Roger Schutte on Apple heads Evercore's list of the top six stocks to own - 'Just read this rumor but seems possible: “So Trump will allow Apple to buy CXMT memory chips for their iPhones (at least for Chinese iPhones) after the Trump-Xi meeting in September. “'
on Apple confirms reports of layoffs in Siri and Vision Pro teams - 'What matters for the future is the viability of the VisionOS platform, not the specific size, weight, and shape of the device hardware on which it runs. VisionOS continues to evolve. If glasses are the first mass-market effort, that is just fine.'
on Hell freezes over at Walmart - 'I rarely get comments when I use Apple Pay on the iPhone, but frequently get a ‘that’s cool’ when I use my watch. Plus it’s faster and easier.'
on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Apple closed out the day off $1.95 or 0.63% at $309.35. On the week the shares are up 1.12% yet off 5.61% over the past month. Year-to-date the shares are up 13.79%.'
on Apple confirms reports of layoffs in Siri and Vision Pro teams - 'Breaking my silence for this. F*ck Gurman. Those of us lucky enough to own one realize its value, now and into the future. And those being shifted off the project will find homes within Apple elsewhere if desired – and it should be deeply desired, whether it is or not. This isn’t goodbye, it’s aloha. Until we meet again, Apple spatial video.'
on Hell freezes over at Walmart - 'This reminds me that this is a major great product introduced on Tim Cook’s watch. I’ve used Apple Pay in the US since it was introduced. I thought it was fine as a product, but not that noteworthy. Two years ago, I started going to Europe on a regular basis. Using Apple Pay while traveling moved my opinion of Apple Pay from OK to spectacular. It is accepted pretty much everywhere. I no longer have to pull out my wallet to find a credit card or cash. My iPhone is always within easy reach, so paying what is needed is easy.'
on Hell freezes over at Walmart - 'Bart, Is Walmart doing this to attract more affluent shoppers to be in store or online? For shopping in store, we usually go where we will find an item that is needed for a recipe or something. So if Walmart has that item, we go there and, if I am being honest, method of payment has very little to do with shopping there. At least for us. I wonder if Walmart is losing out on the online side of things, especially with people using services like Instacart and DoorDash. If the online payment system is too much of a pain at one store, it is very easy to switch to a different store, as long as the needed items are available.'
on Saturday Apple video: Inside the Neural Engine - 'Good stuff, but constantly cutting to the same image of the motherboard was annoying and unnecessary. '
on Hell freezes over at Walmart - 'I rarely shop at WalMart, but when I do I use my Amex card. I figure, “If they won’t make it easy for me, then let them pay higher exchange fees!”'
on Saturday Apple video: Inside the Neural Engine - 'By far the best explanation against data centers I’ve heard yet. Even a dummy like me could understand his reasoning. The limousine versus bicycle analogy really painted a picture of how Apple’s path is seemingly the right one.'
on Hell freezes over at Walmart - 'Walmart has finally caved to the wants and needs of its growing number of more affluent shoppers that clamored for Apple Pay’s convenience and security, in contrast to the friction of Walmart Pay, plus allowing access to debit accounts and purchase tracking. Walmart will also have to swallow transaction fees for Apple Pay use that they were loathe to before. As for customer data, spending, and ad directed data gathering, I suspect Walmart isn’t giving up on that and will request a phone number (for tracking and account purposes) before digital tap and Apple Pay transactions are allowed, they still want something from users in exchange for allowing Apple Pay. Will it make it more attractive for the relatively affluent to shop more at Walmart or Sam’s Club, surely yes and that was Walmart’s final incentive to remove Apple Pay, NFC, and tap to pay obstacles and finally turn those features on in 2026. Remember, Walmart has had NFC and mobile payment capabilities built into their Lane POS terminals since 2016-2017 (yes, that long ago) but kept those features turned off trying to make cumbersome Walmart Pay (QR codes, strictly debit cards and direct account access) work for them, not customers. Here is the rollout schedule from 9to5Mac: https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/21/when-is-apple-pay-coming-to-your-walmart-heres-the-full-schedule/ “In a memo to Walmart store management today, obtained by 9to5Mac, the retailer offered a more detailed breakdown of the rollout. The company is currently planning a phased, state-by-state rollout. These dates could change should Walmart hit any issues during the rollout, but here is the current roadmap: States – – – Tap to Pay Launch Arkansas Aug. 24–31 California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii Sept. 10 Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma Sept. 14 Texas Sept. 17 Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming Sept. 21 Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa Sept. 24 Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky Sept. 28 Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi Oct. 1 Florida Oct. 5 North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia, Puerto Rico Oct. 8 Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, District of Columbia Oct. 12 Right now, Missouri doesn’t appear in Walmart’s schedule. It’s not clear why. In the memo, Walmart also outlined all of the contactless payment methods it will support: • Contactless-enabled credit and debit cards • Digital wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay • Supported payment-enabled smartwatches and wearables • Supported contactless EBT cards Apple Pay support at Walmart is long overdue. Will it change how you decide where to shop? Let us know down in the comments.”'
on Apple confirms reports of layoffs in Siri and Vision Pro teams - 'Putting on the Apple Vision Pro still ports me to the future. Old family photographs that become Spatial at the touch of a button will still bring tears and emotion to anyone lucky enough to have access to it. Nope, mine is not going anywhere, even if there is little or no more dedicated Spatial content. For now.'
on Apple heads Evercore's list of the top six stocks to own - 'https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/15/star-analyst-dan-ives-forms-yorkville-ives-merchant-bank-after-leaving-wedbush.html'
on Apple confirms reports of layoffs in Siri and Vision Pro teams - 'Macro view: A year ago, TC rallied the team to focus on AI. Hence the HR re-allocation. In researching Apple’s ability to compete with CUDA to get developers to make device AI really take off, AI produced the following – key phrases “long game”, “more disruptive”: “Apple is playing a long game. MLX now has an experimental CUDA backend, and Apple used WWDC 2025 to position MLX as the preferred framework for LLM work on its platforms, alongside the separate, app-developer-facing Foundation Models framework. This isn’t a side project — it’s platform strategy. The Bottom Line MLX isn’t trying to dethrone vLLM in the data center, and it doesn’t need to. It’s doing something arguably more disruptive: making the question “do I need a GPU cluster for this?” a lot less obvious than it used to be. For local development, private inference, and on-device fine-tuning, Apple has quietly built one of the most compelling AI stacks around — and it’s already sitting on millions of desks.”'
on GM's decision to drop Apple's CarPlay fails an A/B test - 'Walmart US, that is. Walmart has been accepting it in Canada from the start of AP, I think.'
on GM's decision to drop Apple's CarPlay fails an A/B test - 'On a related note, Walmart is adopting Apple Pay after years of resistance. Those negotiations must have been interesting.'
on Apple heads Evercore's list of the top six stocks to own - 'I suspect no one has ever been fired for parroting Gurman. Except to be replaced by AI.'
on Joy of Tech: How Apple got the fold tight and creaseless - 'Swaggy? Are they giving him away for free?'
on GM's decision to drop Apple's CarPlay fails an A/B test - 'The burning question that new car buyers have these days is whether to get the 55 inch or 65 inch flat panel for the dashboard.'
