Seems a repeat of what we have seen at Microsoft, HP, and many other companies.
Apple has become too reliant on iPhone and unsure how to look beyond it.
Either they would have to shake the leadership team up like Microsoft or split the company up.
Apple has become too reliant on iPhone and unsure how to look beyond it.
Either they would have to shake the leadership team up like Microsoft or split the company up.
And the Mac has always been their core product, especially since Apple's comeback with the imac. It's no longer their main source of income, but it's a very strong brand that had consistently been getting more and more market share over time. It probably didn't have the huge margin and volume of the iphone, but it'd be a critical error if they were to discontinue it. They should invest more in it, I think; rebrand the new Macbook Pro to just Macbook, come out with a new line of Pros that are bigger again (with pro hardware and features, for the discerning user), update the Mac Pro, etc.
In other industries like cars, the manufacturers don't necessarily create hugely different models every year, but only small improvements on last year's model, and they seem to do okay.
Personally I think the touch-bar thing on the Mac is unremarkable, even a gimmick. Why would anyone want the furniture moving around on their keyboard? I could be wrong, I suppose if it's highly customizable then it will be handy for programmable shortcuts.
Apple cannot rest on their laurels because if they stop innovating Android manufactures will implement all of their features and sell the phones for cheaper than an iPhone. The Google Pixel is a killer phone and could easily steal some iPhone market share if a new iPhone does not keep iterating with new features.
If Apple keeps removing two features for every new one that they add, that's going to upset some customers.
> Aren't they allowed to sit on the Apple II? Why must they come up with amazing new stuff when they've already got a mountain of cash and loyal fans who love the point release updates?
Last time Apple built the entire company around a single product (Apple II) they almost went bankrupt.
And the iPhone isn't a single product, but has all sorts of dependencies via the app store and iTunes. Not to mention the built-in features like the camera, maps, AI, and whatever else it can do natively. In fact, modern smartphones can do so much, consumers probably find it hard to keep up with it all.
And finally, if I were Apple, I'd release an advertisement along the lines of "fire-proof gloves not required" or something clever with a subtle dig at the Samsung disaster which undoubtedly strengthened iPhone sales.
If you're not growing, you're stagnating or declining. If Apple don't continue to innovate, then someone else will pick up the baton. Android continues to get better and better as a mobile OS, and the Android ecosystem continues to get better too. Linux and Windows both have some improvements over macOS, although macOS is better than them in other ways; if Apple continues to under-invest here then there won't be much reason to run its software, meaning there won't be much reason to buy its hardware. We've already seen that Apple's hardware itself is not as good as it could be, which means that offerings from other companies are comparatively more competitive.
> In other industries like cars, the manufacturers don't necessarily create hugely different models every year, but only small improvements on last year's model, and they seem to do okay.
I don't know if I'd go that far. On the one hand, cars haven't radically changed in decades (they still have four tyres, a steering wheel, windows, seats; most use internal-combustion engines), but OTOH they have changed: roll cages, crush zones, airbags, infotainment systems, heated & cooled seats, more intelligence, electric engines.
And indeed it's the models which do offer the most innovation which get the most attention. I don't know if they're the most profitable though.
I'm sure Apple will be fine. Their first attempt at the iPad Pro wasn't received that well, but they'll fix that and deliver something good next year. I'm actually on the lookout for a tablet I can draw on, but I'm hesitant to buy a Surface Pro because I don't trust Windows 10. I don't want my OS to be a service with mandatory updates and whatever other control they take away, but then again that's where Apple are headed too. I prefer the OS to be in the background, out of sight, not pushing itself to the foreground, desperate for attention and relevance.
Because I think (IMHO) the smartphone industry is about to hit the same problem that Microsoft hit with Office. How do you impress your customer base year after year? Do you hit a point were adding more features to your product is making it more complicated and worse off because of it? Has your competition caught up just enough that in the eyes of the consumer, the difference between best and second best in your product category is small - and price becomes the most important item on the feature list?
Product category churn is something all companies need to keep their finger on. Eventually, everything becomes a commodity and price is the only thing you can improve on. And profit margins become the casualty.
And yes, I do think the auto industry is about to hit the foothills of this curve.
Then the market shifted and Microsoft had to scramble, change the leadership team, their structure, their goals, etc. Took a while.
Not saying Apple has to come up with amazing stuff all the time. Just need to look for opportunities outside of iPhone. Or even with the smartphone segment.
They are doing fine right now. But what about in 5 years?
Does Apple not make enough money, do they need to grow?
They could of course just enjoy sales from the iphone and live off past innovation, but that would mean that they could cut costs by at least 50% and fire most of the workforce. Don't know if that's what they want.
If Apple can take themselves private again, there will be less pressure on them to keep growing.
What I'm getting at is I think everybody is overly concerned that Apple isn't releasing any "new" devices. They don't really have to. Looking at market share, they completely dominate on the products they already have. If anything, they can sit back, wait for the "next big thing" and do what Apple typically does best: Copy it, and make it so much better.