Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery!
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On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.
- SpaceX Buys Spectrum — and Apple Should Be Interested. I’ve been taking a lot of interest in space recently, particularly SpaceX’s recent moves to buy wireless spectrum. What is particularly interesting are the comparisons and contrasts to the early years of the iPhone and Apple’s relations with traditional cellular companies; in this week’s episode of Sharp Tech — triggered by Tuesday’s Update — Andrew and I discuss the history of Apple and phone carriers, and why satellites are different. Some of those differences give reason for optimism, others for skepticism; the best way to achieve the optimistic outcome would be for Apple and SpaceX to work together. — Ben Thompson
- Apple and Google, Together Again. I’m happy to endorse any business analysis that compares a trillion dollar company to an alcoholic making promises, to itself and others, that it almost certainly won’t keep. Monday’s Daily Update checked that box, as Ben unpacked the short term logic and long term questions surrounding another Google-Apple partnership and the news that Apple is partnering with Friendly Gemini to remake Siri for the AI era. And which of these trillion dollar companies is the alcoholic, you ask? I don’t want to spoil it, but we do know one of them became notorious earlier this year for some promises that weren’t kept. — Andrew Sharp
- When Will America Catch Cup Fever? We are three years into the NBA’s experiment with an in-season tournament, now called “the NBA Cup,” and it’s still mostly ignored by the mainstream. I wrote on Sharp Text about the ways in which that event is a keystone to understanding the NBA’s modern problems on a more general basis. Come for that story, and stay for my admittedly radical proposal to make the Cup itself worth watching — awarding first round picks to every team that makes the Final Four, including the number one pick to the winner — and why that solution could also be healthy for the league’s overall business. — AS
Stratechery Articles and Updates
- Apple Earnings, Siri White-Labels Gemini, Short-Term Gains and Long-Term Risk — Apple is already benefitting from AI via the App Store. Meanwhile, Siri will white-label Gemini; the long-term implications are significant.
- SpaceX Buys More Spectrum, SpaceX’s Pivot, Why Apple and SpaceX Should Partner — SpaceX buys the spectrum it needs to be a standalone mobile carrier; the company should partner with Apple to deliver truly differentiated experiences.
- Microsoft Earnings, CoreAI/MantleAI, Additional Notes — Microsoft declares independence from OpenAI and sketches out its future role building scaffolding for AI. Plus, Windows is tiny now.
- An Interview with Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg About Turnarounds — An interview with Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg about a career focused on turnarounds, from EA’s KOTR to Zynga and now to Unity.
Sharp Text by Andrew Sharp
- The NBA Cup Doesn’t Have to Be Terrible — A closer look at the NBA Cup in Year 3, including the case for using the NBA Draft to save the event and walk back the league’s misguided push for parity.
Dithering with Ben Thompson and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber
Asianometry with Jon Yu
Sharp China with Andrew Sharp and Sinocism’s Bill Bishop
Greatest of All Talk with Andrew Sharp and WaPo’s Ben Golliver
- Wemby Goes to Hollywood, Mark Daigneault Moving Different, The Mavs Are the War on Drugs
- Re-Drafting Paolo, Chet and the 2022 Draft Class, The Pistons are Electric, Changes Afoot in Dallas?
Sharp Tech with Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson
This week’s Stratechery video is on The Benefits of Bubbles.