By making iOS updates free and easy, Apple gained a significant industry advantage — one that it still holds today: A very high percentage of its customers base runs the most recent iOS release. As for the Mac, Apple has also enjoyed high upgrade rates, but the company will suddenly do much better. By offering OS X Mavericks for free, Apple will bring the lessons from iOS to the Mac.
More people on the same, fresh release will let Apple roll out new features and apps to a larger pool of customers. These customers will tend to understand their Macs better, too. And they’ll appreciate the free and painless upgrade, which means they’ll like Apple even more. All of this means that Apple will be able to sell more to these customers, service them easier, and introduce new innovations faster and easier than ever.
Plus, the customer will become more profitable over the long haul.
So smart.
For a deeper exploration, check out my column on the topic at MacNewsWorld.