Very little to excite consumers. The autumn hardware launch season kicks off today with Apple followed by Google and Meta the main theme of which is going to be how to keep consumers buying when they are worse off. Apple is expected to launch a new iPhone range and a watch on 7th September with Google launching a new Pixel...
Digital advertising is not worth the risk. Apple is building up its advertising business which I think is very likely to attract a raft of lawsuits from the other digital ecosystems alleging unfair competition and demanding tens of billions in damages. Research carried out by the FT (see here) concludes that Apple is planning on doubling the headcount in its...
Evolution means China will never catch up. The USA’s clampdown on AI silicon sales to China has reignited the debate as to whether China can become independent on semiconductors, but I think that all the evidence points to China making very little headway towards this goal. This is not a new issue as it was 2015 when China put together...
USA increases pressure on China. Restrictions are being placed on the export of advanced AI chips for the data centre to China and Russia which will slow China’s strategy to become a technological superpower demonstrating that while the world remains dependent on Silicon, China is at a big disadvantage. The US Government has increased its regulation of advanced AI silicon...
RISC-V is the only beneficiary of civil war. Arm has launched a strange-looking lawsuit against Qualcomm that looks like an attempt to earn higher royalties from one of its biggest customers or a move by Apple to delay and hinder the development of a competing product for its M series of processors. Arm has filed a complaint against Qualcomm that...
Snap has further to fall. Snap is laying off 20% of its workforce in order to stem the negative cash flow in a sure sign that Snap thinks that this downturn is not going to be short-lived. At the same time, HP reported Q2 2022 revenues that declined YoY as a result of weak demand that it also expected to...
US delistings now very unlikely. The impasse over audit inspections by US regulators of US-listed Chinese companies seems to have been resolved in a clear sign that China has more to lose from delisting Chinese companies than the USA does. The row over audit inspections has been going on for more than ten years with the USA requiring that companies...
Crypto gives Nvidia a big headache. Nvidia reported difficult results and soft guidance as the hangover from the crypto party continues to be a big headache. FQ2 2023 revenues / EPS were $6.7bn / $0.51 in line with revised guidance but well below its forecasts made three months ago (see here). As expected, the main culprit was Gaming where revenues...
RFM has decided to exchange sunshine and warmth for the pouring rain, low clouds and greenery of Scotland. Normal service will resume on August 29th.
Richard is founder, owner of research company, Radio Free Mobile. He has 16 years of experience working in sell side equity research. During his 11 year tenure at Nomura Securities, he focused on the equity coverage of the Global Technology sector.
Apple – Form over substance
Apple launches more of same. When the most exciting product launch is aimed at a tiny minority of the user base it becomes clear that Apple is struggling to find ways to get the mass market to buy a new device this year. The net result is that the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch 8 are unlikely to be able...