Why Apple’s done chasing hit products, this week on The CultCast

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Waiting for Apple's next big thing?  It may be a while.
Waiting for Apple's next big thing? It may be a while.
Photo: iDownloadBlog

This week on The CultCast: Why Apple’s done pursuing the “new hit product business.” Plus: The demise of Pebble Watch is a bad omen for wearables; Foxconn secretly prepares to make more Apple products in the United States; and we remember our favorite movies of 2016!

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CultCast #261 – Apple’s next big thing? — Subscribe on iTunes

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This week’s topics

Apple stops swinging for the fences

  • Apple analyst Horrace Dediu says Apple’s cultural identity is undergoing a dramatic shift.
  • Instead of being in the “new hit product business,” Dediu says Apple is trying to become a “services and recurring-revenue business.”
  • Dediu argues that constantly trying for home runs has been demoralizing for employees, so Apple CEO Tim Cook is moving away from that attitude.
  • Will Apple ever have another “iPhone”?

Apple Pay is now accepted by 35% of U.S. retailers

  • Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay, says 35 percent of U.S. merchants now accept Apple Pay.
  • Bailey says the new EMV chip cards are annoying customers and have helped drive adoption.
  • New chip cards are the worst!!

Fitbit buys software assets from smartwatch startup Pebble

  • Bloomberg has reported that Fitbit is buying out Pebble.
  • Pebble watch hardware is dead, with support ending sometime in the future.
  • All pending orders will be canceled and refunded.
  • Tim Cook says Apple Watch sales are “off the charts,” but sales of Apple Watch fell more than 70 percent in Q3, according to IDC Research.

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