Apple event sparks high expectations for CEO…
Apple event sparks high expectations for CEO Tim Cook
Final preparations are made Monday morning, Sept. 8, 2014, for tomorrow's big Apple media event inside a temporary building next to the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
By The Whittier Daily News |
PUBLISHED: September 9, 2014 at 10:03 a.m. | UPDATED: August 29, 2017 at 5:36 a.m.
SAN JOSE — He may not be a natural under bright lights, but Apple CEO Tim Cook has grown more at ease on stage in recent years, unveiling new iterations of the iPhone and iPad with panache.
But those gadgets were, of course, the creations of his legendary predecessor, Steve Jobs. What Cook needs to show now is a product with his fingerprints on it, Apple watchers say, the surest way to quell concerns about whether the Cupertino-based tech giant can innovate without its iconic founder.
A breakthrough gadget could also remedy some of his most pressing problems, appeasing investors clamoring for the next source of growth and re-energizing fans who are hungry for another hit.
Four years after the iPad's debut, Apple is widely expected to end that product drought Tuesday at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino. As is customary, Apple refuses to share what it has in store but many analysts predict the company will release a smartwatch dubbed the "iWatch," along with new versions of its signature iPhone. Wearable devices have yet to catch on among mainstream users, but that leaves Apple room to define the market, a role it relishes.
"They might be rewriting the history books, as they did for tablets and smartphones," said Matt Margolis, an analyst at PTT Research.
With a fresh product, Apple can also reintroduce itself to consumers. People who haven't converted to the cult of Apple yet may take another look when the wearable hits shelves, said Carolina Milanesi, chief of research and head of U.S. business at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
"I expect Apple to use the device as a hook rather than a cash cow," she said.
What's more, Milanesi said, Apple can use the wearable to strengthen ties between its devices, since she expects it to work best with the iPhone, upping the odds that customers will buy another product.
"For Apple, there is a bigger game," she said. "It's about one ecosystem of devices working together to strengthen the appeal of the brand and make users more loyal."
Apple is also expected to use the watch to enter new, and potentially lucrative, markets. Most analysts expect the device to emphasize health and fitness, helping Apple make inroads into the burgeoning health care industry. And, according to some reports, Apple is also expected to make a push into mobile payments, deploying what's called near field communication technology so consumers can use the gadgets to make purchases in brick-and-mortar stores.
As with previous products, Apple will probably need time — and a few generations of devices — to realize its vision for the watch, said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies.
"They're not just throwing a piece of hardware out there," Bajarin said. "They're creating a platform that they and third-party developers will build upon over the next three to five years."
Apple's stock has soared to new records in recent weeks in anticipation of fresh products, but that's left some analysts fearing that the company has nowhere to go but down. Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, wrote in a note last week that none of the products Apple reportedly has in the pipeline promises the massive revenue growth investors have long wanted to see.
"We recommend taking profits in Apple," he wrote.
And despite the broad popularity of the company's other gadgets, many are skeptical that consumers want to sport the Apple logo on their wrists. But Bajarin is convinced that Apple would not return to Flint Center without a product it was confident in. The venue, site of the original Macintosh's launch 30 years ago, seems like a "historic wink," he said.
"Apple doesn't overpromise," he said. "They raise expectations in a measured way and then they over-deliver."
Apple is not ignoring the iPhone, still the engine of its sales. The company is widely expected to roll out devices with screens of 4.7 and 5.5 inches, at last responding to the call for bigger phones from consumers. Bajarin said he expects the move to drive strong profits for at least the next two years.
"There is huge, pent-up demand for a larger iPhone," he said.
Apple may also win back some customers who defected to manufacturers like Samsung for bigger screens, said Ramon Llamas, a research manager at IDC.
The 7-year-old iPhone still triggers a frenzy in the market. Some consumers in New York are already lining up to buy the latest version of the device.
"It might as well be a national holiday every time Apple releases a new iPhone," Llamas said.
Clark, chief witness in `20s child murders led exemplary life
The Whittier Daily News