I teased a few months ago, that I would tackle the topic of Apple's fall from grace. At the time, Steve Jobs had just recently passed and the signs were starting to show that the tech behemoth was losing its shine. But, recent missteps have been very eye-opening for me. In the next few paragraphs, I hope to show you why I feel that the future is not so bright for Apple. And before you start accusing me of being an Apple hater, know that I currently have an iPhone 4S and love it. My wife and I each own an iPad, and again, we love them. Plus, I'm not the biggest fan of Microsoft, to be honest. So, there is no bad blood here. Just some honest observations.
Let's start with the simplest and most visible issue, the product line. I'm not going to focus on the Mac product line, because they continue to fill the niche that they always have. Little has changed in that regard. It's still a wonderful computer for artists, educators, designers, students and the like, but it still hasn't crossed over as the mainstream computer for the home or office. In a separate article, I may tackle the real chance that Apple does have to save itself in the wake of Windows 8. But, not now. Instead, let's look at things like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. What came to your mind when you just read that? Was it "Yea! Let's talk about those!" or was it "What's to talk about?" I'm betting it was the latter. There's not much new to talk about in these areas, and the fact is no matter how many more times Apple decides to refresh these devices by making them smaller, faster, bigger, shinier, thicker, cooler or more colorful, there will come a time when you realize that it is just not worth the upgrade.
This leads us to the core issue, innovation. If Apple wants to keep us around, they need to be innovative. People often think of Apple and Steve Jobs as being truly innovative. The fact is that they are not. Most of Apple's success, whether it be the mouse, the home computer, portable music, smart phones or Internet TV were never Apple innovations. They were thought up by someone else, copied by Apple and placed into a slick form factor that made us want them more than the original. This has worked well for Apple in the past, but it has caused them some headache, legally. So, where are the new products going to come from? The problem that Apple faces is that Steve Jobs, their longtime visionary, is gone. As sad as it is, this company that has been filled with brilliant minds has lost its way, because they have lost their vision.
If Apple plans to succeed in this world, they need to be bold and give us the next big thing that we-don't-even-know that we-can't-live-without, yet. The one thing that Apple still has going for it, is that people will buy their products. For now. They still have the opportunity to introduce the next crazy idea, and have the world adopt it...and love it. If they fail to do this, they run the risk of being looked at as a second rate copycat company, within the next few years.
The question is, what will Apple do? The last few product announcements did nothing for me. If next year brings us further updates of the same old-same old, then we can write Apple off. However, if they find a way to give me the surgical implant that will allow me to surf the web in my mind, then I will be excited about them, again.
Let's start with the simplest and most visible issue, the product line. I'm not going to focus on the Mac product line, because they continue to fill the niche that they always have. Little has changed in that regard. It's still a wonderful computer for artists, educators, designers, students and the like, but it still hasn't crossed over as the mainstream computer for the home or office. In a separate article, I may tackle the real chance that Apple does have to save itself in the wake of Windows 8. But, not now. Instead, let's look at things like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. What came to your mind when you just read that? Was it "Yea! Let's talk about those!" or was it "What's to talk about?" I'm betting it was the latter. There's not much new to talk about in these areas, and the fact is no matter how many more times Apple decides to refresh these devices by making them smaller, faster, bigger, shinier, thicker, cooler or more colorful, there will come a time when you realize that it is just not worth the upgrade.
This leads us to the core issue, innovation. If Apple wants to keep us around, they need to be innovative. People often think of Apple and Steve Jobs as being truly innovative. The fact is that they are not. Most of Apple's success, whether it be the mouse, the home computer, portable music, smart phones or Internet TV were never Apple innovations. They were thought up by someone else, copied by Apple and placed into a slick form factor that made us want them more than the original. This has worked well for Apple in the past, but it has caused them some headache, legally. So, where are the new products going to come from? The problem that Apple faces is that Steve Jobs, their longtime visionary, is gone. As sad as it is, this company that has been filled with brilliant minds has lost its way, because they have lost their vision.
If Apple plans to succeed in this world, they need to be bold and give us the next big thing that we-don't-even-know that we-can't-live-without, yet. The one thing that Apple still has going for it, is that people will buy their products. For now. They still have the opportunity to introduce the next crazy idea, and have the world adopt it...and love it. If they fail to do this, they run the risk of being looked at as a second rate copycat company, within the next few years.
The question is, what will Apple do? The last few product announcements did nothing for me. If next year brings us further updates of the same old-same old, then we can write Apple off. However, if they find a way to give me the surgical implant that will allow me to surf the web in my mind, then I will be excited about them, again.
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