Apple's value add is the same as it has been since the very first iPod: User Experience. Apple is a UX company; they've been successful because everything they

Apple's value add is the same as it has been since the very first iPod: User Experience. Apple is a UX company; they've been successful because everything they did was laser focussed on the UX. Right now buying and operating a car kinda sucks in a lot of ways [0] because GM doesn't have anyone whose job it is to subordinate all business functions to UX. Steve Jobs did that at Apple and maybe today somebody is still carrying the torch. The fact that Apple has a culture of design and implementation oriented around UX is the value add. Imagine the process of purchasing and repairing your car feeling like an Apple store. Imagine Jony Ive designing the fit and finish of the car hardware, inside and out. Imagine a center-console human interface that was designed by someone with taste [1]. All of this is going to be packaged seamlessly with that beautiful attention to detail in subsystems integration that makes my grandma want an iPad, just because it feels amazing, even though it does literally nothing useful. Obligatory disclaimer: For political reasons I strongly disagree with Apple's walled garden philosophy, and it makes me so angry that the best laptops available run closed source OS's natively. But I have to admit that Cupertino's hardware, shopping process, and unboxing experience is beautifully designed, and that their focus on UX does lead to a nice experience if you stay within their ecosystem. [0] e.g. http://blog.dilbert.com/post/147352433956/how-not-to-buy-a-chevy-truck http://blog.dilbert.com/post/147352433956/how-not-to-buy-a-c... but really just talk to anyone who has been near a dealership or repair shop [1] We have been stuck in the center console design dark ages for decades, even in luxury automotive.