John Konopka on Has Cupertino turned into Redmond? - '“Journalists” look back at Apple under Steve Jobs with super rose colored glasses. The narrative is that under Steve Apple released fantastic new products every year. In fact there were gaps. It was six years from the iPod introduction to the iPhone introduction. Complaining about Apple having done nothing new since the iPhone is like criticizing Henry Ford after the introduction of the Model T asking him when he will invite something new.'
on Has Cupertino turned into Redmond? - 'Joseph, your memory may be foggy indeed. I’m not sure about Jerry, but regarding Tommo, knowing the reasons why he left probably depends heavily on who you ask. I suspect that even PED would give a more nuanced explanation than yours. BTW, Tommo continues to publish valuable content, and at the bottom of this page there still is a link for the curious ones.'
on Has Cupertino turned into Redmond? - 'Microsoft relies on thousands of IT directors around the world making buying decisions (using other people’s money) for millions of workers, who have no choice but to use Windows and Office. Microsoft has to earn this business once a decade, if not for automatically renewals. Go see how well Microsoft does in the consumer side with their XBox. Remember Zune? How’s their Surface PC business doing? Nokia acquisition was splendid wasn’t it? Apple relies millions of individuals making buying decisions using their own money for their own personal use, and that of family. Apple has to earn that business every September. Customers have to actively subscribe and opt into services like TV, Arcade, Music and News. Does Apple have problems? Sure. Are they Microsoft?'
on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Hi, Michael. Yes, but. META made a BIG DEAL out of its AI use beginning to juice its attractiveness to advertisers. Can’t remember the title of the article on Apple Business News where I read that, but it was contrasting MSFT and META’s stock prices today. AI is definitely still exerting it’s siren song….'
on Has Cupertino turned into Redmond? - 'Apple doesn’t compete at the low end, but it does compete at the value end.” That is an excellent observation.'
on Premarket: Apple is green - '@Joseph: Meta lost another $6 Billion on their Metaverse operations bringing their total losses to about $80 Billion since that boondoggle began. Yet their stock goes up. I’m glad Apple uses their FCF to buyback shares as opposed to pie in the sky Metaverse projects. All about Leadership.'
on Has Cupertino turned into Redmond? - 'They couldn’t stand the heat so they got out of the kitchen.'
on Apple Earnings Smackdown: Final estimates Q1 2026 - 'Neal, Apple gave a rather direct revenue guidance this time around. I think everyone took that to heart. No need to estimate iPhone, iPad, Services wherever, other than to make them fit within Apple’s revenue guidance. Is this what we can expect from our new CFO?'
on Has Cupertino turned into Redmond? - 'Fred, they don’t get it. For example, Apple uses differential pricing to position value at different ends of the curve *for the same product*. That’s why you can buy an iPad at $350 and $3 500. But the guy buying the iPad Pro decked out with OLED and KB case is valuing different things to the guy finding value at $350. But you will find that notion that Apple is “expensive” and milking their users stupidity a common one in this kind of analysis. Apple doesn’t compete at the low end, but it does compete at the value end. Smart consumers know their value. Durability, quality, performance, privacy, ease of use… all metrics Apple shines at. Yet the myth that they “change the connectors” to milk the user base (two changes in twenty years) is a persistent one. Most people are not paying attention.'
on Apple Earnings Smackdown: Final estimates Q1 2026 - 'Fixed. Thanks. Like I aways say, if it’s not one thing it’s your mother.'
on Apple Earnings Smackdown: Final estimates Q1 2026 - 'PED: Top table, first line: Did you really want to list results for Q4 2024?'
on Has Cupertino turned into Redmond? - 'Shannon’s article shows no understanding. It’s just a writing exercise. The lack of understanding shows up here; “mature platform that turns an installed base into recurring revenue, “. Apple’s installed base keeps growing, especially in emerging markets. Thus customers in mature markets are NOT on an upgrade treadmill. They upgrade less frequently because of Apple’s quality and support. Apple’s growing high-margin Services growth drives the higher valuation. Shannon’s failure to note this is even more glaring.'
on Tim Cook's memo to Apple - 'Pope Pius XII gave his thoughts to Hitler. Saved about .001% of the Jews.'
on Apple Earnings Smackdown: Final estimates Q1 2026 - 'I don’t know if it is my imagination but it seems like the spread between independents and institutional analysts is a bit narrower than usual, especially if you take out the high and the low estimates.'
on Tim Cook's memo to Apple - 'Greg, There you go, again, waiving your ‘liberal card’, implying that since many of you could successfully shout-him-down, then you must have been correct. Actually, the blog lost a very valuable contributor when it lost Jerry. Sure, he went off on a tangent once or twice, but don’t we all? His insights were quite valuable. Instead, we now often get what I call ‘drive-by comments’… one liners, that do nothing but foment ill will and conflict, and add nothing to the conversation.'
on Premarket: Apple is green - 'I saw that. Of course, the idea of a ‘platform’ has been part of the Mac since the beginning, with the bundled-in apps that came with the original Mac. Microsoft shows the anti-trust risks of ‘platform + services’. But at the end of the day, it seems to me that people -choose- Apple products, versus managers -mandated- Windows products. There’s a value proposition that Apple had, and still has. (But my experiences with the latest Mac OS, particularly Music.app, is that Apple’s notion of “it just works” is rotting away.)'
