Apple business strategies - page 2

Today in Apple history: Logic Pro 7 shows Apple is still serious about creatives

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Logic Pro 7 was a great music creation tool for Apple fans.
Logic Pro 7 was a great music creation tool for Apple fans.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

September 29: Today in Apple history: Logic Pro 7 launch shows Apple is still serious about creatives September 29, 2004: Apple debuts Logic Pro 7, its professional music creation and audio production software. The update brings new tools and a streamlined interface in line with other Apple software.

Coming off the success of the iPod and iTunes Music Store, the Logic Pro 7 launch — alongside its stripped-down sibling, Logic Express 7 — serves as a reminder of Apple’s dominance in music tech, for consumers and professionals alike.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs and Jef Raskin clash over the Mac

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Apple Mac
The war over the Macintosh's soul started on this day in 1979.
Photo: Apple

September 27: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs and Jef Raskin clash over the Mac September 27, 1979: Years before the Macintosh will ship, Steve Jobs and Jef Raskin clash for the first time over the direction of the R&D project to produce the revolutionary computer.

Raskin, the founder of the Macintosh project, wants to produce a machine that’s affordable to everyone. Apple co-founder Jobs wants a computer that’s going to be the best, regardless of price.

Guess who won?

Today in Apple history: Apple lays out its core company values

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Cupertino sums up
Cupertino sums up "Apple Values" in an exuberant document.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Sep 23 Today in Apple history: Cupertino lays out its core Apple Values September 23, 1981: Years before Steve Jobs would tell us to “think different” and Tim Cook would say Apple should act as a “force for good,” Cupertino lays out what it calls its “Apple Values.”

In a memo, management defines Apple Values as “the qualities, customs, standards and principles that the company as a whole regards as desirable. They are the basis for what we do and how we do it. Taken together, they identify Apple as a unique company.”

Today in Apple history: iPhone 6 sells record 10 million units at launch

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Buy one, get one free on the Apple iPhone 6s/6s Plus for AT&T.
Apple finally cracked the 10 million sales opening weekend benchmark.
Photo: Apple

September 22: Today in Apple history: iPhone 6 sells record 10 million units at launch September 22, 2014: Apple notches a new sales record with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, selling an astonishing 10 million units in the first weekend the handsets go on sale.

The eagerly anticipated smartphones bring a redesigned form factor that will persist for years. The most obvious change? Larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays built to lure phablet fans. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus also boast an A8 chip, improved iSight and FaceTime cameras, and — significantly — Apple Pay.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” Apple CEO Tim Cook says in a press release. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin.”

Today in Apple history: iPhone 6 is bigger and better than ever

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iPhone
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were massive upgrades for Apple.
Photo: Jim Merithew

September 19: Today in Apple history: iPhone 6 is bigger and better than ever September 19, 2014: The iPhone undergoes its biggest upgrade — both figuratively and literally — since the original, with the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets.

The iPhone 6 brings a new 4.7-inch form factor, while the iPhone 6 Plus boasts a massive 5.5-inch design. The previous-generation iPhone 5 measured only slightly taller than its 3.5-inch predecessors. But with the iPhone 6, Apple abandons that strategy for the first time to take on big-screen Android “phablets.”

Today in Apple history: Macintosh 512K, aka the ‘Fat Mac,’ quadruples the memory

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Apple Mac
The "Fat Mac" solved one of the original Mac's biggest problems.
Photo: Apple

September 10: Today in Apple history: Macintosh 512K, aka the 'Fat Mac,' quadruples the memory September 10, 1984: Apple ships the Macintosh 512K, the first upgrade to the first-gen Macintosh 128K.

Coming less than eight months after the original Macintosh, the 512K Mac makes no sweeping changes to the computer’s form factor. Instead, the big upgrade is quadrupling the RAM. This leads Apple fans to refer to the computer as the “Fat Mac.”

Low-cost MacBook aimed at students supposedly in development

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Apple_new-macbook-air-new-magic-keyboard_03182020
A budget-price MacBook perhaps based on an older MacBook Air might be in the offing.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly working on a MacBook with a price low enough to compete with Chromebooks in the education market.

If true, then the company may well be intending to follow the same strategy for macOS notebooks that it does for the iPhone SE and Apple Watch SE.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs flip-flops on the Newton

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The Newton MessagePad 2000 brought many upgrades to Apple's doomed PDA line.
The Newton MessagePad went from hero to zero overnight.
Photo: iFixit

September 4: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs flip-flops on the Apple Newton PDA September 4, 1997: The writing is on the wall for Apple’s Newton product line as Steve Jobs tells executives at the recently spun-off company not to bother moving into their new offices.

It’s quite the turnaround for the Newton division. Only months earlier, it was being portrayed as large enough to become its own company.

Today in Apple history: Apple hatches secret plan to save the Mac

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Close-up of vintage Apple Keyboard II with rainbow Apple logo
An internal Apple memo outlined four possible ways to combat the increasingly dominant Windows operating system.
Photo: Maurizio Zanetti/Flickr CC

August 30 August 30, 1990: A 112-page confidential Apple memo lays out what the company must do to make the Macintosh division a marketplace contender.

The internal memo comes from Dan Eilers, Apple’s vice president of strategy and corporate development. He boldly says Apple must consider four strategies: licensing Mac OS, licensing both the Mac’s operating system and hardware, creating a spinoff brand for the Macintosh, or starting a totally new company to combat the growing threat of Microsoft’s Windows.

Today in Apple history: Beginning of the end for clone Macs

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Power Computing clone Macs sounded like a good idea at first.
Clone Macs sounded like a good idea at first.
Photo: Antnik

August 5: Today in Apple history: Beginning of the end for Power Computing Mac clones August 5, 1997: Apple gets into a standoff with Power Computing, a maker of Macintosh clones. It marks the beginning of the end for Apple’s mid-’90s strategy of licensing the Mac operating system.

“If the [Mac] platform goes closed, it is over,” predicts Power Computing CEO Joel J. Kocher of Apple’s strategy. “[It’s] total destruction. The kiss of death.” Of course, things don’t turn out exactly like that for Apple…

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs acknowledges MobileMe failure

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MobileMepic
MobileMe was the failed precursor to iCloud.
Photo: Apple

August 4: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs acknowledges MobileMe failure August 4, 2008: Steve Jobs owns up to mistakes in launching MobileMe, spinning Apple’s bungled cloud service rollout as a learning opportunity.

“It was a mistake to launch MobileMe at the same time as iPhone 3G, iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store,” Jobs writes in an email to Apple employees. “We all had more than enough to do, and MobileMe could have been delayed without consequence.”

Tim Cook calls AI ‘absolutely critical’ to Apple products

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Apple's got AI inside.
Why doesn't Apple go on and on about the "AI revolution"? Because it's already baked-in to Apple products.
Image: Michael DziedzicUnsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac

Apple has been conspicuously quiet about its plans for artificial intelligence, even as rivals like Google and Microsoft made headlines touting the latest tech buzzword. But CEO Tim Cook leaped to his company’s defense Thursday, pointing out that AI is already used by many Apple products.

And he also listed upcoming software and services that wouldn’t be possible without machine learning and AI.

Today in Apple history: World’s first iPad newspaper starts to crumble

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The Daily iPad newspaper was a great, but ultimately failed, experiment.
The Daily was a great, but ultimately failed, experiment.
Photo: The Daily

July 31: Today in Apple history: The Daily, the world's first iPad newspaper, starts to crumble July 31, 2012: The Daily, the world’s first iPad-only newspaper, lays off almost a third of its staff, signaling the demise of a bold publishing experiment.

The deep cuts — The Daily fires 50 of its 170 employees — affect mainly sports and editorial page staffers, although some production and design employees get the ax, too. The ominous move comes as News Corp places the iPad app “on watch” due to disappointing readership numbers.

Today in Apple history: Apple reclaims top spot in education

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On this day in 1998, the world says
The easy-to-use iMac spurred Apple's return to dominance in schools.
Photo: Apple

July 9: Today in Apple history: Apple reclaims top spot in education July 9, 2001: Apple earns the title of No. 1 computer manufacturer in the education market, with twice as many machines in schools as runner-up Dell Computer.

It’s a big turnaround from a couple of years earlier, when Dell overtook Apple and Steve Jobs was accused of abandoning this important market.

Today in Apple history: After a horrible quarter, Gil Amelio gets the boot

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Bringing on Gil Amelio was viewed as a big coup for the Apple board.
This was the end of Amelio's 500 days running Apple.
Photo: Apple

July 6: Today in Apple history: After a horrible quarter, Apple CEO Gil Amelio is fired July 6, 1997: Following a massive quarterly loss for Apple, board member Edgar S. Woolard Jr. calls CEO Gil Amelio and informs him that he needs to step down. “You’ve done a lot to help the company, but the sales haven’t rebounded,” Woolard says.

Steve Jobs, who recently returned to the company he co-founded, denies being responsible for Amelio’s ouster. However, the move results in Jobs becoming Apple CEO for the first time. Now it’s time for a real turnaround!

Today in Apple history: Bill Gates urges Apple to license Mac OS

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Bill Gates
Bill Gates took this strategy and made himself a multibillionaire.
Photo: Fulvio Obregon

June 25: Today in Apple history: Bill Gates urges Apple to license Mac OS June 25, 1985: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates sends a memo to Apple execs suggesting that Cupertino should license its Mac operating system and additional technology to other companies.

Apple CEO John Sculley and Macintosh boss Jean Louis Gassée ignore the advice of the 30-year-old Gates, who at the time is best known as a Mac developer. Five months later, Microsoft releases Windows 1.0.

Today in Apple history: Brilliant ad campaign turns switcher into unlikely star

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Apple's
Apple's "Switch" ad makes Ellen Feiss internet famous.
Photo: Apple

June 9: Today in Apple history: Ellen Feiss becomes an unlikely star thanks to Apple's Switch ad campaign June 9, 2002: Apple launches its “Switch” advertising campaign, featuring real people talking about their reasons for switching from PCs to Macs. Apple’s biggest marketing effort since the “Think Different” ad campaign a few years earlier, it turns 15-year-old high school student Ellen Feiss into an unlikely star.

She becomes a viral sensation after viewers suggest she was stoned during filming of her sleepy-eyed “Switch” spot about a homework-devouring PC.

Apple plans big retail push in Asia-Pacific through 2027

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Apple Store
Four new Apple Stores could also open in the US in the next four years.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple plans to open at least 24 new stores worldwide through 2027, focusing on expanding its retail presence in Asia and Europe.

Additionally, Apple will revamp or relocate six stores in Asia, nine in Europe, and 13 in the United States.

Today in Apple history: Apple reinvents the computer store

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Steve Jobs offers a sneak peek at the first Apple store prior to its opening.
Steve Jobs offers a sneak peek at the first Apple store prior to its opening.
Photo: Apple

May 15: Today in Apple history: Apple reinvents the computer store, with plans to open 25 Apple Stores in the U.S. May 15, 2001: Steve Jobs flips the script on the dreadful experience of computer shopping, unveiling an ambitious plan to open 25 innovative Apple stores across the United States.

The first two Apple stores, located at Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia, and the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California, are set to open later that week. But this new Apple initiative is about much more than just a couple of retail outlets. It’s a radical reinvention of tech retail that will change the way computers get sold.

Today in Apple history: iTunes experiments with video downloads

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Morcheeba's
Morcheeba's "The Antidote" was one of the first music videos available on iTunes.
Photo: Morcheeba

May 9: Today in Apple history: iTunes experiments with video downloads May 9, 2005: Apple quietly begins selling music videos in the iTunes Music Store.

The feature arrives with iTunes 4.8, initially offering bonus content for people purchasing albums through the store. It will take several months for Apple to start selling individual music videos, along with Pixar short films and a selection of TV shows, for $1.99 a pop.

Today in Apple history: iTunes hits 1 million downloads in first week

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iTunespic
iTunes becomes an instant hit.
Photo: Apple

May 5: Today in Apple history: iTunes Music Store hits 1 million downloads in first week May 5, 2003: Just a week after launching the iTunes Music Store, Apple reaches an incredible milestone with more than 1 million songs sold.

Particularly notable is the fact that more than half the songs purchased are albums. This quickly dispels fears that selling tracks individually will kill the record industry’s dominant format. In addition, more than half of the 200,000 songs initially available on iTunes get downloaded at least once.

“In less than one week we’ve broken every record and become the largest online music company in the world,” says Steve Jobs in a statement. “Apple has created the first complete solution for the digital music age — you can purchase your favorite music online at the iTunes Music Store, mix your favorite tracks into playlists with iTunes, and take your entire music collection with you everywhere with the super-slim new iPods.”

It’s a roaring success for Apple’s newest venture!

Today in Apple history: Apple’s first watch is a freebie for upgraders

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The first Apple watch was ... well, just a watch, actually.
Apple's first watch was ... well, just a watch, actually.
Photo: Jonathan Morrison

May 2: Today in Apple history: First Apple watch is a freebie for upgraders May 2, 1995: Apple enters the wearables space with its first watch, a timepiece with no fitness-tracking tech, no on-screen notifications and a whole lot of 1990s styling.

The first Apple watch comes two decades before wearables will become a thing. A regular wristwatch, the freebie gadget is available as a special mail-in offer to Mac OS upgraders.

Today in Apple history: iTunes puts the hurt on DVDs

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iTunes movie
iTunes getting day-and-date releases for new movies was a big deal.
Photo: Apple

May 1: Today in Apple history: iTunes begins selling digital movies on same day as DVD release May 1, 2008: The iTunes Store takes a gigantic step toward cinematic relevancy, selling new movies on the day of their DVD releases for the very first time.

“We’re thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release,” says Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, in a press release. “We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios.”

Movies out that week include Cloverfield, Juno, Alvin and the Chipmunks and American Gangster.

Today in Apple history: Apple teams with Volkswagen for iBeetle car

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The first Apple car, a collaboration with VW known as the iBeetle, rolls onto the scene.
The first Apple car, a collaboration with VW known as the iBeetle, rolls onto the scene.
Photo: Volkswagen

April 22: Today in Apple history: Apple teams with VW for the iBeetle. It's the first Apple car! April 22, 2013: The world gets its first Apple car. Well, kind of.

In reality, the iBeetle is a collaboration with German automaker Volkswagen that offers a car “stylistically linked” to Apple. This means Apple-inspired colors, a built-in docking station for your iPhone, and a special app that lets you control the car’s features.