Apple CEO, Tim Cook, unveils the iPhone 6 to a packed house at Apple’s September 9th event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
With apples much anticipated release of the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, many consumers –including myself – are left unimpressed[1] with Apple’s recent entries into the consumer electronics market[2]. The name Apple has long since been synonymous with innovation, quality, and unparalleled user experience however, after the death of Apple’s longtime CEO and founder Steve Jobs the company seems to have lost the focus that made its products so desirable, and the brand so enviable by its competitors.[3] The sudden shift in company focus is evident in apples attempts to ‘fit the market’, something that it never did before. Take Apples unveiling of products such as the iPad Mini and iPhone 5C that targeted the lower price range and open apple up to a larger pool of potential consumers. For me this really contradicted the image that apple had spent years prior trying to cultivate and maintain, one ultimately of luxury and exclusivity. What I mean by exclusivity is that Apple would, as it did with the original iPhone, all the way up the to the iPhone 5, was release only one technically innovative and new product for an entire market. And because apples products where for the most part, superior to anything else available, consumers would pay the premium price, even if they didn’t come in a specific color, screen size, or with particular features that were offered by its competitors. As you can see now, Apples focus has shifted to creating a variety of products that fit the market and the company has grown content with advancing the same thing[4]. Instead of doing one thing amazing, reaching for the next breakthrough in hardware or software, Apple now focuses on doing four or five things well; simply updating rather than innovating.[5]
[1] https://sg.news.yahoo.com/consumers-not-impressed-apple-watch-163519457.html
[2] https://sg.news.yahoo.com/consumers-not-impressed-apple-watch-163519457.html
[3] http://www.cnbc.com/id/101087596#.
[4] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/16/iphone5s-apple-given-up-innovation
[5] http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2013/04/18/7-reasons-apple-is-more-doomed-than-you-think/