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Apple’s Social Network

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Re: Apple’s Social Network

#11

Post by wiremine »

empath75 wrote: post #5

It seems like apple can continue to grow ‘unit sales’ by introducing new products like the watch at a regular pace.

Came here to make this exact point.

Of course, the iPhone was a unique product in terms of how it changed the trajectory of Apple's fortunes, and likely can't be replicated. It's dominated 24% of the company's history. (10 years between 2007 and 2017; Apple was founded in 1976)

If iPhone sales are flat, goosing the price makes sense, but it isn't the future of the company.

To be honest, as a technologist, I'm sort of relieved. I'm interested in what's next, and now that the iPhone (and smartphones in general) is a refined product, I'm really interested in what's next in tech.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#12

Post by mikejb »

dcdevito wrote: post #2

I always enjoy Ben Thompson's insights, and I think he may have something here. But does anyone really feel comfortable that this strategy is going to keep them at the top?

I don't think it will keep them at the top, but I think they're exploring different avenues to diversify their revenue. They're nowhere near it, but they also don't want to get anywhere close to Alphabets' revenue distribution.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#13

Post by lbotos »

jasode wrote: post #8

In the essay, the "social network" stands for the new initiative of customer gatherings & sessions at Apple Stores. What Apple dubs "Today at Apple" . I'm having a hard time thinking of historical business examples where in-store "educational" events really moved the needle on sales. Maybe one example is Home Depot stores with their free demonstrations of various home improvement tasks. Do they actually change store…

> As far as I know, the e-sports league isn't tied to a hardware manufacturer like NVIDIA or ATI.

Yes, but most of the largest ones are put on/heavily funded by the manufacturer of the game:

- CS:GO Majors

- Overwatch League is put on by Blizzard

- Riot Hiring for esports operations - https://www.riotgames.com/en/work-with-us/disciplines/esport...

-----

Apple is moving "down market" and the biggest win for them right now is for those to understand "what apple means." I've shifted 90% of my family to mac from whatever PC they were using before because of the reality of the physical store. Go there and get help. They know more than I do, and they will be helpful. For the most part, that's true, and I no longer do tech support for my family.

Grandma wants to learn how to photo edit? Now apple gives her a class and a community of other learners. It may turn out to be a loss leader, but it's "more of the same" of what separates apple from any of the other Manufacturers. Google/Samsung/Dell can't do anything close. Microsoft _might_ be able to, but lets see.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#14

Post by Tepix »

mav3rick wrote: post #9
paulie_a wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are not on top in phones or computers. Android devices outsell iPhones by a significant margin and for computers, apple basically owns an insignificant portion of the market.

It doesn't matter what the market share is. As long as their margins are hefty and iOS remains the OS where consumers are willing to pay for apps etc. You don't need market share, if your margins are sky high.

They do need a significant market share (which they clearly have at >1 billion active devices) to make it worthwhile for content creators to target their platforms and users.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#15

Post by dijit »

paulie_a wrote: post #6
dcdevito wrote: post #2

I always enjoy Ben Thompson's insights, and I think he may have something here. But does anyone really feel comfortable that this strategy is going to keep them at the top?

They are not on top in phones or computers. Android devices outsell iPhones by a significant margin and for computers, apple basically owns an insignificant portion of the market.

You're being downvoted because you're not quite right. When we talk about the android ecosystem for application developers, it's right to talk about total activated units.

When you talk about "sales" you can only compare handset manufacturers because total sales going to one _android_ manufacturer isn't happening, therefore it becomes apples (heh) to oranges.

Apple has only recently been overtaken in handset production (not sales) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/01/huawei-be...

Apple's sales are slowing down faster than others. Speaking only for myself the "bravery" in removing the headphone jack (which everyone seems to have copied) and lack of a small option are what prevents me upgrading. I imagine others have similar qualms and it's really not worth upgrading for many.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#16

Post by brobdingnagians »

I think Apple has some serious issues with growth; they have expanded a huge amount based on a few key and impressive products and ideas at the right time and in the right way, but I think they've ridden that pony almost as far as it can go [but they've done a better job than most at it]. They have done very well with it, but like most corporations who do that, they usually miss the next big thing, because it is some scrappy underdog, or just another competitor with a little bit more insight, who sees the next big thing. I think they will do just fine with their current market and design ethic for their current audience, but I don't think they are going to see any more rapid expansion unless they get some major revitalization. They've lost some of the key risk-takers and creatives and I think they've entered the management mode once more.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#17

Post by lucideer »

noir-york wrote: post #4
lucideer wrote: post #3

This strategy seems at least orthogonal, if not contradictory, to their positioning themselves as a privacy-focused company that can be trusted because their business-model is based on hard products rather than on engagement.

A real world social network preserves privacy, no?

I was more referring to the article's extrapolation from Apple's intended focus on "Services" and move away from reporting device sales.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#18

Post by sanderjd »

brobdingnagians wrote: post #16

I think Apple has some serious issues with growth; they have expanded a huge amount based on a few key and impressive products and ideas at the right time and in the right way, but I think they've ridden that pony almost as far as it can go [but they've done a better job than most at it]. They have done very well with it, but like most corporations who do that, they usually miss the next big thing, because it is some…

What is the next big thing that they have missed?

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#19

Post by ethagknight »

I don’t think he mentioned it, but the easy way for Apple to grow to a $2T company is to get my household, a typical locked-in Apple household with an iPad or iPhone for every person and a computer for each adult and an AppleTV at every TV, to start paying for ever more services through those Apple devices. TV service. Ubiquitous internet service. Financial services like payments but grow into banking. manage all my regularly scheduled bills like utilities, rent or mortgages. I would love for a trusted intermediary to handle these things.

I was recently taken aback by the amount of money I was paying for high-quality subscriptions “oh my god, I’ve paid $20/month for the last 12 months to subscribe to high quality streaming to Phish concerts via their app?!?” I signed up for it thinking I would only do it for a month. I forgot. I spent $240 on Phish audio, more than I spent on my Apple Watch. Apple’s real social network could be just getting started. Imagine if those “luxury” expenses were intermixed with a dozen other large, more legitimate bills? Apple could be processing $1000s a month per household, taking a hefty fee from some of them. And then launch a loyalty program :).

If I had to guess, I’d say this comment resembles Buffet’s view of Apple’s opportunity.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#20

Post by amelius »

sanderjd wrote: post #18
brobdingnagians wrote: post #16

I think Apple has some serious issues with growth; they have expanded a huge amount based on a few key and impressive products and ideas at the right time and in the right way, but I think they've ridden that pony almost as far as it can go [but they've done a better job than most at it]. They have done very well with it, but like most corporations who do that, they usually miss the next big thing, because it is some…

What is the next big thing that they have missed?

Openness.
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