Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has ground to make up with this new gadget, and it should help close the gap between the iOS and the Android. Currently, the smartphone market is dominated by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Android, 74% to iOS’ 18%. Granted, Google has a range of companies carrying the Android software, while the iOS is Apple only, so closing the gap won’t be completely done, but the new interface should help with the gap.
Copying Android’s features though seems a bit of a letdown from Apple, though it could be because they recognize why Androids are so popular, and Apple’s dormant decade has allowed its competition to get pretty far ahead, and they have a lot of ground to make up.
Market Reaction
For all the fanfare of this conference, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock actually dipped by 0.6% over the course of the day, despite a strong open at $444.73/share. It stayed up for much of the day before dropping in late trading and ending in the red. Depending how the rest of the week turns out, it doesn’t look like a ringing endorsement of Apple’s changes thus far.
Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), meanwhile, started the day down, and many people expected it to continue to fall once the “Pandora-killer” was announced and people started to fall in love with it. At an open of $14.80/share, it fell to a low of $14.43/share before rallying at around the same time Apple was falling. Pandora closed up 2.45% at $15.49/share. This would indicate that investors were getting ready to hop on the iTunes Radio bandwagon and off the Pandora bandwagon, but it turned out just to be eager buzz before reality set in that the best Apple can do is what Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) has been doing for a whole decade.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s biggest smartphone competitor, also had a late-day bounce after a sluggish start. It rose $2/share around the same time Pandora and Apple went in separate directions to close at $890.22/share, a 1.19% increase on the day. According to Google’s investors it seems there isn’t anything that unnerved them about Apple’s big day, though it’s worth pointing out that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) wasn’t the supposed Apple victim today. Google’s front office, though, is probably chuckling that Apple’s new iOS 7 bears a striking resemblance to the Android software that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has put out for years.
The Foolish Bottom Line
For all the flash Apple brought with it this afternoon, it only reinforced the notion that Apple is the laggard in the tech world after a lost decade. By showing off improvements that are only new to Apple and not the wider industry, it is clear that Apple’s role as tech pioneer is, for the moment, gone. By mimicking Android for iOS 7, and mimicking Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) for its iTunes Radio, it’s more of a testament to those two companies than it is to Apple. It may satisfy the Apple fans, but it’s been a snoozer for everyone else.
John McKenna has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).
The article Pandora Killer? More Like Pandora Copycat originally appeared on Fool.com.
John is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
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