Apple SWOT Analysis 2024 : In-Depth Report With Infographics

Apple is regarded as the tech industry’s pinnacle of innovation and the most powerful company in the world. Any changes Apple makes become a market trend, especially in the smartphone market. With the highest market cap globally of $2.066 trillion, Apple warrants a deeper look into its operations. Let’s run Apple SWOT analysis and understand how the company has attained the position of the largest company in the world.

Apple: Company Overview

Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976, as Apple Computer Company. Steve Wozniak designed the partnership’s 1st product, the Apple I, which was only an assembled circuit board. Apple Computer, Inc. was incorporated on January 3, 1977, without Ronald Wayne, and it was backed by Multimillionaire Mike Markkula. Apple showed an annual growth rate of over 533% between September 1977 and September 1980, generating up to $118 million in sales.

Apple Inc. now holds the position of the highest-valued brand in the world. The company generated a trailing 12 months revenue of $394.32 billion in 2022, and its shares are priced at $129.93. Every apple product is considered genre-defining in terms of innovation, design, and functionality. Apple’s competitors are mostly busy chasing the trends that the company creates.

Product & Services of Apple
Phones | Tablets | Computers | Softwares | Watches | Cashless Payment | Music Platform

Apple Competitors
Samsung | Microsoft | Google | HP | Dell | Amazon | Disney

Did You Know?

Apple’s first-ever product, the Apple I, was hand built by Steve Wozniak in 1976. It came as an assembled circuit board that hobbyists had to add a screen, chassis, and keyboard to use. It was priced at $666.66 at launch.

Strengths – Apple SWOT Analysis

Most Valuable Tech Company: Apple is the most valuable tech company in the world, with a trailing 12 months earnings of $122.03 billion. From 2001 to 2022, Apple generated less revenue than the previous year, once in 2016, and only by -7.18%. Apple’s shares have always had a generally increasing value, and the rises coincide with new product launches. In 2022, Apple’s stocks consistently had an end-of-day price of over $120.

Genre-defining Innovation: 1977s Apple II, 1984s Mac launch, 2000s iPod and iTunes, and 2007s iPhone release all changed the course of consumer technology products. Nearly every product launch from Apple has featured new technological advancements that changed the global market. When Steve Jobs introduced the 1st iPhone on January 9, 2007, its touch interface, maps, and other features were a vision of the future.

Consumer Loyalty: Apple has one of the most loyal consumer bases and followings in the tech industry. In 2020, Apple had over a billion active iPhone users globally, and over 55.47% of the US user base upgraded to newer models every 2-3 years. Over 11.89% of iPhone users upgrade every year, and 4.28% upgrade every 6 months. Many users avidly follow product release announcements from Apple and crowd the stores on launch day.

Premium Brand Image: Apple has managed to create a premium brand image associated with luxury, performance, and ease of use. Apple products are always priced much higher than their competition, but the majority of consumers are satisfied with their price to performance. For example, Apple’s 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro costs over $3,500. In 2021, over 82% of Apple personal computer product users were satisfied, making the company the leading brand in consumer satisfaction.

Comprehensive Ecosystem: Apple has created an ecosystem with all its products, and it’s a seamless, effortless, and intuitive user experience. Apple’s hardware is a gateway to its online payment, messaging, music, streaming, and other services. This is why 41% of iPhone users owned a Mac, and over 84% of users had an iPad in 2021.

Weaknesses – Apple SWOT Analysis

High Pricing: Apple has always priced its product at much higher price points compared to its competition. For a Mac Pro tower featuring a server-grade processor, high-speed storage, and powerful graphics module, paying $15,000 or so makes sense. However, some products, such as the Apple Mac Pro Wheels Kit for $699 are priced as such mostly for the brand value and turn customers away from the brand.

Restrictive Business Practices: Unlike operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Android, iOS and Mac OS are quite restrictive. Android allows you to create guest accounts, access internal storage via USB, customize your home screen, change default apps, install custom ROMs, and more. But iOS doesn’t allow the user such freedom. It’s one of the key reasons why many expert users choose to use Android instead.

Focus On Short-term Profit: As a company, Apple has been emphasizing rapid growth and high-profit margins. This has made the company rapidly release products to generate short-term profits. Apple released the iPhone 14 series in March 2022, only to launch the iPhone 14 Plus in October. This makes customers hesitate to buy new products, as they may be eclipsed by a newer model only months later.

Substandard Manufacturing: By hyper-focusing on rapid release and new features, Apple has often let faulty products slip through its supply chain. The iPhone 4 would get lower signal strength from just holding it funny, and the iPhone 6 Plus could be bent barehanded. The MacBook lineup has been plagued with faulty keyboards since 2015, mistyping, repeating letters, and jamming even after multiple fixes.

Opportunities – Apple SWOT Analysis

Creating Budget-friendly Products: Apple is entirely untouchable for budget shoppers and those looking for good price-to-performance ratios. This causes the company to miss out on a demographic of billions of users. By creating products meant for lower price ranges, Apple can extend its growth and customer base.

Empowering Users: Apple can attract more enthusiasts and expert users by removing its restrictive software choices. If its operating systems allow users to modify and change elements as they desire, it can experience an increase in sales and collect more impactful user data.

Innovating With Consumers: Apple displays its innovativeness with almost every product release, but sometimes at the customers’ cost. By crowdsourcing what features and design elements Apple users want, the company can save a lot on R&D, and increase user satisfaction.

Threats – Apple SWOT Analysis

Controversial Changes: Apple has a habit of making changes at the cost of the consumer. Apple removed headphone jacks from the iPhone lineup in 2016 and wall chargers in 2020. The company even slowed down older iPhones without informing users in 2017 and afterward. Changes like these increase Apple’s profit and sustainability but risk rejection from users.

Failing Economy: Due to the pandemic, supply shortage, and global unrest, the economy has been failing worldwide. For a luxury brand like Apple, lower purchasing power equates to lower sales. A recession could end Apple’s global dominance in a year.

Intense Competition: Even with its market leadership, Apple isn’t safe from competition. Microsoft is chasing Apple’s market cap from 3rd position, and its shares have consistently had a higher value than Apple’s. Google is constantly threatening to move up from its 4th position thanks to its wide product and service range.

[Bonus Infographic] SWOT Analysis of Apple Inc.

Recommendations for Apple Inc.

Apple has been the leading technology brand and the highest-valued brand in the world on and off for decades. But the company still gets in its own way sometimes and fails to recognize consumer demands. It should consider making these changes if the company wants to experience long-term growth and profitability.

• Apple should have a stricter quality control procedure. The company should rigorously test each and every product before it ships them to consumers.
• The company should focus more on stability and consistency while working on new technology. It shouldn’t just push out new software or hardware without checking if it can fail.
• Apple should aim for annual product launches rather than bi-yearly launches. This may slow down short-term profits, but it will stop consumers from skipping out on certain models and cause long-term damage to the company’s image.
• The company shouldn’t market any product, service, or specifications before the final iteration has been thoroughly tested and checked.
• Apple should only make changes to user-owned devices with the user’s informed consent. Also, it should crowdsource or market research about the changes it wants to implement beforehand.
• To become more approachable and improve its brand image, Apple can introduce friendlier repair policies. It should allow users, and repair experts to buy and fix components themselves. This will also reduce e-waste massively.
• Apple can invest in other tech markets such as transport interfaces, digital security, and graphics cards. These investments will spread the company’s finances and resources across multiple markets, increase profit margins, protect the company, and expand the customer base.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Final Words on Apple SWOT Analysis

Apple has come to an envious point for any company, where it is its own competition. Its ecosystem has created a comprehensive user environment that keeps them using Apple products and services. However, to maintain its lead, Apple has to move aside from its own path. Only by stopping aggressive, annoying, and problematic shifts in products and upholding its standard Apple will see any further growth.

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