The new Apple is slowly making its appearance...

February 19, 2019

The gradual shift of Apple's interest from devices and the much-publicized iPhone to Services is something that can hardly be denied by anyone who follows the developments in the field of technology.

Cupertino is looking for new reliable sources of revenue that will (at least partially) offset the declining iPhone sales and they believe they will find it in healthcare, video streaming, information and... who knows where else.

This is the trend that a new article from The Wall Street Journal, referring to the recent, major changes that have taken place at Apple at the leadership level, stands on. In particular, The Wall Street Journal stands by the fact that recent hires, departures, executive promotions and departmental restructurings have "frozen" various projects while new directors and managers reassess the company's priorities.

The main reasons for the shifts in interest vary depending on each Apple division. But when viewed as a whole, they reflect Apple's efforts to transition from an "iPhone-driven growth company" to a company where the growth stream comes from services and, potentially, transformational technologies.

Recent changes include the promotion of John Giannandrea to senior vice president, with a focus on machine learning and AI. Following his promotion, Giannandrea decided to move Bill Stasior, head of Siri, to a lower role in the company. In terms of departures of key executives, retail director Angela Ahrendts recently left Apple after spending five years at the company. These three major changes have occurred in the last two and a half months.

Beyond the executive upgrades, Apple has cut about 200 jobs from its autonomous vehicle project (Project Titan) and continues to redirect much of its engineering resources to its video streaming service, which will launch in 2019.

Now, Apple is focusing on developing the list of services it will offer and enhancing its artificial intelligence features, believing that these moves will encourage the sales of the corresponding hardware. In fact, the replacement of Siri's leadership, shows that the company can, at last, move dynamically to develop and establish its digital assistant, which falls short of the competition.

And, of course, Apple's decision to enhance its Services and thus build its profile for the next decade is no accident. It rests on the fact that this segment posted record revenues in the first quarter of 2019, with a 19% year-on-year increase, reaching $10.9 billion. The new Apple has slowly begun to make its appearance...