Why Tim Cook Is Going All In on the Apple Vision Pro
Inside Apple Park, the tech giant’s CEO talks about the genesis of a “mind-blowing” new device that could change the way we live and work. A-list directors are already on board—“My experience was religious,” says James Cameron—but will your average iPhone user drop $3,500 on a headset?
^ADJ: When the Apple Vision Pro came out, I said to myself I have to the demo and get one on the next trip to the States. Read news articles of delivery times streching out to late March, and wrote off the idea of getting one this trip. Walked into class one day, and there was a buzz around the room, checked the WhatsApp channel and overnight it appeared like 1/3 of the class had purchased one - so I took off at lunch time, skipped the demo and purchased (their was no appointments for a demo for at least a week).
At USD $3500+ a piece they were flying out the door, I was in a queue and whilst waiting my guess was that they were selling 1 every 2 minutes to walkin's (some of these could have been click and collect) and this was just one store in Boston.
Next step - eye exam, needed a US Optometrist to tell me that my Vision had not changed, with this Zeiss custom make lenses and they should arrive just after I get back into the country - so a long way of saying that I have the physical hardware, have been teased by the potential of this technology but as yet can not really do justice for a full review.
My classmates used words like: game changing, mind blowing and the next big thing - time will tell, as with any technology the price starts high, volume builds and it becomes ubiquitous.
My interest is two fold - will this help in bridging remote work and will it allow us to be mote productive.
How to communicate effectively with board members
Lessons from operators and board members at a16z, CRV, Founders Fund, Patreon, Anduril, Winnie, Notejoy, Redfin, SurveyMonkey, Ticketmaster, Slack, Honeycomb, and more!
^ADJ: Key point for me "regular and consistent communication" between board meetings.
10 Principles to Organize Your Life (And Keep It That Way)
Keeping life organized often feels like a juggling act. Just as swiftly as you move to catch one ball – say finances, family commitments, or fun with friends – the next one is hurtling towards you. Unfortunately, some balls are bound to hit the ground: weeks failing to prioritize sleep, fast food instead of meal prep, and procrastinating with low-impact tasks instead of focusing on deep work.
^ADJ: I love "Declutter and simplify" but I would say that!
How one approach to M&A is more likely to create value than all others
Two decades of research show that, while large deals still have their place, programmatic M&A strategies continue to create gains in excess total returns to shareholders, at lower levels of risk.
^ADJ: This has been a topic of many cases over the last 3 weeks - what has been really interesting to me is how different companies have approached it, Disney by example forced into decisions like Pixar and Marvel, versus Danaher who have a systematic approach more along the lines that McKinsey have suggested.
How Early-Adopter Companies Are Thinking About Apple Vision Pro
The Apple Vision Pro marks the biggest experiment yet in the field of “spatial computing,” which its boosters argue has the potential to be the next era of tech — a shift on par with the emergence of mobile computing. But what are early adopter companies really doing with Apple’s new hardware, and what do they hope to get out of these investments?
^ADJ: Keys statement: "Humans have been searching for the most natural way to interact with technology for decades. Spatial computing is just getting started and business leaders have a chance to experiment and learn while building with an eye toward the development of the next computing platform."
Easy to criticize, hard to create
It’s easy to explain why any given business will fail. So what? But neither is it wise to totally ignore the critics.
^ADJ: The last three weeks we have looked at companies that have had both outsized success and failure - which has been good to look at both, rather than the normal selection bias of what has succeeded. Some great takeouts and learnings from both, as with all cases there is always a twist in the tale so we have all had to learn the humility of being completely and utterly wrong!