7. Apple and its History
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company that designs,
develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online
services.
The company has a vast product mix comprising of:
• iPhone, iPad, iPod
• the Mac
• Apple Watch
• Apple TV
• macOS and iOS operating systems
• the Safari web browser
• the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites
• the iTunes Store and Media Player
• the iOS App Store and Mac App Store
• Apple Music
• iCloud.
8. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald
Wayne in April 1976 to develop and sell personal computers. It was
incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in January 1977, and sales of its
computers saw significant momentum and revenue growth for the
company. Within a few years, they had hired a staff of computer
designers and had a production line. Apple went public in 1980 to instant
financial success.
Apple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue,
and the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer
after Samsung. In February 2015, Apple became the first U.S. company
to be valued at over US$700 billion. The company employs 116,000
full-time employees as of October 2016 and maintains 498 retail
stores in 22 countries as of July 2017. It operates the iTunes Store,
which is the world's largest music retailer. As of January 2016, more
than one billion Apple products are actively in use worldwide.
9. Apple Inc. Fun Facts
• Every iPhone ad displays the time as 9:41 AM, the time Steve Jobs unveiled it in
2007.
• If you use iTunes, you have already agreed not to use Apple products to create
nuclear weapons.
• Apple is worth more than the entire Russian stock
market.
• The battery of an Apple Macbook could save you from
a gunshot: it's bulletproof.
• An iPhone has about 75 elements in it — two-thirds of
the periodic table.
• Apple iPad's retina display is actually manufactured by
Samsung.
• Apple earns US$300,000per minute.
• Everything you say to Siri is sent to Apple, analyzed
and stored.
10. officially bigger than Microsoft ($73.7 billion)
Now, Apple generated revenue of
$156 billion
14. Apple Inc. Vision
“Man is the creator of change in this world. As
such he should be above systems and structures,
and not subordinate to them.”
Apple Inc. Mission
“Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing
experience to students, educators, creative professionals and
consumers around the world through its innovative hardware,
software and internet offerings.”
15. Apple Inc.
Few Sample Questions
1. Apple’s product launches over the past decade
have been monumental. What makes the
company so good at innovation? Is anyone
comparable to Apple in this respect?
•Heavy investment in R&D
•Creating, producing and launching new
products is top priority at Apple
•Products are made by understanding consumer
needs and keeping in mind that the product
should be aesthetically beautiful, simple and yet
powerful.
16. 2. How important was the iPod to Apple’s current success? Discuss the
significance of the iPhone and iPad launches to Apple’s new-product
development strategy.
•Apple was a struggling company before the launch of iPod and was on the
verge of filing bankruptcy.
•iPod was introduced and was overwhelmingly successful with its ability to
store 1000 songs and yet have a sleek design.
•It transformed the way music was listened to by the consumers and hence
the company satisfied a consumer need that the consumer wasn’t aware of.
•The introduction of iPhone and iPad by Apple signifies that the company
has ventured into new market segments and has shifted its primary focus
from selling desktop computers to mobile computing devices.
17. •This move was made as the company knew that Microsoft
has a huge market share in that segment and that product line
is declining and hence there was no point in focus on it.
18. 3. It has been a few years since Apple’s last
epic innovation. What’s next for Apple?
•Apple has every year increased spending on its
Research and Development.
•With around $4.5 billion, it is industry leader in
investment in R&D.
•With its main aim to make products that are
easy to use and which can make interaction with
technology easier, Apple is exploring new ways
consumer can interact with technology and
hence will soon come up with a new disruptive
technology.
19. Summary
•Apple started out as a computer company, has
ventured into new product segments and has
found immense success in launching new product
categories.
•It shifted its focus from computers when it
realized that it was impossible to beat Microsoft in
this segment and the product line was also
ending.
•The main factor to Apple’s success is its large
investments in R&D which enabled the company
to launch new products.
21. Presentation on Apple Inc. by
Indraneel Dey, studying in VIT
Vellore, during a marketing
internship under the guidance
of Prof. Sameer Mathur, IIM
Lucknow.
