Apple goes soft

What are Apple’s job listings telling us?

From “For the first time in years, Apple is hiring more software people than hardware people” posted on Thinknum by Joshua Fruhlinger:

Since 2016, Apple HR’s most in-demand job category was always Hardware Engineering. For most of 2016 through 2018, it far outweighed Software by demand.

But in the third quarter of 2018, for the first time, Software Engineers became the most-in-demand professionals at Apple. This coincides with when Apple began talking more about its software and services like Apple Music, a new video streaming service, and a news and editorial subscription service.

Click to enlarge.

It makes sense for Apple: its hardware is now not only ubiquitous, but demand has finally plateaued. At the end of 2018 (right around when Apple began its earnest search for more software people), it became very clear that the iPhone was no longer Apple’s meal ticket as sales lagged followed by a very rare warnings call from Tim Cook.

So now what? Lock people into the ecosystem with software and services. How to get there? Hire people who know how to build that walled garden.

My take: Don’t know how significant this is, but I envy Fruhlinger his job listings dataset. I also covet the chart he’s created that puts the timeline in motion. Click here to watch. How does he do that? [Answer: Animated GIF, a long-time-reader tells me.]