Apple's impressive earnings, promising patents, and new acquisitions on the AppleInsider Podcast

Victor and William discuss the unexpectedly impressive Apple Q1 2020 earnings call, what happens when Apple acquires a company, and what a future iPad may be able to do with William's handwriting.

AppleInsider editor Victor Marks and writer William Gallagher discuss:

• Apple earned $91.8 billion in this past quarter. You can't call it small, but there is a question about how it stacks up year on year
• New and seemingly strong predictions say that Apple will soon release a wireless charging pad, even after it had to cancel AirPower last year
• Qorvo, an Apple supplier, acquires two companies that do ultra-wideband radio work. William wonders just how much encouragement Qorvo got from Apple for this.
• Meanwhile, Apple itself directly acquires an AI company — which then cancels all defense contracts.
• Apple's latest patents include one that proposes a flat Digital Crown for the Apple Watch and one that has self-adjusting bands.
• Speaking of patents, Victor and William examine a highly detailed one that at heart is about making handwriting recognition more natural
• Apple TV+ has been signings stars to series, but now it's also nabbed a veteran executive, formerly of HBO and Starz
• The Coronavirus is claiming lives and that's more important than how much money Apple makes from the region, yet the outbreak is capable of disrupting it and other international firms.

We like reader email — send us your comments and concerns!

The show is available on iTunes and your favorite podcast apps by searching for "AppleInsider." Click here to listen, subscribe, and don't forget to rate our show.

Listen to the embedded SoundCloud feed below:

Visit our sponsors:

• ExpressVPN - If you visit my special link right now, ExpressVPN.com/appleinsider, you can get an extra three months of ExpressVPN for free!
• MintMobile - To get your new wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, and get the plan shipped to your door for FREE, go to MintMobile.com/appleinsider.

Show notes:

• Examining Apple's record-setting $91.8B holiday quarter by the numbers
• Apple earns record $91.8B in first quarter revenue on strong iPhone 11 sales
• Apple predicted to release small wireless charging mat in first half of 2020
• Apple supplier Qorvo acquires ultra-wideband chipmaker Decawave
• Apple nixed Xnor.ai's involvement in Pentagon's Project Maven following acquisition
• Apple Watch may have a flat Digital Crown that recognizes gestures
• Future iPad or iPhone could both recognize and display handwriting
• Apple signs exclusive deal with former Starz and HBO programming exec
• Ming-Chi Kuo sees five potential risks to Apple because of coronavirus

Follow our hosts on Twitter: @vmarks and @wgallagher

Feedback and comments are always appreciated. Please contact the AppleInsider podcast at news@appleinsider.com and follow us on Twitter @appleinsider, plus Facebook and Instagram.

Those interested in sponsoring the show can reach out to us at advertising@appleinsider.com.