Here's what I posted elsewhere in this thread that addresses it:
"The actual product is the Apple ecosystem and that's the bet Apple is making.
Right now, the ecosystem is tied together by iOS whose most popular incarnation is iPhone. But iOS was so successful that it has an install base of over 1 billion users.
That's nothing less than an incredible user-base - a hell of a foundation. If they can sustain that install base with iterative iPhones while strengthening their ecosystem through value-add products like Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod and Apple Music, then they have potentially many cash cows with dramatically high ceilings and reach.
This is a good bet for them because it plays to their strengths and they've earned incredibly loyal customers over the years.
iPhone may not be the future of Apple, but it is the core from which many futures will emerge. It'll still be a critical product for Apple, but no longer a key top-line growth driver. And that's OK, that's how innovation cycles go. iPhone made it possible for them to start on 3rd base for the next cycle."
Here's what I posted elsewhere in this thread that addresses it:
"The actual product is the Apple ecosystem and that's the bet Apple is making.
Right now, the ecosystem is tied together by iOS whose most popular incarnation is iPhone. But iOS was so successful that it has an install base of over 1 billion users.
That's nothing less than an incredible user-base - a hell of a foundation. If they can sustain that install base with iterative iPhones while strengthening their ecosystem through value-add products like Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod and Apple Music, then they have potentially many cash cows with dramatically high ceilings and reach.
This is a good bet for them because it plays to their strengths and they've earned incredibly loyal customers over the years.
iPhone may not be the future of Apple, but it is the core from which many futures will emerge. It'll still be a critical product for Apple, but no longer a key top-line growth driver. And that's OK, that's how innovation cycles go. iPhone made it possible for them to start on 3rd base for the next cycle."