mpantone

Google isn't selling Chrome. It's the best way for them to gather data that they sell to advertisers. That's still like ~80% of company revenue.

That's why Alphabet is so desperately defending Chrome from various governments' calls to divest the browser from the rest of the company's operations. Chrome basically FUNDS EVERYTHING ELSE.

VictorMortimer said:

A stupid thin phone is worse than the base model phone?

Re-read the article knowing this fact: the non-Pro iPhone 17 is the base model.

This rumor claims that the iPhone 17 Air is less powerful than the iPhone 17 Pro which is not the base model. It is the premium offering. It is yet to be seen whether or not the purported iPhone 17 Air is closer to the base iPhone 17 or the premium iPhone 17 Pro. Technically the Air's SoC could be less than both other models but most likely it would be somewhere in between for product differentiation.

That said, I still have a lot of doubts about this iPhone Air concept.

We know that Joe Consumer prioritizes three features: cameras, display, and battery life.

My guess is that the iPhone 16e has a niche as a corporate-issued device where the employer doesn't intent for the employee to be doing a lot of personal photography with a work-issued smartphone. As we have seen from reports, even price-sensitive emerging markets like India have consumers who still prefer a slightly older device with better cameras.

As for shorter battery life, that might be sufficient for mostly desk-bound workers but it's not really optimal while traveling, when one is using the device much more heavily and for longer periods of time before they can get to a place where it is convenient to charge. As yes, people use their phones more traveling than they did ten years ago.

If the Air has a weaker camera module than the Pro and yet only costs a hundred less, my guess is that a lot of people will end up glossing over the Air.

Basically the Air needs to be better than the base iPhone 17 if it's going to have any chance at long-term sellthrough. As we saw from the Plus, just having a slightly bigger screen and slightly better battery performance wasn't reason enough to get people to buy it.

Sure thinness is nice but ultimately it won't be that much different than the old iPod touch. And hopefully Apple learned something from the Bendgate times.

zigzaglens said:

mpantone said:

My hunch is that Apple's board of directors discreetly employs a high-level government relations consultant who provides suitable guidance in how Apple handles the current administration.

"A consultant"? They aren't some trucking company in the midwest. They're a multi-trillion dollar behemoth with many moving parts that intersect with various policymaking apparatus around the globe. They have a huge government relations team, as they should.

All of Apple's government relations team have specialized knowledge about dealing with bureaucracy of many forms but the people who know the intricacies of dealing with the GAO aren't going to be the same people who know the most about dealing with the Chinese bureaucracy, Japanese government, Taiwanese, Koreans, EU officials, etc. And remember that most of those officials do the same work for decades.

Heads of state are another animal. You are dealing with individuals. The current Japanese prime minister is much different than the last 7-8.

This is precisely why Apple's BOD probably uses a specialist in Tim's interacts with the current Chief Executive. They probably used someone else with the prior administration (not that Tim had much interaction with POTUS 46). But for sure, no Apple staffer is going to claim to be the expert on working with POTUS 47 unless they were a former and fairly recent aide.

There's no reason for Apple to employ this protocol specialist full time. That consultant would likely be working with the CEOs of a number of other companies. It's not like Tim is seeing POTUS 47 a couple of times a week. In the same way, if your marriage is on the rocks, you don't ask your marriage counselor to move into the spare bedroom at your house. A freelance consultant would be able to make far more money and have far more flexibility than punching a clock at one employer.

Apple's government relations team would still be very much involved in the details of the investment deals, etc. but we're not talking about that. The subject of this article is specifically about the gift. This is about accurately reading people's personalities, just like someone should know what sort of gift mom would appreciate.

And it is probable that people from the Apple government relations team knows their limitations. If even you're good, sometimes very good, occasionally there will be situations where you'd say, "Hey, you need a specialist for this."

If you run an NFL team you won't have an orthopedic surgeon on staff. But if one of your players wrecks their ACL or Achilles, you'll have some numbers in your Rolodex.

rotateleftbyte said:

After watching the press conference, I don't know how Tim Cook could remain in the White House with the president. The POTUS was behaving like a 1st grader. It must have been awful for TC to remain silent..

There are professionals who provide advice. Just like pro athletes working with sports psychologists, there are specialists who work with CEOs on difficult situations. These are not the run-of-the-mill psychologists that you might meet at your clinic.

Remember that POTUS 47 was also POTUS 45 and that Tim Cook periodically engaged with POTUS 45. He already had a good clue as to how the Chief Executive behaves based on multiple prior interactions.

As for dealing with a child having a temper tantrum, I've seen A LOT of parents who handle their own offspring extremely poorly. Once Tim departs the White House, he's rid of POTUS for a while. Parents are stuck with their kids.

Not sure Steve Jobs had the type of personality that would handle the current administration better than Tim. Tim is -- compared to most CEOs -- a better diplomat, probably just due to his personality and maturity. We've seen at least one egomaniacal CEO not do quite as well (*cough*).

Guys, you know that Roku already has higher priced ad-free subscription plans?

This new $2.99 plan slots somewhere in between. The free offering has very limited VOD content choices and of course has ads as well. The $2.99 monthly fee gives access to an expanded VOD library. If you don't want ads, they offer premium subs.

It's apparent that some people here don't realize that service providers can offer multiple tiers of service. This is what Roku is doing, adding another tier.

Airlines do this. Cellular carriers do this. Credit card companies. Cable companies. Banks. Even your (US) healthcare insurance provider does this.