Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

The Design Story Behind AirPods 4, Google Stresses Antitrust Long Game

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:

  • The Design Story Behind AirPods 4

  • Google Stresses Antitrust Long Game

Happy Wednesday.

Tomorrow’s update will be dedicated to discussing Meta's Connect 2024 event. What took place at Menlo Park marked a new kind of low for the consumer tech industry. We will discuss it all tomorrow.

For today’s update, we are going to focus on AirPods. The discussion will then turn to a quick update on the Google antitrust front.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

The Sonos App Fiasco, Sonos Earnings, YouTube Premium Is Having A Moment

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:

  • The Sonos App Fiasco

  • Sonos Earnings

  • YouTube Premium Is Having A Moment

Hello everyone. We will begin today's update by focusing on the Sonos app fiasco. Our attention will then shift to Sonos earnings. The update concludes with an observation regarding YouTube Premium, YouTube's ad-free subscription offering.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Unpacking and Decoding the NYT’s Jony Ive / LoveFrom Profile

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:

  • Unpacking and Decoding the NYT’s Jony Ive / LoveFrom Profile

Hello everyone.

This past Saturday, The New York Times published a profile on what Jony Ive has been up to since leaving Apple in 2019 and starting his LoveFrom design consultancy.

While a fair amount of the information found in the piece had been previously known, such as Airbnb and Ferrari being LoveFrom clients, there were new disclosures regarding some of Jony’s business dealings involving San Francisco real estate. The piece seemed to be timed with an upcoming fundraising effort for a new company Jony is involved in with OpenAI.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Apple’s Philosophy on Photography, Why Memory Protection Is a Big Deal, Snap Unveils Spectacles 5.0

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:

  • Apple’s Philosophy on Photography

  • Why Memory Protection Is a Big Deal

  • Snap Unveils Spectacles 5.0

Hello everyone. We begin today's update with Apple drawing a line in the sand regarding photography and generative AI. It’s fascinating how much of a Big Tech outlier Apple is on this photography versus generative AI debate. We then turn to my thoughts on Snap unveiling its fifth edition of Spectacles smart glasses.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Addressing iPhone Pessimism

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:

  • Addressing iPhone Pessimism

In today’s update, we will take a closer look at some of the iPhone pessimism that materialized following Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event. Let’s jump right in.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


Above Avalon Membership

Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

More on Apple’s New Devices, What’s Next for iPhone?, What’s Next for Apple Watch?

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:

  • More on Apple’s New Devices

  • What’s Next for iPhone?

  • What’s Next for Apple Watch?

Hello everyone. Yesterday, we finished our review of Apple’s event. There are a few additional topics worth visiting that aren't so much about Apple's event but rather what comes next. Where does Apple take the iPhone and Apple Watch from here? Let’s discuss.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Deconstructing Apple’s Product Event (iPhone)

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:

  • Deconstructing Apple’s Product Event (iPhone)

Happy Monday. Today's update will conclude my Apple event review. We will go over the iPhone segment of the presentation.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


Above Avalon Membership

Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Member Privileges and Benefits

Become an Above Avalon member and receive the following privileges and benefits:

  • Exclusive Analysis. Receive my daily newsletter and reports containing analysis and perspective, 100% related to Apple. 

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Deconstructing Apple’s Product Event (AirPods)

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:

  • Deconstructing Apple’s Product Event (AirPods)

Hello everyone. We will continue our Apple event review, focusing on the AirPods segment of the presentation. Monday will be focused on everything iPhone.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


Above Avalon Membership

Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

Contact me directly if you would like to purchase multiple subscriptions (five or more) for your team or company.

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Deconstructing Apple’s Product Event (Apple Watch)

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:

  • Deconstructing Apple’s Product Event (Apple Watch)

Hello everyone. We will continue our Apple event review.

Yesterday’s update was focused on the big picture. 

My preference is to go deep into one section (Apple Watch, AirPods, iPhone) before moving on to the next section. For today, we will focus on the Apple Watch part of the presentation. Tomorrow, we will talk about AirPods. That discussion will end up including something of a State of AirPods section that extends behind just what was announced this week. There has been a lot going on with AirPods sales. Monday will be focused on everything iPhone.

Let’s jump in. 

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Apple Just Held Its Strongest September Event in Years

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following story:

  • Apple Just Held Its Strongest September Event in Years

Hello everyone. Today’s update will go over my initial impressions from Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event. The discussion will have more in the way of big picture takeaways. We will get to the specifics, including my thoughts on the features, on Wednesday and possibly Thursday.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Disney Earnings, Roku Earnings

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:

  • Disney Earnings

  • Roku Earnings

Given Apple’s event on Monday (1 pm ET / 10 am PT), the next update will go out on Tuesday.

As you watch the event, if you have questions or observations that you would like addressed in the daily updates, send them my way. This includes any specific questions regarding the products themselves as there will be some demo time on Monday.

Today’s update will have a video streaming theme as we circle back to cover a few remaining CY2Q24 earnings releases from last month. For both Disney and Roku, the discussion will extend a bit beyond just what was found in their respective earnings.

Let’s jump in.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

ESPN Launches “Where to Watch” Feature, A Sports App Arms Race, U.S. Judge Blocks Venu Sports Launch

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:

  • ESPN Launches “Where to Watch” Feature

  • A Sports App Arms Race

  • U.S. Judge Blocks Venu Sports Launch

We begin with my thoughts on ESPN’s new “Where to Watch” app feature. The discussion then goes over how ESPN designers must have a liking to Apple’s Sports app. We conclude with a U.S. judge blocking Venu Sports, a JV involving Disney, Fox, and Warner from launching.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Amazon Alexa to Be Powered by Claude, Charging for AI, Apple Rumored to Invest in OpenAI

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:

  • Amazon Alexa to Be Powered by Claude

  • Charging for AI

  • Apple Rumored to Invest in OpenAI

Today’s update will have an AI theme as we begin with Amazon, move over to AI monetization, and then conclude with Apple / OpenAI. Let’s jump in.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Member Privileges and Benefits

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

My Thoughts on Google’s “Made by Google” Event, Google’s Apple Watch Copying, Project Astra and the Future

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:

  • My Thoughts on Google’s “Made by Google” Event

  • Google’s Apple Watch Copying

  • Project Astra and the Future

For today’s update, we will focus on Google’s product event that took place two weeks ago at its Mountain View campus.

For those of you who are newer Above Avalon members, my approach in reviewing these events is to look at the big picture surrounding the products and features, in addition to what the company wants the public to focus on. What is the broader narrative being pushed? How does that differ from other companies? Let’s jump in.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Member Privileges and Benefits

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Neil Cybart Neil Cybart

Grading Luca Maestri’s Performance as Apple CFO, Where Can Kevan Parekh Add His Touch?, More on Maestri Staying at Apple

Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:

  • Grading Luca Maestri’s Performance as Apple CFO

  • Where Can Kevan Parekh Add His Touch?

  • More on Maestri Staying at Apple

We will continue our discussion involving the Apple CFO transition. Let's jump right in.

Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the update here.


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Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time. Contact me with any questions. 

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Member Privileges and Benefits

Become an Above Avalon member and receive the following privileges and benefits:

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