avon b7

VictorMortimer said:

And I confirm that I'm not ever going to buy a BMW car.

(Wasn't anyway, they're maintenance nightmares.  But CarPlay Ultra looks MUCH nicer than anything I've seen out of a car manufacturer.)

Apple's problem was falling between two worlds. 

Infotainment connections from an iPhone and deep integration within the car's onboard compute systems.

The latter could well mean the 'tail wagging the dog' for many auto makers as things got evermore digital.

The potential solution for that was for Apple to move to providing different levels of car platforms that included hardware and software on different levels.

That never happened. 

CarPlay was way behind even in 2021. It's just that US owners never got to see the best of the best solutions. 

Even back in 2021 HarmonyOS was far, far ahead of CarPlay. So much so that even CarPlay Ultra can't touch it today. 

And for years now (in the 'self driving' space) cars have needed mini data centers onboard, with 5G communications, sensing capabilities etc

And anyone providing digital car platforms would be even better positioned if they also provided powertrains, LiDAR, batteries and charging infrastructure.

Apple was never going to be able to move all those pieces at the same time.

Many of the major EU brands are signing up for Huawei's solutions in China and all the real advances are there.

The German brands are really having a hard time competing. 

This would be a logical move and something I've argued in favour of for years.

Both the notion of more models and a scaled roll out. 

It's a win-win on every level and competitors have been doing the same for ages. It works. 

Marketing gets something to 'sell' all year round. 

Manufacturing get it's load lightened. 

Engineering gets some respite. 

Logistics becomes more agile. 

Consumers don't have to wait a full year for the 'latest' phones. 

How they would go about it depends on higher management. 

No 'Pro' models early in the year and 'Pro' models prior to Christmas is definitely an option.

Another is one full range in spring and another in autumn.

The strategic benefit to that is being able to release competitive flagships throughout the year and scale features between releases.

Currently Apple releases phones that are often trailing the competition on new features even at release and then they have to wait a full year for another shot and then the same thing happens all over again. 

IMO, that is one of the main reasons Apple has constantly trailed in camera and battery/charging advances. That's setting aside folding phones for a moment. 

It's also the main reason (but not the only one) why it's losing ground and competitiveness in China quarter after quarter and that is having a knock on effect with wearables etc. 

Not having a car and folding phone simply exacerbate the problem. 

I'll wait to hear the full story from all sides but my first thought was 'Think Secret'. 

Whizville said:

Why?  I guess some people need their phones to fold.  I’ve never needed mine to fold since 2007 when Steve introduced the iPhone.  Is it just because of a bigger screen?  I tried an iPhone 16e direct from Apple for a bigger screen and I couldn’t justify the $600 to buy it so I returned it five days later and still use my perfectly great iPhone SE3. 

I guess I’m different.

They fold precisely because of the possibility of getting a bigger screen out of a pocketable device.

They are expensive so many won't be able to justify the cost but some will be able and willing to.

It's for them. 

4.8mm seems a little 'thick' for this rumoured device when you take into account that last year's Mate XT was already at 3.6mm unfolded. 

davgreg said:

badmonk said:

and the tariffs on Russia are?

if the American economy survives another 3 and a half years years with this leadership it will be a miracle.

The goal is reciprocal tariffs and a reduction in trade barriers. It will take time as the rest of the world is used to taking advantage of the US in trade by the use of VAT taxes with rebates, tariffs and other trade barriers.  That is hardly something to fuss about.

 

What does VAT have to do with international trade?

It is applied to products at the fiscal point of sale and throughout the supply chain. It does not change because a product was manufactured in or by an external country.

We all know Trump sees VAT as some kind of lever against external trade but that is a very weird way to see things. 

Basically nonsense and the US is in the extreme minority of nations (20?) that don't really use it, whereas some 170 do.