Apple swot analysis 2018 reveals company's internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats.

1. APPLE INC. SWOT
ANALYSIS 2018

2. SLIDE | 2
ABOUT APPLE
Name Apple Inc.
Logo
Industries served
• Computer hardware (Mac, iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air)
• Computer software (iOS, OS X, Safari, iLife, iWork, iMovie, iPhoto)
• Consumer electronics (iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac products)
• Internet (iTunes store, iCloud, App Store, Mac App Store)
Geographic areas served Worldwide (retail stores in 20 countries and online stores in 38 countries)
Headquarters Cupertino, California, United States
Current CEO Timothy Donald "Tim" Cook
Revenue (US$) 229.234 billion (2017) 6.3% 215.639 billion (2016)
Profit (US$) 48.351 billion (2017) 5.8% 45.687 billion (2016)
Employees 123,000 (2017)
Main Competitors
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Amazon.com, Inc., International Business Machines
Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Dell Inc., LG
Electronics, Lenovo Group Limited, Hewlett-Packard Company, Sony Corporation and
many other computer hardware, computer software, consumer electronics and
Internet companies.

3. Apple, Inc. business overview from the company’s financial report:
“The Company designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and
media devices and personal computers, and sells a variety of related software,
services, accessories, networking solutions and third-party digital content and
applications.
The Company’s products and services include iPhone®, iPad®, Mac®, Apple
Watch®, Apple TV®, a portfolio of consumer and professional software
applications, iOS, macOS®, watchOS® and tvOS™ operating systems,
iCloud®, Apple Pay® and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings.”
SLIDE | 3
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION (1/3)
“ ”

4. • retail stores
• online stores
• direct sales force
• third-party cellular network carriers
• wholesalers
• retailers
• value-added resellers
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BUSINESS DESCRIPTION (2/3)
Our sales
channels
include
“ ”
Our
customers
are
• consumers
• businesses
• enterprises
• education institutions

5. The Company is committed to bringing the best user experience to its
customers through its innovative hardware, software and services. The
Company’s business strategy leverages its unique ability to design and develop
its own operating systems, hardware, application software and services to
provide its customers products and solutions with innovative design, superior
ease-of-use and seamless integration.
The Company believes a high-quality buying experience with knowledgeable
salespersons who can convey the value of the Company’s products and
services greatly enhances its ability to attract and retain customers.
Therefore, the Company’s strategy also includes building and expanding its own
retail and online stores and its third-party distribution network to effectively reach
more customers and provide them with a high-quality sales and post-sales
support experience. The Company believes ongoing investment in research and
development (“R&D”), marketing and advertising is critical to the development
and sale of innovative products and technologies.”[1]
SLIDE | 5
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION (3/3)
“ ”

6. Many of Apple’s competitors
have tried and still try to imitate
the success of Apple’s product
ecosystem, but fail due to not
having strong capabilities in
designing, manufacturing and
developing both hardware and
software, applications and
services.
SLIDE | 6
STRENGTHS
1. Unique ability to design and develop proprietary hardware, software, applications
and services
S W
O T
Apple’s product ecosystem
• iLife
• iWork
• iMovie
• Final Cut Pro
• iTunes Store
• App Store
• iBooks Store
• Apple Music
• iOS
• macOS
• watchOS
• tvOS
• iPhone
• iPad
• Apple Watch
• Mac
• Apple TV
Hardware Software
Application
Software
Services

7. 1. Over-reliance on iPhone sales
as a major revenue source
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WEAKNESSES
61.6%
8.4%
11.3%
13.1%
5.6%
iPhone
iPad
Mac
Services
Other Products
The iPhone generated
55.8% of the
company’s total
revenue in 2014.
This number grew to
61.6% in 2017.
Apple revenue breakdown by product 2017 (% share of total revenue)
S W
O T

8. 1. Augmented and virtual reality markets will be worth US$100 billion by 2023
SLIDE | 8
OPPORTUNITIES
In 2017, the AR market is valued at US$11.4 billion while the VR market is expected to
generate US$7.9 billion, making the combined market worth US$19.3 billion.
Both markets are expected to be worth around US$100 billion combined by 2023.
S W
O T
AR and VR will become very profitable growth markets
and Apple should take advantage of this opportunity.

9. 1. Smartphones and tablets are becoming a commodity, which could impact the
company’s gross margins
SLIDE | 9
THREATS
S W
O T
Smartphone Differentiation Points
Hardware Design Software
Additional
services
No longer offers enough differentiation
for iPhone
Offers some
differentiation
Main iPhone
differentiator

10. SLIDE | 10
GET THE FULL
PRESENTATION
BUY APPLE INC. SWOT
2018

11. 1. Apple, Inc. (2017). Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2017. Available at:
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/2456063358x8143945x913905/66363059-7FB6-4710-B4A5-7ABFA14CF5E6/10-
K_2016_9.24.2016_-_as_filed.pdf Accessed May 12, 2018
2. Interbrand (2018). Best Global Brands 2017. Available at: http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2017/ranking/ Accessed May
12, 2018
3. Forbes (2018). The World’s Most Valuable Brands. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/ Accessed May 12, 2018
4. Brand Keys (2017). 2017 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Available at: http://brandkeys.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/09/2017-CLEI-table-of-category-winnersFINALfeb1.pdf Accessed May 12, 2018
5. Statista (2017). Most iPhone Users Never Look Back. Available at: https://www.statista.com/chart/9496/most-iphone-users-never-look-back/
Accessed May 12, 2018
6. Gottsegen, G. (2017). Almost all iPhone users will buy another iPhone, says survey. Available at: https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-iphone-92-
percent-retention-morgan-stanley-survey/ Accessed May 12, 2018
7. Singh, S. and Vakulenko, M. (2013). The Evolution of Handset Business Models: from Source of Profits to Distribution Channel. Available at:
https://www.visionmobile.com/blog/2013/08/evolution-of-the-handset-business-from-source-of-profits-to-distribution-channel Accessed May 12,
2018
8. Samsung Electronics (2018). Annual Report. Available at:
http://images.samsung.com/is/content/samsung/p5/global/ir/docs/2017_con_quarter04_all.pdf Accessed May 12, 2018
9. Alphabet, Inc. (2018). Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2017. Available at:
https://abc.xyz/investor/pdf/20171231_alphabet_10K.pdf Accessed May 12, 2018
10.Microsoft Corporation (2018). Annual Report 2017. Available at: https://www.microsoft.com/investor/reports/ar17/index.html Accessed May 12,
2018
11.Canalys (2017). Media alert: China smartphone market hits its highest shipment total ever. Available at:
https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/media-alert-china-smartphone-market-hits-its-highest-shipment-total-ever Accessed May 12, 2018
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SOURCES (1/3)

12. SLIDE | 12
SOURCES (2/3)
12.Apple, Inc. (2011). Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 24, 2011. Available at:
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/3883149972x0xS1193125-11-282113/320193/filing.pdf Accessed May 12, 2018
13.Apple, Inc. (2012). Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 29, 2012. Available at:
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/3883149972x0xS1193125-12-444068/320193/filing.pdf Accessed May 12, 2018
14.Apple, Inc. (2014). Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 27, 2014. Available at:
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/3883149972x0x789040/ED3853DA-2E3F-448D-ADB4-
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15.Wang, Y (2017). Why iPhone X Isn't The Answer To Apple's China Problem. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ywang/2017/09/12/why-
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Accessed May 12, 2018
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Accessed May 12, 2018
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Accessed May 12, 2018
19.Merel, T. (2017). The reality of VR/AR growth. Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/11/the-reality-of-vrar-growth/ Accessed May 12,
2018
20.Research and Markets (2018). Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market by Offering, Device Type, Application, and Geography - Global
Forecast to 2023. Available at: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/dm5djr/augmented_reality?w=4 Accessed May 12, 2018
21.Roberts, H. (2017). UBS: Apple already has 1,000 engineers working on AR in Israel and a new product may appear on this year's iPhone.
Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-apple-1000-engineers-ar-2017-2 Accessed May 12, 2018

13. 22.Morris, D. Z. (2017). Tim Cook Thinks Augmented Reality Could Be as Big as the iPhone. Available at: http://fortune.com/2017/02/11/tim-cook-augmented-
reality/ Accessed May 12, 2018
23.Wollerton, M. (2018). Voice wars: Siri vs. Alexa vs. Google Assistant. Available at: https://www.cnet.com/news/voice-wars-siri-vs-alexa-vs-google-assistant/
Accessed May 12, 2018
24.Markets and Markets (2017). Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market - Global Forecast to 2023. Available at: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-
Reports/intelligent-virtual-assistant-market-184337393.html Accessed May 12, 2018
25.IDC (2018). Global Wearables Market Grows 7.7% in 4Q17 and 10.3% in 2017 as Apple Seizes the Leader Position, Says IDC. Available at:
https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43598218 Accessed May 12, 2018
26.Research and Markets (2018). Wearable Medical Devices Market by Device - Global Forecast to 2022. Available at:
https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/n699wt/global_wearable?w=5 Accessed May 12, 2018
27.PwC (2014). Health Wearables: Early Days. Available at: PwC Health Research Institute (2014). Health wearables: Early days. Available at:
http://www.pwc.com/en_US/us/health-industries/top-health-industry-issues/assets/pwc-hri-wearable-devices.pdf Accessed May 12, 2018
28.Mossman, M. (2017). A Lot of Apple’s Overseas Cash Is Already in the U.S. Available https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-05/a-lot-of-apple-
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29.Specout (2018). Compare Smartphones. Available at: http://smartphones.specout.com/ Accessed May 12, 2018
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May 12, 2018
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Accessed May 12, 2018
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SOURCES (3/3)