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There are much more open questions than that. Will Google figure out how to reliably support a product for 20 years after it has been sold? Will Tesla figure ou

by Hermel 11y ago

There are much more open questions than that. Will Google figure out how to reliably support a product for 20 years after it has been sold? Will Tesla figure out the logistics of manufacturing and marketing more than three models? (The VW group introduces 100 per year.) Will Apple figure out how to cost-effectively change winter and summer tires for all its customers twice a year? Can Microsoft become a sexy luxury brand like BMW?

Rezo 11y ago
The proliferation of models is a huge burden, not a boon, and one of the big reasons that the then dominant phone manufacturers were not able to turn the ship around in time when the market changed. It turns out, when you have 100 models, it's really hard to engage in "platform thinking". When the iPhone came out, it provided a single unified platform to target for the first time; despite all the effort other players had poured into their developer offerings they were organizationally not setup to succeed in providing a single target. As a customer, do I even really want to have to research and pick between the BMW 328d Xdrive and 335i Xdrive Gran Turismo? If I use the configurator on BMW.com, can I even get the exact car I spec? No, of course not, at the end of playing with the tool I get a phone number for some shady dealer who's going to sell me what he has in stock unless I want to wait 3 months. If Apple releases the "iCar 2018" as a single model (customizable online, just check the box for 4WD), it will have all sorts of implications for the third party services and parts market. Just look at the whole ecosystem that has sprung up around Apple already. It's so much easier to buy fancy third party tires or whatever when you know it will be compatible with your car. Question your assumptions. Why does Tesla need more than 3 models? Why does the tires need changing twice a year? Could a value prop be made where these concerns are just eliminated, which would be a competitive advantage for Apple and good for customers, while for traditional manufacturers and their dealers "fixing" this would cause a negative impact. Again, look at the incentives at play.

by Hermel 11y ago

Rezo 11y ago

The proliferation of models is a huge burden, not a boon, and one of the big reasons that the then dominant phone manufacturers were not able to turn the ship around in time when the market changed. It turns out, when you have 100 models, it's really hard to engage in "platform thinking". When the iPhone came out, it provided a single unified platform to target for the first time; despite all the effort other players had poured into their developer offerings they were organizationally not setup to succeed in providing a single target. As a customer, do I even really want to have to research and pick between the BMW 328d Xdrive and 335i Xdrive Gran Turismo? If I use the configurator on BMW.com, can I even get the exact car I spec? No, of course not, at the end of playing with the tool I get a phone number for some shady dealer who's going to sell me what he has in stock unless I want to wait 3 months. If Apple releases the "iCar 2018" as a single model (customizable online, just check the box for 4WD), it will have all sorts of implications for the third party services and parts market. Just look at the whole ecosystem that has sprung up around Apple already. It's so much easier to buy fancy third party tires or whatever when you know it will be compatible with your car. Question your assumptions. Why does Tesla need more than 3 models? Why does the tires need changing twice a year? Could a value prop be made where these concerns are just eliminated, which would be a competitive advantage for Apple and good for customers, while for traditional manufacturers and their dealers "fixing" this would cause a negative impact. Again, look at the incentives at play.