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Consumer Electronics, IOT, Smart Home, Uncategorized

Disney Plus is a smash hit

Disney Plus already has 45% as many U.S. subs as Netflix

Disney’s streaming TV service has been out slightly over two months and already has 28.6 million subscribers in the U.S. Netflix, at the end of 2019, had 61 million U.S. subscribers and 167 million on the planet, according to Statista. Comparing U.S. only, Disney Plus is already almost half the size of Netflix. The Star Wars Mandalorian and Marvel properties, plus a very attractive monthly rate, have fueled new subscriptions. CNET

dis-rup-shun: Now we understand why AT&T spent billions on Time Warner ($85 billion, not counting three years of legal fees), and why Comcast bought NBCU. If you are a network and don’t own really compelling content, your chances of competing in the streaming wars are slim. If you don’t have a streaming service, your chances of surviving the great video revolution of the 2000s are slim. The Mouse has been buying up video assets and studios in the past few years, as Disney has clearly figured out how to compete in the Netflix age.

Smart speakers still not used for purchases

eMarketer has lowered its forecast for smart speaker sales, signaling that this product may be approaching maturity, at least for the early majority buyers. eMarketer’s forecast for speaker penetration is 83.1 million users. The firm estimates that 21.6 million users will have made a voice purchase by the end of this year. The desire to see a product and fears of security are cited as reasons for reluctance to purchase on a speaker.

dis-rup-shun: The fact that 21 million voice purchases have been made indicates that this will become a significant shopping method. In the meantime, Google and Amazon continue to battle to become the voice hub of the home. The ways to monetize the money losing device sales are numerous:

The party that owns the home hub sets the standards for connected home devices, determining which radios, which interfaces and even which cloud services work best — potentially shifting millions of users towards a complementary product or service.
People’s primary use of smart speakers is to listen to music. If device vendors can steer people to the vendor’s own music service (this has not been terribly successful to date), then monthly fees for music subscriptions will add millions to the top line.
The home hub can serve as the light switch and voice-thermostat, providing feedback on energy usage and energy spending. Energy utilities have great incentives to be a part of a home energy hub.
Senior care, as shown in Google’s Super Bowl commercial, can be impacted by a smart speaker, reminding grandmother that it is time to take medicine, or helping her remember things like the day of week or arrival times for care givers.

Would you consider a separate camera?

For those that think photography is more than smartphone pics, cameras also continue to get better. The Fujifilm X100V features a slim body (not as slim as a smartphone), a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor and image processor, and OLED viewfinder. This can be had for about $1,400. TechCrunch

dis-rup-shun: Camera sales are down, and the camera quality of smartphones is getting crazy good. But for that European vacation or safari trip, a camera is still preferred and the image processing technology is following Moore’s Law, getting better and cheaper each year. The question is, do you go for a digital SLR with the great but bulky lens, or do you go with a pocket camera like the Fujifilm X100V?

Sunrise alarms — better than smartphone alarm clock

A new product category is born to fill the space once occupied by the erstwhile clock radio. It is designed especially for those who sleep in a room with no windows. The devices emulate daylight by changing hue and intensity to simulate the rising and setting of the sun. They can also play music, show the time, and be controlled by an app. Reviewed in Wired are the Homelabs Sunrise Alarm Clock, Philips Wake-Up Light (HF3520), Casper Glow Light, Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake-Up Light Therapy Lamp, Lumie Bodyclock Active 250, and Totobay Wake-Up Light.

dis-rup-shun: Inventing new product categories is a great way to embrace the smart product disruption. That’s what Nest did with the dumb thermostat, and launched a new industry. Of course Amazon’s Echo is a home run, as is Roku, the smart TV, and smart mattresses. Alexa-powered microwave ovens have been a flop, as have been internet connected refrigerators. It is time for more creative thinking about how to replace products displaced by smart products.

Uncategorized

Best Buy folds branded smart home line

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019by sbsikesLeave a Comment

Best Buy pulls the plug on its own smart home

Best Buy’s house brand, Insignia, announced on its website, that the company has discontinued its Insignia Connect products, which consist of smart plugs, IP camera, light switch and a refrigerator/freezer. Except for the IP camera, the other devices will continue to work, but will not connect to an app. The article does not suggest that Best Buy will discontinue selling the plethora of smart home products from other manufacturers that now make up a large part of its shelf space. Wired

dis-rup-shun: What’s the problem with smart home products? The industry analysts continue to forecast strong growth (IDC – 23.5%, Forrester – 26.2%, Security Sales & Integration – 31%, McKinsey – 31%), yet Best Buy joins Lowe’s as two big retailers who have pulled the plug on their own branded systems. Best Buy, by the way, is the same company that paid $800 million to acquire another form of smart home products — Great Call, makers of devices to connect seniors to family, friends and care givers. One of the clearer answers to the smart home riddle is that consumers buy solutions to problems, and home automation is not a mass market problem. Home security, remote monitoring and safety of seniors, and utilities needing to save energy are large scale problems that smart home products and systems solve. A number of companies, including Alarm.com, have forged relationships with new home builders such as Toll Brothers who have found that home automation increases home value and who will lead a gradual transformation to making automation a new home standard. Much of the success of smart home is the result of single products such as door bell cameras, smart speakers, and smart thermostats, that are both cool and helpful in solving point solutions. These hot products, however, are DIY install products. When people want a whole home system integrating multiple devices, they are more inclined to call a home systems integrator than to put a system together themselves, as big retailers have discovered.

Facebook creates Venmo-like payment system

In an effort to link Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, the company will equip all of those applications with a common pay system. This pay method is separate from Calibra, which is part of the doomed Libra cryptocurrency consortium. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: Facebook serves a majority of social media users, so it makes sense that a common pay platform will be convenient, but what about the Facebook trust factor? As reported Monday, Facebook’s tarnished image is hurting its success in new product areas. If the Facebook brand has some rot, isn’t tying the company’s brands together a bad move?

Tesla will open fourth Gigafactory in Berlin

Musk stated that he intends to sell more Teslas in Europe, and appears to be following through with his intentions. The factory will be located near Berlin’s new airport, and will be in addition to factories in Reno, Buffalo and Shanghai. While sales of Teslas were down in the U.S. for Q3, sales in Europe have been trending upward for the last three quarters. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: Musk is out to change the world, and despite some bumps in the road, he is well on the way to making Tesla a global brand. With manufacturing in three continents with high interest in electric vehicles, the company will continue to disrupt traditional automakers and, very likely, will be acquired by another global brand, as developing new car models, especially with a completely different engine, is a huge undertaking for traditional players. Many existing car companies already have electric cars at the dealer or in the pipeline. Perhaps a Tesla company buyer will come from another industry. Virgin Auto or Amazon Auto, anyone?

Disney + Streaming Service is live and ready for your credit card

Disney’s new streaming service is up and running, and has the advantage of content from the Mouse House, from Pixar, National Geographic, Fox, Marvel and Star Wars. Not only does the company have a content advantage over new and incumbent streamers, it also has a technology advantage, having purchased BAMTech in 2017 — an expert in streaming content infrastructure and encryption. Wired

dis-rup-shun: As stated many times on this site, Netflix has a serious battle on its hands as its future relies on the difficult task of creating a long string of big hits. Disney + must also keep the hits coming, but it has the advantage of leveraging many beloved franchises for an infinite number of sequels and prequels. Netflix is a beloved brand which will likely not be displaced, but subscriber growth will likely be more difficult and the costs of operations, thanks to expensive original content, will continue to rise.

Uncategorized

McDonald’s use of AI could save $18 billion

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019by sbsikesLeave a Comment

McDonald’s invests in AI for voice recognition

The fast food company announced its acquisition of Apprente, a company specializing in voice recognition for fast food ordering. The terms were not disclosed, but the acquisition follows McDonald’s purchase of Dynamic Yield, a big data analytics company it acquired for $300 million.

dis-rup-shun: Quick math says that elimination of 1 to 3 hourly employees and a reduction in human “translation” errors that seem to occur when we say our orders to McDonald’s cashiers could save $50 to $75 per hour, times 18 hours times 365 days is $492 thousand per store per year. With 37,855 worldwide restaurants… the potential value of this technology is about $18.6 billion per year. Seems like a good investment.

Apple’s announcements

Yesterday’s Apple announcement went as expected and can be summarized as follows:

iPhones: 2 new iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are over $1000 and have enhanced cameras and displays. The iPhone 11 is a less expensive ($699) offering.
Apple TV Plus, the streaming service, is $2 less per month than Disney + and is included for free for a year when you purchase an Apple device.
iPads — bigger screen, and better processor.
Apple Watch Series 5 has some fancier bezels and always on display.

The Verge

dis-rup-shun: Is that it? This seems like the most un-amazing Apple new product release ever. The camera features on the 11 Pro are remarkable, and the days of ever wanting a separate digital camera are all but dead, but the lack of a really exciting new product, or really unique features, is concerning. It is time for Apple to think different.

Apple TV Plus undercuts Disney+ which undercut Netflix

Apple today announced that its streaming video service, Apple TV Plus, will be priced at $4.99 per month, $2 less then Disney + at $6.99. Disney + combines three networks at HD, which provides far more than Netflix at $12.99 per month. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: It will be a rough fall season for AT&T. Not only did the company pay $85 billion for Time Warner to launch, among other things, a video streaming service to compete with Netflix and Disney, it is now under pressure by activist investor Elliot Fund, that believes the company grossly overpaid for Time Warner. It is also not a good time to be Netflix, a company that said profits will be deferred while it invests in original content. This was before Disney and now Apple declared a video streaming price war. Expect investors to be wary of Netflix as it is the only big streamer with only one line of business.

Vehicle brands less important in Cars-as-a-Service economy

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty tells CNBC that the riding experience, rather than the car brand, is most important to consumers in the world of autonomous cars and ride sharing.

dis-rup-shun: As the transportation experience moves from one of ownership to one of services, and consumers’ investments in the experience shift from significant to minor, it stands to reason that auto brand will take a back seat to other service attributes such as locating the car, setting the preferences, providing the appropriate class of service for the occasion and enabling in-car communications. Expect BMW’s future tag line, “The Ultimate Riding Experience.”

Uncategorized

Cheaper iPhone coming

September 6, 2019September 4, 2019by sbsikesLeave a Comment

Future iPhone is smaller, cheaper

Apple is rumored to be prepping an updated version of its iPhone SE, to be smaller (4.7 inch) and cheaper. The company will use many of its newest components in the smaller phone, giving users the latest hardware at lower prices. Business Insider

dis-rup-shun: Apple is smart to not cede the lower end of the smartphone market to upstarts such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and Samsung. As mass markets demand less expensive handsets, and large manufacturers oblige, Apple could lose the platform that runs its new services, including a credit card, streaming video, music and news. Apple sees the hardware writing on the wall — hardware inevitably becomes a commodity while services generate profits — and will not be left behind.

AT&T streaming service confuses even AT&T

AT&T, preparing to do battle with Netflix and Disney+, is creating confusion with its naming schemes. The service formerly known as DirecTV Now will now be called AT&T TV Now. The new service, called AT&T TV, essentially mimics cable, with a two year contract and escalating prices. Both are, oddly, offered through a common AT&T app. AT&T product managers have become confused and used the wrong name in advertisements. Ars Technica

dis-rup-shun: As discussed previously, a streaming TV bloodbath is on the horizon and Disney is in a strong position to lead with aggressive pricing and a rich catalog of original content, including sports from ESPN. Amazon and Netflix are strong incumbents, but since Amazon Prime video is a fringe benefit of Prime shopping and shipping, competition won’t impact Prime Video. AT&T is not doing itself any favors with its confusing marketing. 800 pound gorillas often trip on their own feet, and AT&T may be suffering from too many product managers.

Tesla killer — the Porsche Taycan Turbo is coming

Porsche has raised the bar in electric performance cars, with its Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S sports sedans that can accelerate from 0 to 60 in less then 3 seconds. The cars will sell for $153,510 and $187,610, respectively. Both feature a 93 kilowatt battery, compared to 60 to 73 kilowatts in Tesla models. Business Insider

dis-rup-shun: What we first learned from Tesla is that the electric cars were instant hits because they were novel and luxurious. Luxury buyers traded their Jaguars and Land Rovers to be the first in their cities with Teslas. Now that the novelty of Tesla is long gone, Porsche stands to redefine the high end auto market as high performance, eco-conscious. Expect a sharp rise over the next five years in the percentage of luxury cars that are electric.

Vivint and Control4 integrate

Control4 has long been a leader in affordable but sophisticated home automation, and has been the go-to system for those unwilling to pay for Crestron or AMX. Vivint has long been a technology leader in mass market home security systems. The two have launched an integration partnership whereby Control4 can control Vivint security systems, and Vivint sensors can provide data to initiate events in the Control4 system. CEPro

dis-rup-shun: It is good to see vendors get along and complement one another. It is good for the industry, and good for consumers. This cooperation underscores the rising demand for home automation for mass markets. Consumers want more than simple home security features, and a truly smart home will take any large number of actions based upon its interpretation of input collected from any sensor throughout the home, including changing temperature, lighting, or sending specific alerts.

Uncategorized

Smart shoes have arrived

August 30, 2019August 30, 2019by sbsikesLeave a Comment

Nike shoes can be laced by Siri

Nike’s Adapt Huaraches, to be released in September, are expected to sell for over $350. The smart shoes include motors controlled by Siri to loosen or tighten laces upon commands via an iPhone or Apple Watch. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: A smart running shoe is a precursor to a connected running shoe. While the convenience of adjustment by voice may be cool, the value (to Nike) is the data collected by your shoe. Nike, Apple and their partners know exactly where you are, what direction you are going, how fast, what your footfall and walking patterns are and can use this data to sell products, segment your lifestyle and buying habits, provide you with directions, and tell you when your shoes will wear out.

Disney’s Netflix killer appears to exceed expectations

According to the UBS Evidence Lab, 43% of respondents expect to subscribe to the Disney+ streaming service after its November debut. Importantly, 57% of these respondents expect to cancel one other service to accommodate Disney+ in their budget. Disney’s content library will include Star Wars, Marvel, The Simpsons and the traditional Disney fare. ComicBook Movies

dis-rup-shun: Disney will fight and likely win the streaming wars on two fronts: deeper content and lower price. It’s rivals, Netflix, Hulu, AT&T’s (with Warner) TV Now, do not have the depth of content that Disney has amassed, and will bleed cash in a race to develop unique content. Despite Netflix’s large numbers of subscribers, profitability is years away.

Mass iPhone hacking discovered after two years

In a chilling discovery, researchers at Google discovered a host of websites that, when visited by iPhone users, load malware into phones. This malware is capable of taking passwords, contacts, and tracking locations, and has infected thousands of users per week without their knowledge. Careful examination of the code indicates that an unsophisticated team purchased much of the code from experienced hackers, suggesting it is a state sponsored project. Apple claims to have patched the vulnerabilities last February, closing the doors used by hackers. Wired

dis-rup-shun: The notion that most of our online activities are safe are daily being dispelled. Whether through use of Alexa, Siri, Google, online banking, credit cards, or even our smart phones, our personal data is being compromised. Unplugging is not a viable option at this point in our society, so how do we prepare? Data insurance, reimbursing us from cyber theft, will become a standard product offering. Applications designed to maintain our anonymity as we use mapping tools and shop online will become popular offerings.

Mobile payments slow to be adopted in U.S.

In China, 80% of consumers used mobile payments last year. In the U.S., less than 10%. Despite offerings from Samsung and Apple, Americans are slow to embrace mobile payments. Reasons include the widespread use of loyalty-based credit cards, which haven’t been prevalent in many countries. Also, the large number of payment methods in the U.S. require merchants to manage multiple accounts and expensive POS hardware.

CNBC

dis-rup-shun: New payment methods such as Apple and Goldman Sachs’ new credit card is a physical card tied to the iPhone app. This hybrid approach is an evolutionary move that offers the convenience of mobile payments but within a context that consumers are accustomed. Expect to see more alliances between large loyalty card providers and Google and Samsung, as a host of competitors seek to emulate Apple’s hybrid model.

Uncategorized

The mobile revolution has ended

August 27, 2019August 27, 2019by sbsikes1 Comment

The skinny on iPhone 11

Rumors are piling up and it appears that all four new iPhone 11 models will be released on September 10th. The iPhone 11’s will feature three cameras on the back, including one wide-angle lens, and one on the front that is capable of slow motion. The phones feature Apple’s A13 processor and will again have touch ID. ZDNet

dis-rup-shun: As if Moore’s law has come to an end, innovation in smartphones is now painfully minor. Apple has not been as creative as Samsung when it offered capability to charge others’ devices, but, like Samsung, is making its largest strides in better camera technology. Sadly, the mobile technology revolution has ended, with only incremental feature improvements and processor improvements. What will be the next technology to truly alter our society and culture?

Google smart speakers fall to third place worldwide

A report by Canalys confirms that Amazon’s Alexa devices are well ahead of the pack, shipping 6.6 million units last quarter, with 50% being outside the U.S. China’s Baidu has taken second place, slightly ahead of Google, but focused mostly on the China market. Its annual growth rate of 3700% was the result of deep discounting, while Google’s -19.8% growth is attributed to the company’s questionable efforts to revamp its partner program.

dis-rup-shun: 26 million units shipped in one quarter, meaning a year’s worth of sales will be over 100 million, and the number of households in the U.S. alone is 130 million. In a few year’s time, nearly half of the world’s broadband households will have a smart speaker meaning that the same number of homes potentially have a smart home hub, capable of controlling lights, temperature, entertainment devices and appliances.

Quick facts about smartphone batteries

Wired offers the keys to smartphone battery longevity. 1. Top off the charge every day instead of letting the battery go to zero power. 2. Avoid exposing your phone to extreme temperatures. 3. Use a corded battery charger that applies a slow, steady charge, rather than rapid wireless chargers. 4. If you aren’t going to use your phone for a while, leave it partially charged – not full. 5. Keep your smartphone software up to date, as each new version has better battery management features. 6. Make adjustments to your apps, such as brightness, to use less power.

dis-rup-shun: As people hold on to smartphones longer, battery health is even more important to device longevity. Apple is now making it difficult for non-Apple authorized service centers to replace batteries, as a software lock is shipped on new iPhones, and once you take your older phone to the Apple store, chances are good that you won’t resist the urge to upgrade the device, rather than keeping it for the extra year.

Disney declares streaming war on Netflix

Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, offers more features for less money than Netflix. Priced at $6.99 per month, the service provides HD and a rich library of content, compared to Netflix’ $8.99 without HD. Disney’s broader bundle adds ESPN+ and (ad supported) Hulu to the mix for the same price as Netflix’ HD bundle, $12.99. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: The TV landscape is a bloodbath. AT&T’s TV services lost over 2 million subscribers in the past year. The giant realignment of networks, carriers and studios, including AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner, is notice that traditional TV providers will not cede the markets to upstarts Amazon Prime and Netflix, but will hemorrhage money to maintain market share. Netflix, spending mightily to create new content, does not have the distribution channels of Disney and therefore will not earn as much on original content as established studios. Expect Netflix to be acquired by one of the establish entertainment networks within three years.

Uncategorized

The streaming wars are over (already)

July 11, 2019July 10, 2019by sbsikesLeave a Comment

Streaming wars already over, says Diller

The big studios, AT&T’s Warner, Disney and NBCUniversal are launching Netflix-killer streaming services in the next few months. Netflix enjoys an advantage of 150 million subscribers and 22 years. The upstarts are trying to bring down the streaming giant by pulling their content, programs such as the Office and the Disney catalog, from Netflix. Media magnate Barry Diller says there is no way to catch Netflix. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: Diller is a smart man, but if Netflix cannot keep producing original content hits and if the studios get on a hot streak of new content, which can be monetized by both streaming subscriptions and network TV (which Netflix cannot access), Netflix could lose its luster. In the Internet economy, the speed of change is faster than most expect, and Netflix has yet to make a profit, claiming that its deficit spending on original content will eventually pay off. It now has big competitors with multiple revenue sources and is locked into a spending battle with media conglomerates.

Why billionaires are launching rockets as fast as possible

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is yet another billionaire’s rocket launch company, using a 747 to ferry rockets into high altitudes. Wired

dis-rup-shun: Branson joins Bezos, Musk, (late) Paul Allen in the battle for space travel. While certainly egos are involved, access to the stars is similar to building the ports for the first steamships to ply oceans and rivers. Two behemoth markets for space craft are telecommunications and defense. Companies that can secure spots in space for communications satellites can cost effectively provide broadband to any corner of the Earth without stringing wires. Companies that can launch defense equipment will have some large paying customers in world governments. Space entrepreneurship puts the U.S. in the lead over China and Russia as those nations’ space deployments are mostly government programs.

Mashup: YouTube on Amazon and Prime Video on Google Chrome

Further blurring the lines between all sources of TV, both streaming and broadcast, Google and Amazon have buried the hatchet and will make their TV sources available on one-another’s hardware platforms. TechCrunch

dis-rup-shun: Another data point confirming that new TV services will soon look like old TV services, one will soon be able to access most streaming services from a single provider as various services essentially become channels within an uber provider, such as AT&T or Comcast or Apple or Amazon. These super-streaming providers will also offer access to cable and broadcast channels and watching TV will be simpler again, and will become more expensive as a few storefronts consolidate the goods.

Europe sends a $350M warning to Facebook, Google and big tech

Europe took the lead on data privacy in 2018 with the implementation of privacy standards known as GDPR. The EU just fined British Airways $230 million and Marriott $123 million for fumbling the security of customer records. Facebook and Google are under investigation by the EU now. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: The EU is showing that, as designed, the government has the teeth to make big corporations respect the laws in place to protect citizens. Hey U.S. Congress, are you watching?