Voice assistant and smart speaker users are still increasing, but growth for brands will increasingly come from engaging existing users. Voice assistants are still very much in the process of transforming how users interact with and across devices.

It’s not the fastest-growing channel, but paid search is still a vital component of the digital advertising ecosystem, especially as privacy changes and a potential recession put ad budgets in jeopardy.

We forecast that there will be over 25 million US Apple Watch users this year, nearly half of all US smartwatch users. But Apple is seeking a bigger piece of the pie, leaning into health and safety features with its latest Watch devices to attract new (and current) users.

With UK proximity mobile and peer-to-peer payments stagnating, providers in the market will be forced to focus on ways to resolve pain points, engage top user demographics, and facilitate growth around the margins.

DOJ vs. Apple: The US justice department is considering a challenge to Apple’s market dominance. Developer restrictions, payments ecosystems, and anticompetitive business practices could be key areas of conflict.

Researchers are using NIH funding to see if Apple Watch app algorithm can prevent strokes. We wonder if doctors will trust the data.

Data center scrutiny rises in Europe: Data centers’ energy intensity and water use are running up against Europe’s energy crisis. Ireland’s data center moratorium puts facilities’ sustainability measures in focus.

On today's episode, we discuss who is most likely to win the short-video race, the significance of Lyft's new media division, the potential of Apple's ad business, whether buy now, pay later is too good to be true, Chewy's new insurance and wellness service CarePlus, an unpopular opinion about retail media, who's buying all the electric vehicles, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Ross Benes, Blake Droesch, and Max Willens.

Apple’s return to work revolt reveals the complexity of future of work: A possible recession might change things dramatically

Qualcomm comes for data centers: Nuvia unlocks potential for Qualcomm to diversify into server chips for data centers, effectively meeting pent-up demand with faster, cooler, and more-efficient cloud server solutions.

We unpack the potential for cheaper consumer health devices as the FDA makes hearing aids directly available.

Apple’s return to office could kickstart industry mandates: Companies are heading into their busiest quarter, requiring all hands on deck. Job uncertainty could complicate employees’ shift from remote to office work.

Maps are a safe space for Apple’s ad expansion: Apple has a low share of this market and can point to competitors that already sell map ad space.

Our Retail Reimagined podcast team talked connected fitness this week. Here are the highlights.

In the US, digital retail media and the ecommerce channel are growing faster than any other major ad format except connected TV. This report analyzes our latest retail media forecast and examines the role market uncertainty could play in this space.

As digital fitness goes mainstream, leading brands Nike, lululemon athletica, Peloton, and Apple are trailblazing a path for lifestyle brands toward a more profitable future.

As Apple’s ad business expands, ATT’s reputation suffers: The mobile ad industry is reeling from the change, while Apple’s services unit grows ever larger.

Big Tech earnings reveal economic uncertainty: Consumer spending is down while costs are up and supply chain woes continue to drag down profits. Big Tech is bracing for tough times.

Big Tech earnings buoyed by cloud: Microsoft and Alphabet’s quarterly earnings weren’t as bad as expected, boosting market confidence. But continued strength hinges on cloud divisions that aren’t recession-proof.

Google’s Q2 results are a mixed bag: Although expenses grew at a faster rate than revenue, its search advertising business could be stealing advertisers from social platforms like Meta.