Why does Apple still exist in 2020?
Here is the video from this transcript: Why Does Apple Still Exist in 2020?
Not only does Apple still exist, but Apple is now the world’s most valuable publicly traded company. To understand that, let’s take a trip down memory lane. But before diving in, I want you to know that I have used iPhones, Macbooks, iPods and iPads in the past. I now own an Android smartphone and a Windows OS laptop. The following solely represents my thoughts on why Apple still exists in 2020.
A lot of you might be familiar with Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle, with the question “why” at the center of a company’s existence. I think that most of you will agree that back in 2009, Apple was blazing a trail in the smartphone world. They indeed challenged the status quo with their beautifully designed products.
And Steve Jobs himself once explained why Apple exists. His answer was fairly simple: “If the market is telling us we are making the wrong choices, we listen to the market. We are just people running this company.”
That right there is the answer to our question. I could have dragged this on by elaborating on Apple’s history and whatnot before reaching this point. But instead, I want to attract your attention to that explanation. Some of you might say, well consumers don’t really know what they want until companies produce the product. That’s true. But there’s also a flip side. There are thousands of technological inventions that never make it to commercialization as well.
Apple produces a lot of devices but we will be concentrating on iPhones, which constitute more than 50% of its business.
Now, was Apple the first company to produce the touch screen phone? Definitely not. I believe that the first touch screen phone was introduced by IBM in the early 1990s. And the first capacitive touch screen phone was the LG Prada. LG even accused Apple of copying its product.
Apple neither invented nor was the first to market the touch screen phones. But did they innovate them? They sure did. You see. In some industries, being first to market does not really matter. In my opinion, I think that Apple conquered customers’ hearts with its simplistic design and user-friendly interface. They hit the sweet spot at the right time.
And this is exactly why Apple still exists in 2020. Hear me out. Remember what Steve Jobs said? That Apple basically listens to the market. The market definitely likes the iPhone interface more than that of Androids. Now, some of you might say that Android dominates the smartphone OS market. You are right. And some of you might say that Huawei and Samsung ship more smartphones than Apple nowadays. You are right again. So where did you go wrong in your thinking?
Well, if the market likes your product, the market will be ready to shell out extra cash to purchase your product. This is where Apple plays. Apple positioned its iPhone for a long time as a premium smartphone. Not only are customers more than happy to pay the premium, but they are proud to be associated with the brand. Bear in mind that Apple originally sold PCs before diving into the smartphone market later. And in my opinion, they were not even a real threat to Windows OS, which command above 70% of the desktop market share. But Apple timed the smartphone market to perfection.
I have seen the memes and jokes about Apple’s products. They are funny for sure. But keep in mind that people love the brand so much that Apple is worth over $1.8 trillion. Apple did not need to produce cheaper smartphones to compete with Motorola and Nokia at the time. In hindsight, we can observe one key learning outcome. Apple spent all of its resources in perfecting one phone whereas Motorola was working on dozens of phone models at once. Apple also quickly caught on the shift from hardware to software driving the mobile phone industry. Apple thus poured a lot of its energy into design, while Motorola failed to do so.
Over the years, Apple has cemented its position among customers by introducing various services. Apple’s strategy is quite simple. It wants to attract and retain users who will integrate the Apple ecosystem. In a way, Apple is upselling its subscription services such as its Apple Music, iCloud Storage and Apple TV+. And according to me, a lot of people are not switching from iPhones as they are trapped in Apple’s web of ecosystem.
I would thus attribute the existence of Apple in 2020 not only to one specific event or attribute, but to a combination of factors that played in its favor. But does that guarantee that Apple will exist tomorrow? Well definitely yes. But in the next 3 to 5 years, who knows? It might be hard to imagine Apple going under with their over $200 billion in cash. But anything can happen. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
What do you think about Apple? Should they exist in 2020? Will they exist in the near future? Or will they suffer the same fate as Motorola? Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments section.
