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 Apple’s public spat with Basecamp developers has been a very interesting window into what may be going on at the highest levels within Apple. This disagreement was about much more than Apple simply “sharing the wealth” with developers. This strikes to the very question of Apple’s identity. Are Apple services going to be simply a support role for hardware or will they become a profit center as well driving real revenue growth? Does Apple remain primarily a hardware company or not?
 When I was working at the Cabela’s Corporation as a senior financial analyst I had the keys to the room which held the company’s Crown Jewels. I had access to their customer and sales database. I enjoyed running queries to see how our customers for coolers were interspersed throughout the world. Or what week of the year did sales of sunglasses pickup? It helped me to run complex future profitability models.
 So some guy conjures up a horrendous business idea that can only succeed if he has no overhead costs. And that’s Apple’s fault? TechCrunch is reporting that Phil Schiller from Apple says "No".
 I was listening to a podcast with Myke Hurley this week in which he asked “what possible benefit arises from removing the power port from the iPhone?”. He and his fellow hosts couldn’t think of a single good thing. It’s not to make the iPhone waterproof since many phones with ports are already waterproof. And it can’t be to free up space because Apple didn’t do anything with the space that they gained from removing the headphone jack.
 Last week I briefly wrote about how absurd I find the idea that a forward-thinking company like Apple needs to dive into a stale industry such as automotive. But all week I’ve been thinking about how I didn’t go far enough. Apple, and really all the big tech companies, are actually killing the very need for the automobile in the first place.
 I’ve been saying for years now that Apple would never build an “Apple Car”. Not that I think that they couldn’t build a great car. They could. The problem is that the automotive industry doesn’t deserve much R&D. Cars are an infrequent purchase, profit is hard to come by, and the basic value proposition of the car hasn’t changed in a hundred years.
 It seems like something has changed with iPad battery life since 2019. I started to notice that the battery life in my 10.5” iPad Pro started to go down significantly early in 2019. I didn’t think much about it because my iPad was about a year old by then and you have to expect some battery loss after a year.
 Writing for AppleInsider, Daniel Eran Dilinger came out with a fascinating article detailing how Samsung dropped the ball on augmented reality (AR).
When Buttons, Knobs, and Dials Are Superior to Touch Screens  My Apple Watch has turned into the iPod Nano that I’ve always wanted. It’s the primary device which I use for all my audio needs. And one of the things that I love about listening to music on my Apple Watch is using the crown to adjust the volume.
 I’m a big fan of Logitech’s new Combo Touch iPad keyboard case. It carries on the tradition of the old Slim Combo case whose hallmark’s were a removable keyboard and a kickstand case. And the new Combo Touch case adds an excellent trackpad and a better case material.
 NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell recently praised the digital-only release of their new animated movie Trolls World Tour stating that it brought in nearly $100 million in revenue online. NBCUniversal was so pleased with the results that that they plan to start dual movie releases simultaneous to both theaters and online when theaters open back up. This triggered AMC Theaters to announce a boycott of NBCUniversal.
Trackpads for the iPad Are Real, and They’re Spectacular  As a full time iPad user, the arrival of trackpad support this year has been one of the best things to ever happen to the iPad. I started writing about my desire for trackpad functionality in the iPad way back in 2015. And as Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite would say “It made all my wildest dreams come true”. Thanks Apple.
 I was happy to see that in the spirit of our worldwide quarantine that Apple decided to pitch in and make some of their new Apple TV+ shows free for anyone to watch. Although, I was immediately disappointed to find out that one of the best shows of all wasn’t included. Which prompted me to write this quick post regarding my favorite TV+ shows thus far.
If You Own Data, You Own Everything  *** Spoiler Free ***
Devs is a smart new science fiction show on Hulu which was well worth my time. If you like old school science fiction which depends on drama and dialogue to hold your attention versus mindless action then you are in luck. Devs manages to tell an original new story while keeping you on the edge of your seat without resorting to cheap action tricks. Moving Data vs Moving People  While listening to the latest MacBreak Weekly Video Podcast (709. Masks and Meringue), Adam Engst of Tidbits.com made a great point about Apple and Google. Many companies are doing great benevolent work with donating masks or ventilators. But since that involves writing a check, pretty much anyone with money could do that. What Apple and Google are doing, only they can do.
The Two Separate But Complimentary Branches of Tech  This unprecedented global lockdown has helped me to crystallize my thoughts on how to best categorize how technology is evolving. It basically boils down to two separate but complementary tracks.
 Like just about every other company, Apple is about to find itself in quite a predicament regarding inventory planning. They are experiencing disruption on both ends of the business spectrum, supply and demand. The question is can they successfully navigate the right balance?
 I’ve never seen so much of my neighbors in the past couple of weeks. Everyone seems to be outside walking lately. I see my neighbors actually hanging out outside and talking to one another from across the street. They are staying six feet away from each other but they’re still visiting. It’s really been amazing to watch.
Society Is Changing, Coronavirus Edition  Readers of my blog have heard this over and over, but in light of the current state of affairs, I absolutely have to bring this up again. The technology that is going to change society the most is technology which moves data and connects people digitally. It is no longer centered on transporting people or moving things which is the technology that transformed the 20th century.
The Case for the Tablet Had to Be Made  Tom Warren at The Verge wrote an article this week making the case that the new iPadOS confirms that Microsoft had the right vision for tablets with its Surface from the beginning. I couldn’t disagree with him more.
 Apple has a knack for solving problems that make other companies wish that they’d thought of it first. For instance, the watch industry has had decades to solve the problem of easily switching out watch bands. And yet, everyone seemed kind of complacent about coming up with a better way to do it. When Apple introduced their design which allowed for secure, quick, and easy band swaps, every one looked at it and said “Cool!” Apple had invented a solution that truly carried the industry forward.
 Wow, I have to admit that I was taken aback by the recent news that the iPhone 11 was now in short supply in New York due to the Coronavirus. This is starting to get real for those of us in the United States. We may not pay attention to world disasters, research on personal health, or politics. But if you try and take away Netflix or our iPhones, all hell breaks loose.
 I’m a huge fan of PragerU. Their video content is smart and does a great job of getting people to understand the issues. Most of their detractors won’t even try to debate PragerU on a logical basis. They simply want to shut down all dialogue they disagree with. But I agree 100% with the court in allowing YouTube to capriciously censor PragerU videos.
And Why Tech Websites Shouldn’t Cover Automobiles  I use to work at Stennis Space Center where NASA would test fire the Space Shuttle engines. It was glorious. Working for NASA I got much closer access than any other John Q. Public. A rocket test or launch is one of those things that you literally can’t put into words to explain to someone else. They just need to experience it for themselves. And despite the view that I’m about to explain, I still think rockets are super cool.
 I listened to Ben Thompsons’s painfully wrong iPad tirade on John Gruber’s talk show with great amusement. My main takeaway was that he believes Apple is trying to morph the iPad into something it was never intended to be. It should remain the pure simple device that Steve Jobs envisioned. And since it’s a tool being used for the wrong job, no one wants to work with an iPad.
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Robert PerezManufacturing and distribution analysis since 1993. 
Perezonomics is available in Apple News
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