Since it’s debut close to a month ago, Apple’s OS X Lion has caused considerable waves in the tech industry, but for different reasons than one might expect.
With this newest release, Apple has once again adopted a unique and potentially game changing strategy. Lion is the first major operating system released and sold to consumers in a purely digital format; without the exchange of a physical copy or disk.
While the significance may not be evident at first, the ramifications of this move could be great.
By eliminating the physical aspect of sale, Apple has slashed their own costs by a considerable margin. This new style of sales also has the added bonus of not being transferable. As a result, Lion debuted at a record low for a new operating system release.
Apple’s greatest challenge with this new strategy will be the industry’s inertia and consumer unfamiliarity. Although potentially more cost effective, this strategy poses a great change which consumers may be hesitant to adopt.
As a company, Apple has been leaning more towards an online/digital presence with the introduction of its App Store and the elimination of disk drives from a number of its computers.