This digest compiles the latest from Apple Insider.
Today’s Apple Insider Roundup
Expect strong iPhone 17 demand, AI talk in Apple's Q1 results call
Wall Street is still underestimating Apple’s prospects for 2026, with Wedbush’s Q1 forecast expecting discussion about iPhone 17 demand and the AI landscape to dominate Thursday’s analyst call.
On Thursday, Apple will be releasing its first-quarter results and holding its usual conference call with analysts. One day before those expectedly huge results arrive, Wedbush has provided its own analysis on the financial side of Apple.
For the results itself, the note to investors seen by AppleInsider put Apple as bringing in revenue of $136.68 billion for the quarter, up from $124 billion last year.
Apple Creator Studio review: Incredible value for most creative pros
The new Apple Creator Studio bundles the company’s flagship creative software in a monthly subscription package for the first time. It’s a great value, assuming you haven’t bought most of them individually.
The iPhone maker has been creating pro creative software for decades. It hasn’t been without missteps, though.
I’ve been testing Creator Studio for the past couple of weeks, and so far, it’s been a positive experience. Most of the core apps are the same, and Apple has just built upon them with a series of new features and a semi-optional updated pricing model.
Compared: Apple Creator Studio vs Adobe Creative Cloud Pro
Apple Creator Studio is taking on Adobe’s dominant Creative Cloud by offering a selection of apps to create content, paid monthly. There are massive differences between the two subscription services, and some nuance to picking a package. Here’s how they compare, and what you can do to fill the gaps.
Apple decided that it wanted to take on the ten-ton gorilla of creative apps, Adobe, on its own turf. The Apple Creator Studio is a collection of apps for editing video, creating music, producing art, and other creativity tasks, all within Apple’s hardware ecosystem.
At a high-level view, that’s precisely what Adobe Creative Cloud Pro has provided to professionals for many years, mostly under its previous non-Pro form — a bunch of tools for subscribers to make practically any digital media they want, to a high level.
Moral low ground: App Store is rife with AI 'nudify' apps
While Grok faced most of the heat in the AI porn backlash, Apple isn’t doing itself any favors by allowing dozens of “nudify” apps to stay in the App Store.
AI-generated porn has become a hot topic. Elon Musk’s X is still under fire for allowing its chatbot Grok to edit pictures of people to look like they are naked, and churn out child porn.
Though X and Grok received the most attention, Apple is also perpetuating the issue affecting innocent women and children by not dealing with apps doing the same thing in the App Store.
Long-awaited 'Ted Lasso' season 4 finally gets a vague premiere date
Once the worst-kept secret in television, Apple TV is teasing the return of “Ted Lasso” for a fourth season in the summer of 2026, with a reveal of new photos from the production.
“Ted Lasso” is the show that made Apple TV a hit, and from the moment it completed its “final” season, there was demand for more. Apple CEO Tim Cook was among those calling for it, and finally in 2025, star/co-creator Jason Sudeikis confirmed its return.
Now Apple TV has announced an approximate air date for the new season, a window, with it committing to a summer 2026 release. While there is as yet no more precise date, Apple also shared new images from the production.
Mac malware is sneaking into some sponsored Google ads
Certain sponsored ads on Google have been trying to lead users on to faked Apple support pages that try to get the user to use the Terminal and install malware on Macs.
Where most malware attacks require a user to download and launch an app, researchers at MacKeeper have demonstrated how a number of sponsored Google ads are providing another route for bad agents.
Specifically, during the company’s research, searching for the term “mac cleaner” led to some sponsored ads that appeared to be at legitimate addresses such as business.google.com. A user following those links, though, can be taken to a site that has been designed to mimic Apple’s support pages.
Apple's utter silence about AI-generated child porn on X is appalling yet unsurprising
It’s now been weeks, Apple, Do the right thing by users instead of your shareholders and block the child porn factory that is still X and Grok, because it’s clear that they aren’t going to make changes that matter until they have to.
Once again, Apple has chosen shareholders over users, willingly choosing to placate Elon Musk and leave X and Grok on the App Store. And all this, even as it still churns out child porn and deepfake nudes of the unwilling.
Twitter and now X has a porn problem that’s mostly gone uncorrected and unmoderated in the interest of “free speech absolutism.” And it’s gotten worse.
How the iPad created the tablet market despite being late to the game
Microsoft and others had at least years, if not more than a decade, to get tablet computers right — but then on January 27, 2010, Apple brought out the iPad and showed them how it should be done.
It’s well known that Apple likes secrecy, but generally it’s assumed that the company just doesn’t talk about anything until it is ready. (Apple Intelligence notwithstanding.)
But just sometimes, Apple will out and out lie. Steve Jobs did, for instance, when he was being pressed about the Amazon Kindle, and didn’t want to reveal that Apple Books was coming.
Continuity Camera lands Apple in legal trouble for 'Sherlocking' Camo
Camo developer Reincubate is suing Apple over Continuity Camera, accusing Apple of patent infringement and deceit surrounding the 2022 “Sherlocking” of its iPhone-as-webcam app.
Apple’s introduction of the Continuity Camera in 2022 was a game-changing feature for users who experienced the remote working-focused COVID-19 pandemic. It was a feature that also “Sherlocked” a number of apps that used the iPhone as a camera feed for video conferencing, and one has decided to take a stand.
The lawsuit from Reincubate Ltd filed on Tuesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey accuses Apple of foul play in a number of ways. The main one being the violation of patents owned by the company, in relation to the capturing of video from one device and processing it for display on another.
iPhone 18 Pro could get a teleconverter for greater zoom
A new rumor claims that Apple is considering adding a DSLR-like teleconverter to the iPhone 18 Pro, increasing the cameras’ focal length and zoom.
Previous rumors about the iPhone 18 Pro have included the claim that it will feature a variable aperture camera. Now a new report from leaker “Smart Pikachu” on Weibo backs up the variable aperture camera — but also introduces a totally new rumor.
While the claim offers no details, it says that a teleconverter is being evaluated. That would be a kind of magnifying lens that increases the camera’s focal length.
Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible
Apple CEO Tim Cook 'heartbroken' after repeated ICE killings in Minneapolis
After increased criticism of his silence, an internal memo from Apple CEO Tim Cook sent to employees says he spoke with the President about the shooting of Alex Pretti and hopes for “deescalation.”
On Saturday, after the tragic shooting of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis, billionaires, executives, and members of the Trump administration attended a screening of the “Melania” film, including Tim Cook. The screening was seen as insensitive and observers said it should be canceled, but it wasn’t, and Cook’s presence and total silence on the ongoing situation increased frustrations with Apple fans.
After a weekend filled with protests and continued violence in the streets of Minneapolis, many wondered if Cook and others would speak out, and finally, Cook shared his thoughts on Tuesday evening via an internal memo. While the memo isn’t public, the text was shared by Mark Gurman on social media.
'Pluribus' leads Apple TV Writers Guild Awards with 4 of 9 nominations
It’s already been a busy award season for Apple TV thanks to its stacked year of programming, and the Writers Guild Awards recognizes “Pluribus,” “The Studio,” and “Severance” with award nominations.
The Oscars might be the big award show of the season, but Apple TV is being recognized in nearly every event, big and small. Of course, Apple keeps count so every nomination just adds to the already incredible count — 687 wins and 3,229 nominations as of January 22.
The Writers Guild Awards 2026 nominations add nine to that total, with four going to Pluribus. Apple didn’t get any nods for its films here, but one of its few children’s shows did get a nomination.
End of today’s Apple Insider roundup.
