 Here's the way that CES usually goes. A ton of companies make a ton of announcements and Apple's not here, but they find a way to remind everybody that they exist. That sign back there is another example of that. It shows that Apple cares about privacy in a way that nobody else here really does. Nobody talks about it and that sucks. But then something weird started happening. iTunes on Samsung TVs, AirPlay 2 on every other TV, and HomeKit on every damn thing. Usually Apple is way too cool for school at CES, but this year, seems like class is in session. So this is Google's booth and it's gigantic. They have this wall over here with just a ton of gadgets on it. All the usual CES stuff, because what happens at CES is like a platform war. So this year it's Google Assistant versus Alexa and we are telling that story. But I think there's a more interesting story happening here at CES and it has to do with TVs. So I want to go look at some TVs and see what's really going on here. Welcome to Samsung City. It is probably the biggest booth at CES. It's all what we expected. What we didn't expect, what was a big surprise, is not something you can see at this booth. It is iTunes coming to Samsung TVs. And okay, yeah, it's not like 2004 managed music database iTunes. It's iTunes TV and movies, but it's still a huge shock. I mean, somewhere, somebody is making an iTunes app for Tizen, Samsung's TV operating system. Think about that for a minute while you stare at the wall. Okay, that was nice. Look, Samsung was crazy enough, but then things started getting weirder. LG announced support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. Vizio announced support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. And then Sony, Sony announced support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. That means that you are going to be able to ask Siri to stream an iTunes movie to an Android TV. My friends, this is not how CES usually goes. CES is the land of platform battles. It's HDR 10 versus Dolby Vision. It's VHS versus Betamax. It's Blu-ray versus HD DVD. All these companies start these big fights, and they try and make the other companies sad by being the winner, and they just fight it out. Instead, this year, it's all hugs and working together and kumbaya, and I don't know how to feel about any of it. I'm honestly a little bit scared. I need to go find something comforting right now. So, look, this is what all this making nice is actually all about. Sometime this year, Apple needs to launch a TV service. You know how I know that? Because we're doing all this make nice stuff. And also because Tim Cook, he kind of said so basically in the CNBC interview. On services, you will see us announce new services this year. Okay, let's say you're Apple. You want to launch a TV service. You want as many people as possible to pay for this TV service. So what do you do? Well, you start making nice with the rest of the TV industry so that your app will get on more TVs. But here's the thing about that. That list of TVs that are going to support AirPlay, it's actually pretty short. And it's only new TVs or very recent TVs. And so something else has to happen. And I kind of have a guess of what it's going to be. And it kind of has to do with TCL. So yeah, TCL. Apple didn't cut a deal with TCL. They're one of the biggest TV makers in America. They didn't cut a deal with Roku, which is what runs on a bunch of TCL TVs. They haven't cut a deal with Amazon Fire TV yet. So yeah, I think you should expect Apple to make apps for all those platforms in the future. And you know what? That actually could be good for your data. One of the things about all of the TVs that we've talked about today is they aggressively track everything that you watch. And in some cases, they sell that data. But Apple's not letting them when you use AirPlay. When you use AirPlay to stream a video to any of these TVs, Apple's making the TV manufacturers block the tracking. All of which brings me back to this banner right here. Apple may be willing to, you know, AirPlay ball with the rest of the industry. But that doesn't mean that they're giving up their privacy stance. And that's great. I was sort of expecting to see Siri versus Google versus Alexa here. But it turns out it's more like HomeKit versus the other assistants. And maybe that's because Siri's not ready yet and we'll get that next year. But whatever. This year, I'm just happy to see more stuff that works with other stuff altogether. You can have a Samsung TV running Tizen OS that you can control with Bixby or Google or Alexa or you can run the iTunes app on it. That's wild. And if that isn't the most heartwarming CES story ever, I don't know what is. See what else makes you feel better? These LG rolling TVs behind me here.
 Here's the way that CES usually goes.
 A ton of companies make a ton of announcements and Apple's not here, but they find a way
 to remind everybody that they exist.
 That sign back there is another example of that.
 It shows that Apple cares about privacy in a way that nobody else here really does.
 Nobody talks about it and that sucks.
 But then something weird started happening.
 iTunes on Samsung TVs, AirPlay 2 on every other TV, and HomeKit on every damn thing.
 Usually Apple is way too cool for school at CES, but this year, seems like class is in
 session.
 So this is Google's booth and it's gigantic.
 They have this wall over here with just a ton of gadgets on it.
 All the usual CES stuff, because what happens at CES is like a platform war.
 So this year it's Google Assistant versus Alexa and we are telling that story.
 But I think there's a more interesting story happening here at CES and it has to do with
 TVs.
 So I want to go look at some TVs and see what's really going on here.
 Welcome to Samsung City.
 It is probably the biggest booth at CES.
 It's all what we expected.
 What we didn't expect, what was a big surprise, is not something you can see at this booth.
 It is iTunes coming to Samsung TVs.
 And okay, yeah, it's not like 2004 managed music database iTunes.
 It's iTunes TV and movies, but it's still a huge shock.
 I mean, somewhere, somebody is making an iTunes app for Tizen, Samsung's TV operating system.
 Think about that for a minute while you stare at the wall.
 Okay, that was nice.
 Look, Samsung was crazy enough, but then things started getting weirder.
 LG announced support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit.
 Vizio announced support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit.
 And then Sony, Sony announced support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit.
 That means that you are going to be able to ask Siri to stream an iTunes movie to an Android
 TV.
 My friends, this is not how CES usually goes.
 CES is the land of platform battles.
 It's HDR 10 versus Dolby Vision.
 It's VHS versus Betamax.
 It's Blu-ray versus HD DVD.
 All these companies start these big fights, and they try and make the other companies
 sad by being the winner, and they just fight it out.
 Instead, this year, it's all hugs and working together and kumbaya, and I don't know how
 to feel about any of it.
 I'm honestly a little bit scared.
 I need to go find something comforting right now.
 So, look, this is what all this making nice is actually all about.
 Sometime this year, Apple needs to launch a TV service.
 You know how I know that?
 Because we're doing all this make nice stuff.
 And also because Tim Cook, he kind of said so basically in the CNBC interview.
 On services, you will see us announce new services this year.
 Okay, let's say you're Apple.
 You want to launch a TV service.
 You want as many people as possible to pay for this TV service.
 So what do you do?
 Well, you start making nice with the rest of the TV industry so that your app will get
 on more TVs.
 But here's the thing about that.
 That list of TVs that are going to support AirPlay, it's actually pretty short.
 And it's only new TVs or very recent TVs.
 And so something else has to happen.
 And I kind of have a guess of what it's going to be.
 And it kind of has to do with TCL.
 So yeah, TCL.
 Apple didn't cut a deal with TCL.
 They're one of the biggest TV makers in America.
 They didn't cut a deal with Roku, which is what runs on a bunch of TCL TVs.
 They haven't cut a deal with Amazon Fire TV yet.
 So yeah, I think you should expect Apple to make apps for all those platforms in the future.
 And you know what?
 That actually could be good for your data.
 One of the things about all of the TVs that we've talked about today is they aggressively
 track everything that you watch.
 And in some cases, they sell that data.
 But Apple's not letting them when you use AirPlay.
 When you use AirPlay to stream a video to any of these TVs, Apple's making the TV manufacturers
 block the tracking.
 All of which brings me back to this banner right here.
 Apple may be willing to, you know, AirPlay ball with the rest of the industry.
 But that doesn't mean that they're giving up their privacy stance.
 And that's great.
 I was sort of expecting to see Siri versus Google versus Alexa here.
 But it turns out it's more like HomeKit versus the other assistants.
 And maybe that's because Siri's not ready yet and we'll get that next year.
 But whatever.
 This year, I'm just happy to see more stuff that works with other stuff altogether.
 You can have a Samsung TV running Tizen OS that you can control with Bixby or Google
 or Alexa or you can run the iTunes app on it.
 That's wild.
 And if that isn't the most heartwarming CES story ever, I don't know what is.
 See what else makes you feel better?
 These LG rolling TVs behind me here.