Apple Has Lost Its Mojo

As an Android Activist I don't normally care much about Apple propaganda announcements.  However, I feel that after the latest Apple announcement of the iPad3 the new iPad (dumbest name ever), that maybe Apple has lost their innovative mojo. I am not saying this just as an Android fan but rather a technology professional. I look at the changes that have come out over the last few IOS device releases and see them being only evolutionary steps at best. I want to compare how Android is aggressively innovating in mobile compared to Apple.

When IOS first came out it was a true revolution in the mobile market. There was nothing like it with the app store and the hardware. I now look at iPhones and even iPads and think that they are just incremental changes to the previous versions.  The hardware has really not changed much and the OS is not breaking new ground.  They bump up the cameras or processors each release and you can talk to iPhones with Siri, but looking at IOS and the hardware today, it is not much different than it was a few years ago.  In contrast, look at Android 2.1 and 4.0 and see how Android is still innovating. I will admit that Android was in this mode of keeping the interface the same in version 1 through 2.3, but they broke the mold when they came out with Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich. At the same time, hardware manufacturers are pumping out phones and tablets to fit anyone's style.

Every time I see comparisons of Apple and Android sales numbers, the argument which is used to help either side is by saying that Apple is a hardware company and Google sells ads.  Apple is a hardware company and as such, they should be innovating the hardware side of their products. However, Android manufacturers are pushing the envelope much further than Apple is in hardware.  The iPhone and iPads today are not much different than the first generation versions. The screen size on the iPhone is maybe (in my opinion) the biggest factor in the explosion of Android devices. With Samsung trying 0.1" increments of every screen size they can make and other manufacturers trying so many different size screens, there is surely one that everyone will like.  I know retina screens are all the rage but the reason I drooled over the Vibrant when it was released was the spectacular 4" Super AMOLED screen.  That phone still has one of the best looking displays in a smartphone.  You are not going into AT&T, Sprint or Verizon today and looking at the iPhone and comparing it to one of these great Android displays thinking that the iPhone screen is impressive. It pales in comparison to most Android devices. Where is the Apple Mojo in hardware, their bread and butter?

If I could do a 6 month contract and subsidize a new phone I would do it in a heartbeat so I could try out all of the new phones.  With Android I have new hardware choices all of the time. On the phone I have that is 2 years old I could throw a new ROM on it today to make it feel like new.  You cannot do that on an iPhone!  Apple needs to understand that by sitting still with their hardware designs and OS they could easily get left behind like Blackberry did.

The iPad and tablet market is Apple's sweet spot right now.  They obviously own the market. But remember, at one time not too long ago they owned the smartphone market too.  Relying on the masses to keep buying their tablets if they do not innovate will be their downfall.

I really expected some big revelation for the new iPad. It didn't happen.  iPhoto is not a selling point to me on a tablet. I don't want to take pictures on a 9-10" tablet and I can edit on an Android tablet too. The new retina display is certainly a new thing for the iPad but by the third revision I expected that display to be included.  What else have they added? If I owned an iPad2 (which I don't) I wouldn't rush out to upgrade. The display on a iPad2 is decent enough. I could upgrade to IOS 5.1 and get the rest of the features.  And the upgrade in processors may be a big deal to tech geeks but I think to most users they wouldn't need to have a new quad core right away. In comparison, look at ASUS right now.  They are putting out solid devices with tablet and docks. With ICS finally seeing the light of day, coupled with this sleek hardware, I could care less about a boring iPad. I want functionality and form.  I want a device that can work and be as flexible as I am. With the Transformer series I can work on a tablet or use it as a laptop. With the Padfone we can add phone to that list too. Who is the true hardware innovator here?

On a side note, the biggest threat to both Apple and Android in the Tablet market will be Windows 8. Before you stop reading or clean that coffee you just spit out on your monitor, hear me out. Windows 8 is designed with touch in mind. I hate it on the desktop so far but I could see loving it on a tablet. I essentially use my Samsung Tab to work like a Windows tablet. I remote desktop into Windows servers and desktops to do a lot of my work. I do that because I can use the convenience of a tablet form factor to work on a Windows PC. If I could just use Windows on a tablet I could work on a real desktop OS with apps I am familiar with, plus a desktop browser without the mobile OS limitations we all get in Android and IOS today. I know I am not alone in this.  Imagine being able to use Office and all of your Windows apps plus simple printing on a tablet. Because of the iPad, many users now see the advantage of working on tablets and will buy a Windows tablet when they come out for these reasons. And yes I know that Android tablets and iPad's can print and I can switch the browser to a desktop emulation, but with Windows 8 I will not need any emulations. That is an important difference to keep in mind. But here again Apple is sitting on their hands waiting for someone to knock them off the top spot of tablet manufacturers. This market is key to the future of computing and Apple isn't doing enough to stay ahead and Android cannot get in to the game.

Finally, I love the fragmentation argument for Android. After my response to Ken Hess about why he would never buy an Android device, my boss and I debated the fragmentation issue.  My point was that in reality, most users do not know or care which version of Android they are running. They just need the device to work best for them. Apple fans always point to the fragmentation and wonder how we can live with it as they upgrade to the latest version of IOS on their beloved phones and tablets.  Truth be told, most of us know we could be on the latest and greatest version of Android today if we root our phones. I know some people don't want to go that route, but it is always an option for us.  What if the advantages of the yearly upgrades for iPhones and iPads become so minor that users wouldn't notice if they were on 4, 4.1, 5 or 5.1 and start to fragment IOS?  If Apple isn't going to add any value to upgrading why bother? I have heard several iPhone users in the last few years say that they didn't care to upgrade their phones hardware or software when a new one was released because there wasn't a compelling reason. I am sure they eventually did, but they weren't excited about it. On the Android side there are new compelling reasons released practically every day.  By not enticing IOS users to upgrade with better features they also could fragment their own user base as well.

Really, most people don't care as much about hardware as they do software and OSes.  Android is an OS and that is where their focus and strengths lie. You probably really care about the OS functionality and the apps on a daily basis more than the processor or the screen resolution. The hardware may be a key determining factor when purchasing a phone but becomes somewhat irrelevant over time.  OSes are exciting (or at least should be), not the hardware.  Maybe that is why Apple has lost its mojo. The interface on IOS has not changed enough to keep up with the times.  If Android keeps putting out exciting feature updates to the OS and hardware manufacturers keep pumping out new innovative devices, Apple could have their work cut out for them. They are fighting a whole industry of innovators who are willing to try new things to revolutionize the industry rather than continuing to be the next evolution.