How Apple Evaluate Their Performance
Apple Inc. 1. How has Apple performed in the PC industry? What is your evaluation of its performance in the PC business?
Apple, like many successful companies, has gone through the business lifecycle multiple times. Apple went from introduction in Steve Job’s garage to a steep decline into near bankruptcy. The have most recently rode a new wave of growth and are now sitting in a mature stage as the most one of the most highly valued publicly traded companies. Apple has continued to be a laggard in the PC industry. Since inception Apple has taken a higher-end, less mainstream approach to their product offering. Thus, they have consistently lagged behind in global dominance of the industry. Although Apple was the disruptive force that started the entire PC industry, as the innovators of the PC itself, their continued reluctance to mainstream caused them to lag in the industry as a whole, “globally Apple’s market share rose steadily…, but remained below 5%.” However, despite their low global demand for overall PC’s, within specific PC businesses they prospered, “91% of PCs priced above $1,000 in the U.S. market were sold by Apple.” Apple’s was able to differentiate itself in the higher end market and delivered a “cutting-edge, tightly integrated user experience” that bode well with the educational institutions. Therefore, although Apple was considered a laggard for the entire PC industry, they were quite successful within their niche end of the PC business.
2. Assess Apple’s iPod, iTune and iPhone and iPad strategies and performance. How would you compare them to its Mac strategy?
The “i” strategy stemmed from Apple’s desire to radically shift their strategy to create a “digital hub” out of one’s PC. The Apple products were going to focus on the “home consumers’ lifestyle.” Thus, Apple seemed to be using the Mac as the base for an architectural innovation that turned into a radical one. Apple was going to take existing technologies, namely a simple music
Apple, like many successful companies, has gone through the business lifecycle multiple times. Apple went from introduction in Steve Job’s garage to a steep decline into near bankruptcy. The have most recently rode a new wave of growth and are now sitting in a mature stage as the most one of the most highly valued publicly traded companies. Apple has continued to be a laggard in the PC industry. Since inception Apple has taken a higher-end, less mainstream approach to their product offering. Thus, they have consistently lagged behind in global dominance of the industry. Although Apple was the disruptive force that started the entire PC industry, as the innovators of the PC itself, their continued reluctance to mainstream caused them to lag in the industry as a whole, “globally Apple’s market share rose steadily…, but remained below 5%.” However, despite their low global demand for overall PC’s, within specific PC businesses they prospered, “91% of PCs priced above $1,000 in the U.S. market were sold by Apple.” Apple’s was able to differentiate itself in the higher end market and delivered a “cutting-edge, tightly integrated user experience” that bode well with the educational institutions. Therefore, although Apple was considered a laggard for the entire PC industry, they were quite successful within their niche end of the PC business.
2. Assess Apple’s iPod, iTune and iPhone and iPad strategies and performance. How would you compare them to its Mac strategy?
The “i” strategy stemmed from Apple’s desire to radically shift their strategy to create a “digital hub” out of one’s PC. The Apple products were going to focus on the “home consumers’ lifestyle.” Thus, Apple seemed to be using the Mac as the base for an architectural innovation that turned into a radical one. Apple was going to take existing technologies, namely a simple music