Has Apple forgotten how to innovate?

The+Apple+storefront.

The Apple storefront.

Martin Beck, Staff Reporter

No better place affirms Apple’s influence over today’s society than an HHS hallway. iPhones are cradled in the hands of students like newborn children. Some slouch over their screens, swiping endlessly up with their thumbs–engrossed, aloof. Others don pearly white earbuds, bobbing their heads slightly to their music–distant, occupied.

Apple is ingrained in the high school ethos, but why? Apple products don’t tout the highest screen resolutions, the longest battery life, or the crispest cameras. Compared to Apple’s opponents, their products aren’t aggressively priced–in fact, some are downright expensive.

From what I can gather, it boils down to good overall quality and the friendly silhouette of a bitten fruit.

When someone purchases an Apple product, they know what they’re getting: an attractive hunk of metal that works well and is reliable. They’re guaranteed that their device will be mostly bug free. It won’t come with bloatware. The software will be efficient and sleek.

Apple devices don’t offer all the features that their rivals’ devices do. The iPhone can’t survive in a meter of water for 30 minutes like Samsung’s Galaxy S5 can. Their Macbooks don’t have touch interfaces and detachable screens like several Windows laptops. The features they do offer, however, are executed really well.

Other app and media stores stores have yet to rival Apple’s, in terms of size and quality. They offer the fastest all-in-one desktop on the market. iPhones are the first mobile devices to offer 64-bit processors–a feature exclusive to PCs for over a decade.

Such caveats aside, Apple’s devices can be pricey simply because of the logo on the back. Apple has acquired a sort of cult following over the years–a following that influences the average high school hallway and street corner. Just ask one of your peers: Apple is cool. Apple is hip. Apple is everywhere. You need one.

Historically, Apple has been characterized by a single word: innovative. In 2007, it would have been futile to argue the counterpoint. After all, 2007 was the year they released the first touchscreen phone. The iPhone sent ripples throughout the technology environment that shape the market today.

It didn’t start there. In 2001, they released the iPod with the tagline “One thousand songs in your pocket.” Past were the days of the Walkman! No longer were you forced to carry CDs around! Furthermore, the birth of iTunes triggered the obsolescence of record stores. Remember when you stood outside your local shop–in the blistering cold–to get your mitts on the newest album? Me neither. Apple killed an entire industry.

Today? Innovative isn’t the right word. Innovative to their own products, I suppose. But to the consumer market in general? Far from it.

The iWatch–er, Apple Watch is a prime example of this. Smartwatches are nothing new. Samsung released the first smartwatch in 1999, eloquently named the SPH-WP10. It wasn’t a mere cell phone accessory. In fact, it aimed to be the new cell phone; before needing to be recharged, it could make 90 minutes of calls and be on standby for 60 hours. A 1999 Samsung press release states that: “Samsung officials expect their new watch phone to be a big hit with the youth market.”

It cost $700.

It’s no surprise that Samsung’s foray into the smartwatch scene failed miserably with consumers.

More than a decade later, in 2012, Kickstarter exploded with an ambitious device known as the Pebble. It was a smartwatch of a different breed: one that aimed to be a companion to your phone, rather than a replacement. It would intercept texts, calls, and emails from your phone via Bluetooth. The Kickstarter goal was $100,000; $10.3 million was raised, and a year later, the Pebble appeared at major retailers, most notably Best Buy. It currently costs $100 for the base model and $200 for the steel version.

In September, Apple debuted their take on the smartwatch, alongside new iPhones. Their take on the watch isn’t anything too revolutionary. It’s basically a mini-iPhone that you can strap to your wrist. However, it requires an iPhone 5c/5s or newer in your pocket to even function. (The Pebble is a bit more adaptable, as it simply requires any type of smartphone to function.)

You can make and receive calls and texts from the device, which you can also do with the Pebble and SPH-WP10. You can browse your email–but, you could just pull out your phone and do that more effectively. It acts as a fitness tracker, but the Pebble has been doing that for years. If you’re near somebody else with an Apple Watch, you can… send them your heartbeat. I don’t know why you would want to do that, but Apple thought it was a relevant feature.

The Apple Watch can tell the time too, if you’re interested in that.

If you’re willing to shell out a minimum of $349 for calls, texts, Siri, maps, photos, and other Apple services you could get with a standalone Apple product, by all means, try their watch out. Otherwise, it seems like more of a vanity item.

Another Apple event was held on Thursday, October 16th, in which they released the iPad Air 2, complete with a thinner body, updated microprocessor, and fingerprint scanner. The iPad Mini 3 was also released, with identical upgrades.

Their desktop iMac line, which has been experiencing some neglect recently, got retina displays, akin their other products.

Apple may still be reeling from the loss of Steve Jobs, their creator and CEO. His vision guided Apple through choppy waters and made it one of the most profitable and most influential corporations on Earth. A new identity may be what Apple needs to continue to innovate. The jury’s still out, but I’d wager that they haven’t found one yet.

A touch-screen watch.
A touch-screen watch.
A classic iPod.
A classic iPod.

Photo for Apple Article 3 Photo for Apple Article 4