Apple TV’s “Sugar” is a contemporary, unique take on one of the most popular and significant genres in literary, motion picture and television history: the private detective story.
Season two of “Sugar” premiered Friday, June 19, 2026 on Apple TV.
Apple TV’s “Sugar” is a contemporary, unique take on one of the most popular and significant genres in literary, motion picture and television history: the private detective story. Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell stars as John Sugar, an American private investigator on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he will also unearth Siegel family secrets; some very recent, others long-buried.
Each episode of this PI drama’s second season is a half-hour haze suffused with melancholy and distressed urban beauty. It’s the kind of show that could only exist on Apple TV.
Getting a TV show made isn’t easy. OK, so you’ve got an interesting idea and some good scripts – but a network or streaming platform will have many further questions. How much will it cost to make, which age/demographic will enjoy it, can it be distilled in a grabby one-line summary, could it recoup investment by running to multiple seasons? Nobody’s going to take a punt on your kooky pet project and risk losing money.
At least that’s the theory, but Apple TV seems happy to commission shows having ticked none of the above boxes. Pound for pound – that is, ignoring the overwhelming volume of Netflix shows – it’s probably the best streamer in the game, having gambled and won on Severance, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses, The Studio, For All Mankind, and Widow’s Bay. But it also has a stable of oddball charmers that work in a moseying sort of way – Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed and Margo’s Got Money Troubles being two recent ones – and a slew of baffling misfires like Government Cheese and Hello Tomorrow! that have popped up, done a thing nobody understood and disappeared again. You don’t know what you’ll get with a new Apple show, but it’s likely to be something nobody else would green-light, and they’d often be right…
John Sugar not being human is just another way in which he’s a disconnected observer of a city where everyone’s disconnected from each other, but it does give the show another layer to its audiovisual collage: as well as the film excerpts, we can now cut to soothing shots of cerulean galaxies, while the narration has progressed from gnomic to cosmic. “Everything comes to an end,” muses Farrell, as nothing of note happens. “Sooner than you think, sometimes. From the side suns on Andromeda to the terramorphs on Paloma, everything dies.” Bogie never got lines like that.
We are lost in another luxurious Apple labyrinth, but not unhappily so. Every moment of Sugar is divine to look at, while the concept of the protagonist’s main superpowers being weary kindness and naive sweetness, despite his alien biology affording him actual superpowers, continues to bewilder and amuse. Each episode is a half-hour haze suffused with Sugar’s sad, sleepy vibe. This show could only be on Apple – it’s another world in there.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple TV is the best streamer. Anyone who thinks they watch the best streaming TV without an Apple TV subscription are kidding themselves.
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In a new analysis, longtime Apple analyst Gene Munster breaks down two key updates: Tim Cook’s confirmation of unavoidable price hikes due to rising memory costs, and reports that Apple will split next year’s iPhone releases between fall (Pro, Pro Max, and foldable models) and spring.
iPhone 18 Pro color options leaked in first real-world dummy shots in May
In a new analysis, longtime Apple analyst Gene Munster breaks down two key updates: Tim Cook’s confirmation of unavoidable price hikes due to rising memory costs, and reports that Apple will split next year’s iPhone releases between fall (Pro, Pro Max, and foldable models) and spring. The pricing adjustments are expected to add roughly 3% to FY27 revenue growth and help keep gross margins near recent highs around 49%, while the timing shifts and new foldable should support stronger iPhone momentum overall.
Cook’s pricing comments are a rare example of Apple openly responding to a component cost environment. In the Wall Street Journal interview published after market close on June 17th, Cook said price increases are “unavoidable,” but did not detail which products will be affected. This follows his prior earnings call comment that it was still to be determined how Apple would navigate the higher memory cost environment.
The key takeaway is shares of AAPL traded up 0.5% after hours on the Journal report, which I believe accurate reflects the higher visibility investors have that FY27 gross margins will be essentially flat from the Mar’26 levels (49%) in FY27. Currently, the Street is expecting FY27 gross margins of 48%.
I estimate Apple will raise hardware prices by about 4% on average, which after factoring in Services, that translates to roughly a 3% lift to total FY27 revenue. In other words, current FY27 revenue growth expectations of around 8% likely move closer to 11% from pricing alone.
Bloomberg’s Gurman reported that Apple will launch the Pro, Pro Max, and new foldable iPhone this fall, while the iPhone 18 and second-generation iPhone Air are getting pushed into the the spring. That timing shift will move some demand between fiscal quarters. More importantly, Apple is finding another way to push consumers up the price curve. By releasing the highest-end phones first, Apple gives users a reason to pay up rather than wait. That is classic Apple: subtle product timing that improves mix by pushing some buyers who would normally upgrade to the new base iPhone in September to trade up into higher-end models in the fall.
The key point is investors should expect noisier quarterly iPhone growth, especially around the transition from the fall launch window to the spring launch window, but the change will have little impact on overall revenue in FY27…
I expect the foldable phone to launch in October at around a $2,200 average selling price, which compares to an overall average of about $875…
Assuming the foldable accounts for about 3% of total iPhone units, that would add roughly $9B in annual revenue, or add about 2% of incremental growth, after factoring in the cannibalization [of iPhone Pro Max buyers].
The Street is currently modeling FY27 iPhone growth around 6%. Between the impact of the timing of the staggered iPhone sales shifting from FY26 into FY27, stronger high-end mix, and the foldable contribution, I believe iPhone growth is more likely to land around 10%.
MacDailyNews Take: AAPL is cheap at ~$300 a share.
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In the latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman, the spotlight is firmly on John Ternus, who will step into the role of Apple CEO on September 1, 2026, succeeding Tim Cook.
In the latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman, the spotlight is firmly on John Ternus, who will step into the role of Apple CEO on September 1, 2026, succeeding Tim Cook. Gurman argues that Ternus’s top priority should be nothing less than a full-scale revival of Apple’s once-legendary industrial design team — a group that has “lost its way” in the years since Jony Ive’s departure.
Why Design Needs a Shake-Up
Apple built its empire on products that didn’t just work beautifully — they looked and felt revolutionary. The iPhone, MacBook, and AirPods became cultural icons because design sat at the absolute center of decision-making. But according to the report, that influence has eroded:
• Key departures have hollowed out the team: Jony Ive left in 2019, followed by other leaders like Evans Hankey and Alan Dye (who joined Meta in late 2025).
• The industrial design organization no longer holds a true executive seat and reports through operations rather than driving strategy.
• Recent products, while solid, have been criticized for incrementalism rather than the “wow” factor that once defined Apple.
Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran with deep hardware engineering roots (he previously oversaw the transition to Apple Silicon and the iPad Pro redesign), already has visibility into design. Gurman notes that Ternus has emphasized making Apple products “the most beautifully designed items customers own.” The incoming CEO now has the chance — and the mandate — to appoint fresh leadership, restore design’s strategic clout, and refocus the company on aesthetics alongside AI and functionality.
A Jam-Packed 2027: Apple’s Make-or-Break Year
The newsletter also dives into Apple’s ambitious 2027 product plans, which could give Ternus the perfect stage to prove design still matters. This lineup coincides with the iPhone’s 20th anniversary and looks set to be one of the most exciting hardware years in recent memory:
• Camera-equipped AirPods: Slated for late 2027, these AI-focused earbuds with built-in cameras represent a major push into always-on intelligent devices.
• Next-gen Foldable iPhone: A sequel to the first foldable model (expected earlier), aiming to refine the category.
• Twentieth Anniversary iPhone: A flagship “iPhone 20” or special edition model to celebrate two decades of the revolutionary device.
• Smart Glasses: Apple’s answer to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, potentially launching around the same timeframe.
This “flurry of new releases” signals Apple is betting big on wearables, foldables, and AI hardware — categories where standout design will be essential to stand out from competitors.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple remains financially dominant and technically strong, especially in AI with improvements to Siri and its ecosystem. But to reclaim the “cool” factor and drive the next decade of growth, design must once again become a north star. Ternus, — a product person per se, unlike his predecessor — has the engineering chops and internal respect to pull this off. If he succeeds in rebuilding the design culture while executing on the 2027 roadmap, Apple could enter a new golden era!
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