Despite what decathlon athletes are able to do, no one can do everything well. I’m beginning to think that Apple has a bout of the same disease that has afflicted Microsoft for a couple of decades.
The Windows maker is so rich, and so paranoid, that it has a finger stuck into every technological pie you can think of, and so loses attention on the basics. It’s not difficult to declare that Apple has too many fingers in too many pies these days.
Stick To Baking Apple Pies, Apple
Microsoft’s problem for the past decade is that it hasn’t been able to create a profitable revenue stream from a new product beyond Windows and Office.
Compare that effort to Apple which, like Microsoft, is rich beyond belief but with more revenue and profits coming from more directions.
There’s the highly valued line of Macs, which sports some of the most profitable and desirable of traditional computing devices.
There’s the ubiquity of the iPhone, which sets the standard for multi-purpose iPhones. Add to that the iPad, which now brings in more revenue and profits than the Mac.
Then, there’s all of Apple’s revenue and profits from iTunes, the App Store, and Apple applications. Our favorite Cupertino company is a cash machine.
So, where are all of the fingers and pies? Apple TV comes to mind. It sells well, but not along the lines of iPad or iPhone. New ventures such as Passbook haven’t set the world on fire.
Ping, the iTunes social connection, has been shuttered. Apple continues to butt heads with Samsung all over the world, but it’s been a mixed bag of results, winning some, losing some.
Apple Stores are the envy of the retail industry, and Apple’s online store is one of the world’s greatest revenue streams. Yet, Apple has trouble with almost anything connected to the internet, including iCloud (remember MobileMe and iDisk) storage, email, messaging, and notifications.
Apple’s customers have been neglected and abandoned enough times to cause an outrage online, hence OS X Snow Leopard showing up on the App Store, so older Mac users have a migration path. Remember Final Cut Studio? It was replaced by the then anemic Final Cut Pro X, which took a few years to mature. Studio customers were not happy.
The venerable iTunes app has become a joke among the technorati, the result of years of patching and tacking on pieces to keep the online revenue stream going. The Mac Pro line has fallen behind the technology curve to the point of languishing in obscurity.
Like Microsoft of yesteryear, Apple does many things right. Like Microsoft, making money is on the top of that list. For some reason, though, when companies reach a pinnacle of success they feel an overwhelming desire or an inherent paranoia which requires that they stick their collective fingers into every technology pie, while neglecting some of what got them to success in the first place.
Today’s Apple is a giant and no longer the scrappy, single product underdog we knew and loved. Whatever disease Microsoft has, Apple seems to have similar symptoms.
About Kate MacKenzie
I think your article is absolutely correct. Is Apple trying to be everything to everyone? Thus, if they are, then doesn’t it stand to reason that the efforts on ALL there’re trying to do can be watered down? Little things forgotten? What really transpired in the back ground before iOS6 was released to have allowed such a screw up with “Maps”? Then the CEO of Apple tells everyone to use another type of map app? Really? Effectively saying, “use XYZ app while we get our $h!t together.”
With the impending release of iTunes 11. I’ve turned off the software auto update for iTunes. If any indication of the rumors are true, that iTunes 11 will be a lot like what is on the iPad. Oh Really? I personally detest the iTunes interface on iPad. I only mention this wondering, could this be another “MAPS” debacle?
I think Apple should focus on the core that made them Apple. Set the standard. I don’t need a Apple microwave or an Apple fridge.
Too many fingers in too many pies? I don’t think so. One of the reasons that Wall Street doesn’t give Apple any respect is because most of the revenue is tied to just one product, the iPhone. Apple has to have a wider revenue stream as far as Wall Street is concerned. Compared to a company like Google or Amazon, Apple hardly has enough projects going. Wall Street loves Amazon because Jeff Bezos has his hands into everything. That what allows Amazon to have a P/E of 3000 while Apple has a measly P/E of 14 despite all that revenue. They keep saying that if iPhone sales slow down, then Apple has almost nothing.
You’re probably not an Apple shareholder as I am and I’m very concerned that Apple doesn’t have more products to spread the revenue. Wall Street hardly considers the iPad line as anything compared to the iPhone. Forget the iPods, they’re done. Even the OSX-running devices are not enough for Wall Street’s respect. I want to see Apple build a much better AppleTV, but it will never be as good as the other streaming boxes because Apple flat-out refuses to support most of the downloadable file formats that nearly every other streaming box manufacturer does. I’m pretty much forced to use a Roku because Apple has crippled the AppleTV so badly.
I’d like to see Apple continue to grow in several directions and find at least another solid revenue stream. My one hope would be in the world of mobile wallets with some connection to Visa or Mastercard. Maybe Apple becoming a banking instititution in its own right would really give Apple some solid cash revenue not dependent on seasonal hardware. Wall Street loves expanding companies and Apple isn’t one of them.
Apple is stretched too thin. There’s just not enough engineerings or marketing talent to go around and keep all the company’s projects operating at a high level. Apple’s internet services are anemic. There’s no longer any focus on Macs for the enterprise. OS X Server is a dumbed down disaster. Ping has been ditched. Passbook does not do anything worthwhile. These days it seems like Apple is Microsoft or Google. All of them throw crapola up against the wall in a constant barrage to see what sticks.