Premium Strategy
Differentiation can equal huge profits, if you it can be maintained.
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The iPhone X is a quintessential Apple product, because it is the best; is there a market for iPhone 8?
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Google went wrong in the past by abandoning their horizontal business model; are they repeating their mistake, or does the future give them no choice?
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The iPhone 6 is going in the opposite direction that Apple’s critics think it should: more expensive, not less. It will work because Apple owns the high-end.
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Apple’s 50 Years of Integration
Apple has survived 50 years by being the only company integrating hardware and software; if the company loses because of AI it will be because the point of integration changes.
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Apple’s Errors
Apple’s management made three errors that led to the restatement of revenue; those errors, though, suggest that the company’s business is in better shape than it appears.
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The iPhone Franchise
The iPhone is a franchise, a product that will make money in well-defined ways; Apple understands that and is exploiting it more than ever before with the iPhones XS and XR.
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Apple Earnings, ASP and “New” iPhones, Steve Jobs and the App Store
Apple’s earnings not only held true to form, but actually had an upside surprise in ASP. Plus, what an interview with Steve Jobs reveals about differentiation and integration.
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Apple Follow-Up, Apple Earnings, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai Steps Down
Is Apple setting itself up for disruption, or will its integration lead to more markets? Its earnings offer evidence in both directions, and worrisome China results. Then, Kazuo Hirai steps down after setting Sony on the only sustainable path.
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Apple Earnings, Forecasting the iPhone X, Rising ASP and Services
Apple had a great quarter, and a great forecast that suggests there is more to come. Plus, the company is shifting to making money from its best customers.
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Apple at Its Best
Apple’s original competitive advantage — the integration of hardware and software — is more durable than disruption theory would suggest.
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Netflix Follow-up, Sonos + Alexa, MongoDB IPOs
Netflix cancels its non-evergreen content, and isn’t really relevant to Nielsen. Then, a Sonos and Alexa partnership makes sense for both sides, and MongoDB has a thoroughly modern IPO.