What can we learn from Apple's 2014?

In half a month, 2014 will be over. Looking back at Apple's 2014, did it bring you any exciting moments? Especially after a relatively dull 2013, what did Apple show us in 2014? In this year, Apple released a series of new products, including a new product category - Apple Watch, and the big deal of acquiring Beats. More importantly, in 2014, Apple showed its future development direction to future users, employees and investors.

1. Unexpected setbacks

[[124655]]

The continued decline in iPad sales this year is indeed unexpected. Not long ago, the iPad was considered an important part of Apple's future development, especially considering that the iPad is a typical representative of the "post-PC" revolution. But it has to be admitted that Apple's iPad sales have declined in four of the past six quarters.

But the iPad remains an important business for Apple, with sales exceeding $30 billion in the past four quarters. We still have to question this. iPad sales have begun to decline, but iPhone sales are still strong seven years after its launch. If Apple better delineates the two product lines of iPad and Mac, the future of iPad may be brighter.

At the same time, Apple has cooperated with IBM in the enterprise, which can also help iPad be better deployed in the enterprise. Recently, this move has begun to bear fruit, and the first wave of enterprise iPad applications has arrived.

2. Apple Watch targets the luxury market

Many people expected Apple to release a different wearable device, or a wearable device that doesn't look like a watch. Or a $100 arm guard with a long battery life. But instead, Apple released a watch that looks like a watch. Some even thought it was a bit "frustrating" and the battery life was not good (it needed to be charged once a day). Apple did not release an accessory product, but a computer device on the wrist, and planned to push it into the luxury market.

3. Apple Stock

[[124657]]

No company is as attractive as Apple - with a well-played stock and plenty of cash, Apple seems to be shouting: Wall Street, here we come. Apple's revenue growth has slowed, Cook is stabilizing Apple in a high-growth market, and Apple's revenue is still considerable.

Apple's stock price speaks for itself, rising about 40% this year and setting a new record.

4. Software quality can still be improved

[[124658]]

While these aren't major disasters, they are a series of examples that prove Apple could have paid better attention to detail. For example, iOS 8, which Apple released this year, has too many bugs that should have been discovered during quality control testing. Features like AirDrop often "crash," and Apple's own maps still look a lot worse than Google Maps, and many users have complained about the decline in quality of Apple's software.

Growth is difficult, and Apple's product growth figures and platforms need more updates. At the same time, Apple is also facing fierce competition, both in the product market and in recruiting engineers. Ideally, Apple should use a year to add new features to the system and make the software more stable.

5. Large acquisitions

[[124659]]

Apple's cash has been growing steadily over the past few years, and many industry observers have begun to imagine Apple acquiring large companies with billions of dollars, such as Adobe, Twitter, and Tesla. But Apple has only been interested in acquiring small, newly established companies.

Before buying Beats for $3 billion, Cook told The Wall Street Journal: We don't have a tendency not to buy big companies. You can't buy them just because they're big. Apple's acquisition of Beats is the largest in the company's history, but it looks more like a one-time large deal.

6. Mac business still has room to grow

After reaching 5.2 million units in the December 2011 quarter, the Mac was in a "permanent decline". But last quarter, Apple sold 5.5 million Macs, setting a new record, and launched the Retina iMac. In addition, there are rumors that Apple will launch an upgraded version of the MacBook Air. Coupled with the uncertainty of the future of the iPad, the Mac may usher in another spring.

7. Be willing to be a latecomer

[[124661]]

Apple sometimes likes to be a pioneer in technology, popularizing USB with the original iMac, designing a very small hard drive format for the first iPod, and the Retina display of the iPhone 4 in 2010, which was the first time such a high-resolution screen was used on a mobile device. But people have always been curious about when Apple will start using NFC.

Just this year, Apple finally equipped the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with NFC technology for Apple Pay. Even though it was late, many stores were willing to cooperate with Apple's Apple Pay support. If Apple had started using NFC a few years earlier, I wonder how the story would have been written?

8. Listen to software developers

[[124662]]

In the past few weeks, Apple seems to have once again "made things difficult" for a small number of app developers. They ostensibly refused to list their apps or asked for changes at will, but their repeated rule changes have made some app developers unhappy.

But overall, Apple has been good to developers this year. Apple has developed more permissions this year, provided more development tools for developers, and allowed more types of applications to be listed, including third-party keyboard applications, and made it easier for applications to interact with each other. Unlike the first generation of iPhone, the first generation of Apple Watch will support third-party applications. In addition, Apple has also launched a new programming language Swift.

9. Apple loves celebrities, but maybe too much

[[124663]]

Apple actually has a lot of connections with Hollywood, which can be seen in some early Mac ads, but this phenomenon seems to have "intensified" this year, but perhaps this is not for the best. Including in this year's iPhone and Apple Watch launch conference, they invited U2's Bono to close the conference.

A few weeks later, they promoted the Apple Watch at Paris Fashion Week, including some models, and most recently, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon starred in an iPhone ad.

Don't forget Apple's acquisition of Beats. Dr. Dre has been involved in many of Apple's recent activities. Maybe this is a reality that Apple needs to develop, but it seems a bit strange to use too many celebrities.

10. Tim Cook comes out

[[124664]]

Maybe this wouldn't cause a stir if it were someone else, but when it comes from Apple's CEO, it's a different story. In October this year, Cook made his sexual orientation public, which became one of the hottest topics of the year.

In the article admitting to being gay, Cook described it this way: "I don't think of myself as an active person, but I realize that I have benefited a lot from the sacrifices of others. Therefore, if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help those who are still struggling, or bring a sense of comfort to those who feel lonely, or even inspire people to insist on equality, then my gay identity will be more valuable than continuing to keep it secret.