The Apple Beat: Current products and services range ushers in age of expansion

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

 “We’ve got the best product pipeline that I’ve seen in my 25 years at Apple,”

             - Eddie Cue, Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services.

Apple's list of products and also its services have balloned in 2015 which can very well be considered the age of expansion for the company. We now have two iPhone model sizes, three iPad model sizes, an expansive notebook line as well as the most choice in iMacs we've ever had before. Then there's Apple TV, Apple Watch and the iPods are very much still there.

More than just these product lines, we need to consider Apple's expanding ecosystems and their attached developer communities. OS X for desktops and notebooks, iOS for iPhones and iPads, tvOS for Apple TV, watchOS for Apple Watch plus why not throw in iTunes and Apple Music and iCloud as well.

This means that aside from having the biggest range of customer facing devices than ever before, Apple now has the various software ecosystems that users need to interact with on a regular basis. Thanks to the the expansion of iOS into watchOS and tvOS, there's also more to consider for developers writing applications for each or all of Apple's products. Even with the iPad line, which now has three sizes with the addition of the iPad Pro, would offer some differentiation (i.e. I expect specific apps for iPad Pro's level of performance, bigger screen, more RAM, etc.,).

To meet this large product and service expansion, Apple has no doubt been bolstering everything from its massive server farms, to hiring more engineers and even building monolithic new office and production spaces to accommodate the growth the company is undergoing.

Clearly, the onus is on Apple to not just support its growing and widening range of users and developers, but also to anticipate their needs plus the possible pitfalls of growing at this massive scale. While most corporations would be struggling to scale so big and so quickly, Apple has been able to really evolve at a good pace where needed. 

That's really the advantage of a company that's seen both great success and survived various difficult and uncertain times. It still has the trailblazer spirit of a nimble startup, but with the big machinations required of an industry leading global corporation.

Here's Steve Jobs' famous four product matrix, which he famously threw up on screen after he gutted a long list of of non performing Apple products (like the Newton and Apple Clones. Yes, they once had clones). 

Now, that image looks really nostalgic, but it was a different time for the industry, and certainly a different time for Apple. These product categories are the genesis of the current Apple lineup of products. There's still consumer devices and professional devices, although there's also a whole lot more. 

Remember, unlike manufacturers like HP, Dell and every smartphone and tablet maker, Apple still makes the whole widget for their products, which doubles the pressure for them to get it right. Apple also operates their own Retail Stores and has direct connections with their customers that very few companies have. 

All of this has to work really well and all the time, it is a challenging proposition on a number of levels which will get even more complex as Apple continues to expand their product line and the various services and ecosystems required to make these thrive.