在4月20日這場有史以來最為緊湊的發布會上,蘋果公司(Apple)的首席執行官蒂姆·庫克發言時就像多喝了一杯咖啡那樣亢奮。
庫克推出了蘋果的“春季”線上活動:在蘋果的信用卡中加入了家庭卡;對播客應用程序進行了修改;對蘋果電視(Apple TV)進行了更新,包括一個新的遙控器,該遙控器也將單獨出售;紫色iPhone;新一季的《足球教練》(Ted Lasso);推出了AirTag;發布新的小型iMac;最后是新一代iPad Pro。
這場發布會的情況已經被各媒體詳細報道過了,但我還是想強調一下,這場發布會上還有一些潛在的、甚至是被忽略的趨勢。
優化升級后的“高級播客”
在庫克的第一波“官宣”中,有一項內容是將對蘋果的“播客”應用程序進行全新改版。但庫克的大招還在后面:蘋果將首次允許播主收取訂閱費。“高級播客”的播主將不得不向蘋果繳納自己的一部分所得,但他們依然可以如數擁有自己的廣告費,而不用和蘋果分成,也不必把自己的節目獨門播送給蘋果一家。
隨著Spotify也加入了高級播客服務,這一新興行業發生的變化可能是驚人的。
首先,截至目前,播主們都已經能夠通過RSS信息源輕而易舉地播送自己的節目。蘋果和其他所有播客平臺都是通過相同的、“向所有人開放”的信息源獲取鏈接的。但對于高級節目,蘋果和Spotify將要求播主在其專項服務上播送,而這些專項服務不會向其他任何人開放。破壞開源的RSS可能會成為開放式播客環境的終結,并導致該行業內僅有的幾家寡頭合并。
其次,同樣服務于播主和其他內容創作者的其他一眾小型平臺可能會被擠出賽道,并且由于兩家巨頭正在主攻“高級服務”而逐漸退場。在與蘋果和Spotify的競爭中,像Patreon、Memberly、Podia等其他許多小型播客頻道的處境勢必十分艱難。
“家庭裝”的金融科技!
信用卡是一種有點可疑,但既無聊、卻又方便的付款方式。蘋果與高盛集團(Goldman Sachs)合作、首次涉足金融領域時,也就是在信用卡上做做文章。
但在4月20日,庫克宣布了蘋果信用卡(Apple Card)的兩項重要更新。首先,一對夫婦現在可以共享一個賬戶,但是兩個人將分別根據各自最重要的信用記錄而獲得信用額度。這就打破了該行業一個備受詬病的慣例,即在聯名賬戶上只有夫妻中某一方的信用記錄。
其次,蘋果將允許成年父母給他們的孩子一個限量版的信用卡,可以選擇消費限額,并將交易信息返回至父母的賬戶。我本人就有三個子女,監督著一張家庭共用信用卡(一開始“只用于緊急情況”,但現在已經適用于各種“例外情況”),我想說,如果能夠像宣傳的那樣奏效,這將是一個有價值的突破。
但對許多金融科技初創公司來說,這個舉措可能并不受歡迎——這些公司一直在家庭預算領域進行創新,跟蹤家庭支出,幫助子女貸款。
平板里的臺式機?
在依賴增強版iPhone A系列芯片10年之后,蘋果于4月20日宣布,將在iPad Pro上添加M1芯片——該芯片是蘋果公司去年為其Mac電腦開發的極速芯片,以取代對英特爾(Intel)CPU的依賴。新的iPad也有更大的內存,最高達16GB,與很多Mac電腦持平。
請記住,那些M1芯片驅動的蘋果電腦(包括4月20日發布的新iMac),已經促使大多數Mac軟件開發者重新編寫了應用程序(例如Adobe的Photoshop),以便在新電腦上運行。所以現在,iPad Pro有了同樣的芯片和足夠的內存來運行MacOS程序——這意味著什么?或許在6月的蘋果全球開發者大會(WWDC)上,蘋果將宣布,iPad Pro也將允許加強版應用程序的運行。
反壟斷,又是反壟斷!
在過去一年甚至更早,蘋果及其他科技巨頭企業一直因為涉嫌阻礙科技經濟領域競爭而備受指責。蘋果被指控壟斷移動應用程序、向開發者收取過高費用、剽竊小公司的創意,而且作為兩大主要智能手機平臺之一,蘋果有很多行為失當的記錄。
所以,蘋果受到了指責和懲罰?“庫比蒂諾(蘋果總部所在地)的孩子們”是不是沒有那么得意了?
并沒有。
4月20日,蘋果發布的產品中包括AirtTag——這一產品看起來與Tile多年來一直在銷售的一款產品極為相近,但它與iPhone生態的整合情況要好得多,畢竟這只有蘋果才能達成。與此同時,Tile和蘋果于4月21日在參議院舉行的反壟斷聽證會上對峙。
此外,新的付費播客計劃還包括了開發者和蘋果在第一年的“7比3”的收入分成——這在應用程序和游戲等其他領域曾經招致了很多批評以及訴訟。
或許蘋果的下一場發布會應該叫“不屈服的夏天”。(財富中文網)
編譯:陳聰聰、楊二一
在4月20日這場有史以來最為緊湊的發布會上,蘋果公司(Apple)的首席執行官蒂姆·庫克發言時就像多喝了一杯咖啡那樣亢奮。
庫克推出了蘋果的“春季”線上活動:在蘋果的信用卡中加入了家庭卡;對播客應用程序進行了修改;對蘋果電視(Apple TV)進行了更新,包括一個新的遙控器,該遙控器也將單獨出售;紫色iPhone;新一季的《足球教練》(Ted Lasso);推出了AirTag;發布新的小型iMac;最后是新一代iPad Pro。
這場發布會的情況已經被各媒體詳細報道過了,但我還是想強調一下,這場發布會上還有一些潛在的、甚至是被忽略的趨勢。
優化升級后的“高級播客”
在庫克的第一波“官宣”中,有一項內容是將對蘋果的“播客”應用程序進行全新改版。但庫克的大招還在后面:蘋果將首次允許播主收取訂閱費。“高級播客”的播主將不得不向蘋果繳納自己的一部分所得,但他們依然可以如數擁有自己的廣告費,而不用和蘋果分成,也不必把自己的節目獨門播送給蘋果一家。
隨著Spotify也加入了高級播客服務,這一新興行業發生的變化可能是驚人的。
首先,截至目前,播主們都已經能夠通過RSS信息源輕而易舉地播送自己的節目。蘋果和其他所有播客平臺都是通過相同的、“向所有人開放”的信息源獲取鏈接的。但對于高級節目,蘋果和Spotify將要求播主在其專項服務上播送,而這些專項服務不會向其他任何人開放。破壞開源的RSS可能會成為開放式播客環境的終結,并導致該行業內僅有的幾家寡頭合并。
其次,同樣服務于播主和其他內容創作者的其他一眾小型平臺可能會被擠出賽道,并且由于兩家巨頭正在主攻“高級服務”而逐漸退場。在與蘋果和Spotify的競爭中,像Patreon、Memberly、Podia等其他許多小型播客頻道的處境勢必十分艱難。
“家庭裝”的金融科技!
信用卡是一種有點可疑,但既無聊、卻又方便的付款方式。蘋果與高盛集團(Goldman Sachs)合作、首次涉足金融領域時,也就是在信用卡上做做文章。
但在4月20日,庫克宣布了蘋果信用卡(Apple Card)的兩項重要更新。首先,一對夫婦現在可以共享一個賬戶,但是兩個人將分別根據各自最重要的信用記錄而獲得信用額度。這就打破了該行業一個備受詬病的慣例,即在聯名賬戶上只有夫妻中某一方的信用記錄。
其次,蘋果將允許成年父母給他們的孩子一個限量版的信用卡,可以選擇消費限額,并將交易信息返回至父母的賬戶。我本人就有三個子女,監督著一張家庭共用信用卡(一開始“只用于緊急情況”,但現在已經適用于各種“例外情況”),我想說,如果能夠像宣傳的那樣奏效,這將是一個有價值的突破。
但對許多金融科技初創公司來說,這個舉措可能并不受歡迎——這些公司一直在家庭預算領域進行創新,跟蹤家庭支出,幫助子女貸款。
平板里的臺式機?
在依賴增強版iPhone A系列芯片10年之后,蘋果于4月20日宣布,將在iPad Pro上添加M1芯片——該芯片是蘋果公司去年為其Mac電腦開發的極速芯片,以取代對英特爾(Intel)CPU的依賴。新的iPad也有更大的內存,最高達16GB,與很多Mac電腦持平。
請記住,那些M1芯片驅動的蘋果電腦(包括4月20日發布的新iMac),已經促使大多數Mac軟件開發者重新編寫了應用程序(例如Adobe的Photoshop),以便在新電腦上運行。所以現在,iPad Pro有了同樣的芯片和足夠的內存來運行MacOS程序——這意味著什么?或許在6月的蘋果全球開發者大會(WWDC)上,蘋果將宣布,iPad Pro也將允許加強版應用程序的運行。
反壟斷,又是反壟斷!
在過去一年甚至更早,蘋果及其他科技巨頭企業一直因為涉嫌阻礙科技經濟領域競爭而備受指責。蘋果被指控壟斷移動應用程序、向開發者收取過高費用、剽竊小公司的創意,而且作為兩大主要智能手機平臺之一,蘋果有很多行為失當的記錄。
所以,蘋果受到了指責和懲罰?“庫比蒂諾(蘋果總部所在地)的孩子們”是不是沒有那么得意了?
并沒有。
4月20日,蘋果發布的產品中包括AirtTag——這一產品看起來與Tile多年來一直在銷售的一款產品極為相近,但它與iPhone生態的整合情況要好得多,畢竟這只有蘋果才能達成。與此同時,Tile和蘋果于4月21日在參議院舉行的反壟斷聽證會上對峙。
此外,新的付費播客計劃還包括了開發者和蘋果在第一年的“7比3”的收入分成——這在應用程序和游戲等其他領域曾經招致了很多批評以及訴訟。
或許蘋果的下一場發布會應該叫“不屈服的夏天”。(財富中文網)
編譯:陳聰聰、楊二一
In the most jam-packed hour of Apple announcements ever, Apple CEO Tim Cook sounded like he'd had maybe an extra cup of coffee on April 20.
Cook launched Apple's "Spring loaded" virtual event with the cool addition of family cards to Apple's credit card, changes to the podcast app, updates to the Apple TV including a new remote control that will also be sold separately (thank god!), a purple iPhone, a new season of Ted Lasso, the introduction of AirTags, a new small iMac, and, finally, the updated iPad Pro.
For more detail, I also did a rundown of the brightly colored new iMac, my colleague Jonathan Vanian has you covered for Airtags, and CNET's Katie Collins runs down the features of the updated iPad Pro. But I wanted to highlight some of the deeper and perhaps overlooked trends underlying what's going at Apple.
Podcasting goes premium
One of Cook's first announcements was Apple's revamp of its blah podcasting app with some new features such as channels. But then Cook dropped the bomb: Apple would allow podcasters to charge subscription fees for the first time. Premium podcasts would have to give Apple a cut of the revenue, but could still include their own advertising without sharing those dollars, and would not have to make their programs exclusive to Apple.
With Spotify also getting on board the premium podcasting train, the changes for the burgeoning industry could be staggering.
First, until now, podcasters have been able to distribute their shows by listing on a simple RSS feed. Apple and all other podcast platforms picked up links from the same open-to-all feed. But for premium shows, Apple and Spotify will require podcasters to list on their proprietary services, which aren't open to anyone else. Breaking RSS could be the end of the open podcast environment, which could lead to consolidation around just a few big players.
Second, a whole bunch of small services that have catered to podcasters and other creators may lose out and wither away now that the two giants are offering premium options. Patreon, Memberful, Podia and many others will have a tougher time with Apple and Spotify in the game.
Fintech—family size!
Credit cards are a somewhat questionable but boring and convenient way to pay for things. Apple's first foray into the field, partnering with Goldman Sachs, was all of these things.
On April 20, however, Cook announced two big new features for the Apple Card. First, a couple can now share one account, but both people will get credit on their all-important credit histories. That breaks the industry's terrible common practice where only one spouse on a joint account develops a credit history.
Second, Apple will let adults grant their kids a limited version of the card with the option for spending limits and reporting transactions back to the parental account. As someone who has struggled to oversee three teens with a shared family credit card (which started out "only for emergencies" but has morphed into all manner of allowed exceptions now), let me say that if this works as advertised, it will be a valuable breakthrough.
But it may be an unwelcome break to the many fintech startups that have been innovating in the area of family budgets, tracking family spending, and helping kids with credit. Oops.
Is that a PC in your tablet?
After a decade of relying on souped-up A-series iPhone chips, on April 20 Apple announced it was adding its M1 chip to the iPad Pro. That's the super-souped-up chip Apple created last year for its Mac computers to replace Intel CPUs. The new iPads also got a lot more memory, up to 16 GB, just like many of Apple's Mac computers. Hmm.
Remember that those M1-powered Apple computers, including the new iMac announced on April 20, have prompted most Mac software developers to rewrite their apps, such as Adobe Photoshop, to run natively on the chip. So now that the iPad Pro has that same chip—and enough RAM to run MacOS programs—is there another shoe to drop? Maybe at Apple's WWDC in June, the iPad Pro will get to run pro applications too.
Antitrust, shmantitrust
Apple, along with its Big Tech brethren, has been under the gun for the past year or more for allegedly thwarting competition across the tech economy. Apple has been accused of monopolizing mobile apps, charging too much from developers, stealing ideas from smaller companies, and generally misbehaving as one of the two dominant smartphone platforms.
So has Apple been humbled or chastised? Have the Cupertino kids lost a little of their swagger?
Nope.
April 20's announcements included Airtags, which look an awful lot like the product Tile has been selling for years, only with much better integration into the iPhone's software that only Apple can grant. Meanwhile, Tile and Apple were scheduled to face off April 21 at a Senate hearing on antitrust.
Also, the new premium podcast program includes the same 70/30 first-year revenue split between creators and Apple that has drawn so much criticism (and so many lawsuits) in other areas like apps and games.
Maybe Apple's next event should be called "Summer unbowed."