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Post by jbnewyork162 on Jan 8, 2019 18:50:52 GMT -5
we hardly get basketball right and we want to talk politics? The cages were there when Barry was President still there now. (my cheap shot) Let's get back to basketball. Amen Brother!
FWIW, be wary of any political entity who claims credit or assigns blame for an economic movement or event. The economy is HUGE and often movement we see now is several administrations and YEARS in the making. Let's take Apple as an example. I'm an Apple Fanboy and have been for close to 3 decades but the news of declining iPhone sales in China that sent the market into a tailspin is not just the result of tariffs imposed by the current administration. Naturally they are one of the root causes but Apple has too many of their metaphorical apples in the iPhone basket and this latest news is the result of Apple not diversifying and innovating more as well as the market tightening up in Asia. Plus "analysts" seem to always have unrealistic growth estimates for Apple and then when Apple exceeds those expectations the resulting fluctuation of value is maybe not as solid as it might seem.
Please note the above statement is ANTI partisan. Do you think Tim Cook is not innovative enough after the founder passed away? And if so which ways can Apple diversify their portfolio?
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Post by axios on Jan 8, 2019 19:10:24 GMT -5
Great question, that's why Jobs was the genius and cook the caretaker. Hopefully they have some wonderkind there to see what's next..... I had an iPhone, tried Samsung, went back to iPhone, bc I'm older and it was easier to use the email. I personally think the Samsung was way ahead, with their batteries, weight, camera, waterproof, pretty much everything etc...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 19:34:14 GMT -5
we hardly get basketball right and we want to talk politics? The cages were there when Barry was President still there now. (my cheap shot) Let's get back to basketball. And the separating children from parents with no method to reunite them?
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Post by jbnewyork162 on Jan 8, 2019 19:40:27 GMT -5
Great question, that's why Jobs was the genius and cook the caretaker. Hopefully they have some wonderkind there to see what's next..... I had an iPhone, tried Samsung, went back to iPhone, bc I'm older and it was easier to use the email. I personally think the Samsung was way ahead, with their batteries, weight, camera, waterproof, pretty much everything etc... I've had both and I just prefer the customization and the user friendly aspects of Samsung over Apple at this point personally.
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Post by axios on Jan 8, 2019 19:49:52 GMT -5
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Post by axios on Jan 8, 2019 19:51:02 GMT -5
I agree JB, just too lazy to switch back even though I know its better because of the learning curve.
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Post by jbnewyork162 on Jan 8, 2019 20:10:39 GMT -5
I agree JB, just too lazy to switch back even though I know its better because of the learning curve. By the way I love tech and economics so I'm purposely but also inquisitively trying to change the topic back to tech and economics on this thread. I always felt Apple nickel and dimes its patrons on the accessory side of things and they are changing so little, of were strictly talking phones anyway, on the hardware side, lagging behind Samsung by two generations, it's no wonder they are crashing lately. I like Apple and the direction Jobs was taking the company and I believe Tim Cook is not the creative maven to move the company forward. But Bill would know more about Apple than me as long as he's had a relationship with them. I've worked in tech a little while but I've always been a PC/Samsung type of guy for longer.
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Post by irish2u2 on Jan 9, 2019 0:52:50 GMT -5
The problem with Apple is perception. Apple is supposed to be the company that not just sets standards but creates them while creating new industries. That's what Steve Jobs did. Or did he? Steve Jobs WAS a genius but like most geniuses he laid the seed that made Apple what it was and now that Apple has resources they need to use them. With between 200 and 300 billion in CASH the resources are there to buy an emergent company on the edge of greatness or to create that greatness themselves but not in the same way Jobs did. You don't replace a Steve Jobs but you do adapt to the new reality and part of that reality was for all his genius Jobs was also a polarizing figure at Apple. He demanded the impossible at times and alienated some very talented people when they couldn't deliver. Those days are gone and the environment at Apple is better. Still way too secretive, which is part of the problem, but better.
Apple doesn't need to re-invent the wheel. Jobs never did. He took ordinary devices and made them extraordinary. Most of his genius was in the details that separated Apple from the pack. Cook thought he had his iPod moment with the Apple Watch. I have an Apple Watch but had to wait till the third generation to get features I felt it should have had in Version 1.0 most notably being waterproof. I like watches. I haven't bought one in 20 years that wasn't waterproof. I am pretty sure Jobs would have made a waterproof Apple Watch from the gitgo even if it meant a delayed release. I also think he would have made cellular capability a priority. Out of the box. Jason talks about Apple nickeling and timing you and this is how they do it. Only I know better and never, ever buy Version 1.0 of anything Apple makes. Of course I spent thousands of dollars being the first on my block with the new Apple gadget before I figured out the people who waited were the happier ones. And ultimately the smarter ones.
Analysts are constantly bringing up lack of innovation as an issue but Apple continues to print money. Till this week. They aren't doing anything dramatically wrong. They haven't done anything so earth shattering that they lose 64 billion in value. That's on Wall Street. But there is some blame to be spread to Apple too. Maybe. The dependence on iPhone sales is bound to become an issue but Apple does have other revenue streams and ideas for still more revenue streams. Apple just isn't tipping it's direction yet. Timing, not innovation, may be the real issue. Obviously services is the next, great thing for all companies. Apple is in the services industry too. My bet is whatever they are thinking of unveiling isn't as sexy as new hardware but still services the average consumer will want and more importantly, buy and with no production problems or parts delays.
Tim Cook is brilliant at what he does. He is a money man. He knows how to streamline operations and make them work smoother, better. His biggest contribution to Apple maybe how he manages Apple inventory. No more stockpiles of goods in an industry where your products have the shelf life of a butterfly. Or an Apple. Tim Cook is a good marketing man too as he creates interest and lets it simmer till demand is bursting before distributing his products. He created the Apple Retail Stores at a time when brick and mortar establishments were losing traction and he created traction, along with a ton of profit, with his amazing retail outlets. Now Cook has Apple concentrating on services like Apple Music but he missed the boat when it came to cloud sourcing and let Amazon, Microsoft and others get a foothold in that very profitable field. Apple is investing heavily in the areas of health and fitness. Not as sexy as an iMac or iPad but profitable. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Apple has a number of oars in the water. Automobiles. Media. Home automation. Services. None of these areas is as earth shattering as the products Steve Jobs convinced everyone they had to have in order to lead a complete life. I would argue that Apple is not 2 generations behind it's cell phone competitors. To my way of seeing it they leapfrog over each other every time they release a new product. I buy Apple because I am heavily vested in the Apple Universe and because they make good and reliable products. I don't need a whole lot of innovation. Still I wonder why Apple basically created the handheld phone/camera industry and they keep allowing companies like Samsung to pass them by in an area where they were once dominant. I wonder why the iPad Pro isn't marketed more aggressively. I wonder if the consumer really knows all the advantages of the iOS universe. My iMac has been running almost 4 years without incident. My MacBook Air has lasted longer. My Windows friends can't make the same claims.
Right now I just wonder what is in the future. I have no concerns Apple won't be fine but I do have concerns they are being tentative because they don't have that one, big splash product to capture everyone's attention like the iMac, the iPod or the iPhone. Like Eli Manning Apple has been dinking and dunking consumers for years and I think the fear of not having that much sought after industry shattering product is keeping them from just doing what they have done since Job's death. Slow and steady but largely unspectacular progress. That is what I mean by perception. The media demands the Next Great Thing when all Apple really has to do is continue to make very good things and adapt to the times.
What happened this week shall pass. Maybe analysts will get more realistic in their projections. Maybe things in China will plateau out. Or not. Apple is supposedly going after the huge market in India with their cellular phones. They will have to find some middle ground as they are now raising the prices for phones but in India they must find a lower price compromise to really seize market share. I imagine they will find a way. But the real money is here. And it isn't in iPhones either.
I was excited to buy a new car with Apple Car Play in it. Maybe my next car will be an Apple Car itself.
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