Wednesday 27 January 2016

Does Apple run a risk of falling behind the curve?

The stock of the last decade has to be Apple Inc. who has made phenomenal inroads in the field of technology with products such as the iPod and iPhone that has revolutionized the market for how consumers interact with those around them adding a touch of style to go with that and in a relatively short period of time built a brand that everyone wants to get a piece of.

From the iconic apple logo with a bite taken out of it to the creativity of the infamous ad campaigns calling for its users to "Think Different", the company has gone through a remarkable turnaround of yesteryears after a number of unattractive product lines and management changes almost deemed the company bankrupt of its ingenious started in a garage by co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Woznicki.

The world mourned the day Steve Jobs tragically passed away after a brave fight against cancer in 2011 and the questions began to circulate whether his successor would be able to fill the void left by behind. I think its fair to say that Steve Cook has done a good job in steadying the ship but his no substitute.

Apple's first forecasted revenue drop in 13 years is quite significant in the sense it marks the end of an era that has been nostalgia for the company but it also highlights a much pressing problem that could persist in the years to come...creative inability to excite the masses like it had done before.

When the iPod and iPhone were released it was agreed that these products were way ahead of their time which gave the company a distinct advantage over its competitors whereby they had a number of years head start on them to effectively capture the market with no disturbance. They fixated their customers with awesome features that dazzled and surprised most and eventually created a loyalty to a brand which has fed the demand for Apple products ever since.

But we haven't seen the same hype for iWatch as we did for those products and perhaps customers are becoming bored by the constant regurgitation of the iPhone (the company's most successful product) that slightly changes with every passing year or the lack of any new technological development that sticks out from the rest.  
Technology has become more integral to our lives as we had seen before when the television was first introduced and as was the case with the radio all those years ago. The only difference with the current status quo is technology is but a finger touch away at the distance of  reaching into our pockets and starting the engagement of our attention.

Who knows where the next frontier of technology goes from here?

The people and companies who make it their business to profit from pushing the envelope of progression and drive the needs and wants of the consumer in the direction that satisfy them the most with the least amount inconvenience. Apple is one of those companies but the lack of any distinguishable products since the death of Steve Jobs does paint a sorry picture for what the company stands for.

It suggests that the advantage that had given them the edge over their competitors over all these years may be drifting apart from the reality on the ground and it runs the risk of becoming just another large multinational corporation that churns out profit to shareholders year in year out but lacks the spark of genius that makes the true difference between a company that changes things to one that smacks of mediocrity.

Does this mean Apple stands the chance of going through another phase in its life where it once again faces the possibility of bringing uninspiring products to market with management that don't possess the right strategy to maximize the brand that has captured the fascination of the world in terms of innovation? The answer is unequivocally yes

1 comment :

  1. I have been hoping to see more progress on ApplePay. This could be a big growth area for Apple. Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal are all taking in great fees from their services.

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