What Happened to CarPlay 2.0?, Eddy Cue Talks Down Apple Search Engine, Apple Uses Shazam for Predictive Analysis
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
What Happened to CarPlay 2.0?
Eddy Cue Talks Down Apple Search Engine
Apple Uses Shazam for Predictive Analysis
We are going to jump right into today’s update with CarPlay talk. The update will then shift to the latest in the U.S. v. Google search case, concluding with an intriguing new feature from Apple’s Shazam.
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Dell Renames PC Line, Apple News Expansion Planned, Apple Intelligence Notification Summaries Need Work
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
Dell Renames PC Line
Apple News Expansion Planned
Apple Intelligence Notification Summaries Need Work
For those of you in the LA area, my hope is that things are going OK as it pertains to the wildfires.
My list of news topics worth covering this week has been created. As usual, we are not going to get to most of the stories. For today, we will start with Dell renaming its PC line. The discussion will then shift over to Apple News, concluding with Apple Intelligence Notification Summaries.
Let's jump right in.
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Looking Ahead at Apple in 2025 (A Financial Perspective)
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:
Looking Ahead at Apple in 2025 (A Financial Perspective)
Happy Tuesday. We will continue yesterday’s discussion by looking at Apple’s 2025 from a financial perspective. We will begin to cover some news items tomorrow.
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Looking Ahead at Apple’s 2025
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:
Looking Ahead at Apple’s 2025
Hello everyone. It feels good to get back into the swing of things. We will kick off the 10th year of this newsletter with a look ahead at Apple in 2025. There are a few things that have been on my mind. The discussion will likely flow into tomorrow’s update as well.
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Apple Year in Review 2024
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:
Apple Year in Review 2024
Happy Thursday. Hello everyone.
Above Avalon Gifts - DEADLINE. The final day to gift an Above Avalon membership is Tuesday (December 24th). The gifting page will be taken down on December 24th at 10 pm EST. While all gifted memberships will officially begin on January 6th, 2025, your gift recipient will be able to use their membership as soon as they are informed of the gift. This means gift recipients will have access to the member archive, and the private podcasts / Inside Orchard if that is their gift, over the holiday break.
If you purchased a one-time gift in 2023 and would like your gift recipient to continue receiving their membership benefits in 2025, a new gifted membership is needed.
A big thank you to those members who purchased gifts this holiday season. Once again, gifted group memberships were especially popular this year. More information on Above Avalon Gifts (and payment forms) is available here.
Turning to today’s update, we will go over my thoughts regarding Apple’s 2024. Our focus won’t be on what Apple should do in 2025 and beyond. We can tackle that topic in the new year.
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Google’s Veo 2 Is a Litmus Test, Blackmagic Debuts Camera for Vision Pro, Apple Sports App Update
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
Google’s Veo 2 Is a Litmus Test
Blackmagic Debuts Camera for Vision Pro
Apple Sports App Update
Hello everyone. We begin today’s update with my thoughts on how Google’s Veo 2 is a litmus test. The discussion then turns to good news on the Apple Immersive Video front. We conclude with a quick look at Apple’s Sports app.
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Thinking Through Headset / AR Glasses Competition and Landscape
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:
Thinking Through Headset / AR Glasses Competition and Landscape
Hello everyone. Following yesterday's update regarding Google/Samsung partnership news, today’s update will be focused on the competitive landscape facing headsets and AR glasses. There are a number of moving parts. Let's jump right in.
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Google “Unveils” Android XR, Samsung “Unveils” First Mixed Reality Headset, Everyone Is Copying Apple
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
Google “Unveils” Android XR
Samsung “Unveils” First Mixed Reality Headset
Everyone Is Copying Apple
For today’s update, we will discuss Android XR and Samsung’s new Android XR headset. The discussion will roll over into tomorrow’s update as well.
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Apple Releases Second Wave of Apple Intelligence, My Initial Thoughts on Visual Intelligence, Image Playground Beats Expectations
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
Apple Releases Second Wave of Apple Intelligence
My Initial Thoughts on Visual Intelligence
Image Playground Beats Expectations
With iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 now out, the second wave of Apple Intelligence features has gone live for the U.S. and localized English for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK.
For many Apple users with supported hardware, this second wave will be the one that truly showcases Apple Intelligence. While Writing Tools and things like notification summaries may have their audiences, this second release phase includes Image Playground, Genmoji, Image Wand, visual intelligence, and ChatGPT integration, among other features.
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Spotify 3Q24 Earnings, Disney 4Q24 Earnings
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
Spotify 3Q24 Earnings
Disney 4Q24 Earnings
Hello everyone. Today’s update will take us to streaming land as we circle back to earnings from Spotify and Disney. The two companies reported earnings within the past month.
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Apple Places Retail Bet on Saudi Arabia, Vision Pro Wins Innovation of the Year Award, Vision Pro and Watching “TV”
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
Apple Places Retail Bet on Saudi Arabia
Vision Pro Wins Innovation of the Year Award
Vision Pro and Watching “TV”
Happy Tuesday. Information regarding Above Avalon Gifts 2024 has been posted to AboveAvalon.com at this page. Thank you to those of you who have already purchased a gift or reached out for more information.
We begin today’s update with news that Apple will bring its direct retail apparatus to Saudi Arabia. The discussion goes over the various implications associated with the move. We then turn to Apple Vision Pro, which Popular Science just named as the innovation of the year. The update concludes with a closer look at how Apple Vision Pro stands to change “TV” watching.
Let's jump into today's update.
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Apple’s Modem Launch Reportedly Nears, Apple vs. Qualcomm, Apple’s Modem Goals
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
Apple’s Modem Launch Reportedly Nears
Apple vs. Qualcomm
Apple’s Modem Goals
Hello everyone.
Above Avalon Gifts are back for the 2024 holiday season. This is the one time each year when various options are available for gifting an Above Avalon membership and the accompanying add-ons. There are six different one-time gifts available. Prices start at $90 for a three-month Above Avalon membership with podcast add-on. A regular 12-month membership for $200 is also available. Gifting an Above Avalon membership makes for a very unique gift, especially for that person who seemingly has everything. To purchase a gift, use this online form.
Group gifts are also available – send a unique gift to a group of friends, family, or investment clubs. Gift two or more 12-month Above Avalon subscriptions on a recurring basis and receive 10% off. The discount rises to 20% if you gift two or more 12-month Above Avalon subscriptions with both the Podcast and Inside Orchard add-ons. For group membership gifts, you can reach out to me (via email or the contact form found on this page) with your interest and a customized gift and payment form will be created.
For all gifts, on a date of your choosing, your gift recipient will receive a welcome message informing them of the gifted membership and the benefits and privileges associated with Above Avalon membership. You have the option of adding a personalized message to this welcome email. All gifted memberships begin on January 6th, 2025, although your gift recipient can begin using their membership as soon as they are alerted of the gift.
For today’s update, we go over my thoughts on Bloomberg’s article regarding Apple’s modem plans.
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Jeff Bezos Focusing On AI at Amazon, Sundar Pichai Talks Woke Culture
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:
Jeff Bezos Focusing On AI at Amazon
Sundar Pichai Talks Woke Culture
Hello everyone.
We will wrap up the week with something a little bit different. Over the past nine and half years of daily updates, we have only talked about an interview that took place at the NYT Dealbook Summit in NYC once – in 2021 when Tim Cook (virtually) spoke. This year, Jeff Bezos and Sundar Pichai sat for interviews with Andrew Ross Sorkin. We will talk about both interviews in greater detail.
When it comes to this conference, personalities (Andrew Ross Sorkin) trump the organization (The New York Times) hosting the event. This plays a big role in explaining why companies that don’t receive fair treatment in news coverage by the NYT still participate in a conference put on by the NYT. My stance would be that Big Tech companies should give both the NYT and their conferences the cold shoulder but that’s me.
Let’s jump in.
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A Deep Dive Into Tim Cook’s “Big” Interview With Steven Levy
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:
A Deep Dive Into Tim Cook’s “Big” Interview With Steven Levy
Happy Wednesday. Steven Levy, writing for WIRED, is out with a comprehensive interview with Tim Cook. Levy has been covering Apple for decades. He was one of the original iPhone reviewers in 2007. Today’s update will be dedicated to discussing the interview.
Let’s jump right in.
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Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions.
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AAPL Hits All-Time High, AAPL Valuation Metrics, Observations on Big Tech Valuation
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
AAPL Hits All-Time High
AAPL Valuation Metrics
Observations on Big Tech Valuation
We begin today’s update with my thoughts on AAPL shares hitting all-time highs. The discussion will then turn to an examination of AAPL valuation metrics (forward P/E, EV/FCF, and free cash flow yield). In addition to looking at Apple’s valuation metrics, there is value found in taking a broader look at how Big Tech is trading from a valuation perspective. We will keep our focus to free cash flow / enterprise value. While there may not be one gold standard valuation metric that all market participants prioritize, free cash flow remains my go-to metric. The data removes much of the noise that is found with income statement line items.
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