It's really hard to fault a company for not innovating when nobody else is innovating either. It's a mature product category which means all the low-hanging fruit is gone.
For Apple to really innovate their way back into massive growth they're going to need to find another new product category. I have a really hard time seeing what that may be, as do most observers, I would imagine.
CES 2019 starts in few days, and rumor is that we'll see foldable smartphones there, so there are still some companies innovating, Apple just isn't one of them.
I agree and it’s been true for some time. I was an early adopter of iPhone but went one upgrade cycle with a Windows Phone. It gave me several benefits that iPhone either didn’t have at the time (like wireless charging) or that they still don’t have (easy “child” mode that limits access to specific apps and disables ability to send or read messages).
Wait...
what?
You think making a smart phone fold is innovative?
I don't know man?
I think maybe I'm just crazy or something. I still use my iphone 5, it seems to work fine. I don't really understand why I need to upgrade to the latest and greatest thing every year. But for me, asking me to pay hundreds of dollars for a new phone, when my old phone works perfectly fine, seems a bit silly. And then to say, "But this one will FOLD!!!" just makes me think you're insulting my intelligence.
Even just straight up copying the folding tablets from Westworld, it would change how I interact with technology to have a device that spans pocket sized and tablet sized.
A tri-fold phone could be a really big deal for me.
To be clear, the screen itself folds.
I'd say that is a pretty nifty innovation (assuming the quality of the image is still comparable to non-foldable screens). Not sure it'll work as for the UX, but technically it is quite an advancement.
Hard time seeing what’s next indeed!
So, if they manage to make the watch a ‘necessity’ in the health market, it can become very, very big.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=apple%20watch%20growth
It is growing the smartwatch market exponentially. Not as fast as the iPhone for sure, but that’s to be expected.
More to the point, I get the impression that Apple expected more growth than occurred already by the initial effort and marketing they put into watch. All of the hoped for growth hasn’t come yet, though it could still come in the future.
I think what they are looking for is a wearable (Apple or otherwise) being seen as a must have device, which isn’t the case in 2019.
Also - why do you keep saying Apple ‘expected more’?
It’s a multi billion dollar business and a growing hit.
You talk about hopes for growth that hasn’t come, but is that just an impression?
The area displaying watches was at least twice the size of the previous version, and more central. They also had a much more deluxe area in accessory section displaying watch bands much more visibly.
I see all kinds of people with Apple watches around here. The entry level black sport band model seems to be the default men’s watch.