# In 10 years will Apple still be the force it is today? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682 "2017-05-02T00:17:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682/21 "2017-05-03T13:10:09Z")
> [@Julius\_Henry](#): > > That was during the time Steve Jobs wasn’t with the company. Then he came back and we got the iPod, iPhone, iPad. Apple’s comeback started with the hugely successful iMac in candy colors. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682/22 "2017-05-03T16:55:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And yes, [several of these big companies are throwing a ton of resources into developing AI technology](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/magazine/the-great-ai-awakening.html). Thank you for this link; that was a fascinating article. I remember reading some stuff by a guy who was teaching at University of Utah back in the early 21st century his specialty was neural networks. I thought neural networks sounded like a good idea, but this guy’s poor writing and the amateurish conceptual drawings turned the whole thing into something other than a noble scholarly endeavour. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682/23 "2017-05-03T19:28:47Z")
It’s hard to say. When companies become successful, they tend to go into low-risk “maintenance mode” with their profitable products. Which is great until the tech changes and the product is no longer viable. Jobs was a great visionary and was instrumental in keeping Apple on the cutting edge. But also remember that for every iPod there was also an Apple Newton. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682/24 "2017-05-03T19:39:17Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It’s hard to say. When companies become successful, they tend to go into low-risk “maintenance mode” with their profitable products. Which is great until the tech changes and the product is no longer viable. Jobs was a great visionary and was instrumental in keeping Apple on the cutting edge. But also remember that for every iPod there was also an Apple Newton. Good point, and I think that’s at least partially why Google split into Alphabet a couple years ago. They can keep the Google giant separate from all their advanced R&D. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682/25 "2017-05-03T20:21:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > **zbuzz** , there’s no question that Apple is doing really well _now_. The issue is the _future_. Gliding on current products and a large chunk of cash isn’t going to automatically lead to winning many years from now. Especially in the tech business. > > I think my whole post just went whoosh by you, so just skip it and move on. You didn’t woosh me, you just don’t want to back up your position with evidence. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682/26 "2017-05-03T20:48:14Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > **zbuzz** , there’s no question that Apple is doing really well _now_. The issue is the _future_. Gliding on current products and a large chunk of cash isn’t going to automatically lead to winning many years from now. Especially in the tech business. > > I think my whole post just went whoosh by you, so just skip it and move on. It’s hardly gliding if you’re still raking in the dough in embarrassingly large quantities. Just saying. Apple is definitely still in the lead. They also have the financial resources to acquire any hot new technology that is becoming the next big thing. Now, Microsoft has tried this as well, and it has basically been a string of financial failures. Bing? Financial failure. Surface? Mediocre success at best. Windows Phone? Despite an enormous lead, total failure. There were windows phones available years and years before any other smartphone. Minecraft? They haven’t done anything with it. Microsoft seems to have bought a lot of technology they then proceeded to either lose money on or break even at best. Sony is a similar story. They have pioneered countless failed standards and failed initiatives… So it could go either way. But in general, having a mountain of money and a strong brand is always better than to not have that. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682/27 "2017-05-03T20:54:25Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Microsoft seems to have bought a lot of technology they then proceeded to either lose money on or break even at best. Yeah, but they **totally** stopped other people from making money. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682/28 "2017-05-03T21:25:11Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I don’t think Apple has quite the same 'wow" luster it used to. They are being challenged across the board by top end phone producers who delivering comparable or superior hardware product in some cases. While it’s not enough to just execute well, I will say I’m impressed with their CPU/GPU group. They have steadily built up their capabilities and are very clearly outperforming the competition. As for long term, it’s pretty tough to continue to innovate. It seems like the next shift typically comes out of left field (e.g. google, facebook, etc.). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-10-years-will-apple-still-be-the-force-it-is-today/785682.md?page=1)