You’re either part of the Apple ecosystem or you’re not. Sure, there are still Android bros talking about the customability of that platform, but in truth a smartphone is now an appliance, and to argue which is superior is a waste of time. Having said that, many people get into the Apple ecosystem via the iPhone. Why do they purchase their first iPhone? Usually because their friends and family have them. And they want to be part of the blue bubble economy. And they don’t want to feel left out at family gatherings while features are demonstrated. And frequently, after purchasing an iPhone, said newbie goes on to purchase a Mac, usually a MacBook Air, which is so advanced with Apple Silicon that most people require nothing more expensive.

Having said that, if you’re into saving money, Apple is not your destination. But if you’re a teen or college student, the iPhone is still a fashion item, you don’t want to be without it. However, in the rest of the world Android dominates, frequently the iPhone is seen as a luxury product. But the bottom line is…

There are no breakthroughs here. Those evaporated somewhere back in the last decade. What we’ve got are minor improvements, and the question for most people is when do you upgrade.

Let’s start with AirPods Pro, because that’s the only product with true innovation, just like last year with hearing aid features. This time it’s live translation, which is positively stunning. If you travel overseas it’ll make you want these new AirPods Pro. But if you don’t, is it worth it for better noise cancellation and better fit, incremental advances? Probably not.

As for the Watch… Once again, there’s no need to upgrade unless yours is old. And there are two kinds of people, those who will wear a smartwatch and those who will not. Unlike a Swiss chronometer, there’s no status in an Apple Watch. You buy one for the features, the other for the jewelry (the dirty little secret is mechanical chronometers keep lousy time, if you want accuracy, go with the Apple Watch).

Now if you’ve been standing on the sidelines…

They’re busy selling the health features. Are they enough to get you to dip your toe? You can’t be convinced to buy an Apple Watch, you wake up one day and decide it’s time or you never do. Furthermore, no one testifies about their Apple Watch, no one testifies about any of these products anymore, this is not 2007 and the original iPhone, this is more like annual introductions of new cars like we had in the sixties.

All the breakthroughs are in AI.

Or are they?

If you want insight into the AI race, I advise you read this:

“The Fever Dream of Imminent Superintelligence Is Finally Breaking”

Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/opinion/ai-gpt5-rethinking.html?unlocked_article_code=1.kk8.SHXK.idFAElqVzKzG&smid=url-share

Bottom line? Large language models will not satisfy AI’s issues. ChatGPT5 is a disaster. The platforms still hallucinate (make mistakes), and all of the efforts burn up a ton of cash and electricity.

So what is the future?

Well, when it comes to coding…maybe think about a different major from STEM.

But when it comes to everyday life…

Minor benefits, like popping up the app you want on your phone without asking, those are here, and kindal cool, but minor. Summarization? I turned that off…I can’t risk the inaccuracy.

But all we keep hearing is Apple is behind the 8-ball on AI and the smartphone may not even exist in a few years.

This is akin to the dotcom bubble. AI is not taking over the world. Productivity increases are yet to be recognized. AI can only regurgitate what is already known, so breathe a sigh of relief if you’re a creator. Are there uses? Sure. But if accuracy is key, you absolutely cannot rely on AI, it is just too inaccurate.

Will there be a great leap forward in the future, AI that can think? It’s possible, but not in the near future.

Sure, AI can stimulate your thoughts, put up an outline. Sure, AI can make a song that sounds like an old one. But if you want a breakthrough, look somewhere else.

So all this anti-iPhone posturing… It’s fed by all the companies in AI and the press, often ignorant, that is caught up in the hype. Remember all the press about that AI pin you wore on your shirt? The company failed.

Speaking of which… Being able to talk to your devices and get a response sounds great, but Alexa did not live up to its promise and so far AI hasn’t either, and won’t soon, when it comes to accuracy.

So…

Do you need a new iPhone?

If you own an iPhone 8, 8 Plus or X or anything built before, you MUST get a new iPhone. Why? Because not only will they not get the new operating system, they won’t get security updates. And I’ve got to ask you, how lucky do you feel?

If you have an iPhone this old and you buy a 17 you will be stunned at the increase in speed. If your iPhone is only a few generations old, you will not be wowed by the improvements.

Having said that, most older iPhones won’t be able to take advantage of some new features, most notably AI features, but you probably neither need these new features nor want them.

So when should you buy a new iPhone?

When it’s old and broken or you want the latest features/improvements. In truth, I wouldn’t even think of upgrading unless you’ve got a 13 or earlier, UNLESS YOU WANT TO!

This is not the old days, there are not great leaps forward, only incremental ones, and despite the figures Apple touts in this presentation, most people won’t even sense the difference. Used to be you did, but the 13 to 14 was the first time you didn’t, and you haven’t since, and I’ve had them all.

So, sit on the sidelines unless you’ve got a truly old iPhone or have a hankering for a new one, an emotional more than a statistical need.

But having said that…

There is one new iPhone, the Air. Which is pretty cool. It’s thin and light, but you’re sacrificing some features, most notably cameras and battery life. They say you can use it all day, but then they say how slim the additional battery pack is… Apple has never advertised added battery packs in presentations, meaning the Air cannot have great battery life, otherwise they wouldn’t. So it’s cool, but…

If you want an ultra-thin, light iPhone, maybe the Air is for you… But if it were me, I’d wait for field reports on the battery.

As for the 17s…

You always want to buy a Pro, ALWAYS! Yes, you’re paying more, but you get more on the back end. Buy a regular iPhone 17 and you’ll think you’re saving money, but the truth is it’s already one step behind technologically, which means you’ll have to replace it at least one year earlier. As for Pro or Pro Max? If you do a lot of research on your iPhone, watch videos, go for the Max. Sure, the Max is bigger and heavier, but how addicted are you? My iPhone is the device I use most. Why sacrifice screen real estate?

So there you have it. If you’re sensing a lack of emotion, you’re right. There’s very little to see here other than the live translation and thinner iPhone, just incremental improvements.

So what should we be excited about?

All the breakthroughs today come in software.

Having said that, if you’re expecting the tech breakthroughs of the late nineties and first decade of this century, don’t. That was a once in a lifetime experience. We all want useful devices, and that’s what they truly are, tools, as Steve Jobs always sold them.

If you have an iPhone 17 with only two cameras instead of the three on the Pro will people judge you negatively? ABSOLUTELY! There are very few status markers left and that’s one of them. Even worse is an Android. Yes, there are Android power users, kudos, but the truth is most Android users are cheap, that’s why they bought their Androids, they don’t use their devices for much, much less than the average iPhone user, and therefore they are objects of ridicule.

As for the elites, those in the “New York Times,” saying the smartphone is the devil and to put it down, DON’T LISTEN TO THEM! What next, go back to rotary phones, the horse and buggy? The smartphone is not only how you connect, but how you do business, it’s the world in your hand, DO NOT let the naysayers convince you otherwise. These are the same people who told us Biden was young enough and Kamala was good enough, the same people out of touch with the public. Furthermore, the latest research shows the smartphone DOES NOT cause depression, actually the opposite.

But I probably can’t convince you of this, you can’t change anybody’s mind.

But if you want to truly operate in this world you must be digitally native, connected all the time, otherwise you’re opting out, the joke is on you.

I’ll give you an example. I was driving in the middle of nowhere in Colorado lamenting that I was no longer disconnected from society like I was back in the seventies. But that feeling of aloneness in nature? I’d sacrifice that in a heartbeat for connectivity, not only for emergencies, but mental stability. Do you know how lonely it used to be out in the middle of nowhere?

I’m convinced, you may not be.

But if you’re listening to me… Have a recent iPhone, and I’d say pay the premium over the PC for a MacBook Air, because you’ll get more productivity, but trying to convince an Android/PC user of this is like trying to convince a Republican to be a Democrat, or vice versa.

But if you are not an Apple person… I’d say to give the products a try, you can return them no questions asked, see if you prefer the easier functionality. You might not, but at least give it a chance.

I’m just totally weirded out about getting old.

No, scratch that, I’m just totally weirded out about being 72.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Almost all my contemporaries are in denial. They are over 70, but they’re acting like they’re in their forties, if not their thirties, as if they’ve got a lot of runway ahead of them, and we don’t.

Classic rock stars are dropping like flies. Rick Davies. I’m a huge Supertramp fan, I saw the last tour, sans Rodger Hodgson. It’s sad, then again Davies was 81. Not a bad run. My father died at 70. The Big C got him. That’s what people don’t realize, you can just be wandering through life and BAM!, cancer gets you. You’ll say you’re eating right, as if that really matters, but Neil deGrasse Tyson points out the fallacy in that argument here:

@hasanminhaj

“Science!!! Matters!!!” Neil deGrasse Tyson

? original sound – Hasan Minhaj

In caveman days, half of the people died by age 30. In 1840, it was 35. They were all eating organic, eating free range meats, but it wasn’t until science came along that life expectancies increased by so much.

That’s what Tyson says, many people will disagree, on both the left and the right, as if beliefs can undercut science, they can’t.

So where was I…

Oh yeah, getting old.

I ask my contemporaries if they died tomorrow would they feel ripped-off. Most say no, that there are things they want to do, but if they passed they’d be satisfied with their lives. Not me! There’s so much more I want to accomplish. But that requires I stay healthy and alive. And you can be alive and be hampered.

Anyway…

Can I tell you I saw a video of the Who on TikTok? Of Roger Daltrey, who’s gone on record he can barely hear or see, waiting to hit the high note in “Won’t Get Fooled Again”? With Pete Townshend standing nearby, waiting for the synth part to end to begin playing his guitar once again?

I was struck by one thing and one thing only, how old they both were. Both in their eighties. It’s a pact between the acts and their fans, we’re supposed to suspend disbelief and think everybody is young and chipper and still as good and will live forever.

But we won’t.

Or maybe you caught the video of Paul McCartney at the Oasis show. Maybe you notice he’s shrunk a bit. That’s a feature of aging, it happens to all of us. But the truth is Paul’s voice is shot. Or nearly shot, depending upon where you want to draw the line. You heard him on the SNL anniversary show…

BUT YOU CAN’T SAY ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT PAUL MCCARTNEY!

That’s not the point. Can you stand back and see what is going on? We’re all fading into the woodwork, and no one has all their faculties, skills and looks.

But you can try and cheat. Did you read that “New York” magazine article about facelifts? 

“The Forever-35 Face – The face-lift is better than ever and everybody wants one. Deep inside the uncanny world of the surgically ageless.”

https://apple.news/Ao2CAADOBTaOArhJxEUIdKA

Ozempic and plastic surgery. You can present an image to the world. But it’s just an image, your insides don’t know any better. Never mind lying about your age.

Now this is coming across with the wrong attitude. I don’t care if you love seeing the dinosaurs or get plastic surgery, all I’m saying is time is marching on and you can’t stop it. So what do you want to do with the rest of your life?

You’re certainly not going to be remembered. You realize that as you get older. As far as possessions? I was always creeped out how the aged ended up in one room in retirement homes, sans all their crap. I completely understand it now, most of that stuff you never use. And if you’re trying to impress people with what you’ve got…you don’t know that that’s a young person’s game, no one cares.

So what do you do with your time?

You can travel. But that’s weird too. Because you can no longer go everywhere. You’ve got to pick and choose. And take a good look around when you’re there, because chances are you’ll never be back.

I wanted to ski at every area in America. That ain’t gonna happen. Nor every mountain in Europe.

But what’s important to me, what are my priorities?

And then there’s books and movies and TV shows… I know people watch stuff multiple times, but I don’t get it, there’s still so much I haven’t seen!

And then there’s politics… There could be massive change before I die, we had a Black president and legal marijuana, which were unfathomable in the twentieth century, but chances are it will just be push and pull and…

You start to realize, I’ve started to realize, that people just can’t get along. Hell, Rodney King is dead. There are going to be wars. As for people like Putin…I don’t understand it. Who wakes up and says they want to be a rich dictator in a corrupt system. I mean money and power are nice, but why this desire to lord it over people?

These are questions I think about all the time.

Kind of like when I talk about music business stuff, if money was made the discussion ends there. You can’t criticize, can’t even analyze something if money is being made.

So you become further and further isolated.

And the separation between people, people you know, who all started from the same line. Some made something of themselves, others didn’t. Fine. But then there are those who didn’t who have contempt for those who did. So what do you do, hide your achievements or hang with those who’ve had similar successes?

It’s the nature of life. You start to become more and more detached.

When you turn 60, you’ve seen the trick, you know the game, you’re no longer beholden to the hype. If a movie or product is good, you’ll find out about it when it’s in the marketplace, you’re not going to get all excited and waste time in anticipation.

70? That’s when you realize you’re not going to be here forever.

But almost everybody I bring this up with gives me a blank stare. Tells me what they’re doing, as if they’ll be able to do it forevermore. But they won’t.

Yes, your buddies will die. And then what… You’ll just keep on keepin’ on.

So what do you do with your time?

I certainly don’t want to waste it. I don’t want to spend time with people selling me, which so many want to. Let’s talk on the phone so I can convince you to help me make money!

Or those who don’t want to talk about the deeper issues.

Or those who can never challenge their preconceptions.

Like that David Brooks piece in the “Times” last week, “Why I Am Not a Liberal.” http://bit.ly/3Ke7Rtq I’m all for a social safety net. But is Brooks right, that some programs just don’t lift people and ultimately it’s culture that creates change? I’m not sure, but I’ve been thinking about it, even though his piece is contrary to liberal orthodoxy.

Orthodoxy…

Kamala was a good candidate. Trans kids should be able to play in all sports. Sabrina Carpenter is a talent for the ages. Question precepts and you’re a pariah.

So what do I do with my time?

That’s another piece.

It’s astounding how good some of these TikTok clips are.

Sure, there are stuntsters, but then you’re dependent upon cooking up a new idea on a regular basis, constantly upping the ante. But if the draw is you…

This is the antithesis of the hit ethos we’ve seen since the nineties on MTV. You lead with the product, i.e. the music, and you present a massaged image that works for media outlets, all the while professing love of your fans and sponsors.

Sure, the focus should be on the music, but today’s music is so me-too, it’s not enough. If music were so hot, there would be a TikTok equivalent solely for tunes, but the truth is non-musical clips are just as enthralling, if not more so.

Now it used to be that acts evidenced their personalities in their songs. But this is hard to do when your numbers are written by committee. One of the reasons music burgeoned with the Beatles is the acts wrote their own songs, and therefore their personalities were up front and center. They were in the lyrics! You felt you knew who John Lennon was. And he didn’t censor himself, smooth off the rough edges to be accepted.

So if you want to be a successful musician today, focus on writing your own material, with your own personal experiences and attitudes included, so people can relate. You want spikes, things that can hook people, not moon in June. The music itself must tell a story. This is more important than any outfit/stage show/production. The music can even have mistakes.

But you must have the talent.

Look yourself in the mirror. Are you a good singer? If not, don’t try to front your music, get someone else to sing. Or maybe you shouldn’t be a musician at all.

So many of the people on TikTok are not lowest common denominator, they are educated and beam intelligence. And they’re not afraid to wade into controversial subjects. All we hear is about the dumbing down of America, but this is not true on social media. Of course there is lowest common denominator stuff, but what sticks out is the people with a brain with something to say, but even more an IDENTITY!

If you want to sell your music online, you must have a personality. Just posting a music video to TikTok is not enough. You must go on and talk about what interests you, what pisses you off. You can talk about what inspires you to write a song, the roadblocks you hit. People eat this stuff up! If you have any traction at all, focus on the bond with your audience more than the music. The label can’t do this for you, no handler can do this for you, YOU MUST DO THIS YOURSELF!’

Enough with the two decade b.s. from musicians saying that’s what they are, just players, they shouldn’t have to post on the internet. The joke is on THEM! They are the ones who are missing out.

Gaining traction is a whole ‘nother thing. Then again, employ a bit of creativity. People are constantly e-mailing me Jesse Welles clips. Furthermore, Welles doesn’t wait for a clip/song to catch fire, he keeps creating new ones. He’s not worried about the potential fan, but the fans he has, and if he does it right, they will spread the word.

Artists have personalities. Being able to play is not enough. Which is why Berklee students don’t dominate Spotify. It’s about conception, innovation…

Do yourself a favor. Get on to TikTok and scroll. And scroll. And scroll. And discover what interests you.

It’s always someone with a personality. Which might be off-putting, but…

There’s this guy the car wizard. He is always negative at the outset, usually dissing manufacturers, but then he digs deep and solves unsolvable problems. Likable he is not, yet he is fascinating and you keep watching, like so many musicians…can you say “Van Morrison”?

Then there’s the financial guru. She goes on about not being able to afford a four year school, just going to community college. She talks about varying issues and then will sneak in items like taking a GLP-1, even though she is not severely overweight. Did people come down on her for this? Of course, but it goes with the territory. If you’re not getting any negative reaction, you’re not doing it right, you’re not reaching enough people.

Then there’s another mechanic who had a series of videos telling how he got from there to here. We’re all interested in your backstory, warts and all. You just didn’t show up with a record deal.

Do you crack jokes? Are you serious?

Once again, NO ONE CAN DO THIS FOR YOU!

Your music is no longer enough. If you’re not posting on TikTok and Instagram Reels yourself, at least a few times a week, the joke is on you. View it as a new avenue of expression, not hype. The key is to glue people to you.

But no platitudes, no asks, just you. Raw you.

If you don’t get on the gravy train, you’re a hater.

Oasis played five dates in America, in large venues. Let’s just call it 80k a night, even though that’s excessive. That means that…

400,000 people went to see Oasis.

In a country of 340.1 million.

Could they have sold more tickets? ABSOLUTELY! The Oasis tour was the ultimate in FOMO. Hell froze over, get it while you can. It wasn’t only oldsters who went to the gigs, but youngsters too. And if you’re on social media you’ve been exposed to video after video of the throng singing along, as well as Liam with his sneering voice actually endearing himself to the audience.

Fine. But is this what the mass of Americans want? Do the masses want ANYTHING?

______________________

From: Tim Brunelle

Subject: Lizzo on TikTok

She’s speaking your truth!

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Sdw7HM/

______________________

Watch this video. Wherein Lizzo says it’s nearly impossible to break through and your only hope is to focus on your hard core fans and superserve them.

This is a completely different paradigm from yesteryear. Evidence of which was displayed on last night’s VMAs. Once a must-see, now a drive by car crash. Most stars appearing for the publicity. Is there any underlying meaning? This was the 41st show. Talk about long in the tooth…

Kind of like the classic rockers, who if not retired are positively geriatric. But the boomers who supported them then still believe, you can’t say anything negative about their heroes of yore, even though they’re on their last legs.

So there’s no perspective. But a lot of people yelling telling you if you don’t agree you’re dog sh*t. It’s not much different from politics.

As for the media… They LOVE this stuff! All-encompassing tours/shows that they can milk for months. It’s kind of like all the press about “White Lotus.” I gave up after the first season, that was enough.

But it isn’t much different from the hype about “Succession” and “Severance.”

What do all these shows have in common? Like tours, they play out week by week, keeping the story alive. But the viewers?

One of the biggest hits of the summer was “Happy Gilmore 2.” What is a hit? SOMETHING PEOPLE WATCH!

“‘Happy Gilmore 2,’ the 29-years-later sequel to Adam Sandler’s golf comedy, set a record on Nielsen’s streaming charts for its premiere weekend. The film amassed 2.89 billion minutes of viewing time in the United States from July 25-27, the highest single-week total for a movie in the five-year history of the ratings provider’s streaming charts. Happy Gilmore 2’s total — 2.893 billion, to be precise…”

http://bit.ly/4geyU43

Yet media coverage of “Happy Gilmore 2” was de minimis.

As for “KPop Demon Hunters,” despite the recent press about live showings, the reality is that the film was released on June 20th, to veritable crickets. The fans adored it, watched it multiple times, but the media ignored it. The tracks dominated the Top Ten and there still were no stories. Because the success did not fit the classic paradigm. Of advance hype, continuing press, the milking of every ounce of potential news out of a production. No, that is reserved for classic fare released by classic streamers.

BUT THE AUDIENCE DOESN’T CARE!

And how many people care about Oasis?

If Oasis was as big as fans and attendees want you to believe, there would be concomitant streaming evidence. But there’s not a single Oasis track in the Spotify Top 50. You’ll find Coldplay and Fleetwood Mac and Radiohead, but not Oasis. Because despite the magic of “Wonderwall,” it’s a niche enterprise.

As a matter of fact, only two Oasis tracks have in excess of a billion streams on Spotify, “Wonderwall” has 2,473,583,534 and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” has 1,152,938,602. As a matter of fact, other than “Champagne Supernova,” which has 515,735,185 streams, not a single other Oasis track has half a billion streams, most nowhere close!

Fleetwood Mac has four billion streamers, with “Dreams” at over 2 billion. Radiohead has two tracks at more than a billion, with “Creep” over two. Coldplay? They have a double digit number of billion streamers.

So where does Oasis fit in here? Definitely a significant act, but based on the press and the buzz you’d believe they’re huge in America, dominant, when that’s completely untrue.

But if you say that…

Let’s have a little perspective. There are fifty percent more people in America than there were in the heyday of stadium shows back in the seventies. Meaning a lot more acts can sell a lot more tickets. Kudos. But if you’re trying to convince me they’re dominant, I’m laughing. They’re NICHE! Why can Lizzo see this and seemingly nobody else?

My point is not to diss Oasis. Then again, I’ll diss the fans, who’d have you believe going to a show is like going to see the Beatles. Hell, Oasis wasn’t that big in America even in their heyday. It’s a thirty year old band. If Noel Gallagher wasn’t a member he’d be pissing all over it. But no, he’s silent in this dash for cash.

Welcome to America. With niche news whose attendant readers/viewers believe everybody is in on the story, or should be.

My inbox is full of e-mail from right wingers complaining that the NYT, WSJ and WaPo are not covering the stories all over Fox, never mind the right wing blogosphere. Meanwhile, stories in the aforementioned NYT, WSJ and WaPo are not covered on Fox. And you can’t convince either side that these are not huge stories. They’ll argue about it, vociferously.

The same way they’ll tell you that if you don’t think everybody in the country is enamored of, enthralled by, foaming at the mouth over Oasis or Taylor Swift, you’re just plain wrong.

But in this case, they’re wrong.

But you can’t convince them of it.