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Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

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Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#221
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can also view the $15 billion as a bribe to prevent apple from trying its hand at search. Apple already has a substantial search effort behind the scenes

That doesn't make sense though. If they are already working on it why would Google fund that. Doesn't really make sense as a bribe. Additionally, I don't think Google is worried about a search competitor. It's all about the default search eyeballs. Microsoft has invested an insane amount to Bing and after 13 years they have 3% market share.

I always wondered why Facebook didn't make their own search engine considering how massive their userbase is and how much technical know-how and experience they have. But then pretty soon I realized it's all about distribution; Google controls Web distribution through Google Chrome, that's what makes them powerful. They can always promote their search engine through Google Chrome which has huge market share among Internet Browsers.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#222

Apple is unbeatable, what numbers jeez. And to think, Apple’s main competitor being practically forced into giving them money is what saved them. The government should take something from this and not allow for too much consolidation. I’m sure apple giving a few billion to a few hundred small companies could yield some results. I’m very curious what would happen to Google and Meta if Apple announced they’re going to…

>I’m very curious what would happen to Google and Meta if Apple announced they’re going to seriously pivot into ads with a revenue target of 100B per quarter.

Real capitalism would start happening or in another words vigorous market competition.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#223
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to rumours, Apple has been working on a touchscreen-enabled variant of macOS for the iPad, due for release in 2023.

Hasn't some variation on that rumor been going around for a long time?

I haven't heard this particular incarnation until recently, but [cue spooky panicked voice] "the Mac and the iPad are merging, just you wait" has been something we've been warned about for a decade and counting. I've argued before that if Apple really planned to lock the Mac down to the same degree they have the iPad, it would have happened with the move to ARM-based CPUs and the macOS 11+ UX. The fact that that didn't happen strongly suggests that it's not on the roadmap. I stand by that. (I also stand by my contention that increased security making some things more difficult to do is not being locked down. My concerns about Apple's future directions have to do with services and advertising, but that, as they say, is another post.)

At any rate, never say never, but I would be surprised if Apple releases a version of macOS that runs on iPad hardware, even if it's running in a lab somewhere in Cupertino. I've been half-seriously predicting an entirely new operating system built around Swift and SwiftUI that replaces both iPadOS and macOS down the road, but I don't think that's in the near future -- and stuffing macOS on the iPad in the interim just seems implausible to me.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give an example of how the US government has made other countries use products from those 3 businesses?

Not sure if it counts, but one of the main reasons US big tech is big is bc it was largely sponsored by federal reserve stimulus over the past 14 years.

Did the tech companies in question receive federal reserve stimulus over the past 14 years?

I find it hard to believe that the businesses selling the highest profit margin products and posting the highest profits received stimulus funds.

A likelier explanation for how big tech got big is that they delivered something of very high utility to people around the world and it has low marginal costs and high barriers to entry for competitors.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#225

Numbers: - Q4 wearables of $9.6B, beats est byu close to $1B - Q4 Services Rev fo $19.2B short of Est by $800M - Q4 iphone Rev of $42.6B meets Est - Q4 ipad Rev of $7.2B, short of Est by $600M - Q4 Rev of $90.2B beats Est by $2B, that also means its up 8ish% YoY - Q4 Mac Revenue of $11.5B, beats by $2B, nice, forgot they make computers;) - China Rev of $15.5B, this is interesting, AAPL clearly has alot of China expos…

next numbers on iphone 14 will be bad. the phones are much more expensive in europe than they were a few years ago. exanging my 12pro for a 14 pro costs me 500€$ in the US and 800$ in europe.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#228
post #175
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will admit publicly this post is so terse yet comprehensive I am aggressively searching your history on this site for more nuggets like this one. UPDATE …and, not disappointed. World-class commentary. Not sure how PP flew under my radar so long.

> Not sure how PP flew under my radar so long. Apple? People? What do you mean with PP?

[deleted]

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#229
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every adult in the developed world needs a smart phone. They replace these devices about every 2-3 years. Apple makes one of the best in class of these devices, and has successfully designed one such that it's hard to switch to a competitor (rather it's easier to stay in the ecosystem). They've convinced about a billion people on the planet that the iPhone is the best device for them, so if you split that into…

> Apple makes one of the best in class of these devices, and has successfully designed one such that it's hard to switch to a competitor (rather it's easier to stay in the ecosystem). I wonder how many years it will take before I can convince some people that I actually just prefer Apple's phones to competing phones and that I'm not actually brainwashed or forced by Apple to never leave. But that's exactly what a bra…

If you’re brainwashed, you don’t know it. You’re in unfalsifiable religious territory. So am I.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple, Google and Microsoft are all arguably partially-nationalized entities. They aren't literally owned by the government, but our government does wield it's unfathomable economic power to push US-based tech companies to every corner of the globe. It's a sad, perverted form of imperialism, but I consider it partial-nationalization none the less.

They’re partially actually owned by the Swiss central bank which literally creates francs just to purchase tech company shares with that form of funny money And yet, I don't say these companies are anything else than they are There are many forms of sovereign ownership and influence in them, who cares

I actually agree with you. The point I'm trying to make is that these companies all have strange benefactors with their own agendas. Some people are out to make money, other people barter for power, and larger institutions yet make bids for surveillance capacity and government contracts.

It's beyond the understanding of your or I, and probably anyone. The relationship between these stakeholders is too complex to accurately dissect, but their actions speak louder than press releases.

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