Episode 72. iPhone 12 makes a debut, Zoom makes a platform play, and Spotify makes you the DJ

In this episode, Shawn and Ross share all the news around Apple’s new iPhones from the new value-driven mini to the Pro’s esoteric photography features, as well as discuss HomePod mini as a key component of its home services play against Amazon and Google. Next, we discuss how Zoom is taking advantage of its moment in the sun to move (and drag competitors) deeper into the consumer space.. And finally, Spotify’s new hybrid playlist format lets anyone host their own radio-style playlist-podcast hybrid. We discuss why we think it’s a neat idea, but one that would also play well for Apple.

Shawn and Ross drill down into the House of Representatives report on the market positions of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook

Episode 71. Big Tech gets targeted as Big Blue plans a breakup

In this episode, Shawn and Ross drill down into the House of Representatives report on the market positions of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook. We discuss the potential effectiveness of proposed remedies as well as the challenges in applying today’s antitrust laws to the foursome’s diverse offerings. We also look at Microsoft’s foray into setting app store fairness rules even as it concedes that it operates an app store that doesn’t abide by them. Finally, not all breakups as forced as IBM proposes the next step in divesting one of its businesses, leaving the remaining Big Blue more agile to focus on AI and the cloud.