The days of Apple busting out hit new products every few years may be over. According to one of the best Apple analysts, Apple has been trying to de-emphasize the “home-run” mindset that made it the most enviable company in tech.
Speaking at the recent UBS Tech Conference, Horrace Dediu claimed Apple’s cultural identity is undergoing a dramatic shift.
[contextly_auto_sidebar] Instead of being in the “new hit product business”, Dediu told said that Apple is trying to become a “services and recurring-revenue business.” The remarks came during a panel discussion with other Apple experts at the conference.
“I think Apple management has been trying to de-emphasise the hit-driven business. That’s not to say they’re not going to have more hits, but they don’t want the company to be seen as a hits business.”
Improving morale
Other analysts have become increasingly vocal about Apple’s changing strategy. Investment firm Oppenheimer said today that it believes Apple lacks the courage to innovate in important areas like AI, cloud-based services, messaging.
Apple is reportedly looking into the new product ideas related to augmented reality, self-driving cars and health tech. The iPhone has been Apple’s biggest profit driver for years, but analysts think sales will peak after 2017.
Dediu argues that constantly trying for home runs has been demoralizing for employees, so Apple CEO Tim Cook move away from that attitude.
“One of the big audiences that Tim has is actually internal employee morale,” said Dediu. “I think the hit-driven mindset is demoralizing internally, and there is a concerted effort to tone down this ‘Let’s hit home runs’ mind-set.”
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
