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Apple's fiscal fourth-quarter results announced on Monday show that the company continues to stockpile inventory, particularly in computer memory. Inventory increased from $11.09 billion in the third quarter to $14.54 billion in the fourth quarter, a quarter-over-quarter increase of 31.1%; year-over-year, it grew 154.3% from $5.72 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.Apple expects a gross margin of 45% to 46% for the December quarter, primarily affected by higher memory costs, compared to a gross margin of 47.9% in the September quarter. Apple CEO John Ternus stated during the analyst call that current memory pricing is unprecedented. He noted that memory costs in the September quarter were higher than in the June quarter, partially offset by inventory gains and a decrease in some non-memory component costs, and he anticipates that memory costs will rise further in the December quarter.Ternus mentioned that higher costs will be partially offset by price increases on products earlier this year, including price hikes for Mac and iPad at the end of June and for iPhone in September; memory costs will continue to rise after December, and inventory gains will decline over time. To improve supply, manufacturing procurement obligations increased by $33 billion from the June to September quarters. Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan also attended the call, reiterating the increase in procurement obligations but did not rule out further price increases in the future. Apple attributed weak iPad sales this quarter to supply constraints, with iPad revenue at $6.2 billion, below analyst expectations of $6.7 billion, a year-over-year decline of 10%, while iPhone and Mac sales exceeded expectations.

According to a report by the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, Apple is testing its first large-screen foldable iPad, with a maximum screen size of about 20 inches, expected to be 18 to 20 inches when fully unfolded, and more portable when folded. It is positioned between a tablet and a laptop, with a launch expected in 2028. The design concept references the Huawei MateBook Fold, which has already been launched in China.This news aligns with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's previous judgment that Apple plans to launch its first large-screen foldable iPad in 2028, with a focus on minimizing creases. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman previously described it as an ultra-large screen similar to two iPad Pros joined side by side, aimed at multitasking and productivity scenarios. It is expected to use ultra-thin glass, and Kuo believes Corning may be the exclusive supplier of the glass. GIS Group is reportedly responsible for cutting, edge finishing, quality inspection, and packaging, and both companies are also involved in other Apple foldable projects, including the foldable iPhone Duo.The report notes that the latest version of the Huawei MateBook Fold was released in August 2026, with an 18-inch unfolded size and a thickness of 7.3 millimeters when fully unfolded. It was launched in China with a starting price of 24,999 yuan. Industry insiders expect Apple's pricing for this device to be relatively high, primarily due to the manufacturing difficulties of large-size flexible screens. Previous industry forecasts estimated first-year shipments to be around 500,000 to 1 million units. This project has not yet been officially confirmed by Apple.

According to MacRumors, Apple may intensively release new products over four consecutive Fridays. Citing Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the MacBook Pro with an OLED screen, the 14-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the M6 chip, the iMac, and the iPad mini 8 featuring an OLED screen are expected to be released on November 6, with related devices possibly announced on October 27 or 28.The four release dates are: October 23 for iPhone Duo, October 30 for HomePod mini 2, November 6 for the aforementioned Mac and iPad mini, and November 13 for HomeView smart home hub and the fourth generation Apple TV 4K.

According to sources, Apple plans to hold a new product launch event around October 27, expecting to introduce a touchscreen Mac and a new iPad mini.

According to a report by ZDNet Korea, Samsung Display plans to significantly increase its OLED supply for Apple's foldable smartphones and iPads next year. The target for foldable OLEDs will rise from about 8 million units this year to 15 million units next year, while OLEDs for iPads will increase from about 2 million units this year to 9 million units next year, totaling an increase from about 10 million units this year to approximately 24 million units.Apple is a core customer for Samsung Display's small-sized OLEDs. Market research firm UBI Research estimates that the total demand for OLEDs for iPhones this year is about 264.7 million units, with Samsung Display supplying about 144 million units, and a target of approximately 148 million units next year. Apple will launch its first foldable smartphone in the second half of this year, and Samsung Display plans to supply a 7.8-inch foldable OLED. Starting in 2024, iPads will adopt OLEDs in the Pro models, expanding to the mini this year and further to the Air next year.The report cites industry insiders who say that if the foldable screen is priced at around $2,500, shipments this year and next year may be approximately 6 million and 11 million units, respectively; higher prices or supply chain issues could further reduce shipments. Samsung Display's supply targets may be adjusted according to market conditions.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has raised the starting prices of several Mac and iPad models to offset the rising costs caused by shortages of memory and storage chips.The company's official website shows that the starting price of the MacBook Neo has been raised from $599 to $699, the MacBook Air from $1,099 to $1,299, and the MacBook Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Pro have also seen price increases. This move will not affect Apple's main source of profit—iPhone.

Bitget launches the 4th edition of the Weekend Party. During the event, users who sign up will receive a trial fund airdrop, with a total of 10,000 USDT in trial funds, awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition, users who complete specific contract trading volume tasks will receive 1 lottery chance, with a maximum of 7 chances. Each additional lottery chance increases the possibility of winning the grand prize, with a winning rate of 100%. The prize pool includes USDT and physical prizes like the iPad Air.Detailed rules have been published on the Bitget official platform. Users must click the "Join Now" button to complete their registration in order to participate in the event. The event ends on February 8 at 23:59 (UTC+8).

ChainCatcher News: Recently, the Cybersecurity Threat and Vulnerability Information Sharing Platform (NVDB) of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology detected a high-risk out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Apple's iOS/iPadOS/macOS, which has been exploited for cyber attacks.iOS/iPadOS/macOS is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. Due to an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in its ImageIO framework, processing malicious image files may lead to memory corruption.

ChainCatcher message, Blockfence has issued a reminder that due to a security vulnerability being frequently exploited, Apple has released emergency updates for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Please update to the following versions as soon as possible: iOS 17.2.1, iPadOS 17.2, macOS 14.2.1, tvOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2.

ChainCatcher news, the Sui ecosystem Launchpad project SuiPad announced the completion of a $1.155 million financing round, with participation from NGC Ventures, GBV Capital, Cogitent Ventures, Rarestone Capital, Kernel Ventures, Cypher Capital CEO Vineet Budki, Kairon Labs, NewTribe Capital, Moonrock, and others.SuiPad stated that its IDO will be launched from April 28, 21:00 to May 10, 21:00 on the SuiPad Launchpad and DAO Maker Launchpad. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, the CEO and founder of the crypto startup Render Network, which provides rendering tools for NFT and metaverse projects, Jules Urbach, revealed that the company is collaborating with Apple to bring some of its products (such as the Octane application) to the iPad, allowing each iPad to become a node in the Tender Network, enabling users around the world to render designs that their single devices cannot handle.Previously, ChainCatcher reported in December last year that Render Network announced the completion of a $30 million funding round, led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from Solana Foundation, Alameda Research, Sfermion, and angel investors Bill Lee and Vinny Lingham. (source link)