Update: Saturday, The Day Following The Launch Of Apple iPhone 17 -- Saturday Evening, September 20, 2025

Locator: 49170iPHONE.

Initial reports suggested Apple iPhone 17 launch day, Friday, September 19, 2025, was a big day for Apple. And again, the premium Pro and Pro Max models, in particular, appear to be the top sellers, with some reports suggesting the new iPhone Air seeing lower demand. 

I asked AI how sales appeared to go on Saturday, today, the day after launch day:

Early reports by Apple critics suggested the least expensive basic iPhone 17 was the biggest seller. Unbiased reporting suggested otherwise, especially by Steve Kovach in NYC, who was on-scene for twelve hours, starting at 5:00 a.m. Friday morning, Friday, September 19, 2025.

This report suggests the higher-end phones were most in demand, something I addressed yesterday, launch day of the iPhone 17.

Meta -- Zuckerberg -- Smart Glasses -- Did Mark Misstep? September 20, 2025

Locator: 49169META.

Link here to The New York Times.

Many, many story lines.

Most important for me: Apple has nothing to worry about.

At Meta’s software developers conference in Menlo Park., California, this week, Mark Zuckerberg strutted onto the stage to show off a new gadget: a pair of glasses with cameras and a tiny screen projected into the corner of the frame.

The presentation was similar in ambition to product unveilings of Macs, iPhones and iPads when Steve Jobs ran Apple. Mr. Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, laid out his vision for how computerized glasses would become the future of personal computing. The new glasses, the $800 Meta Ray-Ban Display, which runs apps similar to a smartphone, were supposed to show that Meta was light years ahead of the competition. But it failed its first public demonstration. And then another.

Unlike the “big tent” moments that Mr. Jobs oversaw for years as the ringmaster of Apple’s product demonstrations, Mr. Zuckerberg drew more snickers than applause. He became a meme on social media, and tech news sites mocked his glitch-filled performance.

But at the end of the day: the glasses were simply creepy. Maybe some day. But not yet. 

Does This President Ever Sleep; Does He Ever Quit Thinking? Most Transformative President Ever -- Septermber 20, 2025

Locator: 49168VISAS.

Now it's H-1B visas. 

And, again, so much misinformation. Lots of fake news. 

Already, folks are correcting their initial tweets on x.

The press secretary -- on a Saturday -- was busier than usual. Link here. 

Politico tries to explain it. 

Once explained:

• it's not a big story for the nation;
• it's not a big deal for the nation;
• but, yes, it's big, big deal for some states, some companies. 
• these visas have been abused for years;
• taking jobs from Americans;
• we have a president taking the bull by the horn.

Companies with most H-1B visas at this link, but you have to scroll down a bit at the link.
 
Again, president Trump is anticipating the future. For American college graduates. 

We'll see Monday if I've misread any of this. I'm not worried. 

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The Retro-TV Page

Binge watching The Rockford Files this past month. Of the extended family members, I think I am the most nostalgic.

The intro brings back a lot of fond memories of my years in Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, San Pedro, Rolling Hills, Malibu, Santa Barbara. Some of the best years of my life. I particularly enjoy the 3M interstate signs for the "101" Hollywood Freeway, the Ventura Freeway in The Rockford Files introduction.

The plots never matter. It's all about the ensemble. And the car chases (generally averages two or three car chases each episode). And, of course, the women. 

Tonight, coincidentally, the episode opens in the USC-LA County Medical Center, where I trained and spent four years. 

From wiki:

The Day The Music Died -- September 20, 2025

Locator: 49167EVS.

Breaking: Texas Tech (#17) absolutely annihilates Utah (#16). Led by freshman quarterback. Texas Tech makes a statement, 34 - 10. 

Updates 

October 1, 2025: Ford's monthly sales results, the end of the EV federal subsidies, and Ford's assessment of EVs now. Link here.

September 25, 2025: Honda to end production of Acura EV assembled by GM in US (GM's Spring Hill assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, about an hour south of Nashville).

September 22, 2025: EVs reality check. Canada. Link here.

September 21, 2025: it's gonna take longer than expected. Link here. 

September 21, 2025: BRK / Warren Buffett completely drops out of Chinese EV market -- a Charlie Munger recommendation -- link here.

Original Post

Now back to regular programming:

Two big stories just off the radar scope. Stories dwarfed by all the tech stories coming out of the US. The gap between the US and the EU continues to widen. 

Porsche (VW): will scrap planned release of a new range of electric vehicles; link here.

Volkswagen has warned of a €5.1bn hit to its operating profits this year after its sports-car maker Porsche said it would delay the rollout of its electric vehicles and prolong internal combustion engine products. 

Europe’s largest carmaker is lowering its annual profit guidance for the second time this year, blaming “a dramatically declining demand” for luxury goods in China and a 15 per cent US tariff on vehicles imported from Europe.

EU vows to deliver 2035 climate target before COP30. Link here. But the story is in the fine print. The EU continues to deindustrialize, does it even matter any more?

• countries couldn't come to solid agreement; to save face, agreed on a "vague statement" of intent in lieu of a new plan mandated by the Paris Agreement 
• from the linked article:

The European Union’s leaders will arrive at a global climate summit next week with a vague promise to soon deliver a new emissions-cutting target after ministers struck a face-saving deal Thursday evening.

The United Nations has called on world leaders to present their climate plans for 2035, a requirement under the 2015 Paris Agreement, at a meeting in New York next Wednesday.

But EU governments have struggled to find the consensus required to agree on the plan, known as a nationally determined contribution (NDC) in U.N. jargon. Earlier this week they acknowledged they would miss the end-September deadline for the new targets.

To avoid showing up empty-handed in New York, countries resorted to drafting a “statement of intent.”

Other news:

• Ram cancels all plans to make an electric 1500 pickup; link here.
• carries on with massive V6 plug-in hybrid version instead
• Nissan halves LEAF production before launch; 
• cancels the Ariya in the US; link here. Link here.

 

 

Intel-Nvidia -- x86 --> CUDA -- For The Archives -- Septermber 20, 2025

Locator: 49168CUDA.

September 21, 2025: a-ha! Beth explains it! Link here.

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Updated: September 21, 2025 

I don't understand the specifics at all, but maybe someday I will. 

This is where this blog all began: link here. 

This is where I track Nvidia's CUDA. I haven't updated that page in a long, long time. 

Link here. 

Re-Posting. What’s Going On With Intel? September 20, 2025

Locator: 49166NVIDIA.
Locator: 49150NVIDIA.

Updates

September 20, 2025: Nvidia’s $5 billion won’t “save” Intel. Link here.

Original Post

Nvidia: Jensen Huang is not through buying; he just spent $900 million (~ $1 billion) to hire Enfabrica CEO, license AI startup's technology; link here. 

• Efabrica's technology: can connect more than 100,000 GPUs together;
• currently, Nvidia's racks come with 72 GPUs installed working together;
• e.g., the kind of system announced by Microsoft today: a $4 billion data center in Wisconsin;
• Microsoft's Wisconsin AI data center, part of a $7.3 billion campus in Mount Pleasant, connects its servers with fiber optic cables . The facility is built to operate as a single AI supercomputer, and the vast scale and speed requirements of AI workloads necessitate fiber over traditional copper links.  
• While the specific provider for the Wisconsin data center's fiberoptic cables isn't directly stated, the partnership between Microsoft and Lumen Technologies for next-generation AI infrastructure indicates Lumen is a likely key supplier for Microsoft's network needs, including those at the Wisconsin facility. 
• Lumen has reserved a portion of Corning's fiber-optic cable production to support AI-driven applications, and their agreement will help meet the surging demand from large data centers like Microsoft.
• Lumen Technologies and Corning are collaborating and have established a supply agreement where Corning will provide Lumen with its next-generation optical fiber and cable to expand Lumen's network infrastructure for high-bandwidth applications, particularly for Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers. Corning's innovative, fiber-dense cable system allows Lumen to install significantly more fiber in the same conduit, increasing network capacity and preparig Lumen to support major cloud data center clients.
  

Market: three things:

• I couldn't be happier about how the market did today (September 18, 2025);
• CNBC "Fast Money" panel attributed the US stock market action due to the quarter-basis-point cut; they were completely wrong; how could that be if “everyone” knew the Fed would cut; the cut was already baked in, “everyone” said. 
• I was completely wrong regarding my earlier comments about the Nvidia-Intel deal
• I can't recall if I posted that on the blog or if my comments were in sidebar (e-mail) discussion with a reader; regardless, I'll talk about that later; (see update, September 20, 2025);
• for now, Jim Cramer had the best explanation during his opening on "Mad Money," CNBC, although more can be said;  (see update, September 20, 2025);

Intel-Nvidia: Market Watch, link here. 

Different CEO styles:

• Pat Gelsinger: looking to sell parts of Intel to raise badly needed cash to save company;
• Lip-Bu Tan: venture capitalist; one of the best in the world; former Intel executive; raising money by offering stakes in the company:
• SoftBank: $2 billion, August, 2025
• Trump: $8.9 billion stake, August, 2025 (no new money; Intel had already received the money)
• Intel: $5 billion, September, 2025

Cramer:

• $5-billion deal:
• did not mention "foundry"
• focused on server and PC (think "Intel inside," #1 competitor: AMD)

Cramer:

• doesn't guarantee survival of Intel
• Intel still needs to execute 
• remains a huge challenge
  
• at this point, Nvidia's stake is mostly a huge "stamp of approval" supporting President Trump
• but, long term, Nvidia widens its strategic footprint
  
• currently, core competency -- GPUs for hyperscalers
• stake in Intel: consumer electronics (PCs) and servers (retail and commercial)

Good news: 

• supports the view 
• that the fourth industrial revolution (AI, large data centers, hyperscalers) is real; 
• that the revolution is not hyperbole, not a bubble, not hype
• winners and losers not settled
• still very, very early
• plenty of time to methodically invest in the fourth industrial revolution

Are We About To See A Super-Cycle? If So, Review Tim Cook’s American Manufacturing Company Supply Chain — September 20, 2025

Locator: 49165APPLE.

Updates

September 21, 2025: link here. Link here. Apple Silicon wiki here.

Original Post

 I don't know a shorthand way to capture the subject that interests me most right now.

Apple reportedly told at least two suppliers to boost their daily output of the standard iPhone 17 model by at least 30% - credible source. Activity at Manhattan's Apple store today certainly suggests this may be accurate. We may see reports Monday morning that Tim Cook missed this iPhone 17 demand as did almost all Apple analysts. This is fascinating.

Link here.

Link here. 

Apple this week asked Luxshare Precision, one of its two main iPhone assemblers in China, alongside Foxconn, to boost daily output of the standard iPhone 17 by about 40%.