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Apple Wants to Be Everything for Everyone, but Is It Too Late?

Apple has announced plans to launch its very own streaming platform. But is the tech giant too late the streaming party to make an impact?

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Apple
PHOTO Rob Janoff
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Over the past few years, many people have been extremely critical of Apple’s lack of innovation since the death of company figurehead Steve Jobs.

With their stranglehold on the smartphone market dwindling, the tech giant needed to shake things up.

They did just that with their latest presentation.

During Monday’s event, CEO Tim Cook — along with Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg — revealed the company’s plans for one of it’s boldest business ventures yet, their very own streaming platform.

With their plans to make moves in the increasingly crowded streaming space, Apple TV + is a subscription-based service that will be available on Apple devices and other steaming-friendly devices like ROKU.

The company would produce its own shows and films, following in the footprints of other corporate giants like Amazon.

While the video streaming market is obviously the way of the future, with recent estimates booming to $124.57 billion by 2025, Apple is attempting to dive head first into a very saturated market.

In fact, according to a recent survey, nearly half of all consumers think there’s ALREADY too many streaming services.

“While Apple may introduce a bigger roster of original content than Amazon and Netflix during their respective launches, the streaming market has arguably already reached a level [of] saturation and consumer fatigue in the United States,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at Chatham Road Partners told CNN.  “Apple is late to the party.”

The biggest fish in the streaming pond, Netflix, has an incredible 22 million subscribers and is holding strong even despite recent price spikes.

If Apples wants to make a dent, they’ll need to sink billions of dollars into the project and make top-notch content right away to even compete with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, HBOGo and Amazon Prime Video.

Along with its new streaming service, the company also announced the Apple Card. That’s right. They’re trying to get their very own credit card going this summer.

Building off the established Apple Pay technology built into iPhones, Apple is promising its customers a simpler experience with easy applications, no fees, lower interest rates, and better rewards.

Customers will be able to sign up for their card via their Apple Wallet apps, where the company claims they’ll be able to track purchases, check their balances and pay their bills right there on their phones.

Keeping with the brands simplistic, streamlined aesthetic, the card itself will be titanium with an off-white finish with no card number, CVV code, expiration date or signature on it. All of that information will be stored in your phone and will process through when purchases are made.

Apple seems to have security in mind with many aspects of the card. Apple Pay VP Jennifer Baily promised customers on stage at the event that “Apple doesn’t know what you bought, where you bought it, and how much you paid for it,” and promising that their partner on the card, Goldman Sachs “will never sell your data to third parties for marketing and advertising.”

Apple wants to be everything for everyone like it’s biggest tech rival Google. They want to have a service for everything their user might need, from phones to tablets to streaming devices to credit cards.

It’s yet to be seen if this is a tight rope that Apple can successfully walk.

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Tyson 2.0 Launches New Mike Bites Cannabis Gummies

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Mike Bites

Nearly 25 years after he was disqualified from the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Championship for biting his opponent’s ears, Mike Tyson’s Tyson 2.0 cannabis brand has just released ear-shaped edibles, Mike Bites.

The new ear-shaped edibles are complete with a missing chunk where Tyson removed a portion of Evander Holyfield’s cartilage in what became known as The Bite Fight. After Tyson bit off a chunk of Holyfield’s ear, the 1997 match resumed. However, after attempting to snack on Holyfield’s second ear, Tyson was disqualified and his boxing licence was withdrawn. The Nevada State Athletic Commission handed Tyson a a $3 million fine for his actions and he didn’t fight again for over a year.

Mike Bites gummies will be sold at dispensaries in California, Massachusetts and Nevada.

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Wiz Khalifa Debuts New Taylor Gang x Stündenglass Collab

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Taylor Gang x Stündenglass
PHOTO | Stündenglass

Wiz Khalifa and his entertainment company Taylor Gang Ent. have collaborated with Stündenglass, the world’s first gravity-powered infuser, to introduce the iconic gold and black Taylor Gang x Stündenglass.

“I’m honored to have collaborated with long time friend Wiz Khalifa, who is as passionate about this product as I am. Our mutual admiration for Stündenglass made it a natural collaboration,” Stündenglass CEO Chris Folkerts said via a press release.

Taylor Gang x Stündenglass is an authentic collaboration developed after the multi-platinum-selling, Grammy-winning, Golden Globe-nominated Khalifa discovered Stündenglass and began enjoying it regularly as seen on his Instagram.

“I love my Stündenglass, and I’m pumped everyone gets to experience this with me now,” Khalifa.

The Taylor Gang x Stündenglass. PHOTO | Courtesy of Stündenglass

The infuser features a patented 360-degree gravity system that elicits a powerful and immersive experience. It generates kinetic motion activation via cascading water, opposing airflow technology and the natural force of gravity.

The Taylor Gang gravity bing comes in an exclusive black and gold colorway and features two glass globes on a metal base made of aircraft-grade aluminum, surgical grade stainless steel, and high-quality Teflon seals.

Taylor Gang includes artists Ty Dolla $ign, Juicy J, and Berner among others — the former of which has his own line Stündenglass collab with his Cookies brand.

“We’re very excited to launch the official Taylor Gang x Stündenglass. We use glass in our everyday lives, so it only made sense to team up and create an exclusive Taylor Gang collaboration for the fans,” Taylor Gang said.


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No Super Bowl for Brock Ollie

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Brock Ollie

With medicinal marijuana being legal in 37 states and recreational cannabis allowed in 18, we should be seeing commercials for companies, products, and services almost as frequently as commercials for sports betting, which is permitted in 30 states in some form.

However, mainstream cannabis advertising continues to be non-existent, as demonstrated in the recent news that NBC has rejected an ad by cannabis e-commerce and advertising platform Weedmaps from being shown during the Super Bowl LVI event his coming Sunday.

Weedmaps reportedly approached the network late last year about airing a Super Bowl commercial that would be “similar to a PSA,” according to reports. Execs volunteered to present some of their earlier educational-based programming, assuring NBC executives that it would not contain any direct-sell messages, which are still forbidden under federal law.

“The answer was a hard no — they wouldn’t even entertain the conversation,” Weedmaps Chief Operating Officer Juanjo Feijoo told Adweek. “We see ourselves as trying to be trailblazers in the industry and making new inroads where others haven’t gone before in cannabis advertising. So it was disappointing.”

The contentious ad personifies cannabis as Brock Ollie, a head of broccoli, the veggie emoji commonly used as a visual representation of cannabis in marketing. The 30-second ad takes viewers through a day in the life of Brock Ollie, whose superfood identity is in jeopardy as he is repeatedly misidentified as cannabis. The ad offers a lighthearted take on the industry’s issues, such as social media censorship and a lack of clear advertising standards, which limit cannabis-related commercials during nationally televised events like the Super Bowl.

“Despite three quarters of the country having legalized cannabis and the bipartisan enthusiasm we continue to see in support for change at the federal level, the industry continues to face roadblocks that inhibit competition in the legal market and stifle opportunities to educate,” Chris Beals, CEO of Weedmaps said. “There’s an irony in the fact that the biggest night for advertising will feature an array of consumer brands in regulated industries, from beverage alcohol to sports betting, yet legal cannabis retailers, brands and businesses have been boxed out.”

The game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams will be played Sunday in L.A.

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