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This story has a great narrative that fits perfectly in the good Professor’s book. The problem with great narratives is that the facts never fit perfectly into them. The first iPhone was an evolutionary product that borrowed a great deal from other devices that were previously conceived by others.
It had an improved touch screen that was a little better than other phones of its time period. But the only thing truly revolutionary about the first iPhone was Apple’s extraordinary marketing effort. This successful marketing effort led to previously unimaginable profits for electronic trinkets. The pursuit of profits altered the direction of cell phone development and research.
Here’s a truism that has been proven time and time again: Innovation depends on the ability to exploit uniqueness. Whether it’s an iPhone or a new drug, the enormous development and up-front design, tooling, testing, and certification costs have to paid for somehow of the company is to remain viable. The best way for manufacturers to do that is for the product to be so differentiated and unique that there is no competition, at least for a while. This is why patents exist, after all - to give the innovator an “unfair advantage” in order to receive a return on his investment and innovation.
Consumers love standards because they can pick and choose interoperable solutions. Manufacturers hate standards because it drives products toward commoditization, i.e. a race to the bottom. When the value of one product is no different than another, customers usually buy the cheapest one. Coke vs Pepsi is a good example where the differences are fiercely maintained in order to differentiate product that some people can’t tell apart based on taste. But they both maintain strong brands.
Apple deserves credit for threading this needle very successfully, their “Apple ecosystem” delivers value that their customers are willing...no, happy - to pay for.
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