On the newest episode of Exponent, the podcast I co-host with James Allworth: In this week’s episode Ben explains why he has changed his mind about Apple Watch. James is not convinced. We go on for a while. Links Ben Thompson: What I Got Wrong About Apple Watch – Stratechery John Gruber: Apple Watch: Initial […]
What I Got Wrong About Apple Watch
While I stand by last week’s opinion that the Watch presentation was poor, I’ve somehow, at least in my little corner of the Internet, become the face of people who don’t believe in Apple Watch at all. The biggest problem with that view is that I’m actually a big believer in the category, having written […]
Daily Update: What I Got Wrong About Apple Watch, The Best iPhone Review, German Court Lifts Uber Ban
Good morning, So much for too much Apple. I’ve had a tumultuous day. As I recount below, a tweet and an article have convinced me that, while my concerns about Apple’s presentation approach may be valid, I likely have the Apple Watch as a whole completely wrong. The result was what I intended to beSubscribe […]
How Tim Cook Might Have Introduced Apple Watch, and Exponent Episode 017: Let’s End it There
In 2010, John Gruber wrote an article for Macworld called This is How Apple Rolls: They take something small, simple, and painstakingly well considered. They ruthlessly cut features to derive the absolute minimum core product they can start with. They polish those features to a shiny intensity. At an anticipated media event, Apple reveals this […]
Daily Update: iPhone Delayed in China, Apple Watch Edition, Xiaomi Could Have Done Worse
Good morning, I’m a bit distracted as I write this; I’m simultaneously refreshing the Apple Store in the hopes of ordering an iPhone, but it’s been almost two hours and the Store has yet to appear, making this three cloud messes for Apple in two weeks. As with the livestream, the Occam’s Razor explanation isSubscribe […]
Daily Update: How Tim Cook Should Have Introduced Watch, Apple Pay and the Apple Watch, Microsoft to Buy Minecraft?
Good morning, I wrote about the Apple Watch introduction on Stratechery in a piece called Apple Watch: Asking Why and Saying No. In short, while I like everything hardware-related about the watch, I was very concerned with both the keynote messaging and the software. Moreover, I think those two concerns are interrelated: the need theSubscribe […]
Apple Watch: Asking Why and Saying No
Dan Frommer wrote in Quartz about The Hidden Structure of the Apple Keynote. His analysis covered 27 events since 2007, and included things like average length, laughs per executive, and the timing of iPhone reveals. It’s a good read, but in light of the Watch introduction, I am more interested in comparing yesterday’s keynote to […]
Daily Update: Banks Are the New Carriers, Marc Newson Joins Apple, Wearable Price Prediction
Good morning, Happy Moon Festival! This is one of my favorite holidays here in Taiwan. It’s a bit like Thanksgiving in the States, but instead of turkey everyone sits outside and barbecues and drinks. It’s pretty fantastic. It’s also why this Daily Update is so late! While today is more about payments and wearables, it’sSubscribe […]
Wearables, Payments, Chickens and Eggs
I feel a bit sheepish that this is the third of what will in all likelihood be four articles about Apple in a two-week span. I figured the scale of what Apple is planning to announce necessitated at least two preview posts; one about the iPhone and this one about wearables and payments. And then […]
Daily Update: Don’t Call It an iWatch; Apple, Samsung, and the Internet of Things; Alibaba’s Results
Good morning, Today was one of those days on the Internet where the whole endeavor really seems like a terrible idea. The nice thing about writing this update, though, is it’s a reminder of how the Internet makes it possible to connect directly with all of you. I’m thankful for that. On to the update:Subscribe […]