During Apple’s thrid quarter 2008 conference call today, Apple Chief Financial Officer, Peter Oppenheimer repeatedly mentioned a “future product transition” which he couldn’t discuss that affects this quarter’s guidance and will impact this quarter’s gross margins.
We are working to develop new products that contains technologies that our competition will not be able to match. I cannot discuss these new products, but we are very confident in our product pipeline. – Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer
During the Apple’s Q308 Conference Call today, Oppenheimer stated a variation of the above quote at least seven different times.
So, what do you think? Larger format iPod touch (“Newton 2.0,” “iTablet,” or whatever you want to call it), the return of legitimate Mac clones, or something else entirely?
The key phrase is the statement that other manufacturers will not be able to copy it. This means more locked down software on proprietary hardware akin to the iPod, AppleTV, MBAir, etc, thanks to their recent chip design acquisition. By doing this they will exact control over the unauthorized use of any commercial audio/video media, which is all-important to the major studios and Apple’s own stakes as a distributor. Look for new Macs to gradually lose the option for user controlled software upgrades (the way the AppleTV is managed or updated only at Apple’s whim). Carte-blanche file sharing liberties as we enjoy today will be slowly cut off in favor of syncing between a few “authorized” devices, and they will discontinue selling retail versions of Mac OSX to combat theft.
First of all … executive succession plans are almost never made public, for obvious reasons.
I suspect that you’ll see some more competitively priced Macs with some new technologies, which the competition won’t be able to emulate.
@zato
Good thoughts. But then why lower guidance?
My guess is that it has something to do with Snow Leopard and ZFS storage protocol together with redesigned Mac hardware to take advantage of that capacity. I don’t believe PCs running Windows OS in particular can take advantage ZFS. I’d not purchase new machines just yet, unless I had to.
Well I for one hope that it is an OUI (object user interface). It should be about time now, the CLI (Command Line Interface) and the GUI (Graphic User Interface) have done their roles, time to move on, the computer interface does not have to remain flat.
The competition will not be able to match will be original technologies and originality is something that the competition (that’s you minisoftie) hasn’t been able to match for a long time now.
iPod classic transitions into the iPod touch
iPod nano becomes iPod nano touch.
It’s a transition, it will cut into margins.
But most importantly, ALL iPods will run OSX with the app store.
Developers, developers, developers. It’s a mobile platform their building here. Competition can’t touch it.
New products to leave competitors in the dust? Yes, multi-touch appliances that touch you in multiple right places. Oooh, baby! Touch me again!
Though they’ll only ever sell one in the Redmond region, Apple are developing an unbreakable chair – the iSitdown.
Try as he might, MonkeyBoy’ll try to smash it.
But wait! It’s unbreakable…
So MonkeyBy will get more frustrated, and try to smash it some more…
But wait! It’s unbreakable…
etc, etc…
Zorpo, that’s it! – A jet pack (iJet) with iPhone adapter so you can steer using the tilt sensing and run an air traffic control module available from the App Store. Of course, it will be powered by a rechargeable, non-removable, natural gas powered engine module, and the iJet Dock will be extra… but I’ll still want one!
All the Mac lines except MacBook Air needs to be refreshed. However, I can’t see how that factor so much on the guidance that Oppenheimer needs to repeatedly mention the future product transition. That makes me think that the transition is not just a refreshed current product, but a real product transition like the shift from Mac OS to Mac OS X and PPC to Intel. However, since Apple has confirmed that Snow Leopard is a release to firm up the foundations for future products, it doesn’t seem big changes will happen on the OS front. I am thinking that this future product transition is actually a new category. Perhaps Apple will capitalize on the work they’ve done on OS X and its SDK for iPhone.
I like dave’s idea of printers. Color laser printers with actual Apple designed software. Even better, all-in-ones!
Also, maybe a mouse with built in touch pad.
In the future I would like to see Firewire 3200 and external PCI-Express when they become available. I would also like to see something better than BlueTooth. I really hate the delay when first starting up.
A flush keyboard that doubles as a Multi-Touch trackpad depending on the input …
hey..
This update is coming in the Holiday Quarter. It is definitely the IPOD line. All of them will transition from their current software on to OS X.
OS X is the strength of the Apple. The entire apple strategy is take their core competency ( OS X ) and extend into other markets which is being transformed / transformable by robust software.
In this holiday quarter, we are going to see a complete new lineup of iPODs. They are all going to be little expensive to make and hence profit/margin drop. So, the stock is tanking now.
OLED Iphone wristwatch
partner with Sony and DoCoMo
Dick Tracy would be jealous
MikeK: You are the only one who got it right.
It is the mobile platform they are building.
You are absolutely right.. Developers, Developers, Developers…
This is going to be huge when you think about all the iPOD becoming target market for developers…
Apple is going to sell about 50 million iPod and about 20 million iPhones next year. That is about 70 Million target customers for developers. That is a huge market.
The days of PC application is maturing/aging.
Apple Mobile Platform is the future. I am very excited.
Cheers everyone!
I personally would like to see a non 3G iPhone. Wifi is great enough for the internet connection and a simple cell phone connection will be fine.
The greatest benefit of this would be a $25 – $40 a month bill for the masses and still have the basics in a quality Apple derived OS
My money’s on a iTablet!
Those Golden Apples, i.e profit taking has to drop sometimes… after all it’s a Apple profit tree!
@ Occasional Poster:
What you describe was actually released by Apple last year. It’s called the iPhone (1st generation).
A combination of low power OLED displays, PA Semi low power chips and solid state storage with “greener” technologies across most product lines, starting with ipods and iphones, would provide battery life that the competition would not be able to match and would be a transition sufficient to initially lower gross margins.
Know you all know what is next. Apple is going to release Snow Leopard for all intel machines now running Vista. Once the masses get to try out the Mac OS on their cheap machines, they will look to Apple to get the complete experience, like the ones they are having with iPods and iPhones.
End of life for Windows.
I would pay for an “iPrinter”…the only device that lets you print your boarding passes from within your iPhone
“My guess is that this has to do with the hinted-at Snow Leopard use of the GPU to enhance performance.”
That sounds so techy and like something most people really wouldnt care about, not that it isn’t cool to do that. I bet whatever it is, its much broader and bigger than that.
@MIkeK
I hadn’t thought of that, but I think you absolutely got it right.
Oppenheimer said a KEY transition. The iPod line moving entirely to touch makes so much sense on so many levels.
There is only so much smaller and thinner you can go on the iPod nano. Going touch would completely revolutionize and bring it in line with Apple’s future mobile platform. OSX, apps.
Yes, the iPod nano is going touch.
Shogun wrote:
@zato…Good thoughts. But then why lower guidance?
Very good question! Low guidance is not uncommon with APPL, but here, it seems like something doesn’t add up. It seems like AAPL really expects either lower sales or lower profits. My “Altivec” theory doesn’t really seem to work in that environment…
Except: With the computing power advantage Macs would have, Apple could make OSX available for PeeCee’s, and that might result lower Mac sales at first. It’s hard to believe all this could happen so quickly, though.