Apple, Open, and Learning From History

Ben Evans, on why today’s mobile industry doesn’t much resemble the PC industry of the 90s:

In other words, Apple has product/market fit in the phone market in a way that it never had in the personal computer market. All of the key dynamics that doomed it in the computer market are fundamentally different in the phone market — this time, they all work in Apple’s favour, and in favour of the high-end market in general.

The other thing to keep in mind is that while Apple fared poorly in the PC market as the 90s wore on, they’ve since recovered, and as the PC market has matured and stabilized, Apple has solidified a position as the single most profitable PC maker in the world. It’s not even close — Apple makes more profit selling PCs than the next five PC makers combined.

Apple will do just fine if its long-term position in the phone market settles in like its position in the PC market. (See also: my “Open and Shut” piece from March.)

★ Wednesday, 1 May 2013