Above Avalon

I take a closer look at what may be driving some of the recent volatility on Wall Street. There were a number of observations to make for how Wall Street responded to AAPL earnings. The discussion then shifts over to the volatility impacting Disney and nearly every company associated with the legacy TV paradigm. There were signs of market fear and panic in the media space last week, driven by the idea that ESPN and many of the current cable TV players are in trouble. These fears may be overblown.

Episode 29 is dedicated to talking about Apple Music strategy. The discussion begins by going over how Apple got to be in a position where a $3 billion acquisition of Beats contained the most upside potential for rethinking the music industry. There are quite a few interesting parts to Apple Music, including Beats 1 being positioned as the new iPod, but the service isn't operating in a vacuum. Outside factors such as free music streaming present risks that Apple will need to overcome.

In this episode, I discuss why Apple will be the iPhone company for the foreseeable future. While it is obvious that the iPhone is important to Apple, it is crucial to analyzing the ramifications of iPhone taking over not just Apple's financials, but also Apple's business. While such power presents Apple with a few benefits, it also includes risks, many of which have ruined other companies. We conclude with a few words on how focusing too much on disruption theory is not a good thing.

Episode 27 is the official beginning of my journey into talking about the future of the automobile. It is now time to begin moving the discussion beyond whether Apple will enter the automobile industry and toward how Apple will get involved with personal transport. Additional talking points include the iPhone's success and how it gives us clues as to how Apple thinks about the car market and the changing value proposition in the automobile industry. We will also discuss why Uber and Apple will increasingly compete with each other and how Tesla may stay a pioneer in the electric car market.

I discuss some of the major strategic takeaways from Apple's WWDC keynote presentation. I analyze why Apple Music, News app, and Spotlight and Siri improvements are indicative of Apple being on the offense, and not defense, in its battle vs. Google and others. Additional topics include the "why" behind these new apps and services, and how they fit with Apple's mission of having technology become more personal.

In this episode, I take a closer look at the Jony Ive promotion and then shift over to explain some of the background and motivation behind why I founded Above Avalon and my goals around a new premium email for members.

The Above Avalon podcast is back and Apple Watch is the topic. The discussion begins with how the Watch is truly unique compared to other watches and iPhone, followed by observations on the sports band, Marc Newson, durability, and battery life. Additional topics include the three primary use cases of the Watch, third-party apps and the user interface.

Episode 23 is focused on reviewing Apple's 2Q15 earnings, including strong iPhone trends in China. The discussion begins with a line-by-line discussion of my Apple earnings model, including revenue, gross margins, EPS, product unit sales, and average selling price (ASP). Additional topics include Apple Watch margins, the capital return program, R&D implications, Apple Pay updates, and China Mobile's significance to Apple financials.

This special episode is all about getting prepared for Apple's upcoming earnings (which will be released Monday, April 27th). Topics include iPhone sales estimates, why the iPad and Mac won't matter much to earnings, Apple's capital return program changes, the strong dollar, iPhone ASP, Apple Watch sales, and how to classify Apple's quarter as strong or weak.

A look into Apple's M&A strategy and why big acquisitions aren't in Apple's DNA. Additional topics include Apple's LinX acquisition, Lisa Jackson's post about partnering with The Conservation Fund to buy forests, and why Apple doesn't need $178 billion of cash to change the world. The episode concludes with a theory about how to tell if Apple's culture is changing.

Neil discusses his trip to the Apple Store this past Friday to observe the Apple Watch try-on process including time with the Apple Watch demos. This episode includes various observations and thoughts on Apple Watch, Apple retail, and the larger wearable market.

In this episode, Neil discusses David Pierce's Apple Watch article published in Wired as well as Apple's broader Apple Watch marketing strategy. Additional topics include the strategy behind a new 4-inch screen iPhone, and how Chanel's move to embrace e-commerce reflects the continued changing luxury retail landscape.

Neil discusses three topics from last week's AAPL Orchard daily emails that helped describe Apple's design and product culture. Topics include Tim Cook's interview with Fortune about leadership and Apple's new HQ, rethinking design with electric and self-driving cars, and the Spoon Project, which involves carving 365 spoons out of wood by hand in a year.

With new reports that Apple is looking to push ahead with its television plans, Neil discusses his perfect television: a streaming video content service. With vast amounts of content and software that supports proper curation, discoverability, and search, this seemingly utopian service may actually not be a far stretch after all.

Neil goes over his notes from Apple's "Spring forward" keynote, including Apple TV, Jeff Williams, ResearchKit, the new MacBook, and everything Apple Watch. Towards the end of the episode, Neil addresses some of the debate that seems to be occurring over the watch and Apple's move into luxury.