“During Apple’s best years, between 2007 and 2010, Apple introduced the first iPhone and the first iPad, two world-changing products that now define the company (and bring in most of its revenue). These products, along with their touch interfaces and apps stores, were a shock to the industry,” Mike Elgan writes for Cult of Mac. “That’s great, Apple. But what have you done for me lately?”
“Here’s one theory about how Apple works: The company finds a horrible content consumption experience. They figure out how the experience can be made wonderful. They work on the products until they’re ready, both from product quality and price perspectives,” Elgan writes. “Then they ship it and spend the next few years refining and perfecting the original vision.”
“I think the next three years will be twice as awesome as the iPhone-iPad years, in the sense that Apple will break into four new businesses,” Elgan writes. “Why? Because the technology and content deals will fall into place during this time.”
Here’s what I think is going to happen:
• iWatch
• iTV
• iOS for Cars
• Desktop iPad
Elgan writes, “The [last] three years of boring is about to be replaced with three years of awesome — starting next year. This is going to be fun.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
One could also use a tangram, or draw quadrants, and see other product or service areas that Apple might move into.
“Apple…what have you done for me lately?” — followed by a fluffing of the pillow of dreams. The default tech post on a slow news day. Journalists gotta feed their kids.
No mention of Touch ID or a payments system?
Stealth payment systems started at Apple with the iPhone and now include vendor scannable bar codes like at Starbucks and now iBeacon to communicate with ‘regulars.’
I am so much looking forward to iOS for cars, this truly can be the next revolution. Apples iOS plus the power of the A7 or the generations after will deliver not only an “iPad in the car” (what alone would be great!), but one day a real working self steering car for everybody will come to reality.
Today this technique is in the very, very beginning and extremely expensive but already very capable. A standardized hard- and software plus the computing power of A7, A8, A9 or whatever will make it happen one day as easy as using an iPhone.
It will save thousands and thousands of people, because the computer will be the much better driver than mankind. People always think they are great drivers, but in most cases they are not as good as they think. (And, no, it is not a man-woman-issue!)
And a state of the art hi speed train goes round a corner in Spain at 3 times the safe speed and technology makes no attempt to stop the driver from being an idiot thus killing numerous people. And unlike cars the corner, route and known safe speed and other random vehicles don’t vary a jot in that location. Yes don’t see the driverless car taking over any time soon somehow.
Technology is lacking, it’s simply implementation. There is plenty of available technology to prevent this, it just was not programmed and implemented properly. Frankly there should not even be drivers of trains at this point, as they are the greatest point of failure in the system.
I believe that the iTV may be next. It requires the balance of the Apple billion dollar server farms to be finished. Has anyone seen any report about how far along the server farm is in Hong Kong, China? There may be more than the 5 Apple has disclosed so far. Know one is looking for them.
I hope the iTV will come soon or sometime after the first of next year I’ll buy a big ‘ol Sony, hook my Apple TV to it and make do, surely with much regrets sometime after that.
“No one”
Server farms.
Optimists!
Articles such as these remind me of former 20th century world fair and Popular Science predictions. I guess we will all travel to our nearest Apple store in our flying cars and have our iWatches unboxed by servile robots.
I’ve been long dreaming for flying cars while stuck in a traffic jam, wishing my car has wings.
Good one. It’s always amusing to hear the “possibilities are endless” stories. Meanwhile, Apple has pretty much flatlined trying cut through the endless Android forest of smartphones and tablets.
We all know how much cash Apple has on hand but keeping a mountain of cash under one’s mattress doesn’t add up to any gains. So, in theory, Apple has the financial ability to do whatever can be imagined far better than any company on the planet. However, all I see is a company struggling to make revenue gains and faltering every quarter. There’s no reason for this except for Apple’s ineptitude on how to use its immense reserve cash pile.
You can dream all you want about future magnificent iDevices but Android will present a future stumbling block for any mobile product Apple makes. Any iDevice will quickly be copied and sold for less and Apple’s market share will quickly diminish. Samsung has already said they’re going to put Apple out of business and they’ll use any means possible to make that happen.
And then what? Samsung retreats to making refrigerators and backhoes? Without the well of Apple innovation to draw from, the electronics business is sure to dry up. Yes, there will be other wells. But the ratchets will be rusted, the ropes frayed, the brackish water polluted. Commodities will become boring, indistinguishable. A new consumer malaise will infect the economic landscape. Windows will rise again, monochrome culture restored, upstarts put in their place, uniforms mandated in public schools. The first shall be last.
Attention Earth: All Laughing Boy posts immediately get one star from me without even reading them. That is all.
How about Macfreek?
Your delusional bizzaro alt universe doesn’t apply here. Go back to your wormhole troll. No winning for you.
They forgot to mention the ipenis. The possibility are endless
The perfect Christmas/Mother’s Day gift for the woman in your life!
My penis already has one eye.
Little minds don’t see far
Last three years boring!?! Nokia beaten into submission, Blackberry on the verge of collapse, record breaking sales of iOS devices, move to free software, …..
..an car would be beyond coolality.
What about moving into the Enterprise market and interfacing with robotics, biotech and nanotech.
Yes. What about Apple doing those things? All I see is a company intent on selling smartphones and tablets to a shrinking consumer market owned by Android. If robotics, biotech and nanotech is somewhere in Apple’s pipeline, all well and good. We can all hope for something like that but there are certainly no indications of such things happening. Apple never shows future concepts like Google does. Investors have nothing to even look forward to with Apple’s secrecy strategy.
Wrong. Apple’s secrecy strategy once reliably manipulated consumer expectation by producing the unexpected, then rapidly commanding market share in new areas of consumption before the competition could catch up in 2-3 years. Then they would do it again with another surprise. But this strategy eventually backfired when a parasitic village industry formed around it, finding profits in springing leaks, spoiling surprises, generating ad income from sensational headlines, lining the pockets of supply chain analysts. Apple lost the lead time they’d once enjoyed. Then competitors jumped in with their FUD tactics, sabotaging product demand. What a mess!
I thought the introduction of the iPhone 5 would continue Apple’s stock acceleration. Quite the opposite happened. The day after is when the stock started the nosedive. I thought the introduction of the iPad mini one month later would stop the bleeding. It only got worse. Disappointing earnings and decent earnings haven’t helped. The introduction of the iPhone 5C and 5S haven’t helped. Nor has the iPad Air. Production constraints resulting in limited supplies don’t help either. So I don’t expect to the iPad Mini retina to move the needle. If it gets here. Mike mentions some interesting possibilities but I believe that only the TV can help the stock. And a larger iPhone. And they don’t seem to be coming anytime soon.
I also think so .
I agree
The Mac Mini could be replaced with something like the Mac Book Air without a screen. Then It could serve a monitor or a new 13 inch iPad. The iPad would would use both Mac OS and IOS when connected to the keyboard of the new Mac Mini or when it is not connected.
iWatch- sure
iTV- the problem with TV isn’t tech, it’s content.
iOS for cars- Auto makera are going to relinquish the dashboard to Apple? Unlikely.
desktop iPad- Gee. I already am productive on my iPad.
Here’s a link to an article that features Apple (if you scroll down) that interests me, and should interest any Apple stockholder: “Screening to find cash flow monsters.” (YCharts).
For all the handwringing and punditry about Apple, one thing stands out: the company generates cash like nobody’s business. And to a stock holder, that eventually means that generated cash will turn into dividends, stock share buy-backs and/or increased valuation, or all of the above. It’s a classic “don’t watch my other hand” move – forget the hype and follow the cash. That tells you all you need to know. Here’s the link:
http://ycharts.com/analysis/story/screening_to_find_the_cash_flow_monsters
Apple made mention years ago that iOS and macos would be integrated. So why should this be some big deal for him to predict what’s been stated?