Today's Above Avalon daily update includes the following stories:

Apple’s Financial Services Play
Apple Card’s Secret Weapon
Thursday Q&A

We kick off today’s update by discussing the big picture facing Apple’s Apple Card initiative. The discussion then turns to what I think may be Apple Card’s secret weapon. We conclude with a new installment of Thursday Q&A. I answer the following questions from Above Avalon members:

Are we going to hear chatter about a 5G mega upgrade cycle for iPhone?
Why don’t we see leaks pertaining to Apple’s manufacturing apparatus (the robots, software, and other R&D that goes into building the machines that are tasked with building Apple products)?
Do you think that some of the iPad’s recent unit sales growth is due to upgrades finally happening? If so, is this something that Apple can continue, or is there some risk that the boom and then bust that happened with iPad could happen again once the large cohort of iPad 2 upgrades is finished?
Why don’t Apple and Goldman put up an Apple Card website for account and payment etc.?
Do you see the Wallet app eventually competing with Mint et al?
Do you think Apple will make an Audible/Books subscription service at some point?

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