Apple Was Fastest Growing Latin American Smartphone Vendor in Q1
Apple emerged as the fastest‑growing smartphone vendor in Latin America during 1Q 2026, posting a 31% year‑over‑year increase despite a flat regional market that grew only 3% to 34.8 million units. The iPhone 17 series drove the surge, with Mexico delivering an extraordinary 80% YoY jump. Apple shipped roughly 2 million devices, securing a place among the top five vendors behind Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola and HONOR. Samsung retained leadership with a 37% share, while Xiaomi held 17% and HONOR grew 30% in the entry‑level segment.
Apple Vision Pro Gains Wheelchair Control, On-Device Speech Recognition and Vehicle Motion Cues
Apple announced a suite of new accessibility features for Vision Pro, including eye‑tracking control of compatible power wheelchairs, on‑device speech recognition that generates private subtitles, and Vehicle Motion Cues to lessen motion sickness in moving vehicles. The updates also add...
IPhone Share of US Big 3 Carriers Reaches 75%, 77% with Verizon
Apple’s iPhone captured 75% of sales on the three major US carriers in Q1 2026, rising to 77% on Verizon. The company’s U.S. volume grew 1.3% year‑over‑year while the broader smartphone market fell 5.7%, and Android shipments plunged 14.4% YoY....
What’s Wrong with Chromebooks? Market Down 11% in Q1, Outlook Even Worse for the Year as Neo Steps In.
Chromebook shipments fell 11% year‑over‑year in Q1 2026, marking the steepest decline among PC categories, according to Omdia. Lenovo remained the market leader with 1.5 million units but slipped 11.2%, while HP and Dell posted 15.3% and 28.3% drops respectively. ASUS...
The Great Memory Panic of 2026
Apple is confronting a sharp rise in memory component costs, which now represent 15%‑40% of a device’s bill of materials. The spike stems from limited variable‑capacity suppliers, pushing marginal pricing higher while base‑load contracts remain steadier. Apple can absorb short‑term...
Integration, Culture and Market Creation
In a recent Asahi Shimbun interview, analyst Horace Dediu argues that Apple’s post‑1998 era is defined by tight integration of hardware, software and services, not just legacy product design. He stresses that Apple’s culture of relentless focus—saying no to low‑impact...
Google’s Free Cash Flow Will Hit Zero Next Year
Alphabet posted $73.3 bn of free cash flow in FY2025, but CEO Sundar Pichai guided 2026 capital expenditures of $175‑$185 bn, essentially matching the company’s operating cash. The capex trajectory has accelerated from $32.3 bn in 2023 to $91.4 bn in 2025, with Q4...
Is Apple an Enterprise Gatekeeper?
The discussion centers on whether Apple’s combined hardware and services for enterprise users makes it a regulatory gatekeeper under the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Analysts argue that bundling could be seen as anticompetitive if Apple defaults its own services, but...
Margins or Revenue: Which Matters More?
In a May 2026 Asymco Office Hours session, Dave Emery asked whether Apple should focus on expanding gross margins or gross revenue. The panelist answered that top‑line growth and customer acquisition are the decisive goals, with margins taking a back‑seat....
Will Apple Preserve iPhone 18 Pro Pricing at 17 Pro Levels?
Apple is expected to keep the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,099 and the Pro Max at $1,199, matching the previous generation’s price points. The move comes as rising AI‑driven memory costs force Android makers to raise prices or trim low‑margin...
Why Won’t Apple Become a Cloud Company?
Apple is unlikely to become a cloud provider, opting instead to push high‑performance AI computing onto its consumer devices. Leveraging Apple Silicon’s efficiency, the company can run matrix‑heavy workloads locally in products like the Mac mini, iPhone, and future desktops....
The Vision Products Group Expanding
Apple’s Vision Products Group remains active despite rumors of its 2025 dissolution, as evidenced by 14 senior engineering openings posted in April 2026. The hiring push covers AI, augmented reality, virtual reality, and core software, signaling continued investment in the...
Google to Sell TPU Chips as Gemini Shows Returns
Alphabet announced it will begin selling its custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to a limited set of customers who will install the chips in their own data centers, shifting from its previous model of renting TPU capacity. The change was...
Apple Share of the Smartphone SoC Market Grew From 15% to 19% in Q1
Global smartphone system‑on‑chip shipments fell 8% YoY in Q1 2026, yet Apple’s share rose from 15% to 19%, reflecting strong demand for its premium devices. Counterpoint Research notes the premium segment stayed resilient while entry‑level makers shifted to cheaper chips....
Is Apple Borrowing Samsung’s Market Expansion Strategy?
Bernstein SocGen Group reaffirmed its Outperform rating on Apple, setting a $340 price target. The firm likens Apple’s current push—new AirPods Max 2, a reduced App Store fee in China, and a forthcoming foldable iPhone—to Samsung’s 2009‑13 expansion that grew its...