Apple's very sorry (but probably more so about its reputation), Christmas Day sees a lot of app sales and it's the end of an era for the Android tablet. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for December 29, 2017. 1. Apple says sorry for slowing down older iPhones Whatever you think about Apple's strategy of slowing processor clock speeds on iPhones with older batteries, there's no question that it's going to be tough to erase the impact in terms of conversations with relatives who "heard Apple really does slow down old iPhones to make you buy new ones" etc. Which is why Apple is doing damage control, with material peace offerings including discounted battery replacement for all of 2018. It's still probably not enough to totally recover their rep long-term. 2. Holiday app shopping grows to $200 million The general consensus seems to be that people are using fewer and fewer apps, but holidays are still a boom time for mobile software. Consumers spent around $200 million on apps on Christmas Day alone this year, for example. That figure includes in-app purchases, however. 3. Google puts the Pixel C to rest Google is retiring its Pixel C Android tablet, and there's no clear successor beyond the latest Pixelbook Chromebook, which can run Android apps and comes in a convertible form factor. 4. Trump's website unironically chides Obama for golfing too much in error code Yes, the same Trump who's been golfing every day this week after saying he'd be right back to work after Christmas, has an error code in case of internal server error that criticizes Obama for golfing too much. 5. Living tissues may provide the best programmable 3D printing material This sounds somewhat monstrous. I'm sure it's all above board, but hacking living tissues to form bowls and boxes is still some sci-fi weirdness. 6. Netflix's Bright has a strong opening despite critics Critics haven't been kind to Netflix's Bright, the Will Smith-led blockbuster action flick. But audiences are still loving it, having watched it 11 million times in its first three days of availability alone. Now it makes perfect sense why they already bet on a sequel. 7. Podcast day Equity's all-new with a roundup of the IPOs of 2017, and a look forward at who's most likely to go public next year. |