Following today’s news on Apple’s Q1 2022 earnings results,

Emilio Campa, Associate Analyst in the Thematic Team at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“Apple has an uncanny ability to take a technology that is already widely used and innovate. From smartphones and smartwatches, to services such as the App Store and Apple Fitness+, the company has kept consumers coming back for more. When it comes to the metaverse, it is likely that the company will wait until everyone else has had a go, then come in and offer its own, innovative take.

Apple’s focus is on the here and now, with the company refusing to be caught up in the metaverse hype. Rivals such as Meta (formerly Facebook) are focused on building ‘Tomorrow’s metaverse’, but this risks confusing consumers. Apple knows how people use technology today, and its silence on the metaverse should not be misconstrued as ignorance. Apple is well placed to profit from its established software and platforms, when the metaverse begins to cohere.

“Apple ranks fourth out of 50 companies in GlobalData’s Consumer Electronics Thematic Scorecard, which ranks companies on the basis of overall leadership in the 10 themes that matter most to the industry—generating an indicator of future performance. Apple scores five out of five in half of these 10 themes, including AI, digital media, automated home, wearable tech, and Internet of Things, all of which will be applicable to the metaverse. Apple is clearly well-positioned for further growth in the consumer electronics sector, and, with a rumored release of an AR headset in the future, will ultimately become a leading metaverse player.

“Apple has shown resilience in the face of global supply chain issues and increased demand for its products mid-pandemic, enabling it to surpass the $111.4 billion in revenue it earned in Q1 2021.”