Six major questions facing Apple's core products

As is Cook's usual style, he will certainly cite a lot of data at the press conference to prove Apple's dominance: a large number of applications, a large number of songs, beautiful Apple stores, and happier customers than McDonald's.

But after all the prosperity, Apple's core products still face six major questions.

1. How long can the growth in demand for iPhones continue?

[[148483]]

Demand for the iPhone is already through the roof, and rumored new features for the iPhone 6s, including Force Touch and a more advanced camera, appear to be enough to keep the momentum going.

Every time someone predicts that the iPhone's hypergrowth will end, they've been wrong. However, growth can't continue forever, and we're starting to have reason to worry about Apple's growth prospects.

Apple has already conquered almost every remaining smartphone market. It has sold all of its products in China, and it has launched phones with giant screens. Meanwhile, smartphone growth has stagnated, with the only growth coming in ultra-low-cost phones in emerging markets, an area that Apple has been avoiding.

In addition, US operators are gradually abandoning the two-year contract model, so users may extend the use of their phones. Apple pointed out in its analyst conference call last quarter that the company has not seen a change in upgrade behavior, but is closely monitoring market trends.

2. Can TV break away from its status as a “hobby”?

Seven years after its launch, Apple TV has sold 20 million units, and users bought $1 billion worth of content on the product in 2013. The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs called the product a "hobby" in 2007, but Cook has officially done away with that term.

But no matter what you call it, it is still a niche product. According to a survey by Forrester Research, a US market research company, only 6% of American adult Internet users use TV, and only 13% are interested in trying the product. In addition, there are some lower-priced and more capable competitors in the set-top box market, including Amazon Fire Stick, Google Chromecast and Roku.

There are rumors that Apple will launch a new set-top box at its event on Wednesday to boost TV sales, which will be equipped with functions such as games, Siri and App Store. But Forrester analyst James McQuivey said that this does not seem to be enough to fight against competitors.

“That model is advancing because of companies like Amazon and Netflix,” he said. “Siri didn’t rule the phone, and it’s not going to rule the TV.”

3. Can iPad Pro revive sluggish tablet sales?

iPad sales have been declining for six consecutive quarters, and the entire tablet market is also in a downturn.

The rumored iPad Pro is about to be unveiled at this time. This device is between the size of the iPad and the Mac, which can be quite attractive without being cannibalized by the iPhone - which is exactly a user group that Apple is particularly interested in recently.

The iPad remains Apple's second-best-selling product, which is why the iPad Pro is so important.

4. Can Watch become a great success?

According to industry analysts, Apple sold about 3 million Watches last quarter, but Apple did not disclose specific data. Cook urged people to wait until the Christmas shopping season to make a judgment, and he believes that this product will be popular this fall and winter.

Apple supporters point out that the Watch performed better in its first quarter than the iPhone, iPad and iPod, all of which were huge successes.

These products did face questions about their usefulness when they were released (especially the iPad), and Apple ultimately proved the doubters wrong. But the Watch certainly didn't get enough attention. Apple may have overestimated the appeal of the wearables market.

5. Can Macs go mainstream?

Macintosh computer sales are growing, in stark contrast to the sluggish Windows PC market. Apple recently became the only PC manufacturer to achieve growth. However, PC sales are stagnant in large part because consumers are waiting for Windows 10. Now that Microsoft's new system is released, PC sales are expected to increase significantly this fall. In fact, Microsoft expects Windows 10 to be installed on 1 billion PCs within two to three years.

Apple has teamed up with Cisco and IBM to market the Mac in the enterprise to compete with Windows, but Apple has refused to lower the price of its Mac below $900, and the product has a poor security record and a series of recent innovations (such as removing the standard USB port) are not friendly to IT professionals.

6. Can Music make up for the decline in iTunes sales?

[[148488]]

iTunes music downloads have been declining as fewer people download music and more use streaming services, which is the main reason why Apple spent $3 billion to acquire Beats and relaunch Beats Music as Music.

There are reports that Music's performance has not met expectations. A survey by market research firm MusicWatch also showed that only 52% of Music users are still using the service after the three-month free trial period. The official data given by Apple is 79%.

Whether Music can make up for the decline in iTunes sales remains to be seen. The service has received mixed reviews. Its advantage is that it can be pre-installed on users' iPhones, but its disadvantage is that there is no free version to compete with Spotify and Pandora.