Apple’s business model lets the company sell privacy, but privacy shouldn’t compromise the business model. Plus, why developers can (still) deepen Apple’s moat, and how the chip, payments, and even publishing industry are similar.
Services and Apple’s Strategy, The Power of a P&L, Intel Restructures
First, a follow-up on Apple’s Organizational Crossroads including why a focus on services could make more strategic sense than one might think, and why P&L responsibility can be a powerful tool. Then, Intel is restructuring in the face of increased margin pressure and in pursuit of a vision that is, from the company’s perspective, more radical than it may appear.
Sundar Pichai’s Greatest Achievement To-Date, The VR Era Begins, Facebook Versus Oculus
The Oculus Rift officially launches today, and will be followed soon by the HTC Vive and the Sony PlayStation VR. I’m optimistic about virtual reality, but I still don’t understand why Facebook is involved: the company should learn from Google and Android.
Microsoft’s Hardware Event, Satya Nadella Versus Windows, The Surface Strategy
Microsoft’s hardware event was very compelling on multiple levels: what it said about Windows, what it said about Microsoft, and what it said about Satya Nadella.
Amazon to Stop Selling Chromecast, Apple TV; Google’s New Hardware
There are lots of reasons why Amazon may have decided to stop selling the Apple TV and Chromecast; the true answer probably is a little bit of each. Plus, Google announced new devices, and it wasn’t that exciting.
Google I/O: Android and Serving the World; Photos, Google Now, and the World’s Information; Google’s Turning Point
Google’s IO keynote had three parts: the Android part, the machine learning part, and a glimpse into the future. The connections between the three, though, matter far more than any one single announcement.
Xiaomi’s Ambition
Xiaomi, the Chinese smart phone company that late last month raised $1.1 billion at a $45 billion valuation, sells way more than smartphones: Mi.com boasts over a thousand items, and it’s the third-largest e-commerce site in China. One item it doesn’t sell, though, is a AA battery charger. Only Apple: I clearly remember when this […]
Two Microsofts
My well-chronicled frustration with Microsoft’s corporate strategy comes down to one point: I don’t think any company should have both horizontal (i.e. services) and vertical (i.e. devices) businesses. It creates conflicting incentives: a horizontal business should be great on every platform, while a vertical business should be differentiated. Thus, I was quite pleased when Satya […]
Daily Update: More Amazon Bear Signals; Dropbox Hacked, Sort of…; Snapchat Too
Good morning, To the update! More Amazon Bear Signals Earlier this year I detailed why I’ve become an Amazon bear in Losing my Amazon Religion. With regards to Amazon’s convoluted plan to drive e-commerce through original video and the Fire phone I questioned: So what exactly is going on? Why is Amazon building vertical devicesSubscribe […]
Losing My Amazon Religion
Benedict Evans asks a good question: If you were running this business, why would you slow down to take profits? pic.twitter.com/mbMNfbyZT4 — Benedict Evans (@BenedictEvans) July 28, 2014 The growth curve is impressive enough, even before you notice that the scale is logarithmic. And to be sure, Amazon has had doubters from the beginning: few […]