Continuous improvement: Why Apple deserves to be the world’s most valuable company

By Alec Hogg

Received another reminder yesterday of the marvel called technological progress. Expiry of a two year mobile phone contract triggered an upgrade, a process I’d been dreading. Although Apple has been ahead of the curve ever since Steve Jobs introduced the first smartphone in 2007, even it seemed unable to remove the pain of upgrading.

The Apple logo is pictured inside the Omotesando Apple store at a shopping district in Tokyo.

Yesterday delivered a pleasant surprise. Shortly after booting up, my new iPhone 8 asked whether the old device was nearby. It then connected the two and before my coffee was cold, the new phone had magically imported everything from the old. No complex backup procedures – and none of the usual data losses.

My journey with the Cupertino business began in 1985 when an Apple IIe computer retired my old typewriter. In the decades since, Apple has just kept on delivering pleasant surprises. With a market capitalisation of just over $900bn, it is the most valuable listed company on earth. I don’t need Warren Buffett, Apple’s newest fan, to convince me it’s worth every cent.

Visited 1,720 times, 3 visit(s) today