Neil Cybart

Apple/tech analysis. Founder/author (@AboveAvalon, @AvalonPod and @AboveAvalonPlus) & (@InsideOrchard).

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@titanas You: Tim Cook didn’t prioritize design.
Me: He definitely did. The design team grew and became more diverse with a more expansive reach / influence on products.
You: Hmm sounds very un-Apple like.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

I hope he labels his writing as fiction because this is factually untrue.

Tim Cook and company never de-emphasized design. Also, the ID team has been hitting some home runs over the past 1-2 years that I don’t think the team under Jony would have hit.

Reminder, you aren’t Gurman’s audience. Instead, he caters to those who have an axe to grind - most times former Apple employees who have recently left. This has included some (former) designers. Recall how Gurman hilariously got played by Alan Dye.

It’s all noise. Just ignore. I keep saying it with the hope that Apple rumor blogs will wake up and finally label his stuff as fiction.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@titanas Factually untrue. Apple’s design team is nothing like it was 10 years ago (it’s much larger and more diverse now).

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

Both Netflix and Spotify have had a brutal past 12 months on Wall Street. Netflix shares are down 42%. Spotify shares are down 36%. The S&P 500 is up 23%.

Netflix shares recently blew past the price bottom that was put in during the company’s Warner Bros. pursuit earlier this year (which Wall Street hated).

While Wall Street is known for its mood swings, and a company’s stock can diverge from business fundamentals, there is no denying that something has changed with Netflix’s and Spotify’s business models. Both companies are seeing slowing revenue growth at a time when revenue growth for Big Tech is accelerating.

Check out my @InsideOrchard essay "Keep an Eye on Netflix and Spotify” for my full thesis on what is happening.

https://t.co/e59s6ZIrUi

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

Since WWDC, one question that I have been getting a lot of is my stance regarding Apple’s generative AI embrace.

Apple is / will be playing directly in generative AI in the following apps:

- Image Playground
- Photos (Clean Up, Extend, Reframe)

Where exactly is the generative AI line in the sand, if there still is one, for Apple?

I examined the topic in the Above Avalon Daily update found below.

[Above Avalon Daily @AboveAvalonPlus]

Today’s Above Avalon Daily:

- Thoughts on Image Playground in iOS 27
- The Intrigue Found With Spatial Reframing
- Where Is Apple’s Generative AI Line in the Sand?

https://t.co/zOz0PWgJom

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@business Someone is desperate to sell some monthly
newsletter subscriptions. You all are a bunch of hacks, passing off fiction as fact. Shame on all of you.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@kumararvind I didn’t experience that.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

In terms of bugs, the biggest hiccups for me found with the iOS 27 developer beta has been CarPlay disconnecting for 15-20 seconds every few minutes. Hasn’t done it every time though.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@soupslaps I didn’t notice too many bugs with iOS 26 - certainly not as many as some people on here said.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@MoePro Haven’t tried Beta 2

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@HeyNickJohnson I haven’t been able to receive regular texts for many years - carrier issue / not Apple issue.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@jb Me neither.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@handleym99 @avalonpod And how would that happen with Siri AI available?

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@Graphex1 I don’t use wired

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@BongBong @avalonpod What do you mean though when you say standalone HW solution for the home?

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@handleym99 @avalonpod Which detail though are you referring to? What I said or what you wrote?

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@stalmico It’s just a crazy narrative that is likely part of a broader campaign by him to get ahead of a busy HW release schedule. Sort of like “see, I told you…” thing. So much silliness.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@clemcardonnel Exactly. To be fair though, they certainly can look for other places for material but they refuse.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@theperpetuity A fair number of grumpy folks in Apple podcast land these days.

[Neil Cybart @neilcybart]

@AddictiveColors Mac product category has never been stronger.