Inklings #005 📧
Got 3 hours to kill this weekend? Might I suggest the latest episode of John Gruber's The Talk Show podcast where we discuss all things Apple CEO succession. Tim Cook. John Ternus. And a lot of rabbit holes. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or you podcast player of choice...
Thoughts On...
📈 Big Tech Earnings Extravaganza – The biggest takeaway over the two-day span (with four reporting on the same day) seems to be that while everyone beat their numbers, how the market reacted varied wildly. Because what really mattered clearly was the AI spend – well, except for Apple – and the perception of how the massive CapEx is being leveraged (or not). Google soared to new record highs (and is closing in on NVIDIA as the most valuable company in the world). Microsoft sank (but has since come back a bit). Amazon jumped (and is on the verge of overtaking Microsoft as the 4th most valuable company). Meta tanked (and is about to fall behind Tesla again – they're now a half-trillion behind Broadcom and TSMC). Clearly, the market is most skeptical of Meta and Microsoft at the moment and most bullish on Google and Amazon when it comes to AI. And I think they like Apple as a hedge against the madness. Or simply because people need to use AI on something and Apple sells a lot of those somethings. How long until Meta offers up a cloud offering just to shut Wall Street up? [Techmeme]
🐭 New Disney Boss Tested – One of those tangents Gruber and I go on is about Disney. And specifically, why it might make sense for Apple to acquire them. How would that be for a Ternus "Prestige" wild card? Unlikely to happen soon, but at a sub-$200B market cap, it sort of looks like a steal? It would cost well over $1T now to acquire Anthropic! And with HBO/Warner Bros seemingly now off the table... Anyway, the other new CEO in town, Josh D'Amaro has had a hell of a first few months between the Sora shitshow, some Fortnite fumbles. the Bachelorette nightmare, Disney layoffs, and now Jimmy Kimmel – yes, again. Speaking of, does TV really even make sense for Disney anymore? They're apparently keeping ESPN for now – and certainly Apple might like that asset! – but what about ABC and/or the affiliates? Many early tests and calls for D'Amaro (don't say Chapek)... [NYT]
📸 The Siri Camera Mode – Is Apple really going to risk tainting their all-important camera with Siri's bad brand? It sure sounds like it! But really, the feature(s) make sense. 'Visual Intelligence' is sort of awesome and clearly the future (as Google Lens was before it) but it's way too buried. Putting it front-and-center will spur usage and, importantly, get it ready for it inevitably being a part of Apple's forthcoming smartglasses (and AirPods/Pendant?). All while giving Apple some interesting data to use for their own AI build out! While I joke/not joke about Siri, I do like the idea of changing the camera shutter button to the logo to make it clear what you're doing. [Bloomberg 🔒]
🗣️ The AI Button – Speaking of, I've been meaning to note this new wearable made by an ex-Apple team. No, it's not Humane, it's almost the opposite. It's called, wait for it... Button. It's a pin you push to start talking to AI. It's not always on, not always listening. This sounds a lot like what I thought the first version of such products should always be. Instead, we got laser projectors. Still, I'm not sure this should be a button you affix to your clothes versus a pendant with a lanyard. Yes, seemingly what Apple itself is thinking about. But really, I'm thinking about the first iPod Shuffle – the white stick with the built-in lanyard, not the latter square variety that this product more closely resembles. That first version was so great because it was so simple. You put it around your neck and you were off with hundreds of songs available on demand. The biggest pain point was the wires for the EarPods. That's no longer an issue! I mean, Apple should probably bring back the iPod for that reason alone? But at least make any AI button similar to that magical feeling. The real key will still be hard to pull of: response time. [Wired]
🦁 Netflix Shifts Narnia to Theaters – Well would you look at that. Greta Gerwig's The Magician’s Nephew (technically the sixth of C.S. Lewis' Narnia series, but the first chronologically) was all set for a Thanksgiving 2026 IMAX release (followed by Netflix a few weeks later) but now it's shifting to Spring 2027, not because of reshoots but because Netflix is going to push it wide to all movie theaters. It will get a seven-week run starting in February before it hits Netflix in April – that's... 49 days. Sure, it's just one movie, for now. Regardless it sure looks as if Netflix is backtracking on their previous theatrical stance... Who would have thought? Yes, a lot has changed in the past few months, but also, nothing has changed. This was always inevitable. [THR]
I Quote...
"I’ve found Claude to have a sort of pen-and-paper quality to it. It functions like one of the best assistants I had back in the Vanity Fair days — except that it doesn’t need water and doesn’t dream of becoming an editor one day."
– Graydon Carter, announcing that Dario Amodei – yes, the Anthropic CEO – will be the co-host of his annual Cannes Film Festival party this year. Yes, really.
I Wrote...
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
Asides...
- How OpenAI hunted down their goblins and gremlins (the culprit was the "nerdy" personality). [OpenAI]
- Business and user metrics aside, is Anthropic also about to pass in OpenAI in valuation? There are multiple publications saying $900B... [TechCrunch]
- What does reading Stephen King and reading Shakespeare have in common? Perhaps more than you might think... [Bloomberg 🔒]
- Much like Matthew McConaughey, Taylor Swift is trying to trademark herself – several aspects. To get ahead of AI, of course. [Variety]
- The prequel to The Crown has apparently been greenlit by Netflix – perhaps for a mere £500M. It should span from the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 until the wedding of then Princess Elizabeth in 1947. [Telegraph]
I Spy...
Uh, hell yeah 1980s-inspired racing Porsche. To celebrate both 75 years of Porsche Motorsport and 50 years of Apple. Fun fact, the Porsche 935 K3 race car was sponsored by Apple all the way back in 1980.
It's true, look!
🎶 Listening to "Bobby" by Wolf Alice
🍺 Enjoying a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
🇬🇧 Sent from London, England