Apple was at the top of its game, both in terms of innovation and design, over a decade ago.
But during the September 10th Apple Event, none of the new products showed off were as innovative as the initial iPhone.
Apple has been less concerned with innovation in the past few years, and more focused on keeping its users with the brand, to providing the company with revenue.
We have seen the development of new, distinct products or services to have a varied product lineup, but none of these products offer extra value to their competitors.
Full disclosure, I do own a few Apple products, mainly my iPhone and my Macbook, but for one key reason.
Apple products retain their value compared to other electronics thanks to its brand power so that when it comes time to upgrade, I’ll be able to sell my current items for a decent sum.
Given Apple’s current position as a company, they likely don’t have to push the boundaries for them to make their money.
Apple only has to introduce a new iPhone to meet the current status quo.
The disappointing part of that is that some of the best Apple products have come from them taking risks.
The only “risk” Apple is currently taking is starting a streaming service.
They’re essentially entering a market which has rapidly become saturated with a low price tag and hope people sign up.
This doesn’t sound daring, at least compared to risks like the iPad or a few of the OS X releases to me.
The iPad, in particular, was risky for Apple, since all other tablets that had come before it had failed.
The success of the iPad was all thanks to the marketing and sales teams, which is just one example of how Apple has changed.
Not to mention Apple’s easily recognizable designs.
The sleek aluminum and glass we have known for the past decade is easily some of the best design work out there right now and ranks up there with the iMac G3 for some of Apple’s most iconic work.
The problem is we have seen the same designs for years.
The last big redesign for the iPhone line was going from the blocky iPhone 5 to the rounded iPhone 6.
I personally don’t count the iPhone X as a redesign just because of the screen change and the camera going vertical, as it didn’t offer much in terms of redesign beyond those two aspects.
The most recent example that sticks out to me is the TouchBar on the Macbook Pro line since 2016.
The TouchBar is a long touchscreen that spans where the F1-F12 are located and adds specific uses in certain programs.
To many users, it was a pointless addition when keys on a keyboard work just fine.
Another example of unnecessary change is with the new iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.
Barely anything has changed compared to the previous models, except they added a new camera giving the back an ugly, clunky look, far from the sleek designs we’ve come to expect.
Compare the iPhone 11 Pro to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, a foldable smartphone with a bendable screen.
The Galaxy Fold is easily the more interesting of the two and is taking a much bigger risk than the iPhone 11 Pro.
While the hardware and designs hasn’t made leaps and bounds, the software has advanced.
There are some positive aspects of iOS and macOS, like the inclusion of Dark modes and the expected adjustments to improve user experience.
Yet not even the operating systems can escape the current stagnation of Apple’s design, as the last time we’ve seen new designs for iOS and macOS was 2013 and 2014 respectively.
The fact of the matter is that Apple knows that it doesn’t have to put that much work in to turn a profit.
Instead, they keep on churning the same products out year after year, opting to let other companies take the big risks.
Due to this business strategy, Apple has certainly lost its bite.