Frank Costa
Professor Hill
MKTG 446
February 25th 2016

Apple has a very successful and rich history, starting in a garage climbing all the way to the top as one of the worlds largest and most successful tech companies. They captivated audiences with their different way of thinking and not making their products similar to others already on the market. They attempted to lead the industry in innovation and were very successful at doing so. When Apple first established them in the market, they had emphasis on industrial design software and hardware. The company even ran an ad in 1984 saying that their product was opposite of what corporate “stiffs” would use. This almost created its own market and almost seemed like Apple was a culture instead of a brand. While they still focused on innovation, they weren’t he first ones to create a computer or cellphone, but essentially they mastered it and made their software as attractive as possible to their consumers. I feel as if apple can stay with the innovation attitude, but I feel as if they have established themselves to the point where consumers don’t look at their products in being different anymore because of all the current competition in the tech market. Also consumers feel like owning an apple product is a luxury item, because of the current price points their products sell at. With the always changing, fast paced, tech market I feel like the direction apple should be going towards is cross platform compatibility while continuing to be the standard in the tech world. Meaning that your watch is connected to your phone, which is connected to your tablet, which connected to your laptop, which can be connected to a variety of other future devices. Focusing on the ease of use and the ease of switching between devices’ can help apple in the long run, as many products basically have the same functions. As stated in the case, by expanding their market to not just computers, but to other devices basically changed the whole tech environment. Every company followed in their footsteps, entering the cellphone, and mobile music market. This gave them a huge competitive advantage against their competitors. Going forward while focusing on the cross platform connectivity, apple should stick to its roots in creating the most simple and efficient product. This attracts new consumers because it may give them an easier experience when doing tasks on their products. The one problem with being the innovator in the market, people are always going to be looking for the next big thing, which could put a lot of pressure on the company and eventually lead to lose of customers to their competitors. Due to this I feel as if apple should focus on their other products and not just the backbone of their company, the iPhone. By doing so they can keep their current consumers interested and not lose them to competitors. Apple will always be a culture in the eyes of consumers, making consumers feel like they are outsiders if they don’t own an apple product. Continuing the innovator attitude is a must because of their current reputation in being so, but they need to focus on how consumers are always on the move and make switching devices as easy as possible.