Executive Summary
The initial goal of the report is to assess the level of innovation and development in Apple while evaluating its iPhone’s line. It is targeted at researchers, innovation consultants, and governmental authorities to highlight the role of innovation and encourage changes in the world. Apple Inc. is a widely known brand, which occupies a significant share of the market. In turn, the company and iPhone 6S is associated with continuous innovation and advancement due to its ability to combine design and friendly interface while introducing a new product.
The findings portray that innovation is the critical definer of Apple’s current leadership at the market. In turn, innovation helps build trusting and reliable relationships with consumers, retailers, and faces the competition due to the emphasis on innovation as a core value of the company. Nonetheless, despite the significant market share of the firm in the market, the competition tends to increase due to the ability of the competitors to adjust to Apple’s novelties and rapid technological development.
In the end, the corporation can utilize innovation as a tool to diversify its product line. For instance, Apple’s motorcycles and cars can be developed while combining strong marketing and operational assets. Additionally, the company can introduce new features of its existing products to assure the prioritization of the innovative approach.
Introduction
Nowadays, the world is changing due to the innovational development constantly, as technology and innovation are vital drivers for business expansion. The primary intention of this report is to display the innovational sides of the Apple’s iPhone line and depict the potential ability of the product to change the ways of living while emphasizing the vitality of innovation in the modern world. In turn, it will contribute to the understanding that innovation is a key aspect of economic development, and its role cannot be underestimated in the business world. Additionally, it will be described as a vital competitive force, which defines the company’s success and emphasizes the ability to have a significant market share.
Knowledge, which is acquired from the analysis of the case can be utilized by practitioners at different levels. For instance, the researchers can apply it as a basis for future studies to determine the potential influence of innovation on the initial flow of life. In turn, the findings of the research can be revealed as the possible drivers for the discovery of innovation as a part of the corporate culture and formation of the competitive advantage. Additionally, the findings bring the light to the essentiality of the innovation while depicting its importance among the students and future innovation consultants. Lastly, the governmental authorities can utilize this report to establish new policies to encourage innovation in the organizations and institutions, as this novelty has an advantageous influence on the overall functioning of the economy. The groups mentioned above can be considered as the potential target audience for this report.
Description of the Product
Nonetheless, the company and its product have to be described to offer detailed information about the business’s relationship with innovation. In turn, Apple’s ability to assess the innovation as an instrument to build a reliable image of the organization. In this instance, the firm has to be described to evaluate its history and monitor its product development. Apple Inc. was founded in 1976, as Jobs and Wozniak wanted to change the computer world by establishing a user-friendly interface, which is easy to operate (Linz-Mayer 1). In the beginning, the product line was limited due to the lack of financial resources. However, the leadership of Steve Jobs was able to bring the company to a new level by substantially expanding product lines and paying high attention to design and innovation. Today, the enterprise highly focuses on electronic gadgets while changing the world of the interface and contributing to the establishment of design as a priority. In this instance, the company offers iPads, Mac, iPhone, Apple TV, and new music service (“Apple” par. 1). All gadgets have high popularity in the world and help the company maintain its market share.
In turn, Apple’s innovational path has to be discussed, as it is the primary reason for the firm’s development and the increase of the market share. This matter has to be emphasized since it has been viewed as a top innovative corporation since 2005 (Adams par. 1). This aspect can be explained by the ability of Steve Jobs to market and create novelties, which can generate a new target audience. The actions and vision of the famous CEO modified the perception of Apple as a respected, trusting and innovative company with a unique design. Nonetheless, despite causing a substantial change in the modern business world, some experts tend to question whether Apple’s products are truly innovative due to the lack of dramatic modifications of the previous models while establishing new ones (Adams par. 4). This opinion has a right to be present, as the recent product lines do not introduce anything new in particular and focus on the advancement of the models of the previous products.
Nevertheless, the selected product is iPhone 6S, as it is the recent company’s innovation, and it influenced the functioning of the world positively. In this case, a new model of iPhone has an exceptional 3D touch, as it tends to offer a new way to experience the touch screen (“Apple: iPhone 6S” par. 1). The presence of multi-touch makes the iPhone an exceptional product due to the presence of a new experience with a touch screen. Another development of this iPhone model is the improved capabilities of the camera while providing a higher quality of images. In turn, the opportunities for the front camera focus on the recent trends’ of selfies by offering a 5-megapixel camera (“Apple: iPhone 6S” par. 2). In turn, Apple emphasizes the optimization of the processor by increasing the CPU performance by 70% (“Apple: iPhone 6S” par. 3). The presence of this matter makes a new iPhone as fast as a computer. Furthermore, another advancement is the improvement of design, which is a combination of high-quality materials, unique design, and comfortability. Lastly, the Apple-focused on intensified security by establishing Touch ID to minimize the risks from external misusage (“Apple: iPhone 6S” par. 3).
Methods
In turn, various methods for information analysis were actively utilized to determine the potential implications of innovations while designing a competitive product. In this instance, understanding the customers’ needs and research of the value proposition and industry analysis were utilized to measure the company’s ability to use information successfully. In this instance, the analysis of the market share, core values of the firm, and competition were selected as the primary sources to evaluate the company’s ability to utilize the innovative solutions efficiently. In turn, the analysis of the brand helped determine the company’s recognition among consumers and its correlation with innovation.
In this instance, I had the interviews with the practicing innovation consultants to determine the potential ways of conduction the analysis. In this case, it helped build a sophisticated framework for the analysis by focusing on different topics separately to provide detailed information regarding these matters. The facts were gathered with the assistance of the literature review while using reliable sources of publication. Lastly, the conclusions and recommendations are based on the information, which was depicted in the outcomes of the paper.
Findings
The primary goal of the findings is to provide inside information about the functioning of the organization and determine the potential areas of its applications of product development and innovations. The core outcome of the analysis is the fact that innovation can be an essential definer of the company’s competitiveness in the market. Apple with its iPhone line was able to prove the existence of the capability of innovation to enhance the enterprise’s image in the market and advance its competitive advantage among the competitors with similar products. In turn, the applicability of innovation has to be utilized in a combination with the marketing, as, in the case of Apple, the development of a sufficient brand image while highlighting innovation and design increased corporation’s share in the market.
As for the integration of the company’s innovation with consumers, it tends to make the devices more convenient for personal use. In turn, it tends to combine innovative solutions by maintaining the quality of the products at a high level. In turn, the firm’s brand image and high recognition help establish trusting relationships with the retailers. Additionally, the company’s vision complies with the necessity of innovation while regarding it as a core value of the organization (Hull par. 2). This aspect is the critical element while cultivating a distinct competitive advantage and enhancing its position among the competitors. In this instance, innovation can be regarded as instruments, which assist in creating a trusting relationship with the retailers, customers, and overcome competitors.
Moreover, it has to be mentioned that innovation is used as an instrument to comply with the technological development. In this case, this phenomenon can be regarded as a tool for advancing the company’s position among its competitors and technological fluctuations. Apple’s perception of the importance of innovation has always been an advantage while operating in the market. It helped the company to increase its annual growth significantly and developed a new definition of the phone market by introducing iPhone while changing the perception of the initial functions and capabilities of a phone (Gershon 41). In this instance, innovation contributes to the advancement of the existing product such as iPhone 6S by making it highly innovative and exceptional for regular users.
Nonetheless, despite a strong competitive image, the threats tend to present, as the competitors tend to focus on the novel trends established by Apple and provide substitute products at a competitive price. The primary threat is Samsung Electronics, as the companies have been competitors since the beginning of the smartphone era and have an extended range of similarities (Bagley 315). In turn, the newcomers adapt to the technological changes rapidly and may be considered as a rising threat to Apple. In this case, substantial attention has to be paid to the operations of the competitors, as, nowadays, the competitors tend to adjust to Apple’s innovational solutions and might be a potential cause of the loss of the significant share of the market. Lastly, these aspects are not only applicable to the smartphone segment, but also the other electronic industries.
Recommendations and Action Steps
Despite the substantial success of the company in the market, the possible areas for improvement tend to be present, as the business environment constantly alters. It remains evident that Apple, Inc. has to expand its operations due to the increasing competition and globalization trends. It is apparent that the company has a competitive business model, but it has to improve its functioning to assure the maintenance of the market share.
Furthermore, the potential action steps have to be provided for understanding the areas of improvement. Firstly, Apple Inc. has to focus on the development of the smartphone market, as other versions of the iPhone have to be exceptional. The well-established brand image assists in the maintenance of the popularity in the market, but a strong reliance on the brand might be a cause of potential failure. In this instance, the company can focus on the expansion of the initial characteristics of the products. For example, Apple can improve Siri’s range of operations and design waterproof iPhones.
One of the potential ways of development is the expansion of the product lines, as it will be a primary reason for the increase in revenues. In this case, Apple can focus on the automotive industry as the electric car segment is not occupied yet. The introduction of this product line will be successful, as a car or a motorcycle will combine brand recognition, high quality, innovation, and exceptional design. In the end, all of the actions, which are mentioned above have to be established and completed simultaneously to be able to enhance the organizational performance dramatically while attracting the attention of new customers.
Works Cited
Adams, Susan. “Is Apple the World’s Most Innovative Company?” Forbes. 2015. Web.
Apple 2016. Web.
Apple: iPhone 6S 2016. Web.
Bagley, Constance. Managers and the Legal Environment: Strategies for the 21st Century, Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016. Print.
Gershon, Richard. Digital Media and Innovation: Management and Design Strategies in Communication, New York: SAGE Publications, 2016. Print.
Hull, Patrick. “Be Visionary, Think Big.” Forbes. 2012. Web.
Linz-Mayer, Owen. Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World’s Most Colorful Company, San Francisco: No Starch Press, 2004. Print.