And yet this massive and highly successful company has been failing to do that for years. Not because its new devices are bad — on the contrary most of them are top of the line — but because Apple is failing to connect with the consumer as it once did.
When Steve Jobs passed away, current Apple CEO Tim Cook had a strategy to keep shareholders’ faith in the company: senior employees who barely work. This worked for a long time and designer Jony Ive’s work continued to help Apple put out unique and interesting products. After Ive left in 2019 it feels like most of Apple’s offerings have started stagnating.
Apple’s products today are brilliant devices but I feel like the company has lost its touch when it comes to convincing the average Joe to try its gadgets. The Vision Pro is a technological marvel and yet those who own it keep it sitting on a shelf collecting dust.
People are disappointed by Apple Intelligence and the upcoming smart home hub also sounds mediocre. The iPhone mini and Plus models failed to meet sales expectations and now the company is trying a new design: the iPhone 17 Air. And Apple is also thinking of trying its hand at robotics and is working on an iPad robot.
But all of these devices fail to clearly communicate to the consumer an answer to a very simple question: what does this solve? And unless Apple can reconnect with its past I fear its new categories may continue to fall flat.
