1. Apple’s strategy with Apple Watch is to market it as a fashion item instead of merely as a technological gadget. This makes sense because unlike their other products, which are primarily functional doodads, a watch is an item of clothing that people wear as much to look good as they do to tell time. The major downside to this strategy is that watches are no longer as popular as they once were because people no longer need them to tell time. As such, Apple Watch could bomb on that basis alone.
2. Apple’s strategy for television is overblown and ignores the reality that TV is no longer as popular as it once was. While I would recommend that Apple keep at least one finger in the TV market, I would suggest they scale back their existing plans merely on the basis of cost and likelihood of success.
3. Apple should stay out of the car business because it will be competing with far more established brands and because Apple’s staff lack the engineering knowledge to design better cars. Additionally, assuming the costs of car production will leave Apple on the hook for manufacturing costs. Instead, Apple should focus on software, which will allow car buyers to integrate Apple products into their vehicles without exposing the company to significant risk in terms of cost.
4. I would suggest that Tim Cook pare back existing expansion plans and focus on maintain Apple’s core brands, which are currently suffering due to a lack of strictness and quality control since Steve Jobs’ passing. Apple cannot advance its brand without maintaining the products it is known for, and their iPhones, iPods and other important products have been declining in quality over the course of the past few years, which must be remedied as soon as possible.
- Yoffie, David B., and Eric Baldwin. “Apple’s Future: Apple Watch, Apple TV, and/or Apple Car?” Apple’s Future: Apple Watch, Apple TV, and/or Apple Car? – Case – Harvard Business School, 25 June 2015, www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49343.
