Apple Explained: Has Apple Become Less Innovative Under Tim Cook's Leadership?

Hey guys, it’s Greg with Apple Explained. And in this video, we’re going to discuss whether or not Apple is still an innovative company. Because when Tim Cook replaced Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple in 2011, many thought that the company was doomed to failure since Cook didn’t appear to be much of a tech visionary. And over the years, the criticism that Apple is no longer innovative has clearly been taken to heart by some executives. "Can't innovate anymore my ass." So has Apple become less innovative? Well, we’re going to answer that question by going over some of the biggest products that have been released under Cook’s leadership, and decide whether or not those products were truly innovative.

So, this video topic was the second place winner of last week’s voting poll, and if you didn’t get to vote, make sure you're subscribed. That way the voting polls will show up right in your mobile activity feed and you can let me know which video you’d like to see next. So, if we’re going to decide whether or not today’s Apple products are innovative, we need to begin by establishing what innovation even is, what it looks like.

According to the dictionary, the word "innovate" means to make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products. But I kind’ve have a problem with this definition. Because making changes to a product for the sake of it doesn’t necessarily mean that product is any better than before. And if no measurable improvements have been made, I don’t think the changes can be considered innovative. So we have to make the distinction between innovation and invention. With innovation bringing about significant improvements, and invention bringing about something new simply for the sake of newness.

So, how has Apple been innovative in the past under Jobs? Well, one of the earliest examples was the Apple II in 1977. It was the first modern computer marketed to the everyday consumer that could be purchased preassembled. Requiring very little technical knowledge. And the Apple II can absolutely be considered innovative since it took a new approach to existing technology that made it accessible to the masses. Another example of innovation under Jobs came in 1984 with the Macintosh. It introduced features like the mouse and graphical user interface that truly changed the way computers were used, and put them within reach of even more people.

But probably the most innovative product Jobs introduced was the iPhone. It marked a huge leap forward for smartphones, featuring a large multi-touch glass display that did away with the traditional plastic keyboard and control buttons. Now I want to point out that innovative products are the first to be copied by their competition. Because there’s a general consensus that the truly innovative product has features that are objectively superior. That’s why they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And this kind of thing has been happening to Apple products for years.

The Apple II influenced IBM's products, the Macintosh influenced not only hardware manufacturers but software companies like Microsoft who got the idea for Windows after seeing the Mac operating system. And it’s undoubtedly clear that the iPhone influenced every single smartphone that was made after its release in 2007. So that’s how we identify an innovative product with meaningful features, rather than an inventive product with arbitrary features.

So, we’ve looked back at some of the innovative products released by Steve Jobs, but what about the major products released under Tim Cook? Well, the Apple Watch is probably the most important device Cook has introduced. It marked Apple’s entrance into a completely new product category, smartwatches, but can it be considered an innovative product? Well, it did introduce some incredible features like the digital crown that allowed for precise scrolling and zooming without your fingers blocking the display.

Not to mention it also served as a home button. And the Apple Watch could also tell the difference between a tap and a press, a capability that was completely new to smartwatches, and also very useful for accessing extra controls. Then there was the Haptic Engine that would tap your wrist when you received an alert or notification, and the taps were distinguishable from one another depending on the function. So when you used the Apple Watch and experienced all of these features in action, it was clearly much easier and enjoyable to use than smartwatches before it.

And this isn’t even considering how Apple made their Watch much more visually appealing and customizable than their competition. I mean, there are literally millions of watch faces available for download, and you can customize just about every aspect of the watch to fit your style. And that’s just one example of innovation in product design. So, it looks like the Apple Watch has definitely lived up to its promise as a game-changer in the world of smartwatches.

The following year in 2016, Apple introduced probably the most innovative product since Tim Cook became CEO. And that was the AirPods. A product that was initially ridiculed for its seemingly high price, although they were actually priced less than most people expected. But despite the initial skepticism, the AirPods have proven to be a huge success for Apple.

The AirPods use wireless technology to connect to your device, allowing you to listen to music or take phone calls without the hassle of cords. And with features like auto-pairing and seamless integration with other Apple devices, it’s clear that Apple has put a lot of thought into making these headphones easy to use. So, what makes the AirPods so innovative? Well, for one thing, they’re incredibly compact and lightweight, making them perfect for listening to music on-the-go.

And then there's the sound quality. The AirPods produce crystal-clear audio that’s comparable to traditional wired headphones. And with features like active noise cancellation, you can block out distractions and focus on what you're listening to. So, it looks like Apple has definitely hit a home run with the AirPods. They’ve proven to be a huge success for the company, and they’re just one example of how innovation is still alive and well at Apple.

Overall, it looks like Apple is still an innovative company, even under Tim Cook's leadership. From the Apple II to the AirPods, Apple has consistently pushed the boundaries of what's possible with technology. And with products like the Apple Watch and AirPods, it’s clear that innovation is still at the heart of everything Apple does.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys, it’s Greg with Apple Explained.And in this video we’re going to discusswhether or not Apple is still an innovativecompany.Because when Tim Cook replaced Steve Jobsas CEO of Apple in 2011, many thought thatthe company was doomed to failure since Cookdidn’t appear to be much of a tech visionary.And over the years, the criticism that Appleis no longer innovative has clearly been takento heart by some executives.“Can’t innovate anymore my ass.”So has Apple become less innovative?Well, we’re going to answer that questionby going over some of the biggest productsthat have been released under Cook’s leadership,and decide whether or not those products weretruly innovative.Now this video topic was the second placewinner of last week’s voting poll, and ifyou didn’t get to vote, make sure you’resubscribed.That way the voting polls will show up rightin your mobile activity feed and you can letme know which video you’d like to see next.So if we’re going to decide whether or nottoday’s Apple products are innovative, weneed to begin by establishing what innovationeven is, what it looks like.Now according to the dictionary, the wordinnovate means to make changes in somethingestablished, especially by introducing newmethods, ideas, or products.But I kind’ve have a problem with this definition.Because making changes to a product for thesake of it doesn’t necessarily mean thatproduct is any better than before.And if no measurable improvements have beenmade, I don’t think the changes can be consideredinnovative.So we have to make the distinction betweeninnovation and invention.With innovation bringing about significantimprovements, and invention bringing aboutsomething new simply for the sake of newness.So how has Apple been innovative in the pastunder Jobs?Well one of the earliest examples was theApple II in 1977.It was the first modern computer marketedto the everyday consumer that could be purchasedpreassembled.Requiring very little technical knowledge.And the Apple II can absolutely be consideredinnovative since it took a new approach toexisting technology that made it accessibleto the masses.Another example of innovation under Jobs camein 1984 with the Macintosh.It introduced features like the mouse andgraphical user interface that truly changedthe way computers were used, and put themwithin reach of even more people.But probably the most innovative product Jobsintroduced was the iPhone.It marked a huge leap forward for smartphones,featuring a large multi-touch glass displaythat did away with the traditional plastickeyboard and control buttons.Now I want to point out that innovative productsare the first to be copied by their competition.Because there’s a general consensus thatthe truly innovative product has featuresthat are objectively superior.That’s why they say imitation is the sincerestform of flattery.And this kind of thing has been happeningto Apple products for years.The Apple II influenced IBMs products, theMacintosh influenced not only hardware manufacturersbut software companies like Microsoft whogot the idea for Windows after seeing theMac operating system.And it’s undoubtedly clear that the iPhoneinfluenced every single smartphone that wasmade after its release in 2007.So that’s how we identify an innovativeproduct with meaningful features, rather thanan inventive product with arbitrary features.So we’ve looked back at some of the innovativeproducts released by Steve Jobs, but whatabout the major products released under TimCook?Well the Apple Watch is probably the mostimportant device Cook has introduced.It marked Apple’s entrance into a completelynew product category, smartwatches, but canit be considered an innovative product?Well, it did introduce some incredible featureslike the digital crown that allowed for precisescrolling and zooming without your fingersblocking the display.Not to mention it also served as a home button.And the Apple Watch could also tell the differencebetween a tap and a press, a capability thatwas completely new to smartwatches, and alsovery useful for accessing extra controls.And then there was the Haptic Engine thatwould tap your wrist when you received analert or notification, and the taps were distinguishablefrom one another depending on the function.So when you used the Apple Watch and experiencedall of these features in action, it was clearlymuch easier and enjoyable to use than smartwatchesbefore it.And this isn’t even considering how Applemade their Watch much more visually appealingand customizable than their competition.I mean, there are literally millions of waysto wear an Apple Watch when considering allthe possible strap and watch face combinations.Something that had never been accomplishedbefore in the industry.And I think all of these improvements canabsolutely be considered innovations thatmade the Apple Watch a huge commercial successand helped it become the number one watchin the world, outselling the entire Swisswatch industry in the fourth quarter of 2017.But that was only the beginning.Because the following year in 2016 Apple introducedprobably the most innovative product sinceTim Cook became CEO.And that was the AirPods.A product that was initially ridiculed forits seemingly high price, although they wereactually priced less than most \"true wireless\"earbuds on the market.And they went on to sell extremely well, surpassingalmost every tech analysts prediction.Even Apple had trouble keeping AirPods instock for several months after its releasesince the demand was so high.And if you’ve ever used them, you’ll likelyunderstand why.The way Apple used existing technology intandem with their own new technology to createthe AirPods was actually pretty spectacular.They included their own W1 processing chipinto each earbud in addition to the existingBluetooth 4.0 standard to ensure a reliablewireless connection while maintaining greatpower efficiency.Which meant the AirPods could charge unbelievablefast but play audio for hours.Then there’s the charging case that wasdesigned to perfection, featuring magnetsthat pulled each earbud in effortlessly.And this isn’t even considering the setupprocess, which is as easy as opening the lidand tapping a button on your iPhone.So for me, the AirPods felt like the mostmagical Apple product since the iPhone, andit takes some serious innovation to executethat kind of user experience.And since the AirPods release, there havebeen so many copycat products it’s hardto keep track.Now we can’t talk about major Apple productswithout mentioning the iPhone.And the biggest improvement to the iPhonesince it was first introduced, happened underTim Cook with the iPhone X.And I think this product hasn’t been giventhe credit it deserves, mainly because ofthe unusually large amount of criticism itreceived upon release.Some of which was justified, but overshadowedthe X’s most impressive technological achievements.The first of which was it’s edge to edgeOLED display.Something that hadn’t been achieved by anyother smartphone at that point.Mainly because displays have a controllerat the bottom to function properly, and thereforerequire the phone’s design have at leasta small chin to cover up those controllerelectronics.But Apple did something pretty innovativewith the iPhone X that had never been donebefore, they curved the bottom of the displayunderneath itself so that the controller electronicswere hidden behind the display, resultingin smaller bezels and more screen.And that alone is worthy of calling the iPhoneX an innovative product, but there are evenmore features like the new gestural interfacethat was the fastest and most fluid in theindustry.Along with Face ID which was the first smartphonefacial recognition system that actually mappeda 3D model of your face and couldn’t betricked by photos.Not to mention how much more reliable it wasthan the Touch ID sensor it replaced.But the innovative technology behind the FaceID system was overlooked due to it being locatedin a notch at the top of the iPhone’s display.And this notch design was met with so muchdisdain that many tech users declared thephone unusable.But the problem was, none of these peoplehad even tried it for themselves since thephone wouldn’t be released until a couplemonths after its introduction.And when the iPhone X was finally released,it sold way better than anyone had expected,despite it higher price.Becoming the world’s best-selling smartphonein its first quarter on the market.And when other competing smartphones werereleased after the X, many featured a similarnotch at the top of the display that so manyusers railed against.So it’s clear that the iPhone X was an influential,innovative product that provided a completelynew and improved user experience.But I should mention that although Steve Jobsand Tim Cook have both released innovativeproducts, that doesn’t mean they haven’tmade mistakes along the way.Jobs famously said he hired the wrong guywhen he persuaded John Scully to serve asApple’s CEO back in 1983.And Tim Cook admitted hiring John Browettas Apple’s senior vice-president of retailback in 2012 was a mistake.And we can name all of the missteps each CEOmade including MobileMe, Apple Maps, the hockeypuck mouse, and the trash can Mac Pro.But that would just be distracting from thereal innovations that both Steve Jobs andTim Cook have contributed.And although you may not appreciate everyaspect of a product, like the iPhone X’sone thousand dollar price tag or the AppleWatch’s square design, that doesn’t meanit isn’t an innovative product.That just means it may not be the right productfor you.And if you watched my previous video aboutApple Without Steve Jobs, you’ll also beginto understand why so many people think Applecan no longer innovate.Because they associate innovation with SteveJobs, not Tim Cook.So therefore Apple will never be able to maketruly great products again.But based on what we’ve covered in thisvideo, that obviously isn’t the case.Apple under Tim Cook is similar in so manyways to the Apple under Steve Jobs.They’re still producing high quality productsthat deliver seamless user experiences andpush their respective industries forward.And like I said before, there will be mistakesalong the way, but in Steve Jobs words “that’sgood, because at least some decision are beingmade along the way.And we’ll find those mistakes and we’llfix them”So those are the ways Apple is still innovative,and if you want to vote for the next videotopic, don’t forget to subscribe.Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you nexttime.\n"