Robert Paul Leitao on Joanna Stern: 'I spent a week with new Siri' (video) - '@PED: Thank you for posting this video. I’m cheered by this review and have every confidence Apple is finally fulfilling its Siri promises from two years ago. I do believe this new version of Siri will spark a major upgrade cycle for the iPhone at a critical time in Apple’s history (change of CEO) and is a means to strengthen the company’s barriers to entry and widen its economic moat just as useful AI-related tools consumer tools are nearing release. Go Apple! Go Apple 3.0!'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'Morning, David, I am arguing that even Apple can only eventually increase its supplier’s production towards balance with future demand, in part because it only manufactures high quality devices. Its smartphone market share, last I read, is up to about 20%, essentially on a par with Samsung, which is phenomenal, but that is a small fraction of Apple’s installed base, not to mention the total installed base of all computers world-wide. Meanwhile, AI is exploding. And worryingly, I recently heard an argument that it may even reach “super-intelligence” within a couple of years (!). I don’t have the knowledge base to speak to either how dangerous that could be or how realistic the timeline is. But in a way, it’s irrelevant, because we are in fact in the midst of an AI explosion of sorts, where AI is itself helping to increase the “smarts” of AI, and there are inadequate guard rails in place to keep folks safe. I think Apple has made huge strides towards protecting its users from the massive abuses I can see coming, but at 20% of the total market just for smartphones (and a fraction of the required AI safeguards for Apple’s own massive installed base ), that leaves a huge populace JUST OF SMARTPHONE USERS at risk. And even assuming non-Apple computer makers start right now to try and reach where Apple is (which is very. much not a given), it would take years to protect users in general. Remember: AI as written will suck up personal information like crazy, and has the demonstrated ability to literally control people’s worldview as a result. Yes, that creates a huge market for Apple to “grow into” in the interim, which is great for Apple investors, but in the interim it also leaves computer users hugely vulnerable for years to come. I look at the number of oligarchs and would-be oligarchs in the world and the incredible wealth they control, and I look at their interest in gaining and maintaining power, and I look at the ability of AI in their hands to manipulate people in ways not in their best interests, and I see a world in crisis right now, with the situation getting more critical all the time. IOW, the present danger isn’t super-AI, it’s abuse right here and right now.'
on Joanna Stern: 'I spent a week with new Siri' (video) - '”I’m eager for the public beta to be released to try this.’” Think about how much better Siri will be by then. Still, from the uses demonstrated thus far, I don’t see an overwhelming need for it. But that’s just me, a sample of one. At this point Siri would only enter my buying decision because of resale value without the ability to run it. But then by Sept ‘27 all new iPhones will run it with ease.'
on Joanna Stern: 'I spent a week with new Siri' (video) - 'Fun, informative, and reassuring from an investor POV. We’ve already heard from the tech side that Apple has the lead in chip architecture, and the vertical and horizontal OS/Application architecture. Joanna just confirmed they’ve got the UX. Thanks PED, Gregg, Rick, Greg, and Joanna. Kudos Joanna on running your own show.'
on Joanna Stern: 'I spent a week with new Siri' (video) - 'The more we see everyday average tech reviewers like Stearns give honest and understandable demonstrations of how Siri AI worked for them, the better Apple users will gain some trust in trying Siri AI out for themselves, assuming they have sufficient hardware, data connection, AND patience for the (long) indexing part of the process. One wonders if folks like Marques Brownlee who have huge social followings will be even handed and hopefully positive, or if issues they encounter will then become turnoffs for others. Depending on how old and long your Apple digital life is, how much is stored on iPhone and in the iCloud, and how extensive are your social conversations, it could take a LONG time to index. The process speed will also depend on what type of device you have. It’s likely that older devices with less powerful chips, memory, slower or shared WiFi, cellular, and other data connections will likely take longer, possibly much longer. I hope Apple finally comes out and clearly says this iOS transition is going to take awhile, have a TEMPORARY performance hit on battery, throttling, temperature, and other apps, and requires patience and understanding. I suppose those folks that have extensive photo libraries and social connection histories will also take longer. It’s a lot of work, imagine Yourself and friends having to go through ALL of your personal records, communications, home, business, banking, utility, etc. records that you’ve kept on site, in your home, at your work, and on the web, read it, understand it, index it, and process it, not to mention then deal with it when asked to. It’s a daunting task, and Apple is attempting to make it work. Of course, everyone will have varying expectations of speed and competency on how long it will take, performance hits, and of course, accuracy and efficiency of results. Patience will be the most important user trait to exercise while Apple AI is working in the background understating YOU. If you get tons of spam mail and texts, I hope Siri can block out that stuff almost in its entirety. I think Siri AI and iOS 27 mail filtering features have yet to be fully seen or explained but there are some useful filtering systems in iOS 26 already and hopefully that spreads to Gmail, Yahoo, and other email systems so they all gain some defenses against Spam and junk, the modern assaults on most people’s lives, time, and security. Same with Soam Texts. Becoming an effective tool and assistant in managing that endless task would be a HUGE leap forward that would make Apple Intelligence worthwhile, and make spammers even more determined to figure ways around Apple’s (and others) guardrails. For those of you who may be wondering about what you may not want Siri to have access to: “Apple’s AI processing is designed to strictly compartmentalize your data, meaning that your local AI does not index or “see” your private browsing activities. Apple’s Private Browsing mode in Safari automatically prevents the local indexing and tracking of your browsing footprint: No Local Storage: Private tabs are entirely excluded from your standard Safari history, auto-fill, and on-device indexing. Tracker Blocking: Known web trackers are actively blocked, and unique tracking identifiers are removed from URLs. No Syncing: Private browsing tabs and history are never shared across other Apple devices linked to your Apple Account. Local AI Firewalls: Your on-device AI only utilizes data signals from apps you specifically permit—and it cannot read what you do inside secure, sandboxed private sessions.” This is absolutely the reason for betas, a 4-5 month trial period for early adopters who will share their experiences with the world, and then slow but steady rollout to those who can and want to try Siri AI and Apple AI out.'
on Joanna Stern: 'I spent a week with new Siri' (video) - 'That was a great explanation that made SiriAI easy to understand.'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'as [Apple’s] ability to grow high quality production capacity is already being stretched. I don’t see this. Rather, Apple has to compete in a marketplace with increasing demand, but -not decreasing supply-. For some components, like A-series/M-series integrated SoC, Apple is basically the only market and the issue there is whether TSMC raises the price for Apple. That’s not a production limit, it’s a pricing issue. It could be that TSMC wants to repurpose supply lines used for Apple silicon for NVIDIA silicon, but it’s not clear to me (either way) those are equivalent production facilities, and TSMC risks pissing off Apple and possibly breaking contract agreements where Apple funded TSMC (and other supplier) foundries, etc. Now reading Joseph’s comment carefully, he could be arguing the risk is to Apple’s ability to -increase- supplier production. But that’s where Apple’s big bank account is an advantage, and “supply will eventually increase to meet demand.” As Horace and others pointed out, silicon market expansion is followed by silicon market contraction, and Deep Pockets are a huge advantage in that situation. So yeah, Apple can’t insulate itself from supply COST INCREASES. And maybe for some products (Neo?), component supplies will limit Apple production numbers. But overall, I’m not expecting supply limits, just higher prices.'
on Joanna Stern: 'I spent a week with new Siri' (video) - 'That was fun – and informative. Stern put in a lot of time to shoot/edit/produce that video, and suffer though the horrible conditions, and she did a really good job. After the two weeks of indexing finish, iOS 27 and Siri are looking like like very worthwhile updates. Stern also did well explaining the entire data privacy methodology in iOS 27. That’s a biggie for a lot of people. I’m eager for the public beta to be released to try this.'
on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Curious. For small change in stock price the volume was very high, about 76M. Same for MSFT.'
on Tim Cook: Get ready to pay more for Apple devices - 'For Apple investors, perhaps. An affluent brand that already provides tremendous customer value can more easily pass along cost, whereas low value phones with cost conscious customers, not value, cannot.'
on Tim Cook: Get ready to pay more for Apple devices - 'So Dan, are you saying inflation is our friend?'
on Premarket: Apple is green - '@Darren: Corning’s web site states: “The first company to receive investment from Apple’s new ‘Advanced Manufacturing Fund’ as part of the company’s commitment to foster innovation among American Manufacturers”'
on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Michael, do you know if that is an equity investment or preferred supply agreement or perhaps a combo of both? Always nice for Apple to also share in the success of their suppliers that Apple is a big part of.'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'Horace says that all shortage is followed by a glut, and I think that glut will be a great thing. I recently saw an interview of Steve Wozniak. He said that, when they started Apple, the memory to hold a song cost about a million dollars. Apple has done a lot to make compute power and memory more available and affordable, but there is still a long way to go. In 1989, I created software using some of my ideas. I was working in assembly language on a Mac Plus. The software worked great, but was unbelievably slow. Now, I have a small software company, and am working on some of the same ideas. They are more doable now, but still have a long way to go. I look forward to big increases in availability of compute power and memory. I certainly will make great use of these. I expect that plenty of others will, too.'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'I think this issue will play out in a few ways. People who buy their phones etc over time subsidized by their carrier will see relatively smaller looking increases on a per month basis. 10 dollars more per month over a 3 year payback period would be 360 dollars. People who pay full price upfront will likely see all the manufacturers prices higher so Apple will likely not be singled out by the consumers who buy their products. I do see other devices payment plans being created and promoted compared to paying full price upfront on purchase options as well. Or people will shift to buy the less expensive good models instead of the better and best options if they are budget constricted. Apple will likely realize this and adapt as needed. What happens when supplies normalize will be interesting. Suppliers better realize they want long term revenue growth so how they treat their customers during this period will be remembered.'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'Using a similar metaphor, maybe an amputation in the White House?'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - ' It’s still a tenet of semiconductor business that all shortage is followed by a glut since supply reacts to demand with a delay Ah, the supply chain bullwhip effect IF the memory demand is truly a relatively short-term temporary high but the upstream suppliers reacts/rushes to meet it as a future normal. Let’s see who manages this classic inventory management problem best. You know the answer…'
