Apple earnings report Archives -

Apple crushed it

The Q3 earnings report is in and its great news… Apple’s revenue exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The key news is that iPhone sales were up 8% and other products (those tough-to-get-for-holiday AirPods) slightly beat expectations, and services were slightly below expectation. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: This is great news for the global economy. It shows that the economic engine called Apple was still able to create enough shiny new gadgets to excite consumers around the world. The services business is tough, and it will take a while for Apple to figure out how to extend the aura of its brand — design and user experience — to services.

Apple pushes directly into India

Apple has sold products in India through a number of retail partners that have discounted products and generally had lackluster performance. Apple will launch its own online store for India in Q3, followed by brick and mortar stores, with the first in Mumbai. India is the second largest smartphone market in the world. TechCrunch

dis-rup-shun: Apple doesn’t do well with third parties, and the premium, luxury experience of its retail online and brick and mortar stores will create an event in Mumbai and other Indian cities. The company has announced plans for a lower cost iPhone for big markets like India, and that product will undoubtedly do for India what the C-Class Mercedes Benz did for the U.S. — provide a luxury brand experience for a more affordable price and larger market.

Filmic app enables dual camera filming

An iPhone app by Filmic may transform the way people use smartphone cameras. The app enables use of two of your phone’s cameras at once, providing simultaneous and different streams. One view could be a selfie at the same time as the outward action is being filmed. CNET

dis-rup-shun: Will this app transform the future of pictures? Will it become customary to show two different views in one frame? Expect amateur videos to become very artsy as consumers learn how to edit-in different video camera angles, making even basic videos look like Hollywood products.

Boeing’s 777X has foldable wings

For news not related to the 737 MAX, Boeing completed a test flight for the very large, long haul 777X. Airlines want larger planes for long haul routes, maximizing economies of scale and creating very profitable operations. One problem with bigger aircraft is that they require a larger wingspan, which causes problems in tighter, crowded airports. Boeing is making this massive jet more nimble by enabling the wing tips to fold up during taxi, shortening the wingspan by 24 feet, then fully extending them for flight. CNET

dis-rup-shun: The company is in desperate need for some innovation credit as the 737 MAX debacle drags on. Innovation is what has kept Boeing the number #1 player in avionics. If the newly appointed interim CEO, Dave Calhoun, wants to make the company great again, he will focus on leadership through innovation, and, of course, improved testing and safety processes.

Big Tech execs ask for more regulation

At the World Economic Forum at Davos last week, tech execs from multiple companies ask governments to set regulations on tough topics such as data privacy, encryption, AI and content monitoring. Caught between the pressures of congressional investigation and strong consumer backlash, Big Tech wants the government to set limits. Wall Street Journal

dis-rup-shun: One of the first concepts new parents learn is that children need boundaries to feel secure. Tech execs are asking federal governments to give them some boundaries and act like parents in order for them to feel secure about the limits of their businesses. Tech companies are rewarded for plowing new ground and providing services that have never before existed, however the backlash over stepping on data privacy is creating serious blow back from consumers and regulators, and turning some of the most loved brands, including Facebook (especially), Google, Amazon, and, to a lesser degree, Apple, into villains. Getting regulators to set the rules for the future will be tough. With disorganized agendas and partisan posturing consuming our regulators, the chances that they will get ahead of technology trends are, unfortunately, slim, however the new cooperative attitudes by Big Tech could make the career of a legislator who seeks to set a strong agenda.

Happy birthday iPad

Exactly 10 years ago, Apple unveiled the first iPad. It was thicker, slower, heavier, but not radically different than today’s model. At the launch, Steve Jobs mentioned that netbook computers had failed to add extra value to the customer experience. Forbes

dis-rup-shun: The company has sold over 360 million of the devices in the last decade, and while annual sales have slowed, the product keeps getting better. The iPad has become what the netbook was intended – a smaller, more portable computer. It appears that one of the most popular applications of the device is to purchase an add-on keyboard and use it as a very portable computer. If Apple and all the buzz surrounding Jobs had not pushed the iPad into an adoring audience, the tablet would have never made it as a category. One can argue that the tablet is yet to find its true use case and the fact that the iPad was a big iPhone is what drove its growth. The brand power of Apple continues to bring magic to rather mundane product concepts, like wireless ear buds, and the magic seems to only be better in the post-Jobs era. Let’s see what’s next.

Apple earnings report: iPhones, Apple TV+, China

Today’s fiscal Q3 earnings report from Apple will include some important revelations worth noting. iPhone, the biggest part of the company’s earnings, have been down, but the iPhone 11 seems to be hot. Sales of products in China are under stress, as Chinese tech giants flood the market with highly competent but much less expensive smartphones. Apple’s new video streaming service, Apple TV+ has launched and early results will be revealed. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: Today’s announcement will answer several very important questions for the direction of the tech economy. Question 1: are the incremental benefits of the iPhone 11 interesting enough to get a strong sales response? Observations of Apple stores over the holidays suggest yes. Question 2: Do Chinese consumers still think Apple is special enough to pay more money than for less expensive non-Apple smartphones? Observations of strong performance by emerging companies suggests the answer is no. Question 3: Is Apple’s new streaming TV service, Apple TV+ special enough that Netflix, Amazon Prime and now Disney + (Mandalorian) subscribers will add yet another service to their bundles? Logic suggests that these results will be mixed — not a home run, but given these services are brand new, the service will be off to a good start.

Strong guidelines for monitoring teens’ online access

Wired takes a stand, setting guidelines for how parents monitor teens’ mobile internet access: remind your children that you, the parents own the device, set periodic inspections to ensure compliance with no bullying and no adult content, no device use during meal time, and the consequences of violation are loss of the device for a period of time. Statistics show that 61% of parents monitor their children’s online activity, 42% of children have been bullied online, and 35% have been actively threatened.

dis-rup-shun: Parenting takes courage, and in the digital age, with fewer established rules, parents have to make them up either before they present the device, or set rules as they go. The transition between content for kids and content for adults seems non-existent, with the tween label having all but disappeared. In the Internet Age, individuals have to create their own rules, as much of the road is unpaved.

Tag: Apple earnings report

Apple reports a stellar quarter