Neil Cybart 10/21/24 Neil Cybart 10/21/24

Thoughts on the Tim Cook Profile in WSJ Magazine

Yesterday, WSJ Magazine published a Tim Cook profile (the piece is available via Apple News+ here) for its annual Innovators issue. Cook, along with a few other recipients, will be recognized at the WSJ's 14th Annual Innovator Awards next week.

Apple smartly used the profile to put the spotlight back on its products.

In today’s update, we go over my thoughts on the profile. In addition to the broader themes found in the profile, we go over a few areas where the WSJ profile was lacking.

An Above Avalon membership is required to continue reading this update. Members can read the full update here. (Members: Daily Updates are accessible via the archive. If you haven’t logged into the archive before, fill out this form to receive an invite.)

Above Avalon Membership

Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions.

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Contact me directly if you would like to purchase multiple subscriptions (five or more) for your team or company.

An audio version of the newsletter is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership. More information about the podcast add-on is found here. Special Inside Orchard bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members. Additional membership customization is available via the Financial Models add-ons.

Neil Cybart 10/3/24 Neil Cybart 10/3/24

A Few Thoughts on Apple Vision Pro Passthrough, Google Has Juno Pulled From App Store, Microsoft Discontinues HoloLens 2

Hello everyone. Some follow-up to our Apple/OpenAI discussion from Monday. The Financial Times is reporting OpenAI asked companies investing in its latest capital raise to not back rival companies. If true, that could have played a role in Apple backing out of an OpenAI investment. It is not necessarily in Apple’s interest to see OpenAI exceed or excel while OpenAI competitors struggle. Apple Intelligence can benefit from integrating various third-party multimodal models.

Shifting to today’s update, there will be an Apple Vision Pro / headset theme to the discussion. We discuss why consensus is rushing to judgment by claiming that AR glasses with optically transparent projection is the way forward in spatial computing. The discussion then turns to Google going after the popular Juno app for Apple Vision Pro. We conclude with my thoughts on HoloLens 2 being discontinued.

Let’s jump in.

Above Avalon Membership

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Contact me directly if you would like to purchase multiple subscriptions (five or more) for your team or company.

Neil Cybart 9/20/24 Neil Cybart 9/20/24

Apple’s Philosophy on Photography, Why Memory Protection Is a Big Deal, Snap Unveils Spectacles 5.0

Hello everyone. We begin today's update with Apple drawing a line in the sand regarding photography and generative AI. It’s fascinating how much of a Big Tech outlier Apple is on this photography versus generative AI debate. We then turn to my thoughts on Snap unveiling its fifth edition of Spectacles smart glasses.

Above Avalon Membership

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Contact me directly if you would like to purchase multiple subscriptions (five or more) for your team or company.

Neil Cybart 5/31/24 Neil Cybart 5/31/24

Signs Point to New Beats Pill Speaker, Google and Magic Leap Form Partnership, First Up-Close Shots of Apple’s Immersive Video Cameras

Happy Friday.

We will conclude this week’s updates with three stories that caught my interest. The discussion begins with a new Beats speaker. We then turn to AR land and news of Google and Magic Leap forming a partnership. The update concludes with Apple Immersive Video.

Let’s jump right in.

Signs Point to New Beats Pill Speaker

We purposely don’t spend too much time talking Apple product rumors, partially because such rumors never end. However, there is one particular rumor that relates to a few recent discussion topics.

Here’s 9to5Mac:

“Apple is preparing to launch its second Beats Pill product since acquiring the audio brand nearly a decade ago. After being bought by Apple in 2014, Beats introduced the Beats Pill+ that sold from 2015 to 2020. While it was discontinued without a replacement in sight, the forthcoming Beats Pill has been showing up everywhere from celebrity sightings to regulatory listings…

While good sound is key to great Bluetooth speakers, features and compatibility are equally important for creating standout products. 9to5Mac can report that the 2024 Beats Pill will bring a number of tricks and benefits over the discontinued Beats Pill+.

The new Beats Pill doubles battery life from up to 12 hours to up to 24 hours.
An IP67 rating adds dust and water resistance that previous hardware lacked.
The Bluetooth speaker will be compatible with both iOS and Android for one-touch pairing and auto pairing to compatible devices.
The 2024 Beats Pill adds Apple Find My and Google’s Find My Device compatibility for tracking down lost hardware."

One of those celebrity sightings included Lebron James (shown below with the rumored new Beats Pill speaker).

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Contact me directly if you would like to purchase multiple subscriptions (five or more) for your team or company.

Neil Cybart 4/12/24 Neil Cybart 4/12/24

Apple Talks up Vision Pro at Work, Apple Announces Enterprise Spatial Design Lab, Inside Apple Vision Pro

In today’s update, we take a closer look at Apple’s attempt to draw attention to Vision Pro in business settings. The discussion turns to Apple announcing a new Enterprise Spatial Design Lab. We conclude with Lumafield publishing one of the more interesting “teardowns” of an Apple product.

An Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the full update here. (Members: Daily Updates are accessible via the archive. If you haven’t logged into the archive before, fill out this form to receive an invite.)

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Contact me directly if you would like to purchase multiple subscriptions (five or more) for your team or company.

Neil Cybart 3/5/24 Neil Cybart 3/5/24

Apple Adds Dozens of Licensed Movies to Apple TV+, More Signs of Apple TV+ Momentum, Apple Video Revenue Drivers

Hello everyone. Happy Monday. It's already turning into a busy week for Apple. Today's update will be focused on several Apple TV+ developments and Apple’s broader video play.

Let’s jump right in.

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Contact me directly if you would like to purchase multiple subscriptions (five or more) for your team or company.

Neil Cybart 1/24/24 Neil Cybart 1/24/24

More on My Apple Vision Pro Demo, Apple’s Vision Pro Sales Pitch

Last Thursday, we went over Neil’s initial thoughts following his second Vision Pro demo. For today, we will kick things off with more about what actually occurred during Neil’s demo. This provides a look at how Apple is positioning Vision Pro at launch. The discussion will then go deeper into the Apple Vision Pro sales pitch.

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time.

An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership. More information about the podcast add-on is found here. Special Inside Orchard bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members. Additional membership customization is available via the Financial Models add-on.

Neil Cybart 1/18/24 Neil Cybart 1/18/24

Thoughts After Using Apple Vision Pro for a Second Time

Earlier today, I experienced a 40-minute demo of Apple Vision Pro. The demo was about 10 minutes longer than the one that occurred at WWDC 2023. Across the two demos, I’ve spent about 70 minutes using Apple Vision Pro.

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Neil Cybart 1/10/24 Neil Cybart 1/10/24

Apple Vision Pro Launch Date Announced, New Vision Pro Details, What About Vision Pro Demos?

There is Vision Pro news to go over. We begin with Neil’s thoughts on Apple’s Vision Pro launch date. The discussion then goes over several new details disclosed about the device. We conclude with a look at Vision Pro demos at Apple Stores.

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Neil Cybart 11/13/23 Neil Cybart 11/13/23

Apple Demos More Vision Pro Spatial Videos, 3D Movie Icon Appears on Apple TV, Humane Ai Pin vs. Spatial Photos/Videos

Hello everyone. Welcome to a new week. We do have a few CY3Q23 earnings reports to go over. However, today’s update will take a spin through Vision Pro land.

Apple Demos More Vision Pro Spatial Videos

Over at Daring Fireball, here’s John Gruber:

“Yesterday Apple released developer beta 2 of iOS 17.2, the first version of iOS to include support for capturing spatial video with iPhone 15 Pro models. Today came the public beta, enabling the same feature. Apple invited me to New York yesterday, not merely to preview capturing spatial video using an iPhone, but to experience watching those spatial videos using a Vision Pro.

The experience was, like my first Vision Pro demo back at WWDC in June, astonishing…

My demo yesterday was expressly limited to photography in general, and spatial video in particular, and so my demo was, per Apple’s request, limited to the Photos app in VisionOS. It was tempting, at times, to see where else I could go and what else I could do. But there was so much to see and do in Photos alone that my demo — about 30 minutes in total wearing Vision Pro — raced by.”

The full post made for an interesting read, especially if you want the details regarding how Apple is implementing spatial videos via iPhone 15 Pro. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro needs to be held horizontally “to put the two capturing lenses on the same plane. The iPhone uses the main (1×) and ultra wide (0.5×) lenses for capture when shooting spatial video, and in fact, Apple changed the arrangement of the three lenses on the iPhone 15 Pro in part to support this feature.”

When Apple announced this past September that the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max would be able to capture spatial video, my assumption was that iPhone videos

An Above Avalon membership is required to continue reading this update. Members can read the full update here . An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership. More information about the podcast add-on is found here.

(Members: Daily Updates are always accessible by logging into Slack. If you haven’t logged into Slack before, fill out this form to receive an invite.)

Above Avalon Membership

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special Inside Orchard bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.

More information about Above Avalon membership, including the full list of benefits and privileges, is available here.

Neil Cybart 7/11/23 Neil Cybart 7/11/23

App Store Turns 15, Head of Google's AR Software Quits, Vision Pro’s Influence Already Being Felt

Hello everyone. Happy Tuesday. We kick things off with Neil’s thoughts on the App Store turning 15 years old. The discussion then turns to Mark Lucovsky, who led Google’s AR software efforts, quitting Google in a very public way. We conclude with how the Apple Vision Pro unveiling has already impacted the AR/VR market.

App Store Turns 15

Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of Apple launching the App Store.

Five years ago, we recapped the App Store’s trajectory at the 10-year mark. A year prior, Apple had announced a major redesign to the App Store that included the Today, Games, and Apps tabs. Apple also unveiled the App Store’s editorial direction.

For today’s discussion, it’s worth looking at the major App Store developments that have materialized over the past five years.

Apple Arcade. After a few strategy shifts and changes, Apple landed on what has been Apple Arcade's current strategy of being more of an essential service grabbing subscriber time and attention (versus having games that subscribers would play when they had a few minutes of down time). The 100-game soft ceiling was expanded to more than 200 games (with no advertising or in-app purchases). The higher game total also reflected Apple including older iOS games with a proven track record of market success in the service.

Advertising. By expanding Apple Search Ads

(Members: Daily Updates are always accessible by logging into Slack. If you haven’t logged into Slack before, fill out this form to receive an invite.)

Above Avalon Membership

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special Inside Orchard bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.

More information about Above Avalon membership, including the full list of benefits and privileges, is available here.

Neil Cybart 6/26/23 Neil Cybart 6/26/23

The Vision Pro Bet, Zuckerberg’s Miscalculation, A New Normal for Headsets

Hello everyone. Happy Monday.

One follow-up to a story from last week.

As pointed out to me by a member, the visionOS VR restriction regarding a 1.5-meter "system boundary," as measured from the initial position of the Vision Pro wearer's head, isn’t that strict considering it’s a radius (i.e. a 10ft x 10ft space). That’s larger than what most would deem acceptable for VR in today's marketplace.

Let's jump unto today's update.

The Vision Pro Bet

There were three broad tracks available to Apple with AR/VR headsets in mind:

Begin at the low end with a pair of light/thin/inexpensive glasses and then work their way up the performance/feature/price curve.

(Members: Daily Updates are always accessible by logging into Slack. If you haven’t logged into Slack before, fill out this form to receive an invite.)

Above Avalon Membership

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special Inside Orchard bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.

More information about Above Avalon membership, including the full list of benefits and privileges, is available here.

Neil Cybart 6/8/23 Neil Cybart 6/8/23

The Challenge Selling Vision Pro, Vision Pro Competition, Vision Pro Q&A

Hello everyone. We kick things off with a big challenge Apple will face selling Apple Vision Pro. The discussion then turns to Vision Pro competition and the degree to which Neil thinks Apple’s headset will impact the AR/VR/mixed reality industries. We conclude with Neil answering 11 questions from members about his 30-minute Vision Pro demo.

Let’s jump in.

The Challenge Selling Vision Pro

One takeaway from my 30-minutes with Vision Pro was that Apple will have an easier time selling the headset if consumers can experience a demo. The presentation that Apple showed during the WWDC keynote – the company also released a 9-minute video overview - didn’t come close to conveying what it’s like using the device. Trying to explain spatial computing in 2D terms has been a problem for years.

Apple can’t demo Vision Pro on stage. This is not like an iPhone, iPad, or even Apple Watch. That is a challenge for Apple.

Since Apple needed to come up with some type of marketing for the device, the company landed on relatable scenarios and use cases that they think people can see themselves in or doing.

An Above Avalon membership is required to continue reading this update. Members can read the full update here. An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership. More information about the podcast add-on is found here.

(Members: Daily Updates are always accessible by logging into Slack. If you haven’t logged into Slack before, fill out this form to receive an invite.)

Above Avalon Membership

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special Inside Orchard bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.

More information about Above Avalon membership, including the full list of benefits and privileges, is available here.

Neil Cybart 6/7/23 Neil Cybart 6/7/23

The “Why” Behind Apple Vision Pro, Apple Revolutionizes Memories, Vision Pro Pricing Strategy

Hello everyone. There is a slight change of plans. Yesterday’s update led to the largest number of incoming emails from members following an update in years. Accordingly, we are going to keep running with the Vision Pro discussion. Neil spent about 30 minutes using Apple Vision Pro. The technology powering the device is the future. We will get to the rest of Apple’s WWDC announcements.

A few quick items:

A virtual member meetup took place this past Monday in the Above Avalon team in Slack. The value found with having it take place in Slack is that people can still add to the discussions that took place. If you haven't checked the meetup out, look in the #random channel. The start of the meetup is pinned / shaded in a yellow hue.
Vision Pro sound quality. Yesterday’s discussion didn’t include any mention of Neil’s audio experience using Vision Pro. The headset includes a pair of speakers, positioned in the head strap and angled towards the wearer’s ears. The sound quality was very good. Just as important, there was no issue hearing other people in the room while something was playing via the headset. It’s not known what someone seated next to an Apple Vision Pro wearer can hear though.
Q&A. Have questions about Apple Vision Pro? Send them Neil’s way and they can be addressed tomorrow. There has already been a decent number of questions posted in the member forum (they will be covered).

The “Why” Behind Apple Vision Pro

It’s a positive sign for Apple that those who were among the first to try out Vision Pro have landed on different things as their “favorite” experience. Some people say the mindfulness app was what opened their eyes (the word trippy came to mind with that app). Others say the live sports consumption implications jumped out at them. There isn’t one right or wrong answer. Depending on the wearers’ personality, likes, interests, and perspective, different things will jump out at them. The era in which one thing is a “killer app” for everyone ended years ago.

There are still important questions left unanswered: Why sell Vision Pro? What is the device’s purpose?

An Above Avalon membership is required to continue reading this update. Members can read the full update here. An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership. More information about the podcast add-on is found here.

(Members: Daily Updates are always accessible by logging into Slack. If you haven’t logged into Slack before, fill out this form to receive an invite.)

Above Avalon Membership

Subscribe $20/month

Subscribe $200/year

Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special Inside Orchard bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.

More information about Above Avalon membership, including the full list of benefits and privileges, is available here.