You're completely clueless about how Apple makes its money, aren't you....
Let me translate then. An Apple television set would have to be more than a screen. Apple would need to completely redefine how we get full content. And I feel that apple is the ONLY company as of right now who could do so. And I think the world would benefit from such.
You have a choice not to go Apple if you think they are too greedy for your taste.
Money didn't flow to Apple because they are Apple, money flows Apple's direction because they make great products and consumers love them. Their products hold their value much much better than the race to the bottom products of their competitors.
Yes everyone pundits and iHaters complained of the Apple tax but they never think of the lasting quality and value of these products over the years.
The funny thing about the "Apple tax" is that it seems to apply only to Apple. No one thinks about the "Microsoft tax" when they buy Windows PCs. Microsoft's margins are higher than Apple's margins. According to Yahoo! Finance, Microsoft's margins are 75% as opposed to Apple's being 40%.
I am really getting sick of all the editorials and bitching on all the blogs about all the money Apple has in the bank. It seems like all of these people who are complaining, which they had their hands on Apple's money and wished they has Apple's problem. Come on you all - give it a rest and accept the fact that Apple continues to take the right steps. For example,
1. People complained about Apple not paying dividends. So last year, they did that and that too, if I remember was larger than anyone out there. 2. People still bitched that it wasn't enough and this year they jacked up up even higher and they are still the number 1 in amount of dividend passed out. 3. People complained that they should do buy back - And they did that - Largest buy back in the history. And they borrowed cheap money to do just that. Hey you Wall Street people, what makes you thing that only you are allowed to borrow cheap money? Apple played the same game you guys play and you guys don't like it. 4. Why are all these people want Apple to buy Netflix and this and that? Yes, if they are in single digit growth rate and if they really have to improve their earnings by means of acquiring companies and get into different space - it might make sense. Not the issue right now.
So, please enough of continuous questioning how wrong Apple is and what they ought to be doing - You are all wrong!
You have a choice not to go Apple if you think they are too greedy for your taste.
Money didn't flow to Apple because they are Apple, money flows Apple's direction because they make great products and consumers love them. Their products hold their value much much better than the race to the bottom products of their competitors.
Yes everyone pundits and iHaters complained of the Apple tax but they never think of the lasting quality and value of these products over the years.
Yeah I completely agree. It's why I still buy Apple products and not only do I enjoy them but I always get a good resale price. Apple still offers by far the best value. You just have to put up a bit more up front.
However, not knowing Apple's plans I sometimes think, with a forever mounting cash hoard, they can sometimes do a bit more or give a bit more back to consumers. Goodness knows I've bought enough from them over the years and I haven't always been completely happy. Things like the Maps fiasco show that they simply didn't invest enough in that product for instance but there've been a few others.
``While pundits and analysts like to focus attention on how Apple is now appears incapable of growing at the same historical pace simply due to the laws of physics....''
Please just don't include subject matter you clearly don't grasp, especially when it's insulting to those that do: ``...due to the laws of physics...'' is obnoxious.
Money is a man-made construct, not a universal physics construct.
P.S. The rest of the Op-Ed is solid.
"Insulting to those that do". Insulting...?
Please don't use words you clearly don't grasp the actual meaning of when it's insulting to those that do.
Apple needs to be careful or it risks being seen as greedy with a subsequent consumer backlash. Consumers may well ask why they're continuing to pay margins that are significantly greater than those required for the long-term viability of the platform. Greedy profiteering doesn't tend to go down too well with the public.
Could you please site a "comparable" example in history, to what you are talking about here?
Apple needs to be careful or it risks being seen as greedy with a subsequent consumer backlash. Consumers may well ask why they're continuing to pay margins that are significantly greater than those required for the long-term viability of the platform. Greedy profiteering doesn't tend to go down too well with the public.
While it's true that Apple's gains have been related to its success in increasing revenues, volumes and market share, it's also widely regarded that Apple's margins are by far the highest in the consumer electronics industry, all while sitting on more cash than it knows what to do with.
I think there's already been a major shift in the past 3 or 4 years in how Apple is viewed by the public. Certainly my opinion has shifted substantially. With so much cash I expect far more from Apple and am less tolerant to mistakes than I used to be. I'm also less likely to upgrade just for the sake of it if I see it as simply padding an already massive cash hoard and I'm less vociferous in my recommending Apple products for friends or colleagues. It's a far cry from when Apple was the underdog in the early 2000s.
Also, Apple no longer has that "golden shield" which was the genuine warmth and affection people had towards Steve Jobs. Under Steve, Apple could literally get away with anything. I think Apple's behaviour in hoarding so much cash is a product of and reaction to its experience in nearly going under, something that Steve was obviously deeply affected by. The danger is being too paranoid about the past.
If people want to nitpick, they'll always find a reason to do so. Apple shouldn't waste its time trying to please tabloid journalists who write trash to get hits. Let's go through the accusations leveled against Apple:
- Labor practices: We've been hearing iHaters criticize Apple for years about using "slave labor." On articles that raked Apple over the coals over labor practices at its contractors' facilities, commenters vehemently declared that they would never buy another Apple product until they moved all production to the US. The funny thing is there wasn't a murmur about dozens of other CE companies using those same slave labor factories. For that matter, the computer that they were using to post such nonsense was probably built in the same "slave labor" factories that they're vilifying Apple for using. It's amazing how everyone loves to point out that Android is destroying Apple and they joyously look forward to the day Android finally finishes off Apple, but when it comes to labor practices, there isn't a murmur about those Android manufacturers using the same terrible factories that people criticize Apple for using.
- Tax avoidance: Apple didn't write the book on tax avoidance. They're just following it. Surpisingly, though, the media has been pretty fair to Apple. As an Apple shareholder, while I don't take issue with Apple's tax avoidance practices, I applaud the media for refraining from the instinct of singling out Apple.
- Patents: Many love to call Apple a patent troll, conveniently ignoring what a patent troll actually is-an entity whose business revolves around buying up patents with no intent to create a product/service using them but instead, to sue other companies over said patents. Apple has not been in this business. And also, people refuse to acknowledge the fact that an impartial judge ruled in Apple's favor in the cases where Apple won. And Apple has never sought an injunction over a standards-essential patent. Google bought Motorola and has used standards-essential patents to sue Apple, which has caught the ire of European antitrust regulators. For all the criticism of Apple's patent suits, Apple has yet to catch the attention of antitrust authorities.
You claim that greedy profiteering doesn't go well with the public. Do you know what Microsoft's gross margin is? According to Yahoo! Finance, it's 75% while Apple's gross margin is 40%. Whose doing greedy profiteering? Are you happy about padding Microsoft's enormous profits whenever you buy a PC or buy Microsoft Office?
Dude....I hear you. But what other company continues to innovate and upgrade its industry leading products.
Just look at Apple's track record for the iPod (predating the iphone even). Only Apple takes its best products and improves on them. Would there be an Samsung/Android phone if not for Apple.
Look at the MBA or MBP...That's where the loyalty comes from. And don't forget the Apple eco-system..........no other company has even come close to that. Not Google or MS or Amazon or Facebook....Ugh!
You confuse informed product knowledge and good taste with fanboyism!
Many companies continue to innovate. Apple is one of the best at it. But they also happen to innovate at a level that consumers can connect with, more so than the innovations that are less visible and nonetheless equally if not more significant.
I don't confuse anything. The problem with some folks is that they will not accept anything resembling a negative comment about Apple. That doesn't make them informed, knowledgeable or in possession of good taste. But I am happy that this forum gives them a place where they can feel good about themselves by bashing others.
Apple needs to be careful or it risks being seen as greedy with a subsequent consumer backlash. Consumers may well ask why they're continuing to pay margins that are significantly greater than those required for the long-term viability of the platform. Greedy profiteering doesn't tend to go down too well with the public.
Apple will charge what the market will support. So far, at least for the last 13 years, people are willing to pay for reliable products.
Everyone says that Apple was just lucky to get a couple of successful products and most of that luck relied on Steve Jobs. Now that Steve Jobs is long gone, never to return, Apple is claimed to be finished as a company. Everyone says that Apple's innovation died with Steve Jobs and now the iPhone is woefully behind the entire Android platform. Google spent $12.5 billion on Motorola and seems to have gotten much more money back. Google's shareholder wealth has increased greatly and so has Google's P/E ratio. Wall Street says that Google has a very bright future, unlike Apple, and values Google with high regard. Motorola definitely did not become a financial waste for Google and also provided a deeper patent base. Google has gained many tens of billions of dollars in market cap since acquiring Motorola.
As for Google's other acquisitions, they're providing constant upgrading in services at an astounding rate. What does Apple have to show for itself? It's like Apple is in some sort of service drought. Google is just flooding iOS with all their own services. Apple should keep that crap off the iOS platform and start building their own services. All Google is doing is planting free trojan horse services to undermine iOS. Apple should have more than enough money to acquire or design its own services without having to depend upon Google.
Apple keeps trying to save its reserve cash but so far Apple is only succeeding in losing hundreds of billions of dollars in shareholder value within a relatively short time. That's a very poor trade-off for cash. Apple has has a P/E ratio of 10 while Google now has a P/E ratio of almost 30. Google's value is skyrocketing while Apple's value continues to drop. Google is now worth nearly $1000 per share while Apple struggles to hold $450. Apple's so-called empire must not be very impressive to Wall Street despite dividends and stock repurchases. Apple needs to use that cash to its advantage instead of just saving it. Get that money working to give the company some extra value like Google has.
Apple is still seen as a doomed company by investors and analysts as Android grabs major mobile market share as Apple's market share continues to fall. How is all that reserve cash giving Apple any advantage over anything? Even Samsung is now said to be pummeling Apple from all sides. Everyone still believes Apple is dying without Steve Jobs, so how has all that reserve cash helped Apple.
What an incredible post. "Everyone says" this, and "everyone says" that. The sky is falling.
"Even Samsung is now said to be pummeling Apple from all sides." Ever hear of the "rope-a-dope"? You've been roped.
Because 1. it isn't, and 2. this isn't a place for those "opinions".
In my opinion it is. This is the place for opinions. It's a discussion forum.
I'll say it again: To me. In everyday usage. I find iOS to be stale. Deal with it. You can't change my mind by being mean.
I still (like I said previously but was ignored because so many people foam at the mouth when people don't agree with them 100%) think it is the best os for a majority of consumers because of it's consistency and ease of use. That also won't change. I've never in my life suggested an Android phone to a friend. Mainly because a) pre-4.0 Android sucked out the box and b) **** Samsung and that's what most people have their eyes on so I stesr them to the much better original away from the shitty copy. At best I'd say "HTC one or iPhone " but I'll always suggest an iPhone.
The fact that I think iOS is stale doesn't matter at all to me. So why does it matter so much to you?
Apple works in mysterious ways, always did. This way of inner working is a fundamentally challenging task for the finance world of Wall street to deal with. Wall Street require margin growth, revenue growth and future prospects in order to determine the right valuation or PE multiplier.
Apple on the other hand are not the type of company that will reveal its plans or future products to appease investors. They never will. And without something tangible growth prospects, investors have no other option than to believe there will never be a new innovation or product. Combine that with falling profit-margins and less revenue growth. And you are left with a pricing multiplier that indicates Apple is about to go bankrupt within 3 years. Or valued less than Dell.
Now, if you look at how Apple plan and implement new product categories and product launches, you can see that they always takes their time getting every little detail right. Take the iPhone for instance, they started working on that idea in 2001 - yet it did not release until 2007. But when it did, it had a whole array of improvements and solutions to current problems of cellular phones. This simply enabled them to become a dominant player in that market space, a market space they in fact were never part of before. It gave them a head start of at least 4-5 years in terms of technology. Sure competitors could copy the hardware, but in order to make a decent alternative software wise, they needed the time.
Obviously, you can imagine this is exactly what Apple is trying to do right now. They keep having breakthroughs, they keep coming up with solutions for common problems and they keep refining whatever they are working on. Updated versions of iphone/ipad/ipod is simply a slow chess game they are playing with Samsung. The real goodies are in-house at Apple being perfected as we speak.
Now, before any major launch of new products/categories, you would imagine Apple being in hyperdrive in order to get every last piece right. This would eventually lead to a silence/quiet period. This is exactly where we are right now, we are on the brink of the release of a new major innovation / product category. This is exactly why development of software/hardware/product cycle releases are slowing to a halt. They are about to blow our minds yet again.
For a longterm investor who knows Apple, this would be ideal starting point to invest. But for WallStreet this is simply a sign of Apples demise. Nothing new out already? They ran out of ideas. Yeah right.
Let Tim Cook & Co do their job, and we will be rewarded with some new amazing tech soon. Apples future has never been so bright as it is right now. Stop worrying over Wall Street analysts who can only calculate what is in front of their eyes. Let Apple work its magic secretly. Silence is good.
Interesting article. The comparison with Samsung is not relevant, because a chip producer, or part provider, in general, has to make investments which is no concern for a system integrator like Apple.
May be the article should have addressed this "make or buy" typical system integrator issue, for which there are many pro and cons (vertical integration, risk of being superseded/copied by your own component supplier (eg Samsung) , but also capital cost & cost of keeping up with the best available basic technology, which cannot be always "invented here".
Quite an interesting article but written from a fawning viewpoint that Apple is wonderful,can do no wrong etc etc.This rather negates its points and suggests that everything in the garden is rosy,which everyone knows is not entirely the case. One area in which the article is plain wrong is China-there is no doubt that Apple has been too slow to open stores in China.Only 11 at present I believe,with plans to double that.This is hugely insignifcant in a country the size of China,now the world's largest smartphone market,and a market in which Apple is losing out to Android rapidly,and in which it still does not have a deal with the largest telecom there.I hope Apple will be able to rectify their mistakes in China,but it seriously under-estimated potential demand there and how to meet it.
"Apple keeps trying to save its reserve cash but so far Apple is only succeeding in losing hundreds of billions of dollars in shareholder value within a relatively short time. That's a very poor trade-off for cash."
Nice one
Did Apple lose at least one cent? No? It is just matter between people who could fool other people buy Apple stock with clearly unjustified (at the moment) price. Did Apple sell those stocks? No. Blame Apple for that is silly (to say at least). About this "shareholder value", the only thing that matters to Apple is to see, how much some people are able to manipulate other people with Apples name.
Apple did well. Better than Google or Microsoft or Samsung. Or all of them combined. If it gave opportunity to some people to fool others and strip them from their money, it's something that they should first and foremost blame themselves. And a little bit of blame goes to pundits and analysts who helped play with stocks price. Other than that, I just can't see, what did Apple wrong? Results are better than good, even better than anyone else's (right? ). What more can you ask from a hardware company? If stock fluctuates the way it does, there's maybe somebody else to blame, as the company does what it does and does it well.
Quite an interesting article but written from a fawning viewpoint that Apple is wonderful,can do no wrong etc etc.This rather negates its points and suggests that everything in the garden is rosy,which everyone knows is not entirely the case.
One area in which the article is plain wrong is China-there is no doubt that Apple has been too slow to open stores in China.Only 11 at present I believe,with plans to double that.This is hugely insignifcant in a country the size of China,now the world's largest smartphone market,and a market in which Apple is losing out to Android rapidly,and in which it still does not have a deal with the largest telecom there.I hope Apple will be able to rectify their mistakes in China,but it seriously under-estimated potential demand there and how to meet it.
Apple has nothing to fear from Android really until Android is seen as premium on all fronts. Most Android buyers with the exception of the fans buy it because it's affordable but still see the iPhone as the Benz upgrade from their Camry. The people who buy the BMW or even Lexus Android phones do so often due to the fact that they like it. But those buyers account for at most 10-20% of all android buyers. So even if Apple is "losing," the opportunity to "win" is still too great.
I'm not so sure if Apple Stores are a kind of 'money printing' instruments the way Daniel puts it.
It seems to me that these days a retail store needs must-see products in order to keep attracting customers. That could well be why Microsoft and Samsung failed at it, but it is not like Apple Store products will forever evoke the curiosity and turnover they have generated the past years.
As far as I'm concerned, new iPhones and iPads are not worth the trip the way they were a few years ago.
Of course, outstanding service is the other reason to go to the store. And the presence of a store nearby is a very good reason to trust a brand.
But somehow the effect of this doesn't make me see Apple's turnover increase straightly with every extra square foot.
Comments
Let me translate then. An Apple television set would have to be more than a screen. Apple would need to completely redefine how we get full content. And I feel that apple is the ONLY company as of right now who could do so. And I think the world would benefit from such.
Jesus Christ.
Or people need to be allowed to have opinions you don't like and you need to get over yourself.
Why can't I, as an individual being with individual opinions that have no power over anyone, feel that iOS is stale?
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamC
You have a choice not to go Apple if you think they are too greedy for your taste.
Money didn't flow to Apple because they are Apple, money flows Apple's direction because they make great products and consumers love them. Their products hold their value much much better than the race to the bottom products of their competitors.
Yes everyone pundits and iHaters complained of the Apple tax but they never think of the lasting quality and value of these products over the years.
The funny thing about the "Apple tax" is that it seems to apply only to Apple. No one thinks about the "Microsoft tax" when they buy Windows PCs. Microsoft's margins are higher than Apple's margins. According to Yahoo! Finance, Microsoft's margins are 75% as opposed to Apple's being 40%.
1. People complained about Apple not paying dividends. So last year, they did that and that too, if I remember was larger than anyone out there.
2. People still bitched that it wasn't enough and this year they jacked up up even higher and they are still the number 1 in amount of dividend passed out.
3. People complained that they should do buy back - And they did that - Largest buy back in the history. And they borrowed cheap money to do just that. Hey you Wall Street people, what makes you thing that only you are allowed to borrow cheap money? Apple played the same game you guys play and you guys don't like it.
4. Why are all these people want Apple to buy Netflix and this and that? Yes, if they are in single digit growth rate and if they really have to improve their earnings by means of acquiring companies and get into different space - it might make sense. Not the issue right now.
So, please enough of continuous questioning how wrong Apple is and what they ought to be doing - You are all wrong!
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamC
You have a choice not to go Apple if you think they are too greedy for your taste.
Money didn't flow to Apple because they are Apple, money flows Apple's direction because they make great products and consumers love them. Their products hold their value much much better than the race to the bottom products of their competitors.
Yes everyone pundits and iHaters complained of the Apple tax but they never think of the lasting quality and value of these products over the years.
Yeah I completely agree. It's why I still buy Apple products and not only do I enjoy them but I always get a good resale price. Apple still offers by far the best value. You just have to put up a bit more up front.
However, not knowing Apple's plans I sometimes think, with a forever mounting cash hoard, they can sometimes do a bit more or give a bit more back to consumers. Goodness knows I've bought enough from them over the years and I haven't always been completely happy. Things like the Maps fiasco show that they simply didn't invest enough in that product for instance but there've been a few others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer
``While pundits and analysts like to focus attention on how Apple is now appears incapable of growing at the same historical pace simply due to the laws of physics....''
Please just don't include subject matter you clearly don't grasp, especially when it's insulting to those that do: ``...due to the laws of physics...'' is obnoxious.
Money is a man-made construct, not a universal physics construct.
P.S. The rest of the Op-Ed is solid.
"Insulting to those that do". Insulting...?
Please don't use words you clearly don't grasp the actual meaning of when it's insulting to those that do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by s.metcalf
Apple needs to be careful or it risks being seen as greedy with a subsequent consumer backlash. Consumers may well ask why they're continuing to pay margins that are significantly greater than those required for the long-term viability of the platform. Greedy profiteering doesn't tend to go down too well with the public.
Could you please site a "comparable" example in history, to what you are talking about here?
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by s.metcalf
Apple needs to be careful or it risks being seen as greedy with a subsequent consumer backlash. Consumers may well ask why they're continuing to pay margins that are significantly greater than those required for the long-term viability of the platform. Greedy profiteering doesn't tend to go down too well with the public.
While it's true that Apple's gains have been related to its success in increasing revenues, volumes and market share, it's also widely regarded that Apple's margins are by far the highest in the consumer electronics industry, all while sitting on more cash than it knows what to do with.
I think there's already been a major shift in the past 3 or 4 years in how Apple is viewed by the public. Certainly my opinion has shifted substantially. With so much cash I expect far more from Apple and am less tolerant to mistakes than I used to be. I'm also less likely to upgrade just for the sake of it if I see it as simply padding an already massive cash hoard and I'm less vociferous in my recommending Apple products for friends or colleagues. It's a far cry from when Apple was the underdog in the early 2000s.
Also, Apple no longer has that "golden shield" which was the genuine warmth and affection people had towards Steve Jobs. Under Steve, Apple could literally get away with anything. I think Apple's behaviour in hoarding so much cash is a product of and reaction to its experience in nearly going under, something that Steve was obviously deeply affected by. The danger is being too paranoid about the past.
If people want to nitpick, they'll always find a reason to do so. Apple shouldn't waste its time trying to please tabloid journalists who write trash to get hits. Let's go through the accusations leveled against Apple:
- Labor practices: We've been hearing iHaters criticize Apple for years about using "slave labor." On articles that raked Apple over the coals over labor practices at its contractors' facilities, commenters vehemently declared that they would never buy another Apple product until they moved all production to the US. The funny thing is there wasn't a murmur about dozens of other CE companies using those same slave labor factories. For that matter, the computer that they were using to post such nonsense was probably built in the same "slave labor" factories that they're vilifying Apple for using. It's amazing how everyone loves to point out that Android is destroying Apple and they joyously look forward to the day Android finally finishes off Apple, but when it comes to labor practices, there isn't a murmur about those Android manufacturers using the same terrible factories that people criticize Apple for using.
- Tax avoidance: Apple didn't write the book on tax avoidance. They're just following it. Surpisingly, though, the media has been pretty fair to Apple. As an Apple shareholder, while I don't take issue with Apple's tax avoidance practices, I applaud the media for refraining from the instinct of singling out Apple.
- Patents: Many love to call Apple a patent troll, conveniently ignoring what a patent troll actually is-an entity whose business revolves around buying up patents with no intent to create a product/service using them but instead, to sue other companies over said patents. Apple has not been in this business. And also, people refuse to acknowledge the fact that an impartial judge ruled in Apple's favor in the cases where Apple won. And Apple has never sought an injunction over a standards-essential patent. Google bought Motorola and has used standards-essential patents to sue Apple, which has caught the ire of European antitrust regulators. For all the criticism of Apple's patent suits, Apple has yet to catch the attention of antitrust authorities.
You claim that greedy profiteering doesn't go well with the public. Do you know what Microsoft's gross margin is? According to Yahoo! Finance, it's 75% while Apple's gross margin is 40%. Whose doing greedy profiteering? Are you happy about padding Microsoft's enormous profits whenever you buy a PC or buy Microsoft Office?
Originally Posted by realitychecks
So the **** what.
So the don't post it, then, if it doesn't matter!
Why do you care so much that I find iOS stale? What does my opinion do to your life?
We'd prefer lies not spread, thanks.
Originally Posted by realitychecks
Or people need to be allowed to have opinions you don't like and you need to get over yourself.
Why can't I, as an individual being with individual opinions that have no power over anyone, feel that iOS is stale?
Because 1. it isn't, and 2. this isn't a place for those "opinions".
Quote:
Originally Posted by christopher126
Dude....I hear you. But what other company continues to innovate and upgrade its industry leading products.
Just look at Apple's track record for the iPod (predating the iphone even). Only Apple takes its best products and improves on them. Would there be an Samsung/Android phone if not for Apple.
Look at the MBA or MBP...That's where the loyalty comes from. And don't forget the Apple eco-system..........no other company has even come close to that. Not Google or MS or Amazon or Facebook....Ugh!
You confuse informed product knowledge and good taste with fanboyism!
Many companies continue to innovate. Apple is one of the best at it. But they also happen to innovate at a level that consumers can connect with, more so than the innovations that are less visible and nonetheless equally if not more significant.
I don't confuse anything. The problem with some folks is that they will not accept anything resembling a negative comment about Apple. That doesn't make them informed, knowledgeable or in possession of good taste. But I am happy that this forum gives them a place where they can feel good about themselves by bashing others.
Apple will charge what the market will support. So far, at least for the last 13 years, people are willing to pay for reliable products.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Constable Odo
Everyone says that Apple was just lucky to get a couple of successful products and most of that luck relied on Steve Jobs. Now that Steve Jobs is long gone, never to return, Apple is claimed to be finished as a company. Everyone says that Apple's innovation died with Steve Jobs and now the iPhone is woefully behind the entire Android platform. Google spent $12.5 billion on Motorola and seems to have gotten much more money back. Google's shareholder wealth has increased greatly and so has Google's P/E ratio. Wall Street says that Google has a very bright future, unlike Apple, and values Google with high regard. Motorola definitely did not become a financial waste for Google and also provided a deeper patent base. Google has gained many tens of billions of dollars in market cap since acquiring Motorola.
As for Google's other acquisitions, they're providing constant upgrading in services at an astounding rate. What does Apple have to show for itself? It's like Apple is in some sort of service drought. Google is just flooding iOS with all their own services. Apple should keep that crap off the iOS platform and start building their own services. All Google is doing is planting free trojan horse services to undermine iOS. Apple should have more than enough money to acquire or design its own services without having to depend upon Google.
Apple keeps trying to save its reserve cash but so far Apple is only succeeding in losing hundreds of billions of dollars in shareholder value within a relatively short time. That's a very poor trade-off for cash. Apple has has a P/E ratio of 10 while Google now has a P/E ratio of almost 30. Google's value is skyrocketing while Apple's value continues to drop. Google is now worth nearly $1000 per share while Apple struggles to hold $450. Apple's so-called empire must not be very impressive to Wall Street despite dividends and stock repurchases. Apple needs to use that cash to its advantage instead of just saving it. Get that money working to give the company some extra value like Google has.
Apple is still seen as a doomed company by investors and analysts as Android grabs major mobile market share as Apple's market share continues to fall. How is all that reserve cash giving Apple any advantage over anything? Even Samsung is now said to be pummeling Apple from all sides. Everyone still believes Apple is dying without Steve Jobs, so how has all that reserve cash helped Apple.
What an incredible post. "Everyone says" this, and "everyone says" that. The sky is falling.
"Even Samsung is now said to be pummeling Apple from all sides." Ever hear of the "rope-a-dope"? You've been roped.
In my opinion it is. This is the place for opinions. It's a discussion forum.
I'll say it again: To me. In everyday usage. I find iOS to be stale. Deal with it. You can't change my mind by being mean.
I still (like I said previously but was ignored because so many people foam at the mouth when people don't agree with them 100%) think it is the best os for a majority of consumers because of it's consistency and ease of use. That also won't change. I've never in my life suggested an Android phone to a friend. Mainly because a) pre-4.0 Android sucked out the box and b) **** Samsung and that's what most people have their eyes on so I stesr them to the much better original away from the shitty copy. At best I'd say "HTC one or iPhone " but I'll always suggest an iPhone.
The fact that I think iOS is stale doesn't matter at all to me. So why does it matter so much to you?
I continue to recommend you to all the people I encounter who are obviously clueless regarding Apple's operating basis.
A compilation of everything you have written would comprise the definitive history and analysis of Apple.
I'm convinced I could not achieve better understanding were I to work at the Apple campus speaking daily to Apple's movers and shakers.
I am grateful for your accurate insights, consistently proven for a decade of actual history.
I return to this site daily solely in the hope of reading another gem from you.
Very well done. Thank you. Do continue. Other tech journalists are second string at best.
If this seems too effusive I can't help it. You've earned it the old fashioned way with hard work.
F D Bateman
Apple on the other hand are not the type of company that will reveal its plans or future products to appease investors. They never will. And without something tangible growth prospects, investors have no other option than to believe there will never be a new innovation or product. Combine that with falling profit-margins and less revenue growth. And you are left with a pricing multiplier that indicates Apple is about to go bankrupt within 3 years. Or valued less than Dell.
Now, if you look at how Apple plan and implement new product categories and product launches, you can see that they always takes their time getting every little detail right. Take the iPhone for instance, they started working on that idea in 2001 - yet it did not release until 2007. But when it did, it had a whole array of improvements and solutions to current problems of cellular phones. This simply enabled them to become a dominant player in that market space, a market space they in fact were never part of before. It gave them a head start of at least 4-5 years in terms of technology. Sure competitors could copy the hardware, but in order to make a decent alternative software wise, they needed the time.
Obviously, you can imagine this is exactly what Apple is trying to do right now. They keep having breakthroughs, they keep coming up with solutions for common problems and they keep refining whatever they are working on. Updated versions of iphone/ipad/ipod is simply a slow chess game they are playing with Samsung. The real goodies are in-house at Apple being perfected as we speak.
Now, before any major launch of new products/categories, you would imagine Apple being in hyperdrive in order to get every last piece right. This would eventually lead to a silence/quiet period. This is exactly where we are right now, we are on the brink of the release of a new major innovation / product category. This is exactly why development of software/hardware/product cycle releases are slowing to a halt. They are about to blow our minds yet again.
For a longterm investor who knows Apple, this would be ideal starting point to invest. But for WallStreet this is simply a sign of Apples demise. Nothing new out already? They ran out of ideas. Yeah right.
Let Tim Cook & Co do their job, and we will be rewarded with some new amazing tech soon. Apples future has never been so bright as it is right now. Stop worrying over Wall Street analysts who can only calculate what is in front of their eyes. Let Apple work its magic secretly. Silence is good.
Interesting article. The comparison with Samsung is not relevant, because a chip producer, or part provider, in general, has to make investments which is no concern for a system integrator like Apple.
May be the article should have addressed this "make or buy" typical system integrator issue, for which there are many pro and cons (vertical integration, risk of being superseded/copied by your own component supplier (eg Samsung) , but also capital cost & cost of keeping up with the best available basic technology, which cannot be always "invented here".
One area in which the article is plain wrong is China-there is no doubt that Apple has been too slow to open stores in China.Only 11 at present I believe,with plans to double that.This is hugely insignifcant in a country the size of China,now the world's largest smartphone market,and a market in which Apple is losing out to Android rapidly,and in which it still does not have a deal with the largest telecom there.I hope Apple will be able to rectify their mistakes in China,but it seriously under-estimated potential demand there and how to meet it.
"Apple keeps trying to save its reserve cash but so far Apple is only succeeding in losing hundreds of billions of dollars in shareholder value within a relatively short time. That's a very poor trade-off for cash."
Nice one
Did Apple lose at least one cent? No? It is just matter between people who could fool other people buy Apple stock with clearly unjustified (at the moment) price. Did Apple sell those stocks? No. Blame Apple for that is silly (to say at least). About this "shareholder value", the only thing that matters to Apple is to see, how much some people are able to manipulate other people with Apples name.
Apple did well. Better than Google or Microsoft or Samsung. Or all of them combined. If it gave opportunity to some people to fool others and strip them from their money, it's something that they should first and foremost blame themselves. And a little bit of blame goes to pundits and analysts who helped play with stocks price. Other than that, I just can't see, what did Apple wrong? Results are better than good, even better than anyone else's (right?
Apple has nothing to fear from Android really until Android is seen as premium on all fronts. Most Android buyers with the exception of the fans buy it because it's affordable but still see the iPhone as the Benz upgrade from their Camry. The people who buy the BMW or even Lexus Android phones do so often due to the fact that they like it. But those buyers account for at most 10-20% of all android buyers. So even if Apple is "losing," the opportunity to "win" is still too great.
It seems to me that these days a retail store needs must-see products in order to keep attracting customers. That could well be why Microsoft and Samsung failed at it, but it is not like Apple Store products will forever evoke the curiosity and turnover they have generated the past years.
As far as I'm concerned, new iPhones and iPads are not worth the trip the way they were a few years ago.
Of course, outstanding service is the other reason to go to the store. And the presence of a store nearby is a very good reason to trust a brand.
But somehow the effect of this doesn't make me see Apple's turnover increase straightly with every extra square foot.