Apple's $3 trillion air tags
EDITOR'S NOTE
One of my favorite things about the Apple Watch is hitting that little button that makes your phone go "ding" so you can find it. I probably use this two to three times a day. Half the time it dings right in front of me, or in my own pocket. But every now and then it's slid down a sofa cushion or sitting in a stroller pocket outdoors, and without my watch it would have taken me ages to find.
Anyhow, apparently there are these little "Tile" bluetooth trackers that people can now slap onto phones or anything else they want to locate around the house (I can see a case for the TV remote, a kid's favorite toy, the salt shaker, etc.). Long story short, Apple may be launching its own version of these, called "Air Tags," at its product event today.
The event kicks off at 1 p.m. Eastern, so we'll be following it live all hour on the show today. Air Tags are hardly the most exciting thing happening; there could be new iPad Pros, new iMac computers (featuring Apple's own chips now), maybe even new AirPod headphones. There could even be hints, analyst Dan Ives told CNBC, around future Augmented Reality tech that could be used in, say, Apple Glasses next year. Little wonder the company has called this event "Spring Loaded." It could certainly be jam-packed.
There could also be announcements on the services side, with speculation about paid podcasting. This whole bevy of offerings is why Ives thinks Apple is headed towards being a $3 trillion company; "the innovation continues in Cupertino," he said. "It's all about monetization of an unparalleled install base."
Others aren't so sure, saying Apple's red-hot hardware growth will cool post-pandemic, that its TV offerings aren't great and that a podcasting service would face tough competition against the likes of Spotify. Not to mention its trial with Epic Games coming up on May 3rd, which brings to a head complaints about Apple's cut of App Store purchases. Even if the trial goes Apple's way, regulators may turn against it.
On top of all those concerns, the China issue looms large. Apple "has real synergies with China," Peter Thiel reportedly warned at a conference earlier this month. The U.S. ought to put "a lot of pressure" and scrutiny on the company, he said, because "it's probably the one that's structurally a real problem, because the whole iPhone supply chain gets made from China."
Closer to home, Thiel is also on the board of Facebook, which is entangled with Apple at the moment over a completely different issue--the looming iPhone change that will allow users to blocks apps like Facebook from tracking them for targeted ads. Plenty of risks surround the Apple story, but as we know in investing, no risk, no reward.
In the meantime, it's also now "Doge Day," so we'll see just how "high" the dogecoin fanbase can push its valuation today. Oh, and happy birthday to my younger sis :-)
See you at 1 p.m!
Kelly KEY STORIES
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