It’s impossible to imagine the world unshaped by Apple. The company ushered in an era of home computing in the late 70s with the release of the Apple II and would eventually change the way we use our personal devices with the release of the iPhone, and later the iPad. Nowadays their products set a market standard in quality and user experience around the world - but that's ALL they do. The apple of today is nothing like the company that it used to be. Their products lack the innovation and creativity that Apple is more than capable of providing. Apple has left the innovation to its competitors, instead opting to take the safe approach, and only entering the market where one already exists. Apple has grown comfortable being the big boy on the block and taking-for-granted the inventive history that got them where they are today.
While controversial in its origin, the Macintosh, which was released in 1984, was the computer that introduced graphical user interfaces to the mass market. In 2001, Apple release iTunes, which would change the way people consumed music, later that year it introduced the iPod. In 2007 the company released the iPhone, and in 2010 it would release the iPad. All of these devices set the standard in their respective classes, driving other companies completely out of the market, or in some cases, creating a market where none existed. However, in the past 5 years, Apple has ceased to be the innovative company it used to be, and it may never be again. In the company’s recent history, their products have only mimicked what other devices are offering.
Let’s look at Apples recent release of products. Apple’s crack at the smart watch market was met with middling reviews and success. The watch arguably only did was well as it did because of the name attached to it. The new iPad Pro is Apple just saying, “Hey we can make a tablet/laptop thingy too.” The MacBook Air become even lighter, the MacBook Pro got a new processor, the iPhone is now pink, and iTunes music is now Spotify. The BEST thing apple has done in recent history is redesign the Mac Pro. Apple allowed their engineering team to completely redesigned the conventional PC layout, and that’s a really awesome feat.
All of these products and changes are just reactions to the changing market, rather than apple leading the charge. The growth of smart watches can be attributed to Samsung’s galaxy gear and new companies like Pebble. The iPad Pro coming in the wake of Microsoft’s increasingly popular Surface tablets is no surprise. It’s even boasting a stylus, something the company previously said it would never do. iTunes Music was the natural next step for the service because $9.99 for unlimited music is just too good a deal to pass up when it costs $1.29 (+ tax) for ONE song. Thanks to a competing music service, Apple finally gave in.
Apple has grown comfortable in the ecosystem they've built. The Apple environment is an amazing user experience, and the reason they're one of the most profitable companies in the world. Apple, however, now has the attitude of, “you’ll buy it because it’s apple.” Rather than being the industry leaders, they're comfortable being the expensive alternative to everyone else. After 30 years of innovation, they have now apparently grown too big to continue innovating.
I haven't seen a fellow classmate use iTunes in months, just Spotify. Even though iTunes Music is out, they're time and money is already in Spotify, why would they go back, especially when iTunes has nothing special to offer. I’ve also seen an incredible increase of Surface tablets around, but only time will tell how many of those will be replaced with giant iPads. My guess is not many. Apple has priced itself into the high-end of the market, rather than the must-have end of the market.
