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So, where does Apple go from here?

S

SimonMW

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
261
2
I'm sure that many people here will say that Apple probably has loads of products and ideas lined up already. But my feeling is that Apple will gradually lose its ability to revolutionise markets.

While I think that Apple is quite capable of building revisions to what it already has, I think that without Jobs in the background saying "No, that won't work" or "the market isn't ready yet" or sticking to his guns with regard to the way one particular aspect works, I do not think that Apple is capable of revolutionising things in the way it has in the past.

Now Apple is a team of people. Okay, perhaps it always has, but Apple no longer has that one visionary that would red or green light stuff. Sure, it has very capable people, but the reason why Apple succeeded until now was because it had one stubborn minded person at the top to either push things further than people thought possible, or to reign them in when needed.

My feeling is that Apple will continue to revise and improve the types of products that it already has, but that over time other companies will overtake it as Apple loses its ability to totally redefine a market, being as it is now, a ship steered by many instead of one. And crucially, this will even more be the case if the board of directors do not hold the same faith in the conviction and abilities of the new CEO. If the board of directors starts becoming risk averse because the company now lacks the steely minded visionary and market reading ability of Jobs, Apple will start to become quite generic.

I felt this before Jobs passed away. But before then he had at least said that he would be offering advice in the background. Apple would still have had the Jobs factor. Now alas it does not.

<flame suit on>
 
While the question is a good one and its been discussed a lot, somehow with the world's loss today it seems rather empty of meaning. Still..My take is is:

Companies rise and fall and the rate of change is fast and constant. Companies that are on top cannot remain so for that long. GM, Xerox, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Sony, Amazon, etc. All rise and fall.

A fall does not necessarily mean they go out of business, (Lionel Electric trains is over 100 years old, it was once the largest American toy company) and once in a while a company goes down and rises again (IBM, Apple are two examples). Things go wrong and they are forced to reinvent themselves.

They can continue to do really well, they will certainly get my dollars :)
 
The playing field has been leveled due to recent developments. Apples once unfair advantage now gone, will bring a bit of parity to the competition. The dynamics now are no longer lopsided.

With Apple forced to compete based solely on the merits of their products, this is the beginning of a new more vibrant era.
 
vitzr said:
The playing field has been leveled due to recent developments. Apples once unfair advantage now gone, will bring a bit of parity to the competition. The dynamics now are no longer lopsided.

With Apple forced to compete based solely on the merits of their products, this is the beginning of a new more vibrant era.
Click to expand...

What is "Apple's once unfair advantage?"
 
Changes

Things won't be the same at Apple going forward; Steve Jobs really is irreplaceable from that standpoint. It's hard to imagine the coherent vision remaining intact via a committee, regardless of how well intentioned.
 
Don't kid yourself, Apple will never be this good again.

It's kind of crazy how AAPL has been holding onto its share price through Jobs' resignation and now his death. I don't think analysts and investors realize the subtle perfection that Steve brings to his products.

You can argue that those running Apple now will continue his vision, constantly asking "What would Steve do?" because making any decision. Steve might have also left a roadmap for the company to follow. But the problem is, they are not Steve and never will be.

This is a guy who spends sleepless nights because an icon or font looks a little off and personally picks the color of the wood in Apple stores. So while Apple products may stay generally the same, user experience and aesthetics is almost garuanteed to suffer because we don't have Steve's eye saying something is off.

Look at Android. It's a mess and ugly beyond belief. All because while everyone can bump specs or add features, no one really has Steve's instincts when it comes to subtle differences that can effect user experience. A red might be a shade off. An icon could be a little more rounded. iOS feels perfect because of these subtleties.

I expect the user experience and aesthetics to drop considerably now that Steve is gone and that will allow Android to gain on iPhone
 
I believe apple has prepared itself for the next 3~5years.

Before Steve handed over to Tim, things have already been talked about including the product line and everything.

We won't need to worry too much on Apple actually, like Product design and the strategy. All the other crews are still there. Apple has always been dominated the future, they see todays market and things from behind the future they've dominated.

The REAL CHALLENGE IS:

How Apple will react to its competitors in future.

How competitors would perform and what things they will do.

If there is something that unusual, which may be out of expectations from what they have been considered.

Now it's a little understandable for Apple to hold so much CASH in hand. I believe it will be doing some favor for apple in futre for emergency in terms of meeting the challenges.


Anyway, we might find some clues from Steve Jobs' Biography, too sad.... He hasnt got his own bio released before he passed away..:(


R.I.P. STEVE


-Sent from my Macbook
 
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While not proud of it, that is kind of my feeling as well. I absolutely have full confidence in Apple to continue forward on it's current path, even improving upon it. I even have a feeling that there are a couple revolutionary, game changing innovations in Apple's near future, ones that Steve didn't get to see through to release. I am, however, worried that beyond one or two more times, Apple will not be found revolutionizing new markets.

By that I mean in the way that they took the horribly failing MP3 player market and solved it. They took a mediocre smart phone market and reshaped it. They took the tablet market and convinced us all that we needed a third device that most of us didn't even realize we wanted until we got our hands on it. That is the kind of innovation that I believe died with Steve.

However, make no mistake, that my loyalty to a company that has treated me like a human after I make a purchase, rather than taking my money and parting ways with me, is quite strong. So long as they continue to build good products, and I know they will, I'll be a customer. I do believe that Apple will remain strong, will not simply become another company putting out hardware upgrades every few months with no upgrades to design and interface, and will thrive in all the markets in which it currently has it's hands in. Honestly, I don't know that they even need to have their hands in any other markets, but I also thought entering the smartphone market, a market filled with blackberries and overpriced data plans (remember when blackberry internet was $80/m?), was a stupid move for Apple. Boy was I wrong.
 
For the time being I'm sure Apple will continue on with business as usual. I'm sure Jobs has left Apple with a wealth of ideas to explore and develop and instructions on how best to explore and develop those ideas. He's certainly left them financially strong. Sooner or later his ideas will run out and the team at Apple will have to find new ways of being innovative. They will also have to find new ways of maintaining and expanding their market share without their trusty captain at the helm. No doubt, with time, Job's vision will fade and the modus operandi of Apple will change. Maybe it will become more accessible to Joe Public, more mainstream, more affordable, less exclusive, less extraordinary, less incredible. Maybe it will continue on like it has. Maybe it wont. Only time will tell. Like a blogger said today "Apple has lost it's Core". Let's just hope things don't turn Pear shaped any time soon.

When Elvis Presley died I always wondered what more he could have offered the world had he lived. When the Beatles broke up I wondered what more they could have created had they stayed together. When Steve Jobs died I wondered what we will miss out on now he's gone...
 
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Apple's Future

So, where does Apple go from here? Wozniak talked this morning about how Steve was the driving force of "what's next". Wozniak also said that people instantly trusted Steve and that his enthusiasm when talking about products is what sold them.

So, can Tim Cook really be that person? I know he will never be Steve, but Apple needs that driving force. I didn't see it during the keynote, but it is likely that Steve could have been on his mind. So we will have to wait for the next one to be sure.

Apple needs a great statesman. Though you could never replace Steve, Apple needs someone with that sparkle in their eye. A person with a genuine love for the product that exudes and a person looking forward for what's next.

To me this is the truest way to honor Steve and keep his vision alive.
 
Tim Cook has worked alongside Steve for over a decade. He's seen Steve green-light and red-light stuff, and seen Steve's ideas both fail and succeed. Steve was Tim's mentor, whether Steve knew Tim would become CEO sooner or later.

While Apple has lost a big visionary, he wasn't the sole visionary. Jony Ive is still there to physically design products along with his handpicked team.

I've full faith in Tim Cook. He'll never be the CEO Steve Jobs was, but that isn't to say Apple won't succeed with him, and continue to innovate.

Lets check back in 2-3 years time, and judge Tim on his decisions as CEO. We'll probably be surprised.. just like every Apple release. The iPod is doomed to failure, an iTunes Music Store? What?! Apple releasing a phone.. failure!

Tim Cook is a product of Steve Jobs (through influence and mentoring).
 
applefan289 said:
I agree. John Ive has the sense of physical product design that has made Apple so successful.

Product/store design = 50% of Apple. The other 50% is the software design.
Click to expand...

Jony does not have the attributes to be a CEO.

Just because he is a crucial part of Apple, does not mean he has what it takes to be CEO. Jony needs to continue designing, not managing.
 
Jon Ive is a talented designer, and he might be a good manager of people. But I doubt he has the analytical skills necessary to be CEO.

Tim Cook does.

Apple's biggest problem during Steve's "exile" in the late '80s/early '90s was not that it lacked ideas. It was that it had too many ideas. Taligent, Newton, OpenDoc, PowerTalk, and all the other advanced technologies developed by the Apple ATG. When Steve Jobs came back, the first thing he did was kill the unrealistic projects, and close down ATG. Steve knew when to say "no."

Apple is not a ship without a captain. Apple has a captain. Tim Cook knows how to keep Apple focused, and focus is what Apple needs.
 
Tim Cook learned his craft under the tutelage of Steve Jobs. He and Steve worked closely for many years and he was Steve's hand picked successor. I firmly believe with Tim at the helm, and Johnny Ive running the design group Apple is in good hands. While Steve took all the accolades, we will never know the full extent of the team's input in Apple's stunning product run. I look forward to the future of Apple and their products.
R.I.P. Steve. My prayers are with your family.
 
I'm sure this won't be a repeat of 1985. Steve has left behind a great team.
Eventually though, Steve's absence will start to show. Sadly.

Tim Cook is a fine CEO and he did a fine job presenting the keynote. However, I would really prefer to see Ive presenting the keynotes.
 
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