Apple had a rough week, starting with a nasty Group FaceTime bug that could let a caller eavesdrop on you while your device was ringing. Then the company announced its Q1 2019 financial results, which showed the significant falloff in Chinese iPhone revenues that Tim Cook had warned of earlier. Fortunately, Apple’s other products fared much better, showing strong growth. On top of all that, Apple feuded with Facebook and Google after TechCrunch revealed that both companies were violating the terms of Apple’s Enterprise Developer Program to distribute “research” apps that paid users to let the companies spy on their usage. Finally, we wrap up Jeff Porten’s CES coverage with a trip to Eureka Park for gadgets and services from startups. Notable Mac app releases this week include Quicken 2018 5.10, Moneydance 2019, Things 3.8.1, Twitterrific 5.3.9, and iFlicks 3.0.
On its servers, Apple has fixed a nasty Group FaceTime bug that allowed callers to eavesdrop on fellow Apple users. This week it will release a software update to re-enable Group FaceTime.
Yes, iPhone revenues fell off a small cliff this quarter due to slower sales in China, as Apple had warned that they would, but all of the company’s other products and services posted revenue gains over the year-ago quarter.
Apple spent the past week engaged in a dizzying back-and-forth with Facebook and Google over shady research apps trying to make an end-run around App Store rules. Here’s a quick timeline of events and some thoughts on what it all means.
The CES section for startups shows its usual creativity: portable insulin fridges, STEM education for girls, a wearable subwoofer. and a giant relaxing egg. Which you sit in, not on.
Watchlist
Adds a new crosstab or matrix report feature and returns the Export to Quicken Mac Transfer File (QMTF) format. ($34.99/$49.99/$74.99 annual subscription, free update)
Major new release for the personal finance management app with a variety of new features and improvements. ($49.99 new, free update, 119 MB)
Maintenance release with a bevy of bug fixes for the task manager. ($49.99 new, free update, 16.8 MB)
Adds new ways to open URLs and ensures the compose window stays open until a tweet is finished posting. ($7.99 new, free update, 14.1 MB)
Major new release for the video encoding and metadata management app with new features and a two-tiered subscription model. ($34.99 new, free update, 19.8 MB)
