Tag Archives: apple

GoPro Rockets After Hiring Key Apple Designer

GoPro ( GPRO ) stock soared Wednesday after the action camera maker hired a key designer from Apple ( AAPL ). GoPro shares were up 20% to near 14 in late-afternoon trading on the stock market today . The San Mateo, Calif.-based company hired Danny Coster as vice president of design, effective at the end of April. He will report to GoPro CEO and founder Nick Woodman. Coster was a core member of Apple’s elite industrial design team for more than 20 years. His work can be seen on products ranging from the iPhone 4 to the iPad wireless keyboard. He holds more than 500 design patents and several utility patents. Coster will work on all aspects of design at GoPro, including hardware, software and services. GoPro says that Coster aims to improve the GoPro user experience from end to end. “I’m honored to join the GoPro team,” Coster said in a statement . “This extraordinary company is close to the hearts of so many people around the world. Its brand and products inspire us to capture and share our lives’ most important moments.” His hiring comes at a critical time for GoPro, which is seeing demand flag for its action cameras. To spur sales, the company is expected to launch a quadcopter “flying camera” and 360-degree video cameras. Even with Wednesday’s jump, GoPro stock is down more than 20% in 2016.

Apple Faces ‘Existential Threat’ From Messenger Bots

Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) strength in mobile devices is due largely to its app store platform, but the company faces an “existential threat” from software bots that could replace apps, UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said Wednesday. Apple’s App Store leads the $50 billion app economy and has been critical to the company’s success, Milunovich said in a research report. However, software bots that automate tasks could take on many of the roles that apps now provide, he said. Bots mostly reside in messaging apps, providing apps within apps, Milunovich said. “In China, WeChat provides high functionality, such as paying bills, hailing a cab and checking into flights through apps within apps,” he said. “ Facebook ( FB ) just announced the Messenger Bot Store, a bot platform that allows businesses to interact with consumers.” At Facebook’s annual developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed how third parties can build chat bots into its Messenger service. He demonstrated a chat bot from 1-800-Flowers.com ( FLWS ) that could carry on a conversation with a customer who wanted to order flowers. Last month, Microsoft ( MSFT ) CEO Satya Nadella called chat bots the next big thing after apps and said that his company is aggressively investing in the technology. Chat bots offer a “more natural (way) for people to get things done” instead of having a separate app for each task. Chat bots use artificial intelligence to interact with people and complete tasks. Milunovich maintained his buy rating on Apple with a 12-month price target of 120. Apple stock was up 1.5% in late-afternoon trading in the stock market today , near 112.