On a day that Apple trumpets the many successes of its Services segment, ripoff ChatGPT apps are infesting Apple’s App Store. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts joins Ken to discuss the issue. Plus – generative A.I. isn’t just for drawing pictures and cheating on term papers anymore. Jeff looks at ways A.I. is building the cures of tomorrow. Get rid of useless subscriptions with Rocket Money now. Go to rocketmoney.com/macobserver. Eddy Cue and Apple Talk Services Headed Into 2023 TechCrunch: App Stores Rife with Costly, Useless “ChatGPT” Apps A.I. Turns Its Artistry to Creating New Human Proteins

iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max supply and demand have pretty much met. Is this good news, or no? TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and Ken talk that over. Plus – the falling snow has given rise to false-positive Crash Detections. Jeff and Ken seek a solution. Get rid of useless subscriptions with Rocket Money now. Go to rocketmoney.com/macobserver. JP Morgan Notes Continued Improvement in iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max Availability As Winter Sports Increase, Apple Devices Report More False Crash Detections

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple’s AR/VR headset push will mean placeholder upgrades for the rest of Apple’s hardware and operating systems. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and Ken discuss his predictions. Plus – Mixpanel says iOS 16 adoption is at 70-percent. Is that slow? And if so, why? Get rid of useless subscriptions with Rocket Money now. Go to rocketmoney.com/macobserver. Bloomberg: Apple Will Talk Up Its Mixed-Reality Headset in 2023 But Not Much Else Cult of Mac: Glacially slow iOS 16 adoption shows Apple has a trust problem

A few suppliers have called shenanigans on Nikkei’s story about Apple reducing orders. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and Ken talk that over. Plus – The people reading Apple’s latest audiobooks aren’t people (but they really sound like them). Zocdoc is a FREE app that shows you doctors who are patient-reviewed, take your insurance and are available when you need them. Go to Zocdoc.com/TDO and download the Zocdoc app for free. Reuters: Two Apple Suppliers Refute Nikkei Apple Assertion Reuters: Source Says Foxconn Orders for iPhone Unchanged A.I.-Narrated Audiobooks Now Available in Apple Books Hear the Apple Books sample voices here

Have you suffered from Butterfly damage? TMO writer Nick deCourville joins Ken to talk over Apple’s in-process Butterfly keyboard settlement. Plus, iPhone 14 Plus is a failure! Just ask the people who say iPhone 14 Plus is a failure! (Ken is not one of the people. He and Nick discuss it.) Zocdoc is a FREE app that shows you doctors who are patient-reviewed, take your insurance and are available when you need them. Go to Zocdoc.com/TDO and download the Zocdoc app for free. Owning a Recalled MacBook Pro: My Experience with the Genius Bar Find more info on the Butterfly Keyboard settlement at keyboardsettlement.com Here's why the iPhone 14 Plus is a commercial failure despite being a good smartphone

Good news from “iPhone City,” news goes bad for Apple from Nikkei, and The Information has information about an ugly sounding mixed-reality headset from Apple. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and Ken kick it all around. Zocdoc is a FREE app that shows you doctors who are patient-reviewed, take your insurance and are available when you need them. Go to Zocdoc.com/TDO and download the Zocdoc app for free. Bloomberg: “iPhone City” Back to 90% Shipping Capacity Nikkei: Unnamed Sources See Drop in Apple Component Orders Apple Market Valuation Slips Below $2T Apple Mixed Reality Headset May Need AirPods For Full Audio Experience

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney Ended 2022 hinting at Fortnite’s return to iOS in 2023. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts wants to talk about it. Ken doesn’t. They do anyway. Plus – Citi analyst “Gentleman” Jim Suva likes Apple shares at all the levels. We’ll look at his three Apple catalysts for 2023. Zocdoc is a FREE app that shows you doctors who are patient-reviewed, take your insurance and are available when you need them. Go to Zocdoc.com/TDO and download the Zocdoc app for free. Tim Sweeney Trolls Apple in NYE Tweet Apple and Epic Games Present Their Oral Arguments Before the Three-Judge Appeals Court Apple Working to Allow Third-Party App Stores on iPhone in 2023 Back in the Day: Epic Builds the Coalition for App Fairness Back in the Day: What Happens When You Break Epic’s Rules - The Faze Jarvis Story Citi Analyst: AR, Buybacks, and India Keep AAPL a “Buy”

iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max are pretty easy to get these days. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and Ken ponder why. Plus – Mac Pro and the standalone Apple Classical Music app both “missed” delivery in 2022. Which was the biggest miss, and does either matter? Zocdoc is a FREE app that shows you doctors who are patient-reviewed, take your insurance and are available when you need them. Go to Zocdoc.com/TDO and download the Zocdoc app for free. JP Morgan Notes Increased iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max Availability Foxconn Offers New Round of Bonuses for Zhengzhou Workers China’s COVID Crisis Could Hinder Apple Recovery in 2023 Cult of Mac: Now’s the “Sweet Spot” for iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max Orders Apple Scraps M2 Extreme, New Mac Pro to Retain Expandable RAM, Storage Apple’s classical music app misses its 2022 deadline

TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts turns the tables on TDO Host Ken Ray today, asking Ken about his most important and most interesting stories of 2022. That the answers are COVID and AR respectively will likely come as no surprise. Get rid of useless subscriptions with Rocket Money now. Go to rocketmoney.com/macobserver. Rare Civil Disobedience in China Shows Country’s Frustration With COVID-19 Restrictions iPhone Maker Foxconn Urges China Government To Ease Zero-COVID Policy China's COVID Crisis Is the Gift That Keeps On Giving Morgan Stanley Sets US$200 Target Price For AAPL - Cites Apple Car, AR/VR Gurman: 'realityOS' for Apple's New Mixed-Reality Headset Changes Name to 'xrOS' TF International Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on Shifting XR Expectations

TDO OG Jeff Gamet stays out of the Apple space on our 2022 review. His most important story takes us to the Twittersphere though, specifically Elon Musk buying Twitter. Plus – peeking the deepest and darkest with the James Webb Space Telescope is his most interesting story of 2022. Get rid of useless subscriptions with Rocket Money now. Go to rocketmoney.com/macobserver. Musk begins his Twitter ownership with firings, declares the 'bird is freed' How the James Webb Space Telescope transformed astronomy this year