3 ms·

Embracing Apple's Boring Future

11 points by zwieback 8y ago

Nokinside 8y ago
Warren Buffet likes to invest in boring companies. Berkshire Hathaway owns 5% of Apple and it makes sense if Apple is becoming boring profit generator.
valuationz 8y ago
Valuing Apple or Amazon or Google or Facebook or Netflix or Microsoft or any other large consumer-oriented tech company at a trillion dollars is kind of idiotic. But this article is about Apple, so let's take stock of why Apple, for the moment, isn't actually worthy of the magical 1 trillion dollar value. ONE: They are now years, past Steve Jobs, and there's no one slated to operate the helm, with the type of aggression that characterized his personality. TWO: Weak design decisions, that lack depth of strategy. Minimalism is cute, and Apple is capable of crafting devices with a degree of charm, but they are truly failing to grasp that a device must command degrees of multi-faceted utility, and without that, a device just isn't very charming. Fewer ports, and reduced diversity of ports has been much more punishing than any of Apple's key decision makers would have guessed. THREE: Marked hostility toward repairs. Apple products can't be classed as anything other than disposable appliances with a two year shelf life, with near zero resale value, and a total lack of customizability. You can't fix them, change them, or do much else, except return them to the store you bought them at, if you kept the receipt. It may be tempting to laugh this off, and turn a blind eye to such facts, but anyone who might dare ignore this fact is absolutely tone-deaf to the concerns of anyone and everyone making less than $200K a year. If you'd rather not associate your brand with individuals below that pay grade, that's fine, but don't expect to be valued at ONE TRILLION DOLLARS, if that's your attitude.
dpkonofa 8y ago
This happens every time there's a dip in the stock or some earnings report that doesn't fly through to the stratosphere for these people. Apple will be fine. The entire company didn't hinge on the decisions of one person when Steve was around and it won't continue to hinge on a single person in the future. It's a collection of individuals that have worked together for years to create some pretty awesome stuff and it'll continue to be those individuals mixed in with some new individuals. If there's one thing that Apple does right it's that they have a culture that's so unique to them that they'll have no trouble finding employees to continue to steer them the right way. If anything, this is misattributing these lower valuations to Apple rather than to the general market. No one's breaking records anymore with smartphones. This is completely normal. Nothing to see here.
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11 points by zwieback 8y ago

Warren Buffet likes to invest in boring companies. Berkshire Hathaway owns 5% of Apple and it makes sense if Apple is becoming boring profit generator.

valuationz 8y ago

Valuing Apple or Amazon or Google or Facebook or Netflix or Microsoft or any other large consumer-oriented tech company at a trillion dollars is kind of idiotic. But this article is about Apple, so let's take stock of why Apple, for the moment, isn't actually worthy of the magical 1 trillion dollar value. ONE: They are now years, past Steve Jobs, and there's no one slated to operate the helm, with the type of aggression that characterized his personality. TWO: Weak design decisions, that lack depth of strategy. Minimalism is cute, and Apple is capable of crafting devices with a degree of charm, but they are truly failing to grasp that a device must command degrees of multi-faceted utility, and without that, a device just isn't very charming. Fewer ports, and reduced diversity of ports has been much more punishing than any of Apple's key decision makers would have guessed. THREE: Marked hostility toward repairs. Apple products can't be classed as anything other than disposable appliances with a two year shelf life, with near zero resale value, and a total lack of customizability. You can't fix them, change them, or do much else, except return them to the store you bought them at, if you kept the receipt. It may be tempting to laugh this off, and turn a blind eye to such facts, but anyone who might dare ignore this fact is absolutely tone-deaf to the concerns of anyone and everyone making less than $200K a year. If you'd rather not associate your brand with individuals below that pay grade, that's fine, but don't expect to be valued at ONE TRILLION DOLLARS, if that's your attitude.

dpkonofa 8y ago

This happens every time there's a dip in the stock or some earnings report that doesn't fly through to the stratosphere for these people. Apple will be fine. The entire company didn't hinge on the decisions of one person when Steve was around and it won't continue to hinge on a single person in the future. It's a collection of individuals that have worked together for years to create some pretty awesome stuff and it'll continue to be those individuals mixed in with some new individuals. If there's one thing that Apple does right it's that they have a culture that's so unique to them that they'll have no trouble finding employees to continue to steer them the right way. If anything, this is misattributing these lower valuations to Apple rather than to the general market. No one's breaking records anymore with smartphones. This is completely normal. Nothing to see here.

deleted 8y ago
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