Editor's Message
Services: A Detour or New Route for Apple?
I've grown up with Apple as a cultural icon, a company known for groundbreaking personal electronics, yes, but also as a symbol of the elite. That's not just because of the premium price of the devices—Apple products were the tools of choice for artists and entrepreneurs, and for anyone who identified as being a brilliant but misunderstood “misfit” as Steve Jobs dubbed them.
While Apple has made small detours here and there, it has more or less stayed on course as an innovative device maker. With a spring announcement featuring celebrities as the main event, it appears Apple is now flipping that on its head. While filmmaking and publishing don't necessarily seem outside of Apple's scope considering the company's musical history with the iPod and iTunes, for the first time, the tech giant's new services are anchored to a physical product in quite the same way. With its TV, gaming, news, and credit card offerings (see page 14 for the details), Apple has expanded beyond hardware and software and has instead become something more amorphous. In the week leading up to the March 25 event, Apple announced two new iPads and a pair of second-generation AirPods via press release in lieu of debuting them at the event. By burying its new products, Apple emphasized its new focus on services—it will not be pigeonholed as a products-first company. Many of us were left scratching our heads. Not only did Apple leave out key details about the price and release date of its TV and gaming services; but it also left us wondering, are these services responding to a demand that's not already being met? Or is Apple taking on companies like Netflix just because it can. (For more on Apple's pivot from products to services, see CEO David's article on page 18). While we're a bit skeptical, there will likely be upsides to Apple's new direction. Like with Apple Music, Apple's News Plus and TV Plus subscriptions are tied into Apple's ecosystem, making them easier to sign up for, manage, and control with Siri. And while I'm not sure how I feel about Apple being my bank, Apple does have a leg up on other credit card companies when it comes to privacy. I value both Apple's ecosystem and approach to privacy. And I have to admit, it would be convenient to have one source for my music, data, news, gaming, entertainment, and banking needs. But are we ready to hand over such a large chunk of our income to Apple, and on a recurring basis at that? For me, it will all come down to Apple's execution. Only time will tell whether this new direction is a detour or the beginning of a new era for the cultural icon that is Apple.