CES 2021 shaping up to be just a placeholder for 2022. If the media day is anything to go by, the CTA will be very keen to ensure that CES 2022 goes ahead just as it did in 2020 before anyone decides that they no longer need to bother with attending. The media day is characterised by a series of...
There is only one way this works. Speculation has reached fever pitch with Hyundai admitting it has been in talks with Apple with regard to electric vehicles but this will not change the economics of making vehicles meaning that there is only one way that these discussions could produce something productive. Hyundai shares initially jumped 24% on the news but...
A way out that no one seems to want. As Apple now requires user consent for apps that use tracking for advertising targeting, developers are fretting and looking for workarounds but strangely seem to be ignoring the one solution that will most certainly work. When iOS14 was announced at WWDC during the summer of 2020, Apple stated that it...
Big shoes create opportunities. The fall from grace of Jack Ma in the eyes of China’s government has created an opportunity that may be replicated elsewhere should other tech tycoons get too big for their boots. Alibaba shares have fallen almost 30% from their high of HKD309 set in October 2020 as regulatory pressure and the cancellation of the Ant...
Facebook wades in on its own account. Epic has added an important ally in its tussle with Apple but, as ever, Facebook’s participation is mostly about its own self-interest. Facebook is not joining the fight but will provide Epic with “relevant information regarding how Apple’s policies have adversely impacted Facebook and the people and businesses who use our services”. This...
A large part of the show is likely to be missing in action. The pandemic is likely to have 2 main impacts on CES. The first will be to push healthcare tech to the top of the agenda and the second will be to greatly reduce its impact and utility for the majority of participants. Unlike Mobile World Congress, which...
18 months on and making a vehicle still makes no sense. Making a vehicle in 2024 makes as little sense as it did in 2016 because Apple’s brand and its valuation are dependent on its profitability more than ever. This is because even if it is successful, Apple will never make 40% gross margins on vehicles even if it is...
Radio Free Mobile will return on the 4th of January 2021. RFM would like to wish all of its readers a happy Xmas and a better 2021 than 2020!
Zoox promotes everything but its future. Zoox has unveiled a product and a service which has very little if anything to do with its long-term future. Zoox’s approach before its acquisition by Amazon (see here and here) was an Apple-like fully integrated approach to robotaxis. This meant designing both the vehicle and the service from the ground up which is...
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.
CES 2020 Day 1 – The exhibitions
Vacuum allows Samsung chips to grab the limelight. The exhibit count is way down, and I suspect that the smaller, more interesting end of the spectrum has stayed at home. The exhibits The smaller companies are going to struggle for visibility this year and I think that the vast majority of them have not turned up as the exhibitor count...