Apple has cards to play to help it surf a flat economy

A lot of thought at Apple Park

To its credit, Apple is focusing on core projects, delaying others and reallocating its own resources as it seeks to reduce costs while keeping its teams in place.

Think wise, act well

The idea is that by becoming more operationally strategic the company can avoid the mass layoffs that began with Musk’s Twitter take over and expanded across the industry as tech firms got rid of people.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has called the approach, “prudent and thoughtful”.

At the same time, a report claims Apple’s approach will have some consequences on the company, principally in terms of delaying some planned product launches, notably around the smart home category.

Apple appears to have decided to put its investments into “more pressing projects”, which in this case means some of its planned new home devices have been delayed into 2024 or later.

This follows an earlier report from this decade’s other big Apple leaker, Ming-Chi Kuo, who said Apple intends to introduce a HomePod with a 7-inch display in 2024 .

Surfing a flat wave

The news comes as Apple supplier, Foxconn recently warned of flat growth in 2023.

“We maintain a relatively conservative view towards the smart consumer electronics and think they might decline slightly,” said Foxconn Chairman Young Liu.

Apple has also been reported to be freezing hiring, reducing, and delaying bonus payments and choosing not to replace employees who quit the company in an attempt to “streamline operations during uncertain times,” a report claims.

Apple has lots of reasons to maintain its staff headcount, not least that failing to do so would send negative signals across the global economy.

But several cards to play

The company’s stock is already 20% up this year, the company has billions in the bank and is on the precipice of introducing an exciting new mixed reality product category it hopes will drive its future across the next decade.

The company also seems to be investing in new growth markets to help underpin future sales revenue. The work in India is highly significant, as that effort isn’t’ just about building business, but also concerns shoring up the supply chain. Apple is also expected to introduce new, potentially highly profitable, services which it likely hopes will increase revenue per user, including potentially an Apple-as-a-service offer, which will almost certainly shore up the company’s bottom line.

In other words, while times are certainly tough, the company doesn’t appear out of ideas just yet.

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