6 ms·

> For example, RCA lost its direction and fell apart when its founder David Sarnoff died and his son took the helm. Similarly, another spectacular failure was H

> For example, RCA lost its direction and fell apart when its founder David Sarnoff died and his son took the helm. Similarly, another spectacular failure was Hewlett Packard when its last founder died. > That said, there are exceptions such as Apple—but then it may not have been in existence long enough to tell Apple would be about the same story: it hasn't created anything really meaningful since Jobs, it mostly lives on the legacy that has been set. Luckily for Cook the company has a good storytelling and aura, but major innovation hasn't been there for a long time, and when the wave slows down it may well end up like the others you listed.

ralusek 4y ago
Apple silicon is biggest innovation in mainstream personal computing in at least a decade. Their upcoming move into AR/VR indicates that they're at least maintaining a presence at the frontier.
KerrAvon 4y ago
Apple Watch is an entirely Tim Cook creation. Apple Silicon, too. Apple TV is the only non-scummy streaming box. It doesn't sell your viewing data to advertisers (though individual apps may). Apple TV+ has the highest signal-to-noise ratio of any non-niche streaming service. I don't think there's a close second. The latest HomePods and software iteration has made an appreciable positive difference in the quality of my life -- the intercom feature in particular is huge. This may not be unique to Apple, but it's well implemented. You can kvetch about bugs, declining software quality, etc (we certainly did when Jobs was running the place) -- but "meaningful"? Apple is more meaningful to more people than ever before.
- sangnoir 4y ago
  > Apple Watch is an entirely Tim Cook creation. Apple Silicon, too. PA Semi was acquired before Tim Cook became CEO (2008). I wouldn't say Apple Silicon is entirely a Tim Cook creation. https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-s-M1-Pro-M1-Max-chips-are-the-culmination-of-a-vision-hatched-in-2008.577290.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-s-M1-Pro-M1-Max-chips-ar...
gboss 4y ago
That is just not true. Apple is the most valuable company in the world, with the largest market cap. Steve Jobs died twelve years ago. The Apple Watch and Air Pods have been huge successes, so has their push into services. They also have the largest profit margins of any manufacturer. They are incredibly well run and have not lost their way. They also didn’t have to have massive layoffs as they didn’t over hire in the pandemic.
- gregoriol 4y ago
  Most of the companies in the list above where the number 1, major leader, unbreakable, ... until some inflexion point, and then vanished. Apple is not decreasing today at all, but it has not made any vision-revolution recently either. The most innovative things they launched are not visionary, the are mostly logical technological upgrades (M1, cameras, ...), or are being reverted/scrapped/fixed (the touch bar, the notch, ...). It also has a huge pressure to not be monopolistic anymore with the App Store.
- AnthonyMouse 4y ago
  Apple became the company with the highest market cap in the year Steve Jobs died. They haven't screwed it up yet, but they haven't really been tested yet. GE was the darling in the 90s and their fall (excluding market-wide events) didn't really come until two decades later in ~2017. The question for Apple is what happens when they're on the back foot. Suppose Intel regains a process advantage over TSMC, so PCs have a major performance advantage over Apple Silicon. Suppose TSMC remains dominant, so AMD stays ahead of Intel, and releases something successful in the phone market. Something open, unlike Qualcomm. Now you can get a high end phone that runs the latest stock Android for unlimited years. Qualcomm gets pushed down market so their current high end becomes available at lower prices. Each of these hack away at Apple's market share. Microsoft has a competent hardware division. Suppose they get over themselves and release an Android handset. Quality hardware and no OEM crapware other than Microsoft services integration. A Windows tablet that can directly run Android apps. Apple then has another major competitor in their biggest markets and it's the company that nearly put them out of business the first time around. The test is what happens when they face competent competition. Qualcomm sucks and Google only cares to the extent that they want to control the device to keep people on their services. That's been true since the end of the Jobs era but it isn't necessarily permanent.
nl 4y ago
> Apple would be about the same story: it hasn't created anything really meaningful since Jobs, it mostly lives on the legacy that has been set. Try telling that to everyone who has an Apple Silicon laptop. I haven't had a performance boost like that since the move to SSDs.
- outside1234 4y ago
  Seriously. I literally can't think of anything I don't like about my MacBook Pro M1.
  - gregoriol 4y ago
    The MacBook Pros really haven't changed since moving to Intel in 2006/2007. The most important change lately was the touch bar, which has been scrapped. Moving to ARM is a nice upgrade but it is not a revolution: Apple has been using iOS on ARM for about 15 years, and iOS is mostly macOS, and the Rosetta/transition has already been experienced when going from PPC to Intel. The new macs are great, but just logical/technological upgrades, not innovation.

ralusek 4y ago

Apple silicon is biggest innovation in mainstream personal computing in at least a decade. Their upcoming move into AR/VR indicates that they're at least maintaining a presence at the frontier.

KerrAvon 4y ago

Apple Watch is an entirely Tim Cook creation. Apple Silicon, too. Apple TV is the only non-scummy streaming box. It doesn't sell your viewing data to advertisers (though individual apps may). Apple TV+ has the highest signal-to-noise ratio of any non-niche streaming service. I don't think there's a close second. The latest HomePods and software iteration has made an appreciable positive difference in the quality of my life -- the intercom feature in particular is huge. This may not be unique to Apple, but it's well implemented. You can kvetch about bugs, declining software quality, etc (we certainly did when Jobs was running the place) -- but "meaningful"? Apple is more meaningful to more people than ever before.

sangnoir 4y ago
> Apple Watch is an entirely Tim Cook creation. Apple Silicon, too. PA Semi was acquired before Tim Cook became CEO (2008). I wouldn't say Apple Silicon is entirely a Tim Cook creation. https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-s-M1-Pro-M1-Max-chips-are-the-culmination-of-a-vision-hatched-in-2008.577290.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-s-M1-Pro-M1-Max-chips-ar...

gboss 4y ago

That is just not true. Apple is the most valuable company in the world, with the largest market cap. Steve Jobs died twelve years ago. The Apple Watch and Air Pods have been huge successes, so has their push into services. They also have the largest profit margins of any manufacturer. They are incredibly well run and have not lost their way. They also didn’t have to have massive layoffs as they didn’t over hire in the pandemic.

gregoriol 4y ago
Most of the companies in the list above where the number 1, major leader, unbreakable, ... until some inflexion point, and then vanished. Apple is not decreasing today at all, but it has not made any vision-revolution recently either. The most innovative things they launched are not visionary, the are mostly logical technological upgrades (M1, cameras, ...), or are being reverted/scrapped/fixed (the touch bar, the notch, ...). It also has a huge pressure to not be monopolistic anymore with the App Store.
AnthonyMouse 4y ago
Apple became the company with the highest market cap in the year Steve Jobs died. They haven't screwed it up yet, but they haven't really been tested yet. GE was the darling in the 90s and their fall (excluding market-wide events) didn't really come until two decades later in ~2017. The question for Apple is what happens when they're on the back foot. Suppose Intel regains a process advantage over TSMC, so PCs have a major performance advantage over Apple Silicon. Suppose TSMC remains dominant, so AMD stays ahead of Intel, and releases something successful in the phone market. Something open, unlike Qualcomm. Now you can get a high end phone that runs the latest stock Android for unlimited years. Qualcomm gets pushed down market so their current high end becomes available at lower prices. Each of these hack away at Apple's market share. Microsoft has a competent hardware division. Suppose they get over themselves and release an Android handset. Quality hardware and no OEM crapware other than Microsoft services integration. A Windows tablet that can directly run Android apps. Apple then has another major competitor in their biggest markets and it's the company that nearly put them out of business the first time around. The test is what happens when they face competent competition. Qualcomm sucks and Google only cares to the extent that they want to control the device to keep people on their services. That's been true since the end of the Jobs era but it isn't necessarily permanent.

nl 4y ago

> Apple would be about the same story: it hasn't created anything really meaningful since Jobs, it mostly lives on the legacy that has been set. Try telling that to everyone who has an Apple Silicon laptop. I haven't had a performance boost like that since the move to SSDs.

outside1234 4y ago
Seriously. I literally can't think of anything I don't like about my MacBook Pro M1.
- gregoriol 4y ago
  The MacBook Pros really haven't changed since moving to Intel in 2006/2007. The most important change lately was the touch bar, which has been scrapped. Moving to ARM is a nice upgrade but it is not a revolution: Apple has been using iOS on ARM for about 15 years, and iOS is mostly macOS, and the Rosetta/transition has already been experienced when going from PPC to Intel. The new macs are great, but just logical/technological upgrades, not innovation.