Apple reports fourth quarter results • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#231

Post by Zanfa » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 7:21 AM UTC

wyclif wrote: post #217

chaseadam17 wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dude, you've got to check every possible combination of departure and arrival dates from each different nearby airport then check everything again as one ways using different carriers then compare paying cash to using points then compare Airbnb to hotels then recheck the flights to make sure that paying slightly more for different dates or routes wouldn't be offset by saving more on the hotel... then you can book. Ta…

At this point, don't AI agents help a lot with this and diminish the need for the workflow you're describing?

Why would you trust current gen AI to make decisions when paying thousands of dollars for flights and hotels? That’s an insane amount of risk to take.

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#232

Post by risyachka » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 7:32 AM UTC

ajross wrote: post #130

j1elo wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't get how people do research work (like finding good flight tickets, or comparing hotels to stay in for a trip) without a computer. I really cannot stand seeing websites in a small screen without the ability to quickly open 4 browser windows with 4 tabs each for different combinations of dates, for example.

People do research work without a mac . A Windows box or Chromebook to do the stuff you want is less than half the cost of an Air, and a MBP is priced out of everything but status-conscious executive (and para-executive) consumers and FAANG-adjacent tech folks.

Nah people just don’t do research work.

Maybe one in 100k does

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#233

Post by mumber_typhoon » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 7:53 AM UTC

Personal take :

The iPhone and services that go with the iPhone (music apps iCloud) together make apple what it is even today. The numbers are huge and the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro are still the gold standard of smartphones. Everything else is probably secondary support hardware and software for the iPhone.

I plan on moving away from macOS (maybe Asahi on my old M1 Air but leaning towards Arch on framework) but every attempt to reconsider the iPhone for me has failed.

The biggest thing I see is how the iPhone helped fuel social media and in turn social media helped iPhone with sales. The phone is a social and secure device and the iPhone excels at that thanks to iCloud services and the ease with which you can manage the phone. Upgrading is so seamless, managing Photos with iCloud is a no-brainer. Everything about it screams social and it does it extremely well.

The personal computer vs Mac war is still ongoing but android vs iPhone war was over years ago. The iPhone won and there is not much anyone can do at this point to compete at that scale unless someone comes up with something truly extraordinary rather than just putting LLMs inside apps.

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#234

Post by fragmede » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 8:01 AM UTC

curious_riddler wrote: post #228

koyote wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could go into detail how being able to have a dozen tabs open almost always gives a better result than simply picking the first flight on google flights. But let's assume there's no difference: Do you really want to use a phone's on-screen keyboard to type in your family's passport details, address, then credit card numbers, then review all of this to ensure your $2000 purchase doesn't have any typos or mistakes? I…

Apparently the anxiety of making big purchases on phones is only a thing for the millennials and not really a thing for the younger generation.

Which it should be noted, may not even have a laptop. Probably not a desktop even.

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#235

Post by fragmede » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 8:03 AM UTC

skoskie wrote: post #190

perfmode wrote: post #181

Declining Mac sales aren’t concerning because Macs are high quality. People can skip generations and use their M1s for years.

Thinking this through… I spent around $3500 and $4500 on my last two MBPs, but got 9 years of use out of each of them. That’s only $450/yr. But where I used to get a new iPhone every other year, I’m now on the fourth year of my 13P and it still works great. That’s only $300/yr. It’s interesting to think about.

For us as consumers to think about, but there are multiple teams in many companies (not just Apple) that are dedicated to (exploiting) this interesting fact.

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#236

Post by csomar » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 8:08 AM UTC

j1elo wrote: post #105

haunter wrote: post #11

Kind of telling that 1, the iPhone outsells every other category by 5-7x ratio, and the Mac (which includes everything from Macbooks to Mac Minis to iMacs) barely sells more than the iPad. 2, Services (iCloud, apps, music, TV shows etc.) now bigger than every other category, except the iPhone, combined Basically 76% of the sales are iPhones and Services (millions) iPhone $209,586 Mac $33,708 iPad $28,023 Wearables, H…

I really don't get how people do research work (like finding good flight tickets, or comparing hotels to stay in for a trip) without a computer. I really cannot stand seeing websites in a small screen without the ability to quickly open 4 browser windows with 4 tabs each for different combinations of dates, for example.

Very few people do any research work. They usually click whatever platform they are already in (ie: mytrip.xxx) and just book the ticket there and probably pay using Apple Pay straight from their phone.

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#237

Post by rkomorn » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 8:13 AM UTC

fragmede wrote: post #234

curious_riddler wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently the anxiety of making big purchases on phones is only a thing for the millennials and not really a thing for the younger generation.

Which it should be noted, may not even have a laptop. Probably not a desktop even.

> Probably not a desktop even.

I'd be more surprised if they had a desktop than a laptop.

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#238

Post by rkomorn » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 8:17 AM UTC

apatheticonion wrote: post #164

j1elo wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't get how people do research work (like finding good flight tickets, or comparing hotels to stay in for a trip) without a computer. I really cannot stand seeing websites in a small screen without the ability to quickly open 4 browser windows with 4 tabs each for different combinations of dates, for example.

I feel exactly the same way. There are personal finance management softwares that are mobile exclusive. Like, have you tried doing data entry on a phone? Who is using these products?

I'm with you, but I guess users don't care (and I really don't get it).

None of the mobile finance apps I've used even have half the reporting ability I want (presumably because users don't care, and not because it wouldn't fit on the screen).

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#239

Post by fragmede » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 8:17 AM UTC

FredPret wrote: post #49

lapcat wrote: post #2

This stuck out like a sore thumb to me: Q4 2024: Income before provision for income taxes $29.610 billion, Provision for income taxes $14.874 billion Q4 2025: Income before provision for income taxes $32.804 billion, Provision for income taxes $5.338 billion [EDIT:] The 2024 taxes were actually an aberration. "the one-time charge recognized during the fourth quarter of 2024 related to the impact of the reversal of th…

Corporate income tax is one of those ideas that are immensely popular politically ("someone who is not me will pay billions to benefit me? yay!") but not supported by economic theory or real economic outcomes. Rent control / other price controls is another one ("No more rent increases for me, yay!"). Personal income taxes are a better choice according to [0] and that makes sense if you think about it. Let companies g…

It's an open secret by now that OpenAI and SpaceX have already minted hundreds of millionaires, and in California (SpaceX has a large socal office) they'll end up paying 50.5% tax (CASDI+others). (AMT is a whole other thing.) The amount of service they get for that is enough to turn anyone Republican, however.

Re: Apple reports fourth quarter results

#240

Post by swiftcoder » Sat, Nov 01, 2025, 8:32 AM UTC

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #206

lateforwork wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Revenue growth is more interesting than raw revenue: iPhone up 6% YoY, Mac up 13%, iPad flat, Wearables, Home, and Accessories flat. So Mac is doing very well!

Interesting that Wearables is flat. AirPods completely saturated their market incredibly quickly.

I presume AirPods sales at this point are mostly just replacing lost AirPods...