4 ms·

> So the apple model appears to me to be: get good design work, but don't depend on it, leverage scale to get cheaper. I would just tack on, "then leverage glo

> So the apple model appears to me to be: get good design work, but don't depend on it, leverage scale to get cheaper. I would just tack on, "then leverage global markets to get those margins as wide as possible". Apple really loves their huge margins. Their design work plays into this by creating a brand and lifestyle for their products, increasing the price. I feel that many of Apple's business decisions come down to either ensuring margins stay high or opting for materials, parts, and designs that increase them.

madeofpalk 9y ago
I really don't think we're at the point anymore where people by iPhones because of any supposed 'brand and lifestyle' Apple projects. Sure, iPhone "Animoji-Class-Signalling" x will definitely reach back into this level for a bit, but I think that smartphones (and iPhones) are so ubiquitous these days that there's no lifestyle to project from having an iPhone any more.
- adventured 9y ago
  > I think that smartphones (and iPhones) are so ubiquitous these days that there's no lifestyle to project from having an iPhone any more Lifestyle signaling never stops playing a role, for anything sold commercial, in any market in any nation. Nike has been popular and common for three decades. If anything shouldn't be a lifestyle signal, it would be Nike, right? There's a gap between Russell Athletic or Champion and Nike. You can go further and use Gildan (generic, medium quality) vs Nike. Here, take a walk around Walmart's athletic wear department: https://www.walmart.com/browse/men/men-s-activewear/5438_133197_592999 https://www.walmart.com/browse/men/men-s-activewear/5438_133... You'll instantly notice the lack of Nike or Under Armour, much less anything more expensive. There's a reason for that: the bottom half of the income bracket can't afford to frequently, needlessly pay a large mark-up for the swoosh logo. That below middle class, 13 year old, knows there's a lifestyle gap between Russell and Nike, and very particularly so does the Nike Corporation - it's something they monitor like a hawk. Poorer people know there's a gap between a new iPhone model and other cheap phones that get thrown at you for $0 or $39 as part of a deal in signing up with a telecom carrier.
  - petra 9y ago
    Great analysis. You know what's fascinating about the iPhone ? So many people online, really smart ones, have analyzed Apple's sucsess and strategy, with great depth. And yet rarely mentioned is the huge impact brand/luxury marketing has had on it sucsess and the methods used to get Apple there. Almost makes you believe in conspiracies :) For example, it's a known thing in the luxury marketing business - that if you want to create a luxury product with high margins - you need to talk about unique materials and processes, that nobody else knows how to do. And maybe that makes Apple's cpu the first brand driven processor ? Or that's a good part of luxury marketing, is creating an image of a godlike founder genius. Who is a better example than Jobs ? and only recently we're started to see storiesi about how actually the iPhone was mostly a team effort by a group of smart people, and Jobs didn't play such a big part in it. Or the fact that all the stars use iPhone(maybe because it was the first smartphone, and now they are locked into it), and that's the kind of advertisement money cannot buy ? Anyway, reading the full story of Apple's marketing would be a really interesting tale .
  - Retric 9y ago
    iPhones are still have noticeable advantages over non iPhone smartphones for the same price. Calling that lifestyle signaling completely misses the boat. Samsung could easily afford to beat Apple at the smartphone game, but they would need to improve or replace Android.
    - coverband 9y ago
      I've been an iPhone user since 3GS but I'll dispute that. Top Android phones have been first to market with too many hardware/design/UI innovations that were later copied by Apple. I think familiarity with the O/S & keeping paid apps are what keep users on their chosen platform, and lifestyle signaling is what brings new users onboard.
      - Retric 9y ago
        Innovations don't make the device. I know at least 10 people that bought an Android phone after owning an iPhone and every single one of them switched back. Really, after years of using an Android people don't switch back because of familiarity. PS: I am not saying Android is strictly worse, just there are meaningful positives on the iPhone side.

madeofpalk 9y ago

I really don't think we're at the point anymore where people by iPhones because of any supposed 'brand and lifestyle' Apple projects. Sure, iPhone "Animoji-Class-Signalling" x will definitely reach back into this level for a bit, but I think that smartphones (and iPhones) are so ubiquitous these days that there's no lifestyle to project from having an iPhone any more.

adventured 9y ago
> I think that smartphones (and iPhones) are so ubiquitous these days that there's no lifestyle to project from having an iPhone any more Lifestyle signaling never stops playing a role, for anything sold commercial, in any market in any nation. Nike has been popular and common for three decades. If anything shouldn't be a lifestyle signal, it would be Nike, right? There's a gap between Russell Athletic or Champion and Nike. You can go further and use Gildan (generic, medium quality) vs Nike. Here, take a walk around Walmart's athletic wear department: https://www.walmart.com/browse/men/men-s-activewear/5438_133197_592999 https://www.walmart.com/browse/men/men-s-activewear/5438_133... You'll instantly notice the lack of Nike or Under Armour, much less anything more expensive. There's a reason for that: the bottom half of the income bracket can't afford to frequently, needlessly pay a large mark-up for the swoosh logo. That below middle class, 13 year old, knows there's a lifestyle gap between Russell and Nike, and very particularly so does the Nike Corporation - it's something they monitor like a hawk. Poorer people know there's a gap between a new iPhone model and other cheap phones that get thrown at you for $0 or $39 as part of a deal in signing up with a telecom carrier.
- petra 9y ago
  Great analysis. You know what's fascinating about the iPhone ? So many people online, really smart ones, have analyzed Apple's sucsess and strategy, with great depth. And yet rarely mentioned is the huge impact brand/luxury marketing has had on it sucsess and the methods used to get Apple there. Almost makes you believe in conspiracies :) For example, it's a known thing in the luxury marketing business - that if you want to create a luxury product with high margins - you need to talk about unique materials and processes, that nobody else knows how to do. And maybe that makes Apple's cpu the first brand driven processor ? Or that's a good part of luxury marketing, is creating an image of a godlike founder genius. Who is a better example than Jobs ? and only recently we're started to see storiesi about how actually the iPhone was mostly a team effort by a group of smart people, and Jobs didn't play such a big part in it. Or the fact that all the stars use iPhone(maybe because it was the first smartphone, and now they are locked into it), and that's the kind of advertisement money cannot buy ? Anyway, reading the full story of Apple's marketing would be a really interesting tale .
- Retric 9y ago
  iPhones are still have noticeable advantages over non iPhone smartphones for the same price. Calling that lifestyle signaling completely misses the boat. Samsung could easily afford to beat Apple at the smartphone game, but they would need to improve or replace Android.
  - coverband 9y ago
    I've been an iPhone user since 3GS but I'll dispute that. Top Android phones have been first to market with too many hardware/design/UI innovations that were later copied by Apple. I think familiarity with the O/S & keeping paid apps are what keep users on their chosen platform, and lifestyle signaling is what brings new users onboard.
    - Retric 9y ago
      Innovations don't make the device. I know at least 10 people that bought an Android phone after owning an iPhone and every single one of them switched back. Really, after years of using an Android people don't switch back because of familiarity. PS: I am not saying Android is strictly worse, just there are meaningful positives on the iPhone side.