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Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

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Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#151

Honestly, for anyone who watches Apple close enough, this isn't news. Its clear Apple are heading down the disruptive disintermediation route. Look at the Air Tag. Effectively killing off competitors by making use of the global network of Apple devices. Look at their recent BNPL (buy now, pay later) announcement for example. Managing the whole caboodle, including the finance itself, entirely internally. Or look at th…

Their new weather forecasting service is also intriguing. They will soon have millions of thermometer-equipped Apple Watches in the world (IIRC the Series 8 and AWU will have these), allowing them to create an incredibly detailed mapping of temperatures around the world (or at least places where people can afford expensive watches...).

Those watches measure the temperature at the underside of the device, i.e. the temperature of the wearer not the air. And that data they claim stays on your phone, not in their cloud.

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've faced down several angry groups of shareholders that demonstrate you are incorrect. Apple as a company has a few values that reduce potential profits, and refuse to violate them. They should probably have more such values, but they definitely "care" about some things other than printing money. I'm all on board the Cynicism Express, but you've gotten on the wrong track here. Apple can be a monster for many, ma…

This would disagree with you: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/technology/apple-ads.html Why does Apple want to sell more ads? Because money. It’s incredibly profitable for Apple to sell ads when people search the iPhone App Store for fitness apps or read articles in the Apple News app.

I am not seeing where I suggested that Apple doesn't want to sell more ads, or that they don't care about money.

Yes, it's profitable for Apple to sell ads. They tried once before and failed because they refused to violate personal privacy for ad targeting. It is possible to sell fitness ads when people search for fitness apps, or health ads on articles about health subjects, without violating personal privacy. People are concerned about whether Apple will compromise long-held values because Facebook and Google have worked to pretend there's no difference between selling context-aware ads and selling privacy-invading user-tracking ads. There is a difference, though.

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#153

> The unacknowledged Apple Car (the “Titan” project), Augmented Reality (AR) devices, and forays into the healthcare market, none of which is a feasible candidate So wrong. PDAs were replaced by smartphones. Smartphones will be replaced by AR glasses. It is the next big thing hardware-wise. Many new services will be built upon glasses and watches, and many will be health related. You'll still buy a phone - it'll have…

AR Glasses? Pshaw - behold the Eye Phone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctiSz7CUIgY

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#154
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their new weather forecasting service is also intriguing. They will soon have millions of thermometer-equipped Apple Watches in the world (IIRC the Series 8 and AWU will have these), allowing them to create an incredibly detailed mapping of temperatures around the world (or at least places where people can afford expensive watches...).

Aren’t those thermometers pointing the wrong way (towards the wrist)?

I would bet that the internal sensor is used in a model with the skin sensor to remove the effects of the internal temperature of the watch and get a more accurate skin temp reading.

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#155
post #149

Honestly, for anyone who watches Apple close enough, this isn't news. Its clear Apple are heading down the disruptive disintermediation route. Look at the Air Tag. Effectively killing off competitors by making use of the global network of Apple devices. Look at their recent BNPL (buy now, pay later) announcement for example. Managing the whole caboodle, including the finance itself, entirely internally. Or look at th…

Competition is great, especially when it breaks oligopolies, I just hope stuff like the Digital Markets Act will manage to stop them from abusing their positions to make their solution a monopoly

Kind of like how the only thing net neutrality did was prevent t-mobile from creating Netflix unlimited fast lanes? Or how all those bills states signed into law to encourage high speed networks not only didn't create high speed networks, but legally preventing other companies from competing?

The more this gets legislated the harder it will be for someone to enter the market later on, Apple (among other tech giants) aren't going to sit back while you write the laws, it'll be the other way around.

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#156
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope they go down that route and get utterly demolished by the courts for disabling the competition in favor of their own ad network.

It never happened in a decade of App Store. Why would it happen with an ad network?

The reason why it would happen is because there has been a massive legal push to sue Apple, or pass new laws that make their behavior illegal.

And these laws have passed, and are going to go into effect soon, and there is little Apple can do to stop it.

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#157
post #24
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Realistically (and I am not singling out Apple here), we are more and more captive of an ecosystem. My Android phone is needed to login to most online service through 2FA, I can pay with it, have my calendar and emails on it. Losing my phone at this point is worse than losing my wallet and Apple is pushing for even tighter integrations with their customer's life which will ultimately centralize all that information.

>Realistically (and I am not singling out Apple here), we are more and more captive of an ecosystem. Yes, we definitely are. But I am not so sure that is a bad thing? And it's nothing new... how many businesses had their entire operations tied to Blackberry, Microsoft, Lotus, etc. for so long? The market might be a little slow, but it's not stupid. I personally like Apple products and services. I like the integration…

> Yes, we definitely are. But I am not so sure that is a bad thing?

Well, it is the basis of anti-trust law and pro-competition law, that the legal system supports competition and opposes anti-competitive effects.

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#158
post #15

The moment that apple announced "privacy" as their focus I knew this was going to happen. They don't actually care about user privacy, but rather want exclusive rights to all of your data so that they can sell it for a markup. If you want to sell targeted ads to anyone using an Apple device, you'll have to let Apple do the targeting (and take their cut). Get customers locked into the apple ecosystem, "protect" them f…

> They don't actually care about user privacy, but rather want exclusive rights to all of your data so that they can sell it for a markup. Anyone who seriously thinks Apple are going to turn into another Google or Facebook needs to give their head a wobble. Look at, for example, their recent pro-privacy improvements to the App Store where developers are now forced to state in black and white what data their Apps coll…

What good is privacy if a single corporation has your health data, finance information, contact lists, shopping habits, address, friends and family, movies, music etc etc etc and then want so sell ad space targeted at you?

It's hardly any different than what Google or Facebook do except it's even more encompassing.

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#159
post #15

The moment that apple announced "privacy" as their focus I knew this was going to happen. They don't actually care about user privacy, but rather want exclusive rights to all of your data so that they can sell it for a markup. If you want to sell targeted ads to anyone using an Apple device, you'll have to let Apple do the targeting (and take their cut). Get customers locked into the apple ecosystem, "protect" them f…

> They don't actually care about user privacy, but rather want exclusive rights to all of your data so that they can sell it for a markup. Anyone who seriously thinks Apple are going to turn into another Google or Facebook needs to give their head a wobble. Look at, for example, their recent pro-privacy improvements to the App Store where developers are now forced to state in black and white what data their Apps coll…

> If Apple didn't give a shit about user privacy and wanted to sell all your data, they would have done so a long time ago.

They already do "sell", in a very similar way as Google and Facebook does - look at their app store ads for example. Only real difference between Google/FB and Apple is that they process data on device, not on their servers. Sure, it's a huge technical difference, but not that much in terms of business and end users.

Google and Facebook don't sell your data directly, as it's bad business - you want to sell access to customers as a subscription to get big bucks. They have all the initiative to protect data they gather on their servers. Same as Apple has to do that on devices.

There're details to it, but just moving where you process user data isn't that much of a difference to end users - you're still a corporation selling other people ability to show me ads for cribs, when you discover that I'm expecting a baby.

Re: Apple’s next big thing: A business model change

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That depends on what you consider “willingly” to mean in this matter.

Is Apple holding a gun to every person’s head saying “pay for Apple One or else”?

What they are doing is using anti-competitive practices, that go against the purpose of anti-trust laws and pro-competition laws.
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