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Apple’s optimistic view of the future

Asymco has more about Apple’s bet on longer-lasting devices:

Apple is making a bet that sustainability is a growth business.

and

An iPhone at $1200 may be less expensive than an iPhone at $600 if the $1200 version lasts twice as long as is used twice as much each day. The $1200 phone delivers 4x the utility at twice the price, making it half the price. By making more durable products, both in terms of hardware and software, the customer base is satisfied and preserved.

This is true long-term thinking, and it seems to permeate the company.

This makes me think about Apple’s view of the future, about trends today that it bets will be mainstream in the intermediate to long term.

Apple bets that data privacy will be vastly more appreciated by customers and mandated by regulators in the long run. That privacy versus convenience is a false dichotomy.

That the population in general will be more aware of and conscious about their everyday physical and mental health and risk factors, and will want help changing their lifestyle for better health (Apple Watch, HealthKit, ResearchKit, CareKit, Screen Time).

That renewable alternatives to traditonal, fossil-fuel based energy will eventually, through markets and regulation, become mainstream.

Apple’s always had a strong view of the world in which its customers live, but its scope has grown vastly.

In the 2000s, Apple made a bet on access and accessibility as part of its digital hub strategy (WSJ, 2001). Its digital stores brought first music, then movies, TV shows, books and finally apps to its customers. iOS had great accessibility built-in from day one. And its early bet on Apple Stores saw its customers being able to touch and experience its devices and software before buying them.

This decade Apple has moved on to awareness and responsibility in a new world of abundance of media and data, and scarcity of energy and attention. It is wonderfully optimistic.