A Report on Apple, A Global Leader

A Report of Apple

To: Professor Keller, COM 338

From: Group 2- Courtney, Cody, Madison, Mitchell, Peunde
Date: November 22, 2015

TO: Professor Keller, COM 338-W1

FROM: Group 2- Courtney, Cody, Mitchell, Peunde
DATE: October 11th, 2015
SUBJECT: Report on Apple, a global leader

This is a report on our initial findings of an analysis of Apple

Incorporated, a global leader in technology today.

Our initial research of Apples history has given us a great deal of

insight as to why they are successful. Their unique way of being ahead
of the trends has given them a serious competitive advantage.
Apple will continue to thrive as a global leader of technology.
With teams of experts working around the clock to study the behavior
of people, learning the trends they want before they even know they
want them. They have top notch customer service, which will set them
apart with our world growing further away from human interaction. In
our report we will show why Apple will continue to grow and thrive in
this ever so technologically advanced world.
Our group worked very well together. We brought together multiple
forms of communication to get the information to each other in a
timely manner. We completed this memo together, and as we submit
this, we will continue to work together to complete our final report.
We would like to thank you for allowing us to learn about such a
successful company. This information weve put together, along with
the bonus of working on our group skills, will not only help us to
complete this report, but also to excel in the future. With our world
growing so rapidly towards technology, it wont be surprising to learn
that we must complete these types of reports in the real business
world, with actual executives of top notch companies. Maybe even with
people weve never met. If you have any questions at all, please
contact us through e-mail, or blackboard, and we would be happy to
discuss our report with you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Apples History the Early Year.
..6
Apple with Steve Jobs..
....6
Apple without Steve Jobs..
....6
The return of Steve Jobs.
...7
Apples Financial History.
.....7
Apples other
Products
8
MacBook..
.8
iPod.
.9
iPad.
.9
Apple Watch..
.9
Apples Competition ..
...9
What Makes Apple
Different?.................................................................................................
............10
Why is Apple So
Popular?...................................................................................................
.................10

Illustrations

(Infographics)

Apple : The Early Years

On April 1, 1976 the world of technology was revolutionized, Apple Computers,
Inc. was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Jobs and Wozniak came to create
Apple Computers, Inc. when they had dropped out of college and decided they wanted to
create computers that we smaller, portable and easier for their customers to use
(Richardson &Terrell, 2008). In the beginning, working in Jobs garage they began by
creating the first computer, named Apple I, this was just a very basic computer, as they
were sold without any additional add-ons, this lasted until 1977 when they made the
change to include additional add-ons (Richardson &Terrell, 2008). When the Apple II
was created Jobs and Wozniak changed the computer industry forever when they
introduced color graphics; however, it was not until 1980 when they had made Apple
Computers, Inc. public (Richardson &Terrell, 2008). In 1980, sales had increased from $
7.8 million, to an incredible $117 million dollars. Three years after the company went to
the public, Wozniak had make the decision to leave the company, due to an overall lack
of interest in remaining with the company. After hiring John Sculley to be the president,
the company faced controversy, leaving Jobs to leave Apple in 1985.
Apple Without Steve Jobs & The Return
After Jobs left Apple in 1985, the company still remained popular, even reaching
the highest profit in 1990 (Richardson &Terrell, 2008). Some speculate that the reason
Apple remained so popular was because of the ideas that Jobs had created before his
decision to leave the company (Richardson &Terrell, 2008). After the success in 1990,
the company began to fall in their stocks. With Microsoft becoming their largest
competitor, the brand began to suffer. Realizing that the company lacked what Microsoft
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had to offer, Sculley made the decision to bring Jobs back into the company as the
interim CEO, merging the software that Jobs had created during his break from Apple.
Ultimately, they partnered with Microsoft to create a apple computer that had office
software (Richardson &Terrell, 2008). Once Jobs was back with Apple, officially
becoming the CEO in 2000, the brand began to make a dramatic turn for the better. Jobs
introduced exciting new concepts that caused the brand to skyrocket in popularity,
creating the most popular media software: the Ipod, along with Itunes changed the way
people were able to enjoy their media entertainment (Richardson &Terrell, 2008). On
October 5, 2011 Steve Jobs passed away; however, Apple remains to carry on his legacy.
Financial History
From 1980 until 2001 just before Apple released the first iPod, Apples price per
share never went above $25. Once the iPod was released Apples shares more than
doubled. The price did not hold for long, it soon dropped back under $25 per share where
it consistently stayed until 2005 when apple released the first iPod touch. In 2005 apples
stock was now valued at $75 per share and in 2007 when apple released the first iPhone
stock soared to almost $200 per share. Then in 2010 with the release of the iPad apples
shares reached a all time high of just under $300 per share. (NBC news) Currently Apple
is only trading around $120 per share.

The iPhone
The Apple iPhone is revolutionized the cellphone market with its release in 2007.
It was one of the first user friendly touch screen phones that was able to be used by all.
The convenient applications and web access allowed people to use a phone in a way that
we had never seen. Soon after many phone companies begun releasing phones that
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looked similar to the iPhone but none of them were the iPhone. With apples universal
software that is unique to only apple devices it was hard to imitate. Eventually the
android market also took off and then apple had a serious competitor in the cell phone
market. Even today with 9 different model upgrades the iPhone is still going strong.
Apples Other Products
Apple is a producer of technological products. Their current product line up
consist of computers, MP3 players, tablets, cellphones, and smart watches. All apple
products use a unique operating system that is universal across all apple devices and is
not offered on any devices not produced by Apple. (Apple)
Apples line of desk top computers consist of the iMac, Mac Pro, and the Mac
Mini. Each of the computers has the same operation system but each has different
memory size, physical dimensions, and processing capabilities. Prices start at $1,090 and
go as high as $2,999. (Apple)
Apples line of laptop computers consist of the MacBook, MacBook air, and
MacBook Pro. They all have the same operating system and just like the desktop
computers they each differ in physical dimensions, memory size, and processing
capabilities. Prices start at $1,099 and go as high as $2,499. (Apple)
Apples MP3 Player, the iPod. Has been very popular over the last ten years and
over the last ten years the iPod has underwent drastic upgrades. It started as just a MP3
player used to play music. Over time and with each new upgrade the iPod gained more
capabilities and today the iPod has almost all the features of the iPhone including a
camera and Wi-Fi. Apple has a small selection of iPods to choose from. They are the iPod
shuffle, iPod Nano, and iPod touch. The iPod shuffle is only used for listening to music

and has a very simplistic design. The iPod Nano has a small touch screen and allows you
to connect to Wi-Fi to purchase music. The iPod touch is basically a cell phone that can
only be used with a Wi-Fi connection. On the iPod touch you can take pictures, access the
internet, download and use applications, send text messages and even conduct voice calls
over a Wi-Fi connection. The iPods range in physical size, capabilities, and memory
capacity. They prices range from $49 to $399.
Apples version of the ever growing tablet is the iPad. The iPad comes in a mini
form, an ultra-thin form and the normal form. They are essentially a hybrid between a
computer and a cellphone. Some have access to a cellular network and can be used
similarly to a cellphone and some operate off of a Wi-Fi connection. The iPads are very
similar to the iPhone just on a larger scales. The price for the iPad starts at $299 and goes
as high as (Apple)
Apples newest addition to their product line is the apple watch. The apple watch
is a smart watch that connects to your iPhone via Bluetooth. Through the apple watch you
can listen to music, talk on the phone, and send text messages. Also, the apple watch
functions as an activity tracker and tracks your movement throughout the day and can
give you a summary of your activity.
Apples Competitors
Because Apple is a technology manufacturer they are a part of a very large market
that consist of many large names some of which include LG, HTC, Samsung, Acer,
Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and many more. But, Apples biggest competitors are
Samsung and Microsoft. Samsung is apples biggest competitor in regards to hand held
devices. Samsung has cell phones, tablets, and even smart watches. Apple and Samsung

compete when it comes to innovation on newer devices and in their advertisements they
us this to their advantage. The best example would be when apple released the iPhone 5
with a larger screen Samsung had already had a larger screen for quite some time and
even stated so in an advertisement. Apples biggest competitor in the personal computer
market is Microsoft. Microsoft is the largest personal operating system in the world. With
apple coming in second place. Microsoft does have small selection of personal computers
but, almost all other personal computer manufacturers use Microsoft operating systems
making it a pretty universally used system and putting it at the top of the market.
What Makes Apple Different
The biggest thing that makes Apple different from their competitors is that Apple
has a software that you can only get on Apple devices. By doing this, Apple ensures that
if consumers like their operating system they will have no choice but to purchase apple
products. Also, Apples products are known for being of a higher quality and they tend to
reflect it in the price.
Why is Apple so Popular?
Apple is such a popular brand because their products are so user friendly.
Everyone can use Apple products because they are extremely continent. They have good
customer service and are known for having quality products. Even when Apple has
glitches with new software they quickly resolve issues with software updates or recalls if
it isnt a software issue.

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Reference(s):
Bajarin, Tim. "6 Reasons Why Apple Is Successful." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 03 Nov.
2015.
How Apple Became the Worlds Most Valuable Company, Explained.Vox. N.p., 28 Oct.
2015. Web. 04 Nov. 2015.
Infographic: The IPhone Is More Vital Than Ever to Apples Success. Statista
Infographics. N.p., n.d. Web.06 Nov. 2015.
10 Reason Apples IPhone 6S Is So Successful So Soon. 10 reasons Apples IPhone 6s
Is So Successful So Soon. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015.
Richardson, A., & Terrell, E. (2008, April). Apple Computer, Inc. Retrieved from
http://loc.gov/rr/business/businesshistory/April/apple.html
Apple Press Info. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/pr/products/ipodhistory/
Apple - Press Info - Apple Launches iPad. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/01/27Apple-Launches-iPad.html
In pictures: History of the Macbook (pictures). (2011, February 25). Retrieved from
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/photos/in-pictures-history-of-the-macbook-9213

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NBC News: Apple Stock Timeline: From the Apple III to the iPad.(n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/36141953/#.Vj-S1KSzbIU

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