What surprises will Apple spring, what’s HP’s Instant Ink, who’s losing the smartphone wars? Vertical Hold Ep 324

Apple’s set to spring surprises on us — but which ones? Meanwhile, HP’s launching “Instant Ink” down under, but is subscription printing the way to go? And why is it becoming an increasingly two-horse race when it comes to premium smartphones in Australia? Special guest Leigh Stark from Pickr!

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Apple did the unthinkable this week, leaking the news of its own Apple Event next week via, of all things, its own Siri digital assistant. We can only assume that Siri is getting a stern talking-to from Tim Cook right now, but what does that mean for new Apple gear next week?

Meanwhile, HP’s bringing its Instant Ink subscription service down under, making it the… Netflix of Ink? Is that how that works? Our special guest this week Leigh Stark wrote all about it over at Pickr.

It’s also been a busy time in the smartphone space, with LG hanging up its ambitions to sell units, OnePlus and Sony launching phones we’ll never see here in Australia, Huawei’s market share declining — basically, we’re becoming a two-horse smartphone race between Samsung and Apple. Is that a case of consumers speaking with their wallets, or a problem for smartphone innovation?