Hi, need to submit a 1500 words paper on the topic Environment assessment of Apple Inc. According to Porter, the threat of substitutes shapes competition within an industry and unless there is demand for a particular product, substitutes may not have any specific impact (Grundy, 2006). It was observed that although Apple is the most favored company as a retail vendor of tablets, its market shares have gone down significantly due to launch of low cost tablets by the competitors such as, Samsung, Asus and Blackberry. In addition, consumers are shifting towards budget phones with similar software and outlook owing to their declining disposable income (The Wall Street Journal, 2014).

Previously, Apple faced low competition level as that of innovation was low. but presently, almost all companies are competing at the same level in terms of software and hardware superiority. There is little product differentiation that Apple can incorporate regarding software, but it can utilize the same strategy that the competitors are applying for hardware. Apple needs to upgrade the hardware features offered within a specific price range. in other words, the consumers must be provided with better product related services without increasing the cost.

Bargaining power of buyers

According to the Porter’s model, the bargaining power of buyers is determined by the concentration of consumers in an industry, product differentiation, brand identity and price sensitivity (Miller, 1988). The major opportunity lying ahead of Apple is that of capturing the market of emerging economies.