Bill Donahue on Mark Gurman: Why Apple's AirPods Max 2 is a letdown - 'Key message: “And yet, consumers keep buying.” He led up to that with his latest list complaints of everything he thinks Apple has done wrong in the 48-72 hours that seem to have passed since his last Apple criticism. But I’d say that sentence could just as easily have followed a simpler one: “Mark Gurman says they shouldn’t.”'
on Mark Gurman: Why Apple's AirPods Max 2 is a letdown - 'Since we don’t really know sales figures for this model we don’t really know how well it is doing. Gurman could be right with his opinions but he doesn’t really know anything more than anyone else about this product line. A slow news day but he has to write something. People think that Apple should fix all the issues they have with a particular product and they rarely get everything done in one upgrade. And did this product really need much to make Apple change it? For some yes but for others it still offered what they wanted. I am glad Apple didn’t break something that didn’t need fixing from their point of view. They probably realized it needed a new chip for production reasons and there wasn’t much reason to do much else as far as they are concerned. Now if they thought there was a big opportunity to increase sales they likely would have addressed other design issues if they had a budget to work with. Siri AI may be taking up resources which could be used for other products when freed up.'
on Mark Gurman: Why Apple's AirPods Max 2 is a letdown - 'Mow? You mow? I sit on my 119 year old front porch with a pitcher of squeezed lemonade, enjoying the sound cancellation of my first gen AirPod Max (now 6 years old) and AppleTV on my A16 iPad. It’s very difficult to improve on perfection. And when an improvement is made it will be something seemingly minor. Until you try them.'
on This week's Apple trading strategies (3/23-3/27/26) - 'It’s patently obvious that the story circulating around the globe about Tim Cook retiring didn’t pan out and blew up in their faces, has resulted in this next layer of nonsensical “key” personnel leaving the company. Much ado about nothing. People come and people go for a variety of reasons. In the meantime, Apple is still perfecting its products. Selling them world wide. Silicon “M” chips are light years ahead of everyone else and still improving. Services continues growing nicely as a result of new users to the ecosystem. But unbridled and baseless hysteria about doom and gloom for Apple gets the clicks and constant face time on CNBC.'
on This week's Apple trading strategies (3/23-3/27/26) - 'This piece is borderline “Apple is doomed!”'
on 7th Apple 3.0 price target contest: Where we stand - 'I think theirs is a good bet at this point. Kinda what I was thinking as I looked at the table.'
on Mark Gurman: Why Apple's AirPods Max 2 is a letdown - 'PED30: Why Mark Gurman is a letdown. Headline fixed.'
on 7th Apple 3.0 price target contest: Where we stand - 'Myself, I’ll take $283 for 2027. As to 2927, that should be a good year, because that’s when the Apple Car will probably come out, I’m told…'
on Mark Gurman: Why Apple's AirPods Max 2 is a letdown - 'The two Maxes I bought for me and my wife 6 years ago—she wasn’t happy with the price—are the toughest pair of headphones I’ve ever owned. In my book, the true test of durability is the traveling child test. Our Maxes ended up being used by our two kids because their headphones lasted 1, maybe 2, trips to Asia before their untimely demise. Those Maxes just won’t die! Gurman’s untested, self-anointed genius in product design is in need to familiarization with the Boot Theory.'
on Mark Gurman: Why Apple's AirPods Max 2 is a letdown - 'Ignoring Gurman is always a safe bet. Follow the money.'
on Mark Gurman: Why Apple's AirPods Max 2 is a letdown - 'I’m still absolutely shocked they released this version with that same useless and ugly case. It’s been the butt of jokes for 5 years. Improving that case was a design layup and they passed. A real head scratcher. I love the headphones. Ordered the day they came out and still use them regularly. Pristine sound, durable and sleek. One issue I *do* have is wearing them when I mow. After about 2 hours, they hurt the top of my head and I have to move them over some. Disappointed to see they couldn’t have made them slightly lighter and/or improved the lack of cushioning on the upper aluminum wrapped in silicone. Again, a seemingly easy design change. I see no reason to upgrade, as the newer version addresses none of the Gen 1 shortcomings, at least for me. This seems like it should have been a next year upgrade—not FIVE YEARS.'
on Mark Gurman: Why Apple's AirPods Max 2 is a letdown - '1. To me, moving from H1 to H2 is a significant hardware upgrade. Likewise, new amplification is potentially consequential. 2. Shouldn’t Gurman listen to version 2.0 and compare it to version 1.0 before declaring the upgrade trivial? Or shouldn’t he at least, you know, wait for some reviews? It’s nice to be first with a “hot take.” But I prefer informed, careful opinions, which is why Gurman ranks so low on my list of reliable journalists. 3. I continue to prefer that Apple follow its own product timeline, rather than the imaginary one inside Gurman’s head. Come to think of it, there is very little inside Gurman’s head that I care to hear at all.'
on 7th Apple 3.0 price target contest: Where we stand - 'Answer: DT – but he’s not very rationale! (He’s got the DT’s.)'
on 7th Apple 3.0 price target contest: Where we stand - 'I would be very interested in the rationale for Apple being less than what it is now, come next April 2027. If Smart Siri had come sooner, my estimate for 2026 would have been a lot closer. In light of what the stock price has done lately, $381 is probably too high. However, if 1. smart Siri blows people away, 2. Apple continues to monetize AI beyond expectation (& capEx expenditures) 3. Mac mini is truly the Mac for AI (edge) and 4. Neo makes great headway into developing countries and education, then $381 may not be that far off.'
on 7th Apple 3.0 price target contest: Where we stand - '344! Whiteclaw on the mini and neo gonna drive Mac rev$$$'
on 7th Apple 3.0 price target contest: Where we stand - 'I’ve had $300/share for three years now, and I’d do it again but Steven beat me to it, so $301…. Sacto Joe'
on 7th Apple 3.0 price target contest: Where we stand - 'My take-away from the last couple of contests is “I’m no better than the professional ANALysts, so don’t bet on my numbers.” 🙂 p.s. PED, I think you mean “2027” at the top of the first column. If not, none of us will be around to see who won.'
