Boston, MA 05/12/2014 (wallstreetpr) – As we approach the critical second-half of 2014, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is poised to make new product launches apart from holding talks to do some acquisitions that would be historic for Apple because of their size.
Early Launch For iPhone 6
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is launching the next iteration of its iPhone in August, based on production of components at the company’s numerous suppliers in Taiwan and China. The iPhone with a 4.7 inch screen is expected to ship about 80 million units in 2014. Then the much expected large iPhone 6 model with a 5.5 to 5.6 inch screen is expected to be rolled out by the company come September.
A $3 Billion Beat
What is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) doing trying to acquire Beats Electronics LLC for $3.2 billion? This is not a huge expenditure for Apple in terms of the dollar amount involved as Apple is one of the most profitable companies on the planet with a cash hoard of about $150 billion but it’s uncharacteristic of Apple to go for large acquisitions. One of Apple’s largest acquisitions to date was the $400 million acquisition of Next Computer Inc. back in 1997 that brought Steve Jobs back to Apple.
Tim Cook, the current chief executive officer and successor to Mr. Jobs seems to be signaling a change in direction for the company from the inflexible ways of the legendary Mr. Jobs.
If the acquisition talks for music-industry exec Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop legend Dr. Dre go through, it would boost Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s online music offerings to encompass the Beats Music service to which offers subscribers unlimited access to the songs in the Beats catalog for $10 a month.
With its iconic iPod and the iTunes store, music has been a large part of Apple’s re-birth in the late ‘90s. But now customers around the world are becoming more comfortable with streaming services and more companies such as Spotify and Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) are coming up to take advantage of people’s changing tastes. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has its YouTube service where free song videos get millions of views as well.
It seems another departure from the Jobs era is on — whereas Mr. Jobs insisted that people didn’t want to rent their music, now Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) under Mr. Cooks seems ready to launch its own music-subscription service to rival Spotify.
Already Apple has iTunes Radio, which streams music and competes with Pandora and with customer preferences leaning in the direction of streaming and subscription, Apple wants to remain aligned with customer tastes and that’s always a good idea.
