I feel that more people really ought to be explaining Apple's success, not explain it away.
It's very tempting to do what many other critics and analysts do where they just treat Apple like any other company, and if all you are doing is simply comparing Apple to everyone else and then go "hey, Apple isn't doing what everyone else is doing, so I don't think whatever Apple is doing is going to work", then I frankly think you are all headed down the wrong path, and it shows in how Apple continues to defy conventional wisdom and go on to become even more successful year after year despite the naysayers.
I have long learned to do the opposite, by instead approaching these topics from Apple’s perspective. I like to begin with Apple, and then I look outwards at different industries, compared to the rest who tend to first cover an industry, then attempt to draw a link to Apple from time to time. I feel this tends to lead to error and inaccurate analysis, because you are comparing Apple too much to other companies, and you are not allowing Apple’s unique attributes to speak for themselves or recognise how Apple is able to set themselves apart from the competition.
So to summarise, the best way of analysing what Apple does is to begin with Apple. Focus with Apple, then move outwards, and it will all make sense.
That's the sheer genius here. Apple doesn't need us to keep buying new iPhones year after year; they simply need us to keep using iPhones, as Apple has plenty of ways to continue earning from us, from accessories to services to apps.
And besides, my 8+ is still receiving iOS 15 (and gets most of the new features), and continues to work with other products like the Apple Watch and airtags. Is hanging on to the same phone for 4-5 years somehow supposed to be worse than constantly upgrading and creating more landfill?
Rather than say that iOS customers are apathetic to change (which really sounds more like sour grapes to me), it's probably more accurate to say that they simply find the changes introduced by Apple more meaningful compared to what is being offered by the competition. Apple looks at innovation as something that improves customers’ lives. Instead of announcing A LOT of new features and upgrades to either be first or different, Apple is more focused on announcing select features and upgrades that it thinks will lead to better experiences.
This year, the iPhone gets a better camera and battery life, the apple has a larger screen while retaining the same size, and Fitness+ increases the likelihood of people sticking with the service (and with Apple hardware). I don't think it's an unfair statement to say that the Apple Watch and iPad face very little in the way of legitimate competition. Perhaps instead of trying to deflect by labelling people who are willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for Apple Watch bands as sheep, it may instead be more meaningful to reflect on why Android OEMs don't seem to be having any luck making similar inroads on their end.
I think statements like this really show how much people really don't understand Apple, when you all continue to compare this year's iPhone to the previous year.
A flagship iPhone is meant to give the average owner years of premium experiences with little to no need to upgrade to a new model on an annual basis (hence the commitment to years of software updates). The iPhone 13 was never intended to cause the entire iPhone installed base (much less existing iPhone 12 owners) to run out and upgrade, and fixating on this only creates a blind spot. Apple's business model does not rely on year-over-year upgrades and changes that are so shocking and momentous that a billion iPhone users all run out and upgrade simultaneously. It's a fool's errand, and Apple wouldn't be able to handle that sort of demand either (even as we speak, the iPhone is already facing supply constraints).
Instead, knowing that the average iPhone user is expected to hold on to their phone for 2-3 years at least, the iPhone 13 is instead meant to appeal to people still holding on to iPhones from 2018 or earlier. Which to me makes perfect sense when we go back to my earlier statement about how Apple has moved on from selling iPhones to selling to people with iPhones.
In summary, the iPhone business is all about continuous refinement and advancement with new features aimed at improving the overall user experience in a manner that I (amongst a billion other users) find meaningful. I am happy being all-in in this regard. Sure, I spend more upfront, but my experience has been that this quickly pays for itself in the form of greater productivity and fewer problems overall.
I see myself continuing to stay a happy Apple user for a good many years to come.
