📲 Apple's colorful new gadgets
![_When inflation hits the PB jar [Enes Evren/E+ via Getty Images]_](https://cdn.robinhood.com/static_content/mwphzyq69oso/en-US/assets/files/4Nncc2csr47jExQnuxyyrU_1_GettyImages-1162006471.jpg)
Hey Snackers,
Forget kombucha taps: Tesla's flaunting wild horses as its latest work perk.
Stocks ticked down yesterday, and Netflix reported a big subscriber slowdown.
Apple's big product unveil: AirTags, pod subscriptions, and a whole lot of color
It's the ~ aesthetic ~ for Apple... Yesterday, Apple hosted its first event of the year. Starburst must have taken over Cupertino, because the tech giant unveiled a slate of deliciously colorful products. Like: a lavender-colored iPhone 12, and an iMac that comes in seven dreamy colors, including peach and mint. Apart from tea-flavored tones, Apple dropped:
- New iPad Pro: Now built with Apple's powerful M1 chip and a better camera.
- Redesigned iMac: Also with the M1 chip, and a fingerprint scanner.
- Podcast Subscriptions: For paid ad-free listening and exclusive content.
The star of Apple's show... is also its worst-kept secret. Apple finally unveiled AirTags, little Bluetooth buttons you stick on things like wallets and keys to locate them (yep, just like Tile). They start at $29 each and drop on April 30. AirTags use Apple's U1 chip — the same one used in iPhone 12. The chip will make AirTags trackers more accurate than those from Tile, Samsung, and Sony. Also...
- AirTags use the "Find My" network, the same one used for Find My iPhone, Friends, etc.
- Like blockchain, for iPhones: "Find My" is a crowdsourced network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices that can help users locate their missing tech through Bluetooth connection. Whoa.
AirTags = ultimate brand power move... Apple’s powerful brand is a statement – that's currently limited to Apple devices. But with AirTags, people can slap expensive Apple labels on non-Apple products. The Find My network will expand beyond your iPhone, to your wallet, suitcase, and $300 Hermès key chain (seriously: Apple created one). Unlike Tile, AirTags are fancy-sleek: stainless steel and Apple-branded, with a smiley face on one side. There's a built in speaker that rings to help you find items. To cap it off, you can add free engraving (emojis included).
Rising prices, inflation, and pricier peanut butter... through the lens of P&G's earnings
Charmin, Tide, Gillette, Swiffer... Your pandemic grocery list = Procter & Gamble's pandemic winners list. In October, the consumer packaged goods giant dropped its largest quarterly sales increase in 15 years (thanks to obsessive sanitizing). Last quarter, sales jumped 5% — the slowest increase in three years. But the headliner from P&G's earnings was price hikes.
- P&G will raise prices for some household staples, from Pampers to Tampax. Expect 5% to 9% hikes in September. It cited rising costs for raw materials and transportation.
Your PB&J is getting pricier... P&G isn't the only consumer giant hiking prices — we're seeing the first widespread increases since 2018. As supply chain shortages and inflation raise prices, CPG giants are passing on the costs to consumers.
- Kimberly-Clark, which makes Huggies and Scott TP, plans to broadly raise prices in North America to offset higher raw materials cost.
- General Mills (think: Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs) will raise prices to offset rising commodity and production costs.
- Hormel Foods raised prices of its Jennie-O turkey products in February to counter soaring grain costs. It upped Skippy peanut butter.
- Smucker hiked up Jif peanut butter (PB can't catch a break), and might do the same with pet snacks.
Prices are fueling inflation concerns... but they may be overblown. People are worried that the purchasing power of the dollar could decrease, and prices could rise. Trillions of $$$ have been pumped into the economy over the past year, boosting spending (and sometimes, prices). As "revenge spending" soared in March, consumer prices jumped 2.6% from 2020 — the largest rise since August 2018. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that one-time price increases will likely have only short-term effects on inflation (which has been hovering at a tame ~2% since 2008). While we're seeing prices rise faster in some sectors, like food, the Fed expects overall inflation to stay in check.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Verdict: Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts, including second-degree murder, in the death of George Floyd.
- Unflix: Netflix shares plunged 9% after it reported a dramatic slowdown in subscriber growth (just 4M subs added last quarter).
- Johnson: J&J reported $100M in quarterly sales from its "no profit" Covid vax — a tiny fraction of its pharma biz, which made $12B.
- China: Chinese President Xi Jinping called for greater global economic integration and for the US and its allies to avoid “bossing others around.”
- IPOat: Oatly, the Oprah-backed oat milk brand that craft coffee shops run on, has officially filed to IPO.
- Random: Amazon is opening a hair salon in London to showcase its beauty offerings and new tech, including an app for AR haircuts.
Wednesday
- Earnings expected from Chipotle, Verizon, Anthem, and NextEra Energy
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple
ID: 1614168