The Transport Guy: Alphabet's 'moonshot' lab has a new project to store renewable energy (GOOG)

Steve Kovach July 31, 2017 at 07:51AM

X, the "moonshot" division of Google's parent company Alphabet that has worked on everything from self-driving cars and delivery drones, has a new public project: storing renewable energy so it doesn't go to waste.

The team working on the project is codenamed "Malta," and it aims to efficiently store energy from solar and wind using salts. That way, renewable energy can still be used even if solar panels or wind turbines can't collect energy.

Malta is part of X's Foundry, which explores early-stage projects. It's not an "official" project like Project Wing (drone delivery) or Project Loon (high-altitude balloons that beam the internet to the surface). X is announcing Malta now because it wants to build a prototype plant for testing how storing renewable energy can feed a power grid. It's accepting applications for potential partners on its website.

SEE ALSO: Alphabet has a $26 billion quarter

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NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: Google's earnings overreaction and the raging debate over AI

Alphabet's 'moonshot' lab has a new project to store renewable energy (GOOG) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Google CEO responds to Trump's transgender military ban: 'Let Them Serve' (GOOGL)

Steve Kovach July 26, 2017 at 10:47AM

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is the first major tech industry leader to come out against president Donald Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military.

Pichai tweeted on Wednesday: "I am grateful to the transgender members of the military for their service. #LetThemServe."

I am grateful to the transgender members of the military for their service.  # LetThemServe.

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) July 26, 2017

The official Google Twitter account retweeted the message, adding, "We are grateful to transgender members of the military for their service. #LetThemServe"

We are grateful to transgender members of the military for their service. #LetThemServe https://t.co/fTF7FodpWi

— Google (@Google) July 26, 2017

Relations between Silicon Valley and the Trump administration have been rocky at best. Google was especially vocal against Trump's proposed travel ban in January, and thousands of employees walked out in protest. 

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NOW WATCH: Mount Everest is not the tallest mountain in the world

Google CEO responds to Trump's transgender military ban: 'Let Them Serve' (GOOGL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Now is the worst time to buy a smartphone (AAPL, GOOG, GOOGL)

Steve Kovach July 25, 2017 at 07:30AM

As summer winds down, it's time to think about getting the kids ready for school, squeezing in that final August getaway, and, of course, whether or not it's time to buy a new iPhone.

As I say every year around this time, don't buy an iPhone right now.

In fact, you should hold off from buying any high-end smartphone unless the one you're using is truly on its last legs. That's because we're on the cusp of a mega-release cycle for the best smartphones that'll launch this year.

On August 23, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 8, its newest flagship phone. According to numerous leaks, the Note 8 will build on the excellent Galaxy S8, adding a dual-lens camera, larger screen, and beautiful design. (Don't worry. Samsung says it's fixed that whole exploding problem.)

Then comes the big one: Apple is expected to announce three new iPhones in September. Two of those models will be updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the so-called iPhone 7s and 7s Plus. But the real star will be the 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone, which most people have been calling the iPhone 8. (Hopefully Apple gets more creative than that with the name.)

The iPhone 8 is said to have an OLED screen with minimal bezels, wireless charging, a special front camera that can unlock the phone using facial recognition, and a metal-and-glass body.

Oh, and it'll probably cost at least $1,000.

Finally, Google is expected to announce the sequel to its excellent Pixel smartphone in October. The Pixel was the first smartphone designed by Google, and it was a critical success. The Pixel 2 is expected to build on that success. According to the latest leaks, the phone will have a 6-inch screen, an improved camera, and one of the fastest phone processors available.

Even if you don't want to spend a fortune on a new phone, you should still wait. As soon as these new phones come out, older models like the iPhone 7, Galaxy S8, and Google Pixel will all be available at a discount. That means you're getting a top-of-the-line phone for a bargain. You'll be rewarded if you can hold off just a few more weeks.

SEE ALSO: The Samsung Galaxy S8 review

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NOW WATCH: Here's the best smartphone camera you can buy

Now is the worst time to buy a smartphone (AAPL, GOOG, GOOGL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Alphabet had a massive quarter, and everyone thinks the stock is going well above $1,000 (GOOG, GOOGL)

Steve Kovach July 25, 2017 at 06:42AM

It was another huge quarter for Google's parent company Alphabet.

With over $26 billion in revenue, that record-breaking $2.7 billion EU fine seemed like a drop in the bucket.

But the stock still dipped in after-hours trading following Monday's earnings report due to concerns over Google's rising traffic acquisition costs (TAC) as more users perform searches on mobile devices.

The stock was down about 2% early Tuesday.

Still, analysts remain bullish on Alphabet's future. Here's a roundup of what everyone is saying following Alphabet's latest earnings report.

SEE ALSO: Alphabet's full Q2 earnings results

Baird: BULLISH

Rating: Outperform

Price target: $1,100

Comment: "While TAC continues to increase with the shift toward mobile platforms and programmatic advertising channels, we note that expenses appear to be under control, even as management commits resources to newer growth opportunities..."

Barclays: BULLISH

Rating: Overweight

Price target: $1,060

Comment: "Google reported solid results with revenue & EPS 2% and 14% above consensus, but a tad shy of the heightened buyside expectations. The mix shift to faster-growing low- margin businesses, and the likely decelerating growth in desktop search (the primary profit pool) is challenging for Google to manage, hence we expect margins to continue to contract, but OI dollars & EPS to grow 15%-20% for the foreseeable future. "

William Blair: BULLISH

Rating: Outperform

Comment: "Despite investors likely focusing on declining margins year-over-year, we believe that share price appreciation should at least match EBITDA growth (we estimate 20% growth in fiscal 2018) going forward. Moreover, growth in YouTube and search remains strong, and incremental commentary on Google Cloud is encouraging."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Alphabet had a massive quarter, and everyone thinks the stock is going well above $1,000 (GOOG, GOOGL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Google’s payments to partners are the highest in 8 years and Wall Street is not happy (GOOG, GOOGL)

Steve Kovach July 24, 2017 at 06:06PM

Google's parent company Alphabet may have topped expectations when it reported Q2 earnings Monday, but that didn't keep the stock from slipping about 3% in after-hours trading.

One reason could be the increasing traffic acquisition costs (TAC). Google has to share some of its mobile ad revenue with partners who bring users to its search engine or who run Google ads on their own websites.

These partners include companies like Apple, which has made Google the default search engine on the iPhone, and the various websites that integrate Google's advertising products. 

Total TAC last quarter was $5.09 billion, up from $3.98 billion a year ago. That's 22% of all of Google's ad revenue, according to Monday's earnings report. TAC was 21% of Google's revenue a year ago.

But the situation is more striking if you look at the number more closely:

• TAC to "network members" (i.e. websites, particularly mobile websites, that funnel traffic to Google, as well as programmatic advertising) represented 71.6% of network revenue in Q2. That's the highest level since 2009, according to Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser.
• TAC to "distribution partners" (i.e. smartphone makers and mobile carriers) represented 9% of advertising revenue, and increased 52% year-on-year — the largest such increase in any quarter since 2008, Wieser said.

Google has always paid TAC, and most investors and analysts deduct those expenses from Google's revenue when they assess the company's top line.

The problem is that as TAC goes up, Google's "net revenue" declines. And shifting technology habits, including the shift from PCs to smartphones, appears to be forcing Google to pay out a greater share of its revenue.

"It appears that product mixes including the changes in the kinds of inventory that Google sells via its networks (for example brand safe and viewable ad inventory, especially including video) could be causing Google to incur higher costs than was previously the case," Wieser wrote in a note to investors.

Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter pointed to Google's Q2 net revenue as a "meaningful deceleration." It's not the end of the world, Schachter said, but it illustrates the changes to Google's business model as more and more of its search traffic now comes from mobile devices like iPhones that require Google to share some of the revenue.

Alphabet's CFO Ruth Porat noted on the company's earnings call Monday that she expected some traffic acquisition costs to continue to rise. She said that the increase in mobile searches and programmatic advertising were responsible for the rising TAC. But Porat characterized it as a positive, since the rising payouts to partners reflecting the increasing use of Google's service.

"It really provides another lens on just how strong our mobile business is," Porat told one analyst in response to a question about the rising TAC costs. 

And while Google is paying out more TAC, Porat stressed, the company is also growing its overall profit dollars.

SEE ALSO: Sundar Pichai joins Alphabet's board

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NOW WATCH: Every map of Louisiana is a lie — what it really looks like should scare you

Google’s payments to partners are the highest in 8 years and Wall Street is not happy (GOOG, GOOGL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: LIVE: Alphabet earnings (GOOG, GOOGL)

Steve Kovach July 24, 2017 at 12:43PM

Google's parent company Alphabet will report its second-quarter earnings Monday afternoon.

We'll have the results as soon as they come through. In the meantime, here's what Wall Street is expecting, according to Bloomberg:

Revenue: $20.9 billion

EPS (GAAP): $4.46

Alphabet's stock has been in good shape this year, and is flirting closer and closer to $1,000. Despite a record-breaking $2.7 billion fine from the EU last month, analysts remain bullish on the future of Alphabet.

In addition to earnings, Alphabet had some other big news earlier Monday. Google CEO Sundar Pichai was named to the company's board as its 13th member. Pichai has been a Google employee since 2004.

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NOW WATCH: We drove a brand-new Tesla Model X from San Francisco to New York — here's what happened

LIVE: Alphabet earnings (GOOG, GOOGL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Google CEO Sundar Pichai joins Alphabet's board (GOOG, GOOGL)

Steve Kovach July 24, 2017 at 10:12AM

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has joined the board Google's parent company Alphabet, the company said Monday.

Pichai is the thirteenth Alphabet board member.

Alphabet reports earnings for the second quarter Monday afternoon.

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai joins Alphabet's board (GOOG, GOOGL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Google's parent company Alphabet reports earnings today — here's what to expect (GOOG, GOOGL)

Steve Kovach July 24, 2017 at 06:53AM

Google's parent company Alphabet reports its earnings for the second quarter on Monday after market close.

Here's what analysts are expecting, according to Bloomberg:

Revenue: $20.9 billion

EPS: $4.46

There are some other things to watch in the report.

The EU fine: The EU fined Google a record-breaking $2.7 billion in June after regulators accused the company of promoting its own shopping services in search results over its competitors. The EU says Google has to change its practices within 90 days or pay up to 5% of its revenue. Google is considering an appeal. Expect analysts to ask a lot of questions about this during Alphabet's earnings call, and to talk about plans to address the fine moving forward.

Other Bets: The other companies under Alphabet — like Waymo, Verily, and Nest — continue to lose money. (That's mostly by design, for now.) Alphabet reports those losses together, instead of breaking out numbers for each company.

Stock price: Alphabet's stock hasn't cracked $1,000 yet, but almost all analysts expect it to go well above that soon. The stock closed at $972 on Friday.

SEE ALSO: Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 8 on August 23

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NOW WATCH: Google's DeepMind AI just taught itself to walk

Google's parent company Alphabet reports earnings today — here's what to expect (GOOG, GOOGL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: It's time to admit digital assistants are overrated

Steve Kovach July 22, 2017 at 06:30AM

It was a good week for Sears.

On Thursday, its stock skyrocketed at least 20% on the news that it would start selling Kenmore appliances that can be controlled by Amazon's Alexa digital assistant on Amazon.com.

Sears, which has struggled to transform its image in recent years as it closes stores and flirts with bankruptcy, finally found the a formula to get investors excited about the brand again.

Let's be clear about what just happened: A troubled company's market cap rose tens of millions of dollars within minutes because it partnered with a tech giant building a digital assistant into everything from household appliances to cars.

The hype around digital assistants is real. But for now, it's just that. Hype. And it's arguably the more overrated than any other emerging technology.

What started as a convenient feature for controlling a smartphone hands-free now has the same expectations as a brand-new computing platform that could potentially replace it.

There's Siri. Alexa. Cortana. Google Assistant. Bixby. Every major tech company is working on its own digital assistant. On top of that, there are a slew of startups doing the same, hoping they can beat the big incumbents to the future.

Maybe we'll get there.

But for now, digital assistants have turned into a fragmented mess and they're all little more than a minor convenience, assuming they work at all. We've been promised a lot by AI and voice control, but the reality hasn't caught up to the expectation. Even worse, there's no way to choose an AI platform today because everything is still in flux and each system comes with its own caveats.

Want to use Alexa? Great! But it's really only useful on the Amazon Echo. You'll still need to use Siri on your iPhone or Google Assistant on your Android phone. Plus, while Amazon can brag about having the best third-party support with over 10,000 Alexa skills, most of them don't make sense with voice controls. (Try ordering an Uber on an Echo and you'll see what I mean. It'll test your patience.)

Want to use Siri? Fine. But you're stuck inside Apple's hardware ecosystem, and Siri is still far behind its competitors when it comes to supporting third-party services. For example, the upcoming Siri-powered HomePod won't let you control third-party music services like Spotify or Pandora with your voice.

What about Google Assistant? This is my favorite assistant of the bunch, mostly because Google is better than anyone at machine learning and tapping into the wealth of knowledge stored on the internet. But Google Assistant seems to be having trouble breaking out. It's only on a relatively small fraction of Android headsets and had a pitiful debut on the iPhone this summer, with fewer than 200,000 downloads. It can't be successful until it's used everywhere.

And Cortana? Microsoft's assistant technically exists a lot of places like the iPhone, Android, and a futuristic thermostat, but it's found little success outside of Windows 10.  

Finally, there's Samsung's new assistant Bixby, which launched on the Galaxy S8 this week after months of delays. As I wrote earlier, it's a half-baked flop. Bixby is pretty good for controlling Samsung's own apps for stuff like texting and setting reminders, but it's mediocre at best when it comes to other tasks. It can't even tell you sports scores, for example.

Hopefully that paints a picture for you about the current state of digital assistants: It's a fragmented system of competitors trying to muscle their service onto every device with mixed results. None of them, even the best like Google Assistant, are smart enough to live up to their promise. There isn't a single one that meets the expectations the industry has dumped on them, and choosing one of them now will just result in headaches down the road.

We're so early in AI and voice control that it's impossible to predict a winner now.

But there is one thing I can predict: Most of these efforts will fail, and we'll eventually see a consolidation of these services into just one or two key players living inside all our gadgets. This is the concept called "ambient computing," where AI is constantly working in the background or responding to your voice commands. It'll be especially useful in the car, the home, or other times you can't stare at your phone.

That's years, if not a decade or more, away from today.

My best advice now is to be smart. Buying into one of these platforms now is a gamble that the one you choose will still be around in the future. It may be fun to control your lights and music with the Amazon Echo now, but there's no guarantee Alexa can maintain its lead. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos even admitted we're in the very, very early days of AI.

Until we get there, everything you're seeing is mostly hype.

SEE ALSO: Samsung released a half-baked assistant for the Galaxy S8

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NOW WATCH: Apple finally unveiled its Siri-powered version of Google Home and Amazon Echo — here's everything you need to know

It's time to admit digital assistants are overrated from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The new smartphone from the creator of Android may start shipping in a few weeks

Steve Kovach July 21, 2017 at 08:34AM

Essential, the new startup from Android creator Andy Rubin, announced on Friday that it's close to shipping its new smartphone.

In an email to potential customers who signed up for information on the device, Rubin says it'll start shipping "in a few weeks." Essential later tweeted the update as well.

Rubin originally said the Essential phone would launch in June, but missed that self-imposed deadline.

Since then, the company has lost its head of marketing and head of communications, a troublesome sign for a company that hasn't launched a product yet. Essential did not respond to multiple requests for comment in recent weeks.

The Essential phone starts at $699 unlocked and will be sold directly through the company's website. Sprint will be the only US carrier that sells the phone in stores. A few international carriers have also agreed to sell the Essential phone.

The new smartphone is just the first product on Essential's roadmap. It also plans to release a gadget called Home, which acts as a hub for your smart appliances and powered by a new operating system Essential calls Ambient OS.

Here's what Rubin sent to potential Essential customers on Friday:

We've been working around the clock to get our first device in your hands. See this update from Andy. http://pic.twitter.com/bm5xm5XRKS

— Essential (@essential) July 21, 2017

 

 

SEE ALSO: Andy Rubin explains how his new phone will take on Apple and Samsung

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NOW WATCH: Here are all the major changes coming to your iPhone

The new smartphone from the creator of Android may start shipping in a few weeks from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 8 on August 23

Steve Kovach July 20, 2017 at 02:09PM

Samsung sent out invitations Thursday for a product launch event for its next major smartphone, the Galaxy Note 8, on August 23.

Developing... refresh this post for the latest.

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NOW WATCH: Here's how Google Maps knows when there is traffic

Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 8 on August 23 from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: YouTube's $35-a-month live TV streaming service is coming to 10 new cities (GOOG)

Steve Kovach July 20, 2017 at 10:00AM

YouTube TV, the $35-per-month live TV streaming service, is coming to 10 new US markets Thursday.

Here's the list: Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Dallas, Charlotte, and Washington, DC.

YouTube TV works on iPhone, Android, and Chromecast. It lets you stream about 50 channels live.

The service also includes an unlimited cloud DVR service so you can go back and stream shows on demand.

For more on YouTube TV, here's an overview of what it's like to use.

SEE ALSO: More details on how YouTube TV works

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NOW WATCH: Here’s what it takes to be a YouTube star — according to someone who’s been doing it for over a decade

YouTube's $35-a-month live TV streaming service is coming to 10 new cities (GOOG) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Samsung released a half-baked assistant for the Galaxy S8

Steve Kovach July 19, 2017 at 01:41PM

After months of delays, Samsung started rolling out its homegrown digital assistant Bixby to Galaxy S8 phones in the US on Wednesday.

The launch itself was already a blunder. Samsung started hyping Bixby before the Galaxy S8 even launched and even put a dedicated button for the assistant on the side of the phone.

Shortly after that, it had to delay Bixby's launch until after the S8's launch in April. Then it delayed Bixby again until the summer.

So now that Bixby is here, is it any good? And, more importantly, how does Bixby fit into the crowded assistant space?

Here's are some quick thoughts:

Bixby is too late

Developing a digital assistant from the ground up in 2017 is a mistake. Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft all have huge head starts on Samsung, and they have greater influence to build an ecosystem around each one. Good luck getting a significant number of developers to make their apps work with a digital assistant that only works with one phone model in one country.

It's also pretty dumb

Bixby is mostly designed to control your phone's functions, not answer questions. But that's not how we've been trained to use assistants over the years. Many queries to Bixby usually kick you into a list of Google search results, which isn't helpful at all.

It competes with Google's Assistant, which is also on the Galaxy S8

Of all the big tech companies, I consider Google the leader when it comes to machine learning, voice recognition, and AI. Those happen to be the ingredients that make a great assistant, which is why Google Assistant was so good right out of the gate.

Like all newer Android phones, the Galaxy S8 also has Google Assistant, which risks confusing users. It would've been smarter for Samsung to emphasize something that works instead of developing Bixby.

There's no need to control basic phone functions with your voice

Is holding down a button and saying, "Turn down the volume" easier than just pressing the volume keys on your phone?

No.

But Samsung designed Bixby precisely for functions like that. Bluetooth, WiFi, brightness, etc. are all controlled with your voice and Bixby. It's not easier or faster in most cases. In fact, I've found I often have to wait an extra beat for Bixby to simply process the request before something happens. This is a solution in search of a problem.

But voice commands are nice in some apps

Bixby only works with Samsung's native apps for phone calls, texting, reminders, emails, etc., and a handful of third-party apps like Gmail and Twitter. I've found it works well for the most part. I really liked the Google Maps integration. (Example: "Use Google maps to navigate home.") It's easier and faster than opening the app, typing an address, and then pressing the navigate button.

But like I said earlier, there's a slim chance enough developers will add Bixby to their apps when it's limited to just one device in one country right now.

It'll get better. Maybe.

Bixby can and will get better. The more people who use it, the more Samsung can train it to do the right thing. In fact, Samsung seems to be incentivizing S8 owners to use Bixby by offering rewards. Weird.

Samsung also owns a technology called Viv, which was developed by the same people who made Siri. Viv is reportedly pretty good, and will eventually be rolled into Bixby. There's a (small) chance Bixby can improve enough to take on the established competitors. But for now, it's half-baked.

SEE ALSO: If the rumors are true, then the iPhone 8 won't be worth the massive cost

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NOW WATCH: REVIEW: Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is an incredible phone, but it’s far from perfect

Samsung released a half-baked assistant for the Galaxy S8 from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Facebook is turning video sounds on by default — here's how to turn them off (FB)

Steve Kovach July 19, 2017 at 11:02AM

Facebook loves video. You've probably noticed loads of auto-playing videos in your News Feed.

But until recently, those videos played with the sound off. Now, Facebook is turning the sound on by default. It's rolling out to users now, and you'll get a notification when it hits your phone that looks like this:

Easier? Uh, not really. More like super annoying, right? 

Here's how to turn it off. It's a little different for Android and iPhone, so we'll show you for both.

SEE ALSO: If the rumors are true, then the iPhone 8 won't be worth the massive cost

On Android, tap the "hamburger" icon. Then scroll all the way down and tap App Settings.

Now just turn off the switch that says "Videos in News Feed Start With Sound." That's it!

On iPhone, tap the "hamburger" icon at the bottom of the screen. Scroll all the way down and tap Settings.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Facebook is turning video sounds on by default — here's how to turn them off (FB) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: If the rumors are true, the iPhone 8 won't be worth its massive cost (AAPL)

Steve Kovach July 16, 2017 at 08:01AM

The biggest mystery surrounding the iPhone 8 has nothing to do with its features.

It's not the screen size. It's not the colors it'll come in. It's not how good the camera will be or how long the battery lasts.

It's the reported cost of the phone, which analysts and Apple experts think will cost at least $1,000, and how Apple will justify the high price for a device that by all accounts won't offer many new features we haven't seen in a high-end smartphone before.

According to numerous reports, especially from the accurate Apple analyst from KGI securities Ming Chi Kuo, Apple plans to release three new iPhone models this year. The first two models will be iterations on the current iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, with similar designs but improvements to things like the camera and processor.

The third model will be the star, with a new screen using OLED technology that produces better colors and maximizes power efficiency. It's also said to have wireless charging, a "3D" camera for facial recognition and augmented reality, and minimized bezels around the display.

Here's the real kicker: The so-called iPhone 8 will open up a new "luxury" tier in the iPhone lineup thanks to its sky-high price. Some Apple watchers, like the plugged-in Apple pundit John Gruber, think the iPhone 8 could start as high as $1,200. That's $550 more than the iPhone 7's starting price. While the new versions of the iPhone 7 (the 7s and 7s Plus) will likely keep the same pricing structure we have now, the iPhone 8 will be in a realm of its own.

But unless Apple is cooking up some magical trick we haven't heard about yet for the iPhone 8, the prices being thrown around don't match up to what the phone will be able to do, meaning Apple's biggest challenge won't be convincing people to buy the phone, but making a good argument that it's worth the monumental cost.

I'll get this out of the way now, so people don't misconstrue what I'm really saying: The iPhone 8 will be a massive success at any price. Apple will sell millions of them, likely every one it makes through the end of the year and into next year. This will be the tenth anniversary iPhone, and there'll be no stopping fans and brand loyalist from being swept up in the hype.

What I am asking is whether or not the iPhone 8 will actually be worth that ~$1,200 or so, and what kind of risks to the iPhone lineup a new luxury tier opens up to the future of the iPhone business.

"I think what's really driving this is the search for something that will distinguish the company or product," IDC analyst Will Stofega told me about the price bump. "There's a sense they have to do something to pull out ahead and really restart things in much the same way the iPhone restarted the whole idea of the smartphone."

I'm sure Apple will be able to make the iPhone 8 feel like something new and revolutionary at the unveiling in a few months. It's been 10 years since the product turned the entire industry on its head and created a platform that spawned new companies and industries that wouldn't have existed without it. A look back at how the iPhone changed the world and a new, pricey edition celebrating all that will be enough to drive the hype.

But unless there's something incredible about the iPhone 8 that hasn't leaked yet, I don't see how it'll be worth the price, at least on paper.

Let's look at the competition: Samsung's Galaxy S8 already has a lot of the features expected in the iPhone 8. There's a large OLED screen (Samsung is making OLED screens for the iPhone 8, by the way), wireless charging, and minimized bezels to maximize the screen real estate on the front. I think it's the best-looking phone you can buy today.

The cost? $725.

Even beyond that hype, there's an argument to be made that the upgrades in the iPhone 8 won't be significant enough to attract enough buyers with deep wallets to kick off a mega upgrade cycle this year. In a research note this week, Barclays analysts said that OLED display won't be a "must have" for many.

"While battery life could improve with OLED, our conversations with industry participants suggest that most consumers will not notice any major 'must have' experience changes because of new OLED displays versus LCD," the note says. "We think that this dynamic, if sustained, could limit the upside potential related to new OLED-based devices that likely sell for a premium..."

The only out I see is for Apple to play up the anniversary angle and leverage the hype to justify the high price. The 7s will be the phone for the masses. The 8 will come with bragging rights that you were part of a major event.

"You have a base that certainly has a lot more money and seems to be willing to spend a lot more. Why not give it a shot?" Stofega said. 

And if that doesn't work, the key features in the iPhone 8 can trickle down to the cheaper models next year. The iPhone 8 could be a one-off ultra edition of the iPhone to celebrate its tenth anniversary. After that, every iPhone will feel like an anniversary edition.

There are also risks abroad, especially in emerging markets like India, where Apple is betting it can find a new iPhone user base. But the smartphone market is completely different in these places. Very few can afford a $1,000 iPhone, let alone the standard $650 iPhone.

This is the latest chapter in the story of smartphone innovation in recent years. Innovation has largely plateaued, and each model feels like a minor iteration over the last. Those minor iterations add up over the years, but it'd be shocking to see something truly revolutionary in the iPhone 8 that justifies the massive cost.

SEE ALSO: The new startup from the creator of Android has already lost its top marketing executive

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Every map of Louisiana is a lie — what it really looks like should scare you

If the rumors are true, the iPhone 8 won't be worth its massive cost (AAPL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The new startup from the creator of Android has already lost its top marketing executive

Steve Kovach July 14, 2017 at 06:06PM

Essential, the startup helmed by Android creator Andy Rubin, has lost one of its top executives, just over a month after it announced its first major product.

Brian Wallace, Essential’s VP of marketing, has left the company, he confirmed to Business Insider on Friday.Wallace is now CMO at i.am+, a "connected lifestyle" company founded by musician will.i.am. 

Wallace's move is the latest sign of turmoil at Essential. Wallace joined Essential in December after running marketing for the augmented reality startup Magic Leap. Before that, he worked at Samsung and helped put together the iconic “Next Big Thing” campaign that propelled Samsung’s mobile business in the US.

Wallace isn’t the only major departure at Essential. Andy Fouché, who is listed as the company’s head of communications on its website, left recently as well, he told Business Insider in an email earlier this month. However, Fouché also described himself as an advisor to the company. He also worked with Wallace as the head of communications at Magic Leap. Kenzo Hing, Essential’s head of product marketing, will be running communications in the meantime.

Hing did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The departures are not a good look for Essential. (Is it ever a good sign when PR and marketing executives jump ship before a company even launches a product?) The company announced its new phone, simply called Phone, last month. But there were immediate questions as to how the $700 device could compete in a high-end smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung. 

Essential will sell its phone unlocked on its website this summer and has already started accepting preorders. Sprint is the only carrier that has agreed to sell the Essential Phone, meaning it’ll be tough to get the device into customers’ hands since that’s how a lot of people still buy phones in the US. Historically, exclusive carrier deals have rarely worked out. Rubin said in May that the phone would start shipping within a month, but that never happened. A Sprint spokesperson told Business Insider it would start selling the phone this year, but didn't provide a specific time frame.

The phone is just one piece of Essential’s vision though.

The company has also announced it’s working on a product called Home, a voice-controlled hub for connected appliances. It will have a round touchscreen and a built-in digital assistant. Rubin has said he plans to make it work with a variety of smart home platforms like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s HomeKit, although the way he describes it working would be nearly impossible to pull off based on how those various platforms operate. (Good luck convincing Apple to let you install Siri on a third-party device, by the way.) Rubin calls the new smart home platform Ambient OS.

Essential has raised at least $300 million in funding, according to Bloomberg, so the company has plenty of time and money to play around and figure things out. Rubin also teased at the Wired Business Conference in June that he’d like to launch some sort of connected car product, but didn’t provide any details beyond that.

SEE ALSO: Andy Rubin explains how his new phone can take on iPhone and Android

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The new startup from the creator of Android has already lost its top marketing executive from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Trump makes Twitter's abuse problem worse

Steve Kovach July 08, 2017 at 05:30AM

Well, here we are.

Although it feels like it's been years, it was only a few short days ago that the president of the United States used Twitter to post a video that showed him tackling "CNN" to the ground.

At best, it was a childish meme meant to delight his base. At worst, it was a call to harm journalists.

Either way, it was the president using Twitter like an immature anonymous troll.

It was the CNN tweet that dominated the news cycle for most of the week. Not health care. Not tax reform. Not infrastructure or North Korea or cybersecurity. It was Donald Trump using his favorite platform to target a new perceived enemy that has nothing to do with his political agenda.

But that's almost besides the point.

The result of Trump's tweet wasn't just a new wave of populist anger directed at the media. It also kicked off a cascade of abuse and harassment on Twitter towards journalists, especially CNN journalists, and anyone loosely associated with them. True story: CNN anchor Brian Stelter retweeted a photo I posted of the Fourth of July fireworks over New York City and I received countless abusive and spammy messages. Apparently, even fireworks are "fake news" if they're shared by a journalist.

It was even scarier in the real-world, with Trump supporters reportedly making a flood of harassing phone calls to a CNN reporter's wife and parents.

All of that because our president couldn't control what he types into his iPhone.

Twitter's long history of abuse on its platform and its failure to adequately tamp it down isn't a new story. What is new is that after the unexpected outcome of last year's election, we now have a president who repeatedly violates Twitter's harassment policy, yet is allowed to continue tweeting away. Others have been kicked off Twitter for far less, but Twitter's stance is that there are important political and newsworthy reasons for keeping the Trump account active. 

The Milo standard

Fair enough. But that stance also ignores the viral effects of an abusive tweet from the president and how his actions on Twitter have created more abuse on the platform. It reminds me a lot of the argument Twitter used to remove tech-blogger-turned-right-wing-pundit Milo Yiannopoulos from Twitter last year, saying his attacks on SNL cast member Leslie Jones led to "an uptick in the number of accounts" that violated its abuse and harassment policies. As a result, Yiannopoulos was permanently banned, along with some of his troll followers.

But that was just one isolated incident from a relative nobody. What we've seen on two shocking occassions in recent weeks was the president using Twitter's platform to incite harassment on an entirely new level, one that not only ripples throughout Twitter, but also bleeds into the mainstream media and the real world. Because he's the president, every statement Trump posts on Twitter is news, no matter how outrageous or "MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL" it is. And those tweets have much more power to incite abuse and harassment than some anonymous troll.

The question then becomes what Twitter's responsibility is when the president tweets something stupid. It's clear that Twitter won't suspend or mute Trump's account, so it has to stick to its current method of hoping people report the abuse on its network and reaching out to others with warnings to remove offensive posts. That method clearly doesn't go far enough. (Twitter declined to comment about anything related to this. A spokesperson just pointed me to its harassment policy and some blog posts about how it has improved reporting tools.)

It sounds hopeless. One answer would be for Twitter to speed up its efforts to tackle its abuse problem. The other, simpler answer, would be for the president of the United States to stop using Twitter as a platform for inciting such behavior.

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Trump makes Twitter's abuse problem worse from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Waymo drops some patent claims against Uber in its landmark self-driving car lawsuit (GOOG)

Steve Kovach July 07, 2017 at 10:36AM

Waymo on Friday dropped some of its patent claims against Uber in its landmark lawsuit.

The self-driving car startup, which is a Google spinoff, is dropping three of its four patent claims against Uber's lidar technology. Lidar, a kind of radar technology that uses lasers instead of radio waves, is the key component in self-driving cars that allows the vehicles to "see" the world around them.

Waymo is continuing to pursue its other lidar-related claim. The company has charged that the lidar system Uber is currently working on, codenamed "Fuji," infringes that patent.

The self-driving car company dropped the three patent claims to narrow the focus of its lawsuit, Waymo said in a statement. In addition to the patent claims, Waymo is also suing Uber over alleged trade secret violations and unfair competition.

Uber had a different take on Waymo's move, viewing them as a sign Waymo can't make its case. An Uber spokesperson sent Business Insider the following statement:

"Waymo's retreat on three of their four patent claims is yet another sign that they have overpromised and can't deliver. Not only have they uncovered zero evidence of any of the 14,000 files in question coming to Uber, they now admit that Uber's lidar design is actually very different than theirs. Faced with this hard truth, Waymo has resorted to floating conspiracy theories not rooted in fact, doing everything they can to put the focus on sensation rather than substance."

In its lawsuit, Waymo's charged that a former Google self-driving car executive, Anthony Levandowski, took proprietary lidar information with him when he left Google and created his own self-driving trucking startup called Otto. Uber acquired Otto and put Levandowski in charge of its autonomous car division. Waymo accuses Uber of using Waymo's technology in its self-driving cars. 

Uber fired Levandowski in May after Levandowski declined to help the ride-hailing giant with its defense against Waymo's claims. Instead, Levandowski invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to avoid self-incrimination.

A Waymo spokesperson sent Business Insider the following statement:

“We found after fighting for discovery a device created by Anthony Levandowski at Uber that infringed Waymo patents. Uber has assured the court in statements made under penalty of perjury that it no longer uses and will not use that device, so we have narrowed the issues for trial by dismissing the patent claims as to that device, with the right to re-file suit if needed. We continue to pursue a patent claim against Uber's current generation device and our trade secret claims, which are not at all affected by this stipulated dismissal. We look forward to trial.”

SEE ALSO: Jawbone, once worth $3 billion, is liquidating its assets

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Waymo drops some patent claims against Uber in its landmark self-driving car lawsuit (GOOG) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Fitness-tracking company Jawbone, once worth $3 billion, is shutting down and liquidating its assets

Steve Kovach July 06, 2017 at 03:54PM

Jawbone, the company that made fitness trackers and Bluetooth speakers, is liquidating its assets, according to a source familiar with its plans, marking the latest casualty in the once-promising wearable device market.

Jawbone founder and CEO Hosain Rahman has started a new company called Jawbone Health Hub, which will work on medical software and hardware. The company has raised money for the new venture, but it's unclear how much, the source said.

Despite shuttering the business, Jawbone believes it is still worth a significant amount of money due to its pending litigation with rival Fitbit, according to the source. 

Jawbone, which was once valued as high as $3 billion by private market investors, is the latest pioneer of wearable electronics to throw in the towel. Last year, Pebble the first maker of a smartwatch sold its assets to Fitbit in a fire sale. As for Fitbit, its stock is trading at 52-week lows.

The Information was the first to report the news of Jawbone's liquidation. A Jawbone spokesperson declined to comment.

Jawbone stopped producing its fitness trackers last year, according to sources familiar with the company. It no longer sold them as of September 2016. Jawbone sold its remaining inventory to a third-party reseller at a reduced price in order to generate much-needed revenue, sources said. The company also had trouble paying some vendors for their services and was forced to cut ties with its external customer service agency, sources said.

Jawbone was in the process of making a shift to making "clinical-grade" wearable devices that could measure vitals like blood pressure, but the company was having trouble getting the device to work properly, sources told Business Insider. It's unclear if Jawbone Health Hub will continue work on the device. Jawbone Health Hub will service current Jawbone fitness trackers. Jawbone was last valued at $1.5 billion when it raised $165 million in a down round in January 2016, according to Recode's Kara Swisher. Its previous valuation was about $3 billion, and it raised a total of about $1 billion over the years.

SEE ALSO: The new phone from the creator of Android didn't ship when he said it would

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Fitness-tracking company Jawbone, once worth $3 billion, is shutting down and liquidating its assets from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Google spun out a new company that heats your home with geothermal energy (GOOG)

Steve Kovach July 06, 2017 at 11:03AM

X, the "moonshot" division of Google's parent company Alphabet, has spun out a new geothermal heating and cooling company called Dandelion, the company announced Thursday.

Dandelion comes from a previously undisclosed project at X that began two years ago. It'll be run as a separate company outside the Alphabet umbrella and has raised $2 million in funding.

Dandelion claims it can affordably drill and install geothermal systems to heat and cool homes, which is usually a very expensive process. The company is based in New York City and plans to provide services to qualified homes in New York state.

X works on several moonshot projects for Alphabet, including delivery drones, high-altitude balloons that beam internet to earth, and wind turbines that generate power. Waymo, Google's former self-driving car division, spun out of X last year as a new company under Alphabet.

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Google spun out a new company that heats your home with geothermal energy (GOOG) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The new phone from the creator of Android didn't ship when he said it would

Steve Kovach July 06, 2017 at 10:10AM

The new phone from Android creator Andy Rubin appears to be delayed.

When he announced the Essential smartphone at Recode's Code Conference in May, Rubin said it would start shipping within 30 days, The Verge reported. The company also started accepting pre-orders for the $699 device.

But more than 30 days have passed since then, and Essential isn't shipping the phone yet. 

An Essential spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Essential is taking pre-orders for an unlocked version of the phone through its website. The company also plans to offer the phone through Sprint, the only US carrier that has said it will sell the device. A Sprint spokesperson told Business Insider last week that the Essential phone is "expected to debut this year," but didn't know exactly when.

Essential has raised at least $300 million, according to Bloomberg. In addition to its phone, the company also plans to release a voice-controlled smart home device similar to the Amazon Echo called Home.

SEE ALSO: Andy Rubin explains how his new phone will take on Apple and Samsung

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The new phone from the creator of Android didn't ship when he said it would from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Twitter has a very strong case to delete Trump's account (TWTR)

Steve Kovach July 03, 2017 at 12:18PM

Does Donald Trump deserve to tweet?

Between the string of Mika Brzezinski insults and that WWE/CNN video, Twitter would have a strong case to delete or suspend the president's account, according to its own rules for combating abuse on the platform.

Those recent tweets have quickly become the most controversial messages posted during Trump's young presidency, and there have been increased calls for Twitter to disable the account in accordance with in its own rules.

For example, Twitter's policy says users "may not make threats of violence or promote violence" either directly or indirectly. On Sunday, Trump Tweeted a video that showed him slamming a person with a CNN logo for a face to the ground. One interpretation of that would be that Trump is showing his frustration with media outlets he thinks are critical of him. Another interpretation: It's OK to physically attack a journalist.

At best, the CNN tweet is an indirect promotion of violence. At worst, it's direct. Either way, it's a violation of Twitter's policy.

The policy also says "you may not incite or engage in the targeted abuse or harassment of others."

Last Thursday, Trump tweeted that Brzezinski "was bleeding badly from a face-lift." In another tweet, he called her "dumb as a rock." That sounds a lot like  harassment, whether you use the dictionary definition ("to create an unpleasant or hostile situation for especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct"), the legal definition ("repeated conduct that is not wanted and is known to all parties as offensive") or Twitter's own guidelines.

Here's the full section of Twitter's policy on abuse and harassment:

A Twitter spokesperson told CNN Sunday that it reviewed the CNN/WWE tweet and decided it did not violate its policy because there were many ways to interpret it and its "political context." That is true. There is a lot of political context in that tweet, not least because the president of the United States is spending his holiday weekend tweeting content inspired by an anonymous Reddit troll (the same Reddit user has also posted a graphic depicting all of the Jewish anchors on CNN, with a blue star of David helpfully appended next to each face).

For all the controversy provoked by Trump's tweets, there's no question that the POTUS' use Twitter as his primary communication medium is good for Twitter. The microblogging service, whose business has been struggling for years, is enjoying its peak cultural relevance thanks to the Tweeter in Chief.

But Twitter's harassment problem goes beyond what the president posts and is harmful to the interests of the company (and society) in the long run. And if it's serious about combatting abuse on its platform, Trump deserves to be held to the same standard as everyone else.

SEE ALSO: Working yourself to death isn't worth it, and Silicon Valley is starting to realize that

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Twitter has a very strong case to delete Trump's account (TWTR) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The fingerprint sensor is turning into the iPhone 8's biggest mystery (AAPL)

Steve Kovach July 03, 2017 at 07:58AM

The world's most accurate Apple analyst has a slew of new predictions for the new iPhone that he released on Monday.

The latest research note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, which was published by Street Insider, backs up much of what we've heard about the so-called iPhone 8 before.

But there's still a big mystery surrounding how the Touch ID fingerprint sensor will work now that Apple is removing the phone's physical home button in order to make more room for a larger screen on the front of the device.

While Kuo seems to have most of the iPhone 8's details locked down, his reports are a bit fuzzy when it comes to Touch ID. It's been widely reported that Apple was testing a version of Touch ID that could be embedded beneath the screen, but the company seems to be having trouble getting it to work reliably according to various reports.

Now Kuo is saying there likely won't be a Touch ID sensor on the front of the phone.

So, what are the options?

• Does Apple remove Touch ID from the iPhone 8?
• Can Apple figure out how to embed the sensor beneath the screen in time for this fall's launch?
• Does Apple move the fingerprint sensor to the back of the phone, like Samsung did with the Galaxy S8?
• Will the new selfie camera on the iPhone 8 be secure enough to let you unlock the device through facial recognition instead of fingerprint ID? (The Galaxy S8 has this feature, but it's not secure. Don't use it.)

It seems like Touch ID is so essential to the iPhone that it'd be silly for Apple to remove it altogether. In addition to unlocking your phone, Apple Pay, App Store downloads, and even signing into some apps rely on Touch ID. Getting rid of it would be a bigger mistake than removing the headphone jack from the iPhone 7.

Apple still has a few months to figure it out, if it hasn't already. But our guess is that if Apple can't get the sensor working beneath the screen, the most likely scenario is that it'll move it to the rear of the device.

SEE ALSO: Your first look at the biggest iPad update ever

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NOW WATCH: Everything we know about the iPhone 8 — including a total redesign

The fingerprint sensor is turning into the iPhone 8's biggest mystery (AAPL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach