Greg Bates on How Apple wins AI's endgame - 'There’s a persistent problem with the dead man thesis: it presumes that such huge battles will result in one company being killed. But what often happens is that companies competing head to head in what looks like an existential contest slide off to compete in other arenas. Microsoft’s OS chokehold was supposed to kill Apple. Then Apple’s chokehold on phones and its ecosystem was supposed to kill off Microsoft. Instead, both companies are booming and neither is an existential threat to the other. They remain vicious competitors, to be sure, but a lot of it is in arenas where they aren’t head to head. Now we have the argument that Apple will kill Nvidia. I predict we’ll see the same dynamic: any existential competition, if that is what is happening today, will cease to be the central focus as the two shift to focus the majority of their energies on new markets where they likely won’t be competing head to head. But you gotta admit: asserting that a multi-trillion dollar company is deadman walking is eye catching.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'On this Friday afternoon the DJIA and the S&P 500 have reached new all time highs. Apple is currently off $0.24 at $312.18. Palantir is up nearly $15 at $170.91, boosted higher by a price target increase to $255 from Bank of America. Apple supplier Corning is ahead $8.68 in afternoon trading at $165.86. Apple supplier Broadcom is up $4.14 at $424.70. It’s a good day at the end of a good week for investors.'
on Tiny Chinese chipmaker teaches giant Apple a lesson - 'Just a thought experiment: Global Wafers in Sherman, Texas, receives a lot of funding from Apple on its current path to producing 1.2 million wafers a month. Apple uses a lot of those wafers for its US suppliers (ie TSMC, TI). Doing a little checking, CXMT produces 200,000 wafers a month. Would CXMT produce some memory for Apple if Apple supplied the wafers at a reduced price? Currently, Apple uses those wafers for its own suppliers in the US. But I wonder if there might be a point where Apple could take a hit on wafer costs by sending them to CXMT at less than full price but make it up on cheaper memory chips to put in Apple products. CXMT gets its profit. Bet Cook and Ternus know. It is more complex than this, I am sure (ie the wafers are supposed to be for US companies first), but an interesting thought.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'AAPL is trying its little heart out. Up to almost 315, down to under 311 now up to almost 313. (Wow! /s)'
on Omdia: Apple still rules the shrinking tablet market; Lenova is growing fast - 'It would be interesting to know the installed base number. iPads last a long time.'
on Omdia: Apple still rules the shrinking tablet market; Lenova is growing fast - '“Lenovo was the only company to record shipment growth, with volumes increasing 27% year on year.” this is an example of picking out the stats that support the story you want to tell. I believe a more accurate stat as to what’s happening in the whole market place is market share. Lenovo’s market share actually decreased from 11.1% to 7.8%.'
on Mark Gurman: OpenAI's first device will be shiny AI donut - 'Glad to hear from you. Was worried given the fires. Best. And upvoted.'
on Mark Gurman: OpenAI's first device will be shiny AI donut - '“The device is designed to…tailor conversations and act more like a real person.” Oh, yes please. I want more of that, for sure. It’s fraud, isn’t it?'
on Omdia: Apple still rules the shrinking tablet market; Lenova is growing fast - 'My partner’s grandson had his MacBook stolen from his car at Pepperdine. He replaced it with a MacBook Neo. He really likes it.'
on China Renaissance cuts Apple target $49 to $280 - '“Listening would contradict my pre-determined conclusions.”'
on Mark Gurman: OpenAI's first device will be shiny AI donut - '“What can you do against the lunatic who is less intelligent than yourself, who ignores reason and evidence and then simply persists in his lunacy?” I fixed it for you to describe our current president.'
on Mark Gurman: OpenAI's first device will be shiny AI donut - 'Big Brother may not be watching you quite yet. But it’s definitely going to be listening…. and talking. Whether this ‘always on’ portal has a moral compass or is capable of always telling the truth remains to be seen. The difference between this and a TV set, you can turn the TV off. Or, as George Orwell put it: “What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?”'
on Mark Gurman: OpenAI's first device will be shiny AI donut - 'I would like to know just why Jony thinks he should be in on this odious privacy invading effort. I can only guess that it’s because his pension needs topping up. And Gurman says it’s: “highly anticipated”. Yes – just by little tech journo’s like him!'
on Mark Gurman: OpenAI's first device will be shiny AI donut - 'As if tech companies couldn’t get enough consumer and personal data by scrubbing social media and internet behaviour. Now they’re planning on putting a data vacuum into your house, and recording and filming everything you do and say. Perfect. But I’m sure totally-trustworthy Sam Altman would never do anything to try to monetize that. Hard pass.'
on China Renaissance cuts Apple target $49 to $280 - 'Horace said: “Exchange rate headwinds, in contrast, are perceived as a loss of growth in Services.“ Exactly. As Services were 14% YoY in Q1 FY2026, Q3 guidance for Services is ~12% (as reported for June quarter) including unfavorable foreign exchange of 2.5%, meaning the underlying growth is aprox. 14-14.5%.which is aprox. where Q1 services was. FX is something that Apple can mitigate somewhat but otherwise is out of their control, more governed by geopolitical events and economic responses to those events.'
