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Here’s why Apple can’t Innovate

Shaaz Nasir

“There are a thousand nos for every yes. If everyone is busy making everything,how can anyone perfect anything?”
-Apple

Apple is slower, less agile, less innovative, with Tim Cook. That is what many say. They claim they have lost the killer instinct that Steve Jobs brought. These people never understood Apple and are irrlevant. Even if Steve Jobs was still CEO, Apple would have still been perceived to be “slowing down”. There is a very simple reason behind why Apple is not revolutionizing the entire tech industry every quarter. It can’t. No company can “change the game” every 4 months or even 2 years for that matter. Apple does not create new products, it perfects them.

The industry needs to produce products so Apple can perfect them. If the industry is going through an innovation slump, then Apple is forced to wait. Remember, Apple is not in the business of “making everything”, they’re about perfecting.

And I am not alone on this reasoning, Steve Jobs explained industries go through innovation cycles seen in this rare video (skip the strange Swedish dance, not sure what’s going on there):

Tim Cook just happened to take charge just when the downward phase began.
Now I share the frustrations of those who keep on hearing Tim Cook say “I have a lot of products coming soon” or “we’re really excited to show you what’s about to come” with no results to show. Steve Jobs would have done a better job at keeping us amazed and dazzled while he buys time for the industry to produce and Apple to perfect.

However, the good news is that the industry down time seems to be on the cusp of ending. We have companies producing smart watches (although I urge you not to buy one), pushing the boundaries of cloud data storage, tablets with physical keyboards, innovative new communication applications, etc. Apple even just released a new program language that’s got every developer dancing in joy. Point being, expect Apple in the next 18 months to begin releasing “perfected” version of new products, from software to hardware.

My innovation argument boils down to what Steve Jobs himself said,
“We’re not going to be the first to this party, but we’re going to be the best”.
The world needs to calm down, the party has just began and Apple is just about to arrive.