Xiaomi is struggling to justify its valuation; in fact there have been signs for a long time that their valuation was unrealistic all along. Plus, Samsung returns to hardware differentiation.
Netflix Goes Global, iPhone Worry
Netflix’s surprising announcement that the company was extending its service to nearly every country on earth was impressive in its execution, what it said about the company’s strategy, and it raised interesting points about Aggregation Theory and Netflix’s future opportunities. Plus, there is a lot of smoke when it comes to worries about the iPhone.
Twitter 10,000, The Problem with Links, The Business of Expanded Tweets
News leaked yesterday about Twitter’s plans to allow expanded tweets, something that was seemingly confirmed by Jack Dorsey. This is a move that is only natural, but the business implications are perhaps deeper than people have considered.
CES 2016, Augmented vs Virtual Reality, The Resilience of Video Games
I continue to think that CES is getting more interesting, thanks to the maturation of the smartphone. Then, the differences between augmented and virtual reality, and how that explains the resilience of video games.
Star Wars Grosses >$500 million, Disney: Cable or Content?, Goldman Sachs Recants on Microsoft
Star Wars has significantly exceeded expectations, yet Disney’s stock is down. The question is what matters: content, or cable networks? I argue it is the former, and that Disney’s future is bright.
Apple’s Executive Shuffle, Adele’s Concert Tickets
Significant changes were announced at Apple yesterday, particularly in marketing. Then, what is so bad about ticket brokers?
Craig Federighi on Swift, Taylor Swift’s 1989 on Apple Music
John Gruber’s interview with Craig Federighi is an excellent opportunity to explore exactly why Swift is such a big deal. Then, Taylor Swift has an exclusive with Apple Music for the video of her 1989 concert.
Dropbox Kills Carousel and Mailbox, Facebook Kills Creative Labs
Dropbox finally focuses on business, while Facebook realizes it’s a big company now.
Stratechery Gifts and Announcements, Apple Open-Sources Swift
Stratechery gift subscriptions are now available, plus an important site announcement. Then, we all knew Apple was going to open-source Swift. What was impressive was how the company went about doing it; hopefully it will prove to be an example for a clearly divided company.
Adele Won’t Stream 25, Windowing Versus Piracy
Adele won’t stream her new album, and I think that makes a ton of sense. Monetizing IP might be hard, but I don’t think it’s necessarily hostile to your fans. Plus, what really ended piracy and what will be the biggest conflict in IP-related industries in the future.