As an Apple investor, I am fairly happy. Apple stock is up over $600 and things look decent on the horizon. But let's not confuse things; people buy on the rumor and sell on the fact, and that is why I am concerned about what is to come for Apple.
Steve Jobs made two mistakes; he hired John Scully and he chose Tim Cook as his successor.
Tim seems like a nice guy, is brilliant at logistics, but make no mistake about it, he is not a product guy. He lacks the vision as well as enthusiasm of Steve or other CEO's like Zuckerberg, Page, Ellison etc. The reality is that he may be a great numbers guy, but he is making some major mistakes that will be clear in hindsight.
Mistake #1, in 2013 he said on an investor call that Apple would release products in new categories throughout 2014. Tim, it is 5/19/2014 and unless the little mini-update to the MacBook Air qualifies, this has been pretty disappointing. Honestly, he would have best been served by keeping his mouth shut as opposed to making this comment. Either Apple had no intentions on releasing anything before September and Tim mislead his investors, or they missed some critical deadlines. Neither is good.
Mistake #2, he got rid of Scott Forestall. I don't want this to be a debate about the merits of design choice, but there is no question that Scott was a talent that Apple should have retained. I personally find the new OS to be nothing short of a mess that appears to have been created by a 13 year old girl. I do believe if given the chance, Scott could have done some amazing stuff with the OS. Plus, putting so much on Ive's shoulders is a concern; he gets a lot of credit and now will get a lot of blame. As somebody who doesn't like the spotlight, I don't think this was a wise move.
Mistake #3, Apple is becoming too predictable. I am not talking about the fact that leaks make product announcements boring, but the reality is that Apple now releases everything in September/October. WWDC is strictly for software or if Intel has new processors, some Mac hardware. Competitors know this too and now release all of their products in the Spring. Gosh Tim, why not take the wind out of their sails and release the iPhone Phablet in March 2014 when people are least expecting it? Even if rumors come out about supply chain purchases, at least competitors can't plan on having "open season" on Apple for 9 months of the year.
I am not saying Apple lacks innovation, I am just saying that their release schedule is a disaster. Because the 5S, iPad Mini with Retina Display, and iPad Air were all released in less than a 3-month span, the attention or focus to any one product was completely lost. When Apple used to release the iPad's in the Spring, it allowed that time to be focused only on the iPad. It was brilliant. iPad sales were down YOY between 2013 and 2014 and I think it was largely due to the poor release schedule which falls on Tim.
Mistake #4, Beats. No Explanation needed.
The last mistake for Tim really is in regards to his acquiescence to pressure from Wall Street. As an investor, I would much rather see Apple continue to horde their cash for R&D or SMART acquisition (not Beats) and avoid Carl Icahn, not appease him. Make no mistake, the dividends, the comments about product releases in 2014, all point to a CEO trying to appease Wall Street. I would love to see Apple make some waves in M&A; buy a telecom and compete directly with other carriers, buy Nest, buy Yahoo!, heck buy Xbox or Playstation from Microsoft or Sony. Any of these would make more sense than Beats which again shows a lack of vision.
As an Apple fanatic, I want nothing more than to see Cook and company succeed. But I continue to get frustrated when I look at my phone and see a lack of vision and potential, have to try and comprehend why everything comes out in Fall when competitors counter with products in the Spring, and continually watch Samsung and Motorola have fun bashing Apple on TV. I miss the days when Apple was feisty (Mac vs. PC). I miss the days when Steve would surprise us with something we may not have been expecting (in January or February). I miss the company that was exciting and I feel that by appointing someone who isn't a product guy, Steve may have left us with a reminder of just how much we miss his leadership!
Steve Jobs made two mistakes; he hired John Scully and he chose Tim Cook as his successor.
Tim seems like a nice guy, is brilliant at logistics, but make no mistake about it, he is not a product guy. He lacks the vision as well as enthusiasm of Steve or other CEO's like Zuckerberg, Page, Ellison etc. The reality is that he may be a great numbers guy, but he is making some major mistakes that will be clear in hindsight.
Mistake #1, in 2013 he said on an investor call that Apple would release products in new categories throughout 2014. Tim, it is 5/19/2014 and unless the little mini-update to the MacBook Air qualifies, this has been pretty disappointing. Honestly, he would have best been served by keeping his mouth shut as opposed to making this comment. Either Apple had no intentions on releasing anything before September and Tim mislead his investors, or they missed some critical deadlines. Neither is good.
Mistake #2, he got rid of Scott Forestall. I don't want this to be a debate about the merits of design choice, but there is no question that Scott was a talent that Apple should have retained. I personally find the new OS to be nothing short of a mess that appears to have been created by a 13 year old girl. I do believe if given the chance, Scott could have done some amazing stuff with the OS. Plus, putting so much on Ive's shoulders is a concern; he gets a lot of credit and now will get a lot of blame. As somebody who doesn't like the spotlight, I don't think this was a wise move.
Mistake #3, Apple is becoming too predictable. I am not talking about the fact that leaks make product announcements boring, but the reality is that Apple now releases everything in September/October. WWDC is strictly for software or if Intel has new processors, some Mac hardware. Competitors know this too and now release all of their products in the Spring. Gosh Tim, why not take the wind out of their sails and release the iPhone Phablet in March 2014 when people are least expecting it? Even if rumors come out about supply chain purchases, at least competitors can't plan on having "open season" on Apple for 9 months of the year.
I am not saying Apple lacks innovation, I am just saying that their release schedule is a disaster. Because the 5S, iPad Mini with Retina Display, and iPad Air were all released in less than a 3-month span, the attention or focus to any one product was completely lost. When Apple used to release the iPad's in the Spring, it allowed that time to be focused only on the iPad. It was brilliant. iPad sales were down YOY between 2013 and 2014 and I think it was largely due to the poor release schedule which falls on Tim.
Mistake #4, Beats. No Explanation needed.
The last mistake for Tim really is in regards to his acquiescence to pressure from Wall Street. As an investor, I would much rather see Apple continue to horde their cash for R&D or SMART acquisition (not Beats) and avoid Carl Icahn, not appease him. Make no mistake, the dividends, the comments about product releases in 2014, all point to a CEO trying to appease Wall Street. I would love to see Apple make some waves in M&A; buy a telecom and compete directly with other carriers, buy Nest, buy Yahoo!, heck buy Xbox or Playstation from Microsoft or Sony. Any of these would make more sense than Beats which again shows a lack of vision.
As an Apple fanatic, I want nothing more than to see Cook and company succeed. But I continue to get frustrated when I look at my phone and see a lack of vision and potential, have to try and comprehend why everything comes out in Fall when competitors counter with products in the Spring, and continually watch Samsung and Motorola have fun bashing Apple on TV. I miss the days when Apple was feisty (Mac vs. PC). I miss the days when Steve would surprise us with something we may not have been expecting (in January or February). I miss the company that was exciting and I feel that by appointing someone who isn't a product guy, Steve may have left us with a reminder of just how much we miss his leadership!