Daily Productive Sharing 1209 - Apple Innovation and Execution

One helpful tip per day:)

Benedict Evans believes that iPhone sales have plateaued over the years, and the subsequent launches of the iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods, while innovative, have shown only modest commercial performance. More recently, Vision Pro and Apple Intelligence appear even more uncertain in their impact:

1. Since the launch of the iPhone, Apple has indeed created three innovative, category-defining products: the iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
2. However, from a business perspective, Watch, AirPods, and Apple’s services all function as add-on sales to iPhone users. If you group them together, roughly half of Apple’s revenue comes directly from the iPhone, and about one-third comes from iPhone-adjacent products—meaning around 80% of Apple’s revenue still revolves around the iPhone.
3. Apple ultimately abandoned its car project because it realized that while it could build a great car—perhaps even better in some ways—it didn’t see enough room to create something fundamentally different that solved a meaningful, unsolved problem.
4. Apple has a massive cash reserve (about $140 billion), and in FY2024 alone, it returned $115 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. In theory, Apple could build or buy many things—but that doesn’t mean those things would be right for the company.
5. The real question is: in which domains can Apple still fundamentally rethink and solve basic problems?
6. Apple has proven itself skilled at launching MVPs (minimum viable products) and refining them over time. The first iPhone and Apple Watch are classic examples. Yet even the first iPhone—despite lacking 3G and an App Store—was already the best phone many had ever used. It wasn’t a concept or a “vision of the future”—it was the future.
7. The clearest cautionary tale is Apple Maps—another product where Apple seriously underestimated technical complexity. That lesson remains highly relevant today.

If you enjoy today's sharing, why not subscribe

Need a superb CV, please try our CV Consultation

Benedict Evans 认为 iPhone 多年来销量趋于平稳，而之后推出的 iPad、Apple Watch 和 AirPods 同样表现平淡。近期的 Vision Pro 和 Apple Intelligence 的表现更加堪忧：

1. 自从 iPhone 发布以来，苹果确实创造了三个创新且重新定义品类的产品：iPad、Watch 和 AirPods。 、
2. 而且，从商业模式上看，无论是 Watch 和 AirPods，还是服务业务，本质上都是围绕 iPhone 用户展开的“附加销售”。如果把它们合并来看，大约一半的苹果营收来自 iPhone，另一部分（约三分之一）来自 iPhone 的延伸产品——也就是说，苹果 80% 的营收都围绕 iPhone 打转。
3. 苹果最终放弃造车，是因为它意识到，尽管可以造出一辆很棒的车，甚至在某些方面做得更好，但并没有足够的空间去做出根本性不同、真正解决市场尚未解决的问题的产品。
4. 苹果手头现金充裕（目前拥有约 1400 亿美元的现金，仅在 2024 财年就通过回购和分红向股东返还了 1150 亿美元），理论上它可以收购或打造很多东西，但这并不意味着这些项目一定适合它。
5. 问题在于，苹果究竟还能在哪些领域，真正改变那些“基本问题”？
6. 苹果确实善于推出 MVP（最简可行产品），并在之后不断打磨。初代 iPhone 和 Watch 都是典型例子。但初代 iPhone 尽管没有 3G、没有 App Store，却已经是我用过最棒的手机。它不是一个概念、不是一个“未来愿景”——它就是未来本身。
7. 最显而易见的对比是 Apple Maps——这是另一个苹果严重低估技术复杂度的产品，其教训仍然值得记取。

如果你喜欢的话，不妨直接订阅这份电子报 ⬇️