The Product Grid
How Cupertino is simplifying its product lines. Again.
Time and time again, Apple has proudly mentioned the ability to fit everything they make onto a single table. Lately, however, that seemed to be falling apart.
There was the iPhone 6s and 6s+, the 6 and 6+, the 5s, the 5C, and the 5.
There were Macbooks thinner than the Macbook Air, Retina and non-Retina Macbook Pros, and iMacs with options from a 5K to a 1920px screen.
Added to the mix were god knows how many different iPad models at a single time…
The Product Grid: A History
In numerous anecdotes it’s been said that Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 and drew out a simple 2x2 product grid: Pro, Consumer, Desktop, and Portable. He then told the team to make just one model of their products for each.
It worked.
However, as new product lines were added, the original 2x2 grid was forced to expand.
Apple added a series of “mini” / lighter models to its lineup, and developed a simple, 3-tier matrix as below:
Looking ahead in 2016, and after years of hapless expansion, the company seems to be on track to setting this strategy once again.
With the arrival of the Apple Watch, the iPad Pro, the iPhone 7, 7+, and SE, the company is aligning all the pieces to simplify its product lines down to the mini, consumer, and pro formula that built Apple’s success.
Fingers crossed, at least.
👋 I’m a designer / marketer working in Tech. You can follow me on Twitter at @anderskravis.
