Apple released a new generation of products yesterday and obviously created a great deal of buzz on the internet while doing so. In particular, the discussion on the Apple Watch is spurring debate about the necessity (or lack thereof) of new, wearable ‘smart’ gadgets and the potential in this market. For now, the most common examples are bracelets or watches on your wrist such as the Apple Watch and the Fitbit. However, you can also include the Google Glass and the GoPro in this category to help form a picture of how this market could look in the future. Not to mention the production of driverless cars and the use of drones. With that perspective, the technology sector’s growth potential is huge but the effect that it will have on society is almost scary and will more than likely define our generation.
As far as Apple is concerned, this move seems primarily like an attempt for them to continue their creation of an Apple family, where you can’t own product without being tempted to sync it with the rest. Now with a watch, a surface, a laptop, and a smartphone, it seems like Apple’s supremacy is safe for the moment.
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This is interesting in terms of Gordon’s viewpoint that US Economic growth may be over. His claim is consistent with the idea that the dot com bubble’s main impact has withered away and that new technology, such as the Apple Watch, or even increased drone use for various operations, will not fundamentally change labor productivity and are more just entertainment value. The drone idea is of particular interest and I can definitely see drones changing the productivity landscape more so than a new gadget.
At one level neither the iPhone nor the iPad were particularly innovative: smart phones existed (Blackberry) while there were many versions of small computers with screens that could be turned into touchpads albeit with a full keyboard and all that. Apple however did a masterful job of redefining and marketing these concepts to suit a larger market.
The challenge at the firm level is that a number of the tech giants — apple, microsoft, facebook, google — are close to one-product companies, and Apple in particular is facing entry from below by makers of cheaper albeit less feature-laden phones. The status of the iPhone allows them to charge a premium, but a corporate strategy that hinges of status distinctions is vulnerable to missteps, as is the case with Paris fashion houses. Apple has been through this before: they narrowly escaped bankruptcy as Wintel boxes eroded both their market share and their margins on computers. I’ve seen nothing to suggest they’ve found a way to escape that fate.
Liz however asks the key question: better gadgets don’t lead to higher productivity. Business users long ago shifted first to cell phones and then to smart phones. The first enabled much greater mobility, the latter just added greater convenience to that mobility. What will the iPhone 10 change when it arrives in a couple years? And drones? I can already get next-day delivery from many e-stores. In a few big cities e-retailers can even offer limited same-day delivery. Will shaving hours off of those shift productivity much? Maybe more than the iWatch, but that’s not saying much!!
I also wonder what regulations drones will face in terms of widespread delivery service. Although I am not sure if they will quickly eradicate the next day delivery services in place, I wonder if people will push for regulation on their widespread use.
I think the smartest thing that apple does each year when they roll out new gadgets is how they introduce a new charger. This year, once again, they’ve changed the computer and phone charger, after they had just changed it last year. By doing this, not only do you have to buy a new charger if you want to get the new technology, but you will most likely have to get the new technology at some point regardless, because you’re charger will be obsolete and you will inevitably lose it (or at least I often do).
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