Apple has been going through the litmus test ever since Steve Jobs passed away. Every move of theirs has been watched closely and they have come in for some sharp criticism from investors, media and the public in general for failing to innovate.
Critics claim the company has lost its edge, merely updating existing products and are not innovating enough to launch new product categories. They seem to have got into the shell like their competitor “Microsoft”. CEO Tim Cook has also been criticized as lacking vision for Apple and blamed for the company’s fallen stock price.
It might not be accurate to state that Apple has stopped innovating, but it has slowed down since Jobs death. If Jobs were still running the company, it’s likely that Apple would have two new product categories by now. Innovation drives the value of the company, and the time has come for Apple to prove itself, once again. It’s not enough that they can come up with one product after 10 years or five years, but they need one every year if they want to regain their old charm. If they do not heed to some of their warning signals – falling stock price, losing market share to Samsung then they might become the next Microsoft.
Even though Apple’s innovation cycle has been disappointing, the company’s latest products have exceeded market expectations. The technical innovation in the iPhone 5S demonstrates that the company’s innovation talent still beats the competition by a long shot. For all we know, 2014 might be Apple’s big product year and may be the much-rumoured iTV might hit the shelves.
Cook has often been criticized by media and investors for not having the design prowess and leadership capabilities that his predecessor possessed. During the short period that he has been leading the company, some critics have even called for him to be ousted.
Tim Cook recognizes he is not the product visionary Steve Jobs was and with the promotion of Jony Ive to lead both hardware and software and how they interact, Cook is basically letting Jony Ive be the face of design at Apple.
In some ways, by letting Ive become the lead of design, Cook has mitigated the street’s fear that there is no innovation and no vision. Ive and Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, have essentially become the “cool factor” for Apple, while Cook does what he is great at, which is global operations.
Ive worked closely with Federighi, in designing the latest version of Apple’s operating system, iOS 7, which was the biggest overhaul of the OS ever. The redesign of the software marked the end of an era of sorts. Jobs was always a fan of designing software that mirrored real life. But the new OS features a flat interface that is void of any life-imitating graphics. Under Cook, Apple has also been more open in its relationship with Wall Street.
During Jobs’ tenure as CEO, the company had a notorious reputation for giving very low guidance and then beating expectations by a mile. This caused a lot of confusion on the street. The company has also become increasingly more shareholder friendly since Cook took the reins.
Likely because Jobs had witnessed Apple on its deathbed more than once, he was extraordinarily wary of debt. But Cook has been more willing to take on debt to return capital to shareholders.
So far, the company has said it will return $100 billion to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends by the end of 2015. And there’s speculation they may continue to increase the stock buyback.
Steve Jobs’ Apple would never ever do a share buyback but Steve Jobs’ time is over.
digitalade 