A recent Bloomberg report on Apple’s RF ambitions is probably not as earth shaking as it seems. That being said, Apple appears to have some very big, tantalizing ambitions for pushing what is possible with communications.
We ran the numbers on Apple Car and they look highly achievable at any price. The key to success will be their ability to inspire buyers to upgrade their purchase decision, to stretch a bit. Apple did this in electronics, will the magic transfer to cars?
If Nvidia cannot buy Arm – the company is probably an IPO candidate, or possibly the target of a consortium of competing buyers with a private equity company providing arms length governance.
So far in this series, we have assumed that Apple is going to actually build a car, but there are many things that could go wrong and ultimately these will weigh heavily on a company that prides itself on being able to say no.
Even if the Apple Car is a failure, the supply chain work they have already done will dramatically alter the auto industry. If they deliver a compelling car, the incumbents are in trouble. And what happens if Apple launches with multiple models on day 1?
Apple can use its brand and its software to build a “Luxury” car, and use its supply chain to build that car for less, effectively re-segmenting the industry to maximize profit, not market share.
We are going to explore how Apple can extract and redistribute value in the Autos. First, we look at what Apple is best at.
The Reverse Qualcomm Squeeze – Qualcomm’s advances in RF products, including this week’s announcement of their filter line – positions Qualcomm to reverse the trend of their smartphone customers building their own silicon.
The Apple Satellite Phone? Probably not, the laws of physics…maybe an emergency messaging system or maybe just a new operator relationship.
Idle Speculation on Apple Cars – If Apple is building a car, they are going to need a trusted assembly partner. Has anyone noticed how much investment Foxconn has been pouring into autos lately?
Digits to Dollars 