There's no arguing Steve Jobs left an indelible mark on the tech world during his run as Apple CEO. Now that he's gone, can the company maintain its margins and continue making tech look cool? Yes and no, say market analysts at IHS iSuppli.
In the months leading up to Jobs' passing, Apple posted overall growth thanks in large part to its roster of novel i-devices. According to IHS, the healthy hardware margins posted by the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad helped the Cupertino, CA company garner the lion's share of consumer interest within their respective markets. Jobs' "laser-like focus" and "knack for reinventing existing products and business models" were largely responsible for this, posits IHS.
Apple's padded hardware leads will provide leeway in the short term, said Steve Mather, principal analyst, wireless communications for IHS. After that, things get tricky.
"Apple has a two-and-a-half-year lead, and I don't see how it could be overtaken," said Mather. "However, within three to five years, that lead could start to be whittled down if the company can't continue to come up with new revolutionary products."
That shift may have already started. Some expect rival OS Android to command nearly half of the mobile phone market by 2012. Amazon's upcoming tablet the Kindle Fire could give the iPad a run for its money thanks to its comparatively cheap $199 price tag.
Apple's current corporate structure may lack the ingenuity to push back without Jobs' vision guiding it, explained IHS. Jagdish Rebello, principal analyst of communications and consumer electronics for the research group, echoed his fellow analyst's concern.
"I would be hard pressed to believe that the products impacting the world in 20 years will be based on Apple's products of today," said Rebello. "The company must come up with new revolutionary products to maintain its lead."
Highlighting those long-term predictions, Apple's latest iPhone model the 4S recorded over 1 million pre-orders in its first day of availability. Its novel "electronic assistant" voice-recognition program Siri has already been heralded by tech geeks and parodied on YouTube - both equally important when measuring popularity in this day and age. The 4S, however, is no grand departure or shocking revelation.
The next two items on Apple's agenda are the iPhone 5 and a new iteration of its iPad. From there, it's anyone's guess. But without Jobs, the company faces an uncertain future.
"While there are clearly very smart people at Apple, I question whether anyone can envision and realize social and behavioral change the way that Jobs did," said Bob Braverman, senior director, communications and consumer electronics at IHS.
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