When it comes to gadgets and products, Apple seems to be synonymous with “sleek” and “stylish.” In fact, Apple Inc.’s products had become so synonymous with style that everything from the iPod to the Macbook Pro to even the Mac Pro, had become a status symbol in itself.
Ars Technica has insights on how Apple seems to be ignoring the Enterprise side of the market. In my understanding, the article implies that Apple ignores certain markets because they want to focus on their main target: the consumer. In the article is a quote from Steve Jobs, wherein, in a question to why Apple seems to be ignoring the low-end market side, Jobs answered:
There’s some stuff in our industry that we wouldn’t be proud to ship. And we just can’t do it. We can’t ship junk. There are thresholds we can’t cross because of who we are.
To me, it speaks of a commitment to quality, and a thorough understanding of what the company wants its thrust to be.
When I watched Pirates of Silicon Valley, I understood that Steve Jobs had a clear vision for Apple Inc. (Apple Computers, at that time). He wanted to bring the computer to the level of the consumer. He wanted to see the time wherein there would be a computer in every home. I also gathered that Jobs knew where he wanted to take the company: blazing trails in the world of personal computing. Probably every Apple fanboy and fangurl out there knows that Apple Inc. would stop at no less than being the at the crest of every new wave of trends.
And this is what I like about Apple: they make excellent products, and are unapologetic for being nonconformists, because they foresee that though their products break the status quo, these would be so sleek, so innovative, and so stylish, that the market would pick it up anyway.
When Steve Jobs assumed the helm of Apple Computers again, he had slashed out a lot of what had bloated the company’s expenses. Some projects were tossed out and some were beefed up. He knew where to trim and where to boost, and these moves are geared on one thing: to serve his personal vision for Apple, Inc.
Next up: Lessons We Can Learn from Steve Jobs.
Thanks to Geeking Out for unwittingly giving me the tip for this blog post. 🙂