Search Results for: modular

Tesla and SolarCity: Straddling the modular/integrated divide

A merger is the result of two entities in the same business joining forces. It is usually justified through “synergy”, a euphemism for removing redundancies from their unity. Arithmetically, the desired outcome is that the resulting organization should be smaller than the individual parts (which is desired if the available market is shrinking.) An Integration is the answer to … Continue reading “Tesla and SolarCity: Straddling the modular/integrated divide”

Law of conservation of modularity

When I applied the modularity dichotomy to smartphone operating system there were several implications that came to light. One was the question of whether the market has reached the point where products were “good enough” and the speed of innovation became less important than price. Another was: will integrated vendors be able to hold on … Continue reading “Law of conservation of modularity”

The Entrant’s Guide to Automotive Industry (updated)

I wrote the initial guide almost exactly six years ago. Also known as “The 10 Commandments of Automotive” it’s time to re-visit it to see how and if anything has changed. The rules listed are empirical observations. The patterns show how things are and have been and hint at what can and cannot change. Capacity … Continue reading “The Entrant’s Guide to Automotive Industry (updated)”

Apple in mid-2023

The Apple product line-up for 2023 is almost completely decided. This is not conjecture but simply an observation of the lead times for developing the types of products that Apple offers. The integration of hardware, software and services, often cited as the key to Apple’s sustainable competitive advantage, has a great cost: the time required … Continue reading “Apple in mid-2023”

The Triumph of the Walled Garden

During 2016 Apple services revenues were $25.6 billion. In January 2017, just after the end of that year, Tim Cook said “We feel great about this momentum, and our goal is to double the size of the services business in the next four years”. If Apple were to hit that target, during calendar year 2020, … Continue reading “The Triumph of the Walled Garden”

The iPad Operating System

WWDC 2019 included a vast list of releases and it’s quite difficult to summarize. The focus is always on software updates but this year the list seems more exhaustive than usual. The highlights for me are: WatchOS now includes direct App Store access. This continues the separation of the Watch from the iPhone, on a … Continue reading “The iPad Operating System”

Orthogonal Pivots

Microsoft has announced that by the end of the year the Groove music service will be phased out. Users are being offered the option to move their music libraries into Spotify. This brings to an end a long story of Microsoft in the music distribution business. It started nearly 15 years ago with technologies in Windows … Continue reading “Orthogonal Pivots”

Silicon Valley

You’ve probably heard of Jony at Apple but probably don’t know about Johny. Jony is a celebrity executive known as the face of Apple Design. Johny is the executive in charge of custom silicon and hardware technologies across Apple’s entire product line. Under Johny’s leadership, Apple has shipped 1.7 billion processors in more than 20 models … Continue reading “Silicon Valley”