Before I get started…this is a great read on ‘How Netflix Works‘. We take so much for granted when we Netflix and Chill.

Ok…onwards…

I have been gushing over Apple once again the last few weeks as you have read here, but this piece from Ben Thompson does a better explaining the guts of Apple’s recent moves why Apple might just be getting started.

All Apple love aside, I hate Apple for launching the cellular watch without allowing/showcasing Spotify as a key app. I might just return the watch. I love my Spotify. I wrote a few months ago that Apple should buy Spotify.

Bob Lefsetz thinks that Amazon should buy Spotify

So here’s the story, you can buy a Sonos One and have all the capabilities of an Echo. It’s got the equivalent of a Dot built in. So, what this means is you can get all the skills, all your questions answered, and FAR SUPERIOR SOUND!

This is the way to go. The Sonos One sounds like MUSIC!

But it gets better, if you already have an Echo or an Echo Show, you can control ALL your Sonos zones by voice, RIGHT NOW!

As long as you use one of the suggested names, if you customize your zone names you might have a problem, but that’s gonna be worked out, and chances are you’re not that deep into this stuff anyway.

So, let’s start over. Voice control is it in music. The only problem is right now, the devices have lousy sound. But now you can buy a Sonos One and have GOOD sound! Especially compared to the lousy computer speakers and earbuds most people are presently using.

But if you’ve got an Echo already, and Sonos already, you can control your already existing zones via voice.

But right now Spotify doesn’t work, so I connected Amazon Music Unlimited.

And the thing with Amazon Music Unlimited is you can see the lyrics in your Amazon Echo Show, which is very cool.

And if this all sounds like gobbledygook to you, it won’t be soon. This will be de rigueur overnight. This Christmas is the tipping point, when Apple introduces its smart speaker, the HomePod, but if you expect Apple to dominate…

You’re still living in the Steve Jobs era.

You see Jobs won via monopolies. The funny thing is copy protection aided Apple, it kept people locked into the iPod. And then the iPod gained momentum and killed all comers.

And then the iPhone ruled until Android, no wonder Jobs was suing about that, because he realized you didn’t want to be a player, you wanted to be the ONLY player!

So, one voice-controlled service will dominate. And right now it looks to be Amazon. The only thing keeping people locked into Apple is branding. But, with Sonos you can employ much better speakers than both the HomePod and Sonos One, you can play music through your own stereo via voice via Sonos, you can’t do this with HomePod/Apple. It’s the Wintel wars all over again. Apple is a closed system, Amazon is not.

And Google is an entrant too, and is also an open system, and has the Android advantage, but right now Amazon has a huge head start, and there’s a first mover advantage as long as you continue to innovate.

It’s here right now. Voice control of your favorite music.

And Amazon Music Unlimited is a sleeper of a service. Forget Apple Music, it’s already trolled every credit card on file, whereas Amazon is selling every day and if Amazon purchased Spotify it would be game over, but still, keep your eye on the Bezos company.

A lot of high level chess is happening with our tech leaders in the long-term battle for our eyes, ears and hearts.