Bloomberg Businessweek Apple Sales Crush Estimates in Record Quarter for the iPhone
12 snips
Jan 29, 2026 
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg's go-to Apple reporter, breaks down why iPhone 17 demand shattered records. Ed Ludlow, tech analyst in San Francisco, parses the earnings beats, supply-chain leverage and AI partnerships. Lauren Goodwin, economist and market strategist, covers macro risks and dollar moves. They dive into China’s rebound, memory-cost defenses, AI bets and what this means for leadership and product strategy.
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Apple Relies On External AI Partners
- Apple currently relies on external AI models, chiefly Google’s Gemini, rather than a full in-house stack.
- Gurman says Apple had limited internal AI capabilities so partnering was the practical option.
Facial-Tracking Buy Targets Future Devices
- Apple acquired an Israeli startup that interprets facial movements to enable future device features.
- Mark Gurman sees this as a component for AirPods, smart glasses, and mixed-reality features, not a full AI solution.
Memory Cycle Creates Scarcity, Not Panic
- Memory prices are high due to cyclical supply scarcity driven by demand from data centers.
- Ed Ludlow notes Apple's scale and supplier leverage let it mitigate cost pressures better than peers.