That mixed outlook has kept investors from sending Apple’s shares soaring following the release of the tech giant’s fiscal second quarter earnings report. As this is being written, Apple’s stock is up $3.14 or 2.35% to $136.72 in muted after-hours trading.
The Apple M1 chip carrying 16 billion transistors powers the new iPad Pro models
When asked when Apple could see an end to the chip shortage, Cook said that it was hard to reply with a good answer. “In order to answer that question accurately, we would need to know the true demand from each player and how that changes over the next few months, so it’s difficult to give a good answer,” said Cook. He added that “We have a good handle on our demand, but what everybody else is doing, I don’t know. We will do our best, that’s what I can tell you.”
During the conference call, Cook also mentioned the early user feedback to the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature which debuted with this past Monday’s update to iOS 14.5. With ATT, users are asked to opt-in if they want to continue being tracked by third-party apps for the purpose of receiving online ads. Users can also choose not to be tracked, the decision expected to be made by 68% of iOS users.
CEO Cook said that the ATT feature was created so that Apple can stand up on behalf of its customers. The executive says that feedback has been “tremendous,” but couldn’t say whether most users were opting-out to getting tracked. Despite the uncertainty of the numbers, Apple’s chief executive said that even if only a small number of people used it to opt-out of getting tracked, it would be worth it.
