Vector

Apple brought an expensive speaker to a commodity assistant war. That was pretty much the narrative around HomePod in 2018. It nailed the computational audio model and AirPlay 2, when that part finally arrived, but a lot of people were too busy throwing cheap, ok-enough sounding, but super smart Amazon or Google boxes into damn near every room in their house to notice.

But now Apple has John Giannandrea, Google's former head of Machine Intelligence and Search, on their executive team, and things could finally — huge emphasis on the could and finally — be getting much better for Siri.

What could all that mean for HomePod 2? And what about HomePod mini, HomeBar, and HomePad?

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• But is it really?

Apple has done something almost unprecedented: In a letter to investors, CEO Tim Cook announced Apple is revising its guidance for Q1 2019, lowering revenue projections from the previously stated 89 to 93 billion, down to 84 billion.

That's an 8% difference, which translates into 5-9 billion dollars. Billion with a b.

Yeah. F*g ouch.

So, what's going on?

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LINKS:

• Tim Cook's Letter
• Steve Jobs' Letter
• John Gruber's take
• Carolina Milanesi's take

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"Great artists steal". The fuller phrase is "good artists copy, great artists steal". It's one of the most commonly used — and misunderstood — Steve Jobs quotes in tech.

I'll link the etymology below, but the gist is this: Copying by itself, just taking someone else's work and using it as your own, is lazy and limited. But stealing something, making it yours, and most importantly — making it new and different and better — now that's art, and that benefits everyone.

So, in that sprit, as we head into 2019, I want to offer a list of 9 things I think the artists at Apple would do well to steal. Things that would make iPhone not just more competitive but better.

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• TheMrMobile LG V40
• TheMrMobile RED Hydrogen One
• TheMrMobile Razer Phone 2
• MKBHD Smartphone Awards
• iJustine iPhone XR Colors

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As I'm shooting this we're just over 125 videos, 73 thousand subs, and 9 million views in the 10 months since this channel went live, and while I know that's still tiny by some YouTube standards, it's a lot for me, and it means a lot to me, and so I want to close out 2018 by reviewing everything we've accomplished together, thanking all of you for all of your support through all of this.

LINKS:

• Vector Merch

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In 2016, Apple deleted the 3.5mm headphone jack. Those jerks. But Apple also introduced AirPods. Making them magnificent jerks.

Essentially EarPods with the cords cut off and the stems and buds crammed full of sensors and custom silicon, they looked goofy, they cost more than what you found in dollar stores, and they took longer than expected to hit the market.

But when they finally did, and people got a taste of the freedom that came from no longer having strings to hold them down, we went from the usual self-proclaimed techsperts poking fun at them to to AirPods being heralded as one of the best products to come from Apple in years.

That was 2016 though. What can we expect from AirPods in 2019?

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Every year, to end the year, I put together lists of what I think Apple did best and worst for the last 12 months. I've already posted the list of the worst so, now, I'm going to spend a got minute focusing on the positive. What Apple did right and how I'd like to see Apple keep building on it for next year. Not because I'm a fanboy or apologist or any other dismissive term those who have tribal fury but lack the articulation to form any factual, cohesive arguments to the contrary, but because if you don't recognize the good along with the bad, the jobs well done amongst those still left to be done, them you fail to promote the direction you want to see continue and focus you want to see carried on. So, what made this year's list?

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First, Guilherme Rambo found an icon in the watchOS beta. Then, he found an image. Now, Apple Premium Reseller Accessory Merchandising Guidelines and another image.

We could be about to see the second coming of the Smart Battery Case. A modern Smart Battery Case for iPhone X-series phones. And it could be coming soon.

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Every year, to end the year, I put together lists of what I think Apple did best and worst for the last 12 months. I'll have the best list up in a couple of days but, for now, I'm going to spend a cold minute focusing on the negative: What Apple got wrong and how I'd like to see it fix things for next year.

Not because I'm a jerk or a hater or everything else I get called every time I do this, but because every up has its down, every success hides some failure, and there's no company or product that is really so great it can't possibly get any better.

So, what made this year's list?

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LINKS:

• Apple's five biggest misses of 2015
• Apple's five biggest misses of 2016
• Apple's five biggest misses of 2017

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Voice-first advocate Brian Roemmele returns for a chat with Rene Ritchie about the current status of Siri at Apple, and its place among other voice assistants. In January of this year, he told Rene the company's reluctance to let the Siri feature become the SiriOS platform is holding them back. As of December 2018, let's see where things stand now.

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LINKS:

• @BrianRoemmele Brian Roemmele on Twitter
• Voice First Expert

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When Apple introduced the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, the original iPhone SE had to die.

But there have been rumors Apple was making a new, entry-level iPhone SE for first-time buyers and emerging markets, something that was essentially an updated iPhone SE with slightly better specs but the same low, low price. Then, rumors that Apple was making a new, modern iPhone SE with and edge-to-edge display, camera notch and all, for people who want a fancy new iPhone but not one even as big as the XS. Now, nothing.

What's going on?

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