Apple's Narrative Problem | Hacker News Reader

Apple's Narrative Problem

medium.com

I think it'll be interesting to see that even if we do get a rethought Apple TV or even an 'iWatch' in the near future, will that actually spur any real change in the way the company is perceived.

A lot of people have said something along these lines so I won't try to quote anyone directly, but there's that saying that when a new product/idea in the same space comes out, it not only has to be as good as existing services but it needs to be significant margin better to really make any noise.

Maybe contract deals are what's holding up a re-released Apple TV but even if were to say include Siri integration would those two things be enough to make it radical. In terms of any watch, Apple is notorious for a slow and small feature set (but obviously very well thought out) so I could really columnists/bloggers yawning at its release too.

Bottom line I'm not even convinced new products will spur any changes to their narrative, I think the author hit the nail on the head that Apple is no longer an 'underdog' in any respect and now they're held to unrealistic standards (despite still being very profitable).

One thing to remember was that when the phone was just a rumor, it was hard to imagine why it would be that great. The goofy image that Steve showed on stage of a rotary-wheel on an iPod wasn't that far from what a lot of people were imagining. But I agree, it's a different game now and they're held to a remarkably different standard.

Given how much cash they have, and the lead time it affords, I would not be shocked if Tim Cook's strategy involves letting the expectations bar get lower and lower -- it could only help them (to a point, obviously).

Or in five years we'll all look back and say it was elusive magic that's never coming back ;)

It's very hard to imagine how an iWatch or Apple TV would be perceived as "revolutionary" like the iPhone, iPad or iPod were. They're not new ideas. Even if the iWatch and Apple TV are the best choices in their field, I don't think that will change the narrative surrounding their brand currently.

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