Apple’s Dual iPhone Strategy in Doubt, Research Paper Example

Introduction of Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. is a company that produces consumer electronics and is well-known for producing and selling Mac computers, iPhones, iPads, and related electronic accessories. The company, which is headquartered in Cupertino, California, was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, although the current CEO is Tim Cook, who took over after Steve Jobs’ death in 2011. Interestingly, the company was founded to produce and sell personal computers, although it has evolved since then to appeal to a wide variety of electronic needs. Currently, Apple Inc.’s major competitors are Microsoft, Samsung, and Google because they produce a similar variety and quality of products. Apple Inc.’s cellular competitors include Nokia, Motorola, and Blackberry Ltd.

Despite the occasional successes of its competitors, Apple products are unique in that they have a relatively consistent user base that remains faithful to the company. However, the same can be said of Microsoft users, and some members of the target market claim to clearly prefer one of these companies over the over. As a consequence, both companies tend to compare Microsoft and Apple products to one another in their advertisements, with the ultimate claim that their product is better. Due to the similar quality and variety of products released by Microsoft, it is one of Apple Inc.’s major competitors and marketing against them is a primary concern of the company. Ultimately, they wish to convert Microsoft users to Apple users and need to do so in order to fully corner the personal electronics market.

Although Apple Inc. began selling personal computers, it made a marked success in the 2000’s with the implementation of the iPod, a mobile listening device. At this point, the iPod was one of the only mobile digital music players available, which allowed the company to gain a lead in the production of this type of item. As the company continued to develop the iPod, it gained internet access capabilities, a greater capacity for media storage, and even the ability to access e-mail. Eventually, this technology was integrated into a second successful device, the iPhone, which is a still a prevalent mobile device today, even though the current model has significantly greater capabilities than the original. Recent developments include the iPad and Apple TV. The iPad serves as a larger version of the iPod or iPhone with better internet connectivity that can be used to read books and play games, among its many other uses. Meanwhile, Apple TV offers the Apple experience on a television set and allows the user to stream media from the internet and to purchase videos and music from the Apple store.

A major concern that investors have with Apple Inc. as a company is that it is too similar to Microsoft. This is primarily the case because although Apple Inc. has been more successful in its recent business endeavors than it had in previous years, Microsoft has been consistently successful since its implementation and has managed to corner both the personal computing and business computing markets for many years. As a consequence, Apple is doing more to stand out from Microsoft. In particular, it is implementing the Apple Smart Home Phone in an attempt to modernize the concept of home phones and convince the market that home phones are still applicable even in light of a cell phone-dominated society (Wolf). In addition, the company plans to incorporate other technologies into basic items that are used in the home in a project termed “smart home”.

Apple Inc. is known for issuing high quality, but pricey products. However, it has recently attempted to extend to a new target market by issuing a cheaper version of the latest iPhone, the iPhone C, which has less capabilities than the iPhone S (Luk). Both the iPhone C and the iPhone S came out in the same month, and the iPhone S sells for only $100 more than its lower model; ultimately, critics of the iPhone C believe that even though it is less expensive than the iPhone S, it is still too expensive and believe that it would be preferable to use an older version of the iPhone, such as the iPhone 4S. In an attempt to sell more iPhone 5C’s, the company consulted its wireless partners and decided the phone should be issued at a discount when contracts are made or upgraded. Ultimately, not all of Apple Inc.’s products are successful, but the company uses its resources wisely and finds ways to profit using its many partnerships to its advantage.

A majority of the available news related to Apple Inc.’s products can be found on their website. According to this source, the most recent development in the company, which was announced on April 29, 2014, the MacBook Air was updated to have a faster processor and lower price (Apple). In addition, Apple Inc.’s quarter results were posted on April 23, 2014, which announced that quarterly revenue was $45.6 billion and the quarterly net profit was $10.2 billion. Furthermore, during the next quarter, the company expects that their revenue will be between $36 billion and $38 billion. This particular article was published on the Apple website and written by the company itself, so it is essential to consider outside sources in addition to this information in order to determine the performance of the company as a whole.

According to MSN Money, the value of Apple Inc.’s stock has increased steadily over the past ten years (MSN Money). Although this is a steep positive trend, a less steep trend is observable over the past year. This is likely due to the success of the company as a consequence of its release of the iPhone S, which competes well with the most recent Samsung and Microsoft phones. The stock is currently rated 9 out of 10 by StockScouter, which indicates that it is a highly priced but low risk stock. In other words, this stock is likely to increase in price over the next few years. Over the last 12months, the company reported 176.04 billion dollars in sales and 37.71 billion dollars in income.

In conclusion, Apple Inc. is a consumer electronics company that started out producing computers but expanded their products to a variety of handheld devices including the iPad and the iPhone. Their major competitors are Samsung and Microsoft due to their sale of similar products for similar prices. Despite this, the company is doing well, as demonstrated by the value of a share of their stock, which has increased steadily over the past ten years to approximately $600 a share today. Thus, Apple Inc. can be considered a successful company and a worthwhile investment.

Works Cited

Apple. ‘Apple Press Info’. N.D. Web. 27 May 2014. <http://www.apple.com/pr/>

Luk L. ‘Apple’s Dual iPhone Strategy in Doubt’. 16 October 2013. 27 May 2014. <http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304864504579138761727258256>

MSN Money. ‘Apple Inc.’ N.D. Web. 27 May 2014. <http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-price/?symbol=AAPL>

Wolf M. ‘Here’s What An Apple Smart Home Might Look Like’. 27 May 2014. Web. 27 May 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelwolf/2014/05/27/heres-what-an-apple-smart-home-might-look-like/>