So, there I was at 4pm last Friday, repeatedly clicking refresh on Apple’s homepage and creating my own internal hysteria as the latest iPhone, after a little delay that felt endless, went live to order.
I had no idea what demand for the new device would be – muted reaction from critics is never a good sign – so I wanted to ensure that I was among the first in the virtual line.
For more than three years, my perfectly useable iPhone 11 has been my window into social media, emails, movies and music. But tech times change quickly and I have succumbed, somewhat embarrassingly, to obsolescence anxiety – what was very recently the cutting edge of tech now feels like I’m carrying around an Olivetti typewriter.
Now, as I write this, I am shamefully embarrassed to be more than a little excited about the delivery of the iPhone on launch day.
But the uglier truth is this: I will be disappointed. Feel free to check back with me.
I have long known and long argued to anyone who would listen that there are very few things more anticlimactic than upgrading to a new iPhone.
Yes, there’s the joy of unpacking it from its beautifully designed box, throwing aside those bits of paper with, presumably, important words on them, and then peeling back the protective plastic screen cover.
Then you wait as you transfer data from the old phone into the new. And then … yup, it does exactly what the old phone did, but a little faster.
It looks the same, it feels the same. It has, for the most part, exactly the same functionality. Unless you’re a professional photographer or videographer, the improvements in the quality of the photos and movies it can take are indiscernible.
But Apple and iPhone never used to be like this. Back when the world was young, we would be on the edge of our seats, literally, as we watched Apple co-founder Steve Jobs – an uber-nerd with a surprising amount of stagecraft and showmanship – tell us about “One more thing…”. There were gasps. There was applause. There was genuine excitement. These were tangible steps forward in consumer tech.
Apple and iPhone never used to be like this ... There was genuine excitement and tangible steps forward in consumer tech
Now these steps forward are incremental at best – better processor, better battery life, better lenses or camera sensors.
Endless arguments are made that we’ve reached peak technology, or that a three-year pandemic pushed back major advances. I will leave it to the bloggers and the YouTubers to fill that space in your day.
Apple launch events, while still being more compelling than historic rival Microsoft’s ever were, are not the things they used to be – and Apple knows this. Today, they’re less about specific products and more about specific features – a new USB charging port, titanium structure, Dynamic Island and other doodahs – nothing that is really going to change your world.
The events are really about Apple as a brand and its long-held belief it sits at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts. (As opposed to the likes of Facebook and Google which sit at the intersection of advertising sales and user-data collection.)
Apple’s counter-positioning, once its greatest weakness in the face of corporations like Microsoft and more recently Samsung, has become its greatest strength.
Today, it is one of the world’s most valuable companies, a position it hasn’t achieved by being a corporate slouch, and despite its ability to print its own money, it projects a friendly image, welcoming people from all walks of life, all in pursuit of a better world with amazing technology at its core.
And that is what we buy into as we await new iPhones and then, inevitably, reach for our credit cards (or, more likely, Apple Pay).
Apple’s Designed in California-branded devices sell in the millions to people who spend an amount of money on a relatively short-lived product that our parents would spend on something they would want to bequeath to their children.
I also like to think that Apple is an amazing place to work – a place filled with people roller blading to their next beanbag-based brainstorming session.
Nevertheless, Apple’s projection of its values, and the halo effect this brings to all its products, is something we should all learn from and aspire to.
Those product launches were once a parade of middle-aged white men, Jobs included, describing in cliched hyperbole their latest, greatest breakthroughs. Thankfully, those days have gone.
Today, in slick launches that are filmed in advance, Apple presents folk from across the company, and not just those lounging in the c-suite. Men, women, older, younger, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and people of South Asian descent – all form an important part of the image Apple presents to the public.
For that alone, we should all be happy. That is what we’re buying into. And that’s what remains exciting about Apple.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
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How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
