Apple- of my eyes!!!

The first trillion dollar firm in the human history represents more than just unimaginable profits. The Cupertino based giant is neither the first nor the largest manufacturer of smartphones yet it stands the tallest, of all firms in the whole world. what happened as such...

The first iPhone was launched in 2007 while its behemoth of a rival- Nokia was at its peak. Soon Nokia's shares started sliding from a record market capital of around 250 Billion USD until its flailing smartphone business was sold to Microsoft for 7.3 Billion USD. It happened so because Apple pretty much revolutionized the industry. For example Apple brought to mainstream- Touch based input system, minimalism, fingerprint sensors, exclusive App store, proprietry software on all its devices, keen eye on craftsmanship of devices, yearly launches of new models, one flagship serves all system, exclusive tie ups with carriers etc.

Further Apple has been able to generate a cult following throughout the globe. Its engineering and caliber was at par with market trends, which meant customers kept coming back for whats next each year. It consistently kept its profit margins high, how ever dire a country's per capita GDP is, which made sure it was 'the' product at the hands of the upper class. It made the bitten fruit logo synonymous with quality lifestyle and a status symbol. As the incomes of middle class all over the world rose, it was the brand to patronize. Today apple has audacity to charge over a 1000 USD for smartphones and over 6000 USD for laptops and people are still buying, while it still rakes in record profits.

Apple's quality and Samsung's quantity has eaten into sales and profits of all other brands and once the titans of industry like Sony, HTC, LG and Blackberry are in shambles. Apple's marketing strategies have also been a massive hit. It started the trends of exclusivity to carriers and together with AT&T, Apple created an unseen ecosystem in the US which got replicated in the rest of the world. Currently Apple is too big to be exclusive to one single carrier. Its business structure has been tried to be replicated by several firms but none have succeeded so far. Microsoft Surface comes close but it still has a long way to go. In itself Apple represents a gigantic human accomplishment.

With its latest plant up and running in India, Apple is only producing iPhone 6 and SE in India so far. Majority of Indian population is moving towards upper middle class and this number is as big as Europe's entire population, which means apple is poised to benefit hugely from India in the coming decades, just like it did in China which is Apple's single biggest market outside the USA. However, Inflation, fluctuating currencies, no import concession from Govt. of India is delaying its next Trillion dollar milestone.

As the whole world looks towards India amidst trade wars and stagnant growth everywhere else, so does Apple. But it needs to understand there is no shortcut to creating trust in a newly developing market. It needs to manufacture here more, employ more, create more India exclusive content and this would need billions of dollars in investment and staggering man power ASAP or it might be a missed opportunity as Chinese brands like One Plus, Xiaomi, Oppo etc make massive inroads into the market.

Good Luck Apple! We are rooting for you.