Opinion – is Apple still innovating?
Think different. Wonky grammar aside, any gadgeteer over the over the age of 20 will remember Apple's iconic slogan from the mid 90s. It symbolised the company's drive to set the bar and lead the pack. But do recent launches such as the iPhone 5 and upcoming iPad Mini suggest the computer giant has stopped innvoating against the grain, and caved in to the demands of a baying public. Esat Dedezade and Luke Edwards lock horns...
Dead on arrival
Esat: The late Steve Jobs famously stated that 7in tablets would be "dead on arrival." And yet, here we are on October 23rd, with literally hours to go before Tim Cook reveals the 7in iPad Mini to the world. What happened? From where I'm standing Apple's taken one look at the formidably specced £160 7in Google Nexus 7, pulled the handbrake on old Jobsian diktats and made a u-turn.
Innovators
Luke: Ah, but let's not forget that Apple did invent the modern tablet, in the process stamping on the existing Flash internet and driving the express delivery of a shiny new HTML5 version. Jobs made his DOA jibe two years ago, while that new era – and a host of brilliant tablet apps – was just getting started. And there's little evidence Apple is doing whatever the public asks of it – where's our NFC?
Size does matter
Esat: Yes, but you'd be hard pressed to find many people now who agree with Steve Jobs's quote that a 3.5in phone screen hits the "sweet spot." The iPhone 5's 4in screen shows Apple had no choice but to eat its founder's words in a world saturated with supersized smartphone screens.
Look to the future
Luke: Sure Apple has adapted to evolve – remember how many different iterations of the Clickwheel iPod there were? But despite its mastery of physical control solutions, Apple was still the first to make touchscreens truly appealing (with the iPhone) and to convince us we could live without a CD drive in our laptops (MacBook Air). Okay, so Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD have beaten it to the 7in supertablet punch, but that doesn't mean Apple has stopped inventing. It's just saving up its surprises for the Apple Television. I think.
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Comments
hooman78
29 weeks ago
the opposing viewpoint lost the argument when they said. i think. in other words at the moment no, apple are not ahead when it comes to innovation and we can only go on what is happening in the present. they built this market that we see for smartphones and tablets, absolutely but rest on your laurels for too long and everyone will see you as another Microsoft.
andy333
29 weeks ago
please how pathetic this ipad is ,, sammy and nexus 7 totally wipe this toy out . apple is rotten fruit based toy maker made by slaves. plus its to big unless u have chimpanzee hands .
sammy galaxy note far better option .