Tim Bajarin reports for PC Magazine, “I recently spoke with an executive who is a PC vendor, and he asked me a question that also happened to be an important statement on his part: “Apple is really unstoppable, isn’t it?”
“Given Apple’s increased dominance in the smartphone and MP3-player space, as well as the company’s gains in consumer and business mindshare with the Mac platform, Apple is perhaps the most influential company in the personal computer and CE market,” Bajarin writes. “And this is driving its competitors crazy.”
Bajarin writes, “One of the more startling announcements made at Apple’s recent iPod launch event was that Apple has the credit card information on over 100 million users. And the company did not come to own these digital customers by accident. One of the things people don’t realize about Apple is that its roadmap and product planning is done in 10-year increments. In fact, Apple started laying the groundwork for being a digital asset management and distribution company two to three years before the first iPod even hit the market, back in 2001. And from that point on, the company has made this the framework behind everything it has done and created to date, and it will guide Apple’s product designs and strategy for the foreseeable future.”
Bajarin writes, “Apple has another major advantage in that it owns the Mac, iPod, and iPhone OSes; Mac hardware platforms; and iPod and iPhone designs. That makes it easy for the company to create devices that take full advantage of the content it offers and manages. This reinforces Apple’s unique position, and is frustrating its competitors to no end.”
Bajarin explains, “If Apple does bring out a mini-tablet of some sort, it almost assuredly will have another winner, so long as it takes full advantage of its platform ecosystem. In fact, Apple could continue to innovate around all types of new hardware designs while integrating its asset management and distribution system into new devices: next-generation TVs, set-top boxes, and so on. It could easily continue creating products that consumers will snap up—and extend the Apple empire well beyond its current footprint.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Interesting!
Wow! Apple is the new juggernaut in the electronic space.
Apple’s competitors wouldn’t be in this boat if their software partner (aka Microsoft) had a vision of producing stuff that works, as opposed to conquering the world first, then maybe if it’s customers were nice, fix what’s broke (virtually everything they produce).
Tim,
I really have to praise your clear vision in the “Why Apple is unstoppable” article. This is the first time I have seen anybody really nail what Apple is. Even the Apple stores were created with this grand plan in mind. Steve said something about that vision for the store before, but it makes sense now that you painted such a clear picture.
Thanks for the great article.
Slightly off-topic, but there has been a lot of criticism, particularly lately, about OS X security, and how essentially the OS X market share is too small to expose the presumed OS X security weaknesses.
Wouldn’t Apple/iTunes present the absolute OS X gold standard to try to hack? Wouldn’t the so-called pros think 100m credit card numbers be worth going after, not to mention access to all the media?
I have no doubts there are constant attempts to hack Apple, which are rightly keep under wraps, but I would propose that all of the “experts” keep iTunes in mind when they mindlessly spew the security “lapses” at Apple.
On the other hand, it’d be interesting to generally know how Apple handles security.
10 year plan. Thats amazing. I’m sure it changes as time goes, but to project and plan that far ahead must be difficult. Unlike Microsoft, they make their 1 year plan after each Apple Keynote/Events.
What Apple has accomplished in the last 10 years is what Sony had tried to do but never came close to accomplishing. Apple tied it all together with software, while Sony tried to do it with proprietary memory sticks and proprietary sound formats.
As somebody else pointed out, MS’ only “vision” was to take over the world. Never mattered if it worked or not. Never mattered if it was secure either.
“Given Apple’s increased dominance in the smartphone and MP3-player space, as well as the company’s gains in consumer and business mindshare with the Mac platform, Apple is perhaps the most influential company in the personal computer and CE market,”
I remember an article back in ’98 by one of those Smart Pundits™ proposing that Apple might not actually disappear completely, but it was surely irrelevant and nobody should waste time giving any thought to Apple in the future. I iBrained it then, and I have the chance to recall it quite often these days. Never fails to bring a smile.
“In next week’s column, I’ll tackle the question of who Apple’s real competitors are—and how the rest of the PC and CE companies can compete with Apple.”
Tim Bajarin must die before he spills the beans.
(I keed, I keed)
Excellent article.
Of course the PC Dorks are already screaming fanboi-ism!
It takes one to know one, it seems.
Apple’s integration of hardware and software is a *huge* advantage which – whether you like them or hate them – cannot be denied. This makes it possible for them to consistently and methodically work towards their long-term goals (10 year planning!!!), since they don’t have to worry as much about the competing agendas of the third parties they do business with.
It’s amusing to see the denial from the PC folks commenting on the original article. Which is perfectly fine by me – the longer Apple’s competitors (and their supporters) continue to dismiss or misunderstand what Apple’s doing, the more time Apple has to carve out a huge lead on them.
My fellow AppleHeads……..we are becoming…..(sigh)……………..
Microsoft
@Btaylor36 – Get back to us after Apple has bought up hundreds of companies to bloat to unmanageable size, threatens to sue open-source projects for (unspecified) patent infringements, and starts using its market power to threaten, bully, and stifle competition. Then maybe you’ll have a point.
“Apple’s competitors wouldn’t be in this boat if their software partner (aka Microsoft) had a vision of producing stuff that works,”
Right, but in that scenario, Microsoft, not Gateway, holds all the value.
The hardware makers are totally commoditized, and unlike the Healthcare companies, have NO IDEA how to collude. So they make almost no margins. Sounds like a crappy business. Maybe that’s why IBM ran for the hills.
Apple, on the other hand, gets to charge for something qualitative. The combination of these things and this amazing feeling you get when you use them. Loving these products. That’s an amazing business to be in.
And you know what? Steve Jobs is the crazy (read: passionate) SOB running the whole thing, ultimately that’s what this is about. You think the guy at Acer has anything whatsoever between his ears compared to Steve Jobs?
@Btaylor36
Let us know when it’s mandatory to use Safari only on OSX to access websites.
10 year plan… That’s 2 x 5-year-plan! And we all know how liberal that Steve Jobs is. And now he’s practicing planned economy!! Sounds like communismosocialism to me!!!
</teabaggingballmer>
On a more serious note – sure, Apple’s tight integration of hardware, software and services is a two-bladed sword. At the core of it all is the general IT illiteracy of the consumer: the personal computer (in its original sense) as an everyday tool is only possible if things are done the Apple way. Everyone cannot be a 1337 ubergeek. But: if the choice to do things differently is taken away, things become Microsofty.
So while I hope that Apple’s model succeeds, I also hope that Apple will maintain the possibility to do things the way the user wants to do, if he/she is skilled and willing enough. So far so good, mostly.
/* “My fellow AppleHeads……..we are becoming…..(sigh)……………..
Microsoft” */
@Btaylor36
With one huge difference- Apple is creating a truly usable, dependable and choice driven experience. Those people packing the Apple stores at the malls are there in their own free will.
I myself- switched a long time ago- it was a conscious choice and I’m never going back.
@Spark
Good one, Achmed.
Just a thought,
” an executive who is a PC vendor, and he asked me a question that also happened to be an important statement on his part: “Apple is really unstoppable, isn’t it?””
WOW… they finally are…. slowly getting it.
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@BTaylor36 “My fellow AppleHeads……..we are becoming…..(sigh)……………..Microsoft”
Its obvious that you just do not get it. Big is not bad. Big and Sucks greatly is bad. LOL
Just a thought.
en
oh oh Apple = Skynet. LOL
Hold on, folks. Let’s not lose sight of the horizon. Apple is not infallible, it is far from a full-world presence, and it has serious price pressure from lesser competitors.
From the article, Bajarin explains, “If Apple does bring out a mini-tablet of some sort, it almost assuredly will have another winner…”
WRONG. Nothing is ever assured. Apple could make a misstep (Newton, Cube, Air) by offering a product that is overpriced and underperforming.
I am confident that Apple is on the right track, but let’s not go forward with the assumption that all Apple does is profitable, good, and right. Good companies make mistakes too.
Yeah, that vertical integration concept sure was a stupid decision on Apple’s/Steve Jobs’ part.
When are the PC guys going to get the picture and start developing and heavily marketing their own OS’s? That’s the kicker here. That is why you ask “Mac or PC” and not “Apple or HP/Dell/Toshiba/etc” Apple doesn’t compete with the manufacturers. Apple competes with MS.
If the other guys would play that game, then they could have a piece of the Vertical pie too, and not fight for bottom dollar prices.
Friends:
Steve Jobs has stated that it is not his or Apple’s desire to “conquer the world.” He merely wants Apple to create “insanely great” products. That is what Apple is doing, and that is clearly what the market wants. People choose to buy Apple’s products over others because they’re sexy/wonderful/work great/all of the above. As long as Apple continues to do this, they will have huge market shares.
They are NOT turning into Microsoft because their goal for existence doesn’t follow the Microsoft model of world dominance. Apple has proven they can create great products without having to conquer the world, and they have been doing this since 1982.