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How long will the iPhone/apple keep its reign?

JediZenMaster

JediZenMaster

Suspended
Original poster
Mar 28, 2010
2,180
654
Seattle
Apple is amazing because in the late 90s it was nearly on life support and then became the comeback kid. However, Companies like GE, IBM, etc who were once dominate are no longer and we all know nothing can last forever.


With that said no product offering has lasted forever and i'm wondering if the opinion is that the iPhone will remain king or if we are all knowing one day something else will be king and while apple will not disappear it will not always have the same dominance. Maybe 20,30 years down the road.
 
Who knows. Cheapening of the hardware build quality, soldered RAM & sealed batteries in Macs, and constant disastrous, bug-ridden iOS releases certainly won't help keep Apple at the top forever. They must never forget their core principles in order to make a quick buck. No end in sight yet mind.
 
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As long as Apple remains paranoid about competition and proverbially, always "paint the back of the fence" on their products - they will rule the tech world. If they get smug and put financial margin over making the best possible product - they shall slide into history's scrap heap.
 
Probably no time in the near nor immediate future. As successful as those companies were, none were as successful as Apple is right now. The massive amount of cash this company prints is unlike anything seen before and the loyalty of its customers can be almost cult like. They're also successfully tying more and more people into their hard to leave ecosystem year after year. The other thing helping is that their competition is still unable to create a total package that can compete. They're in the unique position of controlling both their own unique hardware and software in order to create an experience that can't be found anywhere else. The competition has thus far still failed to find a way to compete against this. Tons of companies make Windows machines, tons make Android phones and tablets.

It would take years, probably well over a decade of some of the worst bungling and incompetence ever witnessed in corporate history for Apple to fall. I can't see it happening within the next 15-20 years at least. The competition just seems unable to put out a better product.
 
sunking101 said:
Who knows. Cheapening of the hardware build quality, soldered RAM & sealed batteries in Macs, and constant disastrous, bug-ridden iOS releases certainly won't help keep Apple at the top forever. They must never forget their core principles in order to make a quick buck. No end in sight yet mind.
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This is true. I'm not entirely happy with Apple's design direction, and iOS release quality has suffered in recent years.

However, I don't see a lot of the competition stepping up and offering something a lot better. The most recent Nexus products are just ok. Android in general is a mess where security patch issuance is concerned. Windows phone 10 and new WP devices look promising, but the app ecosystem is still weak. I keep a close eye on tech news. So far I don't see anyone beating Apple, despite Apple's flaws.
 
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jpgr15 said:
Honestly, I think their most imminent danger is of history repeating itself. Apple in the 90's had a confusing and ridiculous array of SKU's. To the average consumer, the difference between the iPhones 5S, 6, 6S, 6S+ has got to be getting confusing. Every time we add a 'S', '+', 'pro', 'mini', etc. designation, things just get a little more convoluted.
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As a Sprint employee, Jpgr15 is indeed correct. Whenever Apple adds an "S", "Pro" or "mini," etc. They become confused and I have a lot of experiences going through these things with customers and people when it comes to this. They ask me, "What is the difference?"
 
I think we focus way too much on being armchair CEOs. Let's be blunt here, If any of the people in this forum holding court on what they think Apple should and shouldn't be doing were halfway knowledgable, they'd be running their own highly successful company, possibly even giving Apple a run for its money.

There's way too much focus on being #1, and this assumption that if you're not #1 all the time, then you're headed for bankruptcy. That's just not reality. Apple, but lots of measures, isn't #1 and never has been. Yet what they do, they do well enough tone very profitable, and that's really all that's necessary.

Don't worry about Apple. Focus on you, and what technology works best for what you want to do.
 
scaredpoet said:
I think we focus way too much on being armchair CEOs. Let's be blunt here, If any of the people in this forum holding court on what they think Apple should and shouldn't be doing were halfway knowledgable, they'd be running their own highly successful company, possibly even giving Apple a run for its money.
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Do ESPN commentators have to be able to physically participate in the sports that they deliver expert opinion on?
 
tecnho said:
Do ESPN commentators have to be able to physically participate in the sports that they deliver expert opinion on?
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Actually, the better commentators have participated in the sports they deliver expert opinion on, as former athletes or coaches themselves, and have proven their worth on the field before taking a commentator job. And even then, it's rare that these commentators, experienced or not, will actively or adversarialy second-guess the decisions of the coaches or the players to the point of claiming they know how to do the job better.

And anyway, even the worst commentators have a right to say their peace. They just shouldn't take themselves seriously... nor should anyone else. ;)
 
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I think they have some issues to address (mainly pricing and quality control), but I'm happy with the Apple products I own. I don't think they're in trouble right now, but over the past year or so I've noticed a growing number of criticisms of Apple coming from longtime Apple users. And when you factor in how fiercely loyal and fanatical Apple users are about their products (an enthusiasm and loyalty most companies don't even come close to matching), they should be concerned if they're starting to chip away at their base.
 
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scaredpoet said:
Actually, the better commentators have participated in the sports they deliver expert opinion on, as former athletes or coaches themselves, and have proven their worth on the field before taking a commentator job. And even then, it's rare that these commentators, experienced or not, will actively or adversarialy second-guess the decisions of the coaches or the players to the point of claiming they know how to do the job better.

And anyway, even the worst commentators have a right to say their peace. They just shouldn't take themselves seriously... nor should anyone else. ;)
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It comes down to the same old question of whether or not coaches must have past experience playing the game. There are plenty that have a knack for the strategy involved without needing to have played it themselves.
 
As long as Apple can innovate and come up with substantial new products it will be around
Eventually something will come around but Apple will still be around as well
Being that Apple has so many fans it's going to take a long time
 
JediZenMaster said:
Apple is amazing because in the late 90s it was nearly on life support and then became the comeback kid. However, Companies like GE, IBM, etc who were once dominate are no longer and we all know nothing can last forever.


With that said no product offering has lasted forever and i'm wondering if the opinion is that the iPhone will remain king or if we are all knowing one day something else will be king and while apple will not disappear it will not always have the same dominance. Maybe 20,30 years down the road.
Click to expand...

Apple will need people like jony ive who is the designing engine of Apple products specially iPhone. Apple should invest in finding talented people from all over the world. Apple needs extra orderniry talented people in every department of their products and Apple has money to do it. New ideas plus making things which are simple to use just like iPad iPhone etc... Old or young in my family both uses iOS devices without any trouble. Eventually Apple will mature like Microsoft it's possible that there would be no big lines on the release day but still people will go for Apple but not with so much rush.
 
sunking101 said:
Who knows. Cheapening of the hardware build quality, soldered RAM & sealed batteries in Macs, and constant disastrous, bug-ridden iOS releases certainly won't help keep Apple at the top forever. They must never forget their core principles in order to make a quick buck. No end in sight yet mind.
Click to expand...

People who say things like this tend to forget that the average consumer has absolutely no idea regarding any of this, much of which is ridiculously over exaggerated to begin with, and that Apple products work wonderfully for 99% of the people who use them.
 
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Allin44 said:
People who say things like this tend to forget that the average consumer has absolutely no idea regarding any of this, much of which is ridiculously over exaggerated to begin with, and that Apple products work wonderfully for 99% of the people who use them.
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Right, but the things the average joe doesn't notice are often what separates the cream of the crop from everyone else.
 
I have been wondering the same for a while. Apple has one of, if not the most fanatical and loyal customer bases of any company. They have a cash horde that rivals smaller countries and even beats some.

The problems I have been noticing recently are quality control, pricing, and value for money. The quality of software isn't what it used to be, not by a long shot. Almost every release is buggy and cripples functions for some. Hardware is somewhat of the same. The iPhone 6 has this obnoxious rattling noise every time I tap the back or set it down. For a $750 phone, this shouldn't be happening.

Pricing and value for money are becoming a joke. The 16 GB option for the iPhone is ridiculous, the 5400 rpm HDD on the new iMacs is bad, and the fact that the new Magic Accessories are even more overpriced than before just shows Apple's greed.

Something else is a little bothersome that I've noticed. Apple is kind of becoming a me too company. The iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are just 2 examples of this.

I'm a huge Apple fan and prefer Apple products over others, but it's hard not to notice this kind of thing. I'll say it once and I'll say it again: Apple is stretching themselves too thin and they need to reel it back in and focus on the core products that got them the trust and level of success they have today.
 
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