I tried to paint the big picture of the Apple concept…

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Click on the pic to get a bigger image!

This is a mindmap that tries to cover all the Apple products and services. I won’t say that it’s complete, but it gives an impression of how many things that are part of the total Apple concept. Even if I know about all this – I have just put everything down from my memory, I have never seen such an overall picture of what Apple is and I think it’s impressing. (And I have forgot some things, I’m already starting to recall what should have been on the map as well…)

When you think about it, someone can get interested in buying an Apple device for so many different reasons. Maybe you get curious when you see someone use ApplePay? Maybe you wonder how reading e-books works? Maybe you just need a new computer? Maybe someone took a photo with her iPhone and you are surprised by the good result? Maybe you see how a broadcasted TV-show is filmed with iPhones and you think ”Can they do that?” Maybe you drive a excavator and report your jobs on an iPad? Maybe your kid brings home his iPad with e-books, apps and instructions from his teacher and you are amazed of how well it works?

No matter what your reason is: once you start to appreciate Apple, you get curious about what more there is.

Some people judge Apple from using just one device or the market for just one device. I want to remind everyone about how big the world of Apple is. Compare with Microsoft, Google or Amazon and they offer just fragments of what Apple offer to the market. That’s why Apple keep on making progress, it’s almost a bit scary when you look at it like this.

New times mean new ways to do things, so of course, one day someone will start to build up a new concept for how we do things and one day Apple will be history. But I think that Apple will keep on being a huge company to count on for at least ten more years and I wouldn’t get surprised if they can hang on even longer than that, because, a certain way to innovate is in Apple’s DNA. Could they go on for ever? Who knows…?

 

Apple’s next innovation will be, eh, MacBooks?

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There’s a lot of talk going on about Apple and what will become their next innovation. The pressure to deliver innovations get harder and harder for every year. Apple’s shareholders are very demanding and it sometimes seems like anything except miracles are regarded on as disappointments…

The buzz is about an iWatch or some new solution for TV, together with spy reports with pictures of new product details that comes from the ”next iPhone” and so on. There’s also some talk about a new, large iPad and I really hope that rumor is true.

But, we don’t hear much about the MacBooks. What will the next generation of MacBooks be like? We got a mind-blowing cylindric MacPro the autumn 2013. We also got big upgrades on iWork. It’s about time to get new models of the MacBook as well.

Horace Dediue writes:

But the bigger story is how Apple’s mobile platform has nearly reached the sales volume of Windows. In 2013 there were only 1.18 more Windows PCs than Apple devices sold. Odds are that in 2014 they will be at parity.

If you look at this graph from his blog Asymco, you can see that Macintosh (Apple’s computers) have just a small part of the amount of devices that Apple has sold.

I am sure that Apple wants to expand and gain more market shares also when it comes to computers. iPads and iPhone are fantastic devices, but most people need computers to do their work. The thing is: once someone has bought their first Apple device, they kind of want one more and then another. I think it often starts with that someone buys an iPhone.

Another trend is BYOD, Bring Your Own Device. It has been going on for a couple of years now and like Horace writes, the center for decision has moved from the IT departments to the individual user. The result is that more people are free to choose what they like and in a lot of cases it means Apple devices.

Therefore I think that the next big wave of development for Apple is not  TV-solutions or watches. I think they will start to sell a new generation of MacBooks that will be so delicious that everyone wants one. It seems like they are starting to revolutionize the MacBook in many ways and the last week we have seen evidence of a patent for flexible display device and a pressure sensitive touchpad. I think that we are getting closer to a MacBook without a keyboard… actually I started to think about that during the autumn 2010, so it’s not a new thought. Physical keyboard means more parts that can go broken. I always wear out my keyboard with my nails. It’s time for a touch board also on the MacBook.

Though, we won’t know what it will look like until we know. But I’m convinced that a new generation of MacBooks are an important part of establishing a solid market share filled with people that will use their Apple devices for work as well as private. The competitors need to work a lot smarter in order to challenge the growing success of Apple.

Apple is doing just fine!

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Yesterday it was time for Apple’s FQ3 Earnings report. I think it was just like what to be expected, if you are a sane person and not like a small and scared sardine in a big shoal of fish swimming around in the ocean watching out for sharks and changing direction every time one of them sees a shadow that could be a shark… I think that there has been a lot of Apple sardines trading on the market during the year. I haven’t got so much experience from trading with shares so I guess that’s not unusual, but even so, it seems to be a bit too nervous in my opinion. Escpecially considering the amount of money those sardines are handling. Sometimes it’s other people’s money as well.

I am optimistic about Apple’s future. What really counts is if people like Apple’s products and continues to buy them. A crucial part of the puzzle is education, because if you learn to use something in school, then it wears off on your future and also on your family. That’s why news like this is one of the most important parts of yesterday’s report:

The state of Maine’s Learning Technology Initiative, which provides the state’s little school and high school students and teachers with personal computing solutions allowed individual school districts to choose which products to purchase rather than standardized on a single statewide solution. We are very proud that an estimated 94% of the 69,000 total units selected this year were Apple products.

Another crucial part is all the workplaces around the globe. Ten years ago Microsoft was the most important player on that market and as an Apple enthusiast I had to argue a lot with those Windows-using persons that somehow was provoked by my decision to use Apple (which I have been doing since April 1989). Things have changed and since ”everyone” started to buy iPhones they also learned what it’s like to use Apple products and so they got curious about Macs and iPads. Today we have a trend called BYOD = Bring Your Own Device and it seems that we almost could say BYAD = Bring Your Apple Device, because that’s the actual result in my opinion. When people can make their own choice about what kind of devices to use when they work, I believe that the majority choose Apple.

So, if Apple is the preferred choice of both schools and working places, then the future looks bright.

Yet another interesting sign is Tim Cook’s remark about the web traffic:

iPad accounts for 84% of the web traffic from tablets which is absolutely incredible and so if there are lots of other tablets selling I don’t know what they are being used because that’s a pretty, the basic function is web browser.

This has been a puzzling fact for a long time, what on earth do people do with their Android tablets? Why don’t they surf the web? Don’t they understand how to do it? Aren’t the tech good enough? Is Android users not interested in what happens on the internet??? I think it would be very interesting if someone investigated this.

So, what’s in the future for Apple? We know about iOS 7, the new Mac Pro and OS Maverick that will be available during this autumn. We expect some other interesting news about products to come as well. Apple is for sure preparing something new and big if you ask me. They have lots of creative brains working to reach new goals.

We have developing markets like China and India, and the mature markets still enjoy Apple’s devices and implement them more and more in schools and working places. On top of that we also have the movie Jobs which will be launched in August 15th. Do I worry about my Apple shares? Not particularly. I’m not a scared sardine, I’m more like a happy seal resting on a sunny stone in a beautiful ocean.

This is getting sillier for every day…

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When I bought my Apple shares in January 2012 I didn’t expect the price to rise as much as it did. I was really amazed but also happy of course. But then things started to change by the autumn and we all know that the price is back to January 2012 once more.

This year has really been a learning year for me and as usual, the best advice I now would like to give to myself is ”Always listen to myself”. I didn’t buy my Apple shares to earn a fortune in short time. I bought them because I like Apple and admire the work they do. I believe in Apple’s way of creating smart devices. Thinking like that, nothing much has changed since one year ago.

The only thing that has changed for me is that I now have a bigger understanding for what the rally of expectations can do with the stock price and frankly, I find it so silly. Grown up men (well, a few women as well I guess, but the ones I read about are usually men) that tries to impress on each other with numbers, tables, statistics and graphs predicting the future for Apple. At some point most of them tried to be the best at praising Apple and then they got confused until they started to be best at dooming Apple. What did Apple do to feed all those predictions? Nothing strange really, they kept on doing a good job.

What do I expect from Apple during 2013?

  • Some new models of MacBooks, iPhones and iPads.
  • Fresh new version of iWork! It’s about time we get a good and well thought-out version of that incredible, enjoyable software.
  • Making it easier to use Apple ID and iCloud, build in better solutions for sharing documents with others. No more confusing messages during updates or installations…
  • New design for the iOS User Interface. Jony Ive – I hope you will come up with something delicate!
  • New, cool devices! Yes of course, we are getting curious: what are you Apple guys working on? Is it the iWatch, the Apple TV solution or what? Surprise me!
  • Continue to sell all over the world. I expect them to grow fast on markets in China and India, but also to grow on other markets of course.
  • Expand their market shares in working places like schools, healthcare, factories, aircraft – well every kind of working place I can think of.
  • To pay their dividends and maybe increase them a little?
  • I finish with my special, personal wish: Please Mr Tim Cook, give me a BIG iPad, an iPad Pro! I would love to work with a bigger touchscreen when I create ideas!

I think it’s okay if the price of the Apple shares don’t rise too fast if it means that the price will continue to increase during a long period, like five years. Because I don’t like the hysteria we had during 2012… I hope that Apple will keep on making a difference to the world. I love Apple.

PS. I found the video on iDownloadBlog.