Cook has achieved an awful lot since taking over from Steve Jobs and Apple is now worth $900bn. But while he has turned the company into the world’s most valuable brand, Apple is facing growing headwinds. Sales of the iPhone have slowed and in January Apple saw its first decline in revenues and profits in over ten years.
So where next? Media seems to be the answer. Sell plenty of content, keep your users happy and keep them within Apple’s ‘Walled Garden’.
Services currently generate $10bn per quarter for Apple, so a move into services is understandable.
The issue, according to analysts, is not so much the move but the quality of the content provided.
It’s suggested that Apple executives have been getting involved in content creation - micro-managing production and imposing their own ideas of what makes for watchable content.
Risk taking is the essence of successful programming, it’d be a shame if Apple has to relearn that, especially in what is fast becoming a very crowded market.