Libor Kubín MarketingSalesMedia magazine has the tagline of essential reading for marketing, business and media people in its subtitle. The article piqued my interest: Apple is running out of ideas, they have to cut prices by Klára Čikarová.
Judge for yourself:
The technology icon can no longer keep churning out new revolutionary products.
At the June keynote, Apple introduced several novelties, such as MacBook Airs with significantly longer battery life (by 25% to 45%). Do you know of a PC laptop that you can work on all day?
After many years, the Mac Pro professional computer has finally received an innovation. A (further) new version of the operating system for computers (OS X) and iOS7 for tablets and phones are also being prepared.
At a time when a large number of manufacturers (HP, Samsung) are inspired more, rather than less, by anything that has a bitten apple on its shell, when a large number of PC manufacturers are experiencing a decline in computer sales at best, or a loss at worst. Apple is practically constantly growing not only in sales, but every year it introduces smaller or larger improvements to its products.
In the following paragraph of her text, however, the author denies her previous claim about Apple lagging behind:
Although the company is still trying to innovate - for example, it is preparing to produce the iWatch...
Speculative information is here for a change!
... but some trends, as it turned out in the case of mobile payments, do not have time to catch up.
Since April 2003, there has been an iTunes music store where you can also pay by card. But the author meant NFC payments. At a glance, we can find several hundred models of smartphones with Android and Windows Phone, but so far it does not seem that this method of payment would be widespread enough to make Apple miss the train. Last September on this topic said Phil Schiller: "It's not clear if NFC even solves any current problem, Passbook can do things that people need today." But this year, Apple may change its mind. Let's wait until September 10.
The company from Cupertino does not ship NFC with its phones by default, but there are also third-party solutions. E.g. Komerční banka offers its clients payment solutions using Near Field Communication technology (NFC) directly for iPhones.
This is also proven by a survey of the popularity of brands among young people, which was published by the German agency Bauer at the beginning of July. In it, Apple's first place was taken by Samsung for the first time.
The relevance of the survey and the presentation of the results would be a separate article. It was included in the study approximately 1200 pupils and students aged 12 to 19. Are they the customers who choose and buy iPhone or Samsung?
Apple's response to competitive pressure is to cut prices. In September, in addition to the new iPhone 5S, it will also launch a cheap version of its phones - a plastic colored iPhone Mini. Apple has not yet confirmed the launch of a smaller iPhone.
If Apple has a cheaper phone ready, it will be aimed at a different target group and probably won't discount the iPhone 5S. The situation should be very similar to the launch of the iPad mini.
However, it was designed during the lifetime of the long-time boss and founder of Apple, Steve Jobs.
The author apparently has very good information directly from Apple?
Estimates of the iPhone Mini price vary from two to eight thousand crowns...
Estimated costs for the production of the iPhone 5 range from $168 to $207. What would Apple have to "cheat" in order to fit into the amount of CZK 2? In my opinion, the price of a cheap iPhone can range from 000 crowns upwards.
... the latest iPhone 5 model, the price of which is normally around 20 crowns.
The price on Apple.com/cz starts at CZK 16 for the 627 GB version, the most expensive 16GB costs CZK 64. But the phone can also be purchased cheaper.
And the opinions of the "experts" follow.
"... the launch of a cheaper model is a completely logical step in the decision on the brand's next strategy," comments former SonyEricsson manager Dagmar Zweschperová on Apple's move.
The commercial director of the Creative Dock agency Ondřej Tomeš also knows where the problem is:
"Without Jobs, the company is slowly losing its position as an innovative leader at the expense of predators from Amazon, Google or Samsung...
For the average reader who does not know the products or the company Apple, it is difficult to distinguish the mixture of impressions, unfounded speculations and purposeful half-truths.
Never more MarketingSalesMedia. Hold on to your hoof.
I'm just amazed…. I was quite amused by the article in the magazine Víkend by MF Dnes, where the new features of the new iP 5C are analyzed :) This year, the speculations are really widespread and an interesting topic for everyone. I personally think that it will be and 95% of the time it will look like the way it looks on the leaked photos on the net. If, of course, not and the leaks would only be purposeful so that we can see something completely new in September, then I'll sit on my ass, twice... :)
Some chick needed a commission for her nonsense.
The presentation of the iPhone 5S is approaching, so every journalist knows that everything with the title "Apple" will be read a lot... The analyzed article (by Klára Čikalova) seems to me like a "technology tabloid" or whatever I would call it. I haven't laughed so hard at the "facts and research" presented in a long time. :-)
Stupid bitch… -_-
…google glass…a successful product…not sure if google glass is a step in the right direction. as for innovation, if the watch works, I don't see a reason to panic...then there's OSX, Mac Pro, timecapsule, etc. I admit that at the moment it's mainly about the evolution of building products, but you can't make a revolution every day.
I don't want to evaluate the importance of NFC, measure the durability of the laptop, or debate whether the MacPro drive should have been updated. Basically, you hit the nail on the head, and I feel the same way: "Sometimes Jablickar should be more critical."
Apple's problem is that they try to do everything. As long as every product launch was "revolutionary" and as long as he introduced products without competition, he could afford to do so, but today the saying "many dogs, kill a hare" is starting to apply again. Apple is no longer revolutionary and has been terribly slow lately (whether it's rMBP with Haswell or fixing a hacked developer program that took 3 weeks!).
In my opinion, Apple is gradually giving itself away with its aversion to universal standards, similar to how it once lost the Mac vs. pc. I mind lightning cable instead of USB, Thunderbolt instead of USB3, Airplay instead of WiDi/DLNA, nothing instead of NFC. I am willing to accept certain compromises in the field of hardware (I would rather have a smaller machine with a hard soldered ssd than a larger one with a universal ssd), but for example the blocking of external access to iCloud is definitely not anymore (Google and even MS have no problem letting developers from other platforms, it still doesn't work with Apple).
So the article may be on the water, but the fact is that Apple has a problem that it will have to deal with.
do you know which one is beating? :)
You probably didn't say a single sentence where you didn't totally screw up :D
In one sentence, I got a little confused - after the initial "forums", Apple succumbed to the pressure, and started giving USB 3.0 ports in addition to Thunderbolt. Otherwise, I don't think I'm doing anything wrong, so I'd appreciate it if you could send me a link to the API documentation for accessing iCloud contacts, explain to me that the 3 weeks they spent fixing the dev registration is actually a phenomenal success, how you don't bring a "set of Mac adapters and reducers" to the meeting at all, as the pentalobe is an absolutely common part of all screwdriver sets...
1) The iCloud Developer Access API is perfectly normal. About half of the apps in the App Store use it.
2) They repaired the dev center for security reasons. Better than leaking information like KB or Sony.
3) A set of reductions? WTF? Of course, I take lightning for the iPhone and the charger for the Mac too, but do you borrow a laptop charger from a colleague? Regarding reductions, it is probably quite questionable, on the one hand I take it, on the other - if someone else comes up with something similar, fine. The Magsafe attachment of the NTB has damaged my laptop about 5 times, and the double-sided lightning is also quite nice. Those who have not tried it in long-term practice will not understand...
4) The device is not "unscrewable" by the user because the user has nothing to dig into it. Every day at work I deal with artists who want to repair their phone and then at best half of the screws are missing, at worst they grab half of the parts. And the pentalobe is nothing unobtainable…
5) DLNA is absolute crap, you can't play everything almost anywhere through it. But that was already written about here. WiFi? I didn't know this until now, so it probably won't be such a standard again.
6) NFC in the phone is absolutely useless here, you can't pay with it anywhere.
7) Macbook Pro does not have Haswell
1) OK, apparently you're not a developer, so you can't know - no, you can't connect to iCloud from the outside (eg from a web app). You must have the SDK for iOS or OS X, and as far as I know, each app only has its own sandbox on iCloud.
2) The data of 275 thousand developers was leaked. I understand it happens, but fixing it for 3 weeks?
3) What about MiniDisplay port VGA / DVI / HDMI?
4) They are useless sticks under the feet.
5) I never had problems with mp4/divx with DLNA. Airplay isn't bad in principle, but it doesn't seem to license well enough for non-Apple devices, which kills it.
6) There is still a long way to go before NFC, and not only in our country (the fact that it is not possible to pay through it in our country is completely irrelevant from a global point of view). The main problem is that (yet?) they don't really understand NFC in WP and NFC in Android, so for example file transfer is unfortunately only possible within the platform. If Apple had gone into it from the beginning, it could have been successful earlier, it just doesn't go that fast.
7) And that's exactly the problem ;-)
1) Of course you are right about iCloud. Both with sandboxing and having to have the iOS and OSX SDKs. But he is not the iCloud or elsewhere. It was originally intended as it is. And if that doesn't suit you, Apple doesn't prevent you from using e.g. dropbox...
2) It leaked, but it wasn't any sensitive data, it's encrypted. And fixing it for 3 weeks? Why not, if it's good.
3) And what else would you like to gather there? VGA or DVI which is slowly larger than the MP Pro itself?
4) That's right, NFC has a long way to go. So why put it there if it's still useless.
5) And what computer besides Air, which is physically on the market, has it at this moment?
1) Google is the solution for now, well... however, it's a shame (I want to have current client contacts on my mobile, I need to synchronize the phone book with the database on the website)
3) HDMI? (I don't want bigger than 13″ MBP)
4) One breaks through, others follow. Apple once broke through…
5) http://www.alza.cz/search.htm?exps=haswell%20notebook
1) partially. On the other hand... Google's inability to back up the entire phone without the need to install an external app. synchronization of contacts, etc. via push... Everyone has something. Apple has never offered everything and everything open. And thanks to that, he could adjust what he offers like no one else. That's how it was and will be with him. If it doesn't suit someone, they have alternatives…
2) MBP Retina?
4) Yes, but stuffing something somewhere that you won't use... Apple never did that (thank God). And Apple is not to blame for the fact that NFC is still unusable, and unfortunately it probably won't affect it in any significant way. This is on the side of banks and operators…
5) Yeah... I realized that when I finished writing it :D
Um, what?
What is the solution if I don't want to use one CalDAV server (iCloud), use another (Google)? You can configure anything on the iPhone. Either you're just willing to pay spin on Apple or I didn't understand what you're actually criticizing.
In any case, the MacBook Air cannot have anything larger than MiniDP in it. VGA? :D You're kidding me. We've heard from you that the iPhone should have a USB and iPad slot for a printer, right? :D
These arguments about missing ports are years old. The result is that everyone is copying Apple in this strategy, so I find it funny to criticize it now. But starting a flame (mostly half-truths/lies) always pays off. Congratulations.
I'm going to sleep :) the fact that the little girl doesn't know what she's doing and relies on guesses from the internet is sad for a journalist :((
But what bothers me more is that there are a lot of such people, not only in professional journalism but also in wise men who feel the need to express themselves about something as soon as possible!!!
2 Marek Demcak, my dear, who told you that DLNA is a standard? Did you read it on the internet? :) buy a sony TV that does support DLNA, but it still only plays certain types of files and it's significantly limited. Same thing with Panasonic, but buy a super Korean piece of shit and it will play and your poo will be twisted into a USB shape :) that's a clear sign of quality or an indication that someone follows the rules and someone doesn't :(
What kind of thunderbolt instead of USB did you hold the apple notebook in your hand? I have two USB, twice Thunderbolt, you have a choice, which cannot be said for others :(((
2Ifco - where do you live my dear? NFC is on every card, does this mean NFC expansion? Did you run off the horse? How many times a day do you pay via NFC? I have an iPhone with iCarte and I make 1-2 payments per day via NFC, but in Slovakia, more than 70% of shops do not have an NFC terminal, and in countries like Hungary or Croatia, you can shove the entire NFC in your ass... So, as soon as you start spinning completely delusions, study a little...
And only for Asus :) I had a netbook... What kind of system did you have on it that would last you the whole day? Linux? Because it never took more than 6 hours from Windows, which is diametrically different from my rMBP with 12 hours, and it runs the first atoms at 1.6GHz, where even XP struggled with the performance of MBP or MBA, you can't even compare it...
Guys, be a bit more smart and you wouldn't talk nonsense....
But you are right about one thing: Apple should be more critical :) it should be, because criticism is one of the drives that drives progress the most :))) and I envy Apple only the long periods between the introduction of new technologies and products :))) )))
Such embarrassing articles can only be written there by some of our businessmen, managers and who do I know. People who don't understand anything and only care about money. But Apple is about something else entirely, so if they don't understand them, they better keep quiet.
It's the same as with TV. Ask people what TV they think is the best. Most will say Samsung. At the same time, Loewe displays 1000 times better than the comparable Samsung. The joke is that Samsung simply has a brainwashing campaign and almost most people think that when it's in advertising, it's the best and most amazing. Apple doesn't have to discount anything - there are always people who are willing to pay extra for quality. Just as you don't have to be lazy about your Loewe televisions.
We are the editor of MarketingSalesMedia. Thank you for your responses and your interest in the new magazine. Is this supposed to be a serious discussion with words like "pičurka"? We must have offended someone's religious feelings by resorting to personal attacks on the editor. If you want to respond in a matter-of-fact way and at a level, we will give you space in the magazine. Hello
Mr. Pater,
despite the emotional outbursts, several (specific) objections to the mentioned article were said here. Would you like to comment on them?
The article was supposed to spark a discussion, which it did. I admit that we got caught up in speculation and were perhaps unnecessarily negative in such a small space. (It was published abbreviated in Týden magazine, in our case it was based more on the opinions of quoted people from the industry). I personally use an iPhone. I'm not going to match your Apple knowledge, it wouldn't go down well. However, as it has already fallen here, Apple is looking for a way forward. And cheap phones are probably not the biggest innovation.
People from marketing and business will not really be interested in such a boulevard. I hope so.
Hello, in order to get to the point and not focus on trivialities, I censored the discussion and removed vulgarisms.
The problem is that the article is gibberish from start to finish. The author knows practically nothing about the given topic. Speculations are passed off as facts, research on popularity among teenagers is supposed to testify to the decline of the brand(?), sales figures (beware, we are not talking about market share!) speak of the exact opposite. The headline Apple is running out of ideas, must cut prices is misleading. It's not a cheap phone yet, Apple hasn't made anything cheaper yet, even if I myself would like it.
I am happy to accept your offer. 10. 9. Apple will introduce "something". I will send you an article on this topic in about 2 days. If it doesn't suit, I can write an analysis of how the company is doing (economically with innovations...) over the last 5 years or so. It will be up to you to publish or reject the article.
Where specifically can you pay with NFC on your mobile phone. Now I mean the bank that offers it. And don't take this as a dig, I'm just curious because I don't know of any.
Now, on a bit of a side note, I don't think the Asus Eee is a full-fledged laptop. Definitely not in the same category as the Air 13″
A nice tabloid article in an unknown piece. "It can be seen that Apple is a company that is on the decline and that there is no need to write about it or to attract readers at its expense and try to get rich from it" :)
Nice bag with….. Prej iPhone mini :)
I have already noticed that Apple is not cool with some young people, but they were mostly taught properly by their parents, who also did not believe in the Apple cult.
I like Apple, but I'm not a fanatic and I also use Android or Windows, but for such untruths they should be fined for damaging the company.