Is Apple at risk of becoming the next BlackBerry?

“BlackBerry once ruled the smartphone world,” Harsh Chauhan writes for The Motley Fool. “BlackBerry thought that its loyal customer base would keep buying what it offered, so it didn’t feel a pressing need to innovate. That proved to be its undoing, and in an ironic twist, Apple now seems to be going down the same path.”
“Apple has built a huge user base. Nearly a year ago, Apple announced 1.3 billion active devices around the world, including iPhones, Macs, and other Apple devices. Some estimates put the number of iPhones at 1 billion,” Chauhan writes. “Apple’s strategy of adding incremental features and selling its iPhones at a premium price has led to stagnant unit sales. iPhone unit sales were roughly 47 million in the fourth quarter; flat with the previous year.”
MacDailyNews Take: No, saturation in the premium smartphone market, the only smartphone market in which Apple competes, is the cause of unit sales leveling off.
“BlackBerry was facing the same stagnation years ago,” Chauhan writes. “It focused only on incremental evolution in hardware and software, so users eventually moved on.”
MacDailyNews Take: Of course, Apple is not offering Blackberry-esque “incremental evolution.” Apple offers the fastest, most powerful, most secure pocketable computer on the planet. The also-rans don’t even come close.
“In spite of the ominous signs, Apple’s still a long way from becoming the next BlackBerry for a couple of reasons. First, the company has built a solid services business,” Chauhan writes. “Second, it isn’t just a one-product company like Research In Motion was. Cupertino’s product portfolio includes tablets, computers, and fast-growing consumer devices like smartwatches and smart speakers.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Even the second coming of John Sculley couldn’t make Apple the next BlackBerry.
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