Apple is as much a jewelry store as it is a manufacturer of personal electronics. The Iphone fulfills much the same roll in modern society as the gold watch with diamond accents did 100+ years ago. There were tons of much cheaper watches that told time just as well, often better. For the people that bought the gold watches it wasn't about having accurate or reliable time pieces. Its about other people knowing they had a gold watch. Apple is not that much different. I've known people that lug around older iphones that don't have service, much like some people 100 years ago didn't even bother to wind their watches. The average iphone user uses a tiny fraction of the devices capabilities: text, social media, calls. Features available on phones at 1/8 the price, yet they do not want those cheaper phones at all. Apple will be fine barring some other luxury status symbol electronics maker challenging their spot. Their average customer has no idea what an "operating system" even is.
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Notes -
Apple is as much a jewelry store as it is a manufacturer of personal electronics. The Iphone fulfills much the same roll in modern society as the gold watch with diamond accents did 100+ years ago. There were tons of much cheaper watches that told time just as well, often better. For the people that bought the gold watches it wasn't about having accurate or reliable time pieces. Its about other people knowing they had a gold watch. Apple is not that much different. I've known people that lug around older iphones that don't have service, much like some people 100 years ago didn't even bother to wind their watches. The average iphone user uses a tiny fraction of the devices capabilities: text, social media, calls. Features available on phones at 1/8 the price, yet they do not want those cheaper phones at all. Apple will be fine barring some other luxury status symbol electronics maker challenging their spot. Their average customer has no idea what an "operating system" even is.
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