Apple Opens First Store in Malaysia, Apple and Emerging Markets, Signal-to-Noise
We begin with Apple opening its first store in Malaysia. The discussion will then turn more broadly to Apple’s emerging markets opportunity and the impact such countries can have on Apple’s installed base growth. We conclude with the signal-to-noise topic which came to mind when thinking about Apple’s store opening in Malaysia.
Hello everyone. Welcome to a new week. Today's update will take us through Apple Retail land. Let's jump right in.
Apple Opens First Store in Malaysia
Over the weekend, Apple held a grand opening for its first retail store in Malaysia.
In a press release issued this past Saturday, here’s Apple:
“Apple’s first retail location in Malaysia opened today in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s new Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) central business district. Apple The Exchange TRX will be an inspiring space for customers to discover and buy Apple’s innovative lineup of products, receive exceptional service, and learn how to get the most out of their devices through Today at Apple sessions.
To celebrate the opening, customers can participate in a special Today at Apple series, ‘Jom Discover,’ running through July 6. Customers can capture photos on iPhone with smashpop, enjoy a live performance by De Fam, explore how to sketch ideas on iPad with Iman Azman, create on Mac with Adam Lobo, and get moving with Nana Mohd.”
Before we go any further, notice the three things Apple drew attention to for what customers will experience at Apple The Exchange TRX:
Try out Apple products.
Receive customer support / service.
Receive ecosystem experiences / education via Today at Apple sessions.
Those three items / experiences are universal to Apple stores. While most companies are struggling with brick and mortar retail
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Apple Discontinues Apple Pay Later, A Limit to Apple’s Fintech Ambition, Apple’s Predicament
We begin with my thoughts on Apple discontinuing Apple Pay Later. We go over the “why” behind the move. The discussion then turns to Apple’s fintech ambition. We look at where Apple has likely drawn a line in the sand as to what can be done internally in the fintech space versus partnering with existing institutions. The update concludes with a closer look at Apple’s predicament in the space.
Hello everyone. Today’s update will be focused on Apple Pay Later news.
Let’s jump right in.
Apple Discontinues Apple Pay Later
At WWDC 2022, Apple announced it was getting into the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) space with a product called Apple Pay Later.
Apple Pay users in the U.S. would be able to split a purchase into four equal payments across six weeks with zero interest and no fees. Consumer loans are underwritten to facilitate BNPL purchases.
Apple Pay Later saw a limited launch in March 2023 with a broader rollout last October.
Last week, the following was posted to Apple’s Pay Later support page:
“Apple Pay Later is no longer offering new loans. Existing Apple Pay Later loans and purchases are not affected.”
That is another way of saying that Apple Pay Later has been discontinued. In a statement to various publications, Apple provided clarification to 9to5Mac:
“Starting later this year, users across the globe will be able to access installment loans offered through credit and debit cards, as well as lenders, when checking out with Apple Pay. With the introduction of this new global installment loan offering, we will no longer offer Apple Pay Later in the U.S. Our focus continues to be on providing our users with access to easy, secure and private payment options with Apple Pay, and this solution will enable us to bring flexible payments to more users, in more places across the globe, in collaboration with Apple Pay enabled banks and lenders.”
Apple Pay Later discontinuation is timed to coincide
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AAPL and Wacky Behavior
I would use extreme caution interpreting what's going on with Wall Street as it pertains to Apple shares. Attributing any single day move to a particular news catalyst is a futile exercise.
On June 11th, Apple shares closed up 7.2%. That is the one of the strongest daily moves higher in recent years (there were a few 10%+ moves in 2019 to 2021). For a $3T market cap company, it's noteworthy. One would assume the move higher was related to WWDC. Every Wall Street bank published their WWDC reaction article the night prior. However, there are a few things that give me pause about that thinking.
Apple shares did not gap significantly higher between Monday's close (June 10th) and Tuesday's open (June 11th). In fact, there was no gap at all. This suggests there was not a sudden event or realization the prior night or morning that led to a dramatic shift in demand/supply of issues. Shares were trading as high as $197 on the 10th. Shares opened somewhat calmly at $193 on the 11th. The next two hours saw significant volume and a big move higher. Even more strange? There was another huge move higher at the end of the day into the close.
How is that possible? What happened?
One answer: algorithm-driven / programming trading. On June 11th, demand and supply of AAPL shares was not necessarily driven by participants buying or selling because of WWDC or Apple Intelligence. Instead, computers took over as AAPL shares began to flash (positive) trading signals. To have shares (of the largest company mind you) move a few percentage points higher in an hour triggers bells on trading desks. Have it move 5% higher? More bells. 7%? Even more bells. The fact that these moves weren't overnight gaps factored into the programs. To then have all-time price highs be involved and technical resistance levels be broken, yep - more bells. We can debate technical analysis, but it's a fact programs take such variables into account.
As evidence that something funky happened with wide market participation, AAPL trading volume ended up being 4x average on June 11th. One possible explanation for the heavy volume: The buyside has been underweight AAPL shares all year. Given Apple's large weight in the S&P 500, if the company is underweight in a fund's portfolio and then shares moves significantly higher in price, those funds will see a bad day. As a result, they would need to buy AAPL shares to increase their exposure.
Of course, the market is large and there could be other factors at play. Do some analysts think Apple will sell more iPhones because of Apple Intelligence? Sure. Do some analysts think Apple will generate more Services revenue? Sure. Could those factors have impacted AAPL last week? Sure. This is why one can never be 100% confident that the same event is responsible for a daily tock price move. However, given the way AAPL shares traded last week, I suspect there was a lot more going on behind the scenes of a technical nature than just people being more bullish about iPhone sales or Apple Intelligence.
I do not think Wall Street comprehends long-term implications related to Apple any better today than pre-WWDC. It took Wall Street years to comprehend iPhone. Will likely see the same thing with Apple Vision Pro and spatial computing. Apple Intelligence? Will take years for Wall Street to fully digest.
WWDC Review: iOS 18, Audio & Home, watchOS 11, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia
Today’s update will conclude our keynote review as we go over iOS 18, Audio & Home (AirPods / tvOS), watchOS 11, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia.
Hello everyone. Over the past few updates, we have analyzed approximately half of Apple’s WWDC keynote. Today’s update will conclude our keynote review. Let’s jump right in.
WWDC Review: iOS 18, Audio & Home, watchOS 11, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia
Before we get to my granular notes, it is important to look at the big picture.
It’s tempting to look at the amount of stage time given to various Apple platforms and conclude that there wasn’t much announced or discussed. iOS 18 received 16% of stage time. WatchOS 11 and iPadOS 18 received just 7% of stage time each. If going by quantity, there wasn’t a wave of new features announced for each platform. However, Apple hasn’t prioritized new feature quantity at WWDC for years. Instead, Apple has emphasized new feature quality.
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Observations Attending WWDC, WWDC Keynote Priorities, An Impressive visionOS 2
As mentioned last week, we will shift our attention this week to everything from the WWDC keynote that wasn’t Apple Intelligence. For today's discussion, we will go over my broader observations from attending the keynote at WWDC and then talk visionOS 2.
Happy Monday. I flew out to Cupertino for WWDC. We will begin today’s update with some of my observations from Apple Park.
Observations Attending WWDC
WWDC is Apple's one event each year that is all about developers (as it should be). While the keynote has a mass market audience, everything else about WWDC is focused on helping developers navigate both new and existing platforms. Apple relied on the usual keynote viewing setup area with some developers seated up front near the stage. The press and media are positioned more in the center of the (large) viewing area where shared is provided by Apple Park's ring building. For the press, shaded seats are a hot commodity for both personal comfort and work (blogging, tweeting, etc.).
One thing that became apparent from attending this year’s WWDC is that the
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How Apple Intelligence Was Developed, Ranking Apple Intelligence Features, AAPL’s Wacky Price Action
There is value found in spending time on the details regarding how Apple Intelligence was developed and functions. We will then go over my thoughts on the various Apple Intelligence features, ranking the features from most impressive to most concerning. We will then address AAPL price action.
Happy Thursday. It’s been a very busy week. As a reminder, we still have some WWDC news to go over early next week.
There’s a lot to cover today, so let’s jump right in.
How Apple Intelligence Was Developed
During Apple’s Platforms State of the Union presentation (available to view here), which is aimed at developers, the company went into detail regarding how Apple Intelligence was developed.
Apple Intelligence began with an on-device large language model that Apple built to achieve a certain power/size balance that allowed it run on device yet power the experiences Apple wanted to offer. Apple relied on fine-tuning to “teach” the model certain tasks such as text summarization, proofreading etc. Instead of producing different models with different expertise objectives, Apple relied on adapters which basically gave the foundation model specialization capabilities.
Apple then compressed the model (16-bit per parameter down to 4-bit) with on-device being the goal.
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Breaking Down the ChatGPT / Apple Intelligence Integration, Is OpenAI Paying Apple?, Why Apple’s ChatGPT Integration Is Genius
Hello everyone.
I underestimated the amount of notes that I have for Apple Intelligence. In addition, Apple’s Platforms State of the Union, aimed at developers, offered an interesting look at Apple Intelligence. There are then questions coming in from members regarding Apple’s stock price move (+10% in two days).
Here’s the game plan:
Today’s focus will go over the Apple Intelligence / ChatGPT integration. While Apple didn’t dedicate much stage time to the news, there are many implications to consider.
For tomorrow, there is value found in spending time on the details regarding how Apple Intelligence functions. We will also talk about some of the Apple Intelligence features tomorrow. We will then address AAPL price action.
We will get to everything else from the WWDC keynote on Monday. This is not due to those items lacking interest. Instead, it’s just tough to reach everything in short order. There were also a few observations from Apple Park.
Let’s begin.
Breaking Down the ChatGPT / Apple Intelligence Integration
Heading into the WWDC keynote, reports had pegged Apple as announcing an agreement with OpenAI. None of the reports contained many details though. Bloomberg said the deal would amount to Apple offering a popular chatbot. Others said OpenAI would play a central role in Apple’s AI announcements.
Just two minutes off the 39 minutes given to Apple Intelligence went to ChatGPT integration news. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was in the viewing audience for the taped presentation at Apple Park. He did not make an appearance on the digital state.
Apple framed third-party model integration with Apple Intelligence as a way to offer Apple users external models that have broad world knowledge or domain expertise. Apple referred to ChatGPT as “the best of these [external models], the pioneer and market leader..."
The ChatGPT / Apple Intelligence Integration involves two delivery mechanisms:
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Apple Intelligence Is a Game Changer
Hello everyone. Given the way Apple put together the WWDC 2024 keynote, there is a natural divide that we will utilize for our review and analysis. The next two updates will be dedicated to Apple Intelligence. Today’s discussion will have a broader theme while we will go over the Apple Intelligence features and more on ChatGPT integration tomorrow. Thursday’s update will go over everything else from the keynote.
Yesterday, we had an entertaining (virtual) meetup in the member forum. If you haven't checked out how it went down, hop on over to the forum (using this link) and take a look. You can leave your own comments to any of the discussions as well.
Apple Intelligence Is a Game Changer
Apple has been tiptoeing into AI and ML for years. According to Apple's Craig Federighi, there are approximately 200 ML models being utilized for the latest iPhone flagships. There is then Apple’s extensive efforts with custom silicon and neural engines (going on seven years).
Yesterday, we saw a significantly more concerted and focused effort from Apple regarding intelligence. Some of that is due to the broader AI climate that we find ourselves in. For the past 18 months, we have been in generative AI mania. There is no question that Apple has felt pressure to tell the world its AI plans. However, we also saw Apple take its time to unveil a comprehensive alternative path for how to bring intelligence to the masses. While yesterday’s announcements will take time to fully rollout, what was announced yesterday was surprisingly detailed and multi-faceted.
Before we go any further, attention must be given to branding. Apple’s decision
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Thoughts Heading Into WWDC 2024
Hello everyone.
Apple’s WWDC keynote will be shown on Monday (1 pm ET) at Apple Park (and online). Today’s update will go over my thoughts ahead of next week.
Virtual Member Meetup on Monday. Following the WWDC keynote, there will be a virtual member meetup in the Above Avalon member forum in Slack (available here) on Monday at 6:00 pm ET / 3:00 pm PT. The meet-up will provide an opportunity for members to have conversations in real-time about everything that Apple announced. In addition to participating in the meetup myself, I moderate the discussion topics etc. The discussions are then made available afterwards for other members to read through in Slack. If you have never joined the Above Avalon team in Slack, you can request an invite here. If you have previously been in the Slack team, your email has already been registered and you can just log in. Any updates/changes related to the virtual meet-up will be shared in Slack, so keep an eye there on Monday.
Thoughts Heading Into WWDC 2024
The setup heading into this year’s WWDC can be described as strange. There is an odd situation unfolding on social media and online that boils down to tech and finance circles talking up anything and everything related to generative AI, to the point of sheer pandemonium, while the masses have a more lukewarm approach to everything that has been proposed so far by big Tech.
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NBA Media Rights Negotiations Wrapping Up, Where’s Apple?, NBA and Apple Immersive Video
Today's update will have an NBA / Apple theme. We begin with a close look at how the NBA media rights negotiations are trending (via the WSJ). The discussion goes over who are likely to be the big winners. We then turn to Apple and look at where the company is relative to NBA media rights. The update concludes with some ways the NBA can embrace Apple Immersive Video.
Hello everyone.
Some quick follow-up to yesterday’s discussion.
We talked about how publishers are receiving attractive monetization terms from Apple News and Apple News+. As for some of the details, if a publisher participates in the News Partner Program, they receive a 15% commission rate on in-app purchase subscriptions through their iOS app. This includes monthly subscription signups. That is not a bad commission rate, especially considering how other platforms for writers, like Substack, charge 10%. For Apple News ads monetization, publishers keep 100% of ads that they sell and 70% of ads that Apple sells. Again, not bad.
Today's update will have an NBA / Apple theme.
NBA Media Rights Negotiations Wrapping Up
Here’s the WSJ:
“The National Basketball Association entered its first TV negotiations in a decade with a problem: Its main business partners seemed to be on shaky footing.
TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery was saddled with more than $40 billion in debt, while ESPN parent Disney was battling a Wall Street activist over its slumping stock. Each company was reluctant to pony up the full premium the league wanted. But the NBA had quietly laid the groundwork with two other potential partners, Amazon and NBC, who pounced as soon as they got the chance.
Now, with negotiations ongoing as the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks prepare to face off in the NBA Finals, the league is on track to score big: It is closing in on deals with NBC, ESPN and Amazon that would bring in about $76 billion in media revenue over 11 years, people familiar with the discussions said.
The NBA sweepstakes has turned into a defining moment for the TV industry, highlighting the anxieties of traditional media companies about the collapse of cable and their uncertain financial futures in the streaming world. It has put front-and-center the paradox that sports content is outrageously expensive but also critical to own in an industry in which it is one of the few reliable ways to draw in audiences.”
Here are the NBA media rights details that the WSJ is hearing:
Disney: $2.6B/year for games (fewer than it currently airs) and the NBA Finals. The new ESPN streaming service that will launch will be able to air games.
Comcast (NBCUniversal): $2.5B/year for 100 games per season (half will air exclusively on Peacock). The NBC games
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Qualcomm’s Ridiculous Mac Ad, Publishers Talk up Apple News, Drivers Behind Apple News’ Success
Hello everyone. Happy Tuesday. The discussion begins with my thoughts on Qualcomm’s ridiculous Mac ad involving Justin Long. The update then turns to Apple News and publishers talking up the service. We look at why Apple News is working for publishers.
Qualcomm’s Ridiculous Mac Ad
In a cycle that seemingly never ends, Qualcomm and partners are trying once again to stop Apple’s Mac momentum. The back-and-forth goes back decades. The now iconic “Get a Mac” ad campaign from the 2000s kicked off an era of unprecedented mind share shifting that is still ongoing. One way of summing up the era was that the Mac had the cool factor and the PC (i.e. Windows-powered laptops and desktops) did not.
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Spotify Raises U.S. Prices…Again, Spotify’s Sneaky Audiobook Move, Apple’s Opportunity
Happy Monday.
Spotify is raising prices in the U.S. for the second time in a year. Back in April, over at Inside Orchard, I discussed how Spotify is being pulled in different directions as its advertising apparatus comes in weaker than management hoped.
For today’s discussion, we are going to take things in a different direction as there are some changes in the music streaming landscape that Apple can take advantage of.
Let's jump right in.
Spotify Raises U.S. Prices…Again
Here’s Variety:
“Spotify is hiking rates for its monthly streaming plans in the U.S. for the second time in a year.
The Spotify Premium Individual plan is increasing by $1, from $10.99 to $11.99 per month, according to the company’s updated price listings. The Premium Family plan, which provides access for up to six members a household, is going up by $3, from $16.99 to $19.99 per month.
In the U.S. — Spotify’s biggest market — the company raised prices on its subscription plans in July 2023, the first time it had increased rates since launching in the country in 2011.
‘As we continue to grow our platform, we are updating our Premium prices so that we can keep innovating in changing market conditions,’ the company says in an FAQ about the price increases on its customer-service site. ‘These updates will help us continue delivering value to fans.’”
Even though this latest price increase had been rumored for the past few months, a June effective date is earlier than expected. We will go over what looks to be a big driver behind these price hikes shortly.
Price increases have become the norm across the streaming landscape. On social media, pushback to price hikes have been mixed.
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Signs Point to New Beats Pill Speaker, Google and Magic Leap Form Partnership, First Up-Close Shots of Apple’s Immersive Video Cameras
Happy Friday.
We will conclude this week’s updates with three stories that caught my interest. The discussion begins with a new Beats speaker. We then turn to AR land and news of Google and Magic Leap forming a partnership. The update concludes with Apple Immersive Video.
Let’s jump right in.
Signs Point to New Beats Pill Speaker
We purposely don’t spend too much time talking Apple product rumors, partially because such rumors never end. However, there is one particular rumor that relates to a few recent discussion topics.
“Apple is preparing to launch its second Beats Pill product since acquiring the audio brand nearly a decade ago. After being bought by Apple in 2014, Beats introduced the Beats Pill+ that sold from 2015 to 2020. While it was discontinued without a replacement in sight, the forthcoming Beats Pill has been showing up everywhere from celebrity sightings to regulatory listings…
While good sound is key to great Bluetooth speakers, features and compatibility are equally important for creating standout products. 9to5Mac can report that the 2024 Beats Pill will bring a number of tricks and benefits over the discontinued Beats Pill+.
The new Beats Pill doubles battery life from up to 12 hours to up to 24 hours.
An IP67 rating adds dust and water resistance that previous hardware lacked.
The Bluetooth speaker will be compatible with both iOS and Android for one-touch pairing and auto pairing to compatible devices.
The 2024 Beats Pill adds Apple Find My and Google’s Find My Device compatibility for tracking down lost hardware."
One of those celebrity sightings included Lebron James (shown below with the rumored new Beats Pill speaker).
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About Those iPhone Sales Reports From China, Apple Designers Talk iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro
Hello everyone. Happy Wednesday.
We will jump into today's update with some iPhone news, followed by iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro.
About Those iPhone Sales Reports From China
Here’s Bloomberg:
“Apple Inc.’s iPhone staged a rebound in China last month with shipments rising 52% amid a flurry of discounts from retail partners.
The latest figures from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology [CAICT] showed smartphone shipments surging in the country, of which roughly 3.5 million units came from foreign brands, according to a Bloomberg calculation. The iPhone accounts for the vast majority of such devices, and its bounceback comes after it registered growth in March following steep declines in the first two months of the year."
What a whirlwind. There’s been a lot of noise written about iPhone sales in China. It’s comical how in just a few weeks the narrative has apparently shifted from “Apple is falling out of favor in China” to Apple is benefiting from a “premiumization trend in China.” The reality is that those making such claims aren’t sure what is going on and are instead trying to make sense of smartphone shipments data from CAICT.
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Apple & Beats: Ten Years Later, Grading the Beats Acquisition, Apple / Beats Lessons
Hello everyone. It’s good to be back after a long weekend.
Today’s update will be a bit different as we look back at Apple’s largest acquisition to date: Beats.
Let’s jump right in.
Apple & Beats: Ten Years Later
Today marks the tenth anniversary of Apple announcing its Beats acquisition. Rumors of the acquisition began to leak a few weeks prior in early May 2014. Some of you may have remembered the now infamous YouTube video of Dr. Dre prematurely celebrating the deal.
Things were made official on May 28th, 2024 with Apple paying $3B for Beats (down from the rumored $3.2B).
No subsequent Apple M&A deal has come close to that $3B price tag – the closest was $1B for a majority of Intel's smartphone modem business. It’s safe to say no other deal has been as controversial as Beats either.
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Microsoft’s Recall Feature, PC vs. Mac in Enterprise, Humane Looking To Sell
In today’s update, we go over my thoughts on Microsoft’s Recall feature. The discussion then turns to the theory that Apple has been successful in steadily picking off Windows users in enterprise settings. We conclude with Humane reportedly looking to sell itself just a month after releasing its pin.
Microsoft’s Recall Feature
Recall was one feature announced during Microsoft's pre-Build event that we did not talk about yesterday. Here's ArsTechnica:
"At a Build conference event on Monday, Microsoft revealed a new AI-powered feature called ‘Recall’ for Copilot+ PCs that will allow Windows 11 users to search and retrieve their past activities on their PC. To make it work, Recall records everything users do on their PC, including activities in apps, communications in live meetings, and websites visited for research. Despite encryption and local storage, the new feature raises privacy concerns for certain Windows users.
‘Recall uses Copilot+ PC advanced processing capabilities to take images of your active screen every few seconds,’ Microsoft says on its website. ‘The snapshots are encrypted and saved on your PC’s hard drive. You can use Recall to locate the content you have viewed on your PC using search or on a timeline bar that allows you to scroll through your snapshots.’”
You can maybe see what Microsoft was trying to accomplish here. People want to recall something they saw or did on their computer (on a website, in an email, in a PowerPoint presentation) but it’s too difficult or time-consuming to find the thing they want to find via traditional search mechanisms.
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Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC Event, It’s All About Apple, A Dystopian Future
Happy Tuesday. We will continue going over tech presentations as they take place. Today’s update will be dedicated to the Microsoft event that occurred yesterday.
Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC Event
One day before kicking off its Build developer conference, Microsoft held a 67-minute live presentation (not livestreamed) at its Washington headquarters that left me with more questions than answers.
Heading into the event, expectations called for Microsoft to have Windows, Surface, and AI news. While all of that ended up being true, the event came across as more of a PC industry pep rally for Windows partners to bring the fight to Apple (the Mac). The event didn’t come across to me as strong or, to be frank, compelling for consumers. Instead, the issues we have previously talked about regarding Microsoft having trouble connecting with consumers came to light.
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More on the Current State of iPad, CIRP’s Wacky iPad Upgrade Math, My iPad Upgrade Data
Hello everyone.
Last Friday, a new Above Avalon report, "iPad Pro and the Goal of Perfection," was sent out to all of you via email. For those of you with the podcast add-on, the audio version of the episode (20 minutes) came out on Friday as well – under the Above Avalon Reports podcast. For today's update, we will continue the iPad discussion.
More on the Current State of iPad
The newest Above Avalon report went over my thoughts and perspective regarding all things iPad.
For being 14 years old, the product category has had its fair share of ups and downs. In some ways, the iPad has seen it all.
While consensus, at least judging by tech-oriented social media, has been downbeat on iPad (iPadOS to be precise) for some time, my view is that the product category is in a good position. We don’t need to preface that with disclaimers and fine print either. While sales have been on the weak side post-pandemic, much of that is due to a slowdown in device – something that has unfolded across Apple’s products portfolio. Upgrading trends certainly weren’t boosted by the lack of iPad updates in 2023 (and 1Q24).
There are three overarching points anchoring my “iPad is doing better than consensus thinks” view (the report goes into each in much more detail):
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iPad Pro and the Goal of Perfection (Above Avalon Report)
An examination of Apple’s iPad strategy as the new iPad Pro goes on sale.
Written by Neil Cybart – May 17th, 2024.
The state of iPad is strong as Apple moves that much closer to its long-held goal of having the iPad become a magical piece of glass. If there is such a thing as an ideal state – a state of perfection – for iPad, Apple sure seems to be getting close. Of course, the company will never get to that point. Perfection is not an end state but rather a state of mind.
Apple has rightly resisted calls to morph iPad into a Mac hybrid. Criticism that the iPad has somehow fallen short of its initial expectations fail to acknowledge the product category’s positioning within the Apple ecosystem. iPad is a touch-first computer offering more versatility than any other Apple product category.
With the iPad Pro cementing its place as the marquee iPad, a discussion regarding the new iPad Pro will inevitably evolve into a discussion about the current state of the iPad.
We begin such a discussion by looking at the iPad’s early days.
Table of Contents
History
The New iPad Pro
iPad Strategy
Criticism
My iPad Theory
Future
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Google I/O 2024, Project Astra, Imagen 3 / Music AI Sandbox / Veo
Happy Wednesday.
Yesterday’s update was all about OpenAI’s spring event. Today’s update is all about Google I/O 2024.
Let’s jump right in.
Google I/O 2024
Sundar Pichai kicked off the I/O 2024 keynote (video available here) by saying Google was fully in its Gemini era, after more than a decade of AI work. Gemini is Google’s multimodal model which can turn any input (text, images, video, code, and more) into any output. Sundar said that the combination of Gemini, multimodal, long context, and agents brings Google closer to its ultimate goal of making AI helpful for everyone.
The keynote’s first 15 minutes may have been one of the better openings to Google I/O in years.
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An audio version of the newsletter is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership. More information about the podcast add-on is found here. Special Inside Orchard bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members. Additional membership customization is available via the Financial Models add-ons.