Apple CEO Tim Cook & Didi Chuxing's president tour Beijing Apple Store
Apple CEO Tim Cook and the president of taxi/ridesharing service Didi Chuxing, Jean Liu, visited an Apple Store in Beijing on Monday morning, just days after Apple's confirmation of a $1 billion investment into Didi.
The main purpose of Cook's visit to Beijing was for an App Store "developer activity," reported the state-controlled China Daily. The heads of several app-related firms were said to be at the gathering, and Cook later told the Daily that Chinese app developers have so far reaped over $7 billion, half of that in the last 12 months.
On the Didi Chuxing deal, Cook reportedly said that Apple made its investment because Didi "has a very great management team," and "its objective is also environmental, hoping to help reduce pollutions [sic] by making more efficient use of cars."
That could further fuel speculation that the deal is connected to Apple's electric car project, particularly if and when a self-driving model rolls off assembly lines. Apple could be hoping to sell vehicles into Didi's fleet, and ridesharing services in general are expected to make the shift to self-driving cars since they cut down on human labor costs.
Previously Cook claimed that the Didi investment happened "for a number of strategic reasons," including "a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market."
The Daily added that it was unknown whether Cook would meet with any high-level government officials during his latest Chinese trip, as rumored. In April the government shut down the local iTunes Movies and iBooks Stores, something Cook would presumably work to reverse as soon as possible.
The main purpose of Cook's visit to Beijing was for an App Store "developer activity," reported the state-controlled China Daily. The heads of several app-related firms were said to be at the gathering, and Cook later told the Daily that Chinese app developers have so far reaped over $7 billion, half of that in the last 12 months.
On the Didi Chuxing deal, Cook reportedly said that Apple made its investment because Didi "has a very great management team," and "its objective is also environmental, hoping to help reduce pollutions [sic] by making more efficient use of cars."
That could further fuel speculation that the deal is connected to Apple's electric car project, particularly if and when a self-driving model rolls off assembly lines. Apple could be hoping to sell vehicles into Didi's fleet, and ridesharing services in general are expected to make the shift to self-driving cars since they cut down on human labor costs.
Previously Cook claimed that the Didi investment happened "for a number of strategic reasons," including "a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market."
The Daily added that it was unknown whether Cook would meet with any high-level government officials during his latest Chinese trip, as rumored. In April the government shut down the local iTunes Movies and iBooks Stores, something Cook would presumably work to reverse as soon as possible.
Comments
Apple doesn't need a niche vehicle producer catering to 1%-er wannabes, Apple's bag is high volume premium products and experience.
The acquisitions Apple needs to make are in the realm of materials and electrical propulsion component IP with a market USP, not a vehicle manufacturer specialized in (obsolete technology) Otto cycle engines and mechanical transmissions. After that, Apple can decide if it wants to assemble the car itself or outsource that to an OEM or contract vehicle assembler.
From a technology standpoint, there isn't anything that Tesla is doing that can't be matched by an incumbent, one of the majors, a new entrant, or one of the technology companies like Apple, LG or Samsung. Tesla has a headstart, and mindshare, but has hardly penetrated the market, and other entrants aren't seeing Tesla's sales.
Apple has plenty of time to define their niche, and create, manufacture and test various concepts for manufacture by the end of the decade. The real issue, and this applies to Tesla and everyone else, is whether there will be much if any profit, or whether EV's will be just a piece of an increasingly large ecosystem, in the case of Tesla, electrical storage and a renewable charging infrastructure, or in Apple's case, an extension of an existing lifestyle ecosystem.
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a luxury brand might be defined as being that for which there is no better. In that respect the iPhone is certainly a luxury brand. Price is not the defining factor.
There are reasons those brands became luxury brands; it's not just marketing like many fandroids think (Ironic when you consider Samsung is one of the biggest marketing spender on the planet).
Apple offers a well perceived good product that no one can offer (no real alternative) thus it can price it higher.
I find it funny that people always think people that buy Luxury brands all are stupid despite most often being the most educated.
Many in the middle class think it's the Lexus of Phones (closest match in perceived quality and mass market appeal) or maybe BMW (more aspirational than a Lexus but with a reliability trade-off compared to Lexus).
this may be obvious to some readers but I just noticed Tim Cook won't acquire a company unless the company's leaders are really intelligent and he believes in them and their vision. It's more than the company being a neat idea, the people behind it have to be a driving force and good addition to the Apple.
Looks like part of the Didi investment was due to how intelligent this president is. Looks like they're ready to take on the future of taxi services.
She is also a complete hottie!