Radovan Vavra: Apple will be one of the winners of the AI ​​revolution. I wouldn't be afraid to buy its shares outright

Whether you know Radovan Vávra as a respected banker or a man who spends the summer on his yacht, sharing videos for sailors and more, he is certainly a man whose opinions always resonate with the public. That's why I talked to Radovan not only about why he loves technological gadgets, but also about the future Apple and whether and how much into shares Apple invest.

Hello Radovan, most people know you as the guy who puts money into the S&P 500, but those who have started following you on social media know that you are quite the techie. I know you use iPads and Ray-Ban Meta on the boat. What other tech toys do you like?

I love technology. From the now established and tried-and-tested ones like Tesla to completely obscure toys like Rabbit. If someone has made an interesting piece of hardware with at least some working software, it's quite likely that I have it or at least tried it. And if I don't have it anymore, it's usually because it was junk I threw away or I realized I didn't really need it in my life. I just enjoy technology - not just using it, but mainly trying to see how far you can go with it.

When did you first get into technology and become fascinated by it? You are generally Apple positive person, your main phone, tablet and computer are therefore from Apphuh?

I have always been fascinated by technology. I had my first PC, a Commodore PC10, at home during the totalitarian regime. When I left DHL in 1992 to study in the United States, the company gave me a Casio electronic data bank, which even then looked almost like today's smart phone - except, of course, it couldn't make calls. Today I am definitely Apple positive. Apple for me it's not so much about individual devices as it is about a wonderfully connected closed ecosystem. I have a phone, a tablet and a computer since Applu and it's how everything works together that I enjoy the most about it. Whenever I have to stick my nose out of the Apple, it is evil.

You spend almost the entire summer on a boat and I noticed that you use iPads there, what specifically do you use them for and what applications do you use? I know that it is not just a toy, but mainly an integral part of navigation.

I have two iPads on the boat. One is dedicated purely as redundant marine navigation. It must have a Cellular/LTE module, because it contains a GPS receiver, and it runs professional map data in the C-MAP application. The other is a completely standard "entertainment-admini"strategic" iPad, on which everything else runs - communication, internet, work, media and common applications.

Regarding the first one with C-MAP, can you describe a little bit to us non-sailors what it can do and how it works? I would also like to know if what works in homes today also works on ships, i.e. whether you have some kind of smart system where you can do some things on the ship via iPhone, and if so, what specifically can you control, wherever you are in the world.

The first answer is C-MAP. Its biggest advantage for me is automatic routing. For example, I say to myself that I want to go from Lastovo to Trogir, I enter two points and the system calculates the optimal route for me. I can plan it in bed at night, I don't have to sit in the cockpit. During my own sailing, I then press "Navigate" and C-MAP shows me exactly where I should sail along the planned route. As for the second question, i.e. remote monitoring of the ship, I have tried almost everything on the market, in the spirit of my theory "Radovan Vávra - pioneer of technological dead ends". Andonec I ended up with a completely primitive smart socket that only monitors via GSM whether 220 V is flowing to the boat from the shore in my absence.

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yacht ipad navigation

C-MAP ipad

ipad on yacht cockpit

yes maps c-map

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And what's the reason for that, if I may ask? I just love pushing buttons on my phone and mowing the garden, turning on the pump and heater on the pool, and setting up automatic irrigation. Then I feel like I'm doing something, even though I'm just lying there pushing buttons.

I fully understand that, but I assume your mower is not 20 meters long and weighs 30 tons. So if it accidentally goes a meter outside the marked area, it probably won't do anything major. nestNo. I'd rather not try this experiment on a ship.

Speaking of technological gadgets, you use Apple Watch, do you have anything related to the ship there too?

Apple Watch I originally bought it because of the boat. When IoneCzech operators have launched LTE for Apple Watch, it was great to have a phone that works independently on my hand and not be dependent on my iPhone on the boat. But I guess I didn't read the contract, where it was written in a point eight font that LTE on the watch doesn't support roaming. So in Croatia this functionality is practically useless to me. One of my typical technological blind spots.

Have you ever tried Garmin Captain as a marine edition with some cool gadgets?

At all.

If you were ever stranded on a deserted island, and God knows I certainly wouldn't wish that on you, what would be the one tech toy you would take with you?

Anything with access to ChatGPT.

Radovan, of course you only have a boat as a hobby, your main focus has always been around fins.ancso I can't help but ask you. Apple, buy directly and how much, or solve it all through the S&P 500?

It depends on how old you are.

So let's take it for example, I'm 37, I have a 2-year-old son and I send him 50 thousand a month to the S&P 500 (through Amundi North America, because I'm a pervert and I like KB). So how much to throw into Apple Directly. Of course, for a young person to whom I want to "give" it at the age of 20, with the understanding that giving it means either A. for studies, B. for housing, or C. for showing me some amazing business plan in which we will put it.

I think that Apple will be one of the winners of the AI ​​revolution. Until we all have chips implanted somewhere in our bodies, we will still need some smart shiny boxes through which AI will organize our lives. And Apple I think it has an extraordinary charm.ancand be the interface between humans and AI. So I wouldn't be afraid to buy it at all Apple directly. The S&P 500 is a slightly different piece of writing, also good, but if you believe this story, I wouldn't be afraid to go into Applu full monty.

That's very interesting what you're saying, so basically you're convinced that every AI platform needs that box through which we communicate, and that's for Apple absolutely fundamental. I feel like not many people look at it that way. OpenAI is working on some kind of its own box and has enlisted the help of Jony Ive, whom I probably don't need to introduce to you, do you think they can threaten Apple?

The genius of mass communication and human psychology, Dr. Železný, founder and CEO of TV Nova, once taught me that people are a herd that only repeats its routines. I wouldn't be so harsh, but habit is simply an iron shirt. People's relationship with their hardware is extraordinarily strong, and in AppThis applies doubly to Lu. ProI think so. nestto make a better AI box. You have to convince hundreds of millions of people to abandon something that they use every day, know, trust, and have their entire digital life in. And that, I think, is a huge chasm that Apple protects.

I have to say, that Apple The last few years have shown that they don't actually need to come up with something revolutionary every year, but they just need to dose things sparingly, and even if someone comes along who brings something wow, people will still remain loyal and buy a new iPhone color.

I think we are living in the era of "peak hardware". If you look at dishwashers, refrigerators, televisions, phones or to a large extent even cars, there is no longer any room for dramatic advancement in hardware. The differences will increasingly be created by software and now especially AI. And Apple It has one gigantic advantage: it has people addicted to its boxes, almost like they are addicted to cocaine. ProIt doesn't have to invent a revolution every year. It just needs to gradually pour the right intelligence into the devices that billions of people no longer want to leave.

Apple However, it has had one minor blemish on its reputation in recent years, in the form of Vision Pro. Is it according to you? Vision Pro pro Apple Is it really a failure, or are they actually OK with it and didn't expect anything more? Do you have it and use it yourself?

I said right away that it was nonsense. You can probably find it somewhere on my X.

Only someone who has never seen Jennifer Lopez naked in it would say that.

:-)

I have a feeling we'll have to continue this conversation over a beer somewhere, so we'll slowly end the public part, tell me what else you expect from me. iPhone Ultra, what Apple will set a price and whether it will be a hit or will it suffer the same fate as iPhone Air.

I think it will be very regional. Here in Dubai, people will buy it just because they want the latest and greatest – and the more expensive it is, the better. I don't dare to make a forecast for the rest of the world. Apple but historically they have dramatically more wins than losses, so I definitely wouldn't bet against them. We'll keep our fingers crossed for them. Have a great day!