Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
With the unenviable task of successfully steering Apple Inc. to new heights just a year after he took over from late founder Steve Jobs, CEO Tim Cook has delivered on Apple's most eventful product year yet while continuing to make the tough decisions that keep Apple ahead of the competition.
Massive Product Year
The 53-year-old Cook started 2012 with a promise of great things to come from Apple and this is a promise he delivered on.
The entire Apple product line received massive revamps save for the Mac Pro dektops. The company shipped not one but three new iPads including the much awaited iPad mini and a powerhouse 4th generation iPad with Retina Display.
iPods, once Apple's cash cows, also received makeovers. The iPod Touch underwent the most dramatic change with a larger screen and iPhone-like specs and camera in a new anodized aluminum body.
Cook also launched the iPhone 5. The company's first 4-inch smartphone, its first 4G-LTE capable handset and one with a new Apple A5 processor that makes it one of the fastest smartphones in the market.
All these upgrades came in an almost jewel-like case of glass and stainless steel that was diamond-cut like a precision instrument. Taking smartphone design and the complex manufacturing involved, to yet another level far beyond what competitiors were offering. The result was unprecedented sales for the iPhone 5 weeks following its release.
iPhones now have a commanding 53.3 per cent market share in the US, its highest ever.
The iPhone 5 also saw a huge global launch and made big waves in China where pent-up demand for Apple goods (which are ironically, made in China) is at an all time high.
Still Front and Centre
With each of these well-timed and calculated launches, Cook and his team managed to keep Apple front and centre. Yes, the lines in Apple stores weren't as long and in past year but sales figures and online pre-orders were substantial. It isn't that Apple's new gadgets were less popular, they're just easier to get these days.
The technology industry has dozens of high profile launches throughou the year, yet Apple's launch events in San Francisco and San Jose still draw the biggest crowds, get the most airtime and are speculated and dissected to the nth degree by various analysts and pundits. The amount of speculation, rumour-mongering and buzz leading Apple launches is extreme because everybody wants to know what new device is coming from Cupertino.
Macs also saw an unprecedented demand in 2013 with notebooks like the MacBook Air selling steadily despite new challengers in the Ultrabook space and a major product launch from rival Microsoft which tried single-handedly tried to take on the iPad as well as MacOS with Windows 8 and an arsenal of tablets and convertible notebooks.
The move to Retina Displays, which began with the 15-inch MacBook Pro and then the 13-inch MacBook Pro which were slimmer, lighter and more powerful than predecessors but with the stunning new display technologies. This indicates an eventual move to Retina Displays across the line including the MacBook Air line and as early and 2013.
Apple is selling more Macs than ever before and increasingly to businesses which is significant. Specially when rival Windows is flipping the switch on a new touch-based OS which may succeed or fail miserably depending on widespread adoption.
What is most surprising is that Apple continues to sell well without having to resort to offering its products for less. focusing on the user experience and truly innovative features as well as quality has made it easy for consumer to choose Apple despite the higher outright costs.
Decisive Leadership
Apple's year wasn't without its low points. Apple's Retail VP John Browett ruffled a few feathers with his policies on Retail Store employees and was canned by Cook after a flurry of inside, and outside complaints stating that the new VP was not a good fit and would tarnish Apple Retail's sterling reputation for customer service and efficiency.
2012 saw the release of iOS 6, the supremely important secret sauce that makes iPhones and iPads easy to use and so versatile. Among its 200 new features was Maps, an Apple-developed replacement to the long standing Google Maps application that's been the stock app for location on iPhones since 2007.
Maps was a half-baked for some users with some graphics coming out a little garbled and some locations completely wrong. Even if it offered free turn-by-turn directions and a unique FlyOver feature that simulated flying over locations. Maps wasn't a complete disaster but it called enough attention to that users screamed for Google Maps to be restored on iOS.
Apple had to issue an apology as well as point users to rival location and mapping applications in the interest of their users. This drama culminated in the firing of longtime iOS VP Scott Forstall who was revealed to be a divisive figure within Apple even if he was considered one of Steve Jobs' key lieutenants which he brought over from NeXT.
These firings, the decision to publish and apology for Maps and the quick re-structuring of Apple's core groups (with design head Sir Jony Ive taking over interface design as well) shows Cook's decisive management style. His ability to cut through situations and make quick, effective and even difficult changes are what make Apple a formidable company.
2013 will be Challenging
2013 will be a very different year in terms of competition. There are now comparable tablets and notebooks in the market at cheaper price points. Sure, many of these are blatant copies of Apple products but for users who are on a budget, these may seem 'good enough,' for the price.
Same goes for smartphones. Aside from the rising tide of Android devices, both BlackBerry and Microsoft are gearing up for huge comebacks in 2013 and they are all clearly aiming for one product, the iPhone.
While Apple stock broke through the $700 point, it is now at around $513 a share.
Apple has to keep the 'magic' moving, keep users engaged and make their devices even more dynamic and desirable, it's no easy task but if any company can get it done, it is certainly Apple. There's no doubt that they have the right CEO to lead them.