Category Archives: Episodes

Episode 15 – Apple September 2015 Event Deep Dive

Last week, we did a quick half-hour quick take on Apple’s September event, and briefly covered all the major announcements. This week, we dive a little deeper on each of the announcements, but focus mostly on the Apple Watch, iPad, and Apple TV announcements, touching only briefly on the iPhone, which we’ll cover in a bit more depth next week. On the Apple Watch front, Aaron notes that there are no obvious killer apps for the Watch yet, even with the WatchOS 2 release imminent, and we talk about the implications for product upgrade and release cycles given the addition of new color options last week. With regard to the iPad Pro, we discuss Steve Jobs’s famous comment about the role of the stylus, as well as Tim Cook’s remark from the event itself that the iPad represents “the clearest expression of our vision of the future of computing”. Aaron also follows up on his comment from last week about the possible role of the iPad Pro in college settings. On the subject of the Apple TV, we discuss the interesting storage limitations Apple has placed on apps, along with the significance of the On-Demand Resources model; the requirement for all games to support Apple’s Siri Remote, and not just third-party controllers; and possible upgrade cycles. With the iPhone, we discuss briefly the significance of 3D Touch, the new cameras, and a few other features, as well as Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program. As ever, the SoundCloud player is embedded below, and links to other versions as well as other relevant content are underneath that.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com). We also now have a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 14 – Apple September Event First Take

This is our quick take on Apple’s September event, which was recorded with Jan sitting outside the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, immediately following the conclusion of the Apple event. As such, the audio on this episode is not up to our usual standards. It’s also shorter than most of our episodes and doesn’t follow our usual format. Instead, you’ll hear about 25 minutes of quick conversation following the chronological order of Apple’s event, with some tidbits from the hands-on experience. We’ll do a deeper dive next week, hopefully with our usual audio quality!

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com). We also now have a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 13 – Apple Event Preview, Apple TV as Game Console, Android Wear and iPhone

Ahead of Apple’s big event next week, we spend the majority of our time previewing the likely announcements. The conversation kicks off with a general discussion of what we’re expecting with regard to new iPhones, iPads, and the new Apple TV, including a brief discussion of the reporting and in particular the scoops some publications seem to be getting very good at, notably Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac. We then do a deep dive on the Apple TV, as Aaron answers our Question of the Week: “How would the new Apple TV compete as a gaming console?” Aaron talks through the technical capabilities of the device and the developer program Apple is likely to build around the Apple TV and how these compare to the leading consoles in the market today, and we also discuss the controller(s) for gaming on the Apple TV, content restrictions, and social gaming. Our final brief topic is the announcement this week that Android Wear devices will now work with iPhones, albeit in a very limited fashion. Jan wraps things up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is an app, for the first time.

The SoundCloud player for the episode is embedded below, and underneath that you’ll find some links to related content, including Jan’s piece today on the Apple TV for Techpinions.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com). We also now have a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 12 – Apple in China, In-car Technology, Apple Retail moves

Episode 12 of the Beyond Devices Podcast is a very Apple-centric episode, with three different topics relating to the company. We kick off with a discussion of this week’s news around Apple in China and Apple’s share price, and tackle whether the market is being rational or irrational around all this. Our Question of the Week is about the current state of in-car technology and Apple’s role in it today and tomorrow, including the prospect of Apple making cars. Our last major topic is the recent changes to Apple’s retail stores and what these signify, especially as we look forward to the launch of new iPhones next month. Aaron wraps up the episode with his Weekly Pick, in which he recommends several websites he uses when he’s looking for guidance when he’s about to buy something.

Links to these websites and other relevant content for this week’s episode may, as always, be found below the SoundCloud player.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com). We also now have a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 11 – Google OnHub, Apple Samsung Patents, Apple Fall Preview

This week’s Question of the Week is answered by Aaron, who (aside from being a business school professor) is a qualified lawyer, and digs into the details of the Apple vs. Samsung patent litigation, recent news in the case, and the implications for these two companies and others. If you’ve been wondering what all this is really about, and why not just Apple and Samsung but Google and Facebook are involved, you’ll really want to listen to this segment, which starts at 15:45. Either side of the QotW, we have our other two topics. Kicking off the show, we have a discussion of Google’s OnHub wireless router, which was announced this week, including its role as a Trojan horse for Google’s ambitions in the smart home. And following the patent discussion, we have a quick preview of Apple’s fall announcements, including what Aaron is expecting in new MacBooks based on Intel’s new chips. Last on the agenda, as always, is our Weekly Pick, which this time around is a movie recommendation from Jan.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com).

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

  • Google’s blog post announcing the OnHub wireless router
  • Wired’s article on the OnHub, including the quote on privacy we discussed in the episode, in the second to last paragraph
  • John Moltz’s tweet on OnHub privacy settings, which was mentioned by Aaron in the episode
  • Two articles (first, second) from Patently.io which Aaron read during his research for our Question of the Week on patents
  • Far from the Madding Crowd (Jan’s Weekly Pick movie recommendation) on iTunes and Amazon (affiliate link) and the trailer on YouTube.

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 10 – Google’s Alphabet Move, Privacy, Mobile Payments

Our three topics this week are Google’s Alphabet restructuring, privacy policies and concerns for major smartphone vendors, and trends in mobile payments. We kick off with a discussion of Google’s announcement that it will create a new parent company called Alphabet under which the core Google business and Google’s various new initiatives will be subsidiaries. We discuss the pros and cons of this approach and what it means for Google going forward. Our Question of the Week is about the different levels of privacy protection offered by the major smartphone platforms and the implications that has for their ability to provide effective cloud services. Our third topic is mobile payments, prompted by recent announcements about payment platform CurrentC, which seems to be struggling, Samsung’s announcement today of Samsung Pay’s impending launch, and the ongoing rollout of Apple Pay. And in our Weekly Pick, Aaron recommends some running shoes. As usual, the embedded SoundCloud player and links to other sources and related content can be found below.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com).

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 9 – Apple’s MVNO, the Law of Large Numbers, Apple Music subscribers

This week, we talk about the reports (now shot down by Apple) that Apple was doing trials for launching a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), and the reasons why this might (and mostly might not) be a plausible scenario. Our Question of the Week (which starts at 11:35) tackles a term that’s often bandied about in relation to Apple but that few really understand, which is the “law of large numbers” – Aaron talks us through the real meaning and definition of that law, and why it isn’t really applicable in the way it’s often used in relation to Apple. He also talks about another similar concept called the Gambler’s Fallacy, as well as the history of very large companies. Our final big topic (at 30:18) is the subscriber numbers Apple released for Apple Music the morning we recorded this podcast – is 11 million good or disappointing? And our weekly pick is a singer/album recommendation from Jan.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com).

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 8 – Apple Music issues, Windows 10, Apple TV

In Episode 8 of the Beyond Devices podcast, we discuss some of the recent criticisms of Apple Music from some prominent Apple commentators, whether they have merit, and what can be done about them. Our Question of the Week is about Windows 10, Microsoft’s big new operating system upgrade, including the context and history behind it, the major features, and how it’s likely to impact Microsoft and its partners. Our final topic is Buzzfeed’s report that the long-awaited new Apple TV might make an appearance at September’s iPhone event. And we close with our Weekly Pick, which this time around is a TV show recommendation from Aaron. As usual, the SoundCloud version is embedded below, and you can find links to other versions under that, along with show notes and relevant links.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com).

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Apple Music topic:

Other topics:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you.

Episode 7 – Apple June quarter earnings, Apple Watch and the iPod

With Apple reporting its results for the June 2015 quarter earlier this week, that’s the focus of this episode of the podcast. We kick of the discussion with a focus on the Apple Watch and what we learned about it from Apple’s earnings. Next up is our Question of the Week, which is “How is the Apple Watch more like the iPod than the iPhone?”, off the back of a post Aaron wrote this week. We wrap up the discussion with a review of the rest of Apple’s earnings report, including the iPhone, the iPad, and China. And then there’s our pick of the week – this time, a book Jan’s just finished.

Some useful links, including the link to Aaron and Jan’s posts from this week, under the SoundCloud widget below.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com).

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you.

Episode 6 – Apple earnings preview, new iPods, iPhone ads

We took a break last week as we were both traveling, but we’re back this week with Episode 6. We moved our Question of the Week to the beginning of the episode this week, as it provides useful context for our discussion of Apple’s earnings, which are due next week. Jan talks through Apple’s earnings release process, and provides some beginner’s notes on what to look for and how Apple reports, as well as providing a deeper dive into Apple’s reporting trends. We also talk about some specifics of what to expect next Tuesday.

Our other topics this week are the new iPods Apple announced, the iPhone ads the company recently released, and the public betas of iOS and OS X, which Aaron has been trying out. Our Pick of the Week feature also returns, this time around with something rather different.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com).

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you.