Time for a strategy change
<rant>
Apple has historically been an anomaly when it comes to its product strategy and how it introduces them. Being secretive about upcoming products and introducing revolutionary designs with great fanfare has allowed them to catch their competition by surprise and build up a loyal, no... fanatic, base of consumers. Unpredictability was the key. Now, the media spectacle has become the status-quo. When Steve Jobs walked out in jeans, tennis shoes, and the black shirt today, I knew that the announcements he made would be no more revolutionary than his uniform, er, I mean outfit. Not even a mock turtleneck of a Pantone color to match one of the new iPod Nano swatch choices was worn.
Steve Jobs has broken his own philosophy of not following the formula. There is nothing wrong with wowing the world with something revolutionary, but to have the lasting effect, that which is introduced has to be just that... revolutionary. It is time to find a different way to make that impact when the next real product that will amaze us is released upon the jaded, tired media machine.
The economy is bad and many of the people who buy iPods as gifts, are indeed the ones who are affected by the economy. These same people are going to be choosing between $600 airfares to see their loved ones or electronic gadgets this Christmas. Contrast this to those who will by Macbooks (and Pros and Airs) vs. a clunky Toshiba that is half the price and 2/3rds the performance. They are the ones who are either going back to school and will already be amassing a huge debt, or have the disposable incomes to choose Apple instead of the former for the entire design, experience, and utility built into one. It is too late to woo the first group this year. At least wooing an incredible number of them rather than just a hefty number. Sales look great, but they would have been spectacular as many more people, especially Generation Y'ers will be willing to switch to Mac now that one year ago.
To not let these valuable souls (they really are the wet dream of product marketers; most companies would kill to have these people waiting in the wings for their product lines) slip away this quarter and further disappoint shareholders Apple needs to break away from their predictable formula by:
1) Announcing now when the new Macbooks, Macbook Pros and Airs will be released, even if the date is months down the road.
2) Introducing them in an innovative, non-black turtleneck wearing way that will demonstrate the revolutionary vision of Apple. And they better be the dog's bollocks.
This will truly catch the competition off guard and keep those sales going to Apple, and their fanatic customers loyal.
</rant>
Apple has historically been an anomaly when it comes to its product strategy and how it introduces them. Being secretive about upcoming products and introducing revolutionary designs with great fanfare has allowed them to catch their competition by surprise and build up a loyal, no... fanatic, base of consumers. Unpredictability was the key. Now, the media spectacle has become the status-quo. When Steve Jobs walked out in jeans, tennis shoes, and the black shirt today, I knew that the announcements he made would be no more revolutionary than his uniform, er, I mean outfit. Not even a mock turtleneck of a Pantone color to match one of the new iPod Nano swatch choices was worn.
Steve Jobs has broken his own philosophy of not following the formula. There is nothing wrong with wowing the world with something revolutionary, but to have the lasting effect, that which is introduced has to be just that... revolutionary. It is time to find a different way to make that impact when the next real product that will amaze us is released upon the jaded, tired media machine.
The economy is bad and many of the people who buy iPods as gifts, are indeed the ones who are affected by the economy. These same people are going to be choosing between $600 airfares to see their loved ones or electronic gadgets this Christmas. Contrast this to those who will by Macbooks (and Pros and Airs) vs. a clunky Toshiba that is half the price and 2/3rds the performance. They are the ones who are either going back to school and will already be amassing a huge debt, or have the disposable incomes to choose Apple instead of the former for the entire design, experience, and utility built into one. It is too late to woo the first group this year. At least wooing an incredible number of them rather than just a hefty number. Sales look great, but they would have been spectacular as many more people, especially Generation Y'ers will be willing to switch to Mac now that one year ago.
To not let these valuable souls (they really are the wet dream of product marketers; most companies would kill to have these people waiting in the wings for their product lines) slip away this quarter and further disappoint shareholders Apple needs to break away from their predictable formula by:
1) Announcing now when the new Macbooks, Macbook Pros and Airs will be released, even if the date is months down the road.
2) Introducing them in an innovative, non-black turtleneck wearing way that will demonstrate the revolutionary vision of Apple. And they better be the dog's bollocks.
This will truly catch the competition off guard and keep those sales going to Apple, and their fanatic customers loyal.
</rant>
Comments
Have the MacBooks gone a year without updating? Wait until then, and then you shall know consumer-level Apple product cycle grievance.
Goodness knows what people must have felt like before the sunflower iMac, but at least then Apple had an excuse, right? No excuse for the Minis.
You're talking about economy, but didn't mention the Mac Mini, the mother of all economy Macs sold by Apple, and it has gone more than a year without an update without anybody saying anything or even seeming to care about, even people such as yourself who care about its main selling point, its economy.
Have the MacBooks gone a year without updating? Wait until then, and then you shall know consumer-level Apple product cycle grievance.
Goodness knows what people must have felt like before the sunflower iMac, but at least then Apple had an excuse, right? No excuse for the Minis.
I agree with this too. I'm concentrating on notebooks as more people are switching to them, particularly in the influential Generation Y demographic, and these are the face of Apple to the world (at least its computers). When you buy a Mini, no one outside your house sees it. The notebooks on the other hand, you and the world sees it (look at movie, tv, and reality show product placements).
As far as it being a volume item, you may be right. I don't know the future trends and profit margins of mini's to make a good judgment on their effect. It seems outside the corporate world, everyone wants a notebook though.
But! Once Apple has a successful release of Mac OS X v10.6.x, aka Snow Leopard, things will change dramatically.
What is one of the main things holding back the efficient usage of multi-core CPUs? Getting the programs to use those multi-cores. In theory, OpenCL will take care of this for us. If it works, Apple will have a very large advantage in the market.
But will they do the right thing and actually SHOW the public, in a clear and concise manner, HOW this all can benefit them with the computer tasks they do day in and day out?
Time will tell…
1) Announcing now when the new Macbooks, Macbook Pros and Airs will be released, even if the date is months down the road.
Capitalistic-suicide.
I am awaiting this supposed "transition" in 2008 though?
Hello!??
Capitalistic-suicide.
I am awaiting this supposed "transition" in 2008 though?
Hello!??
I believe the transition Apple's CFO referred to is simply the introduction and proliferation of lower-margin iPhones.
Superb post. I understand your frustration completely. in response, I would say four things:
1. Yes, new MacBook designs are well overdue - but only as far as we technogeeks are concerned. The vast majority of Apple customers have never heard of AppleInsider or the other Apple fansites. They just want a computer and Apple fits the bill.
2. Even though the MacBook Pro and MacBook ranges case designs are dated by industry standards, they're really not that old. Moreover, the important bits: the chips inside were upgraded six months ago. So they still cut it in terms of processing performance. Today's Macs still stack up very well against the competition. The MacBook Pro is an outstanding computer even now. If it ain't broke, why fix it just because everyone else routinely redesigns their machines? But perhaps the most compelling reason to justify Apple's unfair advantage is OSX. It is brilliant and if 10.4 Tiger was good, 10.5 Leopard is even better. Like the 2.5 G iPhone versus existing 3G products when it was launched, all Macs provide a superior user-experience. At the ned of the day, that's what it is about.
3. it's not as if sales of the Mac laptops have fallen off a cliff. They've been incredibly robust and in a very depressed marketplace. Apple has bucked the downturn trend. That is very impressive. I don't think anyone going to College for the first time will be disappointed with the Mac they've bought. It will still be a very useful machine when these people graduate. So I don't think Apple needed to rush to produce new versions of these products.
4.If there has been a delay in Apple launching new machines, it is Intel's fault. Both Penryn and Montevina were late.
Anyway, now that a rather ho-hum range of new iPods has been launched and iPhone 3G is up and running, you're right, Apple can and should return to its core cash generative business: producing computers that delight and amaze. New MacBooks must surely be next on the Agenda. i certainly eagerly anticipate them. I also look forward to the iTouch arriving. But in analyzing Apple's performance, the glass is definitely half-full for me. i think they've done a great job. Take that from a very reluctant PC convert. I never wanted to switch from Windows, but after a year of misery with Vista enough was enough. The only question to which i can find no meaningful answer is how come Apple has got so much right and Microsoft the opposite? I am very much looking forward to seeing how Apple's market share will have grown by the end of 2008.
I believe the transition Apple's CFO referred to is simply the introduction and proliferation of lower-margin iPhones.
Get out before I slap you.