Apple’s underlying philosophy is to design products that are easy-to-use and beautifully designed. Simplicity is the mantra. For years Apple’s calling has been that it “just works”. When Jobs came back in 1997, his strategy was to simply clean house. He accomplished this by:
1. Eliminating all unprofitable products. Jobs immediately killed the clones, which were cannibalising Apple sales, and the Newton which was $500 million pit.
2. Simplifying Mac models. Apple went from dozens of computer models to four. Jobs distilled all Macs down to just four models that neatly fit into his to-by-two “product matrix”
3. Beefing up existing product lines and making them the best they could be. Jobs would upgrade or “speed-bump” best selling products every 9 to 12 months with compelling new features that users wanted.
4. Only entering established markets that had profit potential. Apple would sit on the sidelines and let other companies pour R & D money into new markets and products, then study what they did wrong and release its own version with all the good parts and none of the bad.
5. Low entry points. After years of selling products that were expensive, Apple began offering inexpensive products that got people in the door, like the $49 iPod shuffle and the $499 Mac mini, then enticing them to upgrade later on. Apple did similar things with the iMac with great results.
