Strategic Management and Sustainability

Apple Inc. offers a portfolio of products comprising Macintosh (Mac) computing systems, iPods line of portable digital music and video players, iPhone handsets and iPad portable multimedia and computing devices. The company designs, manufactures and markets a range of personal computers (PCs), mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players. Apple also sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. In addition, the company sells a variety of third-party Mac,

iPhone, iPad and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones and various other accessories and peripherals. Apple sells its products worldwide through its retail stores, online stores, direct sales force, third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers, and value-added resellers.
Apple’s operations span across eight product lines which include: iPhone and related products and services; iPad and related products and services; Mac portables; other music related products and services; Mac desktops; iPod; software, service and other net sales; and peripherals and other hardware.
iPhone and related products and services include iPhone sales, iPhone services, and Apple-branded and third-party iPhone accessories. iPhone combines a mobile phone, an iPod, and an internet communications device in a handheld product. iPhone is based on Apple’s Multi-Touch user interface, and features desktop-class email, web browsing, searching, and maps and is compatible with both Macs and Windows-based computers.

iPhone allows customers to access the iTunes Store to download audio and video files, as well as a variety of other digital content and applications. In addition, Apple also sells iPhone accessories and third-party iPhone compatible accessories through its online and retail stores

as well as through third party resellers. iPhone handset unit sales totaled 125 million in FY2012.
iPad and related products and services include iPad sales, services and Apple-branded and third-party iPad accessories. iPad is a multi-purpose

mobile device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, viewing photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-

books and more. iPad is also based on Multi-Touch technology and allows customers to access the iTunes Store to download audio and video files in

addition to a variety of other digital content and applications. Apple sells iPad accessories and third-party iPad compatible accessories through

its online and retail stores and through third parties. The unit sales of iPad reached 58.3 million during FY2012.
Mac portables and desktop product lines encompass personal computing products including desktop and portable computers, related devices and

peripherals, and third-party hardware products. Apple’s Mac desktop and portable systems feature Intel microprocessors, the OS X operating system

and the iLife suite of software for creation and management of digital photography, music, movies, digital versatile discs (DVDs) and websites.

The company’s desktop computers include iMac, Mac Pro and Mac mini. Mac unit sales totaled 18.2 million during FY2012.
Other music related products and services include sales from the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore in addition to sales of iPod services

and Apple-branded and third-party iPod accessories. iTunes is an application that supports the purchase, download, organization and playback of

digital audio and video files and is available for both Mac and Windows-based computers. iTunes is integrated with the iTunes Store, a service

that allows customers to discover, purchase, rent, and download digital content and applications. The iTunes Store includes the App Store and

iBookstore. The App Store allows customers to discover and download applications, and the iBookstore features electronic books from major and

independent publishers and allows customers to preview and buy books for their iOS devices. Customers can access the App Store through either a

Mac or Windows-based computer or through an iOS device. The iBookstore is accessed through the iBooks application on an iOS device.
iPod line of portable digital music and media players includes iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle and iPod classic. All iPods work with iTunes.

Apple also offers its own iPod accessories, third-party iPod compatible accessories through the company’s online and retail stores or through

third party resellers. The iPod touch, based on iOS, is a flash-memory-based iPod with a widescreen display and a Multi-Touch user interface. The

iPod nano is a flash-memory-based iPod that features Multi-Touch interface allowing customers to navigate their music collection by tapping or

swiping the display. The iPod nano features a polished aluminum and glass enclosure with a built-in clip. The iPod shuffle is a flash-memory-

based iPod that features a clickable control pad to control music playback and VoiceOver technology enabling customers to hear song titles,

artists and playlist names. The iPod classic is a hard-drive based portable digital music and video player.
Software, service and other net sales includes sales from the Mac App Store, sales of other Apple-branded and third-party Mac software and Mac

and internet services. Mac App Store allows customers to discover, download and install applications for their Mac products. The Mac App Store

offers applications in education, games, graphics and design, lifestyle, productivity, utilities and other categories. The company offers a range

of software products for consumer, small and medium businesses, education, enterprise and government customers, including the company’s

proprietary iOS and Mac OS X operating system software; server software; professional application software; and consumer, education, and business

oriented application software. iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system that serves as the foundation for iOS devices. Mac OS X, the operating

system for Macs, is built on an open-source UNIX-based foundation. The application software includes: iLife, a consumer-oriented digital

lifestyle application suite included with all Mac computers; iWork, an integrated productivity suite designed to help users create, present, and

publish documents, presentations, and spreadsheets; and other application software.
Peripherals and other hardware include sales of displays, wireless connectivity and networking solutions and other hardware accessories. Apple

manufactures the Apple light emitting diode (LED) Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display. T he company also offers a variety of Apple-branded and

third-party Mac-compatible and iOS-compatible peripheral products, including printers, storage devices, computer memory, digital video and still

cameras, and various other computing products and supplies.
The company offers the products across five operating segments: Japan, Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and retail. Each operating segment provides

similar hardware and software products and similar services.
The Americas segment includes both North and South America. The Europe segment includes European countries as well as the Middle East and Africa.

The Asia-Pacific segment includes Australia and Asia, but does not include Japan. The retail segment operates Apple retail stores in 13

countries, including the US. Apple operated 390 stores comprising of 250 retail stores in the US and 140 international retail stores as of

September 29, 2012.
In addition to the above, the company also offers iCloud, its new cloud service, which stores music, photos, applications, contacts, calendars,

and documents and wirelessly pushes them to multiple iOS devices, Macs and Windows-based computers. Users can sign up for free access to iCloud

using a device running iOS 5 version or a Mac running Mac OS X Lion version. Furthermore, the company also offers Apple TV which allows customers

to watch movies and television shows on their high definition television. Content from iTunes, Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr as well as music,

photos, videos, and podcasts from a Mac or Windows-based computer can be wirelessly streamed to a television through Apple TV. Apple offers

product support and services through AppleCare. These include assistance that is built into software products, printed and electronic product

manuals, online support including comprehensive product information as well as technical assistance, and the AppleCare Protection Plan, a fee-

based service that typically includes two to three years of phone support and hardware repairs and dedicated web-based support resources.