Lately, or actually for the past three years, I've been doing a lot of research and reading on innovation. My dissertation will be about innovation's role in increasing sales during troubled economic times for technology companies.
With that said, I was looking at Apple's latest announcements. Frankly, everyone says they are incredibly innovative because they introduced a new iPhone 6 and a smart wrist watch. My Samsung Note 3 is larger than Apple's offering. And Android does several things similar to iOS. The wrist watch Apple introduced, is similar to Samsung's offering. Articles abound about how Apple is innovative with these offerings.
Frankly, I perceive them as mere incremental changes, rather than true innovation. Steve Jobs was the creative genius behind Apple products. He can be credited with changing the micro computer business, ending the reign of PCs with the introduction of the iPad, and radically changed the smart phone from things like the Blackberry to mini tablets like the Samsung 5. I don't see the latest product offerings as innovative, except for mildly incrementally innovative.
The iPhone 6 is thinner (although it has a stovepipe camera), and the wrist watch is new to the Apple line. At best, incremental innovation.
