When Apple Stopped Innovating

In case you recently emerged from a cave, North Korea, or live under a rock, Apple announced its iPhone 6, a Phablet companion iPhone 6 plus, and a smart watch called the Apple Watch to U2 fanfare in September. The new iPad Mini HD (finally) and iPad Air 2 were announced in October accidentally through a leak and officially at a mini conference. You may or may not have heard about their Apple TV, which has been a bust and remember the once groundbreaking and now relatively irrelevant iPod.

Some History

Apple was not always the juggernaut it is now. For awhile its future was in jeopardy because they tried to compete with the entire PC universe! Pitting itself against everyone, it remained a counterculture favorite and fought the good fight against a dozen well financed R&D departments in the US, Germany, Japan - and later China and South Korea. Steve Jobs stepped back in, burned a bunch of chaff and focused Apple's efforts, saving the company from itself.

Then came the iPod. And it's various sisters. The iPad was developed, but the big brains realized if they could build a small tablet they could build a phone. I suppose, since I have worked with engineers a little and am familiar with their typical motivations (problem solving and getting things to work), it went something like this:

-S. Jobs: Guys, this is amazing. But, well, hmmm... never mind.

-Engineers: Steve, what. Tell us what you really think. It's not too late (scared faces, anxiety ridden smiles).

-SJ: This is amazing. It's ready. But I wonder. I mean, I don't even know if this is possible. It's probably not possible, but, if we shrink this down to 25% of its size we have a groundbreaking phone on our hands. A game changer. But you've been at this for a year, and it's perfect, and I don't think it's possible...

-E: (thinking faces. Cheshire Cat smiles) Give us a month, we'll have something for you.

-SJ: (cheshire cat smile) Give it a shot, but don't kill ourselves because it's probably not doable.

The iPad was sidelined and dev teams rushed to develop the iPhone. If you remember the Blackberry, you know how revolutionary the iPhone was. Then the iPad finally came out, running the same OS as the iPhone. Then the iPad mini, to compete in the 8 inch space that Droid owned. Phablet, canned by most Western critics but LOVED in Asia. And the Apple Watch, having already been launched by Samsung, Pebble, and even Microsoft - somehow merited a U2 concert?

By contrast, the iPod and its contemporaries ended portable compact disc players. The iPhone ended Blackberry, RIM, and Palm. Even only halfway impressive, the iPad made the statement that tablets were viable in an industry which had tried and all but retired the concept. Touch became "the thing" and not just a thing. These were disruptive innovations, true game changing advancements consumed by the public. The iOS and App Store (iTunes) were also important advancements in software and entertainment.

But...

Have you tried to use Siri? If she were an employee, I would fire her. As an uninvited house guest, I either lock her out or roll my eyes when she talks. Apple Maps = Disaster.

On one trip to Africa, it would have sent me into the deep dark bush instead of the most popular restaurant in Nairobi had I demanded my cabbie listen to my Apple Map. That's when I learned Apple Map is not to be trusted! I had traveled during that in-between time when Apple refused to give the green light to Google to put its map app back after the breakup and new iOS release. I tried it again just to be sure in South Africa a year or so later, and my luck was no better...

The Galaxy Note really was the first viable Phablet IMO - although HTC, Nokia, LG, etc were in it earlier. Google Glass and Oculus Rift are playing in the wearable augmented reality space. It feels like competing with LG, Samsung, Google, and the likes of Lenovo just means that Apple is forced to let the collective R&D of its competition and product rollouts serve as advanced research and development and focus group testing.

Apple ended its long feud with Intel, "won" its fight with Adobe, but are taking on the shining stars of Germany, China, Japan, South Korea, Seattle, and half of Silicon Valley. You can see why a reactive strategy may be called for given the capital that is being injected. But, Apple isn't cash poor itself...

Nowadays

This is not what we have come to expect from Apple. The money rolling in from consumers comes with strings. We expect something good. The minor wins you have had, like convincing us using MacBook Air along with the earlier Netbook creators that we don't need optical drives in our laptops, or that we can be happy with an all-in-one (iMac) were accomplishments. You won consumers hearts and minds, and were extended trust that your ideas were good ones. But that isn't innovation. (And don't get me started about the swipe to unlock invention legal dispute!)

Have you seen the Galaxy Edge by Samsung? That's cool. A 20mp camera puts yours to shame, even if that is more a modification than innovation.

Stop Motion by contrast = Boring. Claims of better low light performance will hopefully be proven true, though again this is practical but ho-hum. Campaigns around camera features that Droid and third-party apps have done for ages.. eh. I remember running into Nokia/Microsoft employees trying to promote their struggling Lumia product at zoos and aquariums a year and a half ago and their photos were decidedly superior to my iPhone's. Sad but true.

A Few Thoughts: What will blow us away IMHO?

-Since You Acquired Beats: Headphones that we can wear working out that play music, have GPS, health apps, and possibly handle calls. Sleek ones.

-Since You Tried Apple TV: A true home command system. Either a mobile unit with a little girth like an old alarm clock, or full smart television, but something that goes beyond just video calls and Netflix integration - we want to make the Jetsons jealous!

-Since Enterprise is Mostly Ignored: An innovative enterprise "Business Pad" that separates itself from preexisting offerings on the market like this and this and this and this.

-Relaunching the Gigapet. Everyone loves Gigapets and Tamagotchi.

What are slight modifications about which we may care?

-Multiple users on the same device. Jump on the bandwagon.

-Multitasking / split screens. Jump on the bandwagon.

-Cloud-based User Profiles - That way when you get the devices we want everywhere resident in things like our cars and shower, it "just works."

-Interoperability. Having an iPhone and iPad and iMac and MacBook should allow you to do interesting things with software besides an iTunes remote or Keynote clicker!

-Batteries that Aren't Terrible: Like clockwork, my batteries seem to have problems after about 12.5 months. Sometimes just before. I have replaced 3-4 separate units for GPS, Antenna, and Battery issues. That is not good.

I might have one or two things up my sleeve in case my phone rings. I sure hope you do too Apple, but after the past few years I'm not so sure. I am a fan of the free market, and technology, so I want to see Apple continue to succeed, and Google, Samsung, and even Lenovo and Microsoft. The smaller, less expensive iPhone that everyone has expected for 2 years that the 5c wasn't won't do it. A Phablet and Watch didn't either. I wouldn't mind being on the Stephen Colbert early release wagon, but sadly I think I just shot myself in the foot.

Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has two and most stink. Do mine? I am also not immune to typos, and autocorrect blunders! You won't hurt my feelings, let me know in the comments below...

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Joe Nehila, has an iPhone and iPad and is a Principal at Nosoco, a business solutions company focused on small and medium-sized businesses. Nosoco has helped numerous small and large companies compete internationally through using pragmatic, iterative, novel solutions. For more information, visit them at their website or on their new LinkedIn profile.