Apple Disrupted?

Stage 1: iPhone next?

Could iPhone be next in the disruption stakes?

Imagine Steve Jobs is returning from the dead for a crisis meeting of Apple's iPhone executives. He has asked you (one of the Apple business analysts) to prepare a quick summary of the issues facing Apple in relation to the continuing success and growth of the iPhone product line.

You have 45 minutes to prepare a one page briefing explaining the risks to iPhone of being disrupted in the mobile telecommunication space. What are the risks? Where are the challenges coming from? What should they do? Simple headings and dot points will do.

The resources below should help your understanding.

Video

A reminder about disruption, and how it happens to incumbent firms.

It doesn't mention Apple, but there are some definite similarities with Apple and Huawei.

Article

This article posits that Apple could be facing their own disruption moment (after having completely displaced Nokia from their dominance of the mobile phone market).

http://theconversation.com/from-disrupter-to-disrupted-apple-could-be-next-59525

Market Data

This spreadsheet contains a wide range of mobile phone market data including market share, sales volume, operating system information, etc.

You can see the changes in the market over the past few years - could be particularly interesting to note the differences in phone operating system market shares across the different continents.

If you can't access the spreadsheet, try clicking here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rkYtWEaYmoerurkerpn2IvI0C2nT5I_CHZMyY8w9GhE/edit?usp=sharing

Copy of Mobile Phone Market Data

Assessment: Executive Briefing (focus on Criterion D: Critical Thinking)

Now for a more serious version of what we looked at earlier.

Steve Jobs and the iPhone Product Managers appreciated what you have provided already. They want you to prepare a full briefing for the iPhone Team outlining the issues in more depth. They think there is something to be concerned about, but need you to provide more detail.

You are to create a deeper analysis of the challenges facing Apple's iPhone business, the opportunities they have to hold on to their market position. You should use the information from our disruption work to help you understand the threats to Apple.

The image above outlines some factors that indicate where and when displacement can occur, and the difficulties incumbent firms have in responding.

History - could be good to include a reference to Nokia and what happened to them, and relate this to the current situation iPhone is in
What are the challenges to iPhone?
What are the opportunities for iPhone?

Overall, your briefing needs to be more than just a description of the market... you need to analyse - draw conclusions about the causes of the issues for iPhone and the impacts. The "So What?" factor.

You should make it visually appealing - this is a proper briefing to an executive team, so be careful with language, with format/layout, with use of visuals and graphics to support your points.

Some Thoughts on Briefings

Executives are busy people.  They don't have time to do all the detailed research and analysis themselves.

They rely on business analysts to complete the research, draw out the conclusions and assess the implications.

A useful format could be:

Summary (a single page that provides the essential information from your research)

Background (details of the current situation and why there is an issue)

Discussion (this is where you explain the key factors influencing the situation and possible responses, being careful to add the impact or implications of the arguments you are making)

Recommendations (here you can draw your final conclusions and recommendations

Some Resources To Help

Assessment/Grading

Apple Disrupted?

iPhone Luxury:

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-xs-and-xr-mainstream-consumers-2018-9?IR=T

iPhone Reputation:

https://www.quora.com/Is-the-Apple-iPhone-losing-its-reputation

Are we beyond "peak smartphone"?

https://www.dawn.com/news/1455435

AppStore Revenues, Netflix Change:

What are competitors doing?

How to respond?

When Apple overtook Nokia:

https://www.cultofmac.com/493686/apple-unseats-nokia-smartphone-sales/

A Discussion - Counter Argument:

https://forums.appleinsider.com/discussion/209219

Apple Disrupted Grading

Above:https://www.statista.com/chart/255/smartphone-sales-of-apple-and-nokia

Above:https://www.statista.com/chart/4112/smartphone-platform-market-share/