A podcast about Apple unlike anything you have listened to before. Join @NeilCybart each week for a journey through the world of Apple.
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Joined May 2025
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Podcast Episode:
That LA Vibe
In this 55-minute episode, @NeilCybart discusses his trip out to LA for Apple's "Pro and tell" experience and his thoughts on everything that Apple announced.
Subscribe to listen to this episode (and receive new AVALON episodes every Tuesday) here:
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
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One quick programming alert: The episode that I originally intended to come out late last week (Thursday or Friday) will be coming out later today in the PM. It will represent this week's AVALON episode. Following Apple's LA experience, I needed extra time to go back and research a few things. We will talk much more about it in the episode.
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Podcast Episode:
Hectic Bagels in the Morning
In this 68-minute episode, @neilcybart talks about the following topics:
What’s on the Agenda
- More on HomeView (apps & Siri AI) + (pricing - why is the wall-mounted model the same price as the standalone unit?).
- Apple Home Collection.
- HomePod mini 2.
- Apple TV 4K.
- Phone demand noise.
Lighting Round
- Apple's upcoming experience in LA.
- Time profiles John Ternus.
Give Me a Break
- Some of the reactions to the HomeView family ad.
Tell Me More
- Netflix's troubles.
Subscribe to listen to this episode (and receive new AVALON episodes every Tuesday) here:
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
“I suspect Apple has a pretty convincing runway for iPhone Duo…they have updates lined up that will address so-called shortcomings found with version one…
If you have that already lined up…I think Apple, they want to make sure that [iPhone Duo] receives a big launch.
They don’t want to somehow limp into foldables.” - @NeilCybart
From AVALON episode “My First Apple Park Apples.” aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Listen to the FULL 77-minute episode and receive new episodes every Tuesday by subscribing for just $10/month (save by going with an annual plan or Above Avalon membership bundle):
app.moonclerk.com/pay/3rgpnj…
More information about AVALON (@avalonpod): aboveavalon.com/avalon
“So many players in Silicon Valley have completely struggled with [selling smart home gadgets] over the years, where you have these stationary displays, you have these speakers, they’re ugly…they’re not things you want people to see. You feel embarrassed having them on your counter. That’s not HomeView,” says @NeilCybart.
From AVALON episode “Live From New York…Almost.” aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Listen to the FULL 50-minute episode and receive new episodes every Tuesday by subscribing for just $10/month (or save by going with an annual plan):
app.moonclerk.com/pay/3rgpnj…
More information about AVALON (@avalonpod): aboveavalon.com/avalon
New Podcast Episode:
Live From New York...Almost
Recorded shortly after returning from Apple’s home “experience” in NYC, @NeilCybart shares his initial thoughts and observations regarding HomeView.
Discussion topics:
- Apple's home "experience."
- Neil's initial impressions seeing HomeView.
- HomeView usage trends / shared settings implications.
- Apple's missed opportunity with the HomeView "Designed for life at home" video.
- Strongest / weakest use cases and settings for HomeView.
- The broader strategy for HomeView, including where Apple can take the device.
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
In the 2010s, Amazon was crowned king of the smart home. @NeilCybart publicly disagreed with the coronation. A decade later, the smart home remains open from a competitive perspective.
From AVALON episode “The Napoleon of the Smart Home.” aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Listen to the FULL 58-minute episode and receive new episodes every Tuesday by subscribing for just $10/month (or save by going with an annual plan):
app.moonclerk.com/pay/3rgpnj…
More information about AVALON (@avalonpod): aboveavalon.com/avalon
“It seems hard to believe, and I think a lot of people have mentally erased this period from their memories, there were people who thought [in the 2010s that] smart speakers, such as Echo speakers from Amazon, would replace smartphones. They would replace our personal gadgets,” says @NeilCybart.
“In a way we had this sort of stationary smart speaker mania [mirage] unfold in the 2010s…
I was not buying any of this…[it] was a giant head fake and I was saying it as loud as I can…”
From AVALON episode “The Napoleon of the Smart Home.” aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Listen to the FULL 58-minute episode and receive new episodes every Tuesday by subscribing for just $10/month (or save by going with an annual plan):
app.moonclerk.com/pay/3rgpnj…
More information about AVALON (@avalonpod): aboveavalon.com/avalon
The AVALON Podcast retweeted
With Apple’s “Welcome home” event coming up tomorrow, my newest AVALON podcast episode provided good background regarding the broader smart home genre (and why so many of the 2010s prognostications regarding the smart home never panned out).
New Podcast Episode:
The Napoleon of the Smart Home
@NeilCybart’s discussion topics:
- The smart home (2010s vs. 2020s).
- Smart speaker mania.
- Amazon's premature coronation in the home.
- HomePods.
- How Amazon, Google, and Apple look at the smart home.
- Why the smart home's value will rise going forward.
- What Apple will do with the smart home.
- Privacy in the home.
- Full Disk Access (macOS) will see changes.
- Follow-up to OpenAI's DevDay 2026.
- Vibecoding hardware.
- Automation in the home.
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Some people have raised a concern that Tim Cook has too much power as executive chairman, that Cook is running Apple with Ternus taking on more of a COO-type role.
“I do not think having Tim Cook as executive chairman somehow is demeaning to John Ternus in the CEO role,” says @NeilCybart.
“Tim Cook can handle tasks that John Ternus no longer would need to handle. That doesn’t mean that the CEO role at Apple is in some ways watered down.
It doesn’t mean that it is losing power.
It means that the role of the CEO will evolve. It’s been evolving. The [Apple] CEO role…it didn’t use to be, you have to be this sort of global statesman of a way…Apple wasn’t big enough…In a way Tim Cook needed that CEO role to encompass everything that he did from a geopolitical perspective.
With [Cook] as executive chairman, I think the CEO role can…go back to the way it was.”
From AVALON episode “Some Not-So-Random Muse-ings”
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Listen to the FULL 79-minute episode and receive new episodes every Tuesday by subscribing for just $10/month (or save by going with an annual plan):
app.moonclerk.com/pay/3rgpnj…
More information about AVALON (@avalonpod): aboveavalon.com/avalon
“If we use AI agents the way companies want us to use them, we’re going to really end up in some bad spots,” says @NeilCybart.
Meta is positioning Muse “as a way for people to save money. They’re positioning it as ‘use Muse to transact on your behalf.’ Buy why is that? That’s how they think they’re going to make money. They want to take a percentage of the transaction value…It makes me wonder, maybe having your AI agent handle all of your transactions, maybe that’s not the best initial use case for something like this.”
From AVALON episode “Some Not-So-Random Muse-ings”
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Listen to the FULL 79-minute episode and receive new episodes every Tuesday by subscribing for just $10/month (or save by going with an annual plan): app.moonclerk.com/pay/3rgpnj…
More information about AVALON (@avalonpod): aboveavalon.com/avalon
New Podcast Episode:
The Napoleon of the Smart Home
@NeilCybart’s discussion topics:
- The smart home (2010s vs. 2020s).
- Smart speaker mania.
- Amazon's premature coronation in the home.
- HomePods.
- How Amazon, Google, and Apple look at the smart home.
- Why the smart home's value will rise going forward.
- What Apple will do with the smart home.
- Privacy in the home.
- Full Disk Access (macOS) will see changes.
- Follow-up to OpenAI's DevDay 2026.
- Vibecoding hardware.
- Automation in the home.
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
New Podcast Episode:
Some Not-So-Random Muse-ings
@NeilCybart explained why he is bearish on AI agents in their current form, but bullish on automation.
Additional discussion topics:
- Concerns that some people have with Apple having a powerful executive chairman.
- Oura delays its IPO.
- OpenAI unveils dots / another AI agent framed as cute friends / animals.
- AI grifters lying about AI agent capability.
- How should we frame early product success? Neil's theory regarding why products that are positioned as the future out of the gate don't go on to meet or exceed expectations.
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
The AVALON Podcast retweeted
I record a weekly podcast about Apple called AVALON.
- Episodes are packed with Apple product strategy talk.
- A "Give Me a Break" segment allows me to go off on something that I found ridiculous over the past week.
- A "Tell Me More" segment is dedicated to discussing something interesting that has been on my mind.
- Episodes typically come out to about 60 to 70 minutes.
- No ad / sponsorship breaks that need skipping.
- New episodes on Tuesdays.
- A paid podcast available exclusively to subscribers. $10/month or $100/year. Price drops to $6/month or $60/year for Above Avalon Members. The podcast is free for Above Avalon members with the Podcasts add-on.
- Episodes can be listened to in various podcast players including Apple Podcasts.
Join me on the AVALON journey: aboveavalon.com/avalon
My First Apple Park Apples
In this 77-minute episode, @NeilCybart discusses Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event at Apple Park.
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Pervert Glasses Aren’t It
In this 71-minute episode, @NeilCybart talks about the following topics:
- Apple's big PR launch push for iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max.
- More on iPhone Duo strategy.
- The reasons pre-taped presentations exceed live keynotes for Apple.
- Apple unveils Apple Music Hall in London.
- Tim Cook executive chairman-ing.
- Bloomberg's Mark Gurman being upset about influencers getting iPhone 18 Pro review units.
- How Apple can shift the smart glasses market with its own pair of glasses.
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
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My First Apple Park Apples
In this 77-minute episode, @NeilCybart discusses Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event at Apple Park.
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
One quick programming note:
This week's podcast episode will be coming out later today - Wednesday.
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What-Ifs Ahead of Apple’s Big Event
@NeilCybart shares what he’s thinking about ahead of Apple’s big product event taking place on September 9th at Apple Park.
Subscribe to listen to this episode (and receive new AVALON episodes every Tuesday):
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Crocheting at a Baseball Game
@NeilCybart talks about Apple product priorities for the John Ternus era. Additional discussion topics include:
- Baseball in Apple Immersive Video
- Apple's updated leadership page.
- Apple's revised terms for iOS app distribution in the EU.
- The Information's "Apple stumbled into AI hardware success with the Mac" article.
- Data center backlash in the U.S. / Gavin Baker's attempt to spin data center PR.
Subscribe to listen to this episode (and receive new AVALON episodes every Tuesday):
aboveavalon.com/avalonepisod…
Legacies Can Be a Tricky Thing
@NeilCybart talks about how will historians will grade Tim Cook’s legacy as Apple CEO.
Additional discussion topics include:
- Walmart accepting Apple Pay
- Apple unveiling M6 and M5 Ultra and broader updates to the Mac mini and Mac Studio
- App Store sales weakness.
- The auto industry A/B testing a car with and without CarPlay
- The WSJ justifying Stanley Druckenmiller using AI to write his WSJ op-ed.
- What are we going to do with additional free time made available by AI?
Subscribe to listen: aboveavalon.com/notes/2026/8…
