Apple’s third quarter earnings call didn’t produce many interesting comments from the company’s executives, but CFO Peter Oppenheimer and CEO Tim Cook did mention new products coming in the fall. But then again, Apple has been beating the same “stuff is coming” drum all year.
When asked a philosophical question about how Apple operates, Cook reiterated the company’s mantra on manufacturing quality gear.
“We’re here to make good products,” said Cook. “We think that if we focus on that and do that really well, the financial metrics will come. We start at the product because we believe that the most important thing is that our customers love the products and want them.”
“Apple needs more unpredictability these days, not less.”
Since Apple hasn’t had a major new product all year, everyone is anxious about how the company will perform during the upcoming holiday season.
“Our key catalysts will always be new products and new services in existing and new categories,” said Cook. Apple has said that new products are coming this fall multiple times, and “new categories” means something beyond the iPhone, iPad and Mac. (iWatch, anyone?)
Earnings calls used to be exciting times to cover Apple, but the company is starting to get pretty boring. Cook and Co. are sticking to a set of bland, boilerplate responses that give hardly any insight into the future of the company.
Steve Jobs had a way of remaining secretive but also being unpredictable and interesting. Apple needs more unpredictability these days, not less. Actions speak louder than words, so we’ll see how its upcoming offerings are received this fall.
