xamax

Now this is  at its best! This is another massive profit center for the company, it is going to blast. People will buy this in pairs or 3 at a time with their eyes closed, without even trying it. It's also another Tim Cook supply chain profit masterpiece as it uses "old" A8 chips which probably have gone way down on fabrication price. And it'll be future proof, software upgradeable.

Another in your face example in how to do things over other cheapo manufacturers, exactly like the iPod was, exactly like the iPhone was re competition.

And it builds on the future proof ecosystem, giving  users an assurance that investing in Apple stuff endures and generates high returns.

Finally, IS THAT SEXY or what? So many will buy it just to show off to their friends and acquaintances!

This may get to become a too successful a product type problem for , I truly hope they forecast correctly now they've shown it, they got plenty of time.

WOWSA! This is gong to be as profitable and successful as the iPod and the iPhone. And they'll expand with perhaps a couple different designs in the future. Like a Pro unit and a smaller cheaper unit, say for the shower/pool. And people will buy them in droves just because it adds to their Core/Coeur/Heart.

Simply a disservice to  users who want to be on the best platform not having to reach out to other platforms to communicate.

The iPhone and all smartphones achieved great success because they're communication devices!

it is simply lacking in vision, especially when having such deep pockets - what's all that money for if not to serve  customers (by providing iMessage to other OS users)? And how supplying other OS with a great iMessage experience is not conducive to attract new clients?

 is starting to become the MSFT of old latched on to their old paradigm of a hardware company.

And then there's this never dying obnoxious "looking at belly button" way of Americans thinking they are the center of the world. 80% of brazillians use WhatsApp which they have nicknamed Zap, even businesses are using it to communicate with their customers, it's become a de facto standard. What about India, heck I live in Europe and I, an  customer since 1993 with iPhone users in the family, almost never touch iMessage anymore, it is gathering dust.

Mr. Tim Cook, the owner companies of WhatsApp, Messenger, Skype, Hangouts, Telegram etc. all thank you for missing in action. Messaging is becoming a platform of its own and an opportunity to build around it. Yes, someone said it here, may very well become the means to send payments back and forth, not just between friends but also shops.

Comms Apps are vortexes of people, billions flock to them as proven.  has a billion devices but as per the ecosystem strategy it obviously hasn't a billion users, maybe 60% of that. Therefore WhatsApp has more customers. The money will come not from forcing users to pay but some other way. It's inevitable. Should WhatsApp build a micro/normal payment platform around it, it would be instant blasting success. And an instant blow to all other payment wanna-be's.

Anyway, disservice to  customers, even abusive of  users' brand fidelity. Lack of vision.

What /Cook is missing out is that if  wants to grow beyond the peak it has reached, it's going to need other different catalysts. IT WILL NEED TO BECOME THE DE FACTO STANDARD IN EVERYTHING. It'll need to spearhead into other areas where profitability is not as obvious in order to become a more valuable experience/platform as a whole. Added value = more compelling. People aren't jumping on  bandwagon because of iMessages or FaceTime (two Apps, not one as WhatsApp!), iMessage is just there losing value, I can't use it cos there's no one on the other side. Even iPhone owners prefer WhatsApp because they can use it with ANYBODY and everybody. What lack of vision, blindness!

It seems  is waiting on others to prove it to them so as to follow. Scrooge type thing. It'll be too late.  has always been too tight-fisted, but now it seems to be showing the absence of Steve Jobs, the visionary, replaced by the best executive (who executes, not envisions). I hope I'm wrong. I'm a die hard  fan, user since 1989, owner since 1993, you won't find a more faithful customer, even had stock a few years. I really hope I'm wrong. 

dexiang said:

According to Sina. Didi is valued at just over $20 Billion, so   holds Just under 5%.  Didi has over 300 Million user accounts. 

So potentially 300 million iPhone users and then ecosystems!

This is brilliant in so many ways that's hard to count. I guess that Tim Cook needs at least 10 reasons to invest but this one goes way beyond.

And by the way, with the current presidential candidates and the constant attack coming from media and government, court system included, this also sends everyone a little signal:
•  is a global company
• Behave or  will go somewhere else.
•  does not need the US, the US needs 

The way it's been treated, my take is that that should already be in their planning alongside full encryption and failsafe on everything.

This is just brilliant from Tim from all angles

gmgravytrain said:

If Apple wants to be self-reliant then they need to step up the pace and create enough cloud capacity for at least their own use. Why bother to give money to rivals to boost their value? That's just self-defeating.

I believe the issue with Apple, which has served them well up to this point but probably has to change, is an aversion to go out of their core business.

I believe that has to change if they want to control - which is something they care for even more - their world.

Mark this: Security is not just end to end encryption. This article just proves security is end-to-end control over ones business.

And in subcontracting, one loses control over one's business, trying to frame such control with compliance contracts.

Because of this, the anal.ists and bought out media have argued that  is almost just a hardware company as it has given most of the services and software for others to create. I feel the hardware and few basic software  supplies to be like a really slim body  needs to bulk up with the muscle coming from services, content and Apps.

In terms of their server farms, it is very odd they don't even come up with a specific rack server of their own, build it up, control the entire process, make server farms ones of their products  could even outsource to others. Why not create a department for that.

The thing is,  tries to stay startup like basic as much as possible but I believe a company that has achieved this much of a scale needs to adapt and grow its way of conducting business and not just focus on going for a entry level price point of one of their products. , should they want to survive and thrive long term, needs serious internal changes/restructuring, give up its attachment to its old ways, not give up on them but evolve them without losing the original spirit.

For example, besides the obvious in-your-face server farm issue, it could just create a new content-services department and either buy out Time Warner Inc and restructure it, selling off what is useless, or start its own content production like Netflix is doing, putting its money in competent professionals. Jobs created Pixar, it almost bought out Disney, Laurene Powell Jobs has huge control over that company, it's not that they don't have any expertise or connections in the area. Get Spielberg, Lucas, Wachowski brothers, irreverent people making content. Apple is so badly served by the manipulated media, it would do them really good to get powered up in the area - Time Warner Inc has newspapers, etc. But no, they don't want to get out of their old core business so Apple has been stuck for years with the hobby TV, incapable of launching its one cord-cutting service, just plain ol stuck for years on end, with an aging movie selling iTunes business model that has proven how far it goes and is stuck, just stuck.

If  is unable to reinvent itself and grow its structure to accompany it's behemoth numbers growth it's not going to thrive for long.

Apple needs to "get" that its core business is not the Mac evolved into iPhone or even hardware but designing-revolutionizing-reinventing industries-processes-lifestyles, delivering the well designed product-service-processes to the masses that now worship and follow its lead.

Hum his previous positions required him to work with government, complying to policy? Does this mean backdoor? This is a critical time in terms of hires and said poaching doesn't impress me. I'm impressed with hiring guys like the Signal App creator, hackers, they can help with internal and external security. This is the kind of thing that draconian NDA doesn't suffice...