 9to5mac.com/…
       • iOS 13.2 Is More Aggressive at Killing Background Apps and Tasks — pxlnv.com/…
     • iOS 13 is already installed on more than 50% of all iPhones — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple Releases macOS 10.15.1 Catalina, watchOS 6.1, and tvOS 13.2 — tidbits.com/…
3. Two new Headphones from Apple
   • New Beats Solo Pro headphones include a H1 chip and noise cancelling tech — www.imore.com/…
   • AirPods Pro:
     • Apple announces AirPods Pro with Active Noise Cancellation coming October 30 — www.imore.com/…
     • AirPods Pro: Everything you need to know! — www.imore.com/…
     • AirPods Pro earbuds and case cost $89 each to be replaced or repaired — www.imore.com/…
     • First AirPods Pro teardown shows lots of tiny bits and pieces — www.imore.com/…
     • Daring Fireball: AirPods Pro Replacement Tips — daringfireball.net/…
     • AirPods Pro First Impressions — daringfireball.net/…
     • Reviews:
       • Audiophile YouTuber says AirPods Pro are the ‘best wireless earbuds on the market’ — www.imore.com/…
       • AirPods Pro First Impressions — daringfireball.net/…
4. Apple TV+ Launched in November 1st — www.imore.com/…
   • How to register your free 1-year Apple TV+ service and what to do if you don’t see the offer — www.imore.com/…
   • You can save $10 by paying for Apple TV+ yearly — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple Music student subscribers will get Apple TV+ absolutely free — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple launches Apple TV+ Press, a dedicated media site for its upcoming shows and films — www.imore.com/…
   • The Apple TV App and Apple TV+ Coming to the Roku Platform — www.businesswire.com/…
   • The Apple TV app is now available on some Sony TVs — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple TV+: The ultimate guide — www.imore.com/…
5. Apple’s Q4 Earnings Call — www.apple.com/…
   • Fantastic charts to put the earnings into their larger context: Apple results: $64B in revenue on record Services income — sixcolors.com/…
   • Transcript: Apple CEO Tim Cook on the company’s 2019 Q4 earnings — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple Turns in Record Q4 Revenues of $64B, Beats Wall Street on Earnings and Revs [Update] — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Apple Q4 2019 Breaks Records Despite Slipping iPhone Sales — tidbits.com/…
   • During the earnings call Tim Cook announced that a 0% finance offer to pay off iPhones over 24 months is coming to Apple Card — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple earnings Q4 2019: Tim Cook says health will be what Apple is remembered for — arstechnica.com
   • 5 Big Takeaways From Apple’s Q4 2019 Earnings Call — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Related: Anti-American sentiment in China may have helped cut iPhone shipments by nearly 30% in Q3 2019 — www.imore.com/…
   • Related: Spotify says it’s adding twice as many subscribers a month compared to Apple Music — www.imore.com/…
   • Related: Apple Pay is growing four times faster than PayPal — www.imore.com/…

Quick Stories

• EU regulator looking into “possible anti-competitive market practices and abusive conduct” regarding Apple Pay — www.imore.com/…
• Apple market valuation reaches all time high of $1.04 trillion — www.imore.com/… & Apple stock hits another record high, could grow further 20% this year — www.imore.com/…
• Apple starts selling Microsoft’s Xbox Wireless Controller — www.imore.com/…
• New Apple Card program will provide relief to disaster-stricken users — www.imore.com/…
• The Mac Pro is now FCC approved, is a launch close at hand? — www.imore.com/…
• Apple commits $2.5 billion to help with the California housing crisis — www.imore.com/…
• Apple picks up CITI ‘outstanding brand’ award for its environmental work in China — www.imore.com/…
• Amazon Music is now available on Apple TV — www.imore.com/…
• Adobe is “all-in” on Photoshop for iPad with Illustrator coming too — www.imore.com/…