SOFTengCOMPelec
Platinum Member
- May 9, 2013
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Clones didn't make IBM disappear. Their hand was forced though, so they had to adapt. Same could have happened with Apple since they now make significantly more money on iPads and iPhones than Macs.
It gets complicated, because IBM had a range of stuff that they were selling. At that time, I think it was Mainframe computers, which were their main money earner. A bit like Intel, with its highly coveted server end of the market, dominance.
If IBM had ONLY been selling IBM PCs, then the clones could have had a much more dramatic effect on IBM.
Apple had/has a much narrower market segment (they don't even sell Mainframe computers, never did), so it could have been a lot more dramatic/damaging to Apple.
But you are right, they may have been able to adapt/recover. E.g. By marketing a high quality, high end computer, significantly better than the hypothetical clones we are talking about.
The IBM clones probably hurt Apple, anyway, because it gave the competitors a cheap alternative to lure potential Apple customers away, onto the IBM/clone PC side of things.
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