Apple should buy ARM while it has cash. And then software stack such as Qt. And then start industrial automation division (or subsidiary) could be one possible way that supplies whole stack (the chip, the software stack on top) that the industrial machinery works well with iOS/iPhones/iPads.
This shall fuel the iPhone and iPad sales as well.
They already have everything Qt has? And the killer feature of Qt being multiplatform will cause an allergic reaction so I'm not sure I see the value (for apple) there.
Apple is renowned for their seamless interoperation between their devices, yes, but there is also another angle - Apple always searches for the largest common denominator (amongst what ordinary people do) and refines that experience. Everyone needs to be able to share a photo, record a video, lookup a song, etc. The addressable market for iphone users that operate industrial equipment is minuscule. They wouldn't bother.
> that the industrial machinery works well with iOS/iPhones/iPads.
> This shall fuel the iPhone and iPad sales as well.
Even if all the industrial machines that go for $100k+ started bundling two iPad Pros to use as their control interfaces, I don't see how that could make a noticeable difference to iPad sales volumes. It definitely wouldn't justify spending tens of billions on acquisitions as part of a strategy that would be heavily opposed by antitrust regulators.
> And then start industrial automation division (or subsidiary)
As someone who works in this sector - HARD NO. Machinery can and should last decades, even outlasting their users or their manufactures. Apple is not interested in providing this kind of support just like MS. They make money selling you new shiny things that do nothing for a fixed function machine.
I have to deal with machines with RTOS run-times, software and drivers anchored to Windows 2k/XP, 7 and 10. There is ZERO need to update outside of the fact that I'm a prisoner of their upgrade treadmill. I then have to resort to eBay for hardware and the good grace of 3rd party service techs to obtain obsolete software they happen to have a copy of. The controls OEM does not give a single fuck your machine and therefor your business is down and tells you to buy all new hardware and software as if that is a solution to lost business.
This shall fuel the iPhone and iPad sales as well.
It is far cheaper bet then a robotics division.