Apple

Lost in the breadth of this year’s WWDC announcements was an update to CarPlay. That’s to be expected, given just under 1 minute of the 136-minute keynote and only 1 of 153 developer sessions were related to CarPlay. Despite the…

We’re updating our estimates for stand-alone smart speakers and tuning our model based on more historical sales figures. Bottom line: this market remains in high growth mode. We estimate more than one-third of all US households will have a smart…

In May, Samsung was the first manufacturer to ship TVs with Apple TV integration. Vizio, Sony, and LG have also signed on to this effort and are expected to release TVs later this year. Our takeaways: Four years ago, our…

The Loup Frontier Tech Index tracks the performance of publicly-traded companies that influence the future of technology including AI, robotics, autonomous vehicles, computer perception, and virtual and augmented reality. We will be publishing periodic pieces to highlight specific companies in…

Apple is in talks to acqui-hire the team of a well-known self-driving vehicle startup, Drive.ai, according to The Information. The company has raised $77M and was last valued around $200M. In our view, Apple is not after brand or even…

At WWDC 2019, each of Apple’s software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and now iPadOS — took a step forward, focusing on continuity and privacy. But all of this starts with the developer. The company is making life easier…

Apple begins its annual developer conference on Monday. We think that most of the headlines around the announcements are widely known, so we’re preemptively shifting from “preview” mode to “take away” mode. History suggests investor disappointment will follow the event…

iOS software maker Panic just reminded us how fun technology can be. The company unveiled Playdate ($149) a pocket-sized game console that comes with a “season” of 12 games that arrive weekly. And everyone is talking about it. Playdate is resonating…

Qualcomm has lost a case to the FTC, effectively ruling the company has violated antitrust laws by unlawfully suppressing the market for smartphone chips and using its dominant position to overcharge for patent licensing fees. Qualcomm is appealing the decision.…

The fear of tariffs is leading investors to make false predictions, causing distortion to the financial markets. At best, we’re a month away from an agreement, so speculation is unhealthy. We’re taking the approach of sober analysis based on what…

Today, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Apple, opening the door for a class action lawsuit against Apple related to the App Store. Importantly, the Supreme Court is not ruling that Apple has engaged in anticompetitive behavior. While we believe…

As we continue to investigate the developing trade dispute between the US and China, we have increased confidence that US-based companies, including Apple, have virtually no risk related to the potential tariff increases. Some more thoughts on this developing story:…