Apple Silicon, Race Cars, and Industry Implications

To the casual observer, the excitement around Apple Silicon is concentrated around the specific benefits to Apple and the competitive advantage awarded to Apple thanks to their efforts in custom silicon. There are, however, much wider industry implications. I have been extremely bullish on Apple’s custom silicon efforts since before Apple silicon began showing up … Continue reading Apple Silicon, Race Cars, and Industry Implications

Podcast: Apple iPhone 12, US 5G Networks, HomePod Mini

This week’s Techpinions podcast features Carolina Milanesi and Bob O’Donnell discussing the news from Apple’s big launch event with a detailed analysis of the latest iPhone’s new features, its 5G support, and its impact and opportunities for US 5G carriers including Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T.

Apple’s Patient Strategy for the Home

Apple’s strategy for the smart home has been one of the areas I’ve been most critical. Mostly out of frustration when I see Amazon and Google flooding the market with options for smart home control centers. At Apple’s fall launch event yesterday, their smart home strategy becomes more clear and quite differentiated. For as far … Continue reading Apple’s Patient Strategy for the Home

Google Workspace Elevates Collaboration by Focusing on the Task at Hand

In July, Google gave us a taste for a more integrated collaboration experience when it brought Meet and Chat into Gmail. This week the metamorphosis continued as G Suite becomes Google Workspace. Back in July, I looked at the news from a communication vs. collaboration perspective, making the point that communication is really at the … Continue reading Google Workspace Elevates Collaboration by Focusing on the Task at Hand

Google’s Refined Strategy with Google TV

For a recent project around streaming TV platforms I worked on, I had to analyze a number of different platforms and interfaces. While I had seen Android TV demos at Google and had minimal hands-on time with it, after purchasing a TCL Android TV and spending more time with the Android TV platform, I was … Continue reading Google’s Refined Strategy with Google TV

We need new Antitrust Laws to Challenge Big Tech

As you know, there is a lot of noise coming out of Washington about suing Big Tech for all sorts of Antitrust violations. I have written about this many times in the past and have consistently stated that the current antitrust laws would be hard to use against these tech companies. The core premise of … Continue reading We need new Antitrust Laws to Challenge Big Tech

Qualcomm Vindicated and Enlightened Antitrust

Yesterday, news broke that the US Court of Appeals overturned the 2019 ruling in favor of the FTC over Qualcomm on antitrust behavior. There is so much to unpack in this ruling, many that have specific implications on future antitrust rulings, but also critical elements in IP protection law. I’ve written many articles on the … Continue reading Qualcomm Vindicated and Enlightened Antitrust

Apple’s App Store Report, TikTok Spinoff

Apple’s App Store Report In advance of next week’s congressional hearing on Antitrust, a report was released by Analysis Group in collaboration with Apple showcasing how Apple’s app store commission rates are the industry norm. There is a lot to unpack around this, and it is worth emphasizing this is not a black and white … Continue reading Apple’s App Store Report, TikTok Spinoff

The Significance of Nvidia Passing Intel in Valuation

This week, news broke that Nvidia had passed Intel as the most valuable (by stock valuation) semiconductor company in the world. When I saw this, it was not a surprise but more of an inevitability I’ve felt for some time mostly because I read more notes from investment banks than I’d like to admit and … Continue reading The Significance of Nvidia Passing Intel in Valuation

Quibi’s Struggles, Remote Work Dogfooding

Quibi’s Struggles An interview with Quibi co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg was published in the NY Times yesterday. Even if you didn’t read it, you probably saw a quote from him, which went viral, stating he blames their launch struggles on COVID-19. It did seem an odd quote, and as many people rightly pointed out, on paper, … Continue reading Quibi’s Struggles, Remote Work Dogfooding

The iPhone SE and Apple’s Art of War

I’m going to come right out and say it. In the last few years, Apple has been enticing its competition onto battlefields where they can’t compete, and their competition keeps taking the bait. What has to be appreciated about this strategy at a high-level is only Samsung has the development and manufacturing capital to zig … Continue reading The iPhone SE and Apple’s Art of War

Google and Custom Silicon, China Tech Market Rebounding

Google and Custom Silicon Interesting news from Axios that has uncovered a collaboration between Google and Samsung to create customized silicon for Made by Google hardware, including Pixel smartphones and Pixel Chromebooks. This always seemed inevitable to me, given how much success custom silicon brings Apple. However, I put this move in a much more … Continue reading Google and Custom Silicon, China Tech Market Rebounding

Magic Leap Explores Sale, A Global Recession Looms

Magic Leap Explores Sale Yesterday Bloomberg posted a story that Magic Leap is exploring options which include a sale. This is not surprising to many since the company raised way too much money to be sustainable and the market adoption for this technology is simply too far off. I have always had my concerns for … Continue reading Magic Leap Explores Sale, A Global Recession Looms

What’s Your MWC Plan B?

If things had hewn to plan, I’d be writing this column from balmy Barcelona, rather than staring out my window at 42 and drizzle in Boston. In the immediate aftermath of MWC’s cancellation, Carolina wrote an excellent piece reflecting on how companies made the decision to withdraw and what impact this might have on future … Continue reading What’s Your MWC Plan B?

Remote Work’s Tipping Point, Apple Arm Mac Rumors, Unified Operating Systems

Now that we are several months into assessing the full impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and the tech industry as a whole, one narrative has continued to stand out. Remote working may have its inflection point. One of my takeaways from Zoomtopia, Zoom’s annual customer conference, was discussions with executives of companies who … Continue reading Remote Work’s Tipping Point, Apple Arm Mac Rumors, Unified Operating Systems

Corona Virus Impact Update, Smartphones and Premium vs. The Masses

A few weeks ago, I shared the concerns I was hearing from supply chain vendors over Coronavirus. Then it was only a warning, but now we see the first impact on tech manufacturing. Apple has come out and said it wouldn’t make March’s guidance due to issues in their factories being able to manufacture iPhones. … Continue reading Corona Virus Impact Update, Smartphones and Premium vs. The Masses

A Wild Week for Wireless: Spectrum-Palooza

Developments over the past week in the wireless industry were the most consequential there have been, or will be, for some time. Last Friday, the FCC announced a deal with incumbent satellite providers, paving the way for the auction of a massive amount of mid-band spectrum later this year. Three days later, U.S. District Judge … Continue reading A Wild Week for Wireless: Spectrum-Palooza

Cloud Workload Variations Highlight Diversity of Cloud Computing

One of the biggest misconceptions about cloud computing is that companies pick a single cloud computing platform and then stick with it for all their cloud computing efforts. As new research from TECHnalysis Research points out, today’s businesses are using a multiplicity of cloud providers and cloud types, and are putting different workloads in different … Continue reading Cloud Workload Variations Highlight Diversity of Cloud Computing

The Last Decade Was All About the Smartphone Economy

I have been doing a series for Forbes called Looking Back and Looking Forward, where I look at a few companies I follow and share thoughts about their failures and success in the last decade. I also speak to their CEOs or a top exec from each company to hear their thoughts about their vision … Continue reading The Last Decade Was All About the Smartphone Economy

Five Words That Defined Tech in 2019

We are almost at the end of 2019, and as I prepare for CES, I look back to this year to see what characterized tech over the past twelve months. A lot happened this year so much so that remembering every product and every piece of news is almost impossible. When I look back at … Continue reading Five Words That Defined Tech in 2019

Cisco Builds Custom Silicon to Power Future Internet

The future of just about everything tech-related right now, or so it seems, revolves around designing custom semiconductor chips. From smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung, to cloud computing providers like Amazon and Google, stretching even to automakers like Tesla, there’s been an enormous amount of effort among tech vendors recently to create their own … Continue reading Cisco Builds Custom Silicon to Power Future Internet

Qualcomm 2.0

Few companies thrived as much during the wireless and mobile communications era than Qualcomm. As cell phones were going from clunky briefcase-sized devices to sleek-pocketable devices everyone owned, Qualcomm was at the center of it all. Their S-curve growth during the mobile communications era was much like Google’s during the Internet growth era. However, two … Continue reading Qualcomm 2.0

Esports and Education: Looking Beyond the Money

If you have a Gen Zer in the house, chances are they are a gamer of sorts. Whether they play Minecraft, Fortnite, or spend hours on Twitch watching others play, they all are deeply invested. Common drivers are the fun of gaming, as well as the social impact that these games create in building teams … Continue reading Esports and Education: Looking Beyond the Money