蘑菇AV

This effort to appease EU regulators could shake up the mobile wallet landscape, but Apple Pay鈥檚 dominance shouldn鈥檛 waver

Generative AI is a content moderation threat multiplier: Apple and Blix face off over AI-generated content restrictions for the App Store. We can expect controversy to escalate as legal liability looms.

Outside of MWC, rumors of Apple releasing an iPhone 17 Air or iPhone Slim are circulating, per Tom鈥檚 Guide. It may replace an iPhone 17 Plus and could be released in September. It could be 2mm thinner than the iPhone 16. MacRumors analyst Jeff Pu suspects the phone will have a single 48 MP main camera.

Thirty-one percent of weekly and 33% of monthly podcast listeners prefer YouTube, putting it above competitors like Spotify (27%) and Apple Podcasts (15%). Spotify is trying to prove its worth as a podcast platform, recently expanding its Partner Program to nine new markets and providing more growth opportunities to entice creators.

Microsoft has worked toward carbon neutrality since 2012 and pledged to be carbon negative by 2030 for all three scopes, while Apple wants to be carbon neutral across its value chain by 2030. Yes, but: Sustainability remains important globally, but it鈥檚 facing some challenges in the US.

Apple. Google. J.D. Power. JPMorgan Chase. Klarna. PYMNTS.com. Zip.

Alibaba, which has long been integrating genAI into its ecommerce business, has just secured a partnership with Apple in China to power iPhones with its AI products. ByteDance鈥檚 AI chatbot Douban has risen to the top of China鈥檚 AI apps ranking with nearly 60 million monthly active users (MAUs), according to CTR Market Research.

Apple: After abandoning its EV project, Apple is ramping up robotics hiring and working on both humanoid and non-humanoid designs for a future smart home ecosystem. Mass production, if pursued, could begin by 2028. Key takeaway: Robotics is no longer a niche sector. Big Tech鈥檚 partnerships, investments, and acquisitions are expected to continue to ramp up.

In the US, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have five ongoing cases against Google, Amazon, Apple, and Meta. In the EU, the European Commission is investigating Alphabet, Apple, and Meta for noncompliance under the Digital Markets Act.

Following Netflix鈥檚 lead in both ad-supported and subscription-based video are Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Crave from Bell Media. Crave鈥攚hich is home to HBO Max content in Canada鈥攊s a homegrown service and has gained more than 1 million subscribers since 2020. Gen Z and millennials are the primary consumers of digital video.

But it鈥檚 not necessarily an apples-to-apples comparison since YouTube Shorts is part of the broader YouTube interface鈥�76.2% of YouTube viewers watch Shorts. And TikTok monetizes its users at a much higher rate than YouTube, per our estimates. TikTok is making moves to attract and retain users. Within the last year, TikTok has tried to recruit new US users and creators.

Apple is reportedly considering adding cameras and visual intelligence features to its wearables, per Bloomberg. But given Apple鈥檚 recent AI shortcomings, these features could be at least a year away. Key stats: 63% of US adults say AI features on smartphones will save them time, but 60% say on-device AI is just another way for companies to collect their data, per YouGov.

Companies hit hard by tariff swings include Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Google, Nvidia, and Tesla. Tariffs on production hubs like China, India, and Vietnam were announced, paused, and, in China鈥檚 case, raised repeatedly.

Google, Apple, and Tesla are also working on humanoid robots for consumer applications. Key stats: Citi forecasts that there will be 1.3 billion AI robots by 2035 and that the market will be worth $1.7 trillion for humanoid robots alone, per its Rise of AI Robots report. In today鈥檚 world population, that鈥檚 about one robot for every six people.

Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi collectively hold 62.72% of the global smartphone market, per StatCounter. Although generative AI (genAI) capabilities are limited to premium devices right now, those features could become more common in non-premium phones as the tech gets baked into operating systems. By 2028, 9 out of 10 smartphones priced above $250 will be genAI-capable, per Counterpoint Research.

Last week, Apple made news for testing an AI-powered ad product similar to Google鈥檚 Performance Max. Apple has been successfully investing in advertising for the past few years. But Google has a multibillion dollar advertising advantage. Even with AI advertising improvements, Apple is nowhere near Google鈥檚 ad dominance.

The glasses鈥� real-time health metrics could facilitate an AI fitness coach that measures metrics like calories burned or speed, similar to an Apple Watch. They could also connect users with tech support for computers or household repairs by allowing the service rep to analyze objects the user is seeing and pull information from the web.

Declining demand and rising costs are taking a toll. Samsung and Apple dominate the premium segment, leaving room for budget brands to thrive in emerging markets.

Apple had to halt its Apple Intelligence news summaries feature due to hallucinations. Google鈥檚 Gemini chatbot went off script by generating threatening responses to a graduate student who was prompting it to answer essay and test questions. Meta walking back content moderation and fact-checking makes it difficult to regulate misinformation on its various platforms.

Our take: EU regulators are going after Google鈥檚 practices with renewed vigor and are investigating other Big Tech platforms such as Apple and Meta for similar DMA violations. Google has to change its search and app store to satisfy the EC or brace for another huge fine.

Apple Music Classical, is expanding content partnerships with orchestras and making its app available on desktops. Amazon Music is bundling subscriptions with Audible for possible audience discovery and cross-pollination. These strategies are innovative but also limited to very specific niches such as audiophiles, classical music superfans, and those interested in audiobooks.

Our take: Without an official launch date for Alexa+, it could see more delays, like Apple Intelligence faced. Consumers may be wary of trusting Alexa鈥檚 AI in their homes since the device is set to train its systems on users鈥� speech patterns, requests, text transcriptions, and ZIP codes.

In an 蘑菇AV interview, OAAA CEO Anna Bager discussed how DOOH鈥檚 continued growth, combined with programmatic capabilities and improved measurement tools, has made OOH an increasingly attractive option for major brands including Apple, McDonald's, Amazon, Disney, Google, and Nike. Additionally, pharmaceutical advertisers are shifting budgets from television to OOH as a viable marketing channel.

Apple, Google, Samsung, and Huawei are all launching AI-enabled smartphones with conversational search functionality. As more consumers get accustomed to those capabilities on mobile, desktop behaviors will start to shift. Brands and retailers will reassess their search strategies.