2 ms·

The 'Magic' of 'Airpods' is the design, marketing, branding, distribution, eco-system advantages. The exact same product under another brand ... well, we may n

The 'Magic' of 'Airpods' is the design, marketing, branding, distribution, eco-system advantages. The exact same product under another brand ... well, we may not have ever heard of them. Apple is still a 'highly functional incumbent' - and since it's always a bad idea to go up against incumbents even when they are dumb and lazy (usually they are, this is what incumbency does) it's a doubly bad idea to step in front of the Apple Mack Truck. Apple is still doing the 'evolve iPhone' thing and they can only do that for so long. The 'let's build a big fancy building' step is often sign of peak-ego, we'll see how long they go from here. Oracle, SAP etc. - look how long they can remain relevant just by doing small iterations in their software - they can hold business clients to the bone. I wonder if a consumer company can do the same. Their brand has a lot of built up value, and I don't see either Google or Samsung stepping up to the plate ... but cycles are fast in consumer land and consumers are fickle ... and unlike Nike where the 'tech' really is just for show ... It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

yellowapple 9y ago
"Their brand has a lot of built up value, and I don't see either Google or Samsung stepping up to the plate" They do seem to be trying, though, at least if their ad campaigns are any indicator. Google in particular seems to be positioning itself as a viable Apple competitor both in terms of the device itself (in this case, the Pixel line and its myriad of capabilities) and the branding around it (by tying in to the rest of Google's product line, particularly around search). Samsung, meanwhile, seems to have the first part of that down (and has done so for as long as the Galaxy line has existed, much to Apple's chagrin), but the second part is kind of missing there.
- alexasmyths 9y ago
  Yes, the marketing piece is hard to operationalize and a 'creative lead' who leaves can ruin it - unlike regular ops where a 'finely tuned machine' can run for a long time with just responsible leaders. The new CMO is from Burberry, and I think she will keep things humming well. Johnny Ive is still participating, so they have a design front established. Engineers can think of cool new things. So they have a lot of momentum. But still ... There was a time before Apple, there will be a time after Apple :) ...

yellowapple 9y ago

"Their brand has a lot of built up value, and I don't see either Google or Samsung stepping up to the plate" They do seem to be trying, though, at least if their ad campaigns are any indicator. Google in particular seems to be positioning itself as a viable Apple competitor both in terms of the device itself (in this case, the Pixel line and its myriad of capabilities) and the branding around it (by tying in to the rest of Google's product line, particularly around search). Samsung, meanwhile, seems to have the first part of that down (and has done so for as long as the Galaxy line has existed, much to Apple's chagrin), but the second part is kind of missing there.

alexasmyths 9y ago
Yes, the marketing piece is hard to operationalize and a 'creative lead' who leaves can ruin it - unlike regular ops where a 'finely tuned machine' can run for a long time with just responsible leaders. The new CMO is from Burberry, and I think she will keep things humming well. Johnny Ive is still participating, so they have a design front established. Engineers can think of cool new things. So they have a lot of momentum. But still ... There was a time before Apple, there will be a time after Apple :) ...