How Apple Does It

For this week’s blog post I decided to focus on the trends and ways in which Apple has revolutionized an entire industry. One of the most notable things about Apple is its unusual way of doing business. Unlike other high-tech firms, Apple chooses to focus on multiple sectors of the high-tech industry. In an article recently published, the author notes that:

"Apple makes its own hardware (iBooks and iMacs), it makes the operating system that runs on that hardware (Mac OS X), and it makes programs that run on that operating system (iTunes, iMovie, Safari Web browser, etc.). It also makes the consumer-electronics devices that connect to all those things (the rapidly multiplying iPod family), and it runs the online service that furnishes content to those devices (iTunes Music Store).”

Because Apple makes its own hardware and software, there exists a sense of full control of its products. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, feel that maintaining control is crucial to the organizations success. Dell, Microsoft, and other competitors, create products that can be access and used on other systems brands, Apple feels that by controlling all aspects of its product, they can ensure that every little thing integrates and works together. The one thing that most Apple product users agree on is its ease-of-use. I know from personal experience, once I purchased my first Apple product, I felt the sense of not being able to live without it. Now that I have expressed a brief understanding of the way in which Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, has structured the organization, my next point deals with the releasing of new version s of existing products and services.

The image on the left shows the various products Apple has release over the last three decades. Although other product releases are of significant impact, I would like for you to focus on the period from 2001 to the present.

Apple General Timeline or Product Releases

2001 marked the release of the iPod and the OS X operating system,

2004 the iMac G5

2005 the iPod Nano,

2006 the iMac & Macbook Pro

2007 the first iPhone and Apple TV

2008 App Store

2009 revamp the iPhone to include video calling, iPod line of Nanos, iPod Touch,

2010 Macbook Air, iLife, Facetime, iPad

2011 iCloud, Mac OS X Lion iPad2

2012 iPad 3…

As you look through the various product upgrades and releases Apple has done, I begin to wonder how much of it is a “marketing scheme” or actually new and improved devices. The iPod touch, once only used for music, now comes with a camera, although the iPhone camera technology existed prior to the new upgrade. The iPad did not originally come with a camera. The iPad progressed from no camera in version 1, back camera in 2, and not the back and front facing camera in the most recent version. The iPhone 4 has front and back camera unlike the iPhone 3, however the iPhone 4S has the newly added feature of Siri. What are you opinions on the upgrades and new releases of Apple?

Thoughts!!!

1. 
   
   Do you think instead of releasing a new product or upgrade every 6 months, Apple could possibly combine all “upgrades” and “new features” into one?


2. 
   
   Is this merely a way to keep users coming back and purchasing the next best NEW Apple product?


3. 
   
   Do you think Apple upgrads and new features are truley "new and improved" versions of their existing products?

Source:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1118384-1,00.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/02/us-apple-timeline-idUSTRE72170T20110302