One of the ways to view Apple is through the lens of the field of luxury marketing - because the iPhone is a luxury good, a status symbol, and very successful o

One of the ways to view Apple is through the lens of the field of luxury marketing - because the iPhone is a luxury good, a status symbol, and very successful one at that. One of the major techniques in this field is that in order to create a luxury good, you need to tell a story about a genius creator, creating something that nobody else can create, with unique methods only his company possess. So when the iPhone was new, this story was partially true(yes the iPhone was really unique. but no Steve Jobs didn't create it with it's bare hands). but once competitors created high quality products with great design, Apple needed new stories. So there the unique manufacturing method for the metal body, and the glass. And their processor which was really the best(but did the users really use that? ). And now we have privacy. And marketing wise, the iPhone still remains a status symbol. So what they're doing is working. And i wouldn't bet against them. As for them needing personalized data and services in the future ? Well they've got Google's apps for that(a good deal for Google too). And that way users can have their privacy cake, and eat it too.