‘iPhone 12’ Ceremony, did you see that?
What did just happen? Are they no longer “thinking different”?
Yesterday, Apple stock fell by 4%, as the tech giant unveiled its first slate of 5G phones i.e. iPhone 12 range, erasing $81 billion worth of market value! Seems like traders and analysts had higher expectations from the new iPhones. To be honest, I had the same feeling, and I was just praying that Apple should come up with more innovative features other than the ones leaked on all tech forums.
Though much of the event brought highly anticipated additions to the 12th version of the iPhone, some elements of the launch rankled consumers like me. The highlighted story of this version of the phone was that it will be the first to lack wired earbuds and a power adaptor in the box.
Apple touted the exclusion of the items as a major step towards reaching full carbon neutrality.
Really? This is what they are trying to sell now? Or is it some hidden smart strategy to sell $25 charger, separately? Thank god, Apple does not sell cars, otherwise, we would have had to buy the exorbitantly expensive ‘iTyres’ (or Apple tyres), and that too independently! I think, when the 30th version of the iPhone will release, Apple will send only ‘one certificate’ instead of a new phone in the box, which will say “Thank you for buying iPhone 30. Kindly, hypothetically consider your current phone as new iPhone because we are out of features”.
“If you don’t have an iPhone, you don’t have an iPhone”. Being an Apple fan by myself, I’ve always backed this proverb (and I am a little biased towards Steve Jobs as well), but honestly, I can’t even remember how many times I’ve debated in favour of this ‘expensive tag line’, though my first and only iPhone cost me a fortune.
Ready to sell your kidneys? Apple iPhone 12 prices are out.
As always, the price of Apple products which have always been a point of hilarious debates and discussion, prompted a plethora of memes on social media this time as well.
But interestingly, Apple doesn’t care as it did not sustain any loss since 2002, or around then. However criticized for its overpricing, for removing the Home button, or removing the headphone jack, all of it created a pathway for the future as the removal of the headphone jack helped them to create the revolutionary ‘Airpods’, whether you hate it or consider it expensive, people buy them anyways.
If we look on the other side of the table, the competitive smartphone companies are constantly innovating their products, extending their limits, while it seems like that Apple has stopped innovating, only messing up user-experience as the ‘A13 Bionic chip’ is the only thing that has improved in the last 3 versions of iPhone.
Critics ask this question all the time “are people buying iPhones mostly because it’s a status symbol? Well, I think the ‘addiction’ word would be more apt for this scenario. In today’s market, a lot depends on the business objectives and investors are more focused on stock prices and related mathematics rather than on technical innovation.
To disrupt the market again, it needs enterprising folks who have passion but in my opinion, Apple currently does is mere, following the pattern started by Steve Jobs. Anyways, while Apple looks invincible now, I fear that they won’t be forever. Eventually, every company dies and is replaced by others doing it differently and possibly better.
Interestingly, other companies are offering better specifications than what Apple does at the same price tag as Samsung has introduced infinity and foldable display, companies like Oneplus and Mi are offering the same specifications at way better price.
I’ve been an admirer of Apple and never used any other smartphone or laptop other than the iPhone and the MacBook for about 5 years now, and if you ask me whether Apple is still that innovative in terms of hardware? I am afraid, it is ill (if not dying).
However, while reading articles about Apple’s strategy and roadmap for the next decade, I realized that Apple’s future depends not on its ability to make elegant hardware products which was started by the Yoda — Steve Jobs, but rather its ability to create a platform for the developers to reach and serve customers via mobile applications, and the future winner is the one who will serve technology the most.
As we all know from the scandals of Facebook, that software and media piracy is a huge problem especially in Asia, therefore a closed apps ecosystem like Apple’s could be the only way for consumer software and media businesses.
On the bright side, in terms of other product streams, Apple is working relentlessly on Airpods and Apple Watch (both were Tim Cook’s inventions) by adding biometric sensors that can be crammed into a wristwatch to estimate oxygen, hydration, and even stress levels.
It can also enable car apps once there’s a way for the devices to talk with your vehicles and we already seeing big players like MG Motors who launched the ‘internet car’ last year.
Through an app, your car will automatically arrange an oil change appointment for you when needed, taking into account where you live and your schedule for the week.
In my opinion, consumers are still obsessed with Steve Jobs as they fail to understand the persona of Tim Cook and compare Apple with what Jobs would have done and what is it doing right now! Although Cook wasn’t voted for the CEO position, but as per employee interviews, that I have read over the internet, they consider Tim Cook as an excellent leader and has a team that is par above the rest.
In fact, one of the few things that I really like about Apple is that they are doing stuff that Jobs may not have done and it shows that they are not merely following the norms set by him and that they are thinking out of the box.
I think the core problem with the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company is that ‘Jobs’ has raised the bar so high that Apple’s biggest competition is Apple itself because public expectations are way too much than what they expect from the competition.
Right now, it may feel like Apple is clinging to the legacy that Jobs left behind, and trying to extend the existing paradigm with as much life as they can — and people might think that they’re scared to death of making any decisions that Jobs wouldn’t approve of. But one thing is for sure, that they are carving their own path. Even if the market has become stagnant, people expect Apple to always release stuff that they never thought were possible.
This higher expectation may be causing Apple to get a taste of its own medicine! Even though, Tim Cook’s Apple is not following their brand’s tag line “Think Different”, but they are definitely thinking “Think Different-ly”.
