Should Apple be excited or worried for 2014?

Apple’s biggest issue is the irrational pricing on its products

Should Apple be excited or worried for 2014? We’ve heard CEO Tim Cook repeating how excited he is about 2014 and that makes us think, is there really that much to be excited about? So, let’s have a closer look.

Let’s start with Apple’s 2013 line up. It’s no doubt that the company drastically increased its market share after it launched Apple iPhone 5S and Apple iPhone 5C- these devices have been the hot topic for a while now and the company had to catch up to the potential users’ demand. The problem is, the hot topic started to cool off as in October the market share is still lower in comparison to when Apple iPhone 5 came out. But all of this is subjective, as there are different markets on the scene and Apple’s performance is great in certain ones and not so successful in others. Logically, Apple hits the market share in the US, as well as in Japan due to the company’s deal with the largest Japanese carrier. Moreover, Apple has reached an agreement with China Mobile to launch their iPhones alongside with the brand new Chinese 4G network. Well, that is really something to be excited about, isn’t it?

However, slowly and certainly we can’t fail to notice that Android devices are moving forward so quick that soon the odds will change in other companies’ favour. According to the last survey for browser usage, these numbers don’t look so good for Apple’s iOS. In fact, we can’t deny that all the upgrades that Apple push to the market offer exactly the same old experience even though Apple iPad Air and Apple iPad Mini brought some new stuff to the iPad line.

Another thing is the iOS 7. Great aesthetics, not so great performance. Let’s be honest here- the operating system is invaded by bugs and it’s not optimized well for iPads, which is rather disappointing. Here’s some pure logic power- Apple’s line from 2012 made a huge success so even today Apple’s products continue to sell like crazy. So far, that’s great. However, at some point the users might get disappointed by all the mistakes and lack of providing the experience they expect from Apple products. This might have a serious effect on Apple’s sales in 2014, so I’m not exactly sure if the company should be that excited about what’s coming.

Meanwhile, we mentioned Android. Here Apple’s line might end up facing a tough obstacle. Years ago, Android couldn’t catch up to iOS due to lack of stability, reliability and all, but today we see the odds changing direction. iOS looks amazing, but its reliably is questionable and many users prefer to switch to Android and take advantage of its better performance. If Apple doesn’t act quickly and fixes that issue, Android might become a brick wall. Apple should rather get excited for that challenge and start working. In terms of hardware, one-handed usability is no longer Apple’s territory as we now have also Motorola Moto X offering the same experience. Another thing deserves to be mentioned- $100 Apple TV with Airplay against $35 for Chrome Cast. ‘Nough said.

Finally, Apple’s biggest issue is the pricing on its products. I’m not being a critic here, only rational. If we compare iPhone 5C’s specs and pricing to the ones of Google Nexus 5, you will get the idea. Apple is surely a giant and creator of great products, however the company makes a deadly mistake and that is the complete ignoring of the competition. If I were Tim Cook, I’d rather be terrified of the upcoming numbers in 2014.

Either way, the company will provide its users with more new products. For example the upcoming iWatch is about to be a real hit. So let’s hope that Apple’s attention to details isn’t gone and the company has something really good in mind to turn the odds in its favour once again.

So, what are your predictions, folks?

The great topic has been brought to our attention by Jaime Rivera from PocketNow.