I will do my annual review of predictions and events of the year next week in our New Year’s edition of Kibbles & Bytes,but this week I want to take a few moments to review the highlights of Apple’s 2013.
In the past, the new year was always the time when Apple would attend the big MacWorld Expo in San Francisco and reveal new products. Well, that has certainly changed and the artificial date pushing new products has been replaced by a more strategic approach to new product introductions. While vastly better than years ago, product introductions this year also saw some significant supply shortages especially in the independent retail channel.
The first announcement was in January, nevertheless, and with little fanfare, Apple released a new model of the iPad with 128GB of storage.
WWDC 2013
This year, Apple held its fire until the Worldwide Developers Conference in June where both the mobile device operating system, iOS7 was revealed and the Mac OS Mavericks was also introduced. The conference itself sold out in a record 71 seconds with the audience anxious to hear Tim Cook updates. The first staggering statistic was that there had been over 50 BILLION app downloads with over 575 million accounts in the iTunes store which is the most customers of just about any store on the net (I don’t know Amazon’s numbers). All those downloads mean some profit for Apple but also that over $10 billion has been paid to developers which is the fuel for a creative eco-structure.
This conference saw the introduction of new MacBook Airs with faster processors, faster graphics and vastly increased battery life. And I can attest to that improved battery life as I have recently switched to 13-inch MacBook Air and I am amazed by it. Calling it an “all-day battery” is no boast; it actually will last all day with my 13-inch claiming 12-hour life and the 11-inch up to 9 hours.
Continuing in the hardware introductions in June, Apple introduced new sleek looking AirPort Extreme Base Stations and Time Capsules with the new 802-11ac WiFi which was also incorporated into the new MacBook Airs.
Then came the big announcement that was at least 3 years in the making and long overdue. A new Mac Pro. The sneak peak at this new professional level Mac left everyone in awe of the small size, beautiful design and versatile power. It was not that big clunky tower anymore, but a glossy black cylinder with the fastest Intel Xeon Processors and standard with dual GPUs (graphic processor units). The best line from this introduction which will be part of Apple-lore for some time came from Phil Schiller as he introduced the Mac Pro and casually commented “Can’t innovate anymore, my ass!” Tim Cook also announced that the new Mac Pro would be manufactured right here in the USA. Apple said deliveries would start before the end of the year and kept their promise with the first units arriving in customer’s hands this week. The Mac Pro is likely to be highly constrained throughout the winter but it was a huge announcement.
The other announcement that was of significance at the WWDC was iTunes Radio which we often use here in our offices.
Apple by the Numbers
Financially, 2013 was a good news/bad news situation. Investors in Apple saw the stock fall from its high of $700 in 2012 to under $400 a share in April. Perhaps in reaction to Phil Schiller’s comment, but more likely in reaction to actual performance and new products and opportunities, Apple stock has recovered some of that and is hovering around $565 today. That’s the bad news for investors, which is full of promise for recovery. Apple continued to put up some very strong numbers for their fiscal year with over $170.9 billion in sales (which was record revenue), $37 Billion in profit and about $146 billion in cash. In other words, the company is incredibly strong financially and well positioned for future gains.
A Prolific Autumn
The first big event was in September where Apple again stepped ahead of the crowd with 64-bit A7 powered iPhones and iPads. Introducing the iPhone 5s with fingerprint sensor, M7 motion co-processor and improved camera with a gold model joining white and black. Apple also introduced the colorful iPhone 5c and an upgraded iMac. These new iMacs with faster processors and graphics and the new 802.11ac WiFi protocol.
One notable personnel announcement also was made in the fall: Angela Ahrendts, the CEO of Burberry, will be joining Apple as Senior VP of Retail and Online stores in April of 2014. After being essentially leader-less for a couple of years, she is a welcome addition to Apple’s team.
In October, it was iPad day with the new iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display being introduced. The iPad Air at only 7.5mm thick and one pound in weight also sported the 64-bit A7 processor, improved camera and M7 coprocessor. Mavericks was also released and Apple shocked the industry by offering the first FREE OS upgrade. Apple also introduced improved MacBook Pros with faster graphics and longer battery life at this event.
Last week, was the latest big news with Apple and China Mobile finally announcing they have completed a deal to make the iPhone available to customers of the world’s largest cell phone network.
All in all, it was a pretty amazing year for Apple with industry-leading products, immensely popular content and software services, astounding financial performance and new blood in the retail sector. This sets us up for 2014 with Tim Cook saying “We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love.”