Apple doesn't create new product areas, it grabs an area and disrupts the status quo by offering significantly improved user experiences. In that pursuit they have really innovated in various areas, from UI design to manufacturing to logistics.
The fact they haven't created a new product area by themselves doesn't mean they don't innovate at all.
Apple still designs for style and upcharging over usability.
Not sure why people/Apple marketing insist on Apple products making them more productive. I can't agree on iPhone and I didn't find any speed increases on a macbook.
How does your statement have anything to do with Apple not stifling innovation? Because you pay Apple to vet your UI... what? Somehow innovation is fostered for you?...
Also, to be clear, I'm not accusing Apple of failing to innovate elsewhere in its product chain. It clearly has. Since 1999: the iBook, MacBook Pro, Air, and a few iterations of the iMac, just in form factors. There's been a lot of under-the-hood stuff going on as well.
But where the user interacts with the system, things have been remarkably stable. Even the relatively minor changes which have been presented have been covered with the usual Apple levels of obsession -- skewmorphic vs. flat designs, etc., ad nauseum.
Again the point being: screw with how things are visually and how users interact with the system, you're going to create huge usability costs with little to show for.
I don't think very many people think their products have improved. I still buy Apple but am increasingly frustrated by their design choices in the last few years.
That's weird, I thought the standard line on Apple was that they don't innovate, they just take existing product ideas and make them "pretty". And then sheeple like me buy them because we're gullible and stupid.
I think when they talk about Apple as an innovator they mean innovative design. I agree that they haven't so much introduced products that changed the world because they were scratching an itch that hadn't previously been scratched- they just provide a much more stylish and cooler way to scratch the itch.
Apple has been this way for a while. They are not innovators, despite what they claim. They do excel at "polish" though. Whenever they take someone else's idea, they usually do a really good job of making it smooth, simple, and usable. I don't think that's a bad thing, but it's not "innovation".
Apple does not make laptops with unique designs anymore. They recently redesigned the MacBook Air and Pro's and they went with a utilitarian and conservative look. They did not push any boundaries.
They don't make the most bleeding edge phones anymore (Samsung is pushing the envelope with foldables).
They don't make the best looking wireless earbuds.
They don't make the best looking smartwatches.
They don't make the best looking tablets.
On the software front, Google has caught up on Android's UI and has the same polish as iOS. Apple is no longer the software design leader.
The only area that Apple is truly ahead is in chip design. Does that mean Apple is now a chip company first and design second? Also, does that mean Apple no longer attracts the very best designers and instead attracts the best chip designers?
Apple doesn't change anything: "They've stopped innovating and become boring."
Apple does change stuff: "Why did they ruin a good thing?"
Apple's whole thing is simple products that work really well, and they're now suffering from it. Android or Windows can add 20 new bells and whistles, whereas that's not Apple's thing. Their initial versions are freakishly well-done (the current iPhone isn't that different from what was released a decade ago, and the MBP hasn't really changed either), and subsequent models suffer from that early level of polish and perfection. They need people to continue buying (they are a company), but really don't have many ways to entice people to.
I don't think you can say "Apple doesn't innovate" and then list not updating their desktops as proof. Pushing incremental updates to computer hardware isn't innovation. Its iteration. Its something HP and Dell do. Of course we want Apple to do this, but it isn't evidence that they don't innovate.
I also wholly disagree with the viewpoint that Apple's pace of innovation has slowed. I strongly believe that the best products in Apple's entire lineup right now are the Watch and AirPods; what they are doing in these two categories are 10x ahead of competitors. iPhone X? They were the first to release IR-based face detection and authentication. They took what MS did with the Kinect and made it 100x smaller. The A10 and A11 are 2-3x more performant than any competition. They lead the industry in productizing consumer security. These are all innovations.
I simply don't think its fair to judge everything any company does to the iPhone then say "they're not innovating". The iPhone is, without a doubt, a once in a lifetime thing. I compare it to the discovery and application of electricity, oil, or the integrated circuit. It was a core insight into human behavior and the world which marked a dramatic change in all of humanity. Just calling it an "innovation" is a disservice.
I will say I haven't seen too much "innovation" from Apple in recent years. Progression, yes, but innovation no.
Agreed. The iPhone was groundbreaking. The iPad somewhat. Since then they've done some great work on their laptop line, but that's about it. They were even late to the game with smartwatches.
Of course, the problem with complaining about things like this is that I have no idea what I actually want Apple to do, except surprise me.
Apple, as it exists now, is not much an innovator. They don't need to be. They can release improved versions of the products everyone already has. Best not to mess with that by introducing half-assed tech that breaks the user experience. Wait till its matured a bit then release a smooth and polished apple version.
Yeah - Apple really has a crummy record on innovation compared with...
... oh yeah...
now that I actually engage my brain for a millisecond...
they have been pretty innovative haven't they?
They are following the trends set by others (Microsoft and Google) and I think that is what is infuriating designers.
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