Jony Ives interview

Is Apple stuck in a funk in a post Steve Jobs era? First of all, define funk. There are a few ways of using this word, but the context that I normally use it in is a mix of the verb to panic, fail due to panic and noun Foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odour. Stuck in a funk. Feels bad, smelly and close to failure. You will know what I mean of course. I was very interested to come across a rare interview with basically Steve Job's right hand man, a fellow by the name of Jony Ive. Apologies, for those amongst us that think the royal family and that titled hierarchy is relevant in 2014, it is Sir Jonathan Paul Ive. The Time article is titled Jonathan Ive designs tomorrow and it is a remarkable look into the insight of the man that called Steve Jobs his closest friend.


At the same time however, possibly the cheapest looking phone that Apple has made, the iPhone 5c has not actually been selling that well. Poorly in China and not really that well globally either. Which means only one thing really, people still want the quality products, and those ones only. I suspect that when the new Apple iPhones (anticipated to be released a little later this year), the replacement cycle continues, as well as newer entrants to the Apple ecosystem. I remain bullish on the company and think that ex cash basis the stock trades 11.5 times and that is really, really cheap. Sure you are not going to get the amazing growth you once had, but the company returning around 100 billion in buybacks and dividends over the next half a decade is a brilliant outcome. Stay long.