Apples' product matrix has expanded too much

[cycledance]

when steve jobs came back he reduced the product diversity at apple. he focused apple and that had a positive effect all around.

my opinion is that there are too many niche products now, especially: mac mini, mac pro, ipod classic, ipod shuffle, ipod nano, macbook pro without retina display, ipad 2, ipad mini without retina display, iphone 4s.

all they need imo:

11-inch MacBook Air
13-inch MacBook Air
15-inch Macbook Pro

21.5-inch iMac
27-inch iMac

Airport Extreme
Apple TV

iPod Touch
iPhone 5s

iPad Air
iPad mini with Retina Display

i'd also reduce the number of models and customizations drastically.

thoughts?

 

[rdowns]

In 1997, Apple was a $7 billion a year corporation that was losing money. The Jobs product matrix was needed to help right the ship.

In 2012, Apple earned $8.2 billion in PROFIT in ONE QUARTER and still has relatively few products, especially if you compare them to others.

 

[Dulcimer]

Ahh, the perennial desire of many an Apple fan to limit a little thing called "options."

 

[needfx]

Thunderbolt Display didn't make your cut??

 

[TSE]

I tend to agree with OP, actually.

But I trust Apple knows what is best for business, if they lost money on a product I'm sure they wouldn't put it out there. My lineup and what I'd like to see:

Consumer portable:

11" MacBook Air rebranded as just "MacBook" - starting at $999
13" MacBook Air rebranded as just "MacBook" - starting at $1299
iPad Mini - $299
iPad Mini w/ Retina Display - starting at $399
iPad - starting at $499
iPhone 5C - starting at $99 on contract

Professional Portable:

15" MacBook Pro - starting at $1999
iPhone 5S - starting at $199 on contract

Consumer desktop:

Mac Mini - Starting at $599
21.5" iMac - Starting at $1299
27" iMac - Starting at $1799
27" 2560x1440 Thunderbolt Display - $799

Professional desktop:

Mac Pro - Starting at $2999
30" 4k Thunderbolt Display - $1499

iPod:

iPod Shuffle - $49
iPod Touch - $149
iPod Classic - $249

 

[Peace]

Most of those diverse apple products were the brainchild of Steve jobs.

 

[MyMac1976]

Yea, it's way too complex! So many options how am I to decide???

 

[ElectronGuru]

when steve jobs came back he reduced the product diversity at apple. he focused apple and that had a positive effect all around.

He wasn't killing choices, a marketing move. He was killing unworthy products and focusing resources. He literally sat each dept head down and made them justify their existence.

It would not make sense to create all the different iPods now, but leaving them all 'running' isn't costing much. And shows continued dominance of the segment while honoring the iPod's roll in restoring the company.

 

[cycledance]

Yea, it's way too complex! So many options how am I to decide???

i can only speak for myself...but yea i do spend quiet a lot of time finding the right products from the apple portfolio.

 

[Rogifan]

So basically you want to limit choice and a low cost option for people?

 

[sdilley14]

Seems like a fine product mix to me. Not too expansive, allows for plenty of customization without being overwhelming. The mix of product offerings all make sense together, too. Once they start offering standalone blu-ray players, surround sound receivers, and vaccum cleaners...then we might have a problem with a messy, bloated product portfolio.

 

[NewbieCanada]

Yea sometimes I have a hard time deciding between redbeans and rice and pinto beans and rice it's a complex decision frought with perils.

A wrong decision could truly be explosive in its consequences!

Anyway, if Apple was purely focused on the bottom line it would sell iPhones and iPads, nothing else.

 

[cube]

I thought you meant that the company is too much iPhone/iPad now.

They actually don't have a laptop for people doing heavy (not even extreme) work.

 

[cycledance]

They actually don't have a laptop for people doing heavy (not even extreme) work.

huh? macbook pro retina 15" ?
u can do heavy work on the air too. especially with an external display.

 

[MyMac1976]

Not the kind of heavy lifting he's talking about, he's talking mobile works stations. Firepro/quadro, 32GB desktop, CPU's avalable 2/3 HDD's.

something like this:

http://shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTE...0.&CatalogCategoryID=kNMQ7hac9ZEAAAFAiB1WhMuX

 

[cycledance]

Not the kind of heavy lifting he's talking about, he's talking mobile works stations. Firepro/quadro, 32GB desktop, CPU's avalable 2/3 HDD's.

something like this:

http://shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTE...0.&CatalogCategoryID=kNMQ7hac9ZEAAAFAiB1WhMuX

that's exactly what i am talking about. scrap these niche products.
how many desktop pro workstations (mac pros) does apple sell? now how many mobile pro workstations would apple sell? probably a few thousand.

can't wait to see how many mac pros they will sell. they better add 4k displays and updated pro apps.

 

[MyMac1976]

that's exactly what i am talking about. scrap these niche products.
how many desktop pro workstations (mac pros) does apple sell? now how many mobile pro workstations would apple sell? probably a few thousand.

can't wait to see how many mac pros they will sell. they better add 4k displays and updated pro apps.

We all know what you want but we disagree, it's OK we're allowed to do that.

 

[maflynn]

[MOD NOTE]
Lets stay on topic. People can post diverse and opposing opinions. Lets keep to the topic and not get personal.

 

[nick9191]

It doesn't matter how many products there are as long as the differentiation is there between them. The problem in 97 was not the amount of products but that the average consumer, nay the average rocket scientist had difficulty deciding on which model to buy.

Half range was actually duplicated so you'd have one machine sold as another machine under different branding. Like the Macintosh Performa was just a rebranded Quadra, Centris, LC or PowerMac. Then to make it even more confusing you'd have different models of Performa that were exactly the same machine, just configured with slightly different software or maybe an extra few megs here and there of storage/memory.

Now we have a product range that is easy to differentiate between. You can assess your needs and narrow it down to 1 or 2 products. Do I need a Mac Mini or an iMac? Do I need an iMac or Mac Pro? Do I need a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro? You get where I'm going.

 

[vvswarup]

This is what I don't get. People say that Apple doesn't have a broad enough product mix which gives the consumer choices. They criticize Apple for a "one size fits all" approach and point to Samsung as an example of a company that offers the consumer plenty of choice.

Yet, here is this thread which says that Apple's product matrix is too broad.

 

[rdowns]

Anyway, if Apple was purely focused on the bottom line it would sell iPhones and iPads, nothing else.

You sure about that? Their Mac business alone is a Fortune 200 (something like #150) company.

 

[NewbieCanada]

You sure about that? Their Mac business alone is a Fortune 200 (something like #150) company.

Well yes, that's true, but of course even pretty small slices of Apple are pretty big companies.

I'm guessing though (could be completely wrong) that while the revenues for the Mac side are about the same as for the iPad side, the profit margin is lower.

But there's also other benefits. Every MacBook is a mobile advertisement for Apple.

But mainly I was engaging in a little reductio ad absurdum

 

[PracticalMac]

my opinion is that there are too many niche products now, especially: mac mini, mac pro, ipod classic, ipod shuffle, ipod nano, macbook pro without retina display, ipad 2, ipad mini without retina display, iphone 4s.

thoughts?

I think Apple has it right, but does need a large iPad.

Apple is in a position they can offer more variety, and the big sellers, phones and tablets, need the variety to be more attractive.

 

[TarrantHightopp]

The product lineup I imagine as the most optimal, if I were running Apple.

Laptops: 11, 13, 15 inch Macbook Airs, all with retina displays, ULV processors, super thin and light profiles.
12, 13, 15 inch Macbook Pros, all retina, performance oriented, dGPUs or exceptionally advanced iGPUs, more ports, etc...
Desktop class: Mac Mini, Mac Pro, iMac with Retina.
Tablets: iPad Air, iPad Mini
Specialty : Something between MacBook Air and an iPad Pro. That's theoretical, not really in the mood to brainstorm the reasons why and what not.
Phones: Plastic Lower Tier Color iPhone, 4 and 5 inch screen. Upper tier 4 inch iPhone. Upper tier 5 inch iPhone with exact same specs but with a larger screen.
iPods: iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, audio oriented iPod Classic with large capacity SSD and excellent sound quality.
Apple TV Box, Apple 4K TV Display

 

[MacNut]

So basically you want to limit choice and a low cost option for people?

What is Apple's low cost option? Honest question, the cheapest computer is $999. Apple has high end and then 1% high end.