Donald Trump meets the tech giants: What is the matter with Apple? An analysis of the tech acquisitions market and the impact of tariffs
The CEOs of the Big Tech companies wished the president-elect well. Sundar Pichai (Alphabet), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Tim Cook (Apple), Andy Jassy (Amazon), and Satya Nadella (Microsoft) have all sparred with Donald Trump before, but they were quick to get behind him as their companies face a fresh four years of operating under an influential politician who has proved volatile.
Trump has promised to back out of policies that may have slowed growth for certain tech companies. When it comes to tech acquisitions, the president-elect may take a more hands-off approach.
And now, with Elon Musk as his biggest supporter, “this might be a moment in which there’s a picking of favorites amongst the big tech players,” says Betsy Cooper, director of the Aspen Policy Academy.
This has raised questions about Apple’s business since more than 95 percent of its hardware products are manufactured and assembled in China; as well as large retailers and e-commerce companies that rely heavily on Chinese materials and components. According to the National Retail Federation, american shoppers could lose up to $78 billion in annual spending power if the proposed tariffs are implemented.
In a note released Wednesday, Bernstein said that Apple might not be as exposed to higher tariffs as an initial reading of them might suggest. Apple has also been diversifying its supply chain by producing products in different regions, like Vietnam.
The iPhone is Bigger Than Donald Trump, And What Happens When Artificial Intelligence Meets Humanity: In a Brief History of the US Elections in 2016
The staff at Backchannel were shocked by the US election results eight years ago. The editor posted on our Slack the morning after that it seemed that working on a technology story seemed tone-deaf. On a plane from New York to San Francisco, I wrote a column to answer that impulse, directed as much to myself and my colleagues as it was to readers. The biggest story of our time was the technological revolution we were living through, despite the enormity of the event, I argued. Disruption politicians may refuse to leave, or come and go. The chip, network, and mobile device were changing humans, and perhaps what it means to be a human. Our job was to chronicle that epic transformation, no matter who was politically in charge. The headline of my column was “The iPhone Is Bigger Than Donald Trump.”
Despite being re-elected this week, Trump is still president. oh hell, I won’t go through the litany of what would seem to be slam-dunk disqualifiers. You have heard all of it, and it doesn’t matter to a majority of voters. The next few years will be the stuff of history, because of the unbelievable story. Maybe not in a good way. Maybe in a very bad way for a country where many expected to celebrate its continuing values on America’s 250th birthday. The spirit of unity will allow me to use the “Maybe” qualification since loser should be humble and who knows what is ahead.
I’m still not giving in to the thought of 2016 that I had. As Stewart Brand once said, “Human nature doesn’t change much; science does, and the change accrues, altering the world irreversibly.” What is happening in technology and science remains the activity that will ultimately make the biggest impact on our species. Future generations will identify the period when microchips and neural net software changed everything when they look back hundreds of years later. The country that used to occupy real estate in the western hemisphere was destroyed by a strongman with funny hair. I no longer run a publication and instead represent but a single voice in a much larger staff. (For WIRED’s institutional view, please note the words of my boss, which I endorse.) I repeat my statement of purpose, that artificial intelligence is bigger than Donald Trump.
Journalists must be very active in covering Trump’s second presidency. In the short term—for some of us codgers it may be all of our remaining term!—what happens in our community and country will have a bigger influence on our daily lives than the latest version of Claude, ChatGPT, or even Apple Intelligence. (Sorry, Tim Apple.) If you lose your health care, or your reproductive rights, or find yourself in a deportation camp or a prison cell because of the policies of our returning president, the knowledge that AI, mixed reality, and quantum computers might one day redefine us won’t lessen the pain.
The day after Donald Trump was elected, I visited an artificial intelligence company and talked to one of its leaders and an engineer. I was depressed after the elections when I walked back to the office. But I will finish the article about that company, and then do another, sticking to the tech beat for as long as my broken heart keeps beating. AI, after all, is still the biggest story in town.
