OPINION30 July 2012
The mistaken belief that Apple doesn’t do market research can at last be put to bed, thanks to the Wall Street Journal.
Reporters for the paper have been trawling through the mound of evidence filed as part of Apple’s and Samsung’s continuing patent dispute, and among the pages of documents is one titled “iPhone Owner Study, Apple Market Research & Analysis, May 2011”.
There’s more detail on that here.
The ‘Apple doesn’t do MR’ idea seems to stem from an interview with Steve Jobs in which he was asked what sort of research went in to the development of the iPad.
“None,” he said. “It isn’t the consumer’s job to know what they want.”
Admittedly, the iPad is unlikely to have come out of research. Tablets have been tried before, and have failed, so the success of the iPad is probably a testament to Jobs’ vision for the product rather than it simply ticking all the boxes on a list of features consumers say they need.
But the idea that a company as successful as Apple doesn’t do any research to support its products has always been ridiculous.
The world's leading job site for research and insight
Resources Group
Qualitative Senior Research Exec – London / Hybrid working
Up to circa £35,000 + Benefits
Resources Group
Project Manager – Quantitative – Dynamic Boutique Agency
£30–40,000 + good benefits
Spalding Goobey Associates
Senior Research Executive, Mixed Methods – Technology and IT
£Excellent Package
-
Brought to you by:
©2025 The Market Research Society,
15 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0JR
Tel: +44 (0)20 7490 4911
info@mrs.org.uk -
© Copyright 2025 Research Live
3 Comments
Keri Vermaak
13 years ago
They claim to not 'do it' (and yet have amazing market success)... glad you pulled out the title of one consumer study done in May 2011. It figures that all the work done to support the Samsung case would yield some thing like this. Read my reaction to hearing that Apple didn't do MR: http://web.infotools.com/blog/bid/216008/No-customer-surveys-for-Apple-Really
Like Reply Report
Anon
10 years ago
Funny how anxious this topic makes a certain type of person. All this show is that Apple did some research after its products were on the market long enough to be knocked off, not that it used it to develop its initial product. It's really amazing what lengths people will go to bash the idea that some people actually care about something enough to do it right themselves, without all the marketing B.S. that makes most products clones of their competitors, rather than innovative.
Like Reply Report
Mayra Mejia
10 years ago
Considering that "Eight out of ten new consumer products fail, even when they are test marketed” prove that Steve Jobs was right!
Like Reply Report