MacRumors

Apple is telling its suppliers to cut production on new iPhones by 10 percent over the course of the next three months, reports Nikkei.

Apple made the request of its suppliers late last month, asking them to produce fewer iPhones for the January-March quarter.

This is the second time that Apple has recently cut down on iPhone production, and Nikkei says Apple made the decision prior to issuing its guidance downgrade last week.

The production revision applies to all of Apple's new iPhone models, including the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. "The level of revision is different for each supplier and depends on the product mix they supply," an unnamed source told Nikkei.

A second source said that overall production volume of both new and old iPhones will be reduced by approximately 40 to 43 million units for the January-March quarter, down from an earlier projection of 47 to 48 million units.

Due to weak iPhone sales in China, the effects of the U.S.-China trade war, cheap battery replacements, and other factors, Apple cut its Q1 2019 revenue guidance to $84 billion, down from the $89 to $93 billion guidance issued in November, and with the production cuts, those issues may continue further into the year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook just today said, however, that reports suggesting the iPhone XR is a flop or selling poorly are "bologna," and that the device has been the best selling iPhone every day since it launched.

In an interview with Mad Money's Jim Cramer that aired tonight, Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed a wide range of topics, including Apple's future product plans, its health ambitions, wearable sales, and Siri improvements.

According to Cook, Apple's product pipeline has "never been better," a line that he often repeats. Apple is, in fact, working on new services that are coming this year, says Cook, though he declined to provide additional detail.

I believe it'll be material over time. I'm not gonna forecast precisely, the ramps and so forth. But they're things that we feel really great about, that we've been working on for multiple years.

We do know that Apple has a major TV-related service in the works, with more than a dozen original television shows and movies being produced right now.

Cook also said that health is a major focus of Apple, and that health may actually end up being "Apple's greatest contribution to mankind."

We are taking what has been with the institution and empowering the individual to manage their health. And we're just at the front end of this. But I do think, looking back, in the future, you will answer that question, Apple's most-important contribution to mankind has been in health.

Cook pointed towards Apple's work on Research Kit and CareKit for increasing research pools and improving bedside care, along with the Medical Records feature that allows users to access their medical records from multiple providers right on their iPhones.

Cook also mentioned the Apple Watch earlier in the interview, and said that he regularly reads emails from customers who tell him how the Apple Watch has changed their lives by motivating them to be more fit or finding heart problems through the new ECG feature that detects atrial fibrillation. "These are life-changing things," said Cook.

Apple's wearables business, which includes the Apple Watch and the AirPods, has already exceeded the iPod business by 50 percent at the iPod's peak, Cook went on to say.

And so already, exceeded it by 50 percent at its peak. At its peak. Also, if you take AirPods and the Watch separately, and you sort of back these up and align it to the launch date of iPod, as well, and, you know, where all of them have a comparable amount of time, you would find that each one, independently, is, like, four to six times ahead of where iPod was at a comparable period of time.

Cook was also asked about Siri, and whether Apple would throw more money at it if the company had "unlimited capital." In response, Cook said that Apple is "putting a ton of investment" in Siri.

There are more than 500 million devices using Siri in 21 languages and 30 countries. Cook says Apple wants Siri to be in every country, and that "quality is going up."

You know voice is a never-ending journey. We all speak a bit differently. I have a southern dialect, not as southern as I used to. But there's a lot of stuff to do there. But I'm highly confident in our ability to keep innovating like crazy there.

A complete transcript of Cook's Mad Money interview is available from CNBC. Cook also covered topics like Apple's earnings downgrade, iPhone XR sales, and its dispute with Qualcomm.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently sat down for an interview with Mad Money's Jim Cramer, which aired today at 6:00 p.m Eastern Time. CNBC shared tidbits of the interview this morning, but now the full discussion is available.

Cook covered topics that include Apple's recent earnings downgrade, Apple's performance in China, iPhone upgrades, how well the iPhone XR sold, and more.

When asked about reports that the iPhone XR was a flop, Cook says he calls "bologna on that." The iPhone XR has, in fact, been the most popular iPhone "every single day" since it started shipping out to customers.

Cook did, however, demur when asked about iPhone XR sales relative to other sales, saying only that he'd like to sell more, and that Apple is "working on that."

According to Cook, naysayers have been saying similar things about Apple for many years now, but Apple is focused on the long term. Cook pointed towards Apple's large active install base, high customer satisfaction rating, and growing services business as positives.

On the topic of poor iPhone sales in China, Cook said that the Chinese economy is slowing, and that trade tension with the U.S. created a "more-sharp downturn." He said that he believes trade tensions are temporary, and that he's heard "some very encouraging words" recently.

As for upgrades, which were impacted in 2018 by the availability of cheaper $29 battery replacements for older devices, Cook said he's not bothered, and that the number of iPhones sold in a 90-day period, which many analysts believe is the "most important metric" is "far, far, far" down on his list of concerns.

This is far, far, far down my list. The point is, if somebody decides to buy an iPhone a little later, because of the battery, huge discount that we gave, they decide to hold on a little longer, I'm I'm great with that.

I want the customer to be happy. We work for them. And so the important thing is that they're happy. Because if they're happy, they will eventually replace that product with another. And the services and the ecosystem around that will thrive.

Apple does plan to encourage upgrades, however, through features like new phone setup, data transfer, and older device trade-ins to lower the base cost of a new device.

Cook went on to explain that Apple's "not about making the cheapest" products, instead focusing on making the "best product that enriches people's lives."

Now, the best phones, we knew that, as we went to the X and then the follow-on of the XS and the XS Max, that everybody would not want to spend $1,000 for the phone. So we made the iPhone XR.

The most important thing, says Cook, is that "customers are satisfied."

A full transcript of Cook's Mad Money interview is available from CNBC.

The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show officially kicked off today, with thousands of vendors showing off everything from smart toilets to new battery packs for the iPhone.

At CES, there are several major media events that are less overwhelming than the show floor, like Unveiled, Pepcom, and ShowStoppers. Pepcom took place last night, and MacRumors was on hand to check out some of the most interesting products and accessories that were being demoed.

Tons of other accessories were available at Pepcom, like Otterbox's new Otter + Pop iPhone cases, which it created in partnership with PopSocket. There's a collapsible, interchangeable PopGrip on the back of the new Otter + Pop case, which PopSocket lovers are sure to like.

There were no shortage of HomeKit devices at Pepcom, with many manufacturers introducing new HomeKit-compatible accessories at CES. We got to see Brilliant's smart light switch in action, a product that will soon support HomeKit. The Brilliant Control replaces any existing light switch and adds physical controls along with a touch display that can be used to control other smart devices in the home.

Parents might be interested in the $149 Coolpad Dyno Smartwatch, which, while not iOS-based, is useful for children. It's an Android smart watch that has built-in LTE connectivity and a simple UI that's easy for kids to use. It can be used to send a call or a text to a parent, with a built-in SOS safety feature that calls 911 in an emergency if parents can't be reached. It is water resistant, durable, and has GPS tracking so parents can keep an eye on their kids' location.

The Cemtrex Smartdesk caught our eye because it's a massive desk with a PC built right in. It comes equipped with three integrated touch displays that all work together, gesture support, a wireless charging pad, and sit/stand adjustability. There are plenty of other bells and whistles, which is unsurprising because this desk costs $4,499 to $5,699. Cemtrex doesn't have a Mac option right now, but says one could launch in the future.

Telepresence devices have been around for awhile, but the latest is Temi, the personal robot. Priced at $1,500, Temi is a home robot that can navigate around the house, let you communicate with friends and family, help you cook, follow you, and tons more.

For those who like the outdoors, Furrion was on-hand with weatherproof electronics like a 4K TV, a waterproof solar battery, and a massive battery powered cooler that makes camping a whole lot nicer.

Finally, we got to see Aibo, Sony's robotic dog. Priced at $3,000, Aibo is an adorable, endearing little robot that offers the companionship of a pet without the downsides like fur and cleanup. Aibo features a unique personality, lifelike movements, and an innate curiosity about its environment. Aibo learns its environment, develops relationships with people, and becomes smarter over time.

Want to see more cool tech being shown off at CES? Make sure to check out our CES Unveiled video from yesterday and our full CES 2019 hub. Stay tuned to MacRumors, because we'll also have more videos coming later this week.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will appear on CNBC's "Mad Money" show this evening, where he will speak with host Jim Cramer, and ahead of the interview, CNBC has shared some of what was discussed.

The topic was, of course, Apple's recent guidance downgrade, where Cook said that factors like poor sales in China, a strong U.S. dollar, and cheap battery replacements impacted Q1 2019 earnings.

According to Cook, Apple's ecosystem of devices and services is "probably underappreciated" by naysayers, which is something that he's heard over and over again over the years.

"I'm not defensive on it. This is America and you can say what you want," Cook continued. "But ... my honest opinion is that there is a culture of innovation in Apple and that culture of innovation combined with these incredible, loyal customers, happy customers, this ecosystem, this virtuous ecosystem, is something that is probably underappreciated."

Cook went on to say that he wasn't surprised at the drop in Apple stock following the news, because the market is "quite emotional in the short term." Cook says that Apple "looks through all of that" and focuses more on the longer term.

Photos of an unreleased iPad mini with hardware different than that of any previous generation of the tablet were shared on Twitter today by a person using the pseudonym Mr. White. The same user has shared many photos of what appear to be early prototypes of Apple products along with components in recent months.

The photos, spotted by 9to5Mac, depict a rose gold iPad mini with an antenna band that forms the shape of a rounded rectangle. The current iPad mini 4 has a similar antenna design, but the rounded rectangle is filled in with plastic to ensure proper transmission of signals from the wireless chip inside.

Apple later improved its antenna design and only required a narrow band for cellular connectivity on 2017 iPad Pro models. This suggests the iPad mini in the photos could be a new model in development.

Beyond that, the iPad mini in the photos looks identical to the iPad mini 4, with a headphone jack, side volume controls, Lightning connector, two speakers along the bottom, and so forth. The tablet also lacks a LED flash next to the rear camera, consistent with every previous iPad mini generation.

Last month, an alleged case for the so-called iPad mini 5 surfaced with a vertical cutout for the rear camera, suggesting the new model might have a rear camera, LED flash, and center microphone cutout. The case also had cutouts for four speakers, however, a feature that feels too premium for the lower-priced iPad mini. In other words, the case might not necessarily be for a future iPad mini.

Back in October, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple plans to launch a new iPad mini, and the China Times reported that the tablet will launch in the first half of 2019. If true, the new model will likely be a modest upgrade to the iPad mini 4, perhaps with a faster processor and a few other minor improvements.

The iPad mini 4 was released in September 2015 and remains available for purchase for $399 and up in the United States.

The anonymous Mr. White shared photos of an alleged iPad mini 5 logic board a few months ago along with a diagnostics report indicating that the tablet will have a TSMC-manufactured Apple A9 chip used in iPhone 6s models. The iPad mini 4 is powered by the Apple A8 chip found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

If a new iPad mini is on the horizon, though, March has been a common release month for iPads in recent years.