Apple has made many hits by doing things differently and some from just making attractive and marketing in a friendly way what others have done. From a software aspect, the iPod really didn't do anything better than Creative - but from a product design and advertising aspect, the iPod won. The iPhone did have an edge of other smartphones at the time - it was the first mainstream touchscreen phone that you could actually type on (capacitive touchscreen). It's quite clear why that helped bring the category into the mainstream - after all, who cares what features a phone has if it's not responsive. The iPad was Apple re-imagining the tablet as a media device, and damn, they were right about that. There were tons of tablets before it, but none had such a limited interface (which is good for media consumption). I don't know if I'd put the MacBook Air on this list - sure it's the main ultra-portable that people think of, but it's not really used in a different way than a laptop and there were plenty of lightweight laptops before it. But it was exceedingly good quality for the category.
With the iPad as Apple most recent ground breaking product, Apple has been playing a game of "me too" lately and the iWatch is no exception. They've kept the iPhone as a top tier quality phone, but haven't really done enough to break it apart from the pack. The iWatch wasn't first, it doesn't do anything more than the competition, and it really doesn't do anything better. And for once, it isn't even widely considered the best looking product in its category like all of the previously mentioned products were at the time of their release.
Now maybe Apple doesn't need to be on the forefront of design to win anymore. Maybe they can be carried on their reputation alone. But when I look at the protruding camera lens on the back of the iPhone 6, something the Apple of yesteryear would never have released, I think it's the beginning of a problem for them.
Apple has made many hits by doing things differently and some from just making attractive and marketing in a friendly way what others have done. From a software aspect, the iPod really didn't do anything better than Creative - but from a product design and advertising aspect, the iPod won. The iPhone did have an edge of other smartphones at the time - it was the first mainstream touchscreen phone that you could actually type on (capacitive touchscreen). It's quite clear why that helped bring the category into the mainstream - after all, who cares what features a phone has if it's not responsive. The iPad was Apple re-imagining the tablet as a media device, and damn, they were right about that. There were tons of tablets before it, but none had such a limited interface (which is good for media consumption). I don't know if I'd put the MacBook Air on this list - sure it's the main ultra-portable that people think of, but it's not really used in a different way than a laptop and there were plenty of lightweight laptops before it. But it was exceedingly good quality for the category.
With the iPad as Apple most recent ground breaking product, Apple has been playing a game of "me too" lately and the iWatch is no exception. They've kept the iPhone as a top tier quality phone, but haven't really done enough to break it apart from the pack. The iWatch wasn't first, it doesn't do anything more than the competition, and it really doesn't do anything better. And for once, it isn't even widely considered the best looking product in its category like all of the previously mentioned products were at the time of their release.
Now maybe Apple doesn't need to be on the forefront of design to win anymore. Maybe they can be carried on their reputation alone. But when I look at the protruding camera lens on the back of the iPhone 6, something the Apple of yesteryear would never have released, I think it's the beginning of a problem for them.