“Apple prides itself on constantly re-imagining the future, but even the world’s leading gadget-maker likes to dwell on the past too. Thirty years ago Steve Jobs commanded the stage at the Flint Centre for the Performing Arts near Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino to show off the new Macintosh computer. On September 9th Mr Jobs’s successor, Tim Cook, held a similar performance in the same location to thunderous applause,” The Economist writes. “Those invited were given a chance to play with the gadgets presented on stage: two new iPhones and a wearable device, called the Apple Watch. ‘This is the next chapter in Apple’s story,’ he said, sounding much like the young Mr Jobs in 1984.”
“It may well be true—but not for the reasons most people might think,” The Economist writes. “Lost in the maelstrom of snazzy new gadgets, applause and photos was an important shift: this week’s announcements showed that Apple’s future will be less about hardware and more about its ‘ecosystem’ — a combination of software, services, data and a plethora of partners.”
“The new openness does not only apply to technology. Mr Cook has let outsiders join his inner circle, hiring executives from retail and other industries to expand Apple’s expertise,” The Economist writes. “He has also overseen the largest acquisition in Apple’s history, the $3 billion purchase in May of Beats, a headphones and music-streaming company. For its new payment system it teamed up with big retailers, such as Whole Foods and Walgreens, and credit-card firms, including MasterCard and Visa.”
Full article here.
What is this type of mobile technology WITHOUT an ecosystem? Which is why long term Google is an also-ran and distant third choice. They don’t have the DNA or Mojo. (Notice we don’t even bother to include Microsoft in these discussions anymore – talk about monumental clodhopper CEO screw-ups and ZERO cogent vision.)
I should have said “without a GREAT ecosystem.”
No kidding?
Seriously Apple became different company the day it took the computer off the name.
And now some people wake up. Why do you think Apple spent a fortune implanting Apple Stores all over the world at best shopping locations?
This was the plan all along.
And of course new management, new style. That doesn’t mean the company is really different. It simply evolves.
The Economist has been slow to pick up on trends and changes in the tech industry. It’s never been their forte. And they’ve been pretty clueless about Apple since day one a generation ago. I was a regular reader for a couple decades since my college days. It was my favorite weekly read for many years. But I lost interest over the last few years. They’re not as insightful about economics and politics as they once were. Don’t know what happened to them. Unfortunate leadership change maybe.
The Economist doesn’t get it.
The “gadgets” that Apple makes have changed entire industries such as communications, design, education and entertainment to name but a few. Not bad for a “gadget” company.
The way medical professionals interact with patients. The charts a flight crew use. All forever changed because of Apple and their “gadgets”.
Might want to ask BMW, Ferrari, Lexus or other car manufacturers why they partnered with a “gadget” company.
The closing paragraphs were the best however. Those comparing Apple and Microsoft to Catholics and Protestants.
How do Apps figure into that analogy? Are they new Apostles or new pages added to the Bible? New, new Testament?
Economist rarely gets anything right. They simply rehash the news to color it with trier own pompous views.
To put it simply, Apple has some of the most brilliant people in the industry who know how to think different. There isn’t another company with a line up of beautiful minds like we see in Apple. That is Steve Jobs legacy, he had zero tolerance for mediocrity.
I immediately lose any respect for a writer when they refer to Apple products as “gadgets”.
Wow the Economist is slow on the uptake, it has been all about the ecosystem since the launch of iLife or for that matter the iMac. This really goes to show just how far ahead Jobs was, only now are they starting to see what he did when he returned to Apple.
“Less about hardware and more about ecosystem…”
Um, doesn’t he realise that you need the hardware to run the ecosystem?