Since84
Moderator
To infinity and beyond!
Posts: 3,933
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Post by Since84 on Apr 27, 2017 2:26:48 GMT -8
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Ted
fire starter
Posts: 882
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Post by Ted on Apr 27, 2017 4:24:23 GMT -8
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Post by dreamRaj on Apr 27, 2017 5:58:04 GMT -8
Bears are trying really hard to bring AAPL down. What's the call wall looking like today, JD?
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chinacat
Moderator
AAPL Long since 2006
Posts: 4,431
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Post by chinacat on Apr 27, 2017 9:04:38 GMT -8
Wow! What a complete takedown of Samsung, as well as the Android pundits using the Galaxy line to "prove" Apple-like quality can be had from its competitors. While Apple is still a hardware-driven company, there is no doubt that its software, more and more of which is now imbedded in silicon, has become the driver of the ever-widening quality gap with other smartphone vendors. Thanks for the link, Since84.
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chinacat
Moderator
AAPL Long since 2006
Posts: 4,431
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Post by chinacat on Apr 27, 2017 11:10:24 GMT -8
In his latest Above Avalon post Apple Isn't a Tech Company Neil Cybart gets to the heart of what differentiates Apple from its (perceived) competitors. I would guess that most AFB participants agree that what always distinguished Apple from other tech companies in the early days was the vision and accompanying approach to product development as embodied in Steve Jobs. The breakdown that accompanied Steve's ouster, as evidence by the more generic product offerings during that time, clearly illustrated the contrast. Cybart has a go at breaking down what this means in functional and operational terms to the company, and how Tim Cook, Jonny Ive and others have attempted to maintain that approach organizationally since Jobs died. Highly recommended.
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Post by CdnPhoto on Apr 27, 2017 11:58:32 GMT -8
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Post by dreamRaj on Apr 27, 2017 12:21:20 GMT -8
AMZN and GOOG are both UP after hours.
Funny that Amazon made a profit of a meager 724M and is flying, yet again.
Let's hope tomorrow is a good day for Techs and AAPL moves up along with the rest.
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JDSoCal
Member
Aspiring oligarch
Posts: 4,186
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Post by JDSoCal on Apr 27, 2017 13:23:41 GMT -8
This is exciting news, and Apple being Visa (or an Apple Visa credit card) was the first thing I thought about when I initially heard about Apple Pay (most people seemed to assume it was just about a cool feature that added to iOS's stickiness). The Recode article kind of buried the lede in paragraph 8. This is the money quote: I'm a fairly recent adopter of credit card rewards points, and frankly I've been disappointed that Apple hasn't gobbled up some of this transaction revenue that Visa and MasterCard enjoy (yet more creative destruction). I assumed Apple Pay would give out points for purchases that could be redeemed at Apple Stores, iTunes, etc, a win-win since Apple would make a net profit on the transaction fee, as well as having the points spent at Apple instead of airline miles or cash back. So it's good to see the Apple braintrust had considered this a couple years ago. They just seem to be doing their usual slow stumble toward revenue models to disrupt like Walking Dead (e.g., IMO it took far too long for Apple Stores to sell cases and screen protectors). Then again, Apple doesn't like to jump into a business until it is profitable, since it doesn't get cut the slack that Amazon or Tesla do with their pie-in-the-sky, profit to be named later ventures. Coincidentally, a friend just e-mailed me this story 3 days ago: Chase Freedom Considering New 5x Categories for Mobile Wallets & Recurring PaymentsMy reply to him: So yeah, JPM has certainly heard about Apple's transactional aspirations and is scared shitless. I have a Chase Freedom, as well as two Business Visa's and an Amazon Visa with Chase. I use them to pay for everything for the points, and I pay off my balances every month, but a lot of people carry balances and pay outrageous interest rates. And credit cards are getting hit from both sides: Poor & some middle class are defaulting (about 5%), and the upper middle class and rich are milking them for rewards points that is leading to more competition and higher rewards costs. So you'd rather be in the transaction business (Visa) than the credit card biz (Chase), IMO. Or at least the debit card biz instead of the credit card biz (no default risk). Of course the media dumb bunnies will bleat, "but it won't move the needle". Such a double standard. Apple has to add a new 9-figure business or it's doomed, but Google and Tesla can do spaceships blimps and spaghetti and Amazon can hemorrhage cash delivering 100lbs safes in 2 hours. But Apple needs to launch a Fortune 100 biz every year? A quick look at revs: Visa 15 billion USD (2016) (25% rev growth reported in latest quarter). Mastercard 9.66 billion USD (2015) American Express 32.12 billion USD (2016) PayPal 10.84 billion USD (2016) Why shouldn't Apple take a bite of that? And while they're at it, if Boeing wants to put comm satellites in orbit for a one-time cost, let's use that repatriated money to steal Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile's revs. And China Mobile's.
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Post by tuffett on Apr 27, 2017 14:06:41 GMT -8
Wow! What a complete takedown of Samsung, as well as the Android pundits using the Galaxy line to "prove" Apple-like quality can be had from its competitors. While Apple is still a hardware-driven company, there is no doubt that its software, more and more of which is now imbedded in silicon, has become the driver of the ever-widening quality gap with other smartphone vendors. Thanks for the link, Since84. I have to disagree. iPhone is still the best, but the quality gap isn't even close to what it was a few years ago. There was a time when Android devices (even the expensive ones) couldn't even scroll without obvious lag, while the iPhone was perfectly smooth. Those things are now more or less equal. For the average user the quality gap isn't very noticeable if at all - in fact the major thing they notice is the quality of Samsung's screen which is better than the iPhone's. Not knocking Apple, just saying the industry is mature and the competition is less about massive quality differences and more about ecosystem lock-in, brand loyalty and personal preference.
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chinacat
Moderator
AAPL Long since 2006
Posts: 4,431
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Post by chinacat on Apr 27, 2017 14:55:11 GMT -8
Wow! What a complete takedown of Samsung, as well as the Android pundits using the Galaxy line to "prove" Apple-like quality can be had from its competitors. While Apple is still a hardware-driven company, there is no doubt that its software, more and more of which is now imbedded in silicon, has become the driver of the ever-widening quality gap with other smartphone vendors. Thanks for the link, Since84. I have to disagree. iPhone is still the best, but the quality gap isn't even close to what it was a few years ago. There was a time when Android devices (even the expensive ones) couldn't even scroll without obvious lag, while the iPhone was perfectly smooth. Those things are now more or less equal. For the average user the quality gap isn't very noticeable if at all - in fact the major thing they notice is the quality of Samsung's screen which is better than the iPhone's. Not knocking Apple, just saying the industry is mature and the competition is less about massive quality differences and more about ecosystem lock-in, brand loyalty and personal preference. Did you read the article? Do you disagree w/ DED, me or both?
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Post by tuffett on Apr 28, 2017 19:47:23 GMT -8
I have to disagree. iPhone is still the best, but the quality gap isn't even close to what it was a few years ago. There was a time when Android devices (even the expensive ones) couldn't even scroll without obvious lag, while the iPhone was perfectly smooth. Those things are now more or less equal. For the average user the quality gap isn't very noticeable if at all - in fact the major thing they notice is the quality of Samsung's screen which is better than the iPhone's. Not knocking Apple, just saying the industry is mature and the competition is less about massive quality differences and more about ecosystem lock-in, brand loyalty and personal preference. Did you read the article? Do you disagree w/ DED, me or both? To be honest, DED articles are too full of fanboy fluff that I lose interest a couple of paragraphs in. He's generally on the right side of the truth though. My disagreement was about your statement of the "ever-widening gap". I think the gap was far bigger in the first few years of the iPhone than it is now. Android copied iOS shamelessly and they've largely addressed the performance. Now both systems lift features off each other. I'd say the difference is now more personal preference rather than quality. There are things iOS does better but there are also things Android does better.
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Post by david on Apr 29, 2017 10:12:07 GMT -8
Did you read the article? Do you disagree w/ DED, me or both? To be honest, DED articles are too full of fanboy fluff that I lose interest a couple of paragraphs in. He's generally on the right side of the truth though. My disagreement was about your statement of the "ever-widening gap". I think the gap was far bigger in the first few years of the iPhone than it is now. Android copied iOS shamelessly and they've largely addressed the performance. Now both systems lift features off each other. I'd say the difference is now more personal preference rather than quality. There are things iOS does better but there are also things Android does better. Lost me at "fanboy fluff".
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Post by sponge on Apr 29, 2017 10:31:05 GMT -8
I don't think it matters that Android is on par with iOS and the hardware. We can still grow in the next 10 years.
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Post by tuffett on Apr 29, 2017 11:37:23 GMT -8
To be honest, DED articles are too full of fanboy fluff that I lose interest a couple of paragraphs in. He's generally on the right side of the truth though. My disagreement was about your statement of the "ever-widening gap". I think the gap was far bigger in the first few years of the iPhone than it is now. Android copied iOS shamelessly and they've largely addressed the performance. Now both systems lift features off each other. I'd say the difference is now more personal preference rather than quality. There are things iOS does better but there are also things Android does better. Lost me at "fanboy fluff". I'm far from the only one who thinks so. Suffice to say objective analysis and brevity are not his strong suits.
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Post by david on Apr 29, 2017 14:42:18 GMT -8
Lost me at "fanboy fluff". I'm far from the only one who thinks so. Suffice to say objective analysis and brevity are not his strong suits. If you want to comment on DED's, or anyone else's article, you really should read it. And you are still ignorant of the point DED was making. You might be missing an epiphany. 😊 Speaking of objective analysis.
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Post by tuffett on Apr 30, 2017 9:15:53 GMT -8
I'm far from the only one who thinks so. Suffice to say objective analysis and brevity are not his strong suits. If you want to comment on DED's, or anyone else's article, you really should read it. And you are still ignorant of the point DED was making. You might be missing an epiphany. 😊 Speaking of objective analysis. I have read plenty of his articles. And yes, I've admitted to not reading the one in question, but I'm also not commenting on it. Reading comprehension, my friend.
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