Roger Fingas
In spite of views by some investors and critics, Apple is an "antifragile monopoly" that can withstand competition from other giants in the high-tech sector like Amazon and Google, an analyst argued on Thursday.
While people have been worried about Apple's competitiveness, the company displays "superior pricing power," UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said in a memo obtained by AppleInsider, making reference to ideas by outside analyst Horace Dediu. Pricing power is said to be a signature of monopolies, and the memo noted that in the last quarter, Apple achieved an average selling price for the iPhone nearing $700.
The iPhone 7 starts at $649, but many people opt for extra storage and/or the Plus model, which has proven unexpectedly popular — likely because of its its dual-lens camera.
Berkshire Hathaway's recent boost of its Apple stake to $17 billion is a sign that its CEO, Warren Buffett, is convinced Apple has a "moat" like Coke and Wells Fargo, making it more resistant to change, Milunovich wrote.
On "antifragility," a concept by thinker Nassim Taleb, the note suggests that Apple is developing a better ability to compete and adapt precisely because it's facing down many threats. The company can be integrated or modular as needed, Dediu said, and displays a relentless focus on what it needs to do — being under fire constantly may mean it keeps its eye on improving products, for instance.
Worrying signs would be "complacency, platform mistakes, or [an] unwillingness to cannibalize itself," the memo noted.
Some critics have in fact accused Apple of complacency, citing a lack of revolutionary products. Even the "iPhone 8," due later this year, is expected to count an OLED screen and wireless charging among its signature features, but these technologies have already been implemented in some Android phones.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
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59 Comments
Good observations. One point: ".. but these technologies have already been implemented in some Android phones." And what new 'innovations' have the Android manufactures implemented since OLED screens and wireless charging? Since Apple is apparently always behind, surely there are several other new 'innovations' that Apple must be behind on.
Next quarter ASP's will drop as they always do in the coming quarter and articles will fail to note this and doom will be back
Android - fit technology to a phone and then try and make it good over time.
Apple - try to make technology good over time and then fit it to a phone.
I could care less about the current state of wireless charging. It's dumb and pointless. If you have to keep your device in a specific location for charging, then it's no better than having to plug it in. And even worse you can't really hold and use the device while it's charging, it has to lay right against the charging "station".
A friend of mine was bragging about his Samsung Galaxy with its wireless charging. It was one extra step for me to plug my iPhone in and set it down, than it did for him to just his down. But then I picked mine up and started using it while it was charging... he couldn't do that without also picking up the charging station leaving him tethered to the wall by a wire anyway.
Also, OLED screens aren't an "innovation" - they're just another type of display technology that so far offer nothing superior to Apple's continued innovations in LCD technology. OLED display have worse color accuracy and ONLY save energy when the interface is mainly black.
Apple does not have a monopoly in any sense of the word.