Apple expanding medical and mobile semis

[Arthur Hanson]

With the new Apple phone and watch, they have the ideal combination for being the first to really make the wearable medical market. The phone has the processing, memory and communications using the most stable mass platform allowing more functionality, since this way more functions can be put in the watch. These same qualities will also make them a leader in payments. Apple has an already established stable ecosystem in both areas and by designing many of their own chips, intend to keep it that way. Others will try to follow, but I feel will lag behind due to Apple's real world experience in both areas. In medical they have been working with Kaiser, the single biggest medical organization in the US. The tight partnership they have with TSM is the final clincher in this equation. Adding Apples app platform to this all but assures that Samsung and others will be left to follow.

What makes this interesting is how using an open ecosystem, is that a company can still build a wide moat that still has opportunity for outsiders to prosper. I'm sure we'll see many wearable and remote devices for medical and other purposes that will tie into this system and prosper. The same security used in the financial transactions will be able to be used across the rest of the platform. All this together is creating an exciting, vibrant ecosystem that provides an almost unlimited opportunity for others. It's interesting to see the ecosystems of Apple, TSM, Qualcom and ARM all come together. This is the ultimate demonstration of the foundry model applied across different businesses over the IDM that tries to do it all.

Comments, thoughts and observations not only appreciated, but wanted. SemiWiki has become like the model above for people wanting to keep up with the industry as no physical publication could ever do. Welcome to the future, it is here.

 

[Staf_Verhaegen]

With the new Apple phone and watch, they have the ideal combination for being the first to really make the wearable medical market. The phone has the processing, memory and communications using the most stable mass platform allowing more functionality, since this way more functions can be put in the watch. These same qualities will also make them a leader in payments. Apple has an already established stable ecosystem in both areas and by designing many of their own chips, intend to keep it that way. Others will try to follow, but I feel will lag behind due to Apple's real world experience in both areas. In medical they have been working with Kaiser, the single biggest medical organization in the US. The tight partnership they have with TSM is the final clincher in this equation. Adding Apples app platform to this all but assures that Samsung and others will be left to follow.

I am afraid Apple is not leading: imec-Samsung press release of 3 months ago

 

[Arthur Hanson]

Staf, I read the link and still think Apple has a lead and has had it for a while. Their collaboration with Kaiser has been going on for a long time and this is just one of their major initiatives. The Apple operating system is also more stable and secure than Android since Apple retains much tighter control over the core system and what they allow to go through their app system. Kaiser is real world and right now and very advanced for you know if you use them as I do the Kaiser system is almost fully digital with paper only for the end user. They are way ahead of any other major organization in the US and probably the world. Android has way to many flavors and iterations to be as secure or stable which is absolutely critical when talking about medical. I appreciate your input and if you have any more information please post it. I like to follow this from different angles and other posters input gives me a larger and more accurate view. Thank you and I look forward to more of your thoughtful posts, the more input and discussion we have the better our understanding will be. If you have any knowledge of Samsung actually having a system deployed, please let me know.