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A Steve Jobs email exchange that captures Apple’s strategy

84 points by peter123 13y ago

natch 13y ago
This hardly captures Apple's strategy. It appears to offer an insight into one step in their strategic thinking for one issue, but the title of the post is quite misleading.
- gcb0 13y ago
  it quite does. if the apple kool-aid everyone here drink was true, his reply would be "let's do better devices at more competitive pricing and nobody would have a reason to change" but no, they still make a laptop that you can't close the lid while downloading a large file... and try to lock you in with lock-in tactics on the media YOU BUY. See how well that worked for sony betamax/lasedisc/minidics... blueray... oh, wait.
- KeepTalking 13y ago
  I agree. If it tried to tell that apple reacted with panic to the cross platform nature of kindle - I dont think so.
  - nonchalance 13y ago
    I'm pretty sure you missed the point of the article. The focus was mentioned in the email from Schiller to Jobs: > ... secondary message [of the ad] that can’t be missed is that it is easy to switch from iPhone to Android.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- forgottenpass 13y ago
  The entirety of their strategy no, but this goes beyond just the kindle issue raised. Vendor lock in is a huge chunk of Apple's strategy.
- johnrob 13y ago
  This absolutely captures their strategy. They are clearly building a walled garden for their own benefit, while selling it as the user's benefit. I can't imagine users complaining about having the option to switch to android.
  - _yields 13y ago
    > while selling it as the user's benefit I disagree. Facebook, Google, Microsoft have a walled garden, in-fact every company on earth thinks on how to keep customers from leaving. The difference between Apple and others is that Apple products are far superior, i can't imagine myself using any Microsoft product if Apple provides it.
    - Oletros 13y ago
      "The difference between Apple and others is that Apple products are far superior" Really? How are superior?
      - _yields 13y ago
        I hope this is a joke, but.. Go a head, take OSX and Windows 7 and compare between them, see how much it takes Windows 7 to crash and tell you: "do you want to send us a report?". The report should be sent automatically and analyzed by computers before it reaches humans.
        TheLegace 13y ago
        As much as I hate to say it, your right. As I type into my girlfriend's macbook, I feel ashamed, but at the same time I cannot get myself to buy a laptop because they all suck.
        estel 13y ago
        I take it you don't use xcode then...? But seriously, what are you demonstrating here by providing an anecdote? I've got some of my own: I use osx and windows 7/8 extensively every day, and (except xcode!) neither of them crashes with even the slightest degree of regularity: they're both great operating systems. But of course, neither are evidence of any form to support the claim "x is better than y". Which is good, because it's a stupid debate anyway.
- notatoad 13y ago
  i think it captures apple's strategy pretty well, and the flaw in their thinking. They see a commercial promoting kindle books on the kindle tablet and an iPhone and see "it's easy to switch", not "you can own devices from two different brands and they will work together". Amazon doesn't make a phone, nobody is going to switch from an iPhone to a kindle, but the concept of owning two devices that aren't from the same brand is totally foreign to apple. Their entire strategy is focused on every apple user owning nothing but apple devices. an iPhone user buying an other-brand tablet is a threat to apple as a whole, not just to their tablet business. Their strategy is to control everything and not allow anything to happen out-of-ecosystem. Playing nice with others doesn't even occur to them.
dm8 13y ago
Out of curiosity, why did he think Apple had far superior payment system? I personally think Apple's payment gateways no better than Amazon Checkout or Google Checkout experience.
- fleitz 13y ago
  On an iOS device they already have your payment details due to the inability to use the device with out providing a credit card. 9/10 times the user is already signed in to that AppStore/iTunes account and thus just needs to enter their password. Thus when buying on iOS it's always easier to use Apple's system because you're already half signed-in and they already have your credit card. But yes, if you re-enter your credit card details then they are pretty much the same except for having to re-enter your details.
  - Oletros 13y ago
    Well, you don't need to reenter your payment details if you want to buy an Amazon book or a Google book. They also already have them
    - fleitz 13y ago
      Yes, if Apple required you to enter payment details for Amazon and Google, and remember your Amazon/Google accounts to use an iOS device, then it would be the same. But since they don't it isn't. Have you ever thought that Android in app purchases are lower because they allow developers to use Paypal to buy stuff, and don't require a credit card to use the device?
      - Oletros 13y ago
        Wait, why Apple has to allow enter payment details? The app (Kindle, GMail, etc) have your account so it has your payment details
- nickconfer 13y ago
  Three reasons. 1) Apple has more active credit cards than Amazon. 2) If someone were to purchase a book on an iOS device it is more likely they have an active credit card on their account than an Amazon account with an active credit card. 3) One payment system is easier for customers to understand and trust. Steve's wording here may have indicated better technology in his mind, but I doubt that is true, given amazons incredible focus on taking credit card payments accurately and quickly. Reasonably though the reasons outlined above would be good reasons it was better overall, even if it really wasn't consumer friendly in the end because of the lock-in.
Xorlev 13y ago
If anything, the inability to purchase (easily) from the Kindle app really pushed me to stop using my iPad and start using my Android products. Haven't looked back.
- warcher 13y ago
  It's a large reason why I won't touch any of Apple's media offerings. If they're not running the Netflix/Amazon model, where they've committed to making it available on all the major platforms, it's a non-starter for me. I really like a lot of Apple's products at the moment. It hasn't always been like that. It seems naive to believe it will stay that way forever either.
salem 13y ago
This touches on one of the big issues with the agency model, Apple's 30% cut of IAP, and the rule requiring all digital goods purchases go Apple IAP made Apple the only bookstore on apple iDevices, outside the browser. IMHO, when the iPhone was the leading smartphone in the US, that wasn't a walled garden, that was a market leader leveraging that power to take another market in an anti-competitive way.
c0mpute 13y ago
How are these emails being leaked? Part of the ebook case they had? Otherwise I would imagine companies would take their email seriously... Perhaps a good practice for companies to completely delete emails after a few days? (Its impractical, but maybe there is a need?)
dsaber 13y ago
I've always believed it's time for Apple to embrace running some of their software on other platforms. Not only would it take the competitive advantage away from other companies providing multi-platform products, but it would also show confidence in their products that users will ultimately use their products for the best experience. Sure, some products may not make sense on other platforms (e.g., Mac OS X), but many others do make sense. In many ways, history is repeating itself here with Microsoft and Apple 20 years ago.
abalone 13y ago
It says a lot about their attitude, but I wouldn't say Apple's strategy is 100% predicated on switching costs. Not even close. They entered the phone market as an underdog, for one thing. As for attitude though, it does perfectly capture what they consider "superior", i.e. stuff Apple does (platform-mediated payments), not necessarily stuff that benefits users (portability).
airencracken 13y ago
So the gist is that Apple is all about vendor lock-in. Well, no surprise there. That's been the case for a long time.
jeffehobbs 13y ago
.epub in a Dropbox folder forever. Screw all these guys.

84 points by peter123 13y ago

natch 13y ago

This hardly captures Apple's strategy. It appears to offer an insight into one step in their strategic thinking for one issue, but the title of the post is quite misleading.

gcb0 13y ago
it quite does. if the apple kool-aid everyone here drink was true, his reply would be "let's do better devices at more competitive pricing and nobody would have a reason to change" but no, they still make a laptop that you can't close the lid while downloading a large file... and try to lock you in with lock-in tactics on the media YOU BUY. See how well that worked for sony betamax/lasedisc/minidics... blueray... oh, wait.
KeepTalking 13y ago
I agree. If it tried to tell that apple reacted with panic to the cross platform nature of kindle - I dont think so.
- nonchalance 13y ago
  I'm pretty sure you missed the point of the article. The focus was mentioned in the email from Schiller to Jobs: > ... secondary message [of the ad] that can’t be missed is that it is easy to switch from iPhone to Android.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
forgottenpass 13y ago
The entirety of their strategy no, but this goes beyond just the kindle issue raised. Vendor lock in is a huge chunk of Apple's strategy.
johnrob 13y ago
This absolutely captures their strategy. They are clearly building a walled garden for their own benefit, while selling it as the user's benefit. I can't imagine users complaining about having the option to switch to android.
- _yields 13y ago
  > while selling it as the user's benefit I disagree. Facebook, Google, Microsoft have a walled garden, in-fact every company on earth thinks on how to keep customers from leaving. The difference between Apple and others is that Apple products are far superior, i can't imagine myself using any Microsoft product if Apple provides it.
  - Oletros 13y ago
    "The difference between Apple and others is that Apple products are far superior" Really? How are superior?
    - _yields 13y ago
      I hope this is a joke, but.. Go a head, take OSX and Windows 7 and compare between them, see how much it takes Windows 7 to crash and tell you: "do you want to send us a report?". The report should be sent automatically and analyzed by computers before it reaches humans.
      - TheLegace 13y ago
        As much as I hate to say it, your right. As I type into my girlfriend's macbook, I feel ashamed, but at the same time I cannot get myself to buy a laptop because they all suck.
      - estel 13y ago
        I take it you don't use xcode then...? But seriously, what are you demonstrating here by providing an anecdote? I've got some of my own: I use osx and windows 7/8 extensively every day, and (except xcode!) neither of them crashes with even the slightest degree of regularity: they're both great operating systems. But of course, neither are evidence of any form to support the claim "x is better than y". Which is good, because it's a stupid debate anyway.
notatoad 13y ago
i think it captures apple's strategy pretty well, and the flaw in their thinking. They see a commercial promoting kindle books on the kindle tablet and an iPhone and see "it's easy to switch", not "you can own devices from two different brands and they will work together". Amazon doesn't make a phone, nobody is going to switch from an iPhone to a kindle, but the concept of owning two devices that aren't from the same brand is totally foreign to apple. Their entire strategy is focused on every apple user owning nothing but apple devices. an iPhone user buying an other-brand tablet is a threat to apple as a whole, not just to their tablet business. Their strategy is to control everything and not allow anything to happen out-of-ecosystem. Playing nice with others doesn't even occur to them.

dm8 13y ago

Out of curiosity, why did he think Apple had far superior payment system? I personally think Apple's payment gateways no better than Amazon Checkout or Google Checkout experience.

fleitz 13y ago
On an iOS device they already have your payment details due to the inability to use the device with out providing a credit card. 9/10 times the user is already signed in to that AppStore/iTunes account and thus just needs to enter their password. Thus when buying on iOS it's always easier to use Apple's system because you're already half signed-in and they already have your credit card. But yes, if you re-enter your credit card details then they are pretty much the same except for having to re-enter your details.
- Oletros 13y ago
  Well, you don't need to reenter your payment details if you want to buy an Amazon book or a Google book. They also already have them
  - fleitz 13y ago
    Yes, if Apple required you to enter payment details for Amazon and Google, and remember your Amazon/Google accounts to use an iOS device, then it would be the same. But since they don't it isn't. Have you ever thought that Android in app purchases are lower because they allow developers to use Paypal to buy stuff, and don't require a credit card to use the device?
    - Oletros 13y ago
      Wait, why Apple has to allow enter payment details? The app (Kindle, GMail, etc) have your account so it has your payment details
nickconfer 13y ago
Three reasons. 1) Apple has more active credit cards than Amazon. 2) If someone were to purchase a book on an iOS device it is more likely they have an active credit card on their account than an Amazon account with an active credit card. 3) One payment system is easier for customers to understand and trust. Steve's wording here may have indicated better technology in his mind, but I doubt that is true, given amazons incredible focus on taking credit card payments accurately and quickly. Reasonably though the reasons outlined above would be good reasons it was better overall, even if it really wasn't consumer friendly in the end because of the lock-in.

Xorlev 13y ago

If anything, the inability to purchase (easily) from the Kindle app really pushed me to stop using my iPad and start using my Android products. Haven't looked back.

warcher 13y ago
It's a large reason why I won't touch any of Apple's media offerings. If they're not running the Netflix/Amazon model, where they've committed to making it available on all the major platforms, it's a non-starter for me. I really like a lot of Apple's products at the moment. It hasn't always been like that. It seems naive to believe it will stay that way forever either.

salem 13y ago

This touches on one of the big issues with the agency model, Apple's 30% cut of IAP, and the rule requiring all digital goods purchases go Apple IAP made Apple the only bookstore on apple iDevices, outside the browser. IMHO, when the iPhone was the leading smartphone in the US, that wasn't a walled garden, that was a market leader leveraging that power to take another market in an anti-competitive way.

c0mpute 13y ago

How are these emails being leaked? Part of the ebook case they had? Otherwise I would imagine companies would take their email seriously... Perhaps a good practice for companies to completely delete emails after a few days? (Its impractical, but maybe there is a need?)

dsaber 13y ago

I've always believed it's time for Apple to embrace running some of their software on other platforms. Not only would it take the competitive advantage away from other companies providing multi-platform products, but it would also show confidence in their products that users will ultimately use their products for the best experience. Sure, some products may not make sense on other platforms (e.g., Mac OS X), but many others do make sense. In many ways, history is repeating itself here with Microsoft and Apple 20 years ago.

abalone 13y ago

It says a lot about their attitude, but I wouldn't say Apple's strategy is 100% predicated on switching costs. Not even close. They entered the phone market as an underdog, for one thing. As for attitude though, it does perfectly capture what they consider "superior", i.e. stuff Apple does (platform-mediated payments), not necessarily stuff that benefits users (portability).

airencracken 13y ago

So the gist is that Apple is all about vendor lock-in. Well, no surprise there. That's been the case for a long time.

jeffehobbs 13y ago

.epub in a Dropbox folder forever. Screw all these guys.