A Financial Slant

Why the iPhone Needs to Be Thinner

1/25/2016

I’m tired of reading tech journalists complain about how they think the iPhone doesn’t need to get any thinner. What they seem to ignore is that people are demanding larger and larger screens on all fronts. iPhone, iPad, and TV screens are all expanding and users are loving it.

The iPhone needs to get thinner to allow for a foldable phone that doubles the screen size but still fits in your pocket. Nintendo had the right general idea when they came out with their foldable Nintendo DS. They did the best they could with the technology they had at the time but things have progressed a lot since 2004.

Apple Isn't Upset That the iPhone 6 Is Still Selling Well

1/21/2016

Yesterday the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, or CIRP, reported that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus look to be selling at a better than usual clip compared to the current generation iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. BGR.com extrapolates from this data that this must be bad news for Apple’s gross margins since the older generation is sold at a discount.

I highly doubt that Apple is upset that the last generation iPhone with its fully depreciated components is still selling well. In fact, it’s probably a boost to Apple’s profitability. If Apple could get away with selling the same phone for two years, they probably would.

Does the Price of AAPL Matter to Apple Inc.?

1/16/2016

The price of AAPL has taken quite a beating lately. But does Apple’s stock price meltdown matter to the troops on the ground at Apple’s headquarters?

It does and it doesn’t.

Tim Cook and his management team ultimately report to the board of directors. And the board represents the shareholders, so it does matter. However, considering that sales are at record highs and their profitability margins are the envy of the world, the management team isn’t too worried about the stock price affecting their jobs. They are doing their part and meeting their quarterly goals. I would compare Tim Cook’s status to an NFL football coach who’s just won the Super Bowl…again. He’s not too worried about getting fired.

Freight is the New Labor - Why Apple Manufactures in China

1/13/2016

I watched Charlie Rose’s recent interview with Tim Cook about Apple with great interest. But one question during the program got me shaking my head. It was regarding why Apple chooses to assemble their iPhones in China.

When it comes to devices as complex as an iPad or iPhone, the cost of labor has shrunk to the point where it is much lower in importance than many other factors. Depreciation is an obvious cost element that outweighs labor these days but there’s another one that most people might not ever think about. Material freight.

Best Running Headphones: Powerbeats2 vs Jaybird X2

1/6/2016

A huge part of the reason I bought my Powerbeats2 wireless headphones in the first place was because I haven’t found anything else that could stand up to heavy sweating. They are so good that I suspected they might even be usable in the shower, but at $200 a pair, I was never brave enough to try it. Well, I ended up going one better than a shower test and ran mine through the washing machine...twice. I can tell you with certainty that running your Powerbeats2 through a full wash cycle will indeed kill them. That’s what ultimately ended the life of my first pair and now I’ve gone and left my headphones in my pocket again, dooming them to death by agitation.

The iPhone Increased Its Performance Lead Over Android in 2015

1/3/2016

I was reading Andrei Frumusanu’s review of Google’s new Nexus 6P at Anandtech.com and couldn't help but notice how dominant the iPhone 6s was in all the performance benchmarks. It’s not a subject that gets a lot of press, perhaps because Apple likes to focus more on what you can do with the device rather than the device itself. But it’s simply amazing what Apple is doing with a dual-core chip versus the Android contingent and their octa-core chips. Apple isn’t just staying competitive, they are crushing everyone else.