--- description: The company is moving into the fashion-minded luxury market to protect its profits. title: Early Apple Designer: Apple Is Now a Marketing-Driven Company image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3065f26de8804dcd/6986a2a6e8524b42f16049d4/455057718.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Early Apple Designer: Apple Is Now a Marketing-Driven Company by [Hartmut Esslinger](/author/hartmut-esslinger/) ## Hartmut Esslinger Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2014 5:28 PM CUT  Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about the new Apple Watch during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about the new Apple Watch during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Hartmut Esslinger](/author/hartmut-esslinger/) ## Hartmut Esslinger Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2014 5:28 PM CUT As expected, Apple’s upgraded iPhones – finally rounded again for nice touch – and the Apple Watch are meticulously designed and continue Apple’s design strategy of elegant simplicity and fine materials. The software user interface of both product lines provides logical interaction and is visually appealing. And as expected, Apple makes things and solutions like wellness monitoring or wireless payment better, even when invented by others. However, the absence of fundamental innovation also shows that Apple is becoming a marketing-driven company, which now has to follow market pressures. As even the most advanced technology in the wireless space Steve Jobs pioneered is becoming a commodity within the shortest period of time, the company is moving into the fashion-minded luxury market to protect its profits. The money and the talent for this strategic shift is there, however Steve Jobs probably would have preferred the Apple Watch in stainless steel — the authentic material real watches are made of. _Hartmut Esslinger is the founder of Frog design. His book is_ Keep it Simple: The Early Design Years of Apple_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3318696/early-apple-designer-market/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3318696/early-apple-designer-market/"},"headline":"Early Apple Designer: Apple Is Now a Marketing-Driven Company","datePublished":"2014-09-10T17:28:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:08.922Z","description":"The company is moving into the fashion-minded luxury market to protect its profits","url":"https://time.com/3318696/early-apple-designer-market/","keywords":["Innovation","Tech","iPhone 6 topic","Apple watch"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3065f26de8804dcd/6986a2a6e8524b42f16049d4/455057718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hartmut Esslinger","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/hartmut-esslinger/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3065f26de8804dcd/6986a2a6e8524b42f16049d4/455057718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Unveils iPhone 6","caption":"Apple Unveils iPhone 6","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3318696/early-apple-designer-market/","name":"Early Apple Designer: Apple Is Now a Marketing-Driven Company"}}]}] ```