What product categories should Apple focus on next? Former Apple manager Tony Fadell, considered the father of the iPod, has an idea: The iPhone maker should invest more in the smart home sector, he wrote Recently on X. Fadell, who left Apple in 2008 to focus on what is now Google subsidiary Nest, also has strong opinions on abandoning a certain product category.
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“(Apple should) invest 20 times more in the smart home space, not double,” Fadal said. The company “hasn’t made any major investments in anything in a long time.” Indeed, just a few months ago, Apple shut down its vehicle project, which cost billions. However, a lot of money is also being spent on the Vision Pro, which could come in a cheaper version early next year.
Fadell knows his way around the smart home segment. His first company after leaving Apple was Nest Labs, where he developed a smart thermostat. The company was sold to Google in 2014 for over $3 billion. Fadell currently runs a venture capital fund called Build Collective. His last position at Apple was senior vice president of the iPod division, joining the “iPod and Special Projects” group in 2001 to coordinate the iSight family of cameras in addition to MP3 players.
The disappearance of the router is a “fundamental error”
Internally at Apple, it is said that the company is already looking for the “next big thing” after the end of the vehicle project. In addition to Vision (Pro) and the Apple Intelligence Division, according to rumors, this could be household robotics. In the spring it was said that the first step could be the development of a “robotic smart display.”
Fadell also criticized Apple for its decision to discontinue its AirPort series router product line in 2018. That was a fundamental strategic mistake. “You couldn’t say it more clearly.” Apple had been working on the subject since 1999 and was one of the pioneers in the WLAN technology field. After 19 years, the company decided to abandon the product line.
(B.Sc.)
