Apple looks beyond Apple Watch in health; iPad Pro suits amateurs more
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook revealed just recently that Apple may be looking into more healthcare products other than the Apple Watch. Nonetheless, the CEO may have to work out some of its existing products as initial reviews suggest that the iPad Pro suits amateurs more than the company's intended enterprise market.
The Apple product pipeline remained a secret for many years, but not so lately with the countless leaks flooding the Internet. Whereas much of the attention is on the iPhone 7, several reports suggest that investors have more to look forward to. Cook revealed so in an interview earlier this month with The Telegraph.
"We don't want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration process," explained the CEO to The Telegraph when asked about the Apple Watch's fate under the FDA. He added, "I wouldn't mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch. But you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it -- maybe an app, maybe something else."
Nonetheless, according to The Motley Fool, the US healthcare market offers significant potential that Apple will surely see as a target. Apple stands to gain in exploring the healthcare industry in the same manner it is now tapping into the automotive market with Project Titan. The U.S. spent around US$3.8 (AU$5.25) trillion on healthcare. The rest of the globe presents a similar opportunity for Apple.
However, more than exploring other markets, analysts also feels that Apple needs to reconcile its existing product lines with their target markets. Apple's tablet line is struggling, and while the iPad Pro is a powerful tablet, it falls short of competitors like the Surface Book or the Surface Pro.
According to Seeking Alpha, the iPad Pro runs on iOS which is more appealing to the retail user as opposed to the enterprise and more professional market. It is likely that Intel-powered Surface devices and similar products will eat the iPad's and MacBook's shares if Apple cannot fix the discrepancy.
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