In class we learned about product life cycles and how the product life cycle tells us how the product is doing in the market. A product goes through four stages in the product life cycle and they are introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. In the introduction stage the company promotes the product in order to create awareness. In the growth stage the sales and profits increase. In the maturity stage most of the profit is earned during this stage and competitors are established. In the decline stage the sales decline and profits also go down. During this stage the company could decide to cut off the product as well.
The IPhone 4s is currently in the maturity stage and there are many competitors that the IPhone has to deal with right now. Just to name a few Samsung Galaxy S II HD, Galaxy Note, HTC Sensation 4G, and Motorola Droid. In the current stage Apple has to deal with all the competitors that I’ve listed and the market share is going down along with profits. The reason why I say that is because when it comes to technology people want to buy the latest thing and if Apple isn’t changing there phone or software for the phone then they are going to lose customers due to new technology and software on the other phones. When the IPhone first came out it was always in the growth stage because it didn’t have any competitors and the sales were always going up because everyone wanted one. But that didn’t last because competitors came out with touch screen phone that were cheaper then the IPhone. And as of right now the first IPhone is the decline stage because they no longer make them and no software updates are available as well. For the IPhone 4S to stay in the maturity it must come out with a software update. Apple is currently working on IOS 6 which is coming this fall and its going to have features that will make it easier for people who have disabilities to use the devices. Another app that got updated was Maps, which will now give you turn-by-turn spoken directions, interactive 3D view, and a new flyover feature will allow you to see major metro areas from an airplane. It will also have another new app called Passbook that will store your boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards in your phone. Also new calling feature that will let you reply with a text message or set a callback reminder when you decline a call. And there are many other features that are going to be new or improved in IOS 6, which will set up the IPhone 4S to continue to be on the maturity stage. Another thing they could do in order to stay in the maturity stage is reduce the price of the IPhone 4S which will increase sales and profit.
Do you think when the IPhone 5 comes out it will stay on the growth or maturity stage as much as the IPhone 4S?
Sources:
http://www.apple.com/ios/ios6/
It is hard to say if the Iphone 5 will stay in the growth phase or maturity phase as long as the Iphone 4. I think when Apple releases the Iphone 5, they need to make sure it is a homerun Apple had some issues with the Iphone 4 and the Ipad 2. If Apple has issues with the Iphone 5 people might start to questions Apple’s quality and innovation since Steve Jobs death. Quality of the Iphone 5 will have the biggest impact on how long the Iphone 5 stays in the growth or maturity phase.
The first thing we want to know what the new product brings to us. Specifically, what are the new features? Is performance better? Then, we can decide whether it is worth to switch or not, because switching to a new version of iPhone can be costly. Therefore, I think that iPhone 4s’s stage will depend on new features of iPhone 5. A lot of people will want to get iPhone 5 if it is faster and cooler. On the other hand, iPhone 4s will stay on the growth stage if iPhone 5 will be slightly different. Why not take an advantage of lower cost if products barely differ?
I think that it will be hard to say whether or not the iPhone 5 will stay in the maturity stage when it comes out. But seeing as how Apple is the leading producer of technology in the electronics industry, I believe that the iPhone 5 will have great success. In today’s society the iPhone is the phone to have and I personally believe that Apple will be prosperous in the new versions it continues to produce. As long as Apple keeps on making changes and creating new and up to date versions, they will see profits in their products.
I think that the next iPhone will have to be on the growth stage of the product cycle. I believe that apple will continue to stay on the Retina train, and raise the bar again for resolution on a phone. In terms of technology when the phone comes out, it will most definitely be outdated in terms of hardware compared to competition. Since the the 3g, the evolution in phones and their internals have skyrocketed. Apple since it produces a new generation of every 2 years with the little upgrade between (3gs / 4gs), will be behind. Its hard to believe that the iPad has 4g technology before the iPhone does. With Android evolving at very rapid rate, windows phone 8, the competitors are itching to take a piece of the apple.
I honestly think the iPhone, as a whole, is constantly in the growth phase. This is not really due to the hardware, as it was pointed out that numerous companies have made touch-screen smartphones, but rather the software that is unique to Apple. Specifically, iTunes and the app market that Apple has created, separate Apple from competitors. Even though I personally think the iPhone is far superior to other competitors due to the simplicity of the interface, I still believe it is the software that separates Apple from the pack. The ability to rent a movie, buy an album, download a book, or select one of thousands of applications at the touch of a button makes this company far superior. Regardless of the hardware Apple rolls out twenty years down the road, it is the software infrastructure that will continue to put then in the growth phase of development.