Apple’s hardware strategy is to orchestrate the future. Steve Jobs said, "a lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.” Henry Ford has the “faster horse” quip. As if drawing from a magician's hat, Apple projects a future aligned with latent human wants. Then iterates on their primal product, drawing profit.
The following is based on observation, research, and analysis of major Apple products. And they, by the way, aren’t the only company to use this strategy.
Jobsian Evolution
We’re going to call this strategy Jobsian Evolution as an easy way to reference. And as a nod to Steve Jobs who kicked this off. While there are nuances, it seems as though many of Apple’s core product cycles follow the following format.
Apple imagines an ideal future for the world. Then creates a desirable product (let’s call it V1) that brings this future closer. Made possible by extreme tradeoffs and limited functionality.
Apple iterates on V1 based on missing functionality (problems they created), and user needs (existing problems).
Apple then sizes the V2 opportunity based on the previous version, creates a new product, charges for it, and markets based on both created and existing problems it solves. It repeats steps two and three until it runs out of room.
Examples of V1 products from Apple
AirPods
Before, wireless headphones were often bulky, and even had wires or battery packs attached. AirPods brought sci-fi to life. Enabling true hands-free interaction with your device. Customers complained about the one-size-fits-all design, battery life, and noise cancellation.
iPhone
Having a touch screen as a phone was wild. It enabled new use cases, and of course, the single primitive for iOS was the “app” (and remains so today). Creating a base layer for developers to innovate for decades. Famously, the original iPhone was short on functionality. It didn’t have copy and paste, MMS (pictures in texts), 3G, or GPS. All common features at the time.
Vision
Apple ditches the AR and VR memes, and creates a “spatial computer”. A wearable headset. Seemingly bringing sci-fi fiction to life in exchange for a cord and battery pack. Using trends of remote work, and connection as day-one use cases.
The downside
The downside of this strategy is it can create frustration. “Technology is the name we give to things that don’t work yet”, and this strategy is bug-inducing.
Some pain can be caused by the first version of the product. The experience is new, and the problems aren’t solved as they are with later iterations. Maybe the tradeoffs weren’t the right ones. Apple either solves these problems in the next version or with another product.
USB-C
Apple imagined a future where data transfer was faster, and where you could charge on either side of your computer. By creating short-term pain for users (nothing you own plugs into your new computer), and selling a couple of dongles in the process, Apple is able to pull the future a bit closer.
Removing the headphone jack from iPhones
Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack from iPhones was annoying if you used wired headphones. What could be the solution to this problem? Wireless headphones of course. With a dongle as a backup. Apple was able to capitalize on this tradeoff and generate more revenue.
This thing
I got excited about a stylus designed by Apple and bought one of these. A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s as if the iPad was a device designed to snap the stylus in half. Solved in the next version.
While Jobsian Evolution creates challenges like these, Apple’s users are more fans than customers. How? All of Apple’s products are noticeably different (not better), in the ways they deliver the ideal future. As Apple releases new versions, they’re able to channel this loyalty into sales for new products.
When you run out of room
From the outside, there seem to be moments when Apple runs out of room to innovate on a specific product. Apple’s laptops are effectively a commodity these days. Choose a shape and a chip (if you care) and you’re there. Apple’s pencil ran out of room to innovate: maybe the stylus didn’t solve a big enough problem.
The Apple Watch even had a bit of a faux pas. What’s the job to be done for an Apple Watch? Over time, it looks like it iterated toward health, “help me track my heart rate and exercise, more accurately and automatically”. Though much of the marketing made it feel like a notification bracelet.
Compare this to the touch surface of iOS (iPhone and iPad), which seemed to have all kinds of positive entropy, and innovation for many years. When Apple runs out of room, they imagine a new future. Creating a new, one-of-a-kind, first version of a product that pulls this future closer.
Apple isn’t alone
Can you name another tech company, that imagines the future, gets people excited, then delivers a simplified, desirable product pulling said future closer?
Tesla didn’t just make an electric car, they made one you wanted. What’s one problem with electric cars? Distance. Tesla solved this with a network of superchargers.
When challenges were encountered with the Roadster, the Model S was born, making Teslas more approachable. And of course, when we run out of room, we make something new. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Cybertruck.
Software companies, though less splashy, have done this to some extent. Uber may have delivered the future where you tap a button, a limo picks you up and takes you wherever you’d like to go. This strategy, Jobsian Evolution, is a process where:
You imagine a better future.
You create a product pulling that future closer. Trading off many of the “must have” features of today in order to prioritize the excitement of tomorrow.
This makes it more clear to market the different (not better) product.
If successful, you’re able to iterate on your first version. Offer solutions to the tradeoffs you choose, and use customer feedback (and new problems) to create the next line.
Then, once the product cycle has run its course. You get to imagine a new future. What a delight.