Apple hooked on the future despite the setbacks

While every brand is making money off holiday season, Apple is left behind- to clean its legal mess. After facing partial boycott in China and sluggish sales for the past four quarters, Apple is now faced with temporary Ban in the US. While people bring home Christmas trees and decorate their homes, Apple is withdrawing its watches from its flagship stores across the US. After losing the battle, apple has decided to work on a software update for the watches which will resolve the issue.

Apple misused Masimo’s technology:

Apple, the tech giant, faced the legal battle against MedTech company- Masimo. The company alleges that Apple has inappropriately stolen trade secrets of Masimo for pulse Oximetry technology along with poaching their employees. As per the company, the pulse-monitoring and blood sugar monitoring technology used in apple watch violates the patent of Masimo.

After years of legal battle, International Trade Commission ITC has finally ruled against Apple.

As a result, Apple is frantically collecting all of its Apple 9 series watches and Ultra 2. All the flagship stores of apple will not be able to sell its apple watches without complying with the patent laws. For compliance, Apple is planning on a software update. Until then, no new watches will be manufactured, supplied, or sold in flagship apple stores.

The ban has also temporary hampered the repairs of all Apple watches sold after 2020, mainly series 6, 7, 8, and 9.

However, the ban exempts Apple’s SE series; all other third party retailers, such as Walmart, will also indulge in business as usual. The ban will also not impact the sales in other European and Asian markets such as India.

Compounding the hardships:

The move comes amid the peak holiday season, which will reflect badly on already red profit sheets of Apples.

For the past four quarters, the revenue of the company is plummeting, accounting for shrinking business in China and temporary ban in the US.  Both china and the US are the biggest markets for apple, deriving more than 60% of Apple’s revenue.

In the China too, Apple products are facing extreme backlash, labeled as “foreign phones”. According to the report of Bloomberg news, all the state owned corporations and government offices across eight provinces are boycotting Apple products, especially Apple’s flagship product- iphones. The move is backed by political tussle between China and US.

As a way to get back on Biden administration, PRC communist government has asked its employees to ‘not bring any foreign gadgets on office premises’. Although government decline about ordering any ban, the data states otherwise.

After the launch of new iphone 15 series globally, the sales of apple products in China reported only 11% profit, despite being the second largest market for apple products globally. During the same time, the sales of toughest Chinese competitor of Apple- Huawei- skyrocketed by 83%.

Following month in November, the sales declined by 6%, for which, Cook blamed increasing Mac and iPads sales, reassuring investors of making mends during the coming holiday season.

But the new Apple ban in US has now not only shaken the sale charts, but also shaken the faith of investors amid the threat of losing the Chinese market against domestic manufacturers in China and ongoing ban in the US.

Apple’s plan to set things right:

At the moment, the first line of response for Apple is to launch a software update for the existing watches to eliminate patent infringement. In the meantime, Apple is expanding its reach in other Asian nations- such as India, to compensate for declining sales in China.

Apple is hooked on the bigger picture:

Despite the setback, Apple is hooked on the bigger picture- the future. When its other competitors- Meta, Microsoft and Google, have already rolled out their generative AI clones, Apple is yet discovering its domain, talking with news agencies to test AI models. For this purpose, Apple has raised $50 Million USD. With the help of publishing agency, Apple will train its AI model on news articles.

Currently in negotiations with prominent entities such as NBC News, IAC, Vogue, and The New Yorker, Apple is actively forging partnerships to propel its foray into the realm of advanced artificial intelligence.

Conclusion:

From facing legal battles and temporary bans to declining sales and geopolitical tensions directly affecting its market presence in China, Apple is facing multiple setbacks.

the recent setback- the temporary ban in the US market- has casted a shadow during the holiday season, affecting both sales and profits of the company. This has also affected investor trust. But despite the setbacks, the company is hooked on growth, testing its generative Ai clone. Although Apple finds itself trailing behind competitors in the generative AI trend, it stands poised to absorb valuable lessons from industry leaders, leaving no room for errors.