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Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 31budget versions, even more than 200 cheaper (at thistime it’s iPhone SE for 399). Thanks to this strategyApple gives the opportunity to buy their unique productsto people wanting to spend less money on an iPhone.A very big jump in the number of sold pieces occurredwith the launch of iPhone 6. The overall design changeand diagonal screen size has been very warmly receivedby the consumers.The phenomenal success of these devices is reflectedin the sales results. Every new device is becoming moreand more popular. A change in the life cycle of theproduct can be seen in the analysis of the sales of thesuccessor of the iPhone 6- iPhone 6 S, which didn’tmanage to get the same approval from the market as itspredecessor. Critics have been speculating about thefuture of iPhone 7 which after the success of the iPhone 6and with the radical changes such as the removal of thejack input and introduction of the wireless headphonesmay not get the same kind of recognition on the market.Nevertheless the iPhone has helped consumers becomeaccustomed to Apple's unique interface, but also to thedesign that makes the iPhone, despite its popularity, still apremium product.iPad devices can certainly be consideredgroundbreaking. It was the first such successfulcombination of a computer and a phone features thatrevolutionized the mobile industry. The first iPad 1,released in 2010, has been a great success, with manypeople wanting to see the convenience and functionalityof the device. The life cycle of the first generation is quiteshort because it was withdrawn with the release of thesecond generation, a year later. iPhone has come to life ofthe consumers and has accustomed them to Apple'sunique ecosystem, but also to the design that makes theiPhone, despite its popularity, still a premium product.iPad devices can certainly be consideredgroundbreaking. It was the first such successfulcombination of computer and phone features thatrevolutionized the mobile industry. The first iPad 1,released in 2010.The iPad 2 has become the model for the nextgeneration in terms of the design and technology. It hasbeen the longest-supported system and also has had thelongest life cycle (3 years).In the third generation released in 2012, the newlyintroduced high-resolution display showed great promisebut it was withdrawn half a year after the launch due toimperfections, which resulted in a negative feedback. Thesame year another, fourth-generation, was released whichfixed the faults of the previous generation making thosetwo models redundant. At this time iPad 2 was still soldon the market offering similar parameters to iPad’s 4 butwith a slightly worse display.When the line of full-size iPads had found its place inthe maturity stage, they became "cash cows" so Applecould afford to release another line of potential "stars,"the iPad mini. It was released together with iPad 4 andwas basically a technological copy of the secondgeneration of the classic iPads in a smaller, more handyversion. iPads mini have been released every year sincethen.In order to maintain the classic iPad in the profitablematurity phase, it was necessary to refresh the device.Apple rebranded it into the iPad Air (the name suggestslightness and comfort), which helped only for a couple ofyears and after the release of iPad Air 2 the line enteredthe decline phase. At the same time, the iPad 2 Mini cameout, competing on the market with four other iPad models.It resulted in the highest quarterly sales of 26 million units.Considering the continuous decline in sales, Appledecided to expand its lineup with a new product line andlaunched its iPad Pro in 2015. Conspicuously larger thanall previous versions, but bringing new possibilities andapplications, especially for the professional work. Theline is currently in the growth phase. The first classicMacBook was released in 2006 (Fig. 1), another, with thealuminum unibody, two years later followed by the plasticcase MacBook, a year later in 2009. The line managed tosurvive to 2011 (2012 on the education market) andearned the title of the best-selling notebooks. Due to theclassic MacBook line’s good reputation Apple decided torefresh old MacBooks by giving them new shapes, colors,features and innovative use of modern technology, andreleased it as one of their flagship products in 2015.Apple could have decided to withdraw the MacBookfrom the market for several reasons. Apple is a companythat is well aware of the future market’s needs and hasadapted to these markets the other two product lines:MacBook Air and Pro. The introduction of the super-slimMacBooks Air and super-powered MacBooks Prooutperformed relatively larger and slower classicMacBooks. It would be difficult to maintain those threelines of the same product on the market, especially whenthe MacBook was not distinctive enough compared to therest of the series, therefore it was directed to theeducational market, where it also found applaud andfaithful followers.The modern MacBook line has a chance for a successin the market as it was released while the Pro line was atthe maturity stage, and the Air line is likely to be in thedecline phase. The purpose of introducing such a uniquenotebook (appearance, parameters and appliedtechnologies) is probably the desire to replace the Air linein the market with a product as innovative as the Air wasin 2008.161

Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 31Figure 1. The life cycle of all the iPhone modelsFigure 2. The life cycle of the iPad linesFigure 3. The life cycle of the MacBook linesThe first MacBook Pro was released in 2006, anotherrevolutionary model- MacBook Pro Unibody- two yearslater, MacBook Pro Retina after another four years, andthe last released model- the MacBook Pro Touch Bar- in2016. Throughout ten years Apple has released four fairlydifferent models in the same line of notebooks, the firstone after two years, the following models every four years.Apple tries to keep this line on the market mostly byregularly releasing revolutionary models. MacBook Pro'smarketing is primarily based on the positive opinionamong professionals and users of this type of MacBook.MacBook Pro is in the maturity stage and is the longestliving line of Apple notebooks.The MacBook Air line consists of two distinctivemodels; the first released in 2008 and the other in 2010.Since then the MacBook Air, after many updates, is stillon the market. During its first few years of existence it setthe course of the development for other notebooks on themarket (as predicted by Jobs). Consumers, Apple fans,and even celebrities were all talking about the incrediblythin and futuristic notebook, providing free advertisementfor the product. Since then many more laptops which arethinner and, more importantly, less expensive haveappeared on the market. For quite a long time, despite thelack of paid advertising, it was Apple's cheapest “go-to”model, for people who need a fast and portable notebookand want to be the part of Apple's luxury products’ users.One of the reasons why MacBook Air did so well on themarket could be the fact that between 2012 and 2015Apple did not release any new notebooks, so the line didnot have to compete with the company's own products(like in the case of classic MacBooks and Pro). The mostrecent update of the MacBook Air was held in early 2015.Waiting for a hardware upgrade for almost two years isnot common for Apple, which updates its hardware atleast once a year. The release of the new line of eventhinner, even more beautiful and even more powerfulMacBooks (Retina) should decrease MacBook Air’s saleseven more. Apple does not try to rescue this line, butinstead focuses on the more promising refreshed, classicand professional MacBooks. The Airseriesis in thedeclinestage.V.CONCLUSIONThe life cycle of the discussed products is two to threeyears for the iPhone. The first generation of Apple’ssmartphones was sold for only one year after itsintroduction to the market. The company’s decision toquickly withdraw the first, weak and faulty version of thephone, and to launch another, improved model at the sametime of the withdrawal of the previous one, proved to bethe key to the success of this product. iPhone 3G and thenext generation 3GS, thanks to their reliability, havecreated a brand for themselves and gained many loyalcustomers (which proved to be crucial for Apple’smarketing purposes). The 3GS, 4 and 4S models remainedon the market for three years, battling for customers withtheir predecessors and successors. An interesting momentin the marketing of Apple’s products was the release ofiPhone 5, which was at that time the best-selling iPhone,162

Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 31and taking it out of the market just after a year. This was aplanned operation designed to prepare consumers marketfor the next two models: 5S and the multicolour 5C. Thenext three models of 5S / 5C, 6 and 6S remained on themarket for two years.The life cycle of iPads range from six months (iPad 3)up to three years (iPad 2 and Mini 2). The strategy of aquick withdrawal from the market is understandable in thecase of the first iPad (which after gaining acceptanceamong the customers quickly needed another modelfixing all of the first version faults) and iPad 3, another ofApple's technological setbacks, replaced in half a year’stime by iPad 4. A rather unusual operation was the releaseof the 2014 iPad 3 Mini, which was an almost unchangedversion of its predecessor and was replaced by animproved model- iPad 4- after a year. It would seem thatthe release of the third Mini version was only provisional,aimed at maintaining Apple’s regular market penetrationwith new products. The optimal lifespan of an iPad on themarket lasts about two and a half years. The classic iPadline, which was rebranded in 2013 and has changed itsname to iPad Air, has begun its seventh year on themarket, but the chart analysis indicates its futurewithdrawal. The empty space on the market will betherefore taken by the Pro line. Currently it is in thegrowth phase being little over one year old. The iPad miniline has been on the market for more than four years, andthe life cycle curve points to the decline stage. Appleprobably does not intend to release any further iPad Minis,so it's likely that the brand will "die" over two consecutiveyears or be rebranded to the iPad Mini Pro.For a long time MacBook Air and MacBook Pro were,according to the BCG matrix, Apple’s “cash cows”.Despite the position of the MacBook Air at the stage ofdecline, it cannot be said that it is the company’s “dog”.Sales, though not growing, are sufficient enough to fundthe series itself and to support products that require moremarketing effort that Air does not need anymore. The newMacBook definitely fits the definition of a “questionmark”, which is close to becoming a star if Apple followsthe success with a good update, but it can also become afailure when the update does not offer consumersanything better than already exists on the market.Figure 4. The life cycle of Apple’s mobile products brandsThe strategy for product lines of iPhone is to introducenew models to the market not only in the growth phase,but throughout their maturity stage. This causes a directresponse in market because of the activation of the loyalcustomers who cannot afford to miss the latest model andneed to be up-to-date with the new technology. In thisphase prices are unchanged, each next released model issold at the same or even higher price than its previousversion. The maturity phase brings smaller, lighter, moreefficient models of products to the market and makesthem available in a variety of colors. It’s easy to seeApple’s product development has changed from makingonly black and white products to a brand that has inventedits own unique color names for marketing purposes. In thematurity phase not only does the price increase, but alsothe quality and quantity of the offered services whichmakes the maturity stage longer and therefore providesthe company with a steady income. Marketing at thisstage is based on whisper marketing, sponsorship (iPadsand MacBooks in education) and in some cases productplacement. At the end of the saturation phase Appledecides to introduce another product line (iPad Pro in thesaturation phase of the iPad and MacBook Retina in thesaturation phase of the MacBook Air) to capitalize on the“cash cow's” financial potential for funding the rest of theproducts in the lines. Apple does not try to keep allproduct lines on the market at all costs. Seeing their salesdecrease, it does not release any new models, but insteadfocuses on the development of the other products from theproduct range.The curves of the brand life cycles show the need thatApple has had for two years to retain its reputation as aninnovator on the market, activating new customers, andencouraging loyal customers to buy its products byintroducing brand new products with new names, look orfeatures (like iPad Pro, MacBook Retina, MacBook ProTouch Bar and iPhone SE). By analyzing the data, we cansay that MacBooks, iPhones and iPads as brands havefairly long life cycles (eight to ten years) especiallyconsidering the rapidly changing electronics market. Itseems though that the downturn is unavoidable, as salesdata confirm: iPhone sales have been going down sincethe release of iPhone 6S, alongside decreasing quarterlysales of iPads, and the inevitable withdrawal of MacBookAir from the market. Apple is aware of this and thereforefocuses on the promotion and development of the new163

Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 31product line, the Apple Watch. However, it is certain thatApple should be able to maintain its flagship products onthe market for the next several years, providing customerswith innovative solutions and beautiful design.REFERENCESE. R. Biggadike, “The Contributions of Marketing to StrategicManagement,” Academy of Management Review, 6 (October) 4,1981, pp. 621-632.[10] M. E. Porter, “Competitive Strategy: Techniques for AnalyzingIndustries and Competitors,” New York: The Free Press, 1980, pp.157.[9][1]T. Levitt, "Exploit the product life cycle," Harvard BusinessReview, vol 43, November–December 1965, pp 81–94.[11] J. E. Smallwood., "The Product Life Cycle: A Key to StrategicMarketing Planning,” MSU Business Topics, 21 (Winter),1978, pp.29-35.[2]P. Kotler, and G. Armstrong, “Principles of Marketing,” 15thGlobal edition, Upper Saddle, N.J.: Pearson, 2014, pp. 273-279.[12] D. K. Clifford, "Managing the Product Life Cycle,” The Arts ofTop Management, New York: McGraw Hill, 1971, pp. 216-226.[3]Y. J. Wind, “Product Policy : Concepts, Methods, and Strategy,”Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1982, pp. 49.G. S. Day, “Analysis for strategic market decisions,.” St Paul, MN:West Publishing Company, 1986, pp. 61.M. Lambkin and G. S. Day, “Evolutionary processes incompetitive markets: Beyond the product life cycle,” Journal ofMarketing, 53, 1989, pp. 4-20.N. K. Dhallan and S. Yuspeh., "Forget the product life cycleconcept," Harvard Business Review, Jan–Feb 1976, pp. 102-112.Y. Moon, “Breakfree from the product life cycle,” HarvardBusiness Review, 83(5), 2005, pp. 86-94.C. W. Hofer, ”Towards a Contingency Theory of BusinessStrategy," Academy of Management Journal, 18 (December) 4,1975, pp. 784-810.[13] K. Horn, “The Product Life Cycle is in Decline”, retrieved opinionscomments/the productlife cycle is in decline/.[14] T. Goyal, “Shortening Product Life Cycles?,” retrieved March 514/Shortening-Product-Life-Cycles.[15] J. Trojanowska, K. Żywicki, E. Pająk, "Influence of selectedmethods of production flow control on environment", in:Information Technologies in Environmental Engineering, (ed.) P.Golińska M., J. MarxGomez, Springer, 2011, pp.695-705 DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-19536-5 54.[4][5][6][7][8]164

practiced at the product class, form, line or the brand level, whereas Day [4] and Lambkin and Day [5] maintained that the product life cycle is legitimate only at the product class level. Dhalla and Yuspeh, however, argued that the product life cycle can't be considered at any of the mentioned levels in their 1976 work [6]. For Moon (2005)