Apple tends to its walled garden (Tayfun CoÅkun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The Apple-verse is already here… even if the iHeadset isn’t. Tim Cook did not unveil a mixed-reality headset at Apple’s annual developer conference this week, as some had been hoping. But he did launch several features that’ll make Apple’s devices even more central to consumers’ actual reality:
An OS for everything… Increasingly the iPhone’s becoming a hardware portal to Apple’s expanding suite of services. Though the iPhone’s still Apple’s most profitable biz line, sales of services (think: iCloud, Apple Card, TV+) are growing much faster. This year Apple’s services revenue is expected to hit $80B+ (more than Mac and iPad sales combined). Some of the features announced this week compete with entire business sectors:
Apple wants you to buy now, pay forever… New Apple services don’t just threaten competitors — they also make it harder for consumers to ditch Apple products. If you rely on the Apple ecosystem to stay in touch with friends (iMessage), make big purchases (Apple Pay Later), and drive your car (CarPlay), you’re more likely to keep buying Apple devices for life.