AAPL - Apple Inc.

[adesigar]

Nope that's not it. You can compare side by side the screen and tell the difference instantly its that big. The camera I took identical pictures (this feature is very important since I take pics of the kids and I hate it when they turn our blurry and you miss a magic moment). The optical stabilizer in the 6 plus helps somewhat but its still not as good as the galaxy s6 camera. The performance of Apple apps is great its the tons of 3rd party ones where the 1GB ram vs 3GB and the multithreading shows up. As for wireless charging and google now that's just not there. Finally the apple keyboard is crap but they don't allow to support 3rd party keyboards. Its even more crap on the iPad where they use half the screen and don't put numbers/basic punctuation on the main keyboard.

 

On the flip side aluminum body is great, developers still prioritize apple over android (fewer devices), the permissions on install in android is terrible, custom UI from phone developers vs stock android gives apple an even bigger advantage than it should have in ease of use. Apple used to have the best screen, the best camera, best performance and best features in the OS. Not anymore.

 

Sounds like you have your mind made up. However, one correction. Apple does allow 3rd party keyboards. Swype and all that jazz.

 

Actually I haven't made up my mind  but thanks for pointing out they keyboard change I plan to get a better keyboard for my ipad today and it might push my decision towards apple.

[Viking]

Adesigar, good luck with your decision. When I decided to purchase my first smartphone a little over two years ago my decision process was quite different. I was primarily after the best platform (Android, Apple or Windows) across all devices (smartphone, tablet, PC, TV). Most importantly, what platform was going to likely provide the most innovation in future years? I am married with three kids (13, 11 and 9 at the time) and I also wanted all family members to be on the same platform (anticipating smartphones to get passed down to younger siblings etc). Changing platforms every couple of years was not appealing to me as I am time starved and am not a techie. I also did not want to use more than one platform. Cost was a factor but not the most important one.

 

At the time I was a happy Microsoft user previously (PC and laptop) and had a flip phone.

 

I decided on Apple. We now have multiple iPhones, iPods, iPads and a Mac and a TV puck. I will be buying the new iPhone in the fall; my 5S will be going to my 15 year old and her old 5 (my first iPhone) will be going to our 13 year old. The biggest benefit of all family members being on the same platform is education: we all teach each other how to get the most out of our devices. And as the phones cascade the younger family members are quick to catch on. The second big benefit is all devices work very well with each other (I don't have to figure anything out).

 

Regarding future innovation, Apple has clearly been going gangbusters the past couple of years. I do not own Apple watch and have no plans right now to buy one; however, if I do buy one down the road it will work with all devices. It sounds like apple will be upgrading the TV puck in sept; I can't wait and love that whatever they do will work will all our other Apple devices without me having to do anything. Bottom line, I am very happy to be on the Apple platform and feel they will be coming out with more great stuff the next few years.

 

Learning Apple logic has taken a considerable amount of time. To help me, I have taken tutorials at Apple Store (free). I also have had Numerous tutorials over the phone (perhaps one per month on average) where I phone in to the help desk and an expert answers my question. This support has been excellent (I also buy Apple Care + with all phone and Mac purchases). 

 

Apple Store: when I buy a new device (phone and Mac) I buy at the Apple Store and have them immediately get my settings to what I want. If I have an issue I go to the Apple Store and they look after me. I recently dropped my phone into the ocean (long story); phone was dead. I took it into the Apple Store and 20 minutes later I walked out with a brand new 5S; my cost was $88 (thank you Apple care +). My daughter recently had the case on her phone crack (another long story); even though it was 6 weeks off its 2 year Apple care + warranty, I took it into the Apple Store and after some discussion they agreed to replace it for $88 (this is that it would have cost had it still been under warranty) versus their regular price of $166 (including tax). Bottom line, Apple's service has been outstanding to me. I value this greatly because I am busy and I am not a techie (and do not enjoy tinkering).

 

The icing on the cake is owning Apple products and experiencing the Apple Store and online service directly has given me first hand knowledge of the company (investment research). This understanding has helped me with my Apple stock purchases over the past couple of years which have done very well. as I said at the top of the note, good luck with your decision. :-)

[portfolio14]

 

Dilemma: I don't buy Apple products because I've spent (and will continue to spend) all the money on Apple stocks.

[cubsfan]

Viking - you defined exactly why I moved to Apple after being a many year Microsoft user. From no Apple products to 3 Macs, 4 iPhones, 1 pad and

TimeCapsule in 3 years. I did it so I could easily tie tech products together that I end up supporting anyway. It cost me more money, but I can't see

myself going back - this has saved me many hours and integration/upgrade headaches. That's a big value prop for Apple in addition to

Liberty's stellar investing journal post from August 9th.

[Liberty]

Thanks for sharing, Viking and cubsfan. Very good real-world example of the ecosystem stickiness effect.

[Investmentacct]

Please check Project Fi from Google. Offers decent network coverages ( 2 of them - sprint and t-mobile) on same phone. Also, charges only for data being used. However, Project Fi only works with Nexus 6 currently.  Billing is flat 20$ for unlimited talk and text. Currently, it's on invitation basis and about 4 to 8 weeks of wait time.

 

https://fi.google.com/about/plan/

 

Im on Verizon and due for an upgrade. I have to do it in the next couple of days (before the 13th) and ive been looking at the iPhone 6/Plus vs the Samsung Galaxy S6. I really want to get the iPhone 6 but...

 

Samsung is cheaper, much better screen, much better camera, better performance single threaded, way better multithreaded, wireless charging, Google now..

iPhone has better build, apple app store gets some apps before android, better security, easier to use .

There is no clear winner anymore

 

Till a couple of years ago Apple was much better than the competition now its just one of the good phones.

[EliG]

Aswath Damodaran:

 

Narrative Resets: Revisiting a Tech Trio (Apple, Facebook and Twitter)

 

At the time of this post, the mood around Apple has darkened and the stock has dropped to less than $110. The purported reason for the stock price drop is the slow down in Apple sales in China, but that sounds to me like an attempt to fit a “good” reason to an old-fashioned sell off. Even allowing for a Chinese economic slowdown, Apple is starting to look like a bargain to me again but given the ebbs and flows in momentum in this stock, I would not be surprised if this round of selling leads the stock even lower, before good sense prevails. I think I will wait a few weeks before putting my buy order in but it looks like I will once more be an Apple stockholder.

[sc2248]

Apple experience anecdote:

Last month on a Friday, I woke up to find screen on iPhone 6 plus behaving strangely (color shifting, pulsating, lack of touch sensitivity, etc.). Luckily, I quickly backed up the phone on iTunes because about 2 hrs. later the screen was completely black and non-responsive. So, I went to my local iPhone Store, without an appointment (next appt. was Tue) and showed them my issue. Within 15 min. a tech took my phone to the back. In 5 minutes, he came back with the news that the calibration machine they use was out of service...in a nano-second, my thought was "dang, I'll have to come back another time and won't have a phone all weekend...". Wrong! His response: new phone, no cost, no questions asked. Apple is 100% about the customer. That's why they win.

[Viking]

China devaluing the yuan seems to have surprised the markets. What is the impact on Apple? Here are some thoughts from an article on Motley Fool: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/08/12/apple-inc-why-chinas-yuan-devaluation-doesnt-matte.aspx?source=eogyholnk0000001

 

Quote: "Think long-term. In the next quarter or two, the recent yuan devaluation could potentially hurt Apple -- but only a bit, because the magnitude of the devaluation was so small. Longer-term, a cheaper yuan is at least neutral and perhaps better for Apple from a profitability standpoint. That's because it will eventually capture the vast majority of the cost savings that would come from manufacturing in China. (Additionally, a cheaper yuan should encourage stronger economic growth in China, which could boost demand for Apple products in the long run.)"

 

There is lots going on in China right now: slowing economy, stock market bubble/crash and now currency devaluation.

 

[Viking]

Does anyone currently use an ad blocker on their smartphones, tablets or pc's? I do not.

 

Privacy has been used by Apple as a way to differentiate the iOS operating system from Android. I am now reading that Apple will be making ad blocking a part of its annual September software update for Safari. If ad blocking catches on with customers it could further separate iOS from Android around the privacy umbrella. http://daringfireball.net/2015/07/safari_content_blocker_imore

 

It makes sense to me that Google will not want to promote ad blocking on android devices.

 

I think ad blocking has the potential to become a very valued feature for many consumers (especially as the number and types of ads continues to proliferate.

 

http://www.marco.org/2015/08/11/ad-blocking-ethics    Longish quote from the article:

"Web ads are dramatically different from prior ad media, though — rather than just being printed on paper or inserted into a broadcast, web ads are software. They run arbitrary code on your computer, which can (and usually does) collect and send data about you and your behavior back to the advertisers and publishers. And there’s so much consolidation amongst ad networks and analytics providers that they can easily track your behavior across multiple sites, building a creepily accurate and deep profile of your personal information and private business.

 

"All of that tracking and data collection is done without your knowledge, and — critically — without your consent. Because of how the web and web browsers work, the involuntary data collection starts if you simply follow a link. There’s no opportunity for disclosure, negotiation, or reconsideration. By following any link, you unwittingly opt into whatever the target site, and any number of embedded scripts from other sites and tracking networks, wants to collect, track, analyze, and sell about you.

 

"That’s why the implied-contract theory is invalid: people aren’t agreeing to write a blank check and give up reasonable expectations of privacy by clicking a link. They can’t even know what the cost of visiting a page will be until they’ve already visited it and paid the price.

 

"And it’s all getting so much worse, so quickly."

 

[boilermaker75]

Does anyone currently use an ad blocker on their smartphones, tablets or pc's? I do not.

 

Privacy has been used by Apple as a way to differentiate the iOS operating system from Android. I am now reading that Apple will be making ad blocking a part of its annual September software update for Safari. If ad blocking catches on with customers it could further separate iOS from Android around the privacy umbrella. http://daringfireball.net/2015/07/safari_content_blocker_imore

 

It makes sense to me that Google will not want to promote ad blocking on android devices.

 

I think ad blocking has the potential to become a very valued feature for many consumers (especially as the number and types of ads continues to proliferate.

 

 

 

Google would have much bigger problems than Android with ad blocking iPhones.

[fareastwarriors]

With iPad Sales Falling, Apple Pushes Into Businesses

 

Tech giant is working with more than 40 companies to make the iPad a more appealing work tool

 

 

 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/with-ipad-sales-cooling-apple-leans-on-partners-1439422814

[vinod1]

Liberty and Viking make a very compelling case as to why Apple could have a moat due to the ecosystem created by iTunes, iCloud, Apps, etc.

 

However, anecdotally from my immediate personal circle, I have never seen anyone who bought into Apple's whole ecosystem. Just top of the mind, I can think of 10 or 12 families who have apple products but do not seem to be too tied to apple. They buy Apple's products because they are well built and software is robust. But they also end up buying Android phones as well, nearly half of them just because they are bored with iPhone and wanted to try something new. They are not going back to apple for the next upgrade as far as I can tell.

 

I and my wife are using iPhone/iPad for the last 5 years but also have not bought into the apple ecosystem yet.

 

Most of my personal circle happens to be techies or doctors, so not a good representation of the general population.

 

What are others experience? Are you or others you know bought into the apple ecosystem? Would you consider switching to non-apple products?

 

Thanks

 

Vinod

 

 

[vinod1]

Liberty,

 

Your post from your investing journal is probably the best description of apple's moat that I have come across. I really hope you would share more of your journal thoughts. Very valuable.

 

Vinod

[Jurgis]

What are others experience? Are you or others you know bought into the apple ecosystem? Would you consider switching to non-apple products?

 

I have zero Apple products and don't plan to buy one ever.

My friends are a mix. Some are Apple-almost-everything (none of them have a watch yet though). Some are mix (most common mix is iPhones + Windows PCs). Some are non-Apple at all. This is mostly tech, mostly over 30 crowd. Don't have many non-tech friends. I think most non-tech friends are in mix or non-Apple-at-all camp. This can be counted as positive or negative. ;)

[supertutti]

Amongst my friends/family, I would say 90%+ are Apple. Many own Macbooks, Apple TVs, iPads, etc. as well. Even a couple watches sprinkled in. I personally own a macbook, ipad, and iphone. Only my 2nd ever iPhone though, bought a used iPhone 5 off a friend when 5s came out, then upgraded to the 6.

 

For me, even my parents are getting in to iPhones now. They both recently just got the 5s, which was a big upgrade for my mom and her flip phone.

[constructive]

What are others experience? Are you or others you know bought into the apple ecosystem? Would you consider switching to non-apple products?

 

I am on my second iPhone after 2 Android phones. I don't see myself going back to Android. I find it very satisfying to use an iPhone compared to other tech products. It is more attractive, easier, smoother, more predictable. My family and friends are similar - 3 years ago it was probably 75% Android, now it is more like 75% iPhone.

 

I think the success of Apple Maps is an underrated turning point in Apple's history. Android grew market share extremely rapidly when they had a big advantage in navigation. After Apple addressed that, the iPhone started taking back market share in many developed markets.

[vinod1]

 

I have zero Apple products and don't plan to buy one ever.

 

 

Spoken like a true contrarian!

 

Vinod

[vinod1]

Amongst my friends/family, I would say 90%+ are Apple. Many own Macbooks, Apple TVs, iPads, etc. as well. Even a couple watches sprinkled in. I personally own a macbook, ipad, and iphone. Only my 2nd ever iPhone though, bought a used iPhone 5 off a friend when 5s came out, then upgraded to the 6.

 

For me, even my parents are getting in to iPhones now. They both recently just got the 5s, which was a big upgrade for my mom and her flip phone.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

Are they using iTunes/iCloud, etc so much that they would be reluctant to move away from apple products even if they find something else that they like?

 

Lots of people are buying more than one apple product but so far at least from my circle of friends, is because of better quality product. They are not committed yet to using only apple products since they do not use iCloud or iTunes all that much. If something else catches their fancy, they would move to that and have done that in many cases.

 

Vinod

[supertutti]

No, they are not as tied to the ecosystem. You can see this with the emergence of spotify eliminating the use of iTunes for most people. I know people who signed up for Apple music trial, but not sure if anyone plans to continue paid. They are paid Spotify members. In terms of cloud, there are many many options and I myself use google drive and Dropbox more than iCloud. Only to backup my phone. Everyone uses gmail as well. So the ecosystem moat for me has decayed greatly, but it is really just the superior product.

 

Take for example the Samsung announcement today. Introduced a Samsung Edge Plus and Samsung pay. It's like they stopped innovating and now stopped thinking of names too.

[KCLarkin]

Are they using iTunes/iCloud, etc so much that they would be reluctant to move away from apple products even if they find something else that they like?

 

I view Apple differently.

 

First, let's assume that the Android and iOS ecosystems are roughly equal. Are the existing ecosystems strong enough to preclude a 3rd ecosystem forming? I think the App Stores alone create an insurmountable barrier. This was not true with the previous generation of smartphones (RIM, Nokia, Windows Mobile, Palm).

 

Next, let's assume that the switching costs are low and that consumers will freely move between iOS and Android. For iOS users to switch, Android needs to close the premium gap with Apple. But can Android close the gap? Let's ignore the competitive advantages of Apple and only look at the disadvantages of Android:

 

- Carriers own the most valuable position and exert significant control. As a result, even the best phones become obsolete quickly (since carriers are so slow to push OS updates).

- Google controls the OS but, by some estimates, they make more money on iOS than they do on Android. So they need to port their best services to iOS.

- The hardware companies are commodities and make no money, so they can't invest in R&D or innovation. They can make sloppy copies of Apple innovations, but then you get things like this:

"HTC caught storing fingerprint data in unencrypted plain text"

- The ecosystem is extremely fragmented. As a result, it tips toward lowest common denominator.

- Security and privacy are a nightmare. Android is open source, so vulnerabilities are easy to find and exploit. OS updates are impossibly slow.

- Bloatware: Android Pay versus Samsung Pay?

 

The result is a race to the bottom. The "premium" gap between Apple and Android widens. Not because Apple is superior but because Android's openness is a fatal flaw.

 

 

[Liberty]

Intriguing:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/14/apple-self-driving-car-project-titan-sooner-than-expected

[bargainman]

Intriguing:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/14/apple-self-driving-car-project-titan-sooner-than-expected

 

Oooo, maybe it will be as successful as their last secret car related project...  Apple Maps! :-)

[Liberty]

Intriguing:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/14/apple-self-driving-car-project-titan-sooner-than-expected

 

Oooo, maybe it will be as successful as their last secret car related project...  Apple Maps! :-)

 

Sarcasm aside, Apple Maps has something like 70% market share on iOS and is becoming quite good.

 

You understand why it wasn't good at first, right? Buildings maps is very long and very labor intensive, and the more users you have, the better your maps get because you get their usage patterns via GPS and their bug reports. When Google asked Apple for stuff that Apple didnt want to give at a contract renewal (the rumor is to include more ads and to give Google more user data), Apple was forced to develop its own maps in a very short period of time. They didn't have the usage data, the bug reports, and didn't have time to send people on vans and whatnot all around the world and in every corner of the US to make sure everything was right and fixing all bugs. At that point Google had been building its Maps for years and years and had millions of users.

 

So no doubt Google Maps were quite a bit better then, and still are better (this type of things is Google core competence, and it isn't for Apple). Yet Apple Maps is now good enough for most users and so Google has lost its former monopoly on iOS because it tried to get more out of Apple. I think the loser here is Google, even if Apple had a year or two of bad PR from it...

[innerscorecard]

Living in China has made me realize that maps is not at all a winner-take-all market. Google Maps is banned, but I can use Baidu Maps or Sogou Maps and they're good enough. If Apple Maps had transit it would be good enough, too. Having a good-enough mapping service isn't some insurmountable goal - it's mere table stakes.