The stock market is full of shit. Apple stock has been on a tear lately, but not because of anything they have done, but because investors believe everyone is going to run out an buy the new iPhone 8 when it’s released. In the meantime the brand is being hammered by the evil empire; Microsoft.
Articles like “Micorosoft has made the PC cool again” and Apple lovers, including myself, are starting to reconsider Windows. Over the weekend, Owen Williams wrote a piece titled “Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up,” which really says it all and it should cause some people at Apple to lose sleep.
Apple is far from doomed, but there is a sense that the tide is turning: Macs are no longer the unimpeachable gold standard in computing. And Microsoft and its partners are exploiting that vulnerability to great effect.
Apple has stripped and crippled the Mac team in favor of its mobile iOS. This has alienated and pissed off Apple users who haven’t seen an iMac design change in a long-long time. The addition of a menu bar on the Mac Book Pro’s has been a huge disappointment.
The key question is will current iPhone users really want to get handcuffed into a new cell contract because of the iPhone 8? The current rumors are that it’s going to have a curved screen, wireless charging and a virtual home button. Judging from the reaction of my colleagues, nobody is in any rush to get an iPhone 8 because they are tired of paying an extra $35-$65 a month for an updated iPhone. As one person told me “how’s it going to help me do my work?”
Apple is very much a hyped up brand. By allowing Microsoft and Google to make better products consumers are now questioning if an Apple PC is really worth a 50% over other PC’s. From a branding standpoint, Apple has made some serious mistakes and one of them is believing their own hype.
I am writing this on a Dell XPS13 which is amazing compared to my MacBook pro. When it’s time to replace my iMac I am going to look at Microsoft’s new desktops. Sure, I’m only one person, but can any brand ignore shifting winds>
