Rivian Shifts to Google Maps, Uber Partnering With Lucid and Nuro on Autonomous Fleet, Tesla’s Awful 2Q25 Delivery Figures
Hello everyone.
We will wrap up the week in the automobile space.
Before we jump into today's update, a quick Above Avalon Weekly Recap - new analysis published this week elsewhere in the Above Avalon ecosystem.
The AVALON Podcast. Episode 7 – “Tim Cook’s Tim Cook Is Retiring” included approximately an hour-long discussion regarding Jeff Williams, the Apple COO transition, Apple CEO succession, and how all of these moving parts impact Apple product development. Additional podcast discussion topics included Robinhood and Apple’s Journal app. AVALON, my new weekly podcast loosely modeled after Apple's Monday morning meetings, is available via a standalone subscription. Bundle the podcast with this daily newsletter and receive 40% off AVALON pricing (just +$6/month or +$60/year). More information is available here.
Rivian Shifts to Google Maps
Here’s TechCrunch:
“For 18 months, Rivian and Google engineers worked together. Today, they’re showing off their work.
Rivian is pushing out a software update that will bring a unique version of Google Maps into its EVs. It’s the latest step in Rivian’s continued effort to distinguish its vehicles with software — an effort that has helped it strike up a joint venture with one of the world’s biggest automakers, Volkswagen.
This isn’t a typical Google Maps integration and it’s unlike the tech company’s other collaborations in the automotive sector. For years, Google has pushed into automotive through its smartphone projection app called Android Auto, as well as Google Built-In, an Android Automotive operating system that integrates Google services directly into the vehicle and is used by automakers like Volvo.
The collaboration with Rivian is neither. Instead, Rivian customers who use the in-car navigation will no longer see the Mapbox-based maps. Now, they’ll see Google Maps, but with a lot of Rivian DNA sprinkled on top, including its trip planner, user interface, and design, and EV charger locations, according to Rivian’s chief of software, Wassym Bensaid.”
This news didn’t receive too much attention as Rivian is a niche EV manufacturer (~130,000 vehicle sales to date). In addition, Rivian isn’t shifting from Apple to Google which would have led to a wave of sensational headlines. Instead, Rivian is moving from its own in-house mapping solution to a highly customizable Google Maps solution.
On some levels, this shift looks like Rivian coming up
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Apple TV+ Scores (Again) With Emmy Nominations, Apple TV+ Perception Is Changing, Netflix Losing Share in Video Streaming
Happy Wednesday.
We will keep this week’s discussion pace up by jumping straight into today’s update.
Apple TV+ Scores (Again) with Emmy Nominations
In a press release issued yesterday, here’s Apple:
“Apple TV+ today earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 hit Apple Original titles for this year’s 77th Emmy Awards. Severance became this year’s most-nominated series with 27 nominations, and The Studio made history as the most-nominated freshman comedy series with 23 nominations in total. Additionally, with top program nominations for drama (Slow Horses) and comedy (Shrinking), Apple TV+ became the only network to have multiple titles nominated in the Outstanding Comedy and Drama Series categories. Apple also landed the most acting nominations of any network or studio this year, with 31 performance nods total.”
Apple has remained tight-lipped about Apple TV+ subscriber and revenue numbers. While there are some decent but not great ways of backing into OK estimates, we don’t have anything official from the company.
In terms of measurable data points, one thing we have for Apple TV+ is the number of Hollywood award nominations. Consider the past five year’s worth of Emmy nomination totals for Apple:
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NVIDIA Gets H20 Chip Permit for China, Revisiting Trump's Middle East Trip, Apple Places $500M Bet on American Rare Earth Magnets
Happy Tuesday. Let’s jump right into today’s update.
NVIDIA Gets H20 Chip Permit for China
Here’s the AP:
“Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang says the technology giant has won approval from the Trump administration to sell its advanced H20 computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence to China.
The news came in a company blog post late Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run CGTN television network in remarks shown on X.
‘The U.S. government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,’ the post said.
‘Today, I’m announcing that the U.S. government has approved for us filing licenses to start shipping H20s,’ Huang told reporters in Beijing. He noted that half of the world’s AI researchers are in China.
‘It’s so innovative and dynamic here in China that it’s really important that American companies are able to compete and serve the market here in China,’ he said.”
NVIDIA’s H20 chip, designed for inference tasks rather than training, is the most powerful chip that can be sold to China based on existing export controls. Based on the amount of order front-running conducted by Chinese firms in 1Q25, ahead of possible sales ban, the H20 chip is in high demand.
This is a good-sized win for NVIDIA. Huang appears to have played the back-and-forth political game very well. China represents about 15% of NVIDIA’s overall business which isn’t that much lower than the percentage that China represents of Apple’s business.
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Apple Seeking Formula 1 Media Rights, Apple Needs to Bet Big on Immersive Video, Factors in Apple’s Favor
Happy Monday. We will kick off a new week of updates with Apple reportedly being close to securing Formula 1 media rights. Let’s jump right in.
Apple Seeking Formula 1 Media Rights
In a report published on July 9th, here's the Financial Times:
“Apple is in talks to acquire the US rights to screen Formula 1 as the tech group chases the success of its hit movie based on the race car series and delves further into showing live sport.
The iPhone maker is challenging Disney’s ESPN — Formula 1’s current American broadcaster — when the broadcast contract becomes available next year, according to two people familiar with the discussions…
The race car series makes in the region of $85mn a year from its existing broadcast partner ESPN. F1 also streams live races on its own streaming service in the US, charging fans directly…
F1 is yet to make a decision on its future broadcasting arrangements and ESPN may yet retain the rights, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
ESPN had an exclusive period of time to negotiate a deal without competition from other bidders. However, that window ended without a deal last year, opening the process to rivals. Other bidders are also expected to seek the rights.”
Back in 2022, Apple Studios secured what went on to be "F1 The Movie." The film required extensive collaboration between Formula 1 (F1) and Apple / productions crews. While that was going on, Apple had been rumored to also have an interest in bidding for F1 media rights. It was logical to assume that Apple thought highly enough of F1 to want to also play in their media rights.
There was a stretch in which Apple was no longer mentioned as a potential suitor for F1 media rights. That may not necessarily have been due to Apple losing interest, but rather shortcomings in reporting.
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Jeff Williams and the Apple Machine
Hello everyone.
Today’s update will serve as a wrap to our Jeff Williams / Sabih Khan / Apple COO transition discussion. On Tuesday, we went over my initial thoughts regarding Apple's announcement. Yesterday, we focused specifically on Apple CEO succession which has been thrust into the spotlight given the COO transition. For today's update, we will focus on Jeff Williams.
Weekly Above Avalon Recap. A few programming notes regarding new analysis published this week elsewhere in the Above Avalon ecosystem.
AVALON. This week’s AVALON podcast episode was focused on the App Store. The episode included a good 60 minutes on the current state of the App Store and what’s been going on with recent court rulings. For those of you who enjoy audio podcasts, AVALON is a perfect complement to this newsletter. To listen to episode 6: Bundle the AVALON podcast with this daily newsletter for just +$6/month (that’s 40% off regular pricing) by filling out this form. Want to get a feel for the podcast? Check out AVALON on X or on Threads for some sample clips from episodes.
Inside Orchard. Over at Above Avalon’s sibling site, my new essay, "It's Time to Double Down on Digital Mapping," was focused on digital mapping. During my recent vacation, shortcomings found with Apple Maps and Google Maps point to how we are likely undershooting in terms of mapping potential and promises. There is so much that isn't materializing. To read and listen to the essay: Bundle Inside Orchard with this newsletter for just +$5/month (that’s 50% off regular pricing) by filling out this form.
Let’s jump into today’s discussion.
Jeff Williams and the Apple Machine
Without the CEO title next to his name, Jeff Williams has never received the public recognition that he deserves when it comes to superior managerial capabilities and overall contributions to Apple spanning more than 20 years.
In the early years of Cook’s CEO era, Williams was actually given a decent press spotlight. For example, he sat down with Walt Mossberg at the 2015 Code Conference.
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More on Apple CEO Succession, Tim Cook on Apple CEO Succession, The Ideal Candidate for Apple CEO
Happy Wednesday. The plan is to stay on the Apple COO transition for the rest of this week. Today’s update will look more at Apple CEO succession. We will circle back to talk about Jeff Williams tomorrow.
Let’s jump right in.
More on Apple CEO Succession
There’s been a great deal of chatter about age when it comes to Apple CEO succession. Certain Apple executives seem to be talked up by some primarily because of their age while others, including Cook, are being penalized due to their age. On a certain level, focusing on age is not too surprising. It is true that average age of Apple’s senior ranks is higher now than it was a decade ago. Much of that is due to the lack of turnover at the top.
My view on age is that the topic is being elevated too much compared to where it should be in terms of a value-add Apple CEO succession dialogue. There is too much focus on age and not enough on the CEO role itself.
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Apple COO Jeff Williams to Retire, Revisiting Apple CEO Succession
Hello everyone. Today’s update will be dedicated to going over Apple’s COO transition. The news broke a few hours ago. We will likely have more to say about the topic tomorrow as well.
Apple COO Jeff Williams to Retire
Here’s Apple:
“Apple today announced Jeff Williams will transition his role as chief operating officer later this month to Sabih Khan, Apple’s senior vice president of Operations, as part of a long-planned succession. Williams will continue reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook and overseeing Apple’s world-class design team and Apple Watch alongside the company’s Health initiatives. Apple’s design team will then transition to reporting directly to Cook after Williams retires late in the year…
‘Jeff and I have worked alongside each other for as long as I can remember, and Apple wouldn’t be what it is without him. He’s helped to create one of the most respected global supply chains in the world; launched Apple Watch and overseen its development; architected Apple’s health strategy; and led our world-class team of designers with great wisdom, heart, and dedication,’ said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. ‘I am and will always be beyond grateful for his numerous contributions to Apple over the years and his loyal friendship. Jeff’s true legacy can be seen in the amazing team he’s created and, while he’ll be greatly missed, he leaves the work of the future in incredible hands.’"
The entire press release made for an interesting read. Here's Williams:
“‘I have a deep love for Apple. Working with all of the amazing people at this company has been a privilege of a lifetime, and I can’t thank Tim enough for the opportunity, his inspirational leadership, and our friendship over the years...June marked my 27th anniversary with Apple, and my 40th in the industry. Beginning next year, I plan to spend more time with friends and family, including five grandchildren and counting. I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Sabih for 27 years and I think he’s the most talented operations executive on the planet. I have tremendous confidence in Apple’s future under his leadership in this role.’”
Williams joined Apple in 1998 as head of worldwide procurement. While Cook was the unsung hero during the Jobs era, Williams was Tim Cook’s unsung hero. Appointed COO in December 2015, Williams spent the past decade overseeing the critical teams that kept the Apple machine running.
Over the years, Williams’ responsibility evolved to include:
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More on “F1 The Movie” Success, Capex vs. Depreciation, Keep an Eye on Big Tech Headcount
Happy Monday. We will kick off a new week of updates with some follow-up to topics that we discussed last week.
Let's jump right in.
More on “F1 The Movie” Success
In what probably shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise, some people aren’t happy about the way Apple's “F1 The Movie” is being talked up in terms of box office receipts. The film pulled in another $26M this past weekend in the U.S., bringing worldwide gross to $293M.
Over on a site called Cosmic Book News, Matt McGloin doesn’t understand why people are claiming “F1 The Movie” is a success given its budget and the estimated figure needed for the film to break even.
Here’s McGloin:
“Sure, it’s nice to see something original open for once, and which is also a crowd-pleaser (97% RT fan score), but at the end of the day, this isn’t about ‘artistic wins’ or ‘social media buzz.’ F1: The Movie needs to make money. And right now, it’s looking like it’s stuck in reverse.”
McGloin wasn’t alone in holding such an attitude as a few social media accounts made a similar point. Interestingly, a common theme to such criticism seems to be interest in the superhero film genre. It’s possible that some people are upset that an increasing number of superhero films are being labeled as flops or duds while “F1 The Movie" receives positive commentary and praise.
The point regarding “F1 The Movie” needing to pass a certain box office threshold to reach breakeven deserves follow-up.
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Apple Revises DMA Approach in EU, Microsoft Announces Big Layoffs, Microsoft Makes Deep Cuts to Gaming, Apple Loses Motion to Dismiss Antitrust Suit
Hello everyone.
Today’s update combines Wednesday’s and Thursday’s updates into one jam-packed email. With Wall Street closing early today (Thursday) for the long Fourth of July weekend here in the U.S., we will follow the same idea. If you are celebrating the long weekend, enjoy it.
Let’s jump in.
Apple Revises DMA Approach in EU
Three months ago, the European Commission found Apple to be in violation of various DMA stipulations. On June 26th, Apple announced “a series of additional changes under the Digital Markets Act” to address the perceived violations (and avoid fines). The changes consisted of the following:
Revised (i.e. relaxed) anti-steering guidelines and accompanying business terms for developers who will utilize the new guidelines. Developers choose between having link-outs / webviews / alternative payment processing or sticking with in-app purchase (IAP).
Revised business terms for all developers as Apple transitions from the Core Technology Fee (a per install fee) to the Core Technology Commission (percentage of revenue) on digital goods and services.
Revised user experiences for installing alternative app marketplaces and apps from a developer’s website. The screen that is shown prior to non-IAP purchases has also been revised.
For ~95% of iOS developers with apps in the App Store in the EU, these revisions
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More on Apple’s “F1 The Movie” Marketing, Apple Needs to Do More Ecosystem Marketing
Hello everyone. Welcome to July.
A quick programming alert.
A new AVALON podcast episode is available.
“Don’t Lose Brad Pitt’s Phone Number” was about “F1 The Movie,” Apple TV+ strategy, movie theater headwinds, and more. The unscripted weekly podcast, loosely modeled after Apple’s famous Monday morning meetings, is a perfect complement to this daily newsletter. Above Avalon members receive special subscription pricing for AVALON. More information is available here.
Let's jump into today's discussion.
More on Apple’s “F1 The Movie” Marketing
In addition to what we can refer to as traditional marketing for “F1 The Movie” (cable, print, brand partnerships, etc.), Apple leveraged its ecosystem to push the film.
Consider the following examples of how Apple tied in its various services, apps, and products to get the word out about “F1 The Movie”:
Apple News / Apple Podcasts: A GQ profile was highlighted by the Apple News team and turned into an Apple News+ Narrated podcast.
Apple Maps: Users can see “iconic tracks” from “F1 The Movie.” See the image below.
Apple Wallet: The (controversial) Apple Pay promotion for "F1 The Movie" tickets purchased through Fandango.
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Apple’s “F1 The Movie” Scores at Box Office, A Big Win for Tim Cook and Eddy Cue, Apple’s Controversial Apple Pay Promotion
Happy Monday. It feels good to be back after some time off. Fortunately, it looks like the news flow was on the light side last week. We will use the down time to follow-up on several topics in addition to focusing on a few new topics.
Let’s jump right in.
Apple’s “F1 The Movie” Scores at Box Office
Here’s Variety:
“It’s lights out and away we go at the box office as ‘F1,’ a big-budget racing drama starring Brad Pitt, impressively revs to $55.6 million in its domestic opening weekend.
With great reviews and a promising ‘A’ grade on CinemaScore exit polls, ‘F1’ landed in the middle of expectations of $50 million to $60 million. At the international box office, the film collected a strong $88.4 million from 78 markets. Those initial ticket sales are significant given ‘F1’ is an adult-skewing tentpole that’s not part of an existing film franchise — a rarity in today’s I.P.-dominated movie theater landscape…
‘F1’ also marks the first commercial hit for Apple, the tech giant that financed the nearly $250 million-budgeted movie. (Apple put the production budget at $200 million but others have reported the number is closer to $300 million). That’s not including the many millions on promotional efforts, including a globe-spanning press tour. And since Apple doesn’t have a distribution arm, the company is paying a fee to Warner Bros. to put the film in theaters. WB will also receive a percentage of theatrical revenues that increases with certain box office benchmarks.”
While we still need to see how “F1 The Movie” performs over the next few weeks, including the all-important long Fourth of July weekend, there is no question that the film will become Apple’s highest-grossing movie, surpassing “Napoleon” which grabbed $221M.
It’s rational to conclude Apple’s unprecedented marketing push contributed to the film’s opening weekend success. Apple leveraged nearly every one of its content distribution services to let users know about the film in some way (as Apple should do). Hollywood is envious of Apple today as anyone behind a potential blockbuster film craves Apple’s ability to use its ecosystem to promote a film. There is a larger discussion to be had when it comes to Apple using its products and services to inform users of other Apple products, services, and content. We will tackle that topic tomorrow.
While extensive marketing certainly helps a film’s prospects at theaters, box office success has become far more complicated.
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Apple Goes All-In on “F1 The Movie,” Why Apple Is Doing Apple TV+, Betting on Storytelling in a Sea of TikToks
Hello everyone.
A quick programming alert: Episode 3 of my all-new AVALON podcast has been released. The weekly podcast, which is my first unscripted podcast, is loosely modeled after Apple’s Monday morning executive meetings. Episode 3 was focused on Siri, digital voice assistants, chatbots, and more. The episode came in at 86 minutes. If you enjoy podcasts and Above Avalon, I think you are going to really like AVALON. Bundle the podcast with your membership for just +$6/month or +$60/year (both are 40% off regular AVALON pricing) by filling out this form. Bundle the Podcasts add-on and receive both the Above Avalon Daily and AVALON podcasts for just +$10/month (a really great deal).
Let’s jump into today’s discussion which will take us to Apple TV+ land.
Apple Goes All-In on “F1 The Movie”
Apple is going all-in on promoting its upcoming film, “F1 The Movie.” Apple Studios is one of four production companies behind the film with Apple Original Films joining Warner Bros. Pictures on the distribution front. (Apple is handling the streaming video on demand component.)
Consider the following marketing events:
WWDC keynote: The opening video was used to market the film.
June 10th: Apple held a pre-screening of the film at Steve Jobs Theater for WWDC attendees and media/press.
June 11th: Apple released an innovative “F1 The Movie” haptic trailer that works with the iPhone Taptic Engine. This is the first-of-a-kind trailer. It's pretty cool. Give it a try (on an iPhone) here.
This past Sunday: Following a “Severance” panel at Apple’s flagship store in NYC, Tim Cook and Brad Pitt made a surprise appearance to push F1 The Movie.
This past Monday: A number of senior Apple executives were front-and-center at the worldwide premiere in NYC.
These events, in addition to traditional press, combine to represent a marketing push from Apple unlike anything we have seen with a prior Apple TV+ film or movie. In some ways, Tim Cook and Eddy Cue are going all-in and in the process positioning “F1 The Movie” as a barometer of Apple’s six-plus-year bet on original video.
We will see how the movie ticket numbers pan out. If “F1 The Movie” brings people out to the theaters, Cook and Cue are going to receive a major boost of validation. (If there are any heat waves in the U.S., that will help get people into AC-equipped theaters.) If the movie flops, the list of Apple PR headaches will grow.
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My Reaction to Apple’s Post-Keynote Press at WWDC, Apple Talks iPad vs. Mac
Taking a quick step back to recap where we are from an analysis perspective.
Last week’s Above Avalon Daily updates went over my thoughts on WWDC news and announcements. This week’s updates cover interesting observations from the various Apple executive interviews that took place after the keynote.
My plan, as of now, is to use slower news periods in July to revisit some WWDC announcements that can benefit from more thorough examination.
Let’s jump right in.
My Reaction to Apple’s Post-Keynote Press at WWDC
Monday’s update was focused specifically on Apple’s explanation regarding more personal Siri being delayed. For today’s update, we will look more broadly at Apple’s post-WWDC press strategy.
Craig Federighi, SVP software engineering, and Greg Joswiak, SVP worldwide marketing, handled the bulk of Apple’s WWDC 2025 press. Tim Cook and Eddy Cue have been busy with "F1 The Movie" marketing. More on that in tomorrow’s update.
Instead of Federighi and Joswiak appearing on John Gruber’s “The Talk Show,” which had become something of a tradition during WWDC, Apple went with:
Tom’s Guide (Mark Spoonauer) and Tech Rader (Lance Ulanoff). The video is available here.
WSJ (Joanna Stern). The video is available here.
In addition to those two “big” video interviews, Federighi and Joswiak did a handful of other video interviews with non-U.S. press and a few other media personalities. A week later, there are still new interviews appearing on my radar. We should begin to see some written press interviews as well as those tend to take a bit longer to turn around.
Each year, Apple makes some adjustments in its PR strategy, including the choice of outlets that receive interviews.
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Apple Talks Siri Delay, Remaining (Siri Delay) Questions, Takeaways
Hello everyone. Welcome to a new week. We will begin this week’s updates with a look at Apple’s post-keynote press at WWDC. Specifically, we will talk about Apple’s comments regarding the Siri delay.
Let’s jump right in.
Apple Talks Siri Delay
Back in March, Apple officially delayed a handful of Siri features that had been framed at WWDC 2024 as a more personal Siri. At the time, Apple did not give much of an explanation for the delay.
Here was Apple’s full statement:
“Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly, and in just the past six months, we’ve made Siri more conversational, introduced new features like type to Siri and product knowledge and added an integration with ChatGPT. We’ve also been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps. It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.”
At the time, that statement came across to me as Apple has a workable product in hand because they wouldn’t otherwise say the features will be available in the coming year. This also led me to conclude that reliability issues found with a more contextually aware and intelligent Siri using on-device LLMs on iOS 18 was the reason for the delay versus the features simply not working.
As a refresher, the “more personal” Siri features that were delayed included:
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Interesting Notes and Tidbits From Apple’s WWDC Keynote
Happy Friday everyone. As this crazy busy week comes to an end, today’s update will have a more informal feel as we go over my remaining notes from Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote.
To recap my WWDC analysis as found in the daily updates:
Tuesday: Major themes.
Wednesday: Four features that provide clear signs of where Apple is headed.
Today: My remaining notes from the keynote and event.
Let's jump into today's update.
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