By Mikaprok for SouthFront
Its autumn, which means that we’ve got the next harvest of apples. If you know, what I mean :-)
Of course, it’s all about Apple products.
I’ve never been a fan of the brand personally, but in the context of numerous conversations offline I suppose to draw my opinion on the current state of the tech giant.
Neither the ardent fans, nor the equally ardent haters, share no doubt that company is no longer a cutting-edge thing.
Last year, for the first time in 14 years, sales critically fell.
It is expected that this year the situation will worsen.
Although Mr. Cook somehow get on the numbers thanks to business inertia and marketing.
A massive advertising, estimated by professionals in the $ 400 million. For the single season.
The company last year announced the construction of a giant headquarters worth $4 billion, but said nothing about its main products.
There are carefully discarded rumors about an electric car, being born in Cupertino. However, no one has the courage to suggest that under current president the giant is able to leave a simple field of i-Devices.
Perhaps this is the general problem.
All innovations were presented throughout “Sturm und Drang” decade: throughout 2003-2010.
They neatly rolled out on seasons and snatched up theatrical presentations.
The last surge was enough until 2012.
Further the machine of innovations began to act up, including because of the huge weight. Both the company and the brand have become too important to be flexible. Their inertia now allows only risk-free turns of 5%.
Would Steve Jobs save the situation if he happened to be alive?
I doubt.
It’s not about Apple.
Previously, as is known, the whole world had his eyes an example of another technological breakthrough – Microsoft.
Until the end of the 90’s, the creation of Mr. Gates rolled like piece of cake. Investors were delighted – the growth of 9000% +.
They, it should be noted, fell into the gap of the mass distribution of PCs. MS became the new General Electric.
Even the new EDS. Prior to this, Oracle, Xerox, etc…
In 2015, Apple was worth $ 700 billion. If you correct for the inflation rate, Microsoft in 2000 cost $900 billion.
In the same year, Bill Gates resigned as CEO and began to quietly raise charity. After 17 years of stagnation, the shares of the global office went down.
Maturity is always old.
The period of rapid innovation is at max. of a dozen years. If you’re lucky.
Further on the organization changes its structures, head and marketing practice. It starts to earn on an existing market share and, the worst for the consumer and not less good for the nominal owner, it has a lot of cash for which it buys itself youth: it vacuums the market in search of amplifiers and resonators.
If you look at the list of acquisitions of MS, Oracle or HP, it is easy to understand when problems begin – with the purchase of comparable organizations with their own size.
If we are talking about deal cost billions of USD, then we are dealing with a substitution function.
There is a platform for co-financing progress and the company’s shell is gradually standardized to the full emasculation of content.
MS is also primarily a financial organization and a corporate law department.
Then «the company at death», with high liquidity, but non-competitive production processes becomes a victim of the rising star.
Just as it was once eaten by other players in the market.
The natural cycle.
While no one has come up with a way to defeat the maturity.
Get back to the collection of apples – Apple will increasingly buy until it becomes a few years (maybe sooner) that platform, which will take the next “apple” for a similar price.
The question is who will it be.
A couple of months ago, they threw in information about the purchase of the company by Disney.
I think that this was a return bid for an attempt to swallow a piece of business of a good storyteller.
In this case, it would not be long to argue – everyone who is aware of the market situation should spit out a piece of the sinful fruit, should run as fast as possible.
The descending avalanche was buried in the foreseeable period of time under a good half of those who could not short enough :-)
never liked Apple or Macintosh.
I wouldn’t use an iphone even if they gifted me one.
the way i see it, they always recycled good ideas from other companies, put their mark on them and presented them as their own ideas.
I’ve twice owned an Apple product. A simple iPod and an iPad. I ditched using the iPod when I discovered I had to use iTunes to load tracks onto it. What an incredibly shit piece of software!!! Worst media player EVER!!! I de-installed it and make sure no computer of mine ever gets infected with that abomination ever again. I think I still have the iPod somewhere, gathering dust. The iPad looked promising, especially the promising use of music related apps developed for it. But when I learned it did not even have the provision to include a simple SD memory card, something I’ve come to expect as standard being used to Android gear, I immediately sold this useless piece of gear. In both cases I’m glad that I did not buy these pieces of rubbish but was given them, or I would really have felt like I was raped in the ass. And I’ll treat any Apple fanboy like I do a Scientologist, UFOlogist or believer in the theory of Atlantis.
Apple handhelds are fantastic, if your knowledge of digital age sums up in using phone, texting and taking picture. Anything more and you’ll have some kind of difficulty or limitation. There was a time when you bought Macintosh because you either had no choice (for example, there wasn’t graphic design/movie editing software for MS-DOS or windows 3) or it was a better choice (nightmarish Windows NT 3, even 4 after 6 service packs and 95-98 – I’m talking about the horror of seeing a BSOD!). Macintosh was more reliable and more powerful choice for some professions. It’s not the case anymore. MS operating systems become robust, we have Linux with GUI and a unlimited source of software. And that’s just PCs, let alone handhelds which there are better choices than Apple, cost-wise, in usage and for freedom of act.
I would give the ‘Atlantis believer’ a break, even if Atlantis doesn’t exist it is a fact there is a big coverup of our ancient history.
The rest you mentioned however like the Evangelist Church will try to convert you with their annoying devotion to their product. Microsoft has serious flaws of its own and is now a giant piece of spyware, but I would buy Microsoft just to spite the annoying Apple fanboys and its platform for video games.
Recall Quicktime video software. That was another piece of garbage. Apple’s culture and the lack of backward compatability (such as charging cables) and pricing of components mostly on their appearance means I will celebrate when Apple no longer exists.
Apple… Painted itself into a corner when it went all in with the iphones/ipad/igear… Now that market is saturated, even in china… So what is apple to do? It can’t fallback onto it’s desktops/laptops because it has let the segment of its business die a slow horrible death(AGAIN). Plus, the closed market model(appstore for example) is starting to breakdown as software creativity has been choked off… Resulting in garbageware after garbageware after garbageware… And whats worse is microsoft thinks it has to do the same thing! Win10 is the latest attempt at a closed system and its a FAILURE… It only holds ~35% of the market… Win7 is still KING with ~50% The closed market platform of Apple/MS(copycat) will be dead in 10 years… RIP
i am waitin for innovative, original russian products…
Well I hope Apple would still survive in the future, create new innovative ideas and would increase its competitiveness.
https://www.intelifi.com/technology/emerge/
With Jobs gone (its drive and life force) its seems as the lackeys left in charge are choking on their own fat, edifiying themselves with a monument (4 Billion HQ) is an indicator they subconsiousely expect death, and soon.
Preferred Amiga over crapple products still have a 1080p color 13″ monitor built in ’86 has a chipboard very few solid state parts light weight.
Apple is overpriced, flashy nonsense. Their competitors all make phones of the same quality and capability and usually for significantly cheaper. It’s like comparing an F-35 to a Su-57: sure the F-35 is really advanced but the Su-57 would still run rings around it, despite being cheaper.
su-57 does not exist, while f-35 is on service in several countries. yanks will have 2000 f-35, ruskies 200 PAK (maybe). f-35 is much better the the theoretical PAK. how big will be the difference between really and dereamed PAK, wi will se, IF once will come in service.
Yes it does exist, and the F-35 is not in service (IOC is meaningless). Su-57 is superior in every way except stealth and avionics.
f-35 IS in service. and PAK is NOT in service. the development is running. btw. the f-22 is the challenger of pak. so, pak is inferior. f-35 is better than any russian plane.
Again, is the F-35 ready for combat? No, it’s development is still ongoing (7 years late). Su-57 will be in production soon and won’t cost an arm and a leg like the worthless F-35.
Seriously Solomon, you must enjoy abuse if want to be an F-35 fanboy here.
yes, it SI ready for combat. and the development will go on. like f-15, f-16, or mig-29. this is normal, if the series must be in sevice for decades.
btw., i am not fanboy of any plane. simply i heard from professionals, what knows f-35. again, from professionals, no from internet. lastly, russia til today has no 5th generatiomn plane in service. yanks already the 4th type.