Beyond Devices Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Week 120 – BD Podcast News, State Of The Industry Discussion Nov 21, 2017

Jan's taking on a new full-time job and stepping away from his role as an independent analyst, which means we're taking a bit of a break from the podcast after this episode, and will post less frequent episodes in future. With that context, we're in a contemplative mood and decided to make this episode a discussion about the state of the tech industry. We tackle a few distinct themes: the power of incrementalism in the face of a bias towards big inventions; the maturity of key markets and the market structures that's driving us to; changing competitive dynamics and the increasing power of a few big players; and the role that regulation might play in the future of the industry and changing all that. The show notes below include links to some of the things we mentioned on today's episode. • Jan's blog post about his job change: https://medium.com/beyond-devices/seventeen-years-an-analyst-a5e9d215b48c • Jan's last Techpinions post, on the state of the tech industry: https://techpinions.com/some-thoughts-on-the-state-of-the-tech-market/51643 • Vivint Smart Home website: https://www.vivint.com You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 119 – NR – Snap Earnings, Twitter 280, IPhone X First Impressions Nov 10, 2017

We're back on our normal schedule for this week's News Roundup episode, and back to covering three distinct topics. This week those are: Snap's disappointing earnings and the proposed changes to the product and strategy there; Twitter's broader rollout of the 280 character limit and criticism over its use of user verification, and Aaron and Jan's first impressions of the iPhone X, which we've both been using for a few days now. The show notes below include links for the various stories we covered on today's episode. News stories we covered: • Snap Earnings Release: https://investor.snap.com/news-releases/2017/11-07-2017-211621749 • Jan's Snap analysis: https://techpinions.com/snapchats-strategic-failure/51554 • The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz (Amazon affiliate link): http://amzn.to/2yoTsAV • Business Insider on Snap redesign plans: http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-redesign-planned-for-december-4-2017-11 • Twitter 280 blog post: https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/topics/product/2017/tweetingmadeeasier.html • Jony Ive Wallpaper interview: https://www.wallpaper.com/design/jony-ive-apple-park You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 118 – NR – Apple And Facebook Q3 2017 Earnings Nov 06, 2017

We're a couple of days late with this episode – Jan was traveling late last week, but we still wanted to cover Apple earnings, so we recorded first thing on Monday morning, and should still have another episode later this week. Apple earnings are the major focus for this episode, as we go through the various reporting segments in order of size by revenue. But we also spend a few minutes towards the end of the episode talking about Facebook's earnings. The show notes below include links for the various stories we covered on today's episode. News stories we covered: • Apple Earnings Release: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/11/apple-reports-fourth-quarter-results/ • Facebook Earnings release: https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_financials/2017/Q3/Q3'17-Earnings-Release.pdf You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 117 – NR – Amazon, Alphabet, Twitter, And Microsoft Earnings Oct 27, 2017

This week's episode is entirely devoted to Q3 2017 earnings reports which were released this week from four big companies: Amazon, Alphabet, Twitter, and Microsoft. We talk through the highlights of each company's earnings, the strengths and weaknesses (and warning signs) and the broader competitive landscape around these companies. We'll likely do a deep dive on Apple earnings among other things in our next episode. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Amazon earnings release: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2311817 • Alphabet earnings release: https://abc.xyz/investor/pdf/2017Q3_alphabet_earnings_release.pdf • Twitter earnings release: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMDA-2F526X/3731695548x0x961121/3D6E4631-9478-453F-A813-8DAB496307A1/Q3_17_Shareholder_Letter.pdf • Microsoft earnings release: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2018-Q1/press-release-webcast.. You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 116 – NR – Samsung Dev Conf, Pixel 2 Reviews, Netflix Earnings, IPhone Rumors Oct 20, 2017

On this week's News Roundup, we kick things off with Samsung's Developer Conference and the announcements the company made there, which were more strategic and big picture in nature than most of its hardware announcements. Secondly, we talk about the reviews for Google's Pixel 2 smartphones, which were published this week and were a surprisingly mixed bag, especially with regard to the displays on the larger phones. Third, we cover Netflix's earnings, which kicked of the Q3 earnings season earlier this week, and lastly we talk about the two big sets of iPhone supply and sales rumors currently floating around. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Samsung Developer Conference: Jan's piece on Techpinions: https://techpinions.com/samsung-aims-for-connected-thinking-at-developer-conference/51364 Samsung press releases: http://www.samsungmobilepress.com/sdc2017 • Pixel 2 Reviews: Techmeme roundup: https://www.techmeme.com/171017/p8#a171017p8 Debunking piece: https://hackernoon.com/debunking-misinformation-about-the-pixel-2-xls-display-6fa4dfbdd304 • Netflix earnings: https://ir.netflix.com/results.cfm. The piece I wrote about shutting down Tech Narratives (and about my other work) is here: https://medium.com/beyond-devices/making-some-changes-26a42ee196c1 You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 115 – NR – Oculus, Apple:Spielberg, Movies Anywhere, Snapchat Context Cards, Twitter Oct 13, 2017

This week's episode kicks off with a discussion of Netflix's price increases, and the context and reason for those. Next, we do a deep dive on Google's event this week and all that it announced, from new Pixel phones to new members of the Home family and a few other products also unveiled. Lastly, we talk about the other event that happened on Wednesday this week, the launch of the first voice-enabled speaker from Sonos. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Oculus: Jan's Take on Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/11/★-oculus-announces-199-standalone-headset-other-hardware-and-software-news/ Oculus: https://www.oculus.com/blog/pioneering-the-frontier-of-vr-introducing-oculus-go-plus-santa-cruz-updates/ • Apple/Spielberg: Jan's Take on Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/10/apple-signs-deal-for-reboot-of-spielbergs-1980s-series-amazing-stories/ Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-signs-content-deal-with-steven-spielberg-1507656455 • Movies Anywhere: Jan's Take on Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/12/disney-warner-sony-21st-cf-universal-join-movies-anywhere-digital-locker-service/ Variety: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/movies-anywhere-launches-with-joint-studio-backing-1202587915/ • Snapchat Context Cards: Jan's Take on Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/10/★-snapchat-adds-context-cards-for-ride-sharing-restaurant-booking-other-services/ Snap: https://www.snap.com/en-US/news/post/introducing-context-cards/ Jan's Techpinions piece: https://techpinions.com/google-and-the-disintermediation-of-search/51316 • Twitter Abuse: Jan's Takes on Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/12/twitter-demonstrates-its-inconsistency-in-policing-abuse-again/ https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/13/prominent-women-launch-twitter-boycott-on-friday-over-abuse-issues/ TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/12/twitter-breaks-silence-on-mcgowan-suspension/ USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/10/12/rose-mcgowans-harvey-weinstein-tweets-got-her-suspended-fromsome-women-and-men-pledge-boycott-twitte/760130001/ You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 114 – NR – Netflix Prices, Google Launch, Sonos Event Oct 06, 2017

This week's episode kicks off with a discussion of Netflix's price increases, and the context and reason for those. Next, we do a deep dive on Google's event this week and all that it announced, from new Pixel phones to new members of the Home family and a few other products also unveiled. Lastly, we talk about the other event that happened on Wednesday this week, the launch of the first voice-enabled speaker from Sonos. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Netflix Price Increases: Tech Narratives (free post): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/05/★-netflix-to-raise-prices-for-two-of-three-tiers-of-service/ Mashable: http://mashable.com/2017/10/05/netflix-raising-prices-again/ • Google Launch: Pixel Phones: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/04/★-google-announces-pixel-2-smartphones/ Techmeme: http://www.techmeme.com/171004/p30#a171004p30 Home Devices: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/04/★-google-announces-larger-and-smaller-home-devices-new-software-features/ Techmeme: http://www.techmeme.com/171004/p30#a171004p30 Other Announcements: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/04/google-launches-premium-chromebook-earbuds-ai-powered-camera/ Techmeme: http://www.techmeme.com/171004/p21#a171004p21 Jan's Techpinions column: https://techpinions.com/google-is-clearly-serious-about-hardware-but-not-about-selling-phones/51272 • Sonos Event: Tech Narratives (free post): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/10/04/★-sonos-launches-first-voice-speaker-adds-alexa-support-for-older-devices/ Sonos: http://press-us.sonos.com/159680-sonos-unveils-smart-speaker-with-support-for-multiple-voice-services You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 113 – NR – Amazon Event, Twitter 280, Ecosystem Wars, Google Shopping, Google Event Preview Sep 29, 2017

Aaron is traveling this week, so this is a solo episode from Jan, which means it covers a little more ground than usual. We kick things off with the Amazon event this week and how to think about the announcements made there. Secondly, Jan talks about Twitter's test of a 280-character limit for tweets, whether it's a good idea, and what else it should be doing as well (or instead). Thirdly, we touch on a theme in the news this week, which is ecosystem wars between Amazon, Apple, and Google, and a variety of movements that were signaled by the various players over the last few days. Fourth, Jan talks about recent developments in Google's EU Shopping case, and lastly he shares his thoughts on next week's Google hardware event, and what we might see there. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Amazon Event: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/27/★-amazon-matures-echo-line-updates-and-lowers-price-on-fire-tv/ Amazon: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsconsumer&nyo=0 Jan's Techpinions column: https://techpinions.com/amazon-matures-its-echo-lineup/51196 • Twitter 280: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/26/★-twitter-tests-expanding-limit-to-280-characters-in-most-languages/ Twitter: https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/topics/product/2017/Giving-you-more-characters-to-express-yourself.html • Ecosystem Wars: Apple/Google: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/25/★-apple-switches-search-back-end-for-safari-and-siri-to-google-from-bing/ TechCrunch:https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/25/apple-switches-from-bing-to-google-for-siri-web-search-results-on-ios-and-spotlight-on-mac/ Apple/Amazon: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/26/amazon-begins-selling-apple-tv-hardware-again/ TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/26/the-apple-tv-is-back-on-amazon/ Amazon/Google: Tech Narratives (free post): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/27/google-pulls-youtube-from-amazons-echo-show-device/ The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/26/16371292/google-youtube-amazon-echo-show • Google Shopping: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/27/google-officially-begins-rolling-out-european-shopping-search-changes/ WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-rolls-out-search-shopping-ad-changes-in-europe-1506528301 You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 112 – NR – Nest Launch, Apple Reviews, Google - HTC Sep 22, 2017

This week's News Roundup episode focused on three news stories. We kicked things off with a discussion of Nest's biggest set of announcements in recent memories and what it means for the smart home market. Next, we discussed the various reviews that came out for Apple's new products this week. And lastly, we talked through Google's investment in / acquisition of part of HTC's smartphone business. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Nest Launch: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/20/★-nest-introduces-first-new-hardware-categories-in-years-enters-security-market/ Nest: https://nest.com/press/nest-expands-into-home-security/ • Apple Reviews: iPhone: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/19/iphone-8-reviews-suggest-great-cameras-nice-but-familiar-design-great-performance/ Techmeme: http://www.techmeme.com/170919/p6#a170919p6 Apple Watch: Tech Narratives (free): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/20/★-apple-watch-lte-reviews-mostly-positive-but-some-note-ltewifi-issues/ Techmeme: http://www.techmeme.com/170920/p8#a170920p8 Apple TV 4K: Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/21/apple-tv-4k-reviews-mostly-positive-note-high-price-some-bemoan-details/ Techmeme: http://www.techmeme.com/170921/p6#a170921p6 Hodinkee Apple Watch review: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/apple-watch-series-3-edition-review • Google-HTC: Tech Narratives (free): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/21/★-google-and-htc-announce-1-1-billion-acquihire-and-patent-licensing-deal/ HTC: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/google-and-htc-announce-us11-billion-cooperation-agreement-300523328.html You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 111 – NR – Facebook Ad Targeting, Amazon Buying Channels, Apple Roundup Sep 15, 2017

This week's news was rather dominated by Apple, but we did still find some other things to talk about in our News Roundup episode. We kick things off with news that Facebook (as well as Google and Twitter) has been offering advertisers the option of targeting users by some pretty unpleasant terms including several antisemitic ones. Secondly, we talk about news from NBC that Amazon is looking at buying several less-watched TV channels from big traditional TV companies that are looking to offload them. And we couldn't help but cover some of the Apple news that emerged later in the week, both related and unrelated to Tuesday's announcements. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Facebook, Google, and Twitter Ad Targeting: A good roundup from Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-14/facebook-removes-advertiser-ability-to-target-jew-haters Tech Narratives take ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/15/facebook-announces-ad-targeting-changes-in-response-to-racist-keywords/ Talking Points Memo article: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/facebooks-heading-toward-a-bruising-run-in-with-the-russia-probe • Amazon Buying Channels: Jan's Tech Narratives piece ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/15/★-amazon-is-reportedly-looking-to-buy-lower-profile-channels-from-tv-companies/ NBC News story: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/amazon-hungry-it-s-coming-your-cable-channels-n801781 • Apple Roundup: Jan's Tech Narratives piece on other announcements (free post): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/13/various-additional-details-about-apples-announcements-dribble-out/ Jan's Tech Narratives piece on cookie blocking ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/14/apples-new-safari-cookie-blocking-angers-major-advertising-trade-groups/ Adweek piece on open letter from ad groups: http://www.adweek.com/digital/every-major-advertising-group-is-blasting-apple-for-blocking-cookies-in-the-safari-browser/ 9to5Mac piece on Safari cookies: https://9to5mac.com/2017/09/15/what-are-cookies-how-do-cookies-work/ You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 111 – QotW – Apple September 2017 Event Sep 12, 2017

As per tradition, this week's Question of the Week episode is a deep dive on Apple's September 2017 event, which happened this morning. Jan was there in person, while Aaron followed along remotely, and in keeping with our usual format we discuss the announcements largely in the order in which they were made, starting with the tribute to Steve Jobs and discussion of the new Apple Park campus, as well as an update on the retail business, and moving into a discussion of the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and iPhone product announcements. Here are some links relevant to today's discussion: Apple press releases: • Watch: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/apple-watch-series-3-features-built-in-cellular-and-more/ • TV: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/apple-tv-4k-brings-home-the-magic-of-cinema-with-4k-and-hdr/ • iPhone 8: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/iphone-8-and-iphone-8-plus-a-new-generation-of-iphone/ • iPhone X: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/the-future-is-here-iphone-x/ You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 110 – NR – Roku IPO, Streaming Partners, Amazon HQ2, Equifax Sep 08, 2017

This week's News Roundup episode covers four major topics. We kick off with a discussion of the Roku IPO filing and the launch of the Roku movie channel, and the implications of the company's increasingly ad- centric business model. Secondly, we discuss various streaming partnerships including T-Mobile giving away Netflix, Spotify bundling Hulu into its student subscriptions in the US, and Disney moving away from Netflix. Third is a discussion of Amazon's search for a second headquarters, and we finish up with a brief chat about the Equifax hack. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Roku IPO and channel: Jan's takes on Tech Narratives: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/01/★-roku-files-to-go-public-loses-money-sees-ads-as-core-of-future-business-model/ (free post) https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/06/roku-launches-its-own-channel-showing-ad-supported-movies/ (paywall) Roku S-1 filing: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1428439/000119312517275689/d403225ds1.htm Variety piece on Roku channel launch: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/roku-channel-avod-1202548017/ • Streaming partnerships: T-Mobile & Netflix: Jan's Tech Narratives piece (free post): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/06/★-t-mobile-announces-free-netflix-for-family-plan-subscribers/ T-Mobile announcement: https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news-and-blogs/tmobile-uncarrier-netflix.htm Spotify-Hulu: Jan's Tech Narratives piece ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/07/spotify-adds-hulu-to-5-per-month-us-college-student-subscription/ Variety news story: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/spotify-premium-hulu-student-bundle-1202549614/ Disney: Jan's Tech Narratives piece ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/07/disney-says-streaming-service-coming-in-late-2019-will-include-lucasfilm-marvel/ CNBC news story: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/07/disney-ceo-iger-marvel-star-wars-to-go-to-disneys-streaming-service.html • Amazon HQ2: Jan's take on Tech Narratives (free post): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/09/07/★-amazon-announces-search-for-second-us-hq-location-invites-cities-to-make-pitches/ Amazon's announcement: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170907005717/en/Amazon-Opens-Search-Amazon-HQ2-–-Headquarters • Equifax hack: Bloomberg story: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-07/three-equifax-executives-sold-stock-before-revealing-cyber-hack You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 110 – QotW – Mark Bergen On Alphabet And Google Sep 06, 2017

As with our last Question of the Week episode, this one is an interview rather than a discussion between Aaron and Jan. This time around, Jan talks to Mark Bergen, who is the Alphabet and Google beat reporter at Bloomberg, and previously did the same job at Recode. As such, he's one of the most knowledgeable people out there about what's going on both at Google and the broader set of Alphabet companies, and has lots of interesting thoughts about all of them. We talk about the Alphabet structure and how that's working out for the company, some of the other bets including Google Fiber, Verily, Calico, and DeepMind, as well as the non-core parts of Google itself like the enterprise cloud business. We also talk through some of the recent political flak Google is taking from both sides of the aisle and what the company's prospects are long term. Here are some links relevant to today's discussion: • Mark's articles on Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/ATAlg7b7W-Q/mark-bergen • Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhbergen You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 109 – NR – Fitbit Ionic, Uber CEO, Google ARCore & EU, Cortana - Alexa Sep 01, 2017

This week Aaron was traveling and so you get a solo episode from Jan again, with five news items from this week. First up is Fitbit's announcement of its Ionic smartwatch, which will be available in October. Second is Uber's new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and what he means for the company. Third is Google's surprise announcement of ARCore, its response to Apple's ARKit developer tools for augmented reality apps on the smartphone. Fourth is another Google story, this time its intent to comply with the European Commission's order for changes to its Google Shopping service in Europe. And lastly, the announcement by Amazon and Microsoft that their two voice assistants will work together starting later this year. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Fitbit Ionic: Jan's take on Tech Narratives: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/28/★-fitbit-pre-announces-fitbit-ionic-its-second-smartwatch-due-in-october/ Fitbit announcement: https://investor.fitbit.com/press/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/Fitbit-Launches-Ionic-the-Ultimate-Health-and-Fitness-Smartwatch/default.aspx • Uber CEO: Jan's Tech Narratives piece from early in the week ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/28/★-uber-expected-to-name-expedia-ceo-dara-khosrowshahi-as-new-ceo/ Jan's second Tech Narratives piece following the official announcement ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/30/uber-finally-makes-ceo-announcement-official/ Uber Press Release: https://newsroom.uber.com/ubers-new-ceo/ • Google ARCore: Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/29/★-google-previews-arcore-its-response-to-apples-arkit-for-android-phones/ Google announcement: https://www.blog.google/products/google-vr/arcore-augmented-reality-android-scale/ • Google-EU: Jan's take ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/29/★-google-intends-to-comply-with-eu-action-on-shopping-search-not-appeal/ Bloomberg report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-29/google-faces-tuesday-deadline-as-clock-ticks-toward-new-eu-fines • Amazon-Microsoft Voice Partnership: Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/30/★-amazon-and-microsoft-announce-cortana-alexa-integration/ New York Times Report: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/technology/amazon-alexa-microsoft-cortana.html?_r=0 You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 108 – NR – Samsung Note8, Amazon - Whole Foods, Apple Car Aug 25, 2017

This is our News Roundup episode for the week, and as usual we discuss a few of the week's big news stories. First up is Samsung's launch of the Note8 device, the successor to last year's ill-fated Note7, which took place this week in New York City. Jan attended in person and shares some of his thoughts, but we also talk about some of the other ins and outs of the device and how it might do. Secondly, we talk about Amazon's very rapid progress in closing its Whole Foods acquisition and the immediate benefits customers of Whole Foods will see when the deal closes next week. Lastly, we discuss this week's New York Times report about the Apple car project, Project Titan, and some of the details that emerged from that story. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Samsung Note8: Jan's take on Tech Narratives ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/23/samsung-announces-pricey-note8-with-dual-cameras-confirms-speaker-in-works/ Jan's Media Release: https://jackdawresearch.com/category/media/ The Verge Story: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/8/23/16186496/samsung-galaxy-note-8-2017-announced-features-price-release-date Jan's YouTube video of the Live Focus feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qloIJpoi5I • Amazon-Whole Foods: Jan's Tech Narratives piece ($): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/24/★-amazon-whole-foods-deal-to-close-monday-lower-prices-to-follow/ Amazon Press Release: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2295514 • Apple Car: Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/23/★-apples-car-project-suffered-from-lack-of-focus-reports-new-york-times/ New York Times report: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/technology/apple-self-driving-car.html?_r=0 You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 108 – QotW – Mary Jo Foley On Microsoft Aug 22, 2017

After a couple of weeks off for the Question of the Week episode, we have an interview with Mary Jo Foley, a reporter who's been covering Microsoft pretty much exclusively for 20 years, and who's one of the most knowledgeable and respected journalists on the Microsoft beat. We talk through the state of Microsoft and the various transitions and cultural shifts it's going through at the moment, whether things really are changing at Microsoft, how, and why. But we also talk through some more topical items about Microsoft including the recent Consumer Reports controversy over the Surface line, layoffs in the sales team, and the launch of Windows 10 S. Thank you very much to Mary Jo for joining us, and we hope our listeners find this interview interesting. We're hoping to do more of this kind of thing going forward with our Question of the Week episode, so if you have suggestions for people we should interview, let us know! Here are some links relevant to today's discussion: • All About Microsoft, Mary Jo's blog at ZDNet: http://allaboutmicrosoft.com/ • Windows Weekly, the Microsoft podcast Mary Jo does with Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte (and which you can also find in your podcast app of choice): https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly • Mary Jo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/maryjofoley Jan also mentioned the Tech Narratives Podcast, which you can find on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/user-500920953), iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-narratives-podcast/id1252808525?mt=2), and Overcast (https://overcast.fm/itunes1252808525/tech-narratives-podcast), and which should be available in many other podcast apps too. You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 107 – NR – Essential Phone, Apple Watch, Original Video Content Aug 18, 2017

Aaron's back, and so we're back to our usual back and forth format, this time around three major topics. First up, we talk about the belated launch of the Essential Phone from Andy Rubin's company, and the reviews which came out on Friday. Secondly, we discuss recent reports about the Apple Watch, including the possibility of an imminent LTE version and suggestions that Apple is talking to health insurer Aetna about subsidizing devices for its members. Lastly, we talk original video content, in the context of Netflix's hiring of Shonda Rhimes and Apple's reported $1 billion investment this year in originals. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Essential Phone: Jan's take on reviews: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/18/essential-phone-reviews-highlight-challenge-of-android-differentiation/ Techmeme roundup of reviews: http://www.techmeme.com/170818/p5#a170818p5 • Apple Watch: Jan's piece on LTE reports: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/04/★-apple-watch-with-lte-may-be-coming-later-this-year-says-bloomberg/ Jan's piece on Aetna: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/14/apple-is-talking-to-aetna-about-apple-watches-for-insurance-customers/ Source on LTE reports: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-04/apple-said-to-ready-cellular-capable-watch-to-break-iphone-ties Source on Aetna: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/14/apple-aetna-secret-meetings-to-bring-apple-watch-to-millions-more.html • Original Video Content: Jan's take on Netflix and Shonda Rhimes: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/14/netflix-hires-shonda-rhimes-away-from-abc-to-create-new-shows/ Jan's take on Apple's $1 billion spend: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/16/apple-reportedly-spending-1-billion-on-original-video-content-in-next-year/ Source on Netflix: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/netflix-lures-shonda-rhimes-away-from-abc-studios-report-1202526464/ Source on Apple spend: https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-readies-1-billion-war-chest-for-hollywood-programming-1502874004 You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 106 – NR – Google Memo, Uber Board, Netflix/Disney, Facebook Watch, CR & Surface, SoundCloud Aug 11, 2017

With Aaron away, this is a solo episode of the News Roundup by Jan. Because there's only one of us talking, there are more topics than usual on this week's episode: six, to be precise. These are: the controversial Google memo; Uber board shenanigans; Netflix and Disney's announcements this week; Facebook's new Watch tab; Consumer Reports' decision to withdraw its recommendation of two Surface models from Microsoft; and the conclusion of the recent SoundCloud funding saga. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Google Memo: Two pieces from Jan: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/07/google-employee-pens-memo-arguing-against-diversity-initiatives/ https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/11/google-cancels-diversity-town-hall-over-harassment-and-threats/ Business Insider on the cancelation of the Town Hall: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-cancels-diversity-town-hall-2017-8 Motherboard's original reporting on the memo: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/kzbm4a/employees-anti-diversity-manifesto-goes-internally-viral-at-google • Uber Board: Jan's piece on the Benchmark lawsuit: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/10/uber-investor-benchmark-sues-kalanick-over-fraud-to-remove-him-from-board/ Axios's scoop on this story: https://www.axios.com/benchmark-capital-sues-travis-kalanick-for-fraud-2471455477.html • Netflix and Disney: Jan's take on the Netflix Millarworld acquisition: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/07/netflix-acquires-millarworld-comic-book-company-to-hedge-against-loss-of-marvel/ Jan's take on Disney earnings: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/08/★-disney-reports-earnings-will-acquire-bamtech-launch-streaming-services/ Disney's announcements: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/walt-disney-company-acquire-majority-ownership-bamtech/ Netflix announcement: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/NFLX/3667621494x0x952713/155017DE-F0EF-47FA-972C-F9B002997979/PDF_Netflix_Acquires_Millarworld_-_Final_1_.pdf • Facebook Watch: Jan's take for Tech Narratives: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/09/facebook-launches-watch-a-new-tab-for-video-including-original-content/ Jan's Techpinions column: https://techpinions.com/the-risks-of-facebooks-video-pivot/50781 Facebook's announcement: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/08/introducing-watch-a-new-platform-for-shows-on-facebook/ Variety on some of the new shows: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/facebook-premium-shows-launch-1202521520/ • Consumer Reports and Surface: Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/10/consumer-reports-withdraws-surface-recommendations-over-reliability-issues/ USA Today story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2017/08/10/consumer-reports-pulls-recommendations-surface-laptops/554302001/ • SoundCloud saga: Jan's take on the latest news: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/11/soundcloud-closes-new-investment-shuffles-management-pivots-business/ TechCrunch article: https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/11/soundcloud-saved/ Bloomberg interview: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-11/soundcloud-gets-new-life-with-fresh-170-million-investment You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 105 – NR – GoPro & Fitbit Earnings, FB Hardware, iPhone Leaks, Market Share Numbers Aug 04, 2017

This week's News Roundup episode features a discussion of GoPro and Fitbit earnings, how they're similar and how they're different; Bloomberg's reporting on potential Facebook hardware for the home; iPhone details emerging from the HomePod firmware leak; and a discussion of recent numbers on market share and shipments in the smartphone, tablet, and wearables markets. As usual, we spend a few minutes on each topic, with each of us chiming in. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • GoPro and Fitbit earnings: 1. GoPro earnings release: https://investor.gopro.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/GoPro-Announces-Second-Quarter-2017-Results/default.aspx 2. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/03/gopro-recovery-continues-in-q2-but-still-losing-money-well-off-past-highs/ 3. Fitbit earnings release: https://investor.fitbit.com/press/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/Fitbit-Reports-353M-in-Revenue-Sells-34M-Devices-in-Q217-Up-14-Sequentially/default.aspx 4. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/02/fitbit-reports-more-shipment-revenue-declines-losses-in-q2/ • Facebook hardware: 1. Bloomberg report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-01/facebook-is-said-to-work-on-video-chat-device-in-hardware-push 2. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/01/★-facebook-reportedly-working-on-video-chat-device-voice-speaker/ • iPhone leaks: 1. Mac Rumors: https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/30/homepod-firmware-face-detection/ Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/31/iphone-design-and-feature-details-show-up-in-homepod-firmware/ • Market share numbers: 1. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/03/tablet-and-wearables-numbers-for-q2-show-rise-of-chinese-vendors/ Jan also mentioned his recent podcast episode on Samsung with Bernard Leong on Analyse Asia – that episode can be found here: https://analyse.asia/2017/08/03/episode-198-samsung-group-2017-jan-dawson/ You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 105 – QotW – Apple Q2 2017 Earnings Aug 02, 2017

We're back with another deep dive, this time around our quarterly review of Apple's earnings for the June 2017 quarter, Apple's fiscal Q3. We talk through three sets of things: the numbers announced for the quarter, the guidance offered for next quarter, and additional comments on topics like China, augmented reality, autonomy, and original video content. We dive into the performance of Apple's various business lines, both in terms of what's been happening and what we expect to happen going forward, and quite a bit more. Here are some links relevant to today's discussion: • Apple's earnings press release: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/08/apple-reports-third-quarter-results/ • Jan's take for Tech Narratives: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/01/★-apple-reports-accelerating-growth-first-ipad-unit-growth-in-four-years/ Jan also mentioned the new Tech Narratives Podcast, which you can find on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/user-500920953), iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-narratives-podcast/id1252808525?mt=2), and Overcast (https://overcast.fm/itunes1252808525/tech-narratives-podcast), and which should be available in many other podcast apps too. You should also check out the Analyse Asia Podcast run by Bernard Leong. You can find the first of two episodes featuring Jan on SoundCloud here: https://soundcloud.com/analyseasia/episode-197-tech-narratives-with-bat-softbank-in-asia-with-jan-dawson. The podcast is also available on iTunes, in Overcast, and all the usual places. Well worth a listen if you're interested in tech in Asia. You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 104 – NR – Twitter And Amazon Earnings, IPod Line Culled, End Of Flash Jul 28, 2017

This is the week's News Roundup episode. We'd hoped to have a Question of the Week for you too, but we had a technical hitch in recording and it'll be out at some point in the next couple of weeks instead, with a deep dive on Apple earnings as usual next week. For today, we cover two other companies' earnings: Twitter and Amazon. Both offered more of the same, albeit in very different ways, with Twitter seeing more revenue declines and anemic user growth, while Amazon posted rapid growth but a big drop in margins. We also talk about Apple's culling of the iPod line and the iPod's historical significance, and Adobe's announcement of the end of life for Flash. As usual, the show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives. News stories we covered: • Twitter Earnings: 1. Release from Twitter: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMDA-2F526X/3731695548x0x951003/11DEB964-E7A5-43F8-96E2-D074A947255B/TWTR_Q2_17_Earnings_Press_Release.pdf 2. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/27/twitter-reports-q2-earnings-no-mau-growth-slowing-dau-growth-revenue-down/ • Amazon Earnings: 1. Release from Amazon: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc2MzU4fENoaWxkSUQ9Mzg0NDA0fFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1 2. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/27/★-amazon-reports-strong-growth-much-smaller-margins-in-q2/ • iPod Line Culled: Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-kills-off-ipod-nano-ipod-shuffle-2017-7 • Death of Flash: 1. Axios: https://www.axios.com/adobe-is-finally-killing-flash-2464992190.html 2. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/25/adobe-announces-end-of-life-for-flash-in-2020/ You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 103 – NR – Netflix Earnings, Lyft Self-Driving System, Google Glass, Twitter Abuse Jul 21, 2017

Here's our News Roundup episode for the week, with a deeper dive on a few of the big news items from the past few days. We kick off earnings season with a discussion of Netflix earnings and what if anything it has to worry about in future. Secondly, we discuss Lyft's announcement that it's working on a self-driving system, as a complement to recent announcements on working with partners on this area. Third, we talk about the rebirth of Google Glass as an enterprise and industrial product, and the broader implications for related products like Microsoft's HoloLens and AR headsets in general. We wrap things up with a discussion of abuse and harassment on Twitter, which continues to be a problem despite the progress the company touted this week. As usual, the show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives. News stories we covered: • Netflix Earnings (Jan's take on Tech Narratives – a free post): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/17/★-netflix-q2-earnings-later-house-of-cards-launch-drives-strong-sub-growth/ • Lyft Self-Driving System: 1. https://medium.com/@lvincent/introducing-level-5-and-our-self-driving-team-705ef8989f03 2. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/21/lyft-announces-its-own-vaguely-defined-autonomous-driving-effort/ • Google Glass: 1. Wired deep dive: https://www.wired.com/story/google-glass-2-is-here/ 2. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/18/google-glass-relaunched-as-enterprise-and-industrial-product/ • Twitter Abuse 1. BuzzFeed article: https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/twitter-is-still-dismissing-harassment-reports-and 2. Twitter blog post: https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/topics/product/2017/Our-Safety-Work-Results-Update.html 3. Verge article: https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/20/16000834/twitter-anti-abuse-tools-data-update 4. Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/20/twitter-provides-data-on-abuse-efforts-fails-to-address-inconsistent-application/ You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 103 – QotW – Apple Health And Wellness Jul 20, 2017

After a couple of weeks' break, we're back with another Question of the Week, this time focused on Apple's health and wellness products and services and the ecosystem it's built around them. Jan attended a set of briefings last week in which Apple laid out its portfolio and that of its device and software partners, and it makes for a good jumping off point for an evaluation of the breadth of Apple's portfolio in this space, and the value third parties add. We run through a brief history of Apple's efforts in this area, then discuss the current state of things across five major domains – Activity, Mindfulness, Nutrition, Sleep, and Medical. Lastly, we talk about where things might go from here. Here are some links relevant to today's discussion: • Jan's Techpinions column summarizing the recent briefings is here: https://techpinions.com/apples-health-and-fitness-push-accelerates-as-it-turns-3/50536 Jan also mentioned the new Tech Narratives Podcast, which you can find on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/user-500920953), iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-narratives-podcast/id1252808525?mt=2), and Overcast (https://overcast.fm/itunes1252808525/tech-narratives-podcast), and which should be available in many other podcast apps too. You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 102 – NR – Microsoft Broadband, Prime Day, Uber - Yandex, Facebook VR Jul 14, 2017

Once again, there's no Question of the Week episode this week, but here's our roundup of the major news of the week. We start with Microsoft's push to expand access to broadband in the rural United States through the use of wireless technology running in white spaces spectrum. The second item is Amazon's third annual Prime Day and what it's likely to mean for the company. Third, we discuss Uber's capitulation in the Russian ride sharing business and its decision to merge its operations there with those of Yandex, the dominant market player. And lastly, we talk about the report from Bloomberg that Facebook's Oculus is working on a standalone VR headset for next year. As usual, the show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links unless otherwise stated): • Microsoft broadband plans: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/11/★-microsoft-announces-plan-to-help-provide-broadband-in-rural-america/ • Amazon Prime Day: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/12/★-amazons-third-prime-day-grows-60-again-echo-devices-the-big-sellers/ • Uber and Yandex: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/13/★-uber-joins-forces-with-yandex-in-russian-ride-sharing-market/ • Facebook VR headset: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/13/★-facebook-reportedly-working-on-a-200-standalone-oculus-vr-headset-for-2018/ You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 101 – NR – Jawbone, Preliminary Samsung, LG, Xiaomi Results, Amazon Prime Subs, IPhone Touch ID Jul 07, 2017

There's no Question of the Week episode this week, but here's our roundup of the major news of the week. We kick things off with a discussion of Jawbone's reported liquidation and what it might mean for the broader wearables market. Secondly, we discuss preliminary disclosure of financial or operating results from Samsung, LG, and Xiaomi, which emerged this week. Third is a quick evaluation of a report from CIRP that Amazon now has 85 million Prime subscribers in the US, which Jan is skeptical of. And last is a discussion of the reports this week that Apple might ditch the Touch ID sensor in at least one of this fall's new iPhones. As usual, the show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links unless otherwise stated): • Jawbone liquidation: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/06/jawbone-has-begun-liquidation-proceedings/ • Samsung preliminary results: www.technarratives.com/2017/06/27/fa…active-users/ • LG preliminary results: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/07/lg-preliminary-q2-results-suggest-revenue-and-earnings-miss-despite-growth/ • Xiaomi Q2 smartphone shipments: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/07/xiaomi-claims-70-quarter-on-quarter-smartphone-shipment-growth/ • Amazon Prime subscribers: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/07/amazon-said-to-have-85-million-prime-subs-in-the-us-but-probably-has-fewer/ • Touch ID reports: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/03/kgi-and-bloomberg-report-leaks-on-iphone-8-security-features/ Jan also mentioned the new Tech Narratives Podcast, which you can find on SoundCloud (@user-500920953), iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-…d1252808525?mt=2), and Overcast (overcast.fm/itunes1252808525/te…-narratives-podcast), and which should be available in many other podcast apps too. You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 100 – NR – Google & EU, Facebook 2 Billion, Amazon Echo Show Reviews Jun 30, 2017

This week's News Roundup episode focused on three major news items, plus one smaller related one. First up, we discuss the European Commission's action against Google over Google Shopping integration in search, including a 2.4 billion Euro fine. Secondly, we discuss Facebook's announcement of 2 billion monthly active users and its significance, as well as a subtle shift recently in Facebook's focus. In the context of those two items about giant companies, we also talk briefly about the Canadian Supreme Court's ruling that Google needs to take down links in search to IP-infringing product listings not just in Canada but globally and the ramifications of that ruling. Lastly, we discuss both the formal reviews released this week of Amazon's Echo Show and Jan's own first impressions on using the device for a couple of days. As usual, the show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives. News stories we covered: • Google & EU: Jan's Tech Narratives piece (no paywall): https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/27/eu-fines-google-e2-4bn-2-7bn-over-favoring-google-shopping-in-search-results/ The EU's announcement: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1784_en.htm • Facebook's 2 Billion: Jan's Tech Narratives piece: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/27/facebook-hits-2-billion-monthly-active-users/ Jan's longer blog post (no paywall): https://medium.com/beyond-devices/facebooks-first-second-and-third-billions-2dffc63e20e7 • Canadian Supreme Court ruling against Google: CNET article: https://www.cnet.com/news/google-must-yank-search-results-globally-says-canada-court/ • Amazon Echo Show reviews: Tech Narratives piece: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/26/★-amazon-echo-show-reviews-suggest-solid-performance-limitations-creepy-factor/ Techmeme: http://www.techmeme.com/170626/p8#a170626p8 Jan also mentioned the new Tech Narratives Podcast, which you can find on SoundCloud (@user-500920953), iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-…d1252808525?mt=2), and Overcast (overcast.fm/itunes1252808525/te…-narratives-podcast), and which should be available in many other podcast apps too. You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 100 – QotW – Voice And Amazon Jun 28, 2017

This is our Question of the Week episode for this week, with our News Roundup to follow on Friday. This week's question is "Is Voice the Next Big User Interface, and is Amazon Really Winning? " The question comes from the prevailing narrative in the media, which often seems to hold both that voice is going to be the user interface that replaces current ones like touch screens and smartphones, and that Amazon is dominating that voice interface market. We pour some cold water on both assertions and use survey and other data to evaluate the true state of the market, what's really going on, and whether anyone is really "winning". Here are some links relevant to today's discussion: Various voice surveys that Jan mentioned: USA Today survey: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/06/05/alexa-fun-siri-because-typing-hard-survey/102436072/ Creative Strategies Survey: http://creativestrategies.com/voice-assistant-anyone-yes-please-but-not-in-public/ Siri as mobile search engine: http://searchengineland.com/survey-siri-googles-nearest-mobile-search-competitor-272640 Satisfaction with voice assistants: http://pages.experts-exchange.com/virtualassistants.html Jan also mentioned the new Tech Narratives Podcast, which you can find on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/user-500920953), iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-narratives-podcast/id1252808525?mt=2), and Overcast (https://overcast.fm/itunes1252808525/tech-narratives-podcast), and which should be available in many other podcast apps too. You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 99 – NR – Uber Changes, Amazon Whole Foods, New Xbox, Apple TV Execs, Gmail Scanning Jun 23, 2017

This is our first episode for two weeks, as Jan's been traveling, and since Aaron is now busy this is a solo News Roundup from Jan on some of the big news stories from the last two weeks. On the agenda today are all the big Uber news including the Holder Report and the resignation of Travis Kalanick as CEO; Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods; a new Xbox from Microsoft; the hiring of two former Sony TV execs by Apple; and an end to email scanning for the purposes of targeting ads by Gmail. As usual, the show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links unless otherwise noted): Uber: • Holder investigation: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/13/★-uber-investigation-recommends-many-changes-travis-kalanick-takes-leave-of-absence/ • Emil Michael leaves: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/12/uber-svp-emil-michael-leaves-company-and-board-gets-a-new-female-member-from-nestle/ • Travis Kalanick resigns: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/21/★-uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-finally-does-the-right-thing-and-resigns/ Amazon-Whole Foods and related topics: • Amazon-Whole Foods: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/16/★-amazon-announces-intention-to-buy-whole-foods-for-13-7-billion/ • Walmart Bonobos: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/16/walmart-to-acquire-online-mens-clothing-retailer-bonobos-for-310-million/ • Amazon Prime Wardrobe: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/20/amazon-launches-prime-wardrobe-a-mix-of-home-try-on-and-clothing-box-service/ New Xbox: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/12/★-microsoft-debuts-xbox-one-x-smallest-and-most-powerful-xbox-at-es/ Apple Sony TV execs: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/16/apple-poaches-two-sony-tv-execs-to-lead-video-programming/ Gmail email scanning: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/23/gmail-will-stop-scanning-emails-to-target-ads-due-to-enterprise-confusion/ Additionally: • Episode 85 was our deep dive on Uber – find it in your podcast app or on the site at: podcast.beyonddevic.es/2017/03/episo…um-mac-vs-pc/ As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 98 – NR – Uber Hires And Fires, Boston Dynamics Sale, Apple Business Chat & Jun 09, 2017

Following our deep dive on Apple’s WWDC news on Monday, here is our News Roundup episode for the week. We kick things off with a bunch of Uber news, much of it involving hiring and firing of executives and others, in a sign that Uber may finally be taking its cultural problems seriously. Secondly, we talk about Alphabet’s sale of its Boston Dynamics and Schaft robotics businesses to SoftBank. And third, we talk about two other bits of Apple news from later in the week: Apple’s launch of Business Chat, and news that it won’t include “gigabit” modems in its next iPhones. As usual, you'll find links to other relevant material in the show notes below: News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links unless otherwise noted): Uber fires Anthony Levandowski: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/30/★-uber-fires-anthony-levandowski-for-refusal-to-cooperate-in-lawsuit/ Uber hires Frances Frei: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/05/uber-hires-harvard-business-school-professor-to-help-with-culture-and-strategy/ Uber hires Bozoma Saint John: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/06/bozoma-saint-john-leaves-apple-music-to-become-ubers-chief-brand-officer/ Uber fires Asia business exec: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/07/uber-fires-exec-loses-bid-to-keep-doc-private-says-management-changes-coming/ Uber fires 20 as a result of investigation: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/06/★-uber-fires-20-and-takes-action-against-others-over-inappropriate-behavior/ Alphabet sells Boston Dynamics and Schaft to SoftBank: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/09/★-alphabet-sells-boston-dynamics-and-schaft-robotics-businesses-to-softbank/ Apple Business Chat: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/09/apple-announces-developer-preview-of-business-chat-for-imessage-customer-service/ Apple "gigabit" iPhones: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/09/apple-reported-to-hold-off-on-gigabit-modems-in-next-iphones/ Additionally: • Episode 85 was our deep dive on Uber – find it in your podcast app or on the site at: http://podcast.beyonddevic.es/2017/03/episode-85-ubers-ethical-vacuum-mac-vs-pc/ • Aaron mentioned a friend's article on compliance crises being a terrible thing to waste, and you can read it here: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/natural_resources_environment/Winter%202016/NRE_v030n03_feat02_Galli.pdf As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 98 – QotW – WWDC 2017 Jun 05, 2017

This is our annual deep-dive episode on announcements from Apple's WWDC developer conference. We handle the news from today's keynote in more or less chronological order: • Introduction, tvOS, watchOS • macOS and new Mac hardware • iOS and iPad • HomePod. We discuss each of the announcements and share our thoughts and what we think the implications and prospects are for the products announced. Here are two links relevant to today's discussion: Jan's media comment on WWDC: https://jackdawresearch.com/2017/06/05/apple-hosts-its-most-hardware-centric-wwdc-in-years/ Apple's Newsroom, with press releases on all of today's announcements: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/ You can also find the podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 97 – NR – Essential Phone, Nest Cam IQ, Apple Tidbits Jun 02, 2017

This is our News Roundup episode for the week. Our three topics this time around were the Essential Phone and related products and services announced by Android creator Andy Rubin; the Nest Cam IQ announced by Nest; and a set of minor news items regarding Apple, including a report from late last week about a dedicated AI chip, another that manufacturing has begun on Apple's home speaker; and two press releases from Apple around Swift Playgrounds and $70 billion paid out to developers cumulatively. As always, you'll find links to these stories and other things we discussed below. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links unless otherwise noted): Essential Phone: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/30/★-andy-rubins-essential-announces-yet-another-phone-claiming-to-change-the-market/ Nest Cam IQ: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/31/nest-launches-smarter-security-camera-for-inside-homes/ Apple AI Chip: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/26/★-apple-is-developing-a-dedicated-ai-chip/ Apple Siri Speaker: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/31/★-apple-starts-manufacturing-its-siri-speaker/ Apple $70 Billion Paid to Developers: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/01/apple-announces-cumulative-70bn-paid-to-developers-over-20bn-in-past-year/ Apple Swift Playgrounds Expansion: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/06/01/apple-adds-robot-drone-and-instrument-support-to-swift-playgrounds/ As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 97 – QotW – Mary Meeker's Internet Deck Jun 01, 2017

We skipped last week's Question of the Week but it's back this week with a deep dive on Kleiner Perkins analyst Mary Meeker's annual deck on Internet trends, which was delivered at the Code Conference run by Recode. It's a massive deck with 355 slides and 11 separate topics, but Aaron spent some time pulling out some of the most interesting insights on three topics: Mobile, China, and India, and shares both those and some thoughts on how to approach the deck with us. Here's a link to the deck and video of Meeker's presentation: https://www.recode.net/2017/5/31/15693686/mary-meeker-kleiner-perkins-kpcb-slides-internet-trends-code-2017 You can also find the podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 96 – NR – New Surface Pro, LeEco Meltdown, Assistant Ads, Apple News Editor May 26, 2017

This is our News Roundup episode for the week and also our only episode, as we didn't have time for a Question of the Week episode this week. This was something of a quiet week with only a couple of major announcements, but we still found some stuff to cover. We talked about Microsoft's new Surface Pro, LeEco's US retrenchment, Google execs' comments about monetization Assistant and Home, and Apple News hiring its first Editor in Chief. As always, you'll find links to these stories and other things we discussed below. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links unless otherwise noted): Microsoft Surface Pro Announcement: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/23/★-microsoft-announces-new-surface-pro-custom-windows-10-for-chinese-government/ LeEco US Retrenchment: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/23/★-leeco-cuts-70-of-us-staff-refocuses-on-chinese-speaking-americans/ Google Assistant Monetization: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/24/google-execs-say-assistant-will-monetize-through-e-commerce-and-ads/ Apple News Hires Editor in Chief: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/25/apple-news-hires-former-new-york-magazine-editor-as-first-editor-in-chief/ As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 95 – NR – Spotify FInancials, Uber/Waymo Lawsuit, Apple Tidbits May 19, 2017

This is our News Roundup episode for the week. Having discussed the week's big Google news in the Question of the Week deep dive episode, this one covers the other tech news, including Spotify's 2016 financials, developments in the Uber/Waymo lawsuit, and a grab bag of Apple news including its acquisition of Lattice Data, reports of Tim Cook wearing an Apple Watch-connected glucose monitor, and manufacturing iPhones in India. As always, you'll find links to these stories and other things we discussed below. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links unless otherwise noted): Spotify financials: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/18/★-spotifys-losses-widen-revenue-per-paying-user-drops-in-2016/ Uber/Waymo lawsuit: • Preliminary injunction: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/15/waymo-uber-injunction-made-public/ • Uber threatens to fire Levandowski: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/19/uber-threatens-to-fire-levandowski-if-he-doesnt-comply-with-court-orders/ Waymo/Lyft partnership: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/15/★-waymo-and-lyft-partner-over-self-driving-cars/ Apple Lattice acquisition: • Tech Narratives: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/15/★-apple-acquires-dark-data-analysis-company-lattice-data-reportedly-for-200m/ • TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/13/apple-acquires-ai-company-lattice-data-a-specialist-in-unstructured-dark-data/ Apple manufacturing iPhones in India: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/17/★-apple-makes-first-iphones-in-india/ As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 95 – QotW – Google IO May 18, 2017

For the second week in a row, our Question of the Week episode focuses on a developer event, this time around Google's I/O conference. We focus mostly on the first day keynote, which covered a ton of ground in two hours, from a general pitch around Google's AI and machine learning capabilities to the Google Assistant and Home, Google Photos, YouTube, Android, and VR and AR. We discuss most of these things and the overall structure and focus and what it says about Google's strategy. The following three posts may also be of interest to you: • Jan's media comment on the Google I/O announcements: https://jackdawresearch.com/2017/05/17/google-io-announcements-reflect-reduced-role-of-android/ • Jan's Techpinions column on Google I/O: https://techpinions.com/googles-fading-focus-on-android/50103 • Several Tech Narratives pieces on the announcements: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/17/★-google-makes-assistant-and-home-announcements-at-io/ https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/17/google-photos-hits-500m-maus-adds-sharing-and-ai-features-photo-books/ https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/17/★-google-announces-standalone-vr-headsets-samsung-daydream-partnership/ https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/17/google-launches-vertical-jobs-search-feature/ You can also find the podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 94 – NR – Echo Show, Snap Earnings, Uber Court Case May 12, 2017

This is our News Roundup episode for the week, in which we discuss the announcement of Amazon's Echo Show device with a screen; Snap's first earnings as a public company; and Uber's failure to have its court case with Waymo settled in arbitration and related news. Aaron's away this week, so this is a solo effort from Jan. As always, you'll find links to these stories and other things we discussed below. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links): Amazon Echo Show: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/09/★-amazon-announces-echo-show-an-echo-with-a-screen-and-video-calling/ Alexa Calling and Messaging: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/09/amazon-announces-alexa-calling-and-messaging-coming-to-other-echo-devices/ Snap Earnings: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/10/★-snap-inc-reports-more-slow-user-growth-growing-losses-minimal-spectacles-sales/ Uber Court Case: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/11/ubers-bid-to-move-waymo-case-to-arbitration-fails/ As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 94 – QotW – Microsoft Build May 12, 2017

This is our Question of the Week episode, with a deep dive on Microsoft's Build developer conference and the announcements it made there. As Aaron is away this week, Jan – who attended Build in person – talks through the major announcements from the two keynotes. The first part of the episode discusses the first-day keynote, which focused on cloud and AI as well as Satya Nadella's new vision for the company, which is all about the Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge. The second half of the episode discusses the second day's keynote, where the focus was on Windows and Microsoft's vision for mixed reality. The following three posts may also be of interest to you: • Jan's comment on Tech Narratives about the day 1 keynote announcements: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/10/★-microsoft-makes-cloud-cortana-iot-announcements-at-build-conference/ • Jan's comment on Tech Narratives about the day 2 keynote announcements: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/11/★-microsoft-makes-windows-and-device-centric-announcements-at-build/ • Jan's weekly column on Techpinions, which ran through themes from Build: https://techpinions.com/microsofts-symbolic-shift-from-windows-to-cloud/50042 You can also find the podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 93 – NR – Microsoft Announcements, Hulu Live TV, YouTube & Twitter TV Shows May 05, 2017

Earlier this week, our Question of the Week episode was our quarterly deep dive on Apple's earnings. This News Roundup episode covers some of the week's other big tech news: • The first eighteen minutes or so of the episode are a discussion of Microsoft's education-focused event in New York, and we talk both about Windows 10 S and the Surface Laptop, and Jan shares his theory about what's really going on with Windows 10 S. • Our second topic is Hulu's long-awaited launch of its Live TV offering, which was announced this week and which sparks a discussion about the state of online pay TV, which Jan also wrote about this week • Lastly, we have a brief discussion on two other TV announcements made this week by Twitter and YouTube, both of which unveiled new shows for their respective platforms. As always, you'll find links to these stories and other things we discussed below. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links): Microsoft Windows 10 S launch: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/02/★-microsoft-introduces-windows-10-s-a-streamlined-and-soulful-version-of-windows/ Microsoft Surface Laptop launch: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/02/★-microsoft-unveils-surface-laptop-an-odd-mix-of-power-and-constraints/ Hulu With Live TV launch: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/03/★-hulu-launches-live-tv-offering-with-50-channels-ads-limited-dvr/ Twitter TV announcements: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/01/★-twitter-announces-a-dozen-new-video-deals/ YouTube TV announcements: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/04/★-youtube-announces-six-new-original-content-series-for-its-free-service/. You might also be interested in reading Jan's piece on the state of online pay TV: https://www.recode.net/2017/5/5/15545644/hulu-streaming-ott-pay-tv-bundles-cord-cutter-price-point As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (http://podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 93 – QotW – Apple Earnings May 03, 2017

This is our Question of the Week episode, with the question being what we should make of Apple's March quarter earnings, reported on Tuesday this week, so this is our quarterly deep dive on Apple's earnings. We talk through each of the major product segments – iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch (and wearables generally), Mac, and Services, and also talk a little about trends in China and in R&D spending, among other things. You might also be interested in Jan's Tech Narratives post (free even if you're not a subscriber) on Apple earnings – https://www.technarratives.com/2017/05/02/★-apple-reports-continued-revenue-growth-slight-dip-in-iphone-strong-services/ – or his tweets immediately after the earnings call, in this thread: https://twitter.com/jandawson/status/859500780776112128 You can also find the podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcasthttps://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 92 – NR – Amazon News, Apple Payments, Mobile & Twitter Earnings Apr 28, 2017

Earlier this week, we did our Question of the Week episode, which covered the state of retail, while this News Roundup episode covers some of the week's big tech news: • Three Amazon topics: its announcement of the Echo Look fashion-focused device; its launch of its "Subscribe with Amazon" hub; and its Q1 earnings • Recode's report that Apple is working on a peer to peer payments service a la Venmo and possibly also a debit card • Mobile earnings from Verizon (last week), AT&T, and T-Mobile, and a brief discussion on bundling and TV too • Twitter's earnings, which featured the best user growth in two years but also the first year on year revenue decline for the company. As always, you'll find links to these stories and other things we discussed below. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links): Amazon Echo Look Launch: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/26/★-amazon-announces-echo-look-which-adds-a-camera-and-fashion-advice-to-echo-for-20/ Subscribe with Amazon launch: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/24/★-amazon-launches-subscription-hub-for-content-news-apps-and-more/ Amazon earnings: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/27/★-amazon-reports-slightly-slower-growth-lower-operating-margins-in-q1-2017/ Apple in P2P payments: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/27/★-apple-is-considering-launching-p2p-payments-and-a-debit-card/ Verizon results: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/20/★-verizon-reports-poor-q1-2017-results-offset-a-little-by-unlimited-reintroduction/ AT&T results: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/25/★-att-reports-tv-and-wireless-subscriber-losses-in-q1-2017/ T-Mobile results: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/24/★-t-mobile-releases-q1-2017-earnings-improving-margins-slowing-sub-growth/ Comcast results: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/27/★-comcast-reports-slight-tv-sub-growth-1m-home-automation-customers/ Twitter earnings: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/26/★-twitter-announces-best-user-growth-quarter-in-two-years-revenue-declines/ We also mentioned the Techpinions podcast at the beginning of the show – you can find it on the Techpinions website (https://techpinions.com/category/the-podcast), on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/techpinions/id868991384?mt=2), Overcast (https://overcast.fm/itunes868991384/techpinions), or in your favorite podcast player. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 92 – QotW – Retail Apr 26, 2017

This is the Question of the Week episode for this week, and the News Roundup episode should be up on Friday. This week's question is about whether the death of physical retail has been exaggerated, and ultimately what the state of physical retail is in a world where Amazon and e-commerce in general seems to be wreaking havoc. We talk through recent trends in retail, from the supposed apocalypse to those companies investing despite the downturn including Apple and T-Mobile. Aaron uses the jobs-to-be-done framework to talk through what people hire retail to do for them, and how physical retail might be able to hold its own against online retail. And we talk about the experimental nature of much of what's being done in physical retail to stem the tide of e-commerce. Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode: Article on Amazon's book stores: http://www.retaildive.com/news/why-amazon-is-betting-big-on-brick-and-mortar/431499/ Introduction to jobs-to-be-done theory: https://hbr.org/2016/09/know-your-customers-jobs-to-be-done T-Mobile store expansion: http://fortune.com/2016/04/26/t-mobile-store-openings-iphone/ New York Times piece on Amazon retail technology: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/technology/amazon-wants-to-crush-your-store-with-its-technology-might.html?_r=1 Quartz piece on retail innovations: https://qz.com/956745/retail-experiments-from-farfetch-nike-and-amazon-offer-visions-of-the-store-of-the-future/ Blog post on JTBD framework applied to retail: https://bhc3.com/2012/01/11/carving-up-the-retail-industry-by-customer-jobs-to-be-done/. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 91 – NR – Apple Tidbits, Google Home Multi - User, Netflix Earnings, S8 Reviews Apr 21, 2017

Earlier this week, we did our Question of the Week episode, which covered the Facebook F8 announcements, so this News Roundup episode covers some of the other big news for the week: • Several Apple news tidbits, including a set of environmental announcements, hires of satellite experts from Google, the purchase of a music documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, web embedding of Live Photos, and purported shots of the chassis for the next iPhone • Google Home announcing multi-user support, as well as two announcements relating two Amazon Echo and Alexa • Netflix Q1 2017 earnings • Samsung Galaxy S8 reviews, which came out this week, and news that Google Music will be the default music service on the devices. As always, you'll find links to these stories and other things we discussed below. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links): Apple's environmental news: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/20/apple-makes-big-environmental-push-for-earth-day/ Apple hires Google satellite execs: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/21/apple-hires-google-satellite-execs-likely-for-mapping-or-broadband/ Apple acquires a music documentary: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/20/apple-acquires-first-movie-at-tribeca-film-festival/ Apple enables web embedding of Live Photos: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/20/apple-enables-web-embedding-of-live-photos-for-developers/ Google Home multi-user support: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/20/★-google-home-now-recognizes-multiple-users-by-voice/ Amazon opens Lex platform to all developers: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/19/amazon-scales-alexa-back-end-by-opening-lex-voice-and-text-service-to-all-developers/ Amazon bans most ads in Alexa Skills: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/21/amazon-bans-almost-all-ads-in-alexas-third-party-skills-apps/ Netflix reports Q1 2017 earnings: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/17/netflix-reports-q1-2017-gains-5m-subs-makes-first-profit-internationally/ Galaxy S8 reviews: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/18/samsung-galaxy-s8-reviews-say-hardware-is-great-software-not-so-much/

Week 91 – QotW – Facebook And Innovation Apr 20, 2017

This is the Question of the Week episode for this week, and the News Roundup episode will be up tomorrow. This week, Jan attended F8 and our Question of the Week is "What's the state of innovation at Facebook?" We use Facebook's F8 announcements and presentations as a lens to look at how Facebook is innovating both in the products it's creating today and in the research and development work it's doing over the longer term. We also talk about what Facebook needs to do differently. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content below: Facebook F8 Site, where you can see all the session videos: https://www.fbf8.com Facebook's Developer News site, where you can see the news from F8: https://developers.facebook.com/blog/ Jan's Techpinions column on Facebook's Innovation Chasm: https://techpinions.com/facebooks-innovation-chasm/49727 As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).

Week 90 – NR – Spectrum, Apple R&D, Uber Finances, Bixby Delay, LeEco News Apr 14, 2017

There won't be a Question of the Week episode this week as we've both been busy. Here is this week's News Roundup episode, in which we cover the following five topics in quick-fire order: • Spectrum news including the conclusion of the FCC's spectrum auction and AT&T's proposed purchase of Straight Path • Two pieces of news about Apple R&D efforts: it appeared on the California DMV's list of companies with permission to test self-driving cars on public roads, and CNBC reported that it's been working on glucose monitoring technology for several years • Uber released some of its finances for 2016 to Bloomberg, while The Information reported on a Lyft-hacking program called Hell Uber used to run, and the company's PR head left • Samsung announced that its Bixby voice assistant won't ship with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ when they're released next week in the US • LeEco announced the end of its bid to acquire Vizio and the killing off of its EcoPass content service, and was also reported to have fallen far short of its revenue targets in the US last year. Links to the related comments on Tech Narratives (some of which now behind a paywall) below: FCC spectrum auction: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/13/t-mobile-dish-and-comcast-among-big-winners-in-fcc-spectrum-auction/ AT&T buys Straight Path: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/10/att-buys-straight-path-in-1-6-billion-deal-for-5g-arsenal-bloomberg/ Apple self-driving cars license: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/14/apple-receives-permission-to-test-autonomous-vehicles-in-california/ Apple glucose monitoring story: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/12/apple-has-been-working-on-glucose-monitoring-technology-for-diabetes-for-five-years/ Uber shares finances with Bloomberg: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/14/uber-shares-partial-flattering-financial-data-for-2016-with-bloomberg/ Uber's Hell program: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/13/uber-had-a-program-called-hell-designed-to-undermine-lyft/ Uber PR head leaves: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/11/uber-comms-head-rachel-whetstone-is-departing-recode/ Samsung Bixby voice delay: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/11/samsung-says-bixby-voice-assistant-wont-ship-with-galaxy-s8-axios/ LeEco Vizio deal falls through: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/10/leecos-acquisition-of-vizio-officially-called-off-variety/ LeEco US sales fall short: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/10/leeco-is-said-to-miss-u-s-sales-forecasts-plan-more-job-cuts-bloomberg/ LeEco kills off content subscription: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/14/leeco-kills-ecopass-video-streaming-and-services-subscription-plan/

Week 89 – NR – Apple GPU And Mac, Comcast Mobile, Facebook Content, Samsung Results Apr 07, 2017

Here is this week's News Roundup episode, which is a solo effort from Jan as Aaron is traveling. This week, we cover: • Two unusual announcements of future plans from Apple: its intention to build its own GPU, and its roadmap for pro Macs • Comcast's announcement of its wireless service, Xfinity Mobile • Facebook's testing of a tab surfacing recommended content not shared by your friends • Samsung's preliminary financial results for Q1 2017. Links to Tech Narratives comments on each of these news items are below: • Apple and Imagination Technologies GPU announcement: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/03/apple-gpu-supplier-imagination-tech-says-apple-plans-to-build-its-own-gpu-in-1-2-years/ • Apple Mac announcement: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/04/apple-plans-new-imacs-for-pros-later-in-2017-new-mac-pros-in-2018/ • Comcast Xfinity Mobile annoumcement: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/06/comcast-introduces-its-mobile-service/ • Facebook testing recommended content tab: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/03/facebook-shows-users-more-content-which-doesnt-come-from-your-friends-techcrunch/ • Samsung preliminary Q1 results: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/04/06/samsung-sees-bounce-in-q1-ahead-of-galaxy-s8-cnet/.

Week 89 – QotW – Accessibility and Devices Apr 07, 2017

This is the Question of the Week episode for this week, and the News Roundup episode will be up shortly too. This week's format is a little different, as Aaron is traveling, and so I spoke to an old colleague of mine, Chris Lewis, who is also an analyst and is registered blind. I spoke to Chris via Skype about his use of accessibility technology on his various devices, and also about the work he's been doing helping organizations think through some of the issues around accessibility and using technology to help people with disabilities. • Chris's website is http://www.lewisinsight.com • Chris is on Twitter at @chr1slew1s and can be reached via email at chris (at) lewisinsight (dot) com.

Week 88 – NR – ISP Privacy, Twitter Changes, Streaming Music Mar 31, 2017

This is the second of our new News Roundup episodes, which will usually appear on Fridays and discuss several of the week's top tech news stories. This week, we cover: • Congressional action to roll back privacy regulations for ISPs, which has been covered in somewhat hyperbolic fashion • Three tweaks to Twitter features, including a new model for @-replies, DM protections, and an avatar change • New RIAA numbers on the size of the US music market in 2016, and especially the contribution of streaming. As with this week's other episode, relevant links are displayed below as raw URLs: News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links): • Two Tech Narratives pieces on the ISP privacy regulation and on the EFF/Verizon story https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/20/isps-say-your-web-browsing-and-app-usage-history-isnt-sensitive-ars-technica/ https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/31/eff-withdraws-verizon-spyware-claims-cnet/ • Twitter's @-replies and avatar changes https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/30/twitter-removes-usernames-in-replies-from-140-character-limit-mashable/ https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/31/inside-twitters-obsessive-quest-to-ditch-the-egg-fast-company/ • RIAA music numbers (Tech Narratives) and Verto Analytics (press release) https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/30/streaming-crossed-50-of-music-revenue-in-the-us-in-2016-riaa/ http://www.vertoanalytics.com/verto-index-streaming-music/ Other items: • Reporting on FBI Director Comey's Twitter account from Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com/this-is-almost-certainly-james-comey-s-twitter-account-1793843641 • Former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler's op-ed on ISP privacy https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/opinion/how-the-republicans-sold-your-privacy-to-internet-providers.html?_r=0

Week 88 – QotW – Samsung Galaxy S8 Event Mar 29, 2017

This is the second week of our new split format, and this is the Question of the Week episode. This week's News Roundup should follow on Friday. This week's question is "What do you make of the Samsung announcements this week?" Samsung held an event on Wednesday in New York City at which it announced its latest smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and S8+, as well as several other accessories, including updated Gear 360 and Gear VR devices, and a new mesh WiFi router-plus-IoT-hub called Connect Home. Jan, who was at the event, talks through some obvious questions about the new devices and the other announcements from today's event. We're trying something new this week here in the show notes – we had a request to put the links here instead of just on the site, but SoundCloud is a little funny about HTML in its episode descriptions, so each link will appear as a full URL below, but hopefully this makes it easier for you to chase down the related content we link to. This week's links are all to Tech Narratives pieces Jan wrote about the Samsung announcements: 1. The S8 and S8+ announcements: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/29/samsung-debuts-galaxy-s8-and-s8/ 2. The Connect Home router and smart home announcements: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/29/samsung-connect-home-a-google-wifi-clone-with-a-smartthings-twist-cnet/ 3. The Gear VR and Gear 360 announcements: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/29/samsung-updates-gear-vr-and-gear-360-camera/ 4. The T-Mobile LTE announcement: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/03/29/t-mobile-touts-faster-speeds-for-galaxy-s8-on-its-lte-network/

Week 87 – News Roundup – YouTube, Bixby, Twitter Subs, Apple News Mar 24, 2017

This is the first of our new News Roundup episodes, which will usually appear on Fridays and discuss several of the week's top tech news stories. This week, we cover: – Advertisers in the UK and now the US boycotting YouTube and to some extent Google more broadly over ads appearing next to undesirable content – Samsung's pre-announcement of its Bixby virtual assistant, which will ship with the Galaxy S8 smartphone it's expected to announce next week – Twitter testing a paid subscription service for power users, apparently built around Tweetdeck and costing $20 per month – Apple releasing a new, cheaper, 9.7" iPad and a video creation and editing app called Clips, and its acquisition of Workflow. As always, you'll find links to these stories and other things we discussed on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Week 87 – QotW – Apple Pricing Strategy Mar 23, 2017

As we announced last week, we're embarking on a change in the format of the podcast, and from here on out you'll see two episodes from us weekly, with each encapsulating one of the segments of the old format – the Question of the Week, and the News Roundup. The News Roundup will generally go up on Fridays so that we can capture the week's news, while the QotW episode will probably go up earlier in the week. Here, then, is this week's Question of the Week (QotW) episode, which answers the question "Is Apple undertaking a new low price strategy?" This assertion has been in the news lately, with analyst Neil Cybart penning a piece arguing that Apple Watches and AirPods are underpriced and several people arguing this week that the new iPad is another sign that Apple is going downmarket. In our episode, Aaron evaluates these assertions and brings in some of Apple's pricing history in order to answer the question of whether we're seeing a departure from Apple or whether something else is going on. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic,es.

Episode 86 - State of AI, News Roundup Mar 16, 2017

This week's format is a little shorter than usual – we dispense with our third segment and stick to just the News Roundup and Question of the Week, partly in preparation for some format changes we're planning. More about this in the episode, but we're considering a split of the News Roundup and Question of the Week portions into separate episodes. That change – or something like it – should be happening in the next week or two, so look out for that. This week's News Roundup covers our usual trio of topics. First up, Intel's proposed acquisition of Israeli tech company Mobileye for its autonomous driving technology. Secondly, a few additional details that have emerged about Hulu's over the top pay TV service which is launching soon. And lastly, a pair of home speaker-related announcements: Google plays its first ad on Google Home, while Amazon puts Alexa in the Amazon app on iPhones. Our Question of the Week is "What is the state of AI?" There's been a bit of a backlash recently agains the alleged overuse of "AI" to describe all kinds of technologies, and certainly evidence that the term has been used increasingly on earnings calls and elsewhere. So what is the definition of AI, and what counts and what doesn't? Is it being overused (or underused)? And what is it actually being used for today? Our Weekly Pick is a TV show recommended by Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 85 – Uber's Ethical Vacuum, Mac vs PC Mar 08, 2017

This week's News Roundup covers the Wikileaks CIA leak on device hacking and the misreporting that's been happening around it this week; two "fake news" stories – Facebook's commencement of its flagging of fake news and Google's failure to surface true news in its search snippets feature; and reports that Nest is working on some new smart home gear. Our Question of the Week is "Can Uber be saved from itself?" Uber has been through the ringer the last few weeks as a result of a set of mishaps largely of its own making, but there's also a long history of questionable, immoral, and illegal behavior as well as poor treatment of both employees and drivers at Uber. Aaron walks us through the ethical shortcomings that lead to behavior like this, and how Uber could change for the better, based on experience from other companies and his expertise as an ethics expert. Our Third Segment is a conversation about the narrative that seems to be emerging about Windows PCs gaining on the Mac and to some extent becoming "cool" based on a few recent articles. We have a brief discussion about how much of this is real and how much of it is confined to a narrow set of users who happen to be influential. Our Weekly Pick is a TV show recommended by Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 84 – AWS and Outages, MWC Announcements Mar 02, 2017

This week's News Roundup covers YouTube's announcement of the appropriately named YouTube TV service, which will offer a bundle of broadcast and cable channels from four major companies for $35; rumors that Apple would replace the Lightning connector on iPhones with USB-C in the fall; and Snap Inc's debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Our Question of the Week is "What is AWS and why are so many people so dependent on it?" Naturally the prompt here is this week's AWS S3 outage, which caused many sites and services to go down for several hours on Tuesday. We talk through what AWS is, the major products and services that are part of it, how big this is, and the details of Tuesday's outage, in terms of both the causes and the impact, and whether it's healthy that so much of the Internet depends on one company. Our Third Segment is a discussion of some of the phone announcements made at Mobile World Congress this week, from Nokia, BlackBerry, Oppo, LG, and Motorola, and what they tell us about the state of the smartphone market. Our Weekly Pick is a life hack of sorts recommended by Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 83 – State of Online Advertising, US Wireless Market Update Feb 23, 2017

Our News Roundup this week covers former Uber employee Susan Fowler's revelations about how she was treated as a female engineer at the company, and the subsequent announcement of an investigation by a semi-independent panel; Waze's expansion into becoming a carpooling service; and Microsoft's launch of Skype Lite, an innovative low-bandwidth version of Skype for emerging markets which launched in India this week. Our Question of the Week is "What is the true state of online advertising?" We've all heard lots about Google and Facebook's massive revenues from online advertising, and their increasing dominance of the space, but we've also seen recent news about increasing calls for independent audits of their advertising metrics, and questions from big advertisers about the effectiveness of online advertising. So Aaron takes us through some of the complex dynamics, challenges, and prospects for the online advertising industry and the potential for companies like Snap, Twitter, and Yahoo/AOL under Verizon. Our Third Segment is an update on the US wireless market following last week's announcements by Verizon and AT&T that they will begin offering unlimited plans broadly after several years of trying to kill them off. We talk about the likely impact on these companies of offering these plans and potentially opening the floodgates to higher usage, as well as the competitive impact on the two smaller carriers, Sprint and T-Mobile. Our Weekly Pick is a puzzle app recommended by Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 82 – Original Video Content, Snap's S-1 Filing Feb 16, 2017

We're back to our usual format this week. Our News Roundup kicks off with a couple of US wireless stories – Verizon Wireless reintroducing unlimited plans, and T-Mobile reporting its results. Next up, we discuss Apple joining the Wireless Power Consortium, and what it might mean. And lastly, we discuss Facebook's announcement that it's working on an app for TV boxes like the Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Our Question of the Week is "Who is investing in original video content and why?" The topic has been in the news this week with Apple showing off trailers for two new original series that will be part of Apple Music, and YouTube star PewDiePie being dropped from its original content lineup after making some anti-semitic videos. We discuss who's investing in this area, why, and what they're spending, as well as whether it will all be worth it. Our Weekly Pick is a musician recommended by Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 81 – Business and Politics, News Roundup Feb 10, 2017

We have a slightly different format this week – Jan lost his voice and so we took out the third segment we usually have and spent a little more time on the Question of the Week, where Aaron was going to be doing most of the talking. Our News Roundup covers three news items as usual. First up: Oculus's decision to close 200 of its Best Buy demo areas for VR, which some have taken as a sign that VR is fizzling. Second, we talk about Apple's recent hiring of a former Amazon Fire TV executive, and what it might mean about Apple's ability to sign content deals. And thirdly, we discuss Android Wear 2.0 and the new LG smartwatches which launched this week, and what they suggest about the state of the smartwatch market and wearables more broadly. Our Question of the Week is "What role should businesses play in political and social change?" This topic has been in the news recently with many tech companies weighing in on the Trump administration's recent executive orders on immigration, but it also has a long history. Aaron talks us through some of the history, the pros and cons of corporate intervention in politics, and the evidence about whether such intervention is actually effective or not. This isn't a political discussion per se, but we do touch on some current and past political issues. Our Weekly Pick is a TV show recommended by Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 80 – Tech Narratives, Apple Earnings Feb 02, 2017

A quick note: we had an glitch at Aaron's end, which dramatically reduced the quality of his side of the audio, so he sounds like he's on the other end of a phone line rather than using a high powered mic. We're not sure what happened, but it wasn't fixable, unfortunately. Our apologies, but things should be back to normal next week. The three topics in our News Roundup this week are pretty diverse. We start with Fitbit's preliminary earnings, which were below guidance and triggered layoffs at the company, undermining the company's argument that its recent slowing growth is temporary. Secondly, we discuss the Comcast-Roku partnership which puts Xfinity TV on Roku as an app as a potential replacement for a set top box, with some significant caveats. Lastly, we talk about Slack's launch of Enterprise Grid, a more sophisticated version of the app for larger, complex enterprises. Our Question of the Week is "What are narratives in tech and where do they come from?" We talk about the prevalence of narratives in tech news – the stories that get woven around companies and trends in the industry, and which often take on a life of their own, limiting companies' ability to shape people's perceptions. We use this topic as a jumping-off point for talking about Jan's new website, Tech Narratives (www.technarratives.com), which aims to evaluate these narratives and put the day's tech news in context. Our third segment is a review of Apple's earnings for the December quarter. We discuss individual product lines like iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Watch, but also talk about broader issues like the extra week in the quarter, currency headwinds, the potential for finally repatriating some of Apple's overseas cash in 2017, and what's really going on in China. Lastly, our Weekly Pick is a children's book recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 79 – Apple Employee Departures, Q4 2016 Earnings Preview Part 2 Jan 26, 2017

This week, our News Roundup features three topics: the conclusion and announcement of the findings of Samsung's Note7 investigation; Samsung and LG's earnings for Q4 2016; and Snap's various preparations and signs of increasing maturity ahead of an IPO. Our Question of the Week is "Are the recent departures from Apple a sign of trouble?" Aaron talks us through some of the recent departures across several parts of Apple's business, talks about possible explanations, provides some historical context with a discussion of earlier departures, and draws some conclusions about the significance of the current round. We also talk particularly about the Apple-Tesla poaching war. Our third segment is part 2 of our preview of Q4 2016 earnings season, with a brief discussion of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter and what they're likely to report in the next couple of weeks. Lastly, our Weekly Pick is a book recommendation from Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 78 – Autonomous Driving, Earnings Preview Part 1 Jan 19, 2017

This week, we're back to our usual format. Our News Roundup features three topics: in streaming video, Netflix reported earnings this week and Hulu indicated that its download feature is coming soon; in the Android world, The Information reported that Android One might be coming to the US, while Pixels are still in short supply; and in the ongoing saga of Apple and its pro users, Apple updated Logic Pro X and GarageBand for iOS. Our Question of the Week is "what is the state of autonomous driving and where does it go from here?" We do a deep dive into the definitions and current state of play when it comes to self-driving cars, talk about when we might see various levels of autonomous driving, and discuss the many barriers and hurdles that have to be overcome for autonomous driving to become a reality. All of this builds off Jan's recent in-depth research on the topic. Our third segment is part 1 of our preview of Q4 2016 earnings season, with a discussion of Samsung, Alphabet and Microsoft and what they're likely to report next week. We'll likely follow up with more next week of both preview and review of Q4 earnings. Lastly, our Weekly Pick is a double book recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 77 – Themes from CES 2017, iPhone 10th Anniversary Jan 13, 2017

We're back after our long Christmas, New Year, and CES hiatus – thanks for bearing with us while we took our break, and Happy New Year! We kick things off with a News Roundup, with three topics: Apple's reported investment in original video content, ostensibly for the benefit of Apple Music subscribers; Nintendo's announcement of pricing, specs, and other details for its Switch console; and Facebook's attempt to help news organizations with its Journalism Project. Our main topic today is themes from CES, in which we discuss the fact that Amazon's Alexa was everywhere, cars continued to grow in importance, smart home gear and services continue to evolve, drones were popular at CES but struggled elsewhere this week, wearables seem to be fading as a force, and Chinese companies continue to struggle to break into the US in a big way. Our third segment is a discussion of the 10th anniversary of the announcement of the iPhone, and all that's changed in the world as a result. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 76 – 2017 Predictions and 2016 Predictions Review Dec 21, 2016

This episode is all about predictions. First off, we review the predictions we made a year ago for 2016, including a raft of Apple-related predictions as well as some other company-specific ones and then some industry level forecasts. But most of the episode, from about 15 minutes onward, we focus on predictions for the year ahead. We again start with some company-specific predictions, concerning Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Uber, and Snapchat. But we also include some industry-level predictions again. As last year, the predictions are a mix of those where we feel we're on solid ground, and those where we're sticking our necks out a bit. This will be our last episode until sometime in the New Year, so happy holidays!

Episode 75 – 2016 Year in Review, AirPods Dec 15, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers three topics. We start with a second week in a row of Amazon news, this time the announcement of a drone-based delivery trial in Cambridge, England. Next, we discuss a couple of pieces of news about autonomous driving – Google's restructuring of its self-driving car efforts into Waymo, a separate entity under the Alphabet umbrella, and Uber's self-driving cab testing in San Francisco. Lastly, the news of yet another massive Yahoo hack. Our usual Question of the Week segment this week becomes Questions of the Year, as our way of looking back on 2016. We answer a set of questions about the year that's ending soon, from what surprised us the most this year to which companies we changed our minds about during the year. Next week, we'll follow up with predictions for 2017 (and a review of last year's predictions for 2016). Our short third segment is a quick discussion of Apple's delayed AirPods launch and the AirPods themselves, which Jan has been using this week. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 74 – Music Streaming, Are Gadgets Dead? Dec 07, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers three topics. First, T-Mobile's announcement of Digits, a service which will allow customers to use their single number on multiple devices, or multiple numbers on a single device. Second, we discuss two news items relating to Apple and AI: the announcement that its researchers will now be able to publish their research, and second the slides from its talk this week at an AI conference. Third, Amazon's announcement of Amazon Go, a sort of grocery store of the future. Our Question of the Week is "How is streaming changing the music industry?" Jan talks about the size and composition of the music industry and its revenues, and the rise of streaming. We discuss the differences between ad-supported and paid streaming, and what's happening with each. And we talk about where the industry will go from here. Our third segment is a conversation about Farhad Manjoo's article this week in the New York Times about the increasingly tough landscape for hardware vendors, and whether we agree with his conclusions. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a holiday gift guide recommended by Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 73 – Apple Structure, State of Smartwatches Dec 02, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers three topics. First, two stories about home assistants, with a report that Amazon will make an Echo with a screen, and another that Microsoft will add features to Windows 10 to allow PCs to serve as ambient voice assistants. Secondly, two pieces of news from the digital video market, with AT&T launching the long-awaited DirecTV Now service, and Netflix announcing a download feature. Lastly, we discuss Bloomberg's report that Apple will begin using drones for mapping data. Our Question of the Week is "Should Apple change from a functional organization to a divisional structure?" Aaron talks us through the differences in these two organizational structures and the conventional wisdom on which is better for different kinds of businesses, and then we discuss how these arguments apply (or don't) to Apple. We don't come to a firm conclusion one way or another, but hopefully you'll be better armed to make up your own mind about this topic by the end of the discussion! Our third segment is a conversation about the state of smartwatches, in which we talk about Fitbit's reported acquisition of Pebble, Motorola's announcement that it won't be making any more Android Wear watches in the near term, and the Apple Watch, including Aaron's recent experience trying one for a while. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a book recommended by Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 72 – Cord Cutting, Tech Thanksgiving Nov 22, 2016

This week's episode is a special Thanksgiving episode for our listeners here in the US. Our News Roundup covers three stories. The first two are WiFi-related, with Google making its new Google Wifi devices available for sale and providing a self-made review of sorts as well, and Bloomberg reporting that Apple will discontinue its line of AirPort WiFi routers. Our third story is Instagram's launch of both live video and disappearing photos. Our Question of the Week is "What is the state of cord cutting in the US pay TV market?" Jan talks through the research and analysis he does each quarter and some of the numbers on the current state of the US pay TV market and cord cutting. But we also discuss cord nevers and cord shaving, two other phenomena affecting the pay TV industry in the US, and the implications of all this for the players in the market. Our third segment is our Thanksgiving special, in which both Aaron and Jan share three technology things they're thankful for. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a movie recommended by Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 71 – Samsung buys Harman, MacBook Pro Review and Apple Design Nov 16, 2016

This week's episode is back to our usual format, with a News Roundup to kick things off, a Question of the Week, and a third segment, followed by a Weekly Pick. Our News Roundup covers three stories: firstly, Snap (nee Snapchat) released its Spectacles hardware and reportedly confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC; secondly, Twitter introduced some muting options to help combat abuse and harassment, while also kicking several figures from the "alt-right" movement off the service'; and thirdly, the fake news story we discussed last week continued to evolve this week with Facebook and Google both making news. Our Question of the Week is "What are the implications of Samsung buying Harman International?" Aaron did some research this week into this acquisition and its implications, and answers questions about what exactly Samsung is buying, what Harman's connected car business does, and how the two companies might bring their assets together, and lastly how this is likely to impact consumers and the broader tech industry. (We also weigh in on the idea that Apple should have bought Harman instead). Our third segment combines a couple of Apple-related items: Jan shares a summary of his MacBook Pro review from earlier this week, and we also discuss the new coffee table book Apple launched this week about its design. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a movie recommended by Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 70 – Election & Tech, Google Hardware Review Nov 11, 2016

In this week's episode, we cover two topics: technology and the US presidential election, and a review of Google's three new hardware products: Home, Pixel, and Daydream View. Our first topic, which takes up a little over the first half of the episode, is this week's US presidential election. We do share our personal thoughts on the outcome briefly, but most of this segment is devoted to the role technology and particularly social media played in the election, and then the likely outcome of the election for tech policy. We specifically discuss trade, M&A activity and the media, net neutrality, and repatriation of overseas profits. Our second topics is our Question of the Week, in which Jan shares his first impressions of Google's Home, Pixel and Daydream View hardware, which he's been using for a while now. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each piece of hardware, as well as Jan's overall views on Google's first hardware efforts. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a camping stove recommended by Aaron. As usual, you'll find links to related material including where to find Aaron's Weekly Pick on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 69 – Q3 2016 Tech Earnings Review Nov 02, 2016

This week's episode is a review of earnings for the biggest tech companies that have reported earnings for Q3 2016 so far: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and Twitter. We cover each for a few minutes in alphabetical order, discussing the highlights and trends they suggest. As usual, you'll find some links to related content on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 68 – Microsoft and Apple October Events Oct 28, 2016

This week's episode is all about Microsoft and Apple's two big events this week. We first talk through Microsoft's announcements, including the Windows 10 Creators Update, various creativity software, Microsoft's first VR play, and more. Then we discuss Apple's big announcements including the new TV app for Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad, and the new MacBook Pros. For the last part of the episode, we compare the announcements and discuss the broader significance of what each company is doing, and how they will compete going forward. Next week, we'll likely do an earnings-focused episode. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 67 – LeEco, Project Titan, Q3 Earnings Preview, Pixel Reviews Oct 19, 2016

This week's News Roundup is a little longer than usual as we do a deeper than expected dive into three topics. First off, we discuss the US coming-out party for LeEco, a Chinese consumer technology company that's taking a content-centric approach. Secondly, we discuss reports that Apple is scaling back and refocusing its car initiative. And lastly, we talk about Google's apparent deal with CBS as part of its planned YouTube-based over-the-top TV service. Our Question of the Week this week is all about Q3 earnings and what to expect from seven of the top consumer technology companies: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Samsung, and Twitter. Jan talks through each of these companies in turn and talk about what he's watching out for, and what to expect in both the numbers and the discussion by executives on earnings calls. Our third segment is a brief roundup of the reviews that came out this week for the Google Pixel smartphone, whose launch we discussed a couple of weeks ago. The reviews were largely consistent, but we discuss some of the areas of disagreement as well as the interesting trends that are emerging from these and other recent reviews. We wrap up the episode with a Weekly Pick, which this week is a our first Twitter account recommendation, from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 66 – Conflict Minerals, The De-Democratization of Publishing Oct 12, 2016

Our News Roundup returns this week with three topics: first off, the latest installment of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 saga; secondly, Amazon's launch of two new streaming music services and the implications for the sector; and thirdly, the figures on iOS 10 adoption and what they tell us. Our Question of the Week is "What is the human impact of mineral sourcing in consumer electronics?" Aaron talks us through the meaning and significance of the phrase "conflict minerals", but he also explains the latest reporting from the Washington Post on two additional minerals used in consumer devices: cobalt and graphite. We talk about the implications of all this for device manufacturing, as well as what we as consumers can do about it. Our third segment is a discussion of a topic Jan writes about this week for Techpinions, which he refers to as the de-democratization of online publishing. Essentially, new platforms such as Google's AMP, Facebook Instant Articles, and Apple news make it harder for smaller publishers to have their voices heard. We also talk about the broader changes in publishing and media, especially in the current presidential election cycle in the US. We wrap up the episode with a Weekly Pick, which this week is a movie recommendation from Jan.Dawson@ovum.com As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 65 – Google Assistant, Pixel, and Home Oct 07, 2016

This week's episode dispenses with our usual format and focuses exclusively on Google's event. We kick off the episode with a discussion about Google's AI message and the Google Assistant, and the role of AI in differentiation, both for Google services and the new hardware. We then discuss the Pixel phones, the positioning, the strategy, and the devices themselves. Lastly, we talk about Google Home and its entry into a market currently dominated by Amazon, and its prospects there. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 64 – Demystifying Snapchat, Consumer Tech in Enterprise Sep 28, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers BlackBerry's announcement that it will stop making its own hardware; Twitter's announcement that the creation of Moments is now open to everyone, in addition to the ongoing rumors of a Twitter acquisition; and Elon Musk's plans to colonize Mars in the coming decades through his SpaceX company. Our Question of the Week is "What is Snapchat?" We've discussed Spotify once or twice before on the podcast, but this is a deeper dive than we've done before, and seeks to address this question from at least a couple of angles, namely Snapchat as an app, and Snapchat (now Snap Inc.) as a company. We discuss how Spotify actually works, and how its features have evolved over time. But we also talk about the company's evolving conception of itself, and the way its founders have described the app and the company since its launch five years ago. And of course we do all this in the context of the launch of Snap's Spectacles over the weekend. Our third segment is a discussion of a series of related moves by what are ostensibly consumer technology companies into the enterprise. We talk about Apple's new partnership with Deloitte around business process transformation, as well as Facebook at Work, which is expected to be released more broadly next week, and why these companies seem to feel the pull to participate in the business world. Our Weekly Pick is a series of books recommended by Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 63 – Research on Product Recalls, iPhone 7 & Watch 2 Review Sep 22, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers the reports that Apple has been considering an investment in or outright acquisition of British supercar manufacturer McLaren; the release of Google's Allo messaging app; and Comcast's announcement that it will finally launch its long-rumored cellular wireless service sometime in 2017. Our Question of the Week this week is "What can the research on past product recalls teach us about the Samsung Galaxy Note7 recall?" We've talked several times previously about Samsung's recall of the Note7, but this week Aaron spent some time looking at the history of product recalls and reading some of the academic research on the topic with a view to understand a couple of things. Firstly, we talk about what the history suggests about how Samsung will be impacted by the recall, and secondly we discuss the general lessons for product recalls that come out of the research. Our third segment is a review of the new iPhone 7 Plus and Watch Series 2, both of which Jan has been using for the past five days or so. This builds on the meta-review we did last week of all the published reviews of both products. Our Weekly Pick is a set of iPhone apps recommended by Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 62 – Verily Overview, iPhone Reviews Review Sep 14, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers the ongoing fallout from the Samsung Galaxy Note7 battery problems; the story that Amazon is going to be experimenting with a 30-hour work week for some of its employees; and the expansion of comment filtering functionality to all users by Instagram. We discuss each of these topics for a few minutes and talk about the context and implications. We'll likely do a Question of the Week next week on consumer product recalls using the Note7 recall as a jumping-off point. Our Question of the Week this week is "What is Verily and what does it do?" This question builds on a piece Jan wrote for Techpinions Insiders contrasting Alphabet and Apple's approaches to the healthcare space, with Verily being Alphabet's Life Sciences subsidiary (formerly Google Life Sciences). We talk through what Verily is, who runs it, what it's intended to accomplish, its internal projects and its partnerships with other organizations, and lastly how it's perceived within the broader life sciences community. It's a fascinating business and we both learned a lot from doing this segment. Our third segment is a discussion of the reviews for the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2, which will be available for sale on Friday, as well as a brief discussion of iOS and watchOS 3, which were released to the general public this week. Our Weekly Pick is a TV show recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 61 – Apple September 2016 Event Sep 07, 2016

This week's episode is entirely taken up with a discussion of Apple's September 2016 iPhone and Apple Watch event. Jan attended in person and Aaron watched remotely, and we recorded this discussion a couple of hours after the conclusion of the event while Jan was still in San Francisco. We talked about the event in the order in which it unfolded, with the first 10 minutes of our discussion devoted to Tim Cook's various up-front "Updates" and then an in-depth discussion of the Apple Watch Series 2 and iPhone 7. Jan refers to several videos he captured of demos in the hands-on area, which you can find links to at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 60 – Social Media Insights, Apple Event Preview Sep 01, 2016

In our News Roundup this week, we talk about the EU's action against Apple with regard to its Irish tax arrangements; Facebook's firing of the editors who used to handle its Trending Topics section, and the somewhat predictable results; and the news from the first day of German tech trade show IFA, which kicked off on Wednesday. Our Question of the Week this week is a little different, in that instead of asking each other questions as we usually do, we've brought a guest on. Alison Faulkner is the creator of the Alison Show, who's an event producer, a writer and an Instagram and social media personality. We had Alison on because she knows far more about social media and making money on social media than either of us do (she has over 80,000 Instagram followers and 15,000 YouTube subscribers, among other things). Aaron interviewed Alison – who happens to be a neighbor of his – and asked her about what she does, how she does it, and the business of social media. Our third segment is a preview of Apple's event next week, at which it's expected to unveil the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2. We round up the various rumors and reports of what will be announced, add our own predictions, and talk about the importance of how Apple positions some of the expected changes, including the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack, new cameras, and more. Lastly, we wrap up with a Weekly Pick, which is a movie recommendation from Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 59 – Tim Cook's 5 Years, Intel IDF Announcements Aug 24, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers the Backchannel article about Apple's AI efforts; Spotify, Amazon, and Pandora's attempts to negotiate new rights deals with music labels; and the shutdown of John Gruber's Vesper note-taking app for iOS (and what it says about the state of the App Store and the app economy more broadly). Our Question of the Week is "How should we view Tim Cook's first five years as Apple CEO?" and builds off the blog post Jan did this week with lots of charts comparing Apple at the beginning and end of Tim Cook's first five years. We talk about how Apple has changed, what Tim Cook has done differently (notably increasing R&D spend), and his biggest successes and failures during his time as CEO. There's a link to the post in the show notes for today's episode. Our third segment is a discussion of Intel's announcements from its big developer event last week. We talk about the emphasis on specialized silicon and non-traditional devices for Intel, the focus on sensors and their many applications, and the licensing deal with ARM, among other things. Lastly, we wrap up with a Weekly Pick, which is a personal hygiene recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 58 – Unsticking Twitter, What We Use Aug 18, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers the Samsung Note7 reviews that came out this week; Google's launch of its Duo video calling app for Android and iOS; and Apple's announcement of an R&D center in China. Our Question of the Week is "Why does Twitter seem stuck, and how can it unstick itself?" Jan answers questions about what makes Twitter seem stuck, from its user growth to monetization in the US to its product; why Twitter seems to be executing so slowly on its strategic priorities; and what Twitter can and should do to fix itself and get past its current stagnation. Our third segment is a bit of a departure from our usual pattern, in that it's just us talking about the technology – hardware, software, and services – that we use in our daily work and personal lives. Lastly, we wrap up with a Weekly Pick, which is a book recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you can find relevant links and other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 57 – Business Ethics, Verizon-Yahoo Acquisition Aug 10, 2016

We're back to our usual format this week, with a News Roundup, Question of the Week, and a third topic, as well as a Weekly Pick. In our News Roundup, we cover what's been happening with Nintendo's share price recently, this week's reports about Apple devices due in the fall, and the acquisition of Jet.com by Wal-Mart. Our Question of the Week this week is a little unusual in that it's focused on a new book of which Aaron is a co-author, on the subject of business ethics. We talk about the book but also about ethics in business more generally, and some tech-specific examples, as well as discussing why we should be ethical in the first place. Our third topic is the recently announced acquisition of the core Yahoo internet business by Verizon, which had previously acquired AOL. This week's Weekly Pick is a movie recommendation from Jan. As always, you can find relevant links and other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 56 – Q2 2016 Tech Company Earnings Review Aug 04, 2016

We're back after a two-week break, and this episode is exclusively devoted to a review of major tech companies earnings for Q2 2016, which were reported over the last several weeks. We take a thematic approach to the topic, focusing first on hardware companies, principally Apple and Samsung; then on the big ad-focused companies: Google, Facebook, and Twitter; and then two companies that stand somewhat apart: Microsoft and Amazon. We discuss the themes that emerged from earnings this quarter, and also some of the surprising elements in each company's results. Next week, we'll be back to our usual structure, with a News Roundup, Question of the Week, and Weekly Pick. As usual, you'll find related links and other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 55 – Pokemon Go Prospects, Facebook Live Video Jul 14, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers Amazon's Prime Day, Twitter's recent deals and experiments around professionally produced live video, and Microsoft's announcement of Surface as a Service. Our Question of the Week is "What do the economics of the mobile gaming industry tell us about the future of Pokemon Go?" The game has burst dramatically onto the scene, and already provided a nice boost for Nintendo's share price, but past experience suggests massive hits can be short-lived in the mobile gaming market. We discuss the potential hurdles and challenges for the game, and for Nintendo as it finally embraces the mobile gaming market. We also talk about the implications for augmented reality. Our third segment is about Facebook Live Video and how it's been used in recent weeks for some harrowing footage very different from what it was originally conceived to do, and in contrast to the type of live video Twitter is now pursuing. We talk about the responsibilities that come with such power for Facebook, and the benefits to society from the increased openness the technology brings. As usual, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which is an app recommendation from Aaron. We'll be taking a two-week break while Jan is on vacation, but we'll be back the first week of August. In the meantime, related links and all past episodes are available at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 54 – Apple Watch Sensors, Tesla Autopilot Crash Jul 06, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers three topics: BlackBerry killing off its Classic device (though refuting reports that it's killing the BlackBerry 10 OS); Comcast and Netflix reaching a deal to put Netflix on Comcast set top boxes; and a report that the new iPhone will start at 32GB rather than 16GB of onboard storage. As usual, we discuss the ins and outs and implications of each of these stories in the opening segment. Our second segment is our Question of the Week, which this time is "What new health sensors should we expect in Apple Watch 2 this fall?" and by implication is also about how the health and fitness aspects of other smartwatches might evolve in the coming months and years. Although Aaron's initial response is simply "not much", the rest of the conversation focuses on the challenges of trying to gather health and fitness data from the wrist, the potential for Apple-made and third-party extensions to the Apple Watch (and iPhone), and the potential for doing more behavioral analysis with the sensors and other features already in these devices. Our third segment is a discussion of the recently-released news about a fatal crash involving a Tesla with the Autopilot mode engaged, and the fallout from that news in recent days. Though we discuss the details of the crash briefly, we spend more time on the broader implications for the development of autonomous vehicles and the challenges of convincing people to trust these technologies. We wrap up the episode with our Weekly Pick, which this time around is a movie recommendation from Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 53 – Apple in India, Facebook News Feed Changes Jun 29, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers three topics: Microsoft's announcement that Windows 10 now has 350 installations; Twitter's addition of stickers to photos shared through the platform; and Amazon's new strategy for selling third-party Android phones with ads on the lock screen. Our Question of the Week is "How is Apple doing in India, and how can it do better?" It builds on research Jan has been doing over the last few weeks on what Apple might do to boost its fortunes – and specifically the iPhone's fortunes – in India. We talk about the unique characteristics of the Indian market, and how it's different from China; the state of the smartphone market in India; Apple's current position there; and four major themes around how Apple can accelerate growth and increase its addressable market there. Our third segment covers the changes Facebook announced to its News Feed algorithm on Wednesday, the reasons for the move, and the likely implications for users, for publishers, and for Facebook. As usual, we wrap up with a Weekly Pick, this week two items recommended by Aaron. I want to briefly thank all those who helped me in my research for this episode and my weekly Techpinions column, which also went up today on the same topic, including Shibesh, Harshil Shah, Sudeep Mishra, Sascha Pallenberg, Viranch Damani, Varun Krishnan, Nitin Alabur, and others. Your help and insight is much appreciated. Links to other relevant content and additional ways to listen to the podcast can be found at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 52 – Differential Privacy, macOS Sierra Reviews, iPhone 7 Reports Jun 23, 2016

We returned to our usual format this week, kicking things off with a News Roundup, and including a Question of the Week and Weekly Pick. Our News Roundup covered three topics: Instagram's release of user numbers, including 500 million monthly active users and 300 million daily active users; Tencent's acquisition of a majority stake in Supercell for $8.6 billion; and BlackBerry's earnings. Our Question of the Week is: "How can differential privacy make my life better?" Aaron did a bunch of homework on this concept, which Apple introduced to many of us at WWDC last week but has actually been around for much longer. He tells us what differential privacy is, what some of the real-world applications are, and the benefits and limitations of this approach. We've included some links to some of Aaron's reading material in the show notes. Lastly, we discussed some other topics relating to WWDC which we didn't get to last time or which have emerged since last week's episodes, including the reviews of the macOS Sierra release which came out this week, and reports from the Wall Street Journal that Apple's next iPhone will largely stick to the iPhone 6 and 6s form factor while ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack. We wrapped up the episode with our Weekly Pick, this week a recommendation from Jan. As usual, you'll find links to related material on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 51 – Themes from WWDC 2016 Jun 15, 2016

This episode is entirely devoted to covering the 2016 edition of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), which we previewed last week. Rather than go through chronologically, as we often do with these episodes, or even by product/platform, we felt it might be more interesting to pick up on four big themes from this event and discuss those, incorporating a lot of the biggest announcements in the process. The four themes are: * Openness, or loosening the reins – which includes the new Siri, iMessage, and Maps extensions; making Apple's apps deletable; and the new lock-screen UI for VoIP apps * AI and deep learning and pushing back against the narrative that Apple is behind – including advances in Siri, Photos, QuickType, and the concept of differential privacy * Things that should have happened sooner – or, as Aaron named this segment, "Finally" – watchOS 3 and its new app and dock model; single sign-on and the Remote app for tvOS; the Home app for setting up and controlling HomeKit devices; Siri on the Mac; the Apple Music redesign; and split-screen view for Safari tabs * Reinforcing the ecosystem – including Auto-Unlock; the iCloud Universal Clipboard; Apple Pay on the web; Siri on the Mac; and iCloud syncing of the Desktop and Documents folders. We spent the bulk of the time talking about these themes, but spent a little time up front talking about the structure and tempo of the event, and a little at the end debating the magnitude of these year's announcements. The topic of WWDC will likely spill over in some form into next week's episode too, as we didn't cover all the major news in this episode. As usual, there are links to other relevant material and other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 50 – Our First Year, WWDC 2016 Preview Jun 08, 2016

This week's episode marks the one-year anniversary of the first episode, with both episodes offering previews of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Given the anniversary, we thought it would be fun to do a little retrospective of some of the things we've covered on the podcast over the past year, and so we made that another topic of discussion on the latest episode. There's now a permanent page on the site where you can easily see a full listing of past episodes, so you can easily browse them. But we spent some time highlighting some of our favorite episodes from the past year, as well as discussing the past year in consumer tech. Links to the episodes we mention are below in the show notes. We also added a page to the website listing all the Weekly Picks we've recommended. If, for whatever reason, you don't feel like reminiscing with us, you can skip to 21:20, when start talking about this year's WWDC. Specifically, we talk about Siri and digital assistants in general, something Jan's been asked about a bunch in the lead up to WWDC by reporters. Secondly, we talk about iMessage and the prospects for iMessage as a platform, something we discussed in Episode 33. We also talk through iOS getting more pro features, what we might see in tvOS and watchOS, Apple Music, the App Store changes announced this week, and the fact that we're unlikely to see any new hardware announced. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 49 – State of the Smart Home, Mary Meeker Deck Jun 01, 2016

This week's News Roundup covered three topics: Microsoft's deal with Xiaomi to share patents and pre-install Office and Skype on Xiaomi devices; rumors of a new 5K display from Apple; and a new EU Code of Conduct on policing hate speech signed by major American tech companies. We discuss the ins and outs of each of these stories and their implications. Our Question of the Week is "What's the state of the smart home, and how will it change?" This topic builds off a recent piece Jan wrote for Techpinions which was syndicated to Recode, titled "The Smart Home is Stuck", in which Jan argued that the most high-profile element of the smart home market – the retail purchase, self-install segment, is stuck at the early adopter phase. However, we also discuss the other major segment in the market, which is the service-based alternative, which sees devices professionally installed and managed, and charges monthly service fees rather than a one-off device purchase fee. This part of the market, exemplified by companies like Vivint, AT&T, and Alarm.com (through a white label model) is performing much better. We talk about how this situation might change over time, some of the other dynamics, and potential future innovations in the space. Our third topic is a discussion of analyst Mary Meeker's most recent slide deck, which provides a 200-slide overview of major trends in the internet and related fields, and was presented at the Code Conference this week. We focus on three of the trends she identified – ad spend, cars and technology, and China – and discuss each of these in some detail. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which is something of a follow-up to an earlier recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 48 – Consumer Tech in Africa, Apple & AI May 25, 2016

Our News Roundup covered three topics: Spotify's financials, which Jan wrote about earlier in the week; Microsoft's decision to exit the consumer smartphone market; and Twitter's planned change to the 140-character limit. Our Question of the Week piggybacks off Aaron's recent trip to Ghana, which is one of a number of trips he's made there over the last nine years. The question is "What's the state of consumer technology in Africa?" and we spent a good amount of timing doing a deep dive into this topic, based not just on Aaron's personal observations but on additional research (see the show notes for a couple of good sources). Our third topic this episode was Apple's efforts in AI, and a narrative that seems to have emerged recently about a perception that Apple is behind in AI, and that this will be problematic for the company. We talk about the pros and cons of this argument, how it relates to Siri specifically, and how Siri might evolve at this year's WWDC. Lastly, we have our Weekly Pick, which is actually a double recommendation from Jan this time around. As usual, head over to the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es for show notes including links to some of the related material discussed on this episode.

Episode 47 – Apple in Asia, Google I/O Announcements May 20, 2016

Aaron is finally back from his travels in Africa, and so we returned to something more like our usual format this week. We kicked things off with a News Roundup, with two of the topics concerning Apple in Asia. We first discussed Apple's investment in Chinese ride-sharing service Didi, and what that's really about, and then talked about Apple's smaller but still significant investments in India, also announced this week. Lastly, we discussed Microsoft's sale of its feature phone business to Foxconn. Our main topic this week, though, was Google's I/O developer conference, and the announcements it made there. We kick things off with a discussion of the Google Home device and the Google assistant that will power it but also exist elsewhere. We next discuss the two new communications apps from Google – Allo and Duo – and whether they're likely to help Google's position in this space (spoiler: probably not). We also discuss Android N and the thinking behind moving up the preview release earlier this year, Android Wear, and especially VR and Google's Daydream initiative. Lastly, we talk about the fact that Android apps will soon be able to run on Chrome OS. As usual, head over to the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es for related links and other ways to listen to the podcast.

Episode 46 – WSJ Tech Columnist Christopher Mims Interview May 11, 2016

As a reminder, Aaron is still out of the country for one more week, working with students and fellow faculty on various projects in Ghana, Africa. He'll be back for next week's episode. In the meantime, this week's episode is an interview with Christopher Mims, tech columnist at the Wall Street Journal, which he joined in April 2014. Christopher writes about a whole range of tech-related topics for the Journal, and we discussed three recent columns of his in particular. The first of those columns was published this week, and talks about what governments can learn from the tech industry, and cites the example of Estonia, which has successfully embraced this new way of working. The second column we discussed was last week's, which was widely shared and generated quite a bit of discussion, and argued that there's a bubble in the tech industry. Lastly, we discussed a column from the end of March, in which Christopher argued that the iPad Pro wasn't quite ready to replace PCs for most people yet. Up front, we also talked a little about how Christopher got to where he is today, and in-between talking about the specific columns we also talked a little bit about what his job is like. Our thanks to Christopher for being a guest this week – it made for a very interesting conversation. Head over to the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es) to find links to the columns we discussed and more related to today's episode.

Episode 45 – Music Industry Interview May 04, 2016

As we said last week, Aaron is out of the country for the next couple of weeks on a trip to Ghana, in Africa. As such, we're switching up the format of the podcast a little in his absence. This week, that means you get an interview between Jan and Ryan Wright, who was formerly SVP, Global Marketing at Sony Music, and who is now CMO at music startup Kobalt. Our conversation kicked off with a brief history of Ryan's career in the music industry, which included launching the Backstreet Boys in Korea and working with other artists such as Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. Ryan also explained what he does at Kobalt, which is a tech startup that helps labels and artists (and others) get their money from all the many parties that pay to play their music. We then talked for quite a while about how the industry has evolved over the last 15 years, and where it's likely to go from here, including the rise of streaming and whether ad-supported streaming is good or bad for the industry. Thanks to Ryan for his time this week, and we look forward to another interesting conversation next week. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 44 – Apple March 2016 Quarter Earnings Apr 27, 2016

For the next few weeks, we're going to be messing with our usual format as Aaron will be traveling. This week, the only topic was Apple's earnings for the March quarter. The first twenty minutes or so are mostly Aaron, who had just a brief window before heading to the airport, and the second twenty minutes are just Jan sharing his take on the earnings report and riffing off his two posts on the blog this week. Aaron also explains at the beginning why he's heading off to Ghana for two and a half weeks. Over the next couple of weeks, while Aaron is away, Jan will be having conversations with guests instead, so the format will be different from usual, but we'll still have an episode for you each week. As ever, there are some relevant links on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 43 – EU Android Antitrust Action, Tech Earnings Roundup Apr 22, 2016

Our three News Roundup topics this week were: * China's blocking of two Apple content services * Apple's MacBook update * Uber's settlement with drivers. Our Question of the Week is "What should we make of the European Union's antitrust action against Google?" We discuss the EU's process for investigation these allegations, the specifics of the allegations against Google, and whether they hold water. We also talk about the parallels and differences with regard to the EU's case against Microsoft roughly 15 years ago. And we talk about the likely outcomes of this case. Our third topic is a review of tech earnings over the past week, focusing particularly on Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft, and Netflix. We discuss the common thread of mobile disruption overhanging several of the results, as well as Netflix's coming price increase and its international expansion. As ever, we wrapped up with a Weekly Pick, this week a gardening tool recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 42 – Evaluating Corporate VC, Facebook F8 Apr 13, 2016

Our News Roundup this week featured the following topics: * Amazon's new Kindle Oasis * KGI Securities' downbeat Apple Watch forecast for 2016 * Hands on with the iPad Pro. Our Question of the Week is: "What is corporate venture capital and is it worth doing?" Aaron talks us through this subset of the world of VC, where corporations such as Google and Intel engage in venture funding of startups, based on research by David Benson (Aaron's brother in law) and others. We discuss CVC's reputation for being "dumb money", what it's intended to achieve, the risks associated with it, and ultimately whether it's worthwhile or not for the companies that do it. Our third topic is Facebook's F8 developer conference and the major announcements made there, including a major new focus on chat bots in Facebook Messenger, a Live Video API, a 360 degree camera rig, and other announcements. We talk about the potential for bots in general and our experience with the first bots to be released on the platform and also about Facebook's broad ambitions to connect the world. As usual, we wrapped up with a Weekly Pick, this week an app recommendation from Jan. You'll find relevant links and other material on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 41 – Apple News for Publishers, Tesla Model 3 Apr 07, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covered the following topics: * Conflicting reports on early iPhone SE sales * Samsung's decent preliminary Q1 financials * Twitter's deal for NFL rights. Our Question of the Week is "What is Apple News like for a small publisher?" and focuses on our experience publishing to Apple News over the last several weeks. We talk through the reasons why Apple launched Apple News, the different ways publishers can get content onto Apple News, and the pros and cons of each. We also talk about how Apple needs to evolve Apple News to remain competitive against other options like Facebook Instant Articles, Google's AMP project, and platforms like Medium. Our third topic this week was Tesla's Model 3 announcement and the pre-order process that accompanied it. We talk about the significance of those preorders, the convergence of cars and tech and Tesla's role in that, and the interesting questions Tesla raises about how car design could change in a world without gasoline-powered engines. As usual, we wrap up with a Weekly Pick, this week one from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on our website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 40 – Apple & Google CSR Initiatives, Build 2016 Mar 30, 2016

This week's News Roundup covers three topics: * Music News – Tidal had its one-year anniversary and announced 3 million subscribers, while SoundCloud launched its paid subscription, SoundCloud Go. * The FBI/Apple case regarding the San Bernardino shooter finally ended as the FBI announced it had been able to access the phone with help from a third party * Foxconn finalized its acquisition offer for Sharp. Our Question of the Week tackled the corporate social responsibility efforts of Apple and Google and what other companies can learn from them. Aaron, who is a business professor who specializes in business ethics, talked us through the history of CSR and how it's evolved, and then covered three different areas in which Apple and Google have been involved in CSR – corporate giving/philanthropy, environmental initiatives, and what Aaron called core competencies. Aside from calling out the positive things both companies have been doing, we also discussed some criticisms of Apple and Google in this area. Our third topic was a discussion of Microsoft's Wednesday morning Build keynote, and especially Microsoft's new conversations as a platform or bots initiative. We talked about Microsoft's strategy here as well as some of the challenges it faces. And Jan's Weekly Pick was a TV show. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 39 – Apple March 2016 Event Mar 21, 2016

This episode of the podcast is a slight departure from our usual pattern. We dispensed with our News Roundup, Question of the Week, and Weekly Pick segments and simply spent the whole episode talking about today's Apple event in Cupertino. Jan was at the event, and so we recorded with Jan sitting in a car just outside 1 Infinite Loop – as such, apologies for any audio issues this time around. We covered the content of the event pretty much in order, with a discussion up front of the three non-product-related topics: privacy and security, the environment, and health; followed by discussions of the Apple Watch News, iPhone SE, and iPad Pro. We'll be back to our usual structure in next week's episode. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 38 – Apple Event Preview, Apple News Opens Up Mar 17, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers: * The announcement by navigation company HERE that it will discontinue its apps for Windows 8 and Windows 10 * Sony's big PlayStation VR announcement * A Recode article about a healthcare startup that's working on an electrocardiogram that will work with the Apple Watch (and is led by Vic Gundotra, who formerly ran Google+). We decided to forgo our usual Question of the Week this week and instead make a preview of Apple's event next week our main topic for discussion. We discussed Jan's Techpinions post last week about the iPhone SE and how that might be priced and positioned, and also talked about the prospects for a revamped iPad Air. Our final topic for the week was the announcement about Apple News being opened to all comers. We realized we haven't really discussed Apple News much on the podcast so far, so we had somewhat of a broader discussion about its prospects too. Next week, Jan will be at the Apple event in person, and we hope to do a quick episode shortly after the event ends focused on the day's announcements. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 37 – What is 5G? Samsung's New Phones Mar 10, 2016

Our News Roundup this week covers three new items: Android's early developer preview of Android N; the conclusion of the Apple eBooks trial; and the debut of Amazon's first live TV show. Our Question of the Week is "What is 5G? And should you care?" and piggybacks on an article Jan wrote for Techpinions on Monday offering something of a primer on the technology. We talk through the first four Gs briefly, and in particular talk about what's unique about 4G, before moving on to where the process of defining 5G has got to, and when you're likely to be able to actually use it. Our third topic is Samsung's new phones, which were reviewed by many publications this week. We discuss the consensus from the reviews as well as what the phones seem to signify about the state of Samsung. We wrap up as ever with our Weekly Pick, which is another cooking-themed recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 36 – Explaining the All Writs Act, AT&T's New Video Offers Mar 02, 2016

Our News Roundup covers three topics, triggered by two news stories each: * Yahoo – stories about Verizon being the most likely buyer for the core business, and indications that Yahoo may have to further write down the Tumblr asset * Live video – Twitter is focusing heavily on live in general and live video specifically in 2016, while there are also signs Facebook is getting increasingly serious about this space * Mobile payments – there are reports MasterCard will expand Apple Pay into several new markets this year, and Google is trialling a new "Hands Free" payment technology in the Bay Area. Our Question of the Week is: "What's the broader significance of the Orenstein court order?" and refers to the decision this week from a New York District Court in a case involving Apple and the FBI, which has some similarities to the San Bernardino case. Aaron draws on his legal background to dissect the decision and its legal basis, and talks us through the logic and the implications for the California case. Our final topic is AT&T's announcement of several new video offerings that it will launch later this year under the DirecTV brand, all of which are app-based rather than satellite or cable-based. We discuss the attractions of these new offers along with some of the shortcomings, and the reasons why AT&T felt the need to pre-announce them seven months or more before they'll be available. We wrap up the episode with our Weekly Pick, which is another movie recommendation from Jan. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 35 – State of the Smartphone Market, more Apple/FBI Feb 24, 2016

This week, our News Roundup covers Apple's response to beta users' feedback on iPad Pro Pencil navigation support in iOS 9.3, smartphone announcements from Mobile World Congress, and Fitbit's earnings. Our Question of the Week is "What's the state of the global smartphone market?", which Jan addresses. We talk about whether the smartphone market is growing, and where, which players are growing (and which aren't), we talk about the fact that iOS/Android and Apple/Google are no longer the most interesting competitive dynamics, and offer some predictions for the future. Our final topic is a sequel to last week's discussion about Apple and the FBI, given all the new information that's emerged since our earlier discussion. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, as usual, which this week is a website recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 34 – Apple's Cash and Borrowing, Apple and the FBI Feb 19, 2016

episode goes on. It only appears when Jan is talking, so it doesn't affect Aaron's side of the audio, but you may find it irritating to listen to. Unfortunately, it's on the master recording of Jan's audio, and so it can't be removed. Our apologies for the audio issues, and hopefully we'll be back to normal next week! This week's episode begins as usual with our news roundup, in which we cover the launch of Apple Pay in China, Indian regulators' shutting down of Facebook's Free Basics program in that country, and John Gruber's interview last week with Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi of Apple. Our Question of the Week concerns Apple's borrowing to finance its share repurchase and other cash return programs. We discuss the logic of this activity, why Apple does it, and Aaron even offers a guesstimate of how much Apple saves by borrowing rather than repatriating cash. Our other major topic today is the court order the FBI obtained this week which requires Apple to assist in unlocking an iPhone used in the San Bernardino shootings in December last year, and Apple's response to it. Lastly, our Weekly Pick is a movie recommendation from Jan. As usual, you'll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 33 – iMessage as a Platform, Twitter Earnings Feb 12, 2016

We kick off this week's episode with our usual news roundup. This week, our topics are 5G (and AT&T's announcement on this topic earlier today), Apple's rumored March event, and ASICS' acquisition of the Runkeeper fitness app. Our Question of the Week is finally back after a two-week hiatus for earnings season, and this week we talk about whether Apple should turn iMessage into a platform, and what that would mean. The context here is the Asian messaging apps, such as WeChat, LINE, and Kakao, and the way in which they've built platforms around the core messaging experience. As this trend continues, the question becomes whether Apple needs to follow suit, albeit not as a business model but as a way to stay competitive. We talk about what this might actually look like in practice, were Apple to announce it, including user and developer/business features, and the potential for more social elements. Our last topic is Twitter's earnings this week, and what they signify. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a video service recommended by Aaron. As ever, there are related links and more on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 32 – Alphabet, Facebook, Yahoo Earnings Feb 04, 2016

As usual, we kick off this episode with our News Roundup. This week, we discuss Microsoft and Amazon's earnings briefly, including the rather counterintuitive investor reaction to each of them. Then we have a quick conversation about the positive video subscriber additions both Time Warner Cable and Comcast have reported recently, and why they shouldn't lead us to question the cord cutting trend. Our main topic today is Alphabet (formerly Google) and Facebook's earnings. We discuss Alphabet's new reporting structure and the performance of its "Other Bets" (something Jan wrote about this week on the Beyond Devices blog). We also talk about the fact that both these ad-centric businesses are investing heavily in non-ad businesses that have yet to deliver meaningful revenue, at significant cost, and why that might be. We also talk about the meaning of monthly and daily active user numbers, and the significance of each. To wrap up, we discuss Yahoo's earnings and the state of Yahoo, as well as the challenges facing the company and its failure to reinvent itself under Marissa Mayer over the last few years. As ever, you can find some links to related content and other information on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 31 – News Roundup, Apple Earnings Jan 28, 2016

This week, we once again did our brief news roundup on several topic items, but then we spent the bulk of the time on Apple's fiscal Q1 2016 earnings, which came out earlier this week (and skipped our Question of the Week and Weekly Pick features). Our news roundup covered three items: the FCC's move to open up the cable set-top box market, the disclosure of what are purported to be Google's revenues from Android as part of the Oracle-Google court case, and insights from the earnings of the US wireless carriers. In our discussion of Apple's earnings, we covered the iPhone and guidance for the March quarter, what's going on with iPhone growth and when it's likely to turn around again. We talked about the significant foreign exchange impact Apple has been facing, and the fact that it's been forced to talk about it now that its growth has slowed dramatically. We discussed Apple Watch sales briefly, talked about China and India specifically, and also discussed the iPad, Mac, and the potential for new products in 2017. Lastly, we also covered Apple's new emphasis on its Services business and the power of its installed base (something Jan wrote about this week on the Beyond Devices blog). As ever, you'll find links to related content and more on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 30 – News Roundup, Media M&A, Apple Earnings Preview Jan 21, 2016

This week, we again kick off with a quick roundup of a few news items, and we're feeling like this is probably how we'll start all our episodes going forward. One side effect is that many of our episodes will end up being a little shorter than before – closer to 45 minutes than an hour. This week, the three news topics we discussed up front were Netflix's earnings, reports that Apple is applying to open its own stores in India, and the launch on Wednesday morning of an updated GarageBand app for iOS as well as a new Music Memos app. We discuss each of these items briefly and highlight what we think are the most significant aspects. Our Question of the Week this week is about M&A activity in the video content world, and specifically whether big tech companies should expect to be able to fix their streaming video rights issues by acquiring media companies. The context here is the continuing reports that Time Warner might be for sale, and that big tech companies like Apple or Amazon might be buyers. Aaron dives deep for us on which assets are actually for sale, why someone might want them, and what else they'd get by buying one of these companies, as well as the potential downsides. Our last topic is a preview of Apple's earnings next week. We run through both what to expect and what to look for as Apple reports iPhone and iPad sales, highlights Apple Watch performance, and provides other tidbits for observers and analysts. As usual, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, and this week Jan recommends a couple of game apps for iOS. As usual, you'll find links to related content and other useful stuff on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 29 – News Roundup, Fitbit, Apple Betas Jan 13, 2016

We kick this week's episode off with a new format, which is a rapid-fire review of three news items from this week: IDC's new PC sales numbers for Q4, Buzzfeed's article about Apple removing itself as the sales middleman for iAd, and rumors that Time Warner is up for sale and both Amazon and Apple might be buyers. We've dropped our Question of the Week item for the past two episodes because we had so much else to talk about, but it's back this week with a review of Fitbit and why its share price has taken such a dive lately. Our final topic is the beta versions of updates to all of Apple's major software platforms this week, some of which involved fairly major updates somewhat uncharacteristic of Apple's point software releases. As ever, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this time around is a card game recommendation from Aaron. Links to many of the items we discussed along with Aaron's Weekly Pick and some other stuff are available on our website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 28 – CES, Netflix Everywhere, App Store Numbers Jan 08, 2016

For our first episode of 2016, we focus mostly on CES and the announcements made there. Jan was there in person, while Aaron followed the news remotely. We discuss the following trends and products, among others: * The rise of USB-C * Cars, technology, and autonomous vehicles * Fitness and wearables – Fitbit Blaze and Withings Thermo * Drones * Virtual and augmented reality * Headphones, including Apple's reported moves here * 4K and Ultra High Definition plus HDR in TV sets. We also spend a few minutes specifically discussing Netflix's big international expansion news from CES, including Jan's post from this week about the possible financial implications. Lastly, we discuss the new App Store numbers Apple released this week and what they might mean. And, as always, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, a product recommendation. As usual, lots of relevant links and other information are available on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 27 – News Roundup, Predictions for 2016 Dec 18, 2015

For our final episode of the year, we decided to focus on our predictions for 2016. We kick off the episode with a review of three news items from the past few days: the Apple management changes announced on Thursday, December 17th; the recent Morgan Stanley report calling for lower iPhone sales; and the open-sourcing of Swift and the related interview of Craig Federighi by John Gruber. Following a roughly 15-minute roundup of these news items, we spend the rest of the time discussing our predictions for 2016, starting with our predictions for Apple's various product lines, and then broadening out to cover other industry trends and companies, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft. We hope you enjoy this last episode of 2015 – we'll be taking a break for the weeks of Christmas and the New Year, and will be back the week of CES, which Jan will be attending January 4-7. Enjoy the holidays and we'll see you in January! As ever, you can find related links and links to other formats for the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 26 – Pixel C Reviews, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Apple Shelving TV Plans Dec 10, 2015

Our first topic this week is the reviews for Google's new Pixel C tablet, and what they signify about the state of Android. We also talk about the overall state of the tablet market and (the lack of) tablet-optimized operating systems. Our second topic is the decision by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan to give the bulk of their wealth to causes they care about, which is the subject of our Question of the Week, "Is the Zuckerberg announcement really philanthropic?" We tap into Aaron's expertise in the field of philanthropy and non-profit work to discuss the basics of various organizational structures and their tax implications, the pros and cons of the LLC structure the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has adopted, and whether the gift is likely to be beneficial to society. Our last topic is the reporting in the last 24 hours or so before we recorded to the effect that Apple may be shelving its TV service plans for the time being. As usual, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a game recommendation from Aaron. As ever, you'll find links to things we discussed in this episode as well as other formats for the podcast itself on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 25 – Clayton Christensen, Apple Resellers, Samsung Mobile Dec 03, 2015

We kick off the discussion this week with a conversation about Clayton Christensen and his theory of disruptive innovation. Specifically, we talk about the recent controversy about whether his theory has a monopoly on the use and definition of the term disruption and its application in the technology market, and whether it even works and applies in the consumer technology market specifically. Our second topic is our Question of the Week, in which we discuss Apple's changing relationship with its resellers. Specifically, Aaron runs us through some of the differences this Thanksgiving shopping season compared with last year. The final topic is the change in leadership at Samsung's mobile division this past week, and what it might signify for the future of the business. As ever, we finish with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a handful of applications for the new Apple TV. As ever, relevant links and other information can be found on our website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 24 – Mac App Store, Facebook's Meta OS, Apple Watch Dock Nov 19, 2015

This week, we kick off our discussion with a review of what's happened over the last week or so with the Mac App Store, which suffered from a certificate-related bug that broke a number of apps previously downloaded from the store. We also use this as a jumping-off point for a broader discussion about the Mac App Store and the various other issues developers have been complaining about for some time now. Our second topic is our Question of the Week, which is about why Facebook has so many apps beyond the main Facebook app. This ties into a post Jan wrote on Techpinions last week (link in the show notes). Our third topic is the new dock Apple has just released for the Apple Watch in somewhat under-the-radar fashion, and again we broaden the discussion to cover Apple's strange history with docks for its products.

Episode 23 – iPad Pro Reviews, Apple Watch vs. Apple TV, Cord-Cutting Nov 12, 2015

We kick off this week's episode with a discussion of the iPad Pro reviews that came out on Wednesday. We talk through the common themes – both the consistent gripes and the things that were consistently praised – as well as some of the unique things particular reviews picked up on. Our second topic is our Question of the Week, in which we pick up on a conversation we started last week around the Apple Watch and Apple TV and the prospects for these two devices. In particular, we talk about the total addressable market, the developer-related challenges each device faces, and the other constraints holding each device back, as well as the ultimate potential of each device. Lastly, we discuss cord-cutting, in the light of a post Jan wrote this week, and whether it's likely to accelerate. We also talk some more about Apple's potential TV service and how that might factor into all this.

Episode 22 – Apple TV, Payments Primer, Twitter Faves Nov 05, 2015

On this week's episode, we kick off the discussion with Jan's thoughts on the new Apple TV, which he's been using for five days now, and broaden the conversation into a review of where it might go from here. Our second topic (starting at 25:35) is our Question of the Week, which is all about how the payments industry works, who the players are, where the money goes, and how new players such as Square, Apple, Google, and Samsung fit in. And our final topic (starting at 47:00) is Twitter's change this week to its Favorites feature, and what it says about Twitter's broader challenge of attracting new users while retain its existing ones. As usual, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a movie recommendation from Jan.

Episode 21 – Apple September Quarter Earnings, Mashable Article/Interview Oct 28, 2015

This episode is devoted almost entirely to Apple's September quarter earnings (Apple's Fiscal 2015 fourth quarter, and calendar quarter Q3 2015). Following up on last week's preview episode, we discuss the guidance for next quarter and what it signifies, but also individual results for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch (such as we can glean them), and so on. We also discuss Tim Cook's remarks on China and Apple's rapidly-growing enterprise business. We wrap up the episode with a discussion of Mashable's excellent article on Apple's design process, based on interviews with Phil Schiller and VP of Mac and iPad engineering John Ternus. And of course there's our Weekly Pick as usual, with Jan recommending an album he's discovered recently. As ever, all the related links are on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 20 – New iMacs and Peripherals, Apple Earnings Preview, Surface Book Reviews Oct 22, 2015

This week, we kick things off with a discussion of Apple's new iMacs and associated peripherals – Aaron has been using the new Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad and talks about his experience with them. We also discuss the surprisingly basic hard drives which ship with the new iMacs, and what this signifies about Apple's strategy for its lowest-tier products. Our Question of the Week is, "What should we be expecting from Apple's earnings next week?" and we discuss expectations for the iPhone, Apple Watch and other products, and what Tim Cook is likely to say about China. And our final topic is a quick run-through of the reviews of the new Microsoft Surface Book, which we discussed in some depth two weeks ago in Episode 18. As usual, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, in which Aaron recommends a Bluetooth speakerphone he uses with his iPhone for conference calls.

Episode 19 – Music Survey Results, Elon Musk and Foxconn, Overcast and iOS Business Models Oct 15, 2015

Our Question of the Week this week concerns Elon Musk's recent comments on Apple's car efforts. In an interview with a German newspaper, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said (among other things), "You can't just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: Build me a car." Our Question of the Week is to what extent Elon Musk's comment was justified. Around that middle topic, we have two others: we kick of the episode with a review of some of the findings of Jan's recent music consumption surveys and what they tell us about Apple Music usage and subscribership. And our third and final topic is Marco Arment's new Overcast app and its unique patronage-based business model, the controversy it's caused, and what it says about the state of the iOS app market. And we wrap up, as always, with our Weekly Pick.

Episode 18 – Microsoft event, US wireless market, Steve Jobs Oct 08, 2015

This week, we follow up last week's coverage of Google's event with discussion of Microsoft's big Windows 10 event, which had a very different feel to it. We evaluate the big announcements, but we also talk about the presentations and demos and the overall tone of the event, which felt much more energetic and compelling than previous Microsoft events. Our Question of the Week this week is "What's going on in the US wireless market, and who's winning?" Jan provides some context by discussing each of the major US wireless providers and their background, and then talks through some different definitions for measuring which of them is "winning". We also talk about what's next for the US wireless market. Our final topic is Steve Jobs – both the man and the movie that's coming out soon, along with the controversy over the movie, and the reaction from both Steve Jobs' widow and from Apple executives. And Aaron has our Weekly Pick for this episode, which is a book recommendation. As ever, there are quite a few links to blog posts and other things we discussed in the episode on our website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 17 – Google Event, A Series Chips, iPhone and Apple Music Impressions Oct 01, 2015

We kick off this week's episode with a discussion of Google's event on Tuesday. We discuss the new Nexus phones and the history of Google's Nexus programs, the new Chromecast devices, and Google's strategy for the TV. Our Question of the Week is about Apple's A-Series Chips, and Aaron's been doing some research into how Apple has managed both to make such rapid advances and to compete so effectively against other approaches. Aaron explains the differences and relationships between fabless manufacturers, foundries, and Integrated Device Manufacturers, the role of Apple's PA Semi acquisition, the importance of the ARM architecture, and more. Our final topic is a discussion of our personal experiences with Apple's new iPhones, as well as our conflicting responses to Apple Music (Jan has just allowed his trial to roll over into a paid subscription, while Aaron has cancelled). And Jan's Weekly Pick is the Launch Center Pro app, which in its latest version makes interesting use of Apple's new 3D Touch Quick Actions. Relevant links and more are on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 16 – iOS 9, Content Blockers, iPhone 6 Reviews Sep 24, 2015

Episode 16 is a fairly iPhone-centric affair. We start out with a review of the new software releases from Apple over the past week, with iOS 9 landing on schedule last week and WatchOS 2 arriving a few days late. We discuss some of our favorite built-in features, and also the relatively small number of apps that seem to be taking advantage of the new features in both operating systems. Our Question of the Week this week is about the hot topic of the moment – content blockers in iOS 9. This discussion starts at around Our final topic is the new iPhones. Neither of us has our hands on these devices yet, but we discuss the reviews and what they reveal about reviewers, as well as our take on the preorder process and early numbers. As usual, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this time around is a band Aaron recommends. As ever, you'll find useful/relevant links and more on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 15 – Apple Event Deep Dive – Watch, iPad Pro, and Apple TV Sep 17, 2015

Last week, we did a quick half-hour quick take on Apple’s September event, and briefly covered all the major announcements. This week, we dive a little deeper on each of the announcements, but focus mostly on the Apple Watch, iPad, and Apple TV announcements, touching only briefly on the iPhone, which we’ll cover in a bit more depth next week. On the Apple Watch front, Aaron notes that there are no obvious killer apps for the Watch yet, even with the WatchOS 2 release imminent, and we talk about the implications for product upgrade and release cycles given the addition of new color options last week. With regard to the iPad Pro, we discuss Steve Jobs’s famous comment about the role of the stylus, as well as Tim Cook’s remark from the event itself that the iPad represents “the clearest expression of our vision of the future of computing”. Aaron also follows up on his comment from last week about the possible role of the iPad Pro in college settings. On the subject of the Apple TV, we discuss the interesting storage limitations Apple has placed on apps, along with the significance of the On-Demand Resources model; the requirement for all games to support Apple’s Siri Remote, and not just third-party controllers; and possible upgrade cycles. With the iPhone, we discuss briefly the significance of 3D Touch, the new cameras, and a few other features, as well as Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program. As ever, lots of relevant links at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 14 – Apple September Event First Take Sep 09, 2015

This is our quick take on Apple's September event, which was recorded with Jan sitting outside the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, immediately following the conclusion of the Apple event. As such, the audio on this episode is not up to our usual standards. It's also shorter than most of our episodes and doesn't follow our usual format. Instead, you'll hear about 25 minutes of quick conversation following the chronological order of Apple's event, with some tidbits from the hands-on experience. We'll do a deeper dive next week, hopefully with our usual audio quality!

Episode 13 – Apple Event Preview, Apple TV as Console, Android Wear on iPhone Sep 03, 2015

Ahead of Apple's big event next week, we spend the majority of our time previewing the likely announcements. The conversation kicks off with a general discussion of what we're expecting with regard to new iPhones, iPads, and the new Apple TV, including a brief discussion of the reporting and in particular the scoops some publications seem to be getting very good at, notably Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac. We then do a deep dive on the Apple TV, as Aaron answers our Question of the Week: "How would the new Apple TV compete as a gaming console?" Aaron talks through the technical capabilities of the device and the developer program Apple is likely to build around the Apple TV and how these compare to the leading consoles in the market today, and we also discuss the controller(s) for gaming on the Apple TV, content restrictions, and social gaming. Our final brief topic is the announcement this week that Android Wear devices will now work with iPhones, albeit in a very limited fashion. Jan wraps things up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is an app, for the first time.

Episode 12 – Apple in China, In-car Technology, Apple Retail Aug 27, 2015

Episode 12 of the Beyond Devices Podcast is a very Apple-centric episode, with three different topics relating to the company. We kick off with a discussion of this week's news around Apple in China and Apple's share price, and tackle whether the market is being rational or irrational around all this. Our Question of the Week is about the current state of in-car technology and Apple's role in it today and tomorrow, including the prospect of Apple making cars. Our last major topic is the recent changes to Apple's retail stores and what these signify, especially as we look forward to the launch of new iPhones next month. Aaron wraps up the episode with his Weekly Pick, in which he recommends several websites he uses when he's looking for guidance when he's about to buy something. As ever, links to relevant content and other show notes are on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es, and you can now follow a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

Episode 11 – Google OnHub, Samsung Apple Patent Update, Apple Fall Preview Aug 19, 2015

This week's Question of the Week is answered by Aaron, who (aside from being a business school professor) is a qualified lawyer, and digs into the details of the Apple vs. Samsung patent litigation, recent news in the case, and the implications for these two companies and others. If you've been wondering what all this is really about, and why not just Apple and Samsung but Google and Facebook are involved, you'll really want to listen to this segment. Either side of the QotW, we have our other two topics. Kicking off the show, we have a discussion of Google's OnHub wireless router, which was announced this week, including its role as a Trojan horse for Google's ambitions in the smart home. And following the patent discussion, we have a quick preview of Apple's fall announcements, including what Aaron is expecting in new MacBooks based on Intel's new chips. Last on the agenda, as always, is our Weekly Pick, which this time around is a movie recommendation from Jan.

Episode 10 – Google's Alphabet move, Privacy, Mobile Payments Aug 13, 2015

Our three topics this week are Google's Alphabet restructuring, privacy policies and concerns for major smartphone vendors, and trends in mobile payments. We kick off with a discussion of Google's announcement that it will create a new parent company called Alphabet under which the core Google business and Google's various new initiatives will be subsidiaries. We discuss the pros and cons of this approach and what it means for Google going forward. Our Question of the Week is about the different levels of privacy protection offered by the major smartphone platforms and the implications that has for their ability to provide effective cloud services. Our third topic is mobile payments, prompted by recent announcements about payment platform CurrentC, which seems to be struggling, Samsung's announcement today of Samsung Pay's impending launch, and the ongoing rollout of Apple Pay. And in our Weekly Pick, Aaron recommends some running shoes. As usual, links and so on on our website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 9 – Apple's MVNO, the Law of Large Numbers, Apple Music subscribers Aug 06, 2015

This week, we talk about the reports (now shot down by Apple) that Apple was doing trials for launching a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), and the reasons why this might (and mostly might not) be a plausible scenario. Our Question of the Week tackles a term that's often bandied about in relation to Apple but that few really understand, which is the "law of large numbers" – Aaron talks us through the real meaning and definition of that law, and why it isn't really applicable in the way it's often used in relation to Apple. He also talks about another similar concept called the Gambler's Fallacy, as well as the history of very large companies. Our final big topic is the subscriber numbers Apple released for Apple Music the morning we recorded this podcast – is 11 million good or disappointing? And our weekly pick is a singer/album recommendation from Jan. As ever, full show notes on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 8 – Apple Music issues, Windows 10, Apple TV Jul 30, 2015

In Episode 8 of the Beyond Devices podcast, we discuss some of the recent criticisms of Apple Music from some prominent Apple commentators, whether they have merit, and what can be done about them. Our Question of the Week is about Windows 10, Microsoft's big new operating system upgrade, including the context and history behind it, the major features, and how it's likely to impact Microsoft and its partners. Our final topic is Buzzfeed's report that the long-awaited new Apple TV might make an appearance at September's iPhone event. And we close with our Weekly Pick, which this time around is a TV show recommendation from Aaron. As usual, show notes and so on can be found at http://podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 7 – Apple's June quarter earnings review Jul 24, 2015

This week, we review Apple's earnings report for the June 2015 quarter. We kick of the discussion with a focus on the Apple Watch and what we learned about it from Apple's earnings. Next up is our Question of the Week, which is "How is the Apple Watch more like the iPod than the iPhone?", off the back of a post Aaron wrote this week. We wrap up the discussion with a review of the rest of Apple's earnings report, including the iPhone, the iPad, and China. And then there's our pick of the week – this time, a book Jan's just finished. More detail, links, and so on at podcast.beyonddevic.es, as always.

Episode 6 – Apple earnings preview, new iPods, iPhone ads Jul 17, 2015

We took a break last week as we were both traveling, but we're back this week with Episode 6. We moved our Question of the Week to the beginning of the episode this week, as it provides useful context for our discussion of Apple's earnings, which are due next week. Jan talks through Apple's earnings release process, and provides some beginner's notes on what to look for and how Apple reports, as well as providing a deeper dive into Apple's reporting trends. We also talk about some specifics of what to expect next Tuesday. Our other topics this week are the new iPods Apple announced, the iPhone ads the company recently released, and the public betas of iOS and OS X, which Aaron has been trying out. Our Pick of the Week feature also returns, this time around with something rather different.

Episode 5 – Apple Music launch, Apple's shifting PR strategy, indie developers Jul 02, 2015

This week, our first major topic of discussion is the Apple Music launch, the new service, and Beats 1, along with our first impressions. We have somewhat different reactions to Beats 1, but both enjoy the other features. Our Question of the Week is "How is Apple's PR strategy changing?" in the wake of former PR chief Katie Cotton's departure and the new openness Tim Cook is bringing to Apple – we use the Apple Music launch over the past few weeks as a case study of the new approach. Our third topic is Brent Simmons' blog post about the dire prospects for indie app developers – something we think is both inevitable but overcooked by Simmons in his piece. Lastly, we introduce a new segment called the Weekly Pick, in which we recommend something new we've discovered recently – this week, Aaron recommends a new motown album he's enjoying. Links and more in the show notes on the podcast website.

Episode 4 – Taylor Swift, Public Betas, and Liquidmetal Jun 25, 2015

This week, we kick off our conversation with a discussion of the very rapid turnaround that happened this past weekend when Apple reversed its stance on paying royalties to artists and labels in the face of a blog post from Taylor Swift. Our question of the week tackles the three different flavors of Apple's operating systems – developer previews, public betas, and final releases – and what you should know about them. And at the end we have a brief discussion about Apple's ongoing licensing of the Liquidmetal alloys and what it might do with them.

Episode 3 – WWDC Content Announcements (Music, News, and Beats 1 DJs) Jun 18, 2015

We discuss more of the announcements from Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), with a focus on the content announcements, and in particular Apple Music and the News app. In addition, our Question of the Week this week is about the DJs Apple has hired to host its new Beats 1 radio station. We discuss who they are, why Apple hired them, and what they'll do for Apple. Feel free to submit your questions for future QoTW segments via our website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 2 – WWDC 2015 announcements, part 1 Jun 11, 2015

In Episode 2, we discuss some of the announcements made at Apple's WWDC keynote earlier in the week, including the enhancements to iOS and OS X, the announcement of watchOS 2, and the introduction of search APIs and related technologies for Spotlight and Siri. We also introduce a new weekly feature: The Question of the Week, this week tackling what it means that Apple is open sourcing its Swift programming language, and why it was the announcement that got the biggest applause among the developers at WWDC.

Episode 1 – Introduction and WWDC 2015 Preview Jun 04, 2015

This is the first episode of the Beyond Devices Podcast, featuring Jan Dawson and Aaron Miller. In this episode, we look forward to Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference next week, and discuss some of what we’re expecting, and some of what we’d like to see Apple announce.

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