Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is a leading technology company with a history of success dating back to the 1970s. Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the two innovators had a vision to create an accessible computer for everyday people. From its start as a small garage-based business, Apple has grown into one of the world’s largest company.
What factors contributed to the growth of Apple?
Apple’s success is a remarkable story, one tied to its meteoric rise in recent years to becoming the most valuable company on Earth. Apple’s demand and market capitalization reflects a decade of painstaking strategic decisions, pioneering innovation, and development of products that people love and feel excited to own. It all started with the launch of the first-generation iPhone in 2007 – an event which revolutionized the smartphone industry and propelled Apple towards mass adoption of their product range.
Since then, Apple has established itself as a sought after brand offering high quality yet reliable products such as Macbook’s AirPods, iPads and TV+ streaming service. The company continuously adapts to customer service changing customer needs and is known for pushing boundaries within technology advancement resulting in loyal customers throughout generations. Furthermore, despite no longer being led by iconic CEO Steve Jobs since 2011 (who famously overthrew his predecessor Gil Amelio) Apple has continued its firm growth due to careful decision-making that has extended onto his successor Tim Cook who has been CEO since then and demonstrates leadership qualities still resonating from Steve Jobs legacy.
Steve Jobs was a highly influential figure in the business world
Steve Jobs is one of the most recognizable names in the tech world. He co-founded Apple, which has since become one of the most successful companies in the world, and put Apple at the forefront of personal computing by developing revolutionary products such as the iPod and iPad. He was a successful innovator and business leader, and also recognized as a chief executive who had a distinct brand.
Apple shares were quickly in high demand when it was founded in 1976 by Jobs and Steve Wozniak in Silicon Valley, California. By 1980 when it decided to go public, it set records for being one of the biggest stock market launches since Ford in 1956. However, despite this remarkable success for Apple under his leadership, Jobs left after a falling out with CEO John Scully in 1985. Since then his legacy has increased even further with his return to Apple as CEO some years later leading to even more success for the company and its iconic products bearing his name.
iPhone revolution
The iPhone has revolutionized the mobile phone industry since it was first launched in 2007. When Apple introduced the iPhone to the market, it quickly became a massive success with almost 1.4 million units sold in its first year of release. Competitors such as Nokia and Blackberry, who had previously dominated the market, were unable to keep up with the demand for iPhones and soon lost their positions in the smartphone market.
Although Apple may not be at the top of the smartphone heap anymore, with South Korea’s Samsung and China’s Huawei in first and second place respectively, their iPhones are still among some of the most sought after devices on the planet. In fact, Apple managed to sell over 41 million phones worldwide during just a three-month stretch earlier this year and an impressive 216 million handsets over 2018 as a whole. This goes to show just how dominant Apple has been since it first released its flagship product more than a decade ago – its iPhones being a major determining factor towards its bottom line to this day.
Brand loyalty is strong for Apple services
Apple’s services business is an important source of revenue for the company, delivering year-on-year growth of 31%. Central to this success are the various digital products offered by Apple: iTunes store or Apple Music, the App Store, iCloud and Apple Pay. As well as providing necessary services to consumers, this serves a greater purpose in terms of brand loyalty. For example, if a user was to purchase music and film regularly on their iPhone they are more likely to also purchase an iPad, a Macbook and any other product available in the Apple ecosystem.
This symbiotic relationship between the services and hardware sectors of the business allows the company to cultivate loyalty like no other. Accordingly, Paul Nelson, Managing Director of BrandMatters, explains that the brand’s success is attributed by its ability in convincing consumers for hardware re-purchases. With a view to long term profitability, continuous engagement with its users will thus remain central to Apple’s plans for growth.
Apple in the 20s
Apple has had a successful 2020, despite the global crisis. The company saw its market capitalization reach new highs and saw record revenue from services such as Apple Pay, as contactless payment systems gained popularity. Moreover, two major changes to the Mac were announced that year – a transition away from Intel processors to custom-designed chips, and changes to macOS so that developers could create iOS and iPadOS apps that could run on the Mac without modifications. The new processor design is based on the ones used in iPhones and iPads, being more energy-efficient at the same time as it offers laptops better battery life and processing power than PCs.
Apple was able to tackle 2020’s global crisis head-on with creativity and bold planning for their future. By transitioning away from Intel processors and reinventing their macOS software, Apple have set themselves up for success in the upcoming years. These changes promise better performance in both speed and battery life for their products all while keeping users connected worldwide via contactless payments through Apple Pay or apps developed for multiple platforms without compromising power or versatility. It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on how these changes pan out throughout 2021 and beyond!