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Apple CEO Tim Cook
Source: Apple Inc.

It may have a new number in the name, but Apple’s new iPhone 13 looks more like one of the company’s “S” models than anything else.

Apple has released iPhone models on a tick-tock cycle for most of the product’s existence. The “tick” years typically offer new designs and fresh features, and the “tock” years keep things mostly the same, but with improvements to things like speed and battery life. (Those are the “S” models.)

But the iPhone 13 was revealed on Tuesday, instead of an iPhone 12S, with just incremental upgrades over last year’s model. That explains why Apple spent so much of the presentation talking about features like battery life and improvements to the camera. There wasn’t much else new over last year’s model to brag about.

You’ll see a lot of commentary flying around this week about how the iPhone 13 is boring, lackluster or just a minor upgrade over last year’s model. There’s a lot of truth to that. But it also ignores the reality of where we are in smartphone technology.

Everyone from Apple to Samsung to Motorola has come to the point where it takes more than just a year to develop a key, breakthrough feature. And that’s OK for the vast majority of their customers. Smartphones have gotten so good that people can keep them for three years or more without feeling behind. So even if a new model feels like a minor upgrade from the year before, that upgrade is a lot more significant to someone using a model that’s three or four years old.

A lot of the data appears to back that up. Analysts at Wedbush predicted Tuesday that Apple is still in the middle of its “super cycle” of iPhone sales that kicked off last year with the iPhone 12, which introduced new features like a fresh design and 5G cellular data connections.

“Apple remains in the midst of its strongest overall product cycle in roughly a decade,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to investors Tuesday. He added that there are an estimated 250 million iPhone owners with models over three years old.

That’s a massive pool of potential customers ready for an upgrade.

The lesson: If you’re going to evaluate a new iPhone and what it means for sales, it’s important to zoom in and look at the last few years instead of comparing it to the previous year’s model. That’s what the customers who are actually going to buy these things will be doing.

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Coinbase jumps 22%, heads for biggest gain since post-election pop on S&P 500 inclusion

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Coinbase jumps 22%, heads for biggest gain since post-election pop on S&P 500 inclusion

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase Global Inc., speaks during the Messari Mainnet summit in New York, on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Coinbase shares soared more than 20% on Tuesday and headed for their sharpest rally since the day after President Donald Trump’s election victory following the crypto exchange’s inclusion in the S&P 500.

S&P Global said in a release late Monday that Coinbase is replacing Discover Financial Services, which is in the process of being acquired by Capital One Financial. The change will take effect before trading on Monday.

Stocks added to the S&P 500 often rise in value because funds that track the benchmark will add it to their portfolios. For Coinbase, it’s the latest sharp move in what’s been a volatile few months since Trump was elected to return to the White House.

Coinbase shares rocketed 31% on Nov. 6, the day after the election, on optimism that the incoming administration would adopt more crypto-friendly policies following a challenging and litigious four years during President Joe Biden’s term in office.

The company and CEO Brian Armstrong were key financial supporters in the 2024 campaign, backing pro-crypto candidates up and down the ticket. Coinbase was one of the top corporate donors, giving more than $75 million to a PAC called Fairshake and its affiliates. Armstrong personally contributed more than $1.3 million to a mix of candidates.

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While the start of the Trump term has been mostly favorable to the crypto industry, through deregulation and an executive order to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, legislation has thus far stalled. That’s due in part to concerns surrounding Trump’s personal efforts to profit from crypto through a meme coin and other family initiatives.

Coinbase has been on a roller coaster as well, plummeting 26% in February and 20% in March as Trump’s tariff announcements roiled markets and pushed investors out of risk. With Tuesday’s rally, the stock is now up about 2% for the year.

Since going public through a direct listing in 2021, Coinbase has become a bigger part of the U.S. financial system, with bitcoin soaring in value and large institutions gaining regulatory approval to create spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Bitcoin spiked last week, topping $100,000 and nearing its record price reached in January. The crypto currency surpassed $104,000 on Tuesday.

To join the S&P 500, a company must have reported a profit in its latest quarter and have cumulative profit over the four most recent quarters.

Coinbase last week reported net income of $65.6 million, or 24 cents a share, down from $1.18 billion, or $4.40 a share a year earlier, after accounting for the fair value of its crypto investments. Revenue rose 24% to $2.03 billion from $1.64 billion a year ago.

The company last week also announced plans to buy Dubai-based Deribit, a major crypto derivatives exchange for $2.9 billion. The deal, which is the largest in the crypto industry to date, will help Coinbase broaden its footprint outside the U.S.

WATCH: Bitcoin surges past $100,000

Bitcoin surges past $100K: Coinbase's John D’Agostino on the crypto rally

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Photos: Tech CEOs mingle with Trump and Saudi Crown Prince at investment forum in Riyadh

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Photos: Tech CEOs mingle with Trump and Saudi Crown Prince at investment forum in Riyadh

Senior Advisor to the U.S. President Elon Musk (L) and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (C) are directed to greet the Saudi Crown Prince at the Royal Court in Riyadh on May 13, 2025.

Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images

Wealth and power.

Global political and business leaders gathered in Riyadh on Tuesday for the Saudi Arabia Investment Forum, discussing the artificial intelligence boom and global trade.

President Donald Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as several deals were announced between the two countries.

Saudi Arabia is investing $600 billion in the U.S., a package the White House said would boost “energy security, defense industry, technology leadership, and access to global infrastructure and critical minerals.”

The White House also touted a nearly $142 billion deal to provide Saudi Arabia with weapons and services from U.S. defense firms.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced a deal to provide the kingdom its high-end AI Blackwell chips.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy were among the attendees, as well as other high-profile executives and power players such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Alphabet President Ruth Porat, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Palantir CEO Alex Karp and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.

Alphabet Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat (L) and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (R) wait to meet the Saudi Crown Prince at the Royal Court in Riyadh on May 13, 2025.

Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman shake hands during a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025.

Brian Snyder | Reuters

U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend a bilateral meeting at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025.

Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looks on as he visits Riyadh with U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (both not pictured), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025.

Brian Snyder | Reuters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as he visits Riyadh with U.S. President Donald Trump, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025.

Brian Snyder | Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman pose for a group photo during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025.

Brian Snyder | Reuters

CEO of Advanced Micro Devices Lisa Su (C) waits to meet the Saudi Crown Prince at the Royal Court in Riyadh on May 13, 2025.

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi speaks at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025.

Hamad I Mohammed | Reuters

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Elon Musk says Starlink was approved in Saudi Arabia

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Elon Musk says Starlink was approved in Saudi Arabia

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks, as he sits with Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha, at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025.

Hamad I Mohammed | Reuters

Elon Musk said Saudi Arabia has approved Starlink for aviation and maritime use in the region, speaking at an investment forum during a White House-led trip to the kingdom on Tuesday.

Starlink is the satellite internet service owned and operated by Musk’s aerospace and defense contractor, SpaceX.

SpaceX recently began offering its Starlink hardware for free outside the U.S. in a bid to win new subscribers.

Musk also briefly discussed his other business ambitions in the region, promising to bring Tesla robotaxis to Saudi Arabia at an unspecified date.

“I think it would be very exciting to have autonomous vehicles here in the kingdom, indeed, if you’re amenable,” Musk said.

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Musk also said he showed several of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, now in development, to Trump and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Tesla has been telling investors for years that self-driving cars and humanoid robots are the key to its future profits.

Tesla’s Optimus is not yet in production and competition abounds in humanoid robotics.

The Tuesday event featured President Donald Trump and U.S. tech executives from companies involved in artificial intelligence, defense and semiconductor manufacturing.

At the same event, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced the U.S. chipmaker will sell over 18,000 of its latest artificial intelligence chips to Saudi Arabian company Humain.

The Trump and tech executives’ visit to Saudi Arabia comes as the White House works to strike trade deals following the President’s sweeping, and ever-changing, trade and tariff policies.

Trump received a lavish welcome from the oil power, and secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S. on Tuesday. He also agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, the White House said in a statement.

In addition to his collection of companies, Musk has been a key adviser to Trump, running the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative where he has steeply slashed jobs, regulations, funding and other resources at federal agencies, including those tasked with oversight of his businesses.

Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal own a stake in Elon Musk’s newest major venture, xAI, which he recently merged with X (formerly Twitter).

In 2022, when Musk led a leveraged buyout of the social network now known as X, Senate Democrats had called for investigations into Saudi Arabia’s role in that deal citing national security concerns.

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