Why are we talking so much about Apple? It might be because Apple is the most valuable technology company and brand in the world. It could also be because of their aspirational products. We’d say it’s also largely because of the story behind the Apple brand.
It all started in a garage, with an enigmatic visionary. The company leads the first wave of the personal computer trend, but the tide is flattening and hard times are coming. The enigmatic visionary is sent into exile. The company almost collapses. However, the brilliant founder returns, pulls the company out of the ashes, and starts making iconic new products. Then the brilliant founder dies, and a meek chief operating officer takes over.
The Apple story itself has a mythic vibe to it. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that the company is constantly surrounded by myths. Here are the most important ones and a short explanation of how they stray from reality.
Without Jobs’ Vision, Apple Is Doomed to Fail
Apple has entered a new phase in its history that is certainly not doomed. Some people feel that the company no longer has the ability to design and produce highly innovative, market-disrupting products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
It’s too early to claim that. We’ll learn a lot more about Apple’s “vision” in the future when more information is available about their “Project Titan” and their future efforts in virtual reality.
Another factor to consider is that Apple’s financial results surely don’t look like those of a doomed company. Even though iPhone sales have stagnated in recent years (largely due to slowing smartphone replacement rates and market saturation), the company routinely posts revenues that exceed those of other tech giants.
Tim Cook Doesn’t Have the Right Skills for His Role
People often suggest that Apple CEO Tim Cook lacks that mysterious quality that allowed Jobs to take Apple to the next level of innovation, relevance, wealth, etc.
In one of his recent videos about Apple, Rick Tetzeli points out that in Cook’s five years at the helm, Apple’s revenue has tripled, its workforce has doubled, and its global reach has expanded significantly (e.g., to China and India). “He will never be as brilliant as Jobs, but he may be the perfect CEO for the monster that Apple has become,” Tetzeli writes of Cook.
One could easily argue that success is simply the result of very good execution around products already in place when Cook took over. But even that argument can be easily debunked. The first completely new product released during the Tim Cook era, the Apple Watch, sold more units in its first year than the iPhone did in its first 12 months. The Watch could end up being a blockbuster, especially as Apple adds more health and fitness capabilities.
Every Apple Launch Was Magical
Steve Jobs was indeed a visionary product maker, but not everything he touched turned to gold. Jobs had as many failures as successes, but his successes received more attention. Remember the circular mouse that came with the first iMac in 1997? Or the “Cube” PowerMac G4 from 2001 that Apple discontinued after a year? Other examples include the lonely iTunes Ping, the twentieth anniversary Macintosh with the $7,500 price tag, and the misunderstood Pippin.
Apple Has to Maintain a Very Limited Product Range
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he cut 70% of the products Apple was working on. No more printers. No more Newton PDAs. He laid off 3,000 people. Jobs drew a matrix with four dials: ‘Pro’, ‘Consumer’, ‘Desktop’ and ‘Laptop’. In his book about Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson credits Jobs with saving Apple by refocusing the company on those product areas.
Although that is probably true, the belief that Apple must have a limited product line to succeed is outdated. In the age of radical consumer choice, it’s not quite as true as it used to be. Apple now sells several types of desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones. It sells the Apple TV streaming device. It launched the Apple Watch, which comes in two sizes and seemingly endless combinations of bands and watches. And there’s a good chance the company will launch some sort of augmented reality device in the future, as well as an electric car.
