Analyst: Apple Can’t Let Samsung Win

“[Apple’s] next great innovations have to come in the form of software and web/data services,” he said. “We believe these services are needed to keep Apple’s ecosystem ahead of the pack and to attract and retain more users. We believe Apple needs to up its game in web services and platform integration to compete with Android and Samsung. We are hoping to see the seeds of this innovation when the company previews iOS 7 as early as March in an iPad launch event.”

As far as the rumors about Apple launching a full-fledged television set were concerned, Reitzes said Apple only needed to focus on making the existing Apple TV set-top box device better. “The time to wait and ‘hobby’ is over,” he said.

“[The year] 2013 has to be the year for the TV strategy or it risks falling behind in our opinion. There are many opportunities for Apple to release a new vision for a TV ecosystem in the coming months.”

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