The recent earthquake that Apple sent through the technology world, that it was planning to delay the release of its next operating system code name Leopard, was received as a sign of the impending Apocalypse my the core of mac faithful. Ironically, wall street analysts, whom many expected to over react to this statement remained calm, even positive about this move. |It was Apple’s normally “loyal to the bitter end” fan base that reacted with hysteria and panic. Commentary from all over the internet seemed to focus on one thing, a sense of betrayal by Apple, by shifting its focus from its traditional core of computing to the newer consumer electronics focussed iPhone. Mac users felt this signaled the beginning of the end of the Mac, that Apple was demoting its computers to which the fans had been so loyal to for so long. But in the technology industry, delays happen frequently, and Apples promised 4 month push back of the Leopard Launch was not really a big deal. So why then has everyone seemingly lost their collective minds over this?
The argument that Apple is shifting focus away from its Mac business is just plain wrong. There are other considerations that come into play here. For a start its contract with cingular/AT&T would have probably gotten them in a lot of hot water should the iPhone have been delayed, so from a business perspective this made perfect sense. Of course that simple realization will not placate most detractors from Apple’s decision on this matter. The one thing everyone seems to be missing though, is how the iPhone and indeed other devices from Apple fit into its overall strategy. In the end, it is all about the OS. The iPhone runs OSX. So does the Apple TV. So it is not like Apple are redeploying engineers to something that is not related to their current work. but more than that, rather than replace or compete with Apple’s mac business, the consumer products, such as the iPhone and AppleTV compliment the Mac. I would even go so far as to say that they are a vital component to growing the mac platform.
One of the things that struck me while playing with the new Apple TV was not how good the device itself was (and it is good), but how well it integrates with the operating system. While Apple’s consumer electronics range works on windows as well as the mac, they really come into their own when used with a mac. I was playing a slide show of photographs on my AppleTV and noticed how it had kept the music I had set in iPhoto for the set. Its this kind of integration that only Apple seems able to achieve across its entire product line, that sets the company’s offerings apart from the competition. Central to all this is its operating system. So to assume that Apple are not interested in its operating system any more is missing the point entirely. The OS is what binds Apple’s whole strategy together, both as the hub for everything and the power under the hud that is driving its newer devices.
As John Gruber pointed out on Daring Fireball:
“There’s still going to be a major new release of OS X in June. It’s just not the one we’d been expecting”
Despite what you may have read or believe, Leopard is going to be a major release for Apple, and not only that but there two major versions to release. Some are saying Apple may have bitten off more than it can chew, but again, the iPhone is a brand new product line for the company that runs its existing operating system technology, so its only natural that the engineers focus on achieving a deadline that is not easy to move, and would have major financial, business, and pr impact, rather than an upgrade that a small delay to which, will have little impact in the long run. Mac Users may feel that they should be the most important thing to Apple, but the huge damage delaying the iPhone would do to Apple’s business would have a far greater impact on Apples future ability to deliver to mac users than a short 4 month delay to Leopard will have.
Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone
No related posts.
Subscribe To RSS feed
