CASES
CASE 32
APPLE INC.: WHERE’S THE NEXT INNOVATION? *
In April 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook held the second quar-
ter earnings presentation at the Apple Park corporate cam-
pus in the 1,000-seat auditorium named the Steve Jobs
Theater. Part of a 175-acre campus developed in 2017, the
ring-shaped 2.8-million-square-foot facility with walls of
curved glass surrounding an inner greenspace courtyard
was possibly the last evidence of the direct vision and inno-
vation of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Originally envi-
sioned by Jobs in 2011 as a center for creativity and
collaboration, the building honored his legacy, memory,
and enduring influence. Jobs, who died in 2011, would have
turned 64 in February 2019. As Apple’s current CEO Tim
Cook said, “Steve’s vision for Apple stretched far beyond
his time with us. He intended Apple Park to be the home of
innovation for generations to come.”1
Yet the pace of innovation at Apple had slowed consid-
erably. Since Steve Jobs’s death, the only new physical prod-
uct launched had been the Apple Watch in 2014. The iconic
iPhone, in FY2018 representing 63 percent of total reve-
nues, was over 10 years old, and even though upgrades kept
customers coming back, competition had eroded Apple’s
smartphone market share such that second quarter 2019
iPhone revenues had declined by over 17 percent year over
year. Mac computer and iPad sales had declined as well.
Although Apple’s FY2018 revenues were up by about
16 percent overall, the bulk of that increase came from ser-
vices and other products such as the Apple Watch. In this
environment, there was some concern that although re-
search and development spending was up in FY2018, re-
search output had not produced any recent meaningful
breakthroughs. This posed yet again the unavoidable ques-
tion that still seemed to haunt the 42-year-old Apple: What
happens to a modern company whose innovations and in-
spirations are so closely tied to the ­vision of one leader
when that leader’s influence is no ­longer present?2
Tim Cook was considered a highly effective leader, yet
had been criticized for “lack of ambition and vigor,” for be-
ing perhaps too cautious about entering new product cate-
gories, pursuing acquisitions, or driving employees to
achieve almost impossible stretch goals.3 On the other
hand, investors had been mostly very pleased with the stock
performance under Cook. Since he was named CEO in
­August 2011, Apple share price had risen from an average
* This case was prepared by Professor Alan B. Eisner of Pace University and
Professor Pauline Assenza, Western Connecticut State University. This case is
based solely on library research and was developed for class discussion rather
than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative
situation. Copyright © 2019 Alan B. Eisner.
C252  CASE 32 :: APPLE INC.: WHERE’S THE NEXT INNOVATION?
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of over $45 to a high of $230 in August 2018, and when the
company reached a market capitalization of over $1 trillion
in 2018, that made it the most valuable company in the
world. In addition, Cook had instituted Apple’s first
­dividend since 1995 in 2012, and bought back more than
$200 billion of shares, producing strong free cash flows and
an “impressive” balance sheet.4 This had made investors
happy.
Cook had done what CEOs of public companies are sup-
posed to do—drive up value. But revenue from the flagship
products—iMac, iPad and iPhone—was falling or stagnant,
and only the services and other products sectors were see-
ing growth. In addition, operating margins were declining
in products, indicating that high iPhone prices may have
been the only thing keeping margins stable at around
30 percent. If iPhone sales were increasingly challenged by
lower price competitors such as China’s Xiaomi, and
­Huawei, something would have to change. Was Apple’s
­recent shift into services and other products going to be the
answer? (See Exhibits 1 to 3.) “Other products” included
wearables such as the iWatch and the AirPod wireless ear-
phones, and home products such as the HomePod voice-
controlled smart speaker system. These were new, but
perhaps not as innovative as Apple’s other products. Were
expectations of major breakthroughs unrealistic? As one
analyst said, it is hard to find “ways to make the world’s
most valuable company even more valuable when it’s al-
ready so big that conventional growth strategies—extending
product lines, moving into new territories—would barely
move the needle.”5
Apple, Fortune Magazine’s “world’s most admired com-
pany” since 2008,6 had distinguished itself by excelling over
the years not only in product innovation but also in revenue
and margins (since 2006 Apple had consistently reported
gross margins of over 30 percent). By 2019, Apple Inc. was
known for having top-selling products not only in desktop
(iMac) and notebook ­(MacBook) personal computers but
also in online music and “app” services (iTunes and App
Store), mobile communication devices (iPhone), digital
consumer entertainment (Apple TV), tablet computers
(iPad), operating systems (macOS and iOS), software (Sa-
fari web browser) and online services (iCloud), as well as
wearable technology (Apple Watch, AirPods) and home ac-
cessories (HomePod, Beats products), mobile payment sys-
tems (Apple Pay), and a subscription-based music
streaming service (Apple ­Music). Additional services roll-
ing out in 2019 included Apple TV+ original content, sub-
scription ­services Apple Channels, Apple News+ and
 EXHIBIT 1  Apple Sales, 2015–2018 (dollars in millions and units in thousands)

2018 Change 2017 Change 2016 2015

Net Sales by Reportable Segment:
Americas $112,093 16% $ 96,600 12% $ 86,613 $ 93,864
Europe 62,420 14% 54,938 10% 49,952 50,337
Greater China 51,942 16% 44,764 (8)% 48,492 58,715
Japan 21,733 23% 17,733 5% 16,928 15,706
Rest of Asia Pacific 17,407 15% 15,199 11% 13,654 15,093
  Total net sales $265,595 16% $229,234 6% $215,639 $233,715

Net Sales by Product:

iPhone (1) $166,699 18% $141,319 3% $136,700 $155,041
iPad (1) 18,805 (2)% 19,222 (7)% 20,628 23,227
Mac (1) 25,484 (1)% 25,850 13% 22,831 25,471
Services (2) 37,190 24% 29,980 23% 24,348 19,909
Other Products (1)(3) 17,417 35% 12,863 16% 11,132 10,067
  Total net sales $265,595 16% $229,234 6% $215,639 $233,715

Unit Sales by Product:

iPhone 217,722 —% 216,756 2% 211,884 231,218
iPad 43,535 —% 43,753 (4)% 45,590 54,856
Mac 18,209 (5)% 19,251 4% 18,484 20,587
(1) Includes deferrals and amortization of related software upgrade rights and non-software services.
(2) Includes revenue from Digital Content and Services, AppleCare, Apple Pay, licensing, and other services. Services net sales in 2018 included a favorable ­
one-time item of $236 million in connection with the final resolution of various lawsuits. Services net sales in 2017 included a favorable one-time adjustment of
$640 million due to a change in estimate based on the availability of additional supporting information.
(3) Includes sales of AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, HomePod, iPod touch, and other Apple-branded and third-party accessories.

Sources: Annual Report. Apple Inc. 2017.; Annual Report. Apple Inc. 2018.

EXHIBIT 2  Apple Product Performance—Percentage of Total Sales

Product 2018 2017 2016

iPhone 63% 62% 63%
iPad 7% 8% 10%
Mac 10% 11% 10%
Services 14% 13% 11%

Source: Annual Report. Apple Inc. 2018.

Apple ­Arcade for games, and Apple Card, a credit card
stored in Apple Wallet. (see Exhibit 4).
As the time line shows, most of the product innovations
occurred after 1998, when Apple was under Steve Jobs’s lead-
ership. However, there was also a 12-year period in which Jobs
was not in charge. The company’s ongoing stated ­strategy was
to leverage “its unique ability to design and develop its own
operations systems, hardware, application software and ser-
vices to provide its customers products and solutions with in-
novative design, superior ease-of-use and seamless
integration.”7 This strategy required not only product design
and marketing expertise but also scrupulous attention to

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 EXHIBIT 3  Apple Products and Services Revenue and Gross Margins

Second Quarter Comparison 2018 to 2019

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
March 30, March 31, March 30, March 31,
2019 2018 Change 2019 2018 Change
Net sales by category:
  iPhone (1) $31,051 $37,559 (17)% $ 83,033 $ 98,663 (16)%
  Mac (1) 5,513 5,776 (5)% 12,929 12,600 3%
  iPad (1) 4,872 4,008 22% 11,601 9,763 19%
  Wearables, Home and Accessories (1)(2) 5,129 3,944 30% 12,437 9,425 32%
  Services (3) 11,450 9,850 16% 22,325 18,979 18%
   Total net sales $58,015 $61,137 (5)% $142,325 $149,430 (5)%

(1) Products net sales include amortization of the deferred value of unspecified software upgrade rights, which are bundled in the sales price of the respective
product.

(2) Wearables, Home and Accessories net sales include sales of AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, HomePod, iPod touch, and Apple-branded and
third-party accessories.

(3) Services net sales include sales from the company’s digital content stores and streaming services, AppleCare, Apple Pay, licensing, and other services. Services
net sales also include amortization of the deferred value of Maps, Siri, and free iCloud services, which are bundled in the sales price of certain products.

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

March 30, 2019 March 31, 2018 March 30, 2019 March 31, 2018
Gross margin:
Products $14,518 $17,351 $39,715 $45,940
Services 7,303 6,071 14,137 11,394
Total gross margin $21,821 $23,422 $53,852 $57,334
Gross margin percentage:
Products 31.2% 33.8% 33.1% 35.2%
Services 63.8% 61.6% 63.3% 60.0%
Total gross margin percentage 37.6% 38.3% 37.8% 38.4%

Source: Quarterly Report Form 10-Q. Apple, March 30, 2019.

­ perational details. Given Apple’s global growth in multiple

o was the technical genius, and A. C. “Mike” Markkula Jr.,
product categories, and the associated complexity in strategic
execution, CEO Tim Cook would be challenged to sustain the
level of innovation for which the company was known.
Company Background
Founder Steve Jobs
Apple Computer was founded in Mountain View,
­California, on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs and Steve
­Wozniak. Jobs was the visionary and marketer, Wozniak
who had joined the team several months earlier, was the
businessman. Jobs set the mission of empowering individu-
als, one person–one computer, and doing so with elegance
of design and fierce attention to detail. In 1977, the first
version of the Apple II became the first computer ordinary
people could use right out of the box, and its instant suc-
cess in the home market caused a computing revolution,
essentially creating the personal computer industry. By
1980, Apple was the industry leader and went public in
­December of that year.

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 EXHIBIT 4  Apple Innovation Time Line

Date Product Events

1976 Apple I Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne found Apple Computer.
1977 Apple II Apple logo first used.
1979 Apple II1 Apple employs 250 people; the first personal computer spreadsheet software,
VisiCalc, is written by Dan Bricklin on an Apple II.
1980 Apple III Apple goes public with 4.6 million shares; IBM personal computer announced.
1983 Lisa John Sculley becomes CEO.
1984 Mac 128K, Apple IIc Super Bowl ad introduces the Mac desktop computer.
1985 Jobs resigns and forms NeXT Software; Windows 1.01 released.
1986 Mac Plus Jobs establishes Pixar.
1987 Mac II, Mac SE Apple sues Microsoft over GUI.
1989 Mac Portable Apple sued by Xerox over GUI.
1990 Mac LC Apple listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange.
1991 PowerBook 100, System 7 System 7 operating-system upgrade released, the first Mac OS to support
PowerPC-based computers.
1993 Newton Message Pad (one of the first Sculley resigns; Spindler becomes CEO; PowerBook sales reach 1 million units.
PDAs)
1996 Spindler is out; Amelio becomes CEO; Apple acquires NeXT Software, with
Jobs as adviser.
1997 Amelio is out; Jobs returns as interim CEO; online retail Apple Store opened.
1998 iMac iMac colorful design introduced, including USB interface; Newton scrapped.
1999 iMovie, Final Cut Pro (video editing iBook (part of PowerBook line) becomes best-selling retail notebook in October;
software) Apple has 11% share of notebook market.
2000 G4Cube Jobs becomes permanent CEO.
2001 iPod, OS X, iTunes software, Apple iTunes software is a mobile device management application. First physical retail
Store store opens, in Virginia.
2002 iMac G4, iLife Apple releases iLife software suite.
2003 iTunes Store Apple reaches 25 million iTunes downloads.
2004 iMac G5 Jobs undergoes successful surgery for pancreatic cancer.
2005 iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, Mac Mini First video iPod released; video downloads available from iTunes.
2006 MacBook Pro Apple computers use Intel’s Core Duo CPU and can run Windows software; iWork
software competes with Microsoft Office.
2007 iPhone, Apple TV, iPod Touch Apple Computer changes name to Apple Inc.; Microsoft Vista released.
2008 iPhone 3G, MacBook Air, App Store App Store launched for third-party applications for iPhone and iPod Touch and
brings in $1 million in one day.
2009 17-inch MacBook Pro, iLife, iWork ’09 iTunes Plus provides DRM-free music, with variable pricing; Jobs takes medical leave.
2010 iPad, iPhone 4, Mac App Store iPhone 4 provides FaceTime feature; iTunes reaches 10 billion songs sold.
2011 iPad2, iPhone 4S, iCloud iPhone available on Verizon Wireless; Jobs resigns as CEO, dies on October 5th.
Tim Cook becomes CEO.
Continued

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 EXHIBIT 4  Continued

Date Product Events

2012 iBook Author, iPhone5, iPad Mini, Apple iBook supports textbook creation on iPad. Retina displays, skinny Macs. Apple
Wallet Wallet stores coupons, tickets. Apple becomes world’s most valuable company
by market capitalization.
2013 Mega Mac, iPad Air Workstation in a small aluminum cylinder.
2014 iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Watch, Apple Pay Biggest iPhone yet, Apple Watch = computer on your wrist introduced in 2014,
actual delivery in 2015, Apple Pay mobile payment service, acquisition of Beats
Electronic for headphones, streaming digital content.
2015 Apple Music Streaming music subscription service, including Internet radio station Beats 1,
blog platform Connect.
2016 iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPad Pro, Apple Seventh generation iPhone, AirPods wireless earphones, Apple Watch multiple
AirPods, Apple Watch Series series included Nike and Hermes; over 1 billion Apple devices are in use
worldwide.
2017 iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X Fall 2017 release.
2018 HomePad, iPhone XS & XR, iPadPro HomePad smart speaker with voice control; Apple reaches $1 trillion market
with Face ID, iPad Air with Apple Pencil value, becomes the largest publically traded corporation in the world by market
support capitalization.
2019 Apple TV+, Apple Channels, Apple Apple TV+ will produce original content, Channels subscription gives access to
News+, Apple Arcade, Apple Card premium network TV, News+ subscription gives access to digital magazines &
newspapers, Apple Arcade gives access to games via the App Store, Apple Card
is a credit card stored in Apple Wallet.

Sources: Timeline of Apple Inc. products. Wikipedia; author estimates.

In 1983, Wozniak left the firm and Jobs hired John
­ culley away from PepsiCo to take the role of CEO at ­Apple,
S John Sculley had tried to take advantage of Apple’s unique
citing the need for someone to spearhead marketing and
­operations while Jobs worked on technology. The result
of Jobs’s creative focus on personal computing was the
­Macintosh. Introduced in 1984, with the now-famous Super
Bowl television ad based on George Orwell’s novel Nineteen
Eighty-Four,8 the Macintosh was a breakthrough in terms of
elegant design and ease of use. Its ability to handle large
graphic files quickly made it a favorite with graphic designers,
but it had slow performance and limited compatible software
was available. That meant the product as designed at that time
was unable to help significantly Apple’s failing bottom line. In
addition, Jobs had given Bill Gates at Microsoft some Macin-
tosh prototypes to use to develop software and, in 1985, Mi-
crosoft subsequently came out with the Windows ­operating
system—a version of GUI for use on IBM PCs.
Steve Jobs’s famous volatility led to his resignation from
Apple in 1985. Jobs then founded NeXT Computer. The
NeXT Cube computer proved too costly for the business to
become commercially profitable, but its technological con-
tributions could not be ignored. In 1997, then Apple CEO
Gilbert Amelio bought out NeXT, hoping to use its
­Rhapsody—a version of the NeXTStep operating system—to
jump-start the Mac OS development, and Jobs was brought
back as a part-time adviser.
Under CEOs Sculley, Spindler, and Amelio
capabilities. Because of this, Macintosh computers became
easy to use, with seamless integration (the original plug-and-
play) and reliable performance. This premium performance
meant Apple could charge a premium price. However, with
the price of IBM compatibles dropping, and Apple’s costs,
especially research and development (R&D), way above
­industry averages, this was not a sustainable scenario.
Sculley’s innovative efforts were not enough to substan-
tially improve Apple’s bottom line, and he was replaced as
CEO in 1993 by company president Michael Spindler.
Spindler continued the focus on innovation, producing the
PowerMac in 1994. Even though this combination pro-
duced a significant price-performance edge over both previ-
ous Macs and Intel-based machines, the IBM clones
continued to undercut Apple’s prices. Spindler’s response
was to allow other companies to manufacture Mac clones, a
strategy that ultimately led to clones stealing 20 percent of
Macintosh unit sales.
Gilbert Amelio, an Apple director and former semicon-
ductor turnaround expert, was asked to reverse the compa-
ny’s financial direction. Amelio intended to reposition
Apple as a premium brand, but his extensive reorganiza-
tions and cost-cutting strategies could not prevent Apple’s
stock price from slipping to a new low. However, Amelio’s

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 decision to stop work on a brand-new operating system and
jump-start development by using NeXTStep brought Steve
Jobs back to Apple in 1997.
Steve Jobs’s Return
One of Jobs’s first strategies upon his return was to strengthen
Apple’s relationships with third-party software developers,
­including Microsoft. In 1997, Jobs announced an alliance
with Microsoft that would allow for the creation of a Mac ver-
sion of the popular Microsoft Office software. He also made a
concerted effort to woo other developers, such as Adobe, to
continue to produce Mac-compatible programs.
In late October 2001, Apple released its first major non-
computer product—the iPod. This device was an MP3 music
player that packed up to 1,000 CD-quality songs into an ultra-
portable, 6.5-ounce design: “With iPod, Apple has invented a
whole new category of digital music player that lets you put
your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it
wherever you go,” said Steve Jobs. “With iPod, listening to
music will never be the same again.”9 This prediction became
even truer in 2002, when Apple introduced an iPod that
would download from Windows—its first product that did not
require a Macintosh computer and thus opened up the Apple
“magic” to everyone. In 2003, all iPod products were sold
with a Windows version of iTunes, making it even easier to
use the device regardless of computer platform.
In April 2003, Apple opened the online iTunes Music
Store to everyone. This software, downloadable on any com-
puter platform, sold individual songs through the iTunes
­application for 99 cents each. When announced, the iTunes
Music Store already had the backing of five major record
labels and a catalog of 200,000 songs. Later that year, the
iTunes Music Store was selling roughly 500,000 songs a day.
In 2003, the iPod was the only portable digital player that
could play music purchased from iTunes, and this intended
exclusivity helped both products become dominant.
After 30 years of carving a niche for itself as the premier
provider of technology solutions for graphic artists, Web de-
signers, and educators, Apple had reinvented itself as a digital
entertainment company, moving beyond the personal com-
puter industry. The announcement in 2007 of the iPhone, a
product incorporating a wireless phone, a music and video
player, and a mobile Internet browsing device, meant Apple
was also competing in the cell phone/smartphone industry.
That year, Apple changed its name from Apple Computer to
Apple Inc.
Also introduced in 2007, the iPod Touch incorporated
Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing users to purchase and down-
load music directly from iTunes without a computer. Then,
in 2008 Apple opened the App Store. Users could now pur-
chase applications written by third-party developers specifi-
cally for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
In 2010, Apple launched the large-screen touch-based
tablet called the iPad and sold over 2 million of these
­devices in the first two months.10 That same year, Apple’s
stock value increased to the extent that the company’s
Strategic Management: Text and
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­ arket cap exceeded Microsoft’s, making it the biggest tech
m
company in the world.11 In 2011, Steve Jobs made his last
product launch appearance to introduce iCloud, an online
storage and syncing service. On October 4, 2011, Apple
­announced the iPhone 4S, which included “Siri,” the
­“intelligent software assistant.” The next day, on October 5,
came the announcement that Steve Jobs had died.
Apple continued to innovate, however, and on
­September 21, 2012, Apple had its biggest iPhone launch
ever with the iPhone 5.12 On September 19, 2012, Apple
stock reached $702.10, its highest level to date, which made
Apple the most valuable company in the world. 2013 saw
the iPhone5C and the high-range iPhone5S, which intro-
duced the Touch ID fingerprint recognition system. The
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, with larger displays, faster processors,
and support for mobile payments, were released in Septem-
ber 2014.13 The prototype of the Apple Watch was unveiled
in 2014. Also introduced in 2014 was Apple Pay, a mobile
payment system meant to augment all Apple mobile prod-
ucts. February 2015 saw Apple reach the highest market
cap of any U.S.-traded company. During 2016 Apple intro-
duced Apple Music, a streaming music service meant to
take advantage of its already strong relationship with artists
and music publishers, and therefore positioned to success-
fully compete with Pandora and Spotify. In addition,
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and the Apple Watch Series 2 all had a
positive response from customers. Apple products had
more than 1 billion users worldwide by the end of 2017.
Apple had become a diversified digital entertainment
corporation. Back in 2005 analysts believed Apple had
“changed the rules of the game for three industries—PCs,
consumer electronics, and music and appears to have noth-
ing to fear from major rivals.”14 On top of steady sales of its
computers, of the iPod, and of iTunes, the added categories
of iPhone and iPad had shown substantial growth; but by
2013, Samsung had outperformed Apple in worldwide
smartphone sales,15 and Google’s Android had captured
the largest market share of cell phone operating systems. At
the same time, both the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and
­Microsoft’s Surface tablet had emerged to challenge the
iPad. 2015 was marked by competition in the wearable tech
space, and 2017 saw the Windows 10 operating system
­become four times more popular than the macOS, the
­Microsoft Surface defeating iPad in user satisfaction, and
customers frustrated that the MacPro had not yet been
­redesigned to recover from its 2013 design misstep. Could
Apple continue to grow, and, if so, in what categories?
Apple’s Operations
Maintaining a competitive edge required more than innova-
tive product design. Operational execution was also impor-
tant. For instance, while trying to market its increasingly
diverse product line, Apple believed that its own retail
stores could serve customers better than any third-party
­retailers. By the beginning of 2019, Apple had 506 stores
open, including 234 international locations.16 Some of
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 these stores worldwide were considered architectural
­wonders, including the iconic Fifth Avenue glass cube in
New York City. Apple had even received trademark protec-
tion for its retail stores’ “distinctive design and layout.”17
Partly due to the appealing design of both the shopping ex-
perience and the products being sold within, Apple retail
stores had traditionally generated more sales per square
foot than any other U.S. retailer, including its closest luxury
rival Tiffany & Co.18
To solidify its supply chain, Apple had entered into mul-
tiyear agreements with suppliers of key components. Apple
had had historically excellent margins, partly because of its
simpler product line, leading to lower manufacturing costs.19
Apple had outsourced almost all manufacturing and final
assembly to its Asian partners, paying close attention to
scheduling and quality issues. Outsourcing to Asian manu-
facturers was not without its problems, however. In 2012,
headlines worldwide exposed China’s Foxconn manufactur-
ing facility for labor abuses that led to worker suicide threats.
Apple, as well as most other technology companies, used
Foxconn facilities to assemble products, including the iPad
and iPhone. After the story broke, Apple CEO Tim Cook
visited the Foxconn plant and reviewed an audit of working
conditions that found violations in wages, overtime, and
­environmental standards. Apple stated that it remained
“committed to the highest standards of social responsibility
across our worldwide supply chain,”20 and Cook announced
that Apple would be bringing some of the production of
Mac computers back to the United States, starting in 2013.
They could do this without affecting the company’s profit-
ability, because of automation cost savings.21
Apple had also historically paid attention to research
and development, increasing its R&D investment year after
year. In the second quarter of 2019, Apple spent $3.9 billion
on R&D, an increase of 1 percent from the previous year.
As one of Steve Jobs’s legacies, Apple had traditionally kept
the specifics of its research and development a closely
EXHIBIT 5  Worldwide PC Market Share, Calendar Year 2018 (units in thousands)
2018 Market
Company 2018 Shipments Share
1. HP 59,986 23.2%
2. Lenovo* 59,857 23.2%
3. Dell Inc 44,170 17.1%
4. Apple 18,021 7.0%
5. Acer Group 17,841 6.9%
Others 58,621 22.7%
Total 258,497 100.0%
Source: Inventory and Processor Supply Issues Weigh Against Holiday PC Shipments, According to IDC. IDC, January 10, 2019.
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guarded secret and fiercely protected its innovative patents.
For example, a well-publicized series of lawsuits in 2012
highlighted rifts between Apple and Samsung, who was
both a rival and supplier. Samsung smartphones had cap-
tured more market share than Apple’s iPhones in the begin-
ning of 2012, and Apple argued that Samsung had
succeeded with both its phones and tablets only by copying
Apple’s designs. Samsung replied by claiming that Apple
had infringed on Samsung’s patents.22 U.S. intellectual
property courts found in favor of Apple, but Japanese
courts found in favor of Samsung. The threat of ongoing
battle meant Apple needed to look for other suppliers of
chips and displays. Supply chain watchers pointed out that
Apple still had a major challenge finding reliable suppliers
for increasingly scarce components, and that the continued
reliance on Foxconn as the sole manufacturer of the iPhone
meant that any disruption there could have major conse-
quences for delivery.23
Status of Apple’s Business Units in 2019
The Apple Computer Business
In the computer market, Apple had always refused to com-
pete on price, relying instead on its reliability, design ele-
gance, ease of use, and integrated features to win customers.
An opportunity for increased market share was realized
when Apple began using Intel processors in the iMac desk-
top and the MacBook portables, which allowed them to run
Microsoft Office and other business software.
However, in FY2018 Apple’s worldwide Mac computer
sales decreased 5 percent over the previous year, continuing
to signal the decline of this category since the introduction
of the iPad in 2010. Overall it appeared that sales of desk-
top computers, especially, were slowing worldwide as the
tablet and smartphone markets grew, and this was evident
in the worldwide PC market share data from 2018, where
only Dell saw any significant growth (see Exhibit 5). Apple
2017 Market 2018/2017
2017 Shipments Share Growth
58,809 22.6% 2.0%
58,049 22.4% 3.1%
41,822 16.1% 5.6%
19,010 7.3% −5.2%
18,033 6.9% −1.1%
63,925 24.6% −8.3%
259,647 100.0% −0.4%
 EXHIBIT 6  Worldwide SmartPhone Shipments, First Quarter 2019
Q1 2019 Q1 2019
Vendor shipments (million) Market share
Samsung 71.5 22.8%
Huawei 59.1 18.8%
Apple 40.2 12.8%
Xiaomi 27.8 8.9%
Oppo 27.3 8.7%
Others 88.0 28.0%
Total 313.9 100.0%
Source: Canalys: Apple iPhone shipments fall 23% as global smartphone market remains in freefall. Canalys, May 1, 2019.
saw the greatest decline amongst its rivals, a decline also
evident in its own revenue profile, which had seen the
Mac’s share of Apple overall revenue drop from more than
40 percent in 2007 to about 11 percent in 2016, and slip-
ping further to 9.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019.24
There had been rumors Apple was planning to refresh
the iMac, and completely revamp the Mac Pro. Targeting
professional users, and very expensive at around $3,000,
the Mac Pro product had never had a large market
share, but the creative professionals—the videographers,
­designers, and photographers—who embraced the original
product were still waiting for a delayed redesign.25 The
iMac did see new processors and graphics in 2019, but the
basic design remained the same.
Personal Digital Entertainment Devices: iPod
Although many analysts at the time felt the MP3 player mar-
ket was oversaturated, Apple had introduced the iPod Touch
in 2007, intending it to be an iPhone without the phone, a
portable media player, and Wi-Fi Internet device without the
AT&T phone bill. The iPod Touch borrowed most of its fea-
tures from the iPhone, including the finger-touch interface,
but it remained mainly an iPod, with a larger viewing area
for videos. Apple released the fifth-generation iPod Touch in
September 2012, and the sixth-generation version debuted in
2015. A seventh-generation was released in May, 2019.26 The
iPod Touch had sold well over 100 million units since its
debut in 2007, and although it was no longer promoted on
the Apple website, it was still for sale. The device was still a
cheap way to get entertainment, and used for portable gam-
ing, this device augmented with a cheap phone for calling
and texting was still less expensive than an iPhone.
Mobile Communication Devices: iPhone
In 2007, Apple’s iPhone combined an Internet-enabled smart-
phone and video iPod. The iPhone allowed users to access all
iPod content and play music and video content purchased
from iTunes. Subsequent smartphone models ­increased the
quality of the photo and video components to make even the
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Q1 2018 Q1 2018
shipments (million) Market share Annual growth
79.5 23.6% −10.0%
39.3 11.7% +50.2%
52.2 15.5% −23.2%
28.2 8.4% −1.3%
25.7 7.6% +6.4%
111.9 33.2% −21.3%
336.8 100.0% −6.8%
digital camera or camcorder appear obsolete. By the fourth
quarter of 2015 Apple had achieved ­almost 19 percent market
share, in a close tie with ­Samsung, and by July 2016 it had
sold over 1 billion units, becoming “one of the most impor-
tant, world-changing and successful products in history.”27
However, competition was fierce and by 2019 Apple’s smart-
phone market share had dropped by over 23 percent. The
main challenge was coming from ­Huawei (see Exhibit 6).
In addition, the smartphone market was increasingly
turning into a battle between mobile operating systems. Ap-
ple’s iPhone, running on iOS, had considerable competition
from Samsung’s line of smartphones. This was partly due to
Samsung’s use of Google’s Android operating system. By
2018, the operating system map had Android devices captur-
ing the majority of market share (see Exhibit 7).28
Over the years, in Asian markets especially, Apple’s shares
of mobile devices had lost considerable ground to Samsung,
Huawei, and other smartphones produced by Asian
­manufacturers. Younger Asian users, the 20-something college
students and fresh graduates, were looking for the next new
thing, and that was increasingly an Android-driven device.29
In 2019, overall iPhone second quarter sales were down
17 percent from the previous year. The overall smartphone
market was slowing down as mature markets were increas-
ingly dependent on replacement purchases, and emerging
markets appeared more interested in low-cost devices.
Other than the removal of the headphone port, Apple had
not made any significant technological changes to the
iPhone lineup, so if Apple wanted to address its declining
market share, it might have to lower prices, which, given the
iPhone’s major contribution to Apple’s bottom line ($167B
or 63 percent of total sales in 2018), would make it difficult
for the company to maintain its profit margins or grow net
income going forward. Even so, the iPhone was Apple’s
most important and potentially lucrative product.
Tablet Computer: iPad
In April 2010, Apple released the iPad, a tablet computer, as a
platform for audio-visual media, including books, periodicals,
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 EXHIBIT 7  Smartphone Operating System Market Share, Fourth Quarter 2018
100
Android iOS
90 88.0% 87.6% 87.8% 86.8%
85.0% 84.3%
80.3% 81.8%
80
70
60
50
40
30
20 19.6% 18.2%
14.7% 15.7% 13.2%
11.8% 12.4% 12.1%
10
0
2017Q1 2017Q2 2017Q3 2017Q4 2018Q1 2018Q2 2018Q3 2018Q4
Quarter
Source: Smartphone Market Share: OS Data Overview. IDC. https://www.idc.com/promo/smartphone-market-share/os

movies, music, games, and web content. More than 300,000
iPads were purchased by eager tech consumers during the de-
vice’s first day on store shelves. Weighing only 1.5 pounds,
this lightweight, portable, and touch-screen device was seen as
a gigantic iPod Touch.30 Features like the sleek design, touch
screen, multiple apps, and fast and easy-to-navigate software
made the iPad popular in business, education, and the enter-
tainment industry. The iPad was selected by Time magazine as
one of the 50 Best Inventions of the Year 2010.31
Up until September 2010, Apple iPads had accounted
for 95 percent of tablet computer sales,32 but by the end of
2012, that figure had fallen to 78.9 percent; and by the end
of 2018 Apple held only about 26 percent of the market.
The loss of share was partly due to tablet devices, such as
Samsung’s Galaxy, that were based on Google’s open-
source Android system. Other platforms and devices had
also appeared, including Google’s Chromebook, Amazon’s
Kindle Fire, and Microsoft Windows’ Surface tablet.33
Going into 2019 there were signs that the iPad models’
sales—as well as the entire tablet industry—were in decline,
perhaps due to the “jumbo” phones coming from the likes
of Samsung (and Apple), and low-cost Google-based
Chromebook laptops (see Exhibit 8).34
Apple finally redesigned the iPad lineup in 2019, provid-
ing a major upgrade in power with Apple’s new A12 Bionic
chip, and introducing a new iPad Mini and iPad Air, both
ultra-portable with Apple Pencil support. The iPad Pro,
­although expensive, was redesigned to incorporate a full-
screen Liquid Retina display, Face ID, as well as the
powerful A12X Bionic chip with Neural Engine and sup-
port for the new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard. Even
though the category had seen reduced activity as a whole,

EXHIBIT 8  Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Market Share, Third Quarter 2018

3Q18 Unit 3Q18 Market 3Q17 Unit 3Q17 Market Year-Over-Year

Company Shipments Share Shipments Share Growth
1. Apple 9.7 26.6% 10.3 25.9% −6.1%
2. Samsung 5.3 14.6% 6.0 15.0% −11.4%
3. Amazon.com 4.4 12.0% 4.4 11.0% −0.4%
4. Huawei 3.2 8.9% 3.0 7.6% 7.1%
5. Lenovo 2.3 6.3% 3.1 7.7% −24.5%
Others 11.5 31.6% 13.1 32.9% −12.1%
Total 36.4 100.0% 39.9 100.0% −8.6%
Lenovo (excluding Fujitsu 2.3 6.3% 3.0 7.4% −22.1%
volume in 3Q17)

Source: Tablet Market Sees Modest Decline of 8.6% as Slate and Detachable Categories Continue to Struggle, According to IDC. IDC, November 2, 2018.

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 the iPad continued to perform for Apple, with 2018 seeing
the strongest growth in years. Part of this growth was due to
customer response to the iPad Pro and the adoption of the
iPad in operational scenarios such as in airline pilots’ flight
bags and maintenance ground crews’ service bays as an
easy portable source for key information.
The Software Market
Although Apple had always created innovative hardware,
software development also had been an important goal.
Software had been Apple’s core strength, especially in its
computers, due to its reliability and resistance to virus
­infections and resulting crashes.35 The premier piece of
Apple software was the operating system. The iOS allowed
Apple to develop software applications such as Final Cut
Pro, a video-editing program for professionals’ digital cam-
corders; GarageBand, for making and mixing personally
created music; the iTunes digital music jukebox; and iWork,
containing a PowerPoint-type program called Keynote and
a word-processor/page-layout program called Pages.
Apple’s Web browser, Safari, was upgraded in 2009 to
compete with Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox,
and the new entrant, Chrome from Google. Apple
­announced, “Safari 4 is the world’s fastest and most innova-
tive browser,”36 but analysts were quick to point out that
Google’s Chrome, which debuted six months earlier, was
perhaps the first to take the browser interface in a new
­direction. One commentator called Chrome “a wake-up call
for the Safari UI guys.”37 Browser market share data in 2019
showed Chrome in the top spot, with its various versions
grabbing over 65 percent of global market share. Recent
versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Edge held second
place with 14 percent, and Firefox had 9.6 percent. Safari had
3.7 percent share.38
iCloud was introduced in 2011 during one of Steve
Jobs’s last public appearances. The web-based storage ser-
vice initially struggled to get traction, but in 2014 was
­upgraded to iCloud Drive, allowing users to interoperate
with Windows and connect all iOS devices. As an alterna-
tive to Google Drive and Dropbox, this gave Apple an intro
into the enterprise/corporate user space, a market CEO
Tim Cook had begun to successfully target.39
In other software development areas, Apple had not been
that successful. In 2012, Apple stumbled badly with its Maps
software. Released in iOS6, Apple Maps was meant to replace
Google Maps on the iPhone, but instead produced distorted
images and gave really bad directions. CEO Tim Cook had to
apologize that Apple had fallen short of its commitment to
making “world-class products,” and suggested customers go
back to using its competitor’s mapping software.40
iTunes/Apple Music
Arguably, Apple’s most innovative software product was
iTunes, a free downloadable software program for con-
sumers running on either Mac or Windows operating
­systems. It came bundled with all Mac computers and
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i­Pods and connected with the iTunes Music Store for pur-
chasing digital music and movie files that could be
downloaded and played by iPods, iPads, and the iPhone,
and by iTunes on PCs.
Although the volume was there, iTunes had not neces-
sarily been a profitable venture. Traditionally, out of the
99 cents Apple charged for a song, about 65 cents went to
the music label; 25 cents for distribution costs, including
credit card charges, servers, and bandwidth; and the bal-
ance to marketing, promotion, and the amortized cost of
developing the iTunes software.41 However, if not wildly
profitable, iTunes was still considered a media giant—­
especially with its over 50 million songs, and 100,000 TV
shows and movies available in its database as of 2019.42
Growth, however, was occurring in the streaming service
market, especially with the rising popularity of online radio
and Internet streaming providers Pandora and ­Spotify, and
by 2015 music sales on iTunes had fallen by over 14 percent
worldwide. This trend helped explain why Apple acquired
the monthly subscription streaming service Beats Music in
2014. The $3 billion acquisition included headphone maker
Beats Electronics,43 and ultimately led to the development
of Apple Music in 2015. By April 2019, Apple Music had
over 28 million U.S. subscribers, beating out Spotify.44
Worldwide, Spotify still had a lead, especially when factor-
ing in non-paying users, but Apple was working to draw from
its base of 900 million iPhone users to ­increase this.
The App Store – Apple Arcade, Apple News+
In March 2008, Apple announced that it was releasing the
iPhone software development kit (SDK), allowing develop-
ers to create applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch
and sell these third-party applications via the Apple App
Store. The App Store was made available on iTunes, and it
was directly available from the iPhone, iPad, and iPod
Touch products. This opened the window for another group
of Apple customers, the application developers, to collabo-
rate with Apple. Developers could purchase the iPhone
Developer Program from Apple for $99, create either free
or commercial applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch,
and then submit these applications to be sold in the App
Store. Developers would be paid 70 percent of the down-
load fee customers paid to the App Store, and Apple would
get 30 percent of the revenue.
By 2019, over 180 billion apps had been downloaded
from Apple’s App Store,45 but Google Play, the app store
for Android users, had grabbed more of the download
­business. In the third quarter of 2018 the App Store saw
7.6 billion downloads, while Google Play had 19.5 billion.
The most popular App Store downloads were games.46 It
was worth noting that the mobile app industry was large—in
2019 there were an estimated 2.7 billion smartphone users
and 1.35 billion tablet users worldwide, and this number
was expected to continue to grow. Data showed that 90 per-
cent of mobile time was spent on apps, and this was a po-
tentially lucrative business for both the app developer and
CASE 32 :: APPLE INC.: WHERE’S THE NEXT INNOVATION?  C261
 the platform host. Apple was intending to capitalize on this
by offering its new Apple Arcade, an ad-free subscription
service, providing access to over 100 exclusive or new
games. Apple was attracting game developers who appreci-
ated the superior iPhone animation technology and, unlike
on the Google Play platform, Apple had the ability to pro-
vide security and protection against malware, counterfeit-
ing, and piracy. This meant high quality games would be
available for Apple products exclusively.47
Also available in 2019 in the App Store was Apple
News+, a $9.99 per month subscription to 300 magazines
including Time, Vogue, Popular Science, Sports Illustrated,
and Fortune. Premium digital content from The Wall Street
Journal, Los Angeles Times, and TechCrunch made this an
attractive offering.
Apple Pay/Apple Card
Introduced in late 2014, Apple Pay allowed iPhone users in
the United States to make secure payments for goods and
services using their phones. With over 1 million credit and
debit card activations within the first 72 hours of its release,
Apple Pay was intended to replace the user’s wallet and,
according to CEO Tim Cook, would “forever change the
way all of us buy things,” primarily because the process was
more secure than a traditional card-based transaction.
Major retailers such as Macy’s, Walgreens, McDonald’s,
Whole Foods, and Disney had all agreed to accept Apple
Pay. Apple reportedly received 0.15 percent of each pur-
chase, making the service a potentially lucrative venture,
but adoption had been poor, with only one-third of iPhone
users trying it once or more. In 2019, Apple debuted the
Apple Card in partnership with Mastercard and Goldman
Sachs. This was both a digital and physical credit card
­option that provided better security in its physical form,
since nothing was printed on the card. The digital card
could be used anywhere Apple Pay was accepted, while the
physical version could be used in other places. Apple was
hoping this option would increase the use of Apple Pay.
Other Products: Apple Watch, AirPods,
HomePod, Apple TV
Apple Watch was the first all-new product since the iPad,
and therefore CEO Tim Cook’s most ambitious gamble.
Once again, Apple was not the first company to enter the
wearable tech space, following the lead of Samsung, Sony,
and Motorola, and competing against fitness trackers
­produced by Nike, FitBit, and others. However, Apple’s pre-
orders for the launch in 2015 indicated demand would run
to a combined five to six million units of the three watch
models.48 This category was a bit of a departure for Apple
as it had positioned the Watch as a personalized device,
with the market segmented between mass market and
­luxury.49 Although initial sales appeared disappointing,
Apple continued to innovate the product, and by 2019 had
sold over 46 million, making the Apple Watch the number
one smartwatch in the world. Software improvements using
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HealthKit and ResearchKit had helped wearers monitor
and improve their health and fitness, showing that this
­device was more than just an iPhone extension on the wrist.
Apple’s AirPods, first released in 2016, were Apple’s
most popular accessory product, with over 35 million units
sold in 2018. These wireless Bluetooth earphones not only
played audio but could handle phone calls and receive
­assistance from Siri, Apple’s digital assistant. AirPods had
full functionality with all Apple products, including Apple
Watch and Apple TV.
The Apple HomePod was another way to interact with
Apple devices. This smart speaker introduced in early 2018
was intended to compete with Amazon’s Echo and Google’s
Home device, and by 2019 the Apple device had captured a
6 percent share. Reviews had been mixed, however, especially
since the HomePod version of Siri was not as helpful as Ama-
zon’s Alexa or Google’s Assistant, so the initial price had
been lowered, presumably to attract more Apple users.50 Once
again, the intention was to use the device for its high quality
speaker capability, pairing it with AppleTV, Apple Music, and
the iPhone, extending the reach of the Apple ecosystem.
Apple TV, around since 2007, had undergone four
­upgrades, and had partnered with NBC Universal to offer
users access to seven of its networks’ most popular series.
Similar to rivals Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast,
­Apple TV was a digital media player that could stream con-
tent to a compatible television. Unlike its rivals, Apple TV
could play all the content from iTunes, apps, and games
from the iPhone, and use Siri voice recognition software to
search and recognize viewer choices. However, it was more
expensive and did not provide easy access to Amazon
Prime content, a popular destination for many viewers.
2019 saw the addition of new services Apple TV+ streaming
service, designed to cement loyalty among Apple users.51
Original content designed for Apple TV+ and access to
streaming content from other providers may be a new and
developing revenue source for Apple.52
Product Extensions, Growth of Services
Rumors surfaced in 2015 that Apple had acquired
­resources, primarily engineers and related technology, that
would enable it to develop an automobile ready for market
by 2020. Speculation was that the Apple would not do the
actual assembly but, as with its other products, would use
its sophisticated supply chain expertise to outsource manu-
facturing, focusing its considerable innovation skills on the
design and sales of a product that incorporates Apple tech-
nology in multiple configurations.53 By 2019, restructuring
had led to the dismissal of over 200 employees from
Apple’s Project Titan autonomous driving unit. Rumors
had spread that Apple would not pursue the actual automo-
bile, but instead was investigating the development of self-
driving car software, or the application of artificial
intelligence in multiple products, using its available cash to
acquire both businesses and people, making a “heavy invest-
ment in machine learning and autonomous systems.”54
 With the existing hardware products all appearing to
stagnate, analysts were looking to Apple’s services and
“other products” for growth opportunities. While the
“other” products such as Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods,
and HomePod grew 35 percent in FY2018, the services
­category—which included Apple Pay, Apple Music, iCloud,
iTunes, and the App Store—grew 24 percent to a record
$37.2 billion and accounted for 14 percent of all revenues,
beating every category except the iPhone. In addition, mak-
ing this sector more attractive, profit margin estimates aver-
aged almost 64 percent. In particular, the App Store, having
tripled revenue between 2013 and 2016, was projected to
produce about two-thirds of Apple’s growth target for
2020.55 In 2019, Apple reported over 390 million paid
­subscriptions across its services portfolio, an increase of
120 million since the previous year. Many analysts were
wondering whether Apple could create “the world’s greatest
subscription model, where users can opt to have the latest
iPhone and many services for a fixed fee. This would lock
many into its ecosystem and create a constant stream of
­recurring revenues.”56 Others cautioned that Apple’s strength
is “using the services division to boost the sales of the iPhone
and keep people locked into an ever-growing cycle of updated
hardware.”57 This may be Apple’s exact intention.
The Future of Apple
Under Cook, Apple had transitioned itself “from being a
hypergrowth company to being a premium, branded con-
sumer company.”58 Apple was a truly vertically integrated
designer and marketer of products and services. If long-time
Apple fans were not satisfied with the state of Apple’s
­innovation today, they might have to realize, as former Ap-
ple marketing guru Guy Kawasaki did, that
[It is] difficult for Apple to top itself. …. It would be
foolish to bet against Apple based on my experience.…
If nothing else, Apple will once again force everyone to
improve their game.59
As CEO Tim Cook said during the second quarter earnings
call of 2019:
One of Apple’s great strengths is our culture of
flexibility, adaptability, and creativity. This quarter
featured some important announcements that speak to
the power of our commitment to innovation and long-
term thinking… we previewed a game-changing array of
new services, each of them rooted in principles that are
fundamentally Apple.… These features aren’t just nice
to have. They actually help to eliminate the boundary
between hardware, software, and service, creating a
singularly exceptional experience for our users.60
It is entirely possible Apple is not done innovating.
ENDNOTES
1 Apple Press Release. 2017. Apple Park opens to employees in April.
Apple Newsroom, February 22, http://www.apple.com/newsroom/
2017/02/apple-park-opens-to-employees-in-april.html.
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2 Stone, B. and P. Burrows. 2011. The essence of Apple. Bloomberg
Businessweek, January 24–30; Kahney, L. 2019. The big question
hanging over Tim Cook’s tenure at Apple. Yahoo! Finance, April 15,
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html.
3 Dudovskiy, J. 2017. Apple leadership–an effective leadership by Tim
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4 Sure Dividend. 2017. Will Apple be the next AAA-rated company?
Seeking Alpha, March 21, https://seekingalpha.com/article/4056857-
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:b996ecb86441181f700647f3f12dfd52&uprof=14.
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7 Apple Inc. 2018. 2018 annual report, 10-K filing. www.apple.com/
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9 Apple Inc. 2001. Ultra-portable MP3 music player puts 1,000 songs in
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10 Apple Inc. 2010. Apple sells two million iPads in less than 60 days.
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31Apple-Sells-Two-Million-iPads-in-Less-Than-60-Days.html.
11 BBC News. 2010. Apple passes Microsoft to be biggest tech company.
BBC News, May 27, www.bbc.co.uk/news/10168684.
12 Keizer, G. 2012. Apple drains iPhone5 pre-order supplies in an hour.
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9231285/Apple_drains_iPhone_5_pre_order_supplies_in_an_hour.
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14 Schlender, B. 2005. How big can Apple get? Fortune, February 21,
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8251769/index.htm.
15 Tofel, K.C. 2012. Why only Samsung builds phones that outsell iPhones.
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16 MacRumors Staff. 2019. Apple stores: Keep track of Apple’s retail
stores worldwide. MacRumors, February 6, https://www.macrumors.
com/roundup/apple-retail-stores/.
17 Apple Inc. 2012. 2012 Annual Report; Palladino, V. 2013. Apple Store
receives trademark for “distinctive design and layout.” Wired, January 30,
www.wired.com/design/2013/01/apple-store-trademark/.
18 Wahba, P. 2015. Apple extends lead in U.S. top 10 retailers by sales
per square foot. Fortune, March 13, http://fortune.com/2015/03/13/
apples-holiday-top-10-retailers-iphone/.
19 Fox, F. 2008. Mac Pro beats HP and Dell at their own game: Price.
LowEndMac.com, May 16, lowendmac.com/ed/fox/08ff/mac-pro-vs-
dell-hp.html.
20 Lowensohn, J. 2012. Lingering issues found at Foxconn’s iPhone
factory. CNET, December 14, news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57559327-
37/lingering-issues-found-at-foxconns-iphone-factory/.
21 Bennett, D. 2012. Apple’s Cook says more Macs will be born in the
U.S.A. Bloomberg Businessweek, December 10, www.businessweek.
com/articles/2012-12-10/apples-cook-says-more-macs-will-be-born-in-
the-u-dot-s-dot-a-dot.
22 Jones, A. and J.E. Vascellaro. 2012. Apple v. Samsung: The patent
trial of the century. Wall Street Journal, July 24, online.wsj.com/
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23 Noel, P. 2014. iProblems: Learning from Apple’s strained supply
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24 Rexaline, S. 2017. Amid reports of a revamp how much does the Mac
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25 Haslam, K. 2017. New Mac Pro 2018 latest rumours: Release date, UK
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26 MacRumors Staff. 2019. What’s next for the iPod Touch? MacRumors,
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27 Apple Newsroom. 2016. Apple celebrates one billion iPhones. July 27,
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billion-iphones.html.
28 IDC. 2012. Worldwide mobile phone growth expected to drop to 1.4 % in
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29 Wagstaff, J. 2012. In Asia’s trend-setting cities, iPhone fatigue sets in.
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fatigue-sets-212849658-finance.html.
30 Pogue, D. 2010. Looking at the iPad from two angles. New York Times,
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33 Johnson, J. 2013. Kindle Fire, Android tablets chip away at iPad
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2tB.99.
34 Inquisitr. 2015. Galaxy Tab S2 tries to kill Apple’s ‘already dying’ iPad
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3 5 Schlender. 2005. How big can Apple get?
36 Apple Inc. 2009. Apple announces Safari 4—the world’s fastest and
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C264  CASE 32 :: APPLE INC.: WHERE’S THE NEXT INNOVATION?
Strategic Management: Text and
Cases
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