I got an email this morning and in this email it talked about how the MacBook Air was a hit and this and that. I sat back in my chair and I started to think about how all these people say that Apple is not innovative and its this and its that. So my question I asked myself is, "What does it matter that they are not "innovative" or moving at the speed of say Samsung or Android (Google)"?
Honestly to me, we have all heard the saying if something is not broke don't fix it, I agree with that but want to add in don't fix it, tweak it to make it better. Don't make dramatic changes and keep going for eye candy because it will be just that, eye candy.
Anyone who knows me, knows I am a sports nut. I love all sports from basketball (my fav) all the way to rugby (almost love it as much as football) and cricket (which I just started to get into about a year or two ago). To me, I think tech is like sports and the championship teams don't always dramatically change, they just retool and tweak. Look at basketball and go to the San Antonio Spurs or in Football with the New England Patriots. Two championship teams at any time, but they don't always drastically change, they retool and tweak to get the kinks out to go for all the glory in the end.
A lot of these devices are a lot like these pro sports teams. Look at the Miami Heat right now, to me, they are Samsung.
They are at the top of the food chain because they have blown every one's expectations and have managed to capture the hearts of those who will follow to the depths (mainly the people in Miami). You have the S3 and S4 (Lebron James because it is the best thing they got) and then the Note series (which I think is the second best player they got and he would be the Note 2). I don't want to leave the other things Samsung kicks out like TVs and refrigerators and not to mention PCs. That is what I think Bosch is, he is their PCs and other things that are reliable and many different things to choose from. Lastly, the Galaxy series has been around for awhile and at one point was the head on man to take on the iPad. The Galaxy Tab 2 is a great tablet (my step son has the 10.1) and that is where I see Ray Allen and the rest of the Miami Heat.
This line-up is impressive but how long will it stay at the top? In a year or so, man of the top talents will either leave or retire and then it will a team of rebuild. Teams like the Pats or the Spurs just retool and re-tweak.
That then leads me to what Samsung plans to do when all their gimmicks and "awesome innovation" runs out of the door? Half of the features that my phone has I don't use. But all of the features that my iPhone had, I used (maybe Siri not as much but still used it). People think Apple doesn't innovate because they don't pack 20 to 40 new features to go along with the other 50 features that their last device had and that's not okay to the mass. Truth is that when iOS 7 comes out, they will keep everything the same but retool everything (or overhaul), but the main formula. Siri didn't get dropped or not talked about, they worked on it and retooled it and are making it better over time.
See if you follow me on this. The Galaxy S3 came out and was an awesome, awesome phone that had features to the roof. great processor and things under the hood. They marketed all those features and they were breathing down Apple's neck. The next year, the Galaxy S4 comes with more features and better processor and even the international version had an 8-core processor. They marketed all those features as well and it went on to dominate the cell phone/mobile charts.
Apple drops an iPhone 4s and new possessor and all that jazz and also introduces Siri to the mobile world. Siri was kind of well received and they marketed the new 4s based on Siri (famous actors using it) and normal Apple easiness. Then they dropped an iPhone 5.
Now, notice what happens here. Apple dropped the 5 and added new processors and all that, but they talked about upgrading the features that people always used from the last phone or tweaks and retools. That was a dramatic change to nobody but the features were welcomed and made the iPhone 5 that much better.
I'm not trying to sound like a fan boy or anything like that, but if your product is good, then it is what it is (whatever it is). Apple's so called lack of innovation could be just that, a lack of innovation to those who always want something more. We as people always want the latest and greatest and also want something that works all-day, everyday and to me Apple does that over and over. Apple is a "championship team" that doesn't need flash and awe every time out. To get the win by one point or thirty makes no difference. A win is a win, period.
I think Samsung is the here and now, but in a year or two they will be where they were a few years ago, trying to get to the top. There are other great phones (like the HTC One) that surprised people and became great instantly. They are my Memphis Grizzlies or my Golden St. Warriors. They are turning peoples heads with the products that they are putting out there and soon they will be at the top of the mountain. But when they finally do get there, that Apple team will still be there as well because silently people want to dethrone them, and that's fine. Flash and and a few ohh's and awe's only get you so far (Steve Nash Phoenix Suns).
I think Apple doesn't need to be flashy or over innovative or even change what they do. I think people think Apple is boring (like the Spurs) and hate that they can get the job done. The MacBook Air is a fantastic notebook that has all the power to do what you need to do. The MacBook Pro is the same way if the Air is not enough for you. The desktop (and the new one) is a powerhouse (on paper) and most artist and movie companies use Apple products to get their things done. It's simple and it's easy. That is the innovation. Why can't other companies make something simple and easy as well? Where is their innovation for simplicity? Hmmm.... only time will tell.
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