Watch Facebook's TV. It'll watch you back.
Hey Snackers,
Apple is now trying to trademark the term "Slofie." Slow-mo selfies. Now a thing.
Stocks inched up as the Fed cut interest rates for the 2nd time this year — America's central bank is worried global issues will hurt the US economy's mojo so it's making it easier/cheaper to borrow and spend.
Facebook launches Portal TV — this just started "The Living Room Wars"
The "I-don't-know-what-to-get-mom/dad-for-Christmas" gift... Facebook's $149 Portal TV turns your tube into an eerily smart and aggressively social streaming device (it's a spinoff of Zuck's AI-powered Portal tablet). ETA is November, but the high-tech camera/speaker bar boasts 1 crucial gadget: A low-tech privacy knob you slide to block the camera.
The snuggling is sold separately... True to Facebook's original mission — connecting people online — the Alexa-powered Portal TV lets you and bae be together even when you're apart. Here are its 2 most powerful features:
- Video call using Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. The face-recognizing camera follows you around while you wash lettuce, bake a pie, and set the table mid-call.
- "Watch Together" lets you stream videos on Facebook Watch but keep the corner of the screen on video chat — Your remote plus-1 is watching with you on the screen. Portal TV then adjusts the volume when you need to chit-chat about where you've definitely seen that actor from before.
The Living Room Wars... They're 1 chapter away from The Streaming Wars. You've heard about the battles between Netflix, Disney+, and others over who owns Seinfeld and Peter Pan. Even Comcast announced yesterday it's making its "Xfinity Flex" streaming device free for all cord-cutters, which dropped Roku shares 14%. Now it's all-out conflict for the living room, and Zuck wants in.
Ancient glass-icon Corning snags $250M from Apple for your phone screen
Tapping is the new clicking... And iPhone swipe/touch/scroll is like a massage for Corning's key product: the iPhone screen. The glass legend was founded before the Civil War in Corning, NY (population 10,700 and it's still HQ'd there). It supported the creation of the light bulb, car windshields, and — in 2006 — the iPhone. And it just earned a $250M investment from Apple.
One's not like the other... Seems weird that Apple's investing in a 19th-century supplier of glass parts. But it makes sense for two reasons:
- Public Relations pandering: All iPhones are made in China. To show it's contributing to American jobs too, Apple put $6B into the Advanced Manufacturing Fund to support its American parts suppliers. This was one of its investments.
- Product tempting: Apple needs new features to convince you to splurge/upgrade to future iPhones. Corning's using the $$$ for its scratchless "Gorilla Glass" – it's researching new versions for foldable phones and glass-backed wireless charging.
Tiny slice of good news, big slice of bad... Corning's Apple announcement was outmatched by a bad one about the rest of its biz. Corning also makes TV screens and fiber optic cables (for the telecom industry) — The stock dropped 7% after its earnings revealed the outlooks for both are dimmed. Looking at where its revenues come from, it's clear why:
- 12.5% of sales = Specialty Materials (like Gorilla Glass): The Apple news affects this part of Corning.
- 87.5% of sales = Other glass sales: This part's all non-Apple products. — nearly all of Corning's revenues. That's what investors focused on this week.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Resumés: Amazon's HR team is handling 208K applications during its epic career day this week
- Makeover: Lay's potato chip bag and UPS workers both get a bag/uniform redesign
- Rethink: AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015 in the peak-satellite era — now it's considering selling it in the cord-cutting era
- Smoked: Juul loses advertising on CBS and other TV stations as the recent e-cig scare grows into something bigger
Thursday
- Earnings from Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants
- Existing Home Sales tell us if the housing market is rebounding
Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Amazon
20190919-957342-2884728