Going After the Next 250 Million Wrists (AVALON Podcast)
In the 19th episode of the AVALON podcast, Neil discussed the following topics/subjects:
What's on the Agenda (the bulk of the discussion modeled after Apple’s Monday morning meetings)
My Apple Watch Ultra 3 impressions.
Apple Watch onboarding.
Apple Watch strategy.
My Apple Watch installed base / sales estimates.
The value found with computing on the wrist.
Is the Apple Watch being held back by Apple?
Lighting Round (two topics two minutes each)
Anthropic’s NYC pop-up shop (via Air Mail’s brick-and-mortar location).
EA sells itself to private equity.
Give Me a Break (something ridiculous that jumped out at me)
Sora 2 and AI slop.
Tell Me More (something intriguing that has my attention)
Anthropic is on to something with its “Keep Thinking” brand campaign.
Listen to the first four minutes of the episode below:
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Choose a monthly subscription or go with annual to save. (Charges can be expensed by your employer as the podcast is filled with analysis and research. If you need paid invoice receipts, go with the annual plan.)
Upon signup, you will receive a welcome email with directions for getting the podcast in your player. AVALON can be listened to in Apple Podcasts and various third-party podcast players including Pocket Casts, Overcast, and Castro.
If you are currently an Above Avalon member (good choice), with the Podcasts add-on attached to your membership, you get the AVALON podcast for FREE. This is one of the best deals available in the Above Avalon ecosystem.
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OpenAI’s App Pitch, OpenAI’s HW Strategy, OpenAI Running Into Device Delays
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
OpenAI’s App Pitch
OpenAI’s HW Strategy
OpenAI Running Into Device Delays
Hello everyone. For today’s update, we continue the discussion that was found in Tuesday’s update regarding OpenAI. It’s been a while since we have seen genuine angst in the air regarding alternatives to the digital app paradigm. We discuss OpenAI’s vision behind “Apps in ChatGPT.” The update then turns to recapping where OpenAI’s hardware play is most likely headed. We conclude with a closer look at the Financial Times’ report regarding Jony Ive and the OpenAI team running into product development issues involving new devices.
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An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
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OpenAI’s DevDay Keynote, Where My Skepticism Is Found, Jony Ive’s Fireside Chat at DevDay
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
OpenAI’s DevDay Keynote
Where My Skepticism Is Found
Jony Ive’s Fireside Chat at DevDay
Hello everyone. Today’s update will be dedicated to OpenAI which held its third annual developer conference yesterday in San Francisco.
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An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
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EA Sells to Private Equity, Gaming Industry Continues to Change, Anthropic’s NYC Pop-up Shop
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
EA Sells to Private Equity
Gaming Industry Continues to Change
Anthropic’s NYC Pop-up Shop
Hello everyone. We will jump into a new week of updates with gaming news. EA will be acquired for $55 billion in what is the largest PE-funded buyout in history. The discussion then turns to Anthropic’s interesting pop-up shop in NYC.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
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Yes, AirPods Are Still Being Underestimated (AVALON Podcast)
In the 18th episode of the AVALON podcast, Neil discussed the following topics/subjects:
What's on the Agenda (the bulk of the discussion modeled after Apple’s Monday morning meetings)
My AirPods Pro 3 impressions.
AirPods as an AI device.
Usage trends / public acceptance for AirPods.
AirPods as a platform.
Where Apple can bring AirPods.
AirPods sales / addressable market / installed base.
Lighting Round (two topics two minutes each)
OpenAI and Anthropic launch first genuine ad campaigns / major differences in commercials.
Oura surpasses $10 billion valuation.
Give Me a Break (something ridiculous that jumped out at me)
Bloomberg’s attempt at a hit piece with its “Why Apple has a big AI problem” video.
Tell Me More (something intriguing that has my attention)
How some things in life haven’t changed despite technology. Observations from recent trips to my childhood playground and a local high school football game.
Listen to the first four minutes of the episode below:
Become a subscriber to continue listening to the 74-minute episode. Already an AVALON subscriber? The episode “Yes, AirPods Are Still Being Underestimated” is in your podcast player.
Choose a monthly subscription or go with annual to save. (Charges can be expensed by your employer as the podcast is filled with analysis and research. If you need paid invoice receipts, go with the annual plan.)
Upon signup, you will receive a welcome email with directions for getting the podcast in your player. AVALON can be listened to in Apple Podcasts and various third-party podcast players including Pocket Casts, Overcast, and Castro.
If you are currently an Above Avalon member (good choice), with the Podcasts add-on attached to your membership, you get the AVALON podcast for FREE. This is one of the best deals available in the Above Avalon ecosystem.
If you are an Above Avalon member without the Podcast add-on, no worries - you still receive a large 40% discount. Pay just an extra $6 per month (or $60 per year) for AVALON by filling out this form.
Let’s Talk About Bloomberg’s Vision Pro Hit Piece, Revisiting Apple’s Spatial Computing Strategy
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
Let’s Talk About Bloomberg’s Vision Pro Hit Piece
Revisiting Apple’s Spatial Computing Strategy
Hello everyone. For today’s update, we will take a closer look at a Bloomberg article regarding Apple that made quite a few waves the past two days. Simply put, there is a lot of noise found with the article. Let’s discuss.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
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Amazon Unveils New Hardware, A Few Alexa+ Product Highlights, Search Party
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
Amazon Unveils New Hardware
A Few Alexa+ Product Highlights
Search Party
Hello everyone. Let’s keep running ahead with an update focused on Amazon. The company held a hardware event this past Tuesday. Let’s jump in.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
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Meta Launches Vibes, OpenAI Launches Sora 2, Sora as a Social App?
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
Meta Launches Vibes
OpenAI Launches Sora 2
Sora as a Social App?
Hello everyone. Based on the number of incoming comments related to Monday’s update, we will stay in AI land for today’s update. The discussion will be focused on AI-generated videos as Meta and OpenAI battle each other for attention with new product launches.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
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OpenAI’s First Ad Campaign for ChatGPT, Anthropic's First Ad Campaign for Claude, Chatbot Rivalry
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
OpenAI’s First Ad Campaign for ChatGPT
Anthropic's First Ad Campaign for Claude
Chatbot Rivalry
Hello everyone. We will kick off a new week of updates with something a little bit different - a deep dive into the inaugural ad campaigns for some of the largest AI startups (OpenAI, Anthropic) and Perplexity. Let's jump in.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
Choose either a monthly or annual subscription. 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 subscription status at any time.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Exclusive Analysis. Receive the Above Avalon Daily newsletter, widely-recognized as the leading daily newsletter dedicated to Apple. Now in its tenth year.
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iPhone Air as a Bridge to AI Devices?
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following story:
iPhone Air as a Bridge to AI Devices?
We will continue this week’s Apple product strategy focus. One of the more intriguing discussion topics arising from Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event has been found with how Apple will leverage the iPhone Air in terms of other products. We take a closer look at the assertion that the iPhone Air is a bridge to future (AI) devices from Apple. There is reason to approach the assertion from a different direction.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
Choose either a monthly or annual subscription. 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 subscription status at any time.
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Smart Rings vs. Smartwatches, Smart Bands vs. Smartwatches, Smart Glasses vs. Smartwatches
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
Smart Rings vs. Smartwatches
Smart Bands vs. Smartwatches
Smart Glasses vs. Smartwatches
The update that came out earlier today (accessible here) got me thinking more about smart rings. We will kick this update off with a more thorough examination of the smart ring vs. smartwatch comparison. The discussion will then naturally evolve to cover another health tracker that has been gaining a bit of buzz. We conclude our smartwatch design topic by circling back to Meta’s Ray-Ban Display glasses.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
Choose either a monthly or annual subscription. 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 subscription status at any time.
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Exclusive Analysis. Receive the Above Avalon Daily newsletter, widely-recognized as the leading daily newsletter dedicated to Apple. Now in its tenth year.
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Apple Unveils First Third-Party Films In Apple Immersive, Oura Surpasses $10B Valuation, Oura vs. Apple Watch
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
Apple Unveils First Third-Party Films In Apple Immersive
Oura Surpasses $10B Valuation
Oura vs. Apple Watch
Hello everyone. We are going to keep running forward with some Apple Vision Pro news. While the goal was to get this update out late on Tuesday, it was held back until morning to look at some new Apple Immersive Video with fresh eyes. Our attention will then turn to Oura, the smart ring maker. The company is raising $875M at a $10.9B valuation. We take a closer look at how Oura compares to Apple Watch.
Let’s go.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
Choose either a monthly or annual subscription. 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 subscription status at any time.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Exclusive Analysis. Receive the Above Avalon Daily newsletter, widely-recognized as the leading daily newsletter dedicated to Apple. Now in its tenth year.
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Thoughts on iPhone Demand, Apple Is Being Underestimated, What Meta’s Connect Keynote Demo Fails Revealed
Today's Above Avalon Daily update includes the following stories:
Thoughts on iPhone Demand
Apple Is Being Underestimated
What Meta’s Connect Keynote Demo Fails Revealed
The update kicks off with my thoughts on iPhone demand over iPhone launch weekend and heading into Apple’s FY26. We then discuss how the iPhone is the latest example of Apple being underestimated. The update concludes with an observation regarding how Meta’s keynote demo fails at Connect were perceived on social media.
An Above Avalon Daily subscription is required to read this daily update. Subscribers can read the update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
Choose either a monthly or annual subscription. 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 subscription status at any time.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Exclusive Analysis. Receive the Above Avalon Daily newsletter, widely-recognized as the leading daily newsletter dedicated to Apple. Now in its tenth year.
Archive Access. Access previous newsletters sent to members.
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Meta Connect 2025, The Problem(s) With Meta Ray-Ban Display, Mark Zuckerberg’s “Youth” Strategy
Hello everyone. Today’s update will be dedicated to discussing Meta and their new smart glasses with a display.
Meta Connect 2025
Continuing the string of brutal live keynotes in the consumer tech space, making it through Meta’s Connect 2025 keynote was a tough 58-minute slog. Connect is Meta’s annual developers conference dedicated to AR/VR/MR.
Before going any further, let’s address the elephant in the room. Deciding to unveil consumer gadgets 36 hours prior to the largest iPhone launch in years is quite the choice. Last year, Meta held its Connect conference the week after new iPhones launched. A few years back, Connect was held in October. Pushing things up to basically be timed to coincide with the iPhone launch is a sign of hubris on Mark Zuckerberg’s part. Meta may have been trying to interrupt Apple’s product launches more than being concerned of having their product(s) be drowned out by Apple’s launch press coverage.
Meta stuck with its usual live presentation and demo format, except it took place at 8 pm ET – another hubris-led decision as Meta basically lost half of the U.S. viewing audience. The company ran into extensive demo trouble throughout the keynote.
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Apple Defines the iPhone Air’s Target Customer, Apple’s iPhone Fashion Play
Happy Wednesday.
For today’s update, we will continue analyzing Apple’s post-keynote press strategy. Let’s jump right in.
Apple Defines the iPhone Air’s Target Customer
Here’s the WSJ:
“Molly Anderson wants to make it hard for you to pick your next phone.
As Apple’s vice president of industrial design, she’d like it to be an iPhone, of course. But this year she wants to make the job a little tougher than just grabbing an upgraded version of whatever model you already carry.
Her weapon of choice? The iPhone Air, announced at Apple’s annual launch even on Tuesday at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
The Air is exactly what it sounds like: a razor-thin phone. “It’s something that we dreamed about for a long time,” Anderson said, ‘to make just an incredibly, shockingly thin iPhone.’
Strong words, but hard to argue with: At 5.6mm, front to back, the Air is thinner than a Cartier ‘Love’ bracelet in ‘classic’ size and only a touch thicker than three quarters stacked together—an iPhone for the Ozempic era.
‘It does seem like it’s going to fly away when you’re holding it,’ Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a one-on-one interview a few hours after his keynote. As Alan Dye, Apple’s vice president of human interface design and Anderson’s co-leader of the whole design crew put it, the Air represents another step ‘towards that singular piece of glass that Steve Jobs talked about back in the day.’"
If this article seemed a bit too even keeled for the WSJ, it was from the WSJ’s style team. It might as well have been from a completely different publication. For some reason the tech news team is the only group within the WSJ that is not capable of writing an unbiased article about Apple.
Earlier this week, we talked about how Apple used its “Awe Dropping” presentation to emphasis design in a direct way.
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Apple Talks Product Development With Tom’s Guide and TechRadar
Hello everyone. This update was originally going to come out late Tuesday. It’s coming out about 12 hours later. The goal is to have another update ready to go later today.
To recap where things stand, we officially concluded reviewing Apple’s “Awe Dropping” presentation with Monday’s update. Three updates went over my thoughts from the presentation / event:
Our attention will now turn to Apple’s post-keynote press strategy. As we will talk about today, Apple sat down with Tom’s Guide and TechRadar for what was one of the more productive interviews in some time. A fair amount of information that didn’t come through the pretaped presentation was shared.
Let’s discuss.
Apple Talks Product Development With Tom’s Guide and TechRadar
Last week, Tom’s Guide and TechRadar released video interviews with Apple’s Greg “Joz” Joswiak (SVP worldwide marketing) and John Ternus (SVP hardware engineering). One long interview was split into two so that each publication had something to call their own in terms of YouTube channel uploads. The interview was conducted by Mark Spoonauer and Lance Ulanoff. This past June, the two sat down with Joz and Craig Federighi (SVP software engineering) at WWDC in what was an all-around decent interview. Apple clearly thought highly enough of the format to try it again for the September HW event. Apple made the right decision.
The interview was good from the perspective of Apple sharing insight that didn’t necessarily come through its presentation. The questions touched upon subjects that were both relevant and interesting from a strategy perspective. In addition, the interviewers didn’t try to chase clout by trying to play gotcha with Joz and Ternus.
The two videos are available here (Part 1) and here (Part 2). A quick recap of what was discussed:
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My Full Notes From Apple’s “Awe Dropping” Event
Hello everyone. Welcome to a new week.
As we go through my notes from Apple’s event, some of the major themes and takeaways (discussed last Tuesday) will shine through. This was one of the more HW-focused events from Apple in recent memory.
Let’s jump in.
My Full Notes From Apple’s “Awe Dropping” Event
Apple’s Opening Video
Apple kicked off its “Awe Dropping” presentation with a black screen and the following Steve Jobs quote in white lettering: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Apple then showed an 80-second montage of various Apple features, capabilities, and tools connected via shapes, textures, and materials. The video even featured a few Apple retail stores - a prelude to the store’s much larger role in the presentation. It was nice to see Apple emphasize design in such a direct way for a change. It brought back memories of some Apple marketing from the early 2010s.
Opening scene to Apple’s presentation
AirPods Pro 3
Redesign. AirPods Pro 3 have a new multi-port acoustic architecture that allows more airflow (sound) into the ear. Apple also has new foam-infused ear tips meant to improve Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). The AirPods have gotten smaller to fit in and stay in more ears – users will have five different options for the ear tips.
While audio remains positioned at the center of AirPods Pro 3 marketing, Apple relied on a “but there is more” mention to refer to the product category’s growing presence in health and activity monitoring.
Upgrading. Apple positioned the AirPods Pro 3’s ANC as a “must-have upgrade…” for those using older AirPods.
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Observations Attending Apple’s “Awe Dropping” Event, Who Is the iPhone Air For?, Apple Wearables Momentum
Hello everyone. In Wednesday’s update, we went over the major themes and takeaways from Apple’s product event.
iPhone Air is the most noteworthy iPhone redesign since at least iPhone X (2017).
Hardware design efficiency (with the goal of improving experiences / how devices are used).
Battery life optimization (via HW innovation & custom silicon).
Apple is ready to push new iPhone usage behaviors (iPhone as a fashion accessory / elevating the front-facing camera as a key differentiator from wearable cameras).
In going through my notes from this week, there were a handful of topics that deserved more attention and explanation than just a quick mention. Those discussion topics will comprise today’s (long) update. The updates originally meant for yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday) have been combined into today’s update.
On Monday, we will go over my full notes from the week.
Observations Attending Apple’s “Awe Dropping” Event
This week’s event marked ten years since attending my first Apple event at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Over the years, there has been evolution in Apple’s product events. However, this week’s event seemed to contain more changes than usual.
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Apple’s “Awe Dropping” Event Review: Major Takeaways and Themes
Happy Wednesday. Today’s update includes the first part of my Apple event review. Apple’s pretaped presentation can be viewed here. The discussion will flow into tomorrow’s update. Let’s jump right in.
Apple’s “Awe Dropping” Event Review: Major Takeaways and Themes
iPhone Air
The iPhone Air is the most noteworthy iPhone redesign since the iPhone X in 2017. It’s tough putting the two redesigns head-to-head though as the iPhone X also included a significant change to how we engage with an iPhone (Touch ID -> Face ID as the home button was removed).
iPhone Air
After spending some time with the iPhone Air, the device lives up to the hype. There is a certain natural feeling found with the iPhone Air, as in you tend to gravitate to a thin device. Even after just a few minutes with iPhone Air, the other flagship iPhones feel shockingly thick. Our minds can play tricks on us. This exercise will be easily replicated in Apple stores when the iPhone Air is demoed next to the other iPhone 17 flagships.
Many people may associate an ultra-thin gadget with smallness. However, one of my first reactions using iPhone Air was that
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Some Thoughts Ahead of Apple’s Event, Apple Facing Improving Device Upgrade Environment
Hello everyone.
Apple is holding its product event next Tuesday at Apple Park. Accordingly, next week’s update schedule needs to be adjusted. There will be updates on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. At this time, my expectation is that all three updates next week will be dedicated to reviewing Apple’s event, but we can revisit that plan next week.
Today’s discussion will focus on a few additional topics that are on my mind ahead of Apple’s event.
Some Thoughts Ahead of Apple’s Event
Expectations are on the rise ahead of Apple’s “Awe dropping” event.
While there is a surprisingly high level of awareness among the public that new iPhones come out in the fall, it certainly feels like attention surrounding the iPhone is elevated. Some of this could be due to more iPhone users being in a position to upgrade. Another factor could be that some of these iPhone rumors involving significant design changes is getting through to people.
All signs point to Apple unveiling an all-new ultra-thin iPhone next week. The new model, which would be positioned somewhere between the base flagship iPhone and the pro models will likely grab the most buzz and press attention.
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Member Forum Access. Access all channels in the Above Avalon forum in Discord.
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