“Apple has changed the consumer landscape over the last decade: Where there was once a market driven by platform application availability (e.g. Windows), it’s evolved into a combination of end-to-end operating systems, diverse devices, services, and applications,” Michael Gartenberg writes for iMore. “This has all worked to devalue consumer perception of a given platform, carrier, or device relative to the total experience.”
“Apple is a world class hardware designer, a world class software creator, and a world class services provider. Very few companies are any of these; no other company in the world is all three,” Gartenberg writes. “The key to understanding Apple’s ecosystem is this: The company focuses on innovating a few great things that work together to change markets. Apple’s goal is not necessarily to be first, but always best. The areas of Apple innovation are then linked together to create a holistic experience.”
“Currently, no competitor comes close to delivering the focused combination of the various parts in Apple’s ecosystem,” Gartenberg writes. “That success, however, has raised new questions for me… I wonder: Has Apple lost the focus that brought it to the success of today?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, Apple has lost some focus, but they have grown so quickly, so recently, that we believe the company will get back into balance sooner than later and shore up some loose ends that vex longtime customers who are used to a level of experience not offered by certain products of recent vintage (iTunes, Apple TV at launch, Mac Pro stagnation, etc.)