dasanman69

ireland said:

Why would you need DVR in an Internet age? It makes no sense. Who are these idiots?

asdasd said:

7eregrine said:

Wrong. Its not an adjective. Come on now.
It's a Make and Model. Like: Chevy Cobalt. Do you say Chevy's Cobalt? Of course not. 

Correct. It's absolutely not an adjective. It's part of a trade name, a compound noun. Might be easier to think of how you would pluralise were it called iPadPro or iPad-Pro. 

Modern english doesnt have adjectives after the noun (that's the grammatical rule you should care about if you think the pro in iPad Pro is an adjective), what few cases that exist in English from the past (attorneys general, lords justice or editors in chief) are based on French influenced English from a long time ago, just as English used to use er or en like German for plurals (both in the plural of child) but all modern neologisms use s. 

But most importantly pro is not a adjective in iPad Pro nor the MacBook Pro just part of the name (the model) , the plural adds an s. 

sog35 said:

Why not license iOS?

1. It will cheapen the iPhone brand.

FALSE. Not if you only allow a light version of iOS to be licensed. The light version would not have all the features of a flagship iPhone. Also Apple will license iOS Light to only mid/low range phones. They will not allow iOS light on top end phones like a Samsung S7. The phone will not be branded as an iPhone or made by Apple. It will be an HTC phone running iOS light. This will make a clear line between the iPhone and these licensed iOS devices. Licensed devices will only be $200-$350 phones. In other words it won't compete with iPhone.

2. It will canibalize iPhone sales.

Not by much. These licensed iPhones will have inferior hardware to the iPhones. Probably 2 years behind at least.  I doubt many who are use to iPhones would buy an HTC with 2 year old tech to save a few hundred dollars. These licensed phones are for people who can only afford $200-$300. 

3. Why waste time selling licenses when iPhone units make much more profit?

Why does Apple sell 1 year old and 2 year old iPhones with less profit? Because Apple understands some people just can't afford or won't pay for the flagship model. This is an extention to that model. Also top end phones sales have reached a maximum. If Apple wants to continue to grow they need to address lower price points. Not address lower price points is giving Google a virtual monopoly on over a BILLION units a year.

4. Why license if Apple can just build it themself?

Because it would tarnish the iPhone brand. Apple can't be the brand name on new phones costing $200-$300. Also there is massive risk in building and selling $200-$300 phones. Apple is better off passing on this risk to other hardware makers who already accepted this risk (already selling $300 Android phones) and who lack a solid OS. For exchange for a world class OS the hardware maker pays a small royalty and accepts the risks of building/selling the phones. To make it worth their while, Apple may offer exclusive iOS licenses in each country. For example Sony would have exclusive rights to iOS Light in Japan. That way these phone makers can tout that they are the only phone that runs iOS that is not an iPhone.

5. Is it worth the effort?

This is a huge opportunity. Over 1.4 billion smartphones are sold a year. And almost ONE BILLION are in the $200-$350 price range. If Apple can get 40% of that market they would make a killing. 400 million units x $45 royalty fee = $18 billion in royalties. And remember royalties are a super high profit margin. That would be more profit than iPad, Mac, Watch, AppleTV, and Accessories COMBINED.

Also note that a much larger user base would be much larger services revenue. After 5 years of licensing Apple would increase its user base by over a BILLION users. If those users just spend $5 a year on services (or nothing and use ad generating services) that is an additional $5 billion in almost pure profit. That's more profit than either the iPad or Mac lines generate.

6. What would be the ultimate goal of licensing iOS?

To create a platform that will dominate. Apple already dominates the high end. But to truly disrupt they need to increase their markeshare beyond 18%. Apple cannot afford Android to continue to have a virtual monopoly on a BILLION USERS. With licensing Apple can increase its iOS install base to TWO BILLION. That would be close to a 50% market share. With a massive install base all Apple would need to do is provide services. No longer would Apple have to worry about beating last years hardware numbers. It would be all about building and maintaining the best ecosystem on the planet. And those TWO BILLION users buying valuable services.

Imagine how much more powerful ApplePay would be with TWO BILLION USERS?
Do you think WalMart could ignore ApplePay? hell no.  That's the power of a big platform.
Same with LiveTV service. 
Same with Music streaming.
Same with Home Automation.

With TWO BILLION USERS (and many being big spenders unlike Android) Apple will have massive leverage to buy services at cheaper prices and give their customers the best.

With TWO BILLION USERS ApplePay could actually grow to a $100 BILLION company on its own.