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Tech Roundup: AAPL Shareholder Meet, MWC, XBox Game Pass, YouTube TV
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Last week was significant in many ways. Other than events like Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) shareholder meeting and the Mobile World Congress, there were two very important product launches in tech world: Microsoft’s (MSFT - Free Report) Xbox Game Pass and Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) YouTube TV.
So here are the top stories from last week:
Apple Has Annual Shareholder Meeting
At the annual shareholder meeting, Apple considered nine proposals, of which four were its own and five came from shareholders. Only Apple’s proposals were approved.
On the product front, Apple promised that Mac Pro customers wouldn’t be ignored in the push to launch better iPhones as the creative segment remained important to it. On the iPhone front, he expressed satisfaction that the current lineup of SE, 7 and 7 Plus generated sales that were above company expectations. Cook also said that that the airpods were a “cultural phenomenon”.
As far as other products are concerned, Apple is fighting to meet demand for the Watch Series 2 and working to launch other new products (possibly an AR device).
Apple Pay adoption is slower in the U.S. than internationally, Apple Music subscribers are at 20 million and App Store subscribers (including those for services like Netflix) are now 150 million.
Another important question addressed by the CEO was with respect to U.S. manufacturing. He said that two-thirds of Apple jobs were in the U.S. (Apple has created 2 million American jobs) and he would work to bring more. He also mentioned that Apple had paid out $50 billion to U.S. suppliers in 2016. In the meantime, favorable tax rules could see Apple bringing back more cash. While diversity remains a focus area, a proposal to make it more binding on management was shot down by shareholders.
Apple remains committed to green initiatives and said that it was already running 93% of its operations on clean energy.
Finally, on net neutrality, Cook said that while the company didn’t engage in politics, it would be involved in policy formation. To that end, it would engage on net neutrality issues. Note that new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai recently said that net neutrality was a mistake, while Apple’s position has always been that everyone’s content should be treated equal.
MWC
LG, Sony, Nokia (NOK - Free Report) , Samsung, Huawei, Motorola and Blackberry unveiled new devices at the Mobile World Congress 2017 held between Feb 27 and Mar 3. Some of the notable features of these devices are as follows:
LG’s all-new G6 smartphone got rid of the modular design of the G5 while also doing away with the removable battery (using a built-in 3,300mAh battery instead) and adding water and dust resistance, a rear mounted fingerprint scanner, USB Type C port and headphone jack.
Sony had four phones on the show, the Mediatek P20-powered Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra and the Snapdragon 820-powered XZ Premium and XZs. The XZs will run on the latest Android Nougat.
Nokia, which is making a comeback this year showcased four models: the entry level Nokia 3, the mid-range Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 (based on the Symbian OS), and the feature phone Nokia 3310 that promises a 30-day battery life. The phones are relatively cheap and classy-looking.
Samsung said it would have a launch event for the Galaxy S8 on Mar 29 and focused instead on the Galaxy Tab S3 with its 9.7-inch 2048x1536 (QXGA) Super AMOLED display, quad-core 2.15 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC and 4 GB of RAM. The device uses Android Marshmallow 6,000mAh battery
Huawei launched the 5.1-inch P10 and 5.5-inch P10 Plus, both of which run on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat, have 64-bit octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 960 processors with Mali-G71 MP8 GPUs. They were launched in 30 countries excluding the U.S. and Canada. It also announced the Android Wear 2.0-powered Watch 2 and Watch 2 Classic and the MediaPad T3 tablet.
The KEYone from Blackberry was designed by TCL Communications of China came with its familiar physical keyboard. The convenience of the keyboard with its 52 shortcuts and increased security are the unique selling points.
Lenovo/Motorola showed off the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus with the Plus having more of everything including size, snapdragon processor power, RAM and storage. But the cameras are comparable.
Microsoft Launches Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft has announced that it has a gaming subscription service in the works (i.e. it is in alpha testing). The service allows you access to 100 gaming titles for $9.99 a month. Unlike PlayStation Now, Sony’s subscription service that only allows you to stream PS4 titles, Game Pass allows you to download the entire game for XB360 and XB1 so you can play uninterrupted without worrying about connectivity issues.
If you like a game, the service allows you to buy it at a discount but if you don’t, and happen to end your subscription, you lose access to the games completely. Some titles may be removed by a publisher during the month, but Microsoft says that most titles will be there right through the month before the list is refreshed, ensuring a constant and steady flow of games.
Microsoft hopes that eventually Game Pass will become a platform that allows publishers to release their games on an episodic basis, much like TV programing. Publishers currently missing include Electronic Arts (EA - Free Report) , Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard but they will no doubt be there when it goes live. Also, the service is currently being tested for Xbox alone and plans to include Windows PCs have been shelved for now.
Google Launches Youtube TV
Alphabet’s Google launched a live TV streaming service called YouTube TV that will stream 40 sporting and entertainment channels from CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox at $35 a month for a family of six. The service puts Google in direct competition against traditional operators like AT&T (T - Free Report) with its DirecTV Now, DISH Networks with its Sling TV and CBS with its All Access. Read More: Investors Still Discounting Google Post YouTube TV Announcement
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Tech Roundup: AAPL Shareholder Meet, MWC, XBox Game Pass, YouTube TV
Last week was significant in many ways. Other than events like Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) shareholder meeting and the Mobile World Congress, there were two very important product launches in tech world: Microsoft’s (MSFT - Free Report) Xbox Game Pass and Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) YouTube TV.
So here are the top stories from last week:
Apple Has Annual Shareholder Meeting
At the annual shareholder meeting, Apple considered nine proposals, of which four were its own and five came from shareholders. Only Apple’s proposals were approved.
On the product front, Apple promised that Mac Pro customers wouldn’t be ignored in the push to launch better iPhones as the creative segment remained important to it. On the iPhone front, he expressed satisfaction that the current lineup of SE, 7 and 7 Plus generated sales that were above company expectations. Cook also said that that the airpods were a “cultural phenomenon”.
As far as other products are concerned, Apple is fighting to meet demand for the Watch Series 2 and working to launch other new products (possibly an AR device).
Apple Pay adoption is slower in the U.S. than internationally, Apple Music subscribers are at 20 million and App Store subscribers (including those for services like Netflix) are now 150 million.
Another important question addressed by the CEO was with respect to U.S. manufacturing. He said that two-thirds of Apple jobs were in the U.S. (Apple has created 2 million American jobs) and he would work to bring more. He also mentioned that Apple had paid out $50 billion to U.S. suppliers in 2016. In the meantime, favorable tax rules could see Apple bringing back more cash. While diversity remains a focus area, a proposal to make it more binding on management was shot down by shareholders.
Apple remains committed to green initiatives and said that it was already running 93% of its operations on clean energy.
Finally, on net neutrality, Cook said that while the company didn’t engage in politics, it would be involved in policy formation. To that end, it would engage on net neutrality issues. Note that new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai recently said that net neutrality was a mistake, while Apple’s position has always been that everyone’s content should be treated equal.
MWC
LG, Sony, Nokia (NOK - Free Report) , Samsung, Huawei, Motorola and Blackberry unveiled new devices at the Mobile World Congress 2017 held between Feb 27 and Mar 3. Some of the notable features of these devices are as follows:
LG’s all-new G6 smartphone got rid of the modular design of the G5 while also doing away with the removable battery (using a built-in 3,300mAh battery instead) and adding water and dust resistance, a rear mounted fingerprint scanner, USB Type C port and headphone jack.
Sony had four phones on the show, the Mediatek P20-powered Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra and the Snapdragon 820-powered XZ Premium and XZs. The XZs will run on the latest Android Nougat.
Nokia, which is making a comeback this year showcased four models: the entry level Nokia 3, the mid-range Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 (based on the Symbian OS), and the feature phone Nokia 3310 that promises a 30-day battery life. The phones are relatively cheap and classy-looking.
Samsung said it would have a launch event for the Galaxy S8 on Mar 29 and focused instead on the Galaxy Tab S3 with its 9.7-inch 2048x1536 (QXGA) Super AMOLED display, quad-core 2.15 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC and 4 GB of RAM. The device uses Android Marshmallow 6,000mAh battery
Huawei launched the 5.1-inch P10 and 5.5-inch P10 Plus, both of which run on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat, have 64-bit octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 960 processors with Mali-G71 MP8 GPUs. They were launched in 30 countries excluding the U.S. and Canada. It also announced the Android Wear 2.0-powered Watch 2 and Watch 2 Classic and the MediaPad T3 tablet.
The KEYone from Blackberry was designed by TCL Communications of China came with its familiar physical keyboard. The convenience of the keyboard with its 52 shortcuts and increased security are the unique selling points.
Lenovo/Motorola showed off the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus with the Plus having more of everything including size, snapdragon processor power, RAM and storage. But the cameras are comparable.
Microsoft Launches Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft has announced that it has a gaming subscription service in the works (i.e. it is in alpha testing). The service allows you access to 100 gaming titles for $9.99 a month. Unlike PlayStation Now, Sony’s subscription service that only allows you to stream PS4 titles, Game Pass allows you to download the entire game for XB360 and XB1 so you can play uninterrupted without worrying about connectivity issues.
If you like a game, the service allows you to buy it at a discount but if you don’t, and happen to end your subscription, you lose access to the games completely. Some titles may be removed by a publisher during the month, but Microsoft says that most titles will be there right through the month before the list is refreshed, ensuring a constant and steady flow of games.
Microsoft hopes that eventually Game Pass will become a platform that allows publishers to release their games on an episodic basis, much like TV programing. Publishers currently missing include Electronic Arts (EA - Free Report) , Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard but they will no doubt be there when it goes live. Also, the service is currently being tested for Xbox alone and plans to include Windows PCs have been shelved for now.
Google Launches Youtube TV
Alphabet’s Google launched a live TV streaming service called YouTube TV that will stream 40 sporting and entertainment channels from CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox at $35 a month for a family of six. The service puts Google in direct competition against traditional operators like AT&T (T - Free Report) with its DirecTV Now, DISH Networks with its Sling TV and CBS with its All Access. Read More: Investors Still Discounting Google Post YouTube TV Announcement
Now See Our Private Investment Ideas
While the above ideas are being shared with the public, other trades are hidden from everyone but selected members. Would you like to peek behind the curtain and view them? Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors. Click here for Zacks' secret trades >>