The longer I watch how Apple operates as a company, the more convinced I am that there might be a personality disorder going on behind the scenes.
Hey, corporations are people, too (SCOTUS said), and if that’s the case, then why can’t corporations have the same problems that mere humans have? Based on how Apple manages the product line, I see a split personality at One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA.
On The Other Hand
Name a modern technology company that has disrupted more major industries than Apple. No, not Google, not Microsoft, not Samsung, not anybody. A larger screen smartphone is not indicative of industry disruption.
Only Apple has launched full-fledged industry shaking disruptions upon the PC industry, the portable media player industry, the music industry, the smartphone industry, the application development industry, the nascent PC tablet industry, just to mention a few.
Think Mac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, App Stores, iPad. See? What other company has a track record like that?
On the other hand, and despite a history of leaping into and dramatically altering the landscape of industry after industry, Apple seems to lag behind competitors in other areas.
How so?
Today’s MacBook Pro looks much like the MacBook Pro of nearly a decade ago. Sure, it’s lighter, faster, has a better screen, better graphics, more RAM and storage, but to look at it, and to see how we use it, it’s pretty much same old same old point and click monotony.
History Is Numbers
The company’s history is a bit like this: Apple disrupts, goes into incremental innovation mode products improve, then the company slowly falls behind competitors until the next big thing comes along.
Take the iPhone. It’s the standard which competitors strive to beat. In many cases they do. More RAM, more storage, lower price, better screens, more options, more features. Bullet point for bullet point, Apple slowly falls behind.
Yes, I know Apple has a 64-bit CPU in iPhone and iPad, and it doesn’t look as if Google or Samsung will get one any time soon, but that’s how Apple works. It disrupts, innovates incrementally, then slowly falls behind until the next great thing is born.
For example, iOS and the app icon grid. It was revolutionary back in the day (2007, which is oh so long ago in technology years), but what has Apple done to make it revolutionary again? Flatten the icons and remove the shine? Please.
This Jekyll and Hyde personality disorder goes back forever at Apple. Look how long it took the company to come out with a two-button mouse. Look how long it’s taking to have an iPhone with a much larger screen?
Apple changes markets, yes, but then fails to change along with the markets it helped to create.
