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The core business model of Apple is to sell hardware. That simple. That's why macOS, etc are free now. That's why they're ramping up their enterprise partners

The core business model of Apple is to sell hardware. That simple. That's why macOS, etc are free now. That's why they're ramping up their enterprise partnerships behind the scenes to ensure big apps run best or even first on iOS and macOS. IBM, SAP and especially Cisco (the latter has special hooks in the networking stack in iOS, giving Cisco routers an edge). You can argue if that is the correct approach or not, but it is Apple's DNA now - and all the issues in the pro segment stem from it. Not enough hardware to be sold, why bother, etc.

astrodust 9y ago
As much as that's true, Apple has been trying to dig deeper into "services" over the last decade. App sales, music sales, movie sales, cloud services, anything they can do to expand their software ecosystem to make it more versatile and useful on hardware they never produced. If in some conceivable future Apple could make enough money on the "pro" market looking for OEM-style rigs to fund development of macOS through the macOS App Store, or through OS sales, they would probably at least consider it. The problem Apple has is success. If you're managing a team of top talent and you have two products, one of which rakes in hundreds of billions, the other which is mere tens, which team do you think gets the best people? It must take a lot of determination to keep really great people on the macOS team instead of poaching them for iOS. Apple's strategy of using the same OS core for both platforms probably helps in that regard: They can put their best people in the middle without concern about their full potential being wasted. It's a really tricky spot to be in. If Apple had no phone business at all they'd be a tiny company, but they wouldn't have the same stress about where to place people.
- rahoulb 9y ago
  As I inderstand it, Apple isn't organised that way. They have OS teams, app teams, design teams, which work on whichever product at a given time. They don't have product-specific teams. As for Apple being tiny without the iPhone; it's huge but Apple Watch (commonly described as a failure) is estimated to be a bigger business than Microsoft's Surface business.
  - astrodust 9y ago
    What I mean is that the OS people get prioritized for phone features first, computer features second. The filesystem team, which is a great example, did work for both products, but note that it hit the phone first. Apple minus iPhone means no watch, no tablet, and marginal market share since these products help spur sales in the computer area. Using a MacBook as a hub for all your Apple devices is a compelling reason to get one. Look at how hard it has been for Microsoft to grow market share being what is basically an OS company with no significant hardware sales to speak of.
thoraway25455 9y ago
> Cisco (has) special hooks in the networking stack in iOS, giving Cisco routers an edge I despise Cisco as much as anyone else, but this statement merits a citation.
- pinaceae 9y ago
  http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/cisco-on-cisco-cs-r4.pdf http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/wireles... it is real.
jhbadger 9y ago
And the idea that selling an alternative proprietary OS for PCs is viable business model doesn't really seem to be supported. Neither NextStep nor BeOS could make any inroads into the PC world after giving up their own hardware.
xref 9y ago
> IBM, SAP and especially Cisco (the latter has special hooks in the networking stack in iOS, giving Cisco routers an edge). I assume you're talking about Apple's iOS, not Cisco's IOS? What special APIs does Cisco have in Apple iOS, I couldn't find anything from a quick googling?
laythea 9y ago
Great business model if you ask me. Hardware requires refreshing more often than software.

astrodust 9y ago

As much as that's true, Apple has been trying to dig deeper into "services" over the last decade. App sales, music sales, movie sales, cloud services, anything they can do to expand their software ecosystem to make it more versatile and useful on hardware they never produced. If in some conceivable future Apple could make enough money on the "pro" market looking for OEM-style rigs to fund development of macOS through the macOS App Store, or through OS sales, they would probably at least consider it. The problem Apple has is success. If you're managing a team of top talent and you have two products, one of which rakes in hundreds of billions, the other which is mere tens, which team do you think gets the best people? It must take a lot of determination to keep really great people on the macOS team instead of poaching them for iOS. Apple's strategy of using the same OS core for both platforms probably helps in that regard: They can put their best people in the middle without concern about their full potential being wasted. It's a really tricky spot to be in. If Apple had no phone business at all they'd be a tiny company, but they wouldn't have the same stress about where to place people.

rahoulb 9y ago
As I inderstand it, Apple isn't organised that way. They have OS teams, app teams, design teams, which work on whichever product at a given time. They don't have product-specific teams. As for Apple being tiny without the iPhone; it's huge but Apple Watch (commonly described as a failure) is estimated to be a bigger business than Microsoft's Surface business.
- astrodust 9y ago
  What I mean is that the OS people get prioritized for phone features first, computer features second. The filesystem team, which is a great example, did work for both products, but note that it hit the phone first. Apple minus iPhone means no watch, no tablet, and marginal market share since these products help spur sales in the computer area. Using a MacBook as a hub for all your Apple devices is a compelling reason to get one. Look at how hard it has been for Microsoft to grow market share being what is basically an OS company with no significant hardware sales to speak of.

thoraway25455 9y ago

> Cisco (has) special hooks in the networking stack in iOS, giving Cisco routers an edge I despise Cisco as much as anyone else, but this statement merits a citation.

pinaceae 9y ago
http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/cisco-on-cisco-cs-r4.pdf http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/wireles... it is real.

jhbadger 9y ago

And the idea that selling an alternative proprietary OS for PCs is viable business model doesn't really seem to be supported. Neither NextStep nor BeOS could make any inroads into the PC world after giving up their own hardware.

xref 9y ago

> IBM, SAP and especially Cisco (the latter has special hooks in the networking stack in iOS, giving Cisco routers an edge). I assume you're talking about Apple's iOS, not Cisco's IOS? What special APIs does Cisco have in Apple iOS, I couldn't find anything from a quick googling?

laythea 9y ago

Great business model if you ask me. Hardware requires refreshing more often than software.