Since the start of the pandemic, Apple’s share price has almost fully rebounded to its pre-COVID-19 high. In Apple’s recently released second quarter results on 30 April 2020, revenue increased 1% to US$58.3 billion while net income declined 3% to US$11.2 billion compared to the same quarter a year ago. While quarterly product sales declined by 3% year-on-year due to falling demand, revenue from Apple’s services business increased by 17% to a record amount.

For most part of the last decade, Apple was the undisputed global leader measured by market capitalization. Apple’s position was eventually displaced by Microsoft in November 2018, and for a few months in early 2019 the company slipped further to third behind Amazon. As of 10 May 2020, Apple sits in second place with a market capitalization of US$1.3 trillion.

What is at the core of Apple ( non punthat made it appealing for so long?