Good morning, I wrote a piece on Stratechery called Smartphone Truths and Samsung’s Inevitable Decline. While it is mostly about why Samsung’s disappointing results shouldn’t be a surprise, there are also several points that cover why Apple is not doomed, but Microsoft and Amazon are. Today’s theme is supply-and-demand, and we unsurprisingly start with UberSubscribe […]
Daily Update: ESPN and Univision Crack Down on Vine, Canada’s Anti-spam Law, BlaBlaCar Raises $100 million
Good morning, Hello from Wisconsin! First off, I apologize that yesterday’s update was sent out so late; it was sent on a schedule, and I messed up my timezones. Thanks for your patience. On to the updates: a central theme of Stratechery is the importance of context and the vast expanse of gray when itSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Google I/O – Analysis on Every Announcement
Good morning, It’s the day after the Google I/O keynote, and I believe the actual presentation has concluded but I really should check to make sure… In all seriousness, this year’s presentation was actually shorter than last year’s, but no less ambitious. Like I did after WWDC, I’m going to spend this update running throughSubscribe […]
Why Uber is Worth $18.2 Billion
Christopher Mims’ piece Uber’s $18.2B Valuation Is a Head Scratcher is getting a lot of play, and deservedly so: it’s a good encapsulation of many people’s objections to Uber’s recent round that valued the company at $18.2 billion. However, I think Mims is wrong. I would argue he: Dramatically underestimates Uber’s potential market Undervalues Uber’s […]
Daily Update: Satya Nadella at the Code Conference, Google’s Self-Driving Car Video, Intel to Work with Rockchip on SoC
Good morning, I mistakenly made yesterday’s Daily Update available to everyone; I promise you that was not intentional, and apologize for lowering the value of your subscription for even a day. I also wrote about the ongoing dispute between Amazon and the publishers in a piece called Publishers’ Deal with the Devil. Amazon also releasedSubscribe […]
How much will CarPlay cost?
Wes Miller has a useful summary of CarPlay: In short, Apple hasn’t done a complete end around of the OEM – the automaker can still have their own UI for their own in-car functions, and then Apple’s distinct CarPlay UI (very familiar to anyone who has used iOS 7) is there when you’re “in CarPlay”, […]
Waze Winners and Losers
Google acquired Waze earlier this week for a reported $1.03 billion. This is an interesting deal for a few different reasons with a clear set of winners and losers. Big Winner: Waze This is an incredible exit for a company with only ~17 million active users and negligible revenues. Waze is a great product – […]