Apple is both a hardware company, software company, and a services company.
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Here is Apples profile from Apple themself. Tell me if this sounds like just a hardware company
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players worldwide. The company also sells related software, services, accessories, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications....
Apple is primarily a hardware company that develops software and services in support of the hardware it sells. It sells very little (and getting less) independent software. Thanks for reproducing Apple's profile - since it makes my point! All you have to do is read the very first sentence to know what Apple's primary mission is: to design, manufacture, and market phones/tablets, computers, and music players.
As another poster already pointed out, what Tim Cook says about his company being a "lifestyle" company or a luxury brand or an aspirational mark - that's just sales talk. They're not words meant to define.
You're a hardware company if you make money from selling boxes. You're a software company if you make money selling content. Very simple. Apple just happens to be a company that adds some nice stuff to the box before it sells it to you. That just makes it a hardware company that can sell its boxes for more money.
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Apple is both a hardware company, software company, and a services company.
...
Here is Apples profile from Apple themself. Tell me if this sounds like just a hardware company
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players worldwide. The company also sells related software, services, accessories, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications....
Apple is primarily a hardware company that develops software and services in support of the hardware it sells. It sells very little (and getting less) independent software. Thanks for reproducing Apple's profile - since it makes my point! All you have to do is read the very first sentence to know what Apple's primary mission is: to design, manufacture, and market phones/tablets, computers, and music players.
As another poster already pointed out, what Tim Cook says about his company being a "lifestyle" company or a luxury brand or an aspirational mark - that's just sales talk. They're not words meant to define.
You're a hardware company if you make money from selling boxes. You're a software company if you make money selling content. Very simple. Apple just happens to be a company that adds some nice stuff to the box before it sells it to you. That just makes it a hardware company that can sell its boxes for more money.