Is Apple too mature to innovate?
Keesjan (Case) Engelen
CEO Titoma, Electr. Design & Mfg Colombia & China. On-Time & On-Budget since 2001
Bob O'Donnell points out in an article that the time that Apple was able to surprise the world with real innovations may well be behind us.
They were very late with their Apple Watch, I guess they postponed the introduction a couple of times because it wasn't ground breaking enough to meet the enormous expectations, and when they finally did launch it it indeed failed to impress.
Their recent products are competent evolutions, but nothing revolutionary, I feel the Iphone 6 looks decidedly boring, should I say Samsung-like?
It seems they are running out of ideas, last weekend all they had to announce was, hold your breath...:
- a new version of the iPad Pro tablet
- new wristbands for the Apple Watch
- a budget iPhone SE, which seems an almost desperate move to get iPhone sales from slowing down even further
Their most interesting product was a robot specifically designed to destruct Iphones !
Perhaps it is the need to support 1 billion active devices which is becoming a burden rather than a boon.
This article first appeared on the Titoma blog as Is Apple to Mature to Innovate?
Case Engelen is CEO of Titoma Design Ltd. and has been designing and manufacturing electronics in Taiwan & China for 20 years. If you consider a custom product you should read China ODM factory designs: 7 pitfalls to avoid. If you like this article, well, please like it!
Comprador.
8yTheir most interesting product was a robot specifically designed to destruct Iphones ! lol
Head of Research at Uphold
8ySeriously doubt that they are too mature. It's more of a technology thing. A whole new wave of new materials for PCBs is coming now that will allow entirely different devices. With Apple's value chain in China I am sure they are in the best spot to astound the world again and again.
KnowledgeHyperGraph.ai KHG, massive IoT, Privacy by Design
8yIf during a discussion about future of home automation one of the company organization mention their policy about Unsolicited-ideas you can start to think how their model is self sustainable and can generate innovation only from internals and limited interaction with the market. You can be big but with current availability of communication and worldwide knowledge you remain fragile respect innovation, Microsoft/Internet was a good lesson, Samsung is trying to modify their approach for the same reason.
Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Eco Marine Power.
8yIt's hard to keep on pulling new things out of the hat at the same amazing rate over an extended period of time. Not forgetting of course that eventually competitors also tap into the path that and been cleared and start stealing some of the limelight so to speak.
★ Research valorisation ★ Startup & venture building ★ Deep tech scouting ★ Funding ★ EIRES ★ Research-to-market ★ Business planning ★ Circularity & Sustainability
8yApple is defenitly into a transition phase from front runner into a follower with a focus on improvement instead of renewal. This course makes the company quite vulnerable because they tend to waiting for other technologies to become mature enough to adopt. At the time it becomes interesting for them, they are too late, i.e. they have no learning curve as the pioneers had resulting into a fight for minor piece of the pie. (The innovation dilemma, Clayton M. Christensen) See what happpened with Microsoft and Nokia, they are still trying to catch up with the smart phone race while that one is already been settled. With new ipads, iphones and apps, Apple is pleasing and managing their stockholders, that's what big companies are expected to do. But Apple's star isn't shining as bright as it once did. Their latest iOS for mac are a disaster, their music community on iTunes is eroding, and their new devices are improvements or acquired. They seem to have no clear view on how to open up new user communities for future growth. Health seems to be the new iTunes, but every big tech company is into health now a days and know how to build communities too. They haven't talk about virtual reality nor 3D printing last town hall presentation. And the authonomous car is already claimed by the competition. So what will be their unique technology road map? I think the time is right for Apple to review their vision statement in order to attract new geniuses for high impact innovations.