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For those not familiar with the term “hot take,” it is a journalism term (primarily in sports journalism) mockingly used to describe deliberately provocative and uninformed commentary that is based entirely on shallow moralizing, usually in response to a news story. The overwhelming majority of these takes involve no nuance and very little research.
The targets of these hot takes are usually big and notable, whether they are on a specific event or on a specific individual. Throughout the years, Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) has been on the receiving end of so many of these hot takes that I’m surprised the company hasn’t burned down yet. The amount of individuals gasbagging and spouting hot takes about the company is quite amusing.
Let’s take a look at some of the best hot takes that individuals offered up on Apple:
1.Steve Ballmer snickering at the price of the iPhone
Former Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) CEO and current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers Steve Ballmer was asked for his initial thoughts on the Apple’s newly released iPhone back in 2007. Check out the video below to see how he completely dismisses the idea of the iPhone:
I mean, Mr. Ballmer did have some valid, in the moment points regarding the iPhone’s lack of a keyboard while many businesspeople were accustomed to bulky phones with keyboards to make typing out emails easier. However, what makes this a hot take is that Mr. Ballmer was far too narrow with the iPhone’s market, focusing far too much on businesspeople, and of course, the “$500!?/Most expensive phone ever” lines, sounding like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.
Since 2014, the only company to sell more smartphones than Apple is Samsung. It’s safe to say that Mr. Ballmer may have had that one wrong.
2. Matthew Lynn predicts that the iPhone will be a bust
Speaking of the iPhone, Bloomberg News made this proclamation after the January announcement of the iPhone in 2007: “The iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks.” The link to the original article is dead, but other online publications such as Wired.com and The Atlantichave immortalized this quote.
Once again, another person ready to pounce before the iPhone had a chance to hit the market to actually measure its demand.
This 2001 Bloomberg article not only has hot takes by its author, Cliff Edwards, but also has two more takes that make this list (see numbers three and four). This entire article is one giant hot take, complete with little research and substance.
The article cites issues pertaining to rent costs in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Boston could prevent Apple Stores from generating revenue. “Rather than unveil a Velveeta Mac, Jobs thinks he can do a better job than experienced retailers at moving the beluga. Problem is, the numbers don't add up,” writes Mr. Edwards. He then cites an individual claiming that rents for these locations could cost $1.2 million per year.
Apple has 479 retail stores in 18 countries and an online store available in 39 countries. Moreover, the company’s gross revenue generated from the Apple Store segment exceeded $20 billion, which were up between 40% and 47% year-over-year.
4. Joseph Graziano as cited in“Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work”
To help add substance to his gasbaggery, Mr. Edwards managed to get a quote from Apple’s former CFO, Joseph Graziano. However, when you find out that Mr. Graziano left Apple back in 1995 and was stating how the company’s future was “bleak,” you can see that he has an agenda, and potentially didn’t leave on good terms.
Mr. Graziano provided this gem for the Bloomberg article: “Apple's problem is it still believes the way to grow is serving caviar in a world that seems pretty content with cheese and crackers.” Is this supposed to be an insult? Four of the top 10 best selling all-in-one desktop computers on Amazon.com (AMZN - Free Report) are different Apple iMac models. The Apple Mac Mini is the 5th best selling desktop computer on Amazon.com.
Furthermore, according to a Garter report, Apple’s 2015 fourth quarter market share in the PC vendor segment was 7.5%, 5th highest behind Lenovo (LNVGY - Free Report) , Hewlett Packard (HPE - Free Report) , Dell, and Asus. Of these five companies, only Apple’s year-over-year growth increased. I’m fairly certain that the people want the caviar.
5. David A. Goldstein as cited in“Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work”
The last of the hot takes in this Bloomberg article is rather impressive: “I give them two years before they're turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake.” Mr. Goldstein is cited as the “president of researcher Channel Marketing Corp.” Google Channel Marketing Corp. and you will discover that the lights of that research firm have been “turned out” for quite some time.
6. Jim Cramer welcomes you to sell Apple stock
The host of CNBC's Mad Money and a co-founder of TheStreet, Inc. had this following statement regarding the recent slump in Apple shares a few months back: “All I can say is, look, if you want to sell something at 9 times earnings, be my guest. I don't want you in the stock.”
Stock prices dropped roughly 8% back in April after the release of disappointing fiscal 2016 second quarter earnings results. Apple has had a rough 2016 so far, so it is somewhat understandable if some investors want to sell now in case things turn to bad once again for the company’s third quarter. Cramer came off as a little too confident and strident with this comment. It may be premature to sell off Apple stock, but some investors would rather be safe than sorry.
7. Andrew Steele: “Is Apple Truly Rotten to the Core?”
Is this a different Andrew Steele? Nope. The person gasbagging about other gasbags gasbagging about Apple right now is also prone to shelling out those piping-hot takes as well. Last month, I wrote an article proposing suggestions on how Apple can rebound, as the company’s stock price has declined about 25% from last year. I suggested that Apple should make a cost effective laptop, provide better student discounts, and stop releasing a new iPhone every year. Pure gasbaggery, I know.
“Trying to determine if Apple is no longer able to be inventive is rather difficult because there are far too many unknowns involved,” I wrote. “We cannot foresee the ‘next big thing’ until it actually becomes a phenomena.” What a way to present your hot take as not truly a hot take, dressing up the article as something more nuanced than “Apple is no longer relevant.” Yes folks, I too participated in the giving of a hot take.
8. Hiawatha Bray loves floppy disks
In a 1998 Boston Globe article (as cited in an article on Wired.com) business columnist Hiawatha Bray made the following comment about Apple’s new iMac desktop:
“The iMac will only sell to some of the true believers. The iMac doesn’t include a floppy disk drive for doing file backups or sharing of data. It’s an astonishing lapse from Jobs, who should have learned better… the iMac is clean, elegant, floppy-free–and doomed.”
That’s right: according to Mr. Bray, the lack of a floppy disk drive was going to prevent the iMac from being successful. I mean, how else were you supposed to share data? CDs? No way! Those are only for music.
Six years later, Dell announced that floppy drives would no longer be pre-installed on Dell Dimension home computers. The last time I saw a computer with a floppy disk and a drive is at my childhood home where I have Chip’s Challengesaved on a disk, and a modified 1999 Gateway desktop with more RAM so I can play SimCity 2000 with ease. I couldn’t even tell you if that computer is still there. The video below is a commercial of the computer I am talking about:
9. Aaron Sorkin on Tim Cook regarding the film Jobs
Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter of the Academy Award nominated film Jobs, was not having it when Apple’s current CEO Tim Cook called the film about the tech company’s late founder, Steve Jobs, as “opportunistic.”
Mr. Sorkin rebuffed with this comment, per Cinemablend.com: “If you've got a factory full of children in China assembling phones for 17 cents an hour, you've got a lot of nerve calling someone else opportunistic.”
Talk about hot takes and shots being fired. To be fair, Apple does have children in China working in their factories. Despite Mr. Sorkin’s comment having some truths in it, the comment is still a hot take on the issue of child labor.
10. Michael Dell’s Infamous Quote on Apple
Last, but certainly not least, the hottest of the hot takes on Apple came from the founder and CEO of Dell back in 1997 when asked what he would do if he were the CEO of Apple: “What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.”
Mr. Dell has since backtracked on that take, explaining that he simply could not imagine himself as the CEO of any other company other than Dell. In 2015, Dell Inc. saw total revenue at $59 billion, while Apple Inc. saw $233.715 billion. I would backtrack my comments as well knowing how much more successful Apple is compared to my company.
So, what did Steve Jobs have to say? You can check out for yourself:
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The 10 Most Ridiculous Hot Takes on Apple
For those not familiar with the term “hot take,” it is a journalism term (primarily in sports journalism) mockingly used to describe deliberately provocative and uninformed commentary that is based entirely on shallow moralizing, usually in response to a news story. The overwhelming majority of these takes involve no nuance and very little research.
The targets of these hot takes are usually big and notable, whether they are on a specific event or on a specific individual. Throughout the years, Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) has been on the receiving end of so many of these hot takes that I’m surprised the company hasn’t burned down yet. The amount of individuals gasbagging and spouting hot takes about the company is quite amusing.
Let’s take a look at some of the best hot takes that individuals offered up on Apple:
1.Steve Ballmer snickering at the price of the iPhone
Former Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) CEO and current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers Steve Ballmer was asked for his initial thoughts on the Apple’s newly released iPhone back in 2007. Check out the video below to see how he completely dismisses the idea of the iPhone:
I mean, Mr. Ballmer did have some valid, in the moment points regarding the iPhone’s lack of a keyboard while many businesspeople were accustomed to bulky phones with keyboards to make typing out emails easier. However, what makes this a hot take is that Mr. Ballmer was far too narrow with the iPhone’s market, focusing far too much on businesspeople, and of course, the “$500!?/Most expensive phone ever” lines, sounding like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.
Since 2014, the only company to sell more smartphones than Apple is Samsung. It’s safe to say that Mr. Ballmer may have had that one wrong.
2. Matthew Lynn predicts that the iPhone will be a bust
Speaking of the iPhone, Bloomberg News made this proclamation after the January announcement of the iPhone in 2007: “The iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks.” The link to the original article is dead, but other online publications such as Wired.com and The Atlantic have immortalized this quote.
Once again, another person ready to pounce before the iPhone had a chance to hit the market to actually measure its demand.
3. Cliff Edwards: “Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work”
This 2001 Bloomberg article not only has hot takes by its author, Cliff Edwards, but also has two more takes that make this list (see numbers three and four). This entire article is one giant hot take, complete with little research and substance.
The article cites issues pertaining to rent costs in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Boston could prevent Apple Stores from generating revenue. “Rather than unveil a Velveeta Mac, Jobs thinks he can do a better job than experienced retailers at moving the beluga. Problem is, the numbers don't add up,” writes Mr. Edwards. He then cites an individual claiming that rents for these locations could cost $1.2 million per year.
Apple has 479 retail stores in 18 countries and an online store available in 39 countries. Moreover, the company’s gross revenue generated from the Apple Store segment exceeded $20 billion, which were up between 40% and 47% year-over-year.
4. Joseph Graziano as cited in “Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work”
To help add substance to his gasbaggery, Mr. Edwards managed to get a quote from Apple’s former CFO, Joseph Graziano. However, when you find out that Mr. Graziano left Apple back in 1995 and was stating how the company’s future was “bleak,” you can see that he has an agenda, and potentially didn’t leave on good terms.
Mr. Graziano provided this gem for the Bloomberg article: “Apple's problem is it still believes the way to grow is serving caviar in a world that seems pretty content with cheese and crackers.” Is this supposed to be an insult? Four of the top 10 best selling all-in-one desktop computers on Amazon.com (AMZN - Free Report) are different Apple iMac models. The Apple Mac Mini is the 5th best selling desktop computer on Amazon.com.
Furthermore, according to a Garter report, Apple’s 2015 fourth quarter market share in the PC vendor segment was 7.5%, 5th highest behind Lenovo (LNVGY - Free Report) , Hewlett Packard (HPE - Free Report) , Dell, and Asus. Of these five companies, only Apple’s year-over-year growth increased. I’m fairly certain that the people want the caviar.
5. David A. Goldstein as cited in “Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work”
The last of the hot takes in this Bloomberg article is rather impressive: “I give them two years before they're turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake.” Mr. Goldstein is cited as the “president of researcher Channel Marketing Corp.” Google Channel Marketing Corp. and you will discover that the lights of that research firm have been “turned out” for quite some time.
6. Jim Cramer welcomes you to sell Apple stock
The host of CNBC's Mad Money and a co-founder of TheStreet, Inc. had this following statement regarding the recent slump in Apple shares a few months back: “All I can say is, look, if you want to sell something at 9 times earnings, be my guest. I don't want you in the stock.”
Stock prices dropped roughly 8% back in April after the release of disappointing fiscal 2016 second quarter earnings results. Apple has had a rough 2016 so far, so it is somewhat understandable if some investors want to sell now in case things turn to bad once again for the company’s third quarter. Cramer came off as a little too confident and strident with this comment. It may be premature to sell off Apple stock, but some investors would rather be safe than sorry.
7. Andrew Steele: “Is Apple Truly Rotten to the Core?”
Is this a different Andrew Steele? Nope. The person gasbagging about other gasbags gasbagging about Apple right now is also prone to shelling out those piping-hot takes as well. Last month, I wrote an article proposing suggestions on how Apple can rebound, as the company’s stock price has declined about 25% from last year. I suggested that Apple should make a cost effective laptop, provide better student discounts, and stop releasing a new iPhone every year. Pure gasbaggery, I know.
“Trying to determine if Apple is no longer able to be inventive is rather difficult because there are far too many unknowns involved,” I wrote. “We cannot foresee the ‘next big thing’ until it actually becomes a phenomena.” What a way to present your hot take as not truly a hot take, dressing up the article as something more nuanced than “Apple is no longer relevant.” Yes folks, I too participated in the giving of a hot take.
8. Hiawatha Bray loves floppy disks
In a 1998 Boston Globe article (as cited in an article on Wired.com) business columnist Hiawatha Bray made the following comment about Apple’s new iMac desktop:
“The iMac will only sell to some of the true believers. The iMac doesn’t include a floppy disk drive for doing file backups or sharing of data. It’s an astonishing lapse from Jobs, who should have learned better… the iMac is clean, elegant, floppy-free–and doomed.”
That’s right: according to Mr. Bray, the lack of a floppy disk drive was going to prevent the iMac from being successful. I mean, how else were you supposed to share data? CDs? No way! Those are only for music.
Six years later, Dell announced that floppy drives would no longer be pre-installed on Dell Dimension home computers. The last time I saw a computer with a floppy disk and a drive is at my childhood home where I have Chip’s Challenge saved on a disk, and a modified 1999 Gateway desktop with more RAM so I can play SimCity 2000 with ease. I couldn’t even tell you if that computer is still there. The video below is a commercial of the computer I am talking about:
9. Aaron Sorkin on Tim Cook regarding the film Jobs
Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter of the Academy Award nominated film Jobs, was not having it when Apple’s current CEO Tim Cook called the film about the tech company’s late founder, Steve Jobs, as “opportunistic.”
Mr. Sorkin rebuffed with this comment, per Cinemablend.com: “If you've got a factory full of children in China assembling phones for 17 cents an hour, you've got a lot of nerve calling someone else opportunistic.”
Talk about hot takes and shots being fired. To be fair, Apple does have children in China working in their factories. Despite Mr. Sorkin’s comment having some truths in it, the comment is still a hot take on the issue of child labor.
10. Michael Dell’s Infamous Quote on Apple
Last, but certainly not least, the hottest of the hot takes on Apple came from the founder and CEO of Dell back in 1997 when asked what he would do if he were the CEO of Apple: “What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.”
Mr. Dell has since backtracked on that take, explaining that he simply could not imagine himself as the CEO of any other company other than Dell. In 2015, Dell Inc. saw total revenue at $59 billion, while Apple Inc. saw $233.715 billion. I would backtrack my comments as well knowing how much more successful Apple is compared to my company.
So, what did Steve Jobs have to say? You can check out for yourself:
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>