Between a feature-by-feature review (members only) and an analysis of strategic underpinnings, I’ve written nearly three thousand words about Apple’s WWDC announcements. Still, though, it feels like I haven’t written about what is perhaps the most important takeaway. It’s a takeaway I’ve resisted, even as writer after blogger after Twitterer has said the same thing: […]
Daily Update: Apple’s True Differentiation, Two More Beats Tidbits, Computex Starts Today
Good morning, I am writing this from chilly San Francisco; as I noted last week, delivery times may be a bit irregular. Thanks for your patience. I have posted details about tomorrow’s live chat during the keynote on Glassboard, so Access members please check it out there. Apple’s True Differentiation I wrote some big pictureSubscribe […]
It’s Time to Kill Surface
“The question that needs to be asked and answered is why hardware.” To Satya Nadella’s credit, he provided not just the answer, but the question as well. And, looked at narrowly, there were good things seen – and not seen – at Microsoft’s Surface event. Having clearly failed as a mass market device, it makes […]
Daily Update: GoPro Files for IPO, Angela Ahrendts’ and Apple Retail, Groupon Launching iPad Checkout System
I wrote a piece yesterday on Stratechery called The Net Neutrality Wake-up Call. While I did touch on some net neutrality specifics (again, I know), my broader point is that the collision of the political and technological worlds is only beginning; we as an industry would be well-served by getting involved sooner rather than later.Subscribe […]
Daily Update: AT&T to Buy DirecTV, Google to Buy Twitch, Facebook Building Snapchat Competitor
Good morning, After a relatively slow week, lots of stuff happened this weekend, so let’s get to it: AT&T to Buy DirecTV Lots of folks are comparing this proposed deal to the Comcast-Time Warner merger, but I think it’s much more benign, both from an explanatory perspective as well as an impact one. One ofSubscribe […]
Why Apple Is Buying Beats
That’s a bit of a presumptuous headline: The sale is not yet confirmed UPDATE: The deal was confirmed on May 28 It’s likely no one outside of 1 Infinite Loop will ever likely know the true reasons Indeed, as Benedict Evans wrote in his weekly newsletter: The deal [is] something of a Rorschach Blot – […]
Apple Retail and the Innovator’s Dilemma
Angela Ahrendts officially took over as head of Apple Retail last week, and just in time. Same store sales were down five percent last quarter, and have been hovering around zero for several quarters prior. To be fair, that decline is mostly due to Apple’s slowed growth; more concerning is the declining rate of store […]
When CEOs Matter
Sometime in 2012, during the runup to Windows 8, I was on a call with a Microsoft Developer & Platform Evangelist (DPE) strategizing how we would approach a particular partner.1 I asked his opinion of a specific feature in this partner’s iPad app, and was shocked at his response: “I don’t own an iPad, and […]
Face Is Not the Future
There is certain logic to any Facebook acquisition given the current stock price. The current market valuation of $156 billion implies significant revenue growth on an annual basis far greater than simply converting desktop revenue streams to mobile ones; if you assume the stock price will decrease in the future, then making largely stock-based purchases […]
Bill Gates’ Steve Jobs Moment
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, once pirates, now legends, are forever linked in tech history. You know the lore: both collaborators and competitors in the 80s; Gates dominant in the 90s; Jobs triumphant in the 00s. Their career arcs were different though: Gates went out on top, retiring to a life of philanthropy, while Jobs […]