Apple's greatest innovation in the 21st century is the iPhone. Anyone who thinks otherwise is still living in 2005-2010.
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A development made possible because it was based on (the operating system formerly known as OS X) macOS.
[snip]
Even today, you have macOS trailing iOS in features (this is particularly notable in biometric ID, Apple Intelligence feature rollout). Apple even debuted the M4 SoC on a handheld device (iPad Pro) rather than sticking it in first in a MacBook.
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You make it sound like a bad thing that Apple is devoting a proportionate share of its development resources to where most of the money comes from.
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Like clockwork Apple releases new iPhones every fall and lets the high-end Mac Pro fester years and years (where one might expect PC innovation to occur). What has Apple done on the Mac side in recent years? Let's see, they've removed the Touchbar, released a jumbo Mac mini called the Studio, and finally released a long-overdue Mac mini in a smaller form factor thirteen years after they discontinued their last model with a built-in 5.25" optical drive (which was the main reason for the old size).
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Once again, appropriate resources for expected revenues. Care to estimate how much net profit Apple has earned from iPhones vs. Mac Pros, over the lifetimes of both lines? Instead, Apple developed the Mac Studio, a system that, I believe, has sold more units than the Pro ever did — and at the same time, refreshed the hardware of the cheese grater
[snip]
Today, Mach+BSD+ObjC/Swift runs on everything. Apple TV, HomePods, and at one point in time, it even ran in a iPhone Lightning video dongle.
Will be interesting to see if they will use Mach+BSD for their custom cellular modem, or use the L4 based OS used in the Secure Enclave.
Cool fact: Richard Rashid and Avie Tevanian co-developed Mach. Rashid went on to lead MS Research and the developments for NT while Tevanian went to NeXT and then Apple after the merger. Tevanian being able to effectively manage software engineering at Apple was one of the key tentpoles that kept Apple alive and enabled them to get iPhone.
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Both really good people, but let’s be honest: Microsoft got more significant technology in NT from DEC’s (Open) VMS than they ever added to it themselves.
For the love of Pete, it’s BALDFACED, not boldfaced. As for the content, it just a history on macOS development. And yes, I totally disagree that the iPhone isn’t the single biggest innovation. The graphical user interface was always going to evolve. But it alone didn’t drive Mac sales in almost any respect. What made Apple the company it is today was the iPod and the iPhone. Both products turned, Apple into more than a computer company, but almost a lifestyle brand. They laid the foundation for the iPad, accessories, etc.
Apple's biggest innovation of the past 25 years is arguably the iPhone.
Here's why:
Revolutionized Mobile Computing: The iPhone transformed how we communicate, access information, and consume entertainment. It wasn't just a phone; it was a pocket computer, camera, music player, and more.
App Store Ecosystem: The App Store created a thriving ecosystem of developers and innovative applications, shaping the mobile app industry as we know it.
Touchscreen Interface: While not the first touchscreen device, the iPhone popularized the intuitive multi-touch interface that is now ubiquitous in smartphones.
Cultural Impact: The iPhone has had a profound cultural impact, influencing fashion, social norms, and how we interact with technology.
While other innovations like the iPod and MacBook Air were significant, the iPhone's impact on society and technology is arguably unparalleled.
For the love of Pete, it’s BALDFACED, not boldfaced. As for the content, it just a history on macOS development. And yes, I totally disagree that the iPhone isn’t the single biggest innovation. The graphical user interface was always going to evolve. But it alone didn’t drive Mac sales in almost any respect. What made Apple the company it is today was the iPod and the iPhone. Both products turned, Apple into more than a computer company, but almost a lifestyle brand. They laid the foundation for the iPad, accessories, etc.
you would do 19th century English majors proud. While bold faced isn't technically correct, language has evolved so people use it interchangeably with bald faced. I expect an update to Merriam any day now.
Apple's greatest innovation in the 21st century is the iPhone. Anyone who thinks otherwise is still living in 2005-2010.
Steve introduced the iPhone in 2007 as "the computer for the rest of us" then went on to remove Computer from the name of his own company. Today the revenue from the iPhone, iPad, and wearables dwarfs the Mac business unit.
Pretty much every single consumer-facing technology we have today has been driven by smartphones because they are the primary computing modality of today's consumers and have been for 10+ years. We've gone over this before, things like NFC contactless payment systems (which actually started on Japanese featurephones a few years before smartphones), biometric identification systems, computational photography, touchscreen displays, et cetera ad nauseam. Not all of these originated on the smartphone but mainstream popularity was pushed by smartphones.
Even today, you have macOS trailing iOS in features (this is particularly notable in biometric ID, Apple Intelligence feature rollout). Apple even debuted the M4 SoC on a handheld device (iPad Pro) rather than sticking it in first in a MacBook. The Retina Display showed up first on an iPhone. There are countless examples of where the iPhone leads the Mac, where iPhoneOS/iOS leads OS X/macOS.
Like clockwork Apple releases new iPhones every fall and lets the high-end Mac Pro fester years and years (where one might expect PC innovation to occur). What has Apple done on the Mac side in recent years? Let's see, they've removed the Touchbar, released a jumbo Mac mini called the Studio, and finally released a long-overdue Mac mini in a smaller form factor thirteen years after they discontinued their last model with a built-in 5.25" optical drive (which was the main reason for the old size).
Meanwhile, Apple spends far more time, effort, and resources on iOS than macOS. This is completely obvious if you pay attention to WWDC.
iPhone/iOS is where to see where Mac/macOS is going.
Some tech journalists and pundits hold on tightly to their "personal computers are king" mentality but those days are long gone. Staying in the past just ends up being less relevant as time goes by. I'm a longtime Apple computer user (i.e., pre-1984) and I still own a Mac. But I don't look at my Mac as where the innovation is happening.
Time to stick a fork in this petrified paradigm because the rest of the (sane) world already did a decade ago. This article might have sounded less nutty in 2010. Today it's like an SNL parody of a tech article.
While I agree the iPhone is Apple's greatest product ever, it wouldn't be the innovative, game changing mobile phone it is without OS X under the hood. All of Apple's operating systems share the same core foundation and have for a while now. (I forgot which release finally unified the code base? Maybe since the release of Swift?) The same core OS runs on all their devices with UX/UI being the differentiator across the platforms. Apple being able to push this OS onto new devices is in fact extremely innovative, and pretty damned impressive. It is what allows Apple to create new devices that seamlessly integrate with each other and create a cohesive ecosystem.
The biggest fault in the article is that it only concentrates on macOS, when the real innovation is the foundation that makes all their platforms possible.
Between 2015 and 2020 -- half a decade -- Microsoft contentedly sat on Windows 10. In 2011 it delivered Windows 11.
That's a lot like saying Apple "contentedly sat" on Mac OS X from March 2001 to November 2020 because they didn't change the major version number. I may not be a big MS fan, but it isn't like they weren't providing significant OS updates in a roughly similar cadence to macOS. And let's also not forget that Apple is getting really good at announcing new "major" OS versions with features that won't actually be ready until multiple updates later.
Apple has exactly one WWDC a year, where they tell developers about their next major OS releases and all of their features. Those features are talked about and discussed at that time, you know, during a developer conference, even though they won't be released until sometime after launch. Do you really expect Apple to keep developers in the dark about upcoming features and API's?
For the love of Pete, it’s BALDFACED, not boldfaced. As for the content, it just a history on macOS development. And yes, I totally disagree that the iPhone isn’t the single biggest innovation. The graphical user interface was always going to evolve. But it alone didn’t drive Mac sales in almost any respect. What made Apple the company it is today was the iPod and the iPhone. Both products turned, Apple into more than a computer company, but almost a lifestyle brand. They laid the foundation for the iPad, accessories, etc.
you would do 19th century English majors proud. While bold faced isn't technically correct, language has evolved so people use it interchangeably with bald faced. I expect an update to Merriam any day now.
No no no. You properly address an error with a correction, not a rationalization. Otherwise you end up spouting nonsense such as, "I could care less", "I care alot", "my head literally exploded yesterday", etc. Erroneously repeating contra-logical words and phrases isn't evolution, it's devolution. If we don't address these errors as they occur, things could spiral into absolute absurdity and before you know it, you'll have idiots saying the stupidest of things, such as calling the "Gulf of Mexico" the "Gulf of America". Hey, I know it sounds crazy but mark my words, it could happen. ;^)
I’m always surprised how people tend to misunderstand what the author is saying or be lost in details that hides the whole story.
Or it must be just political, like Afkpuz says.
Anyway, let’s try to answer the challenge. What are the 10 innovations and which one will come next? I propose the following in chronological order for SW and HW:
Software:
MacOS
Apple Music
AR
AI
Hardware:
iPod
iPhone
iPad
AirPods
AppleTV
M-Series processors
Apple Vision Pro
Well I got 11, not 10. Any redundancy?
They are all disruptive in their way, though already brought to market by others, but by no means as successful as Apple.
With a chronological order I’d propose Apple Music or iPod as the potential next topic.
Another topic could be the M-Series processors, or the APV. They are to me by far those with the highest potential impact for the future, if not for today.
Of course one as to keep in mind that Windows 7, 8, 8.1 were all Supplemental releases for Windows Vista. Microsoft likes to change the User Interface elements to "give Windows a new coat of paint", but the underlying technology has not improved over the years.
Apple's greatest innovation in the 21st century is the iPhone. Anyone who thinks otherwise is still living in 2005-2010.
Steve introduced the iPhone in 2007 as "the computer for the rest of us" then went on to remove Computer from the name of his own company. Today the revenue from the iPhone, iPad, and wearables dwarfs the Mac business unit.
Pretty much every single consumer-facing technology we have today has been driven by smartphones because they are the primary computing modality of today's consumers and have been for 10+ years. We've gone over this before, things like NFC contactless payment systems (which actually started on Japanese featurephones a few years before smartphones), biometric identification systems, computational photography, touchscreen displays, et cetera ad nauseam. Not all of these originated on the smartphone but mainstream popularity was pushed by smartphones.
Even today, you have macOS trailing iOS in features (this is particularly notable in biometric ID, Apple Intelligence feature rollout). Apple even debuted the M4 SoC on a handheld device (iPad Pro) rather than sticking it in first in a MacBook. The Retina Display showed up first on an iPhone. There are countless examples of where the iPhone leads the Mac, where iPhoneOS/iOS leads OS X/macOS.
Like clockwork Apple releases new iPhones every fall and lets the high-end Mac Pro fester years and years (where one might expect PC innovation to occur). What has Apple done on the Mac side in recent years? Let's see, they've removed the Touchbar, released a jumbo Mac mini called the Studio, and finally released a long-overdue Mac mini in a smaller form factor thirteen years after they discontinued their last model with a built-in 5.25" optical drive (which was the main reason for the old size).
Meanwhile, Apple spends far more time, effort, and resources on iOS than macOS. This is completely obvious if you pay attention to WWDC.
iPhone/iOS is where to see where Mac/macOS is going.
Some tech journalists and pundits hold on tightly to their "personal computers are king" mentality but those days are long gone. Staying in the past just ends up being less relevant as time goes by. I'm a longtime Apple computer user (i.e., pre-1984) and I still own a Mac. But I don't look at my Mac as where the innovation is happening.
Time to stick a fork in this petrified paradigm because the rest of the (sane) world already did a decade ago. This article might have sounded less nutty in 2010. Today it's like an SNL parody of a tech article.
The iPhone is a major development, and I believe that the iPhone combined with the iPad is the future of personal computing. I do agree with the author of the article in the fact that without macOS, the iPhone & iPad would likely not exist in the current form and Apple might not be the company that it is today. I upgraded from Windows at OS X Lion and that was at because I won an iPad at a SQL Server conference. There are only a few things that I cannot currently perform on the iPad, and those features I have work arounds that really allow me to use my iPad as my primary portable computer. We really do not have to worry about Windows so much as Microsoft is focused more on cloud computing where people rent access to computing (like time sharing back in the 1970s).
I’ve been an avid reader of AppleInsider since 2001, but this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to create an account and share my thoughts. While I appreciate much of the content here, I’ve noticed that Daniel’s articles often carry a tone full of hatred, particularly toward companies like Microsoft and Facebook. It’s almost as if he has childhood enemies named Microsoft and Facebook. This personal bias detracts from objective reporting, and as a long-time reader, I find it increasingly frustrating. Constructive criticism or balanced perspectives would serve the community much better.
Those who are not Apple evangelists:
Apple is 3.34T whereas MSFT is 3.30T by Market Cap (Google)
I’m always surprised how people tend to misunderstand what the author is saying or be lost in details that hides the whole story.
Or it must be just political, like Afkpuz says.
Anyway, let’s try to answer the challenge. What are the 10 innovations and which one will come next? I propose the following in chronological order for SW and HW:
Software:
MacOS
Apple Music
AR
AI
Hardware:
iPod
iPhone
iPad
AirPods
AppleTV
M-Series processors
Apple Vision Pro
Well I got 11, not 10. Any redundancy?
They are all disruptive in their way, though already brought to market by others, but by no means as successful as Apple.
With a chronological order I’d propose Apple Music or iPod as the potential next topic.
Another topic could be the M-Series processors, or the APV. They are to me by far those with the highest potential impact for the future, if not for today.
Along with Apple’s operating system the next innovation would, without a doubt, have to be Apple Silicon. Both of these are the foundation of all Apple’s current products. The combination of these two projects at Apple have created a foundation that has no limits… enabling a level of versatility and scalability that stands high above anything else in the industry.
Great essay. Still remember the buzz when OSX was introduced. Mac OS 8 and 9 have an iconic aesthetic and had a certain nostalgia and charm even back then (great designers involved) but OSX was a massive improvement!
What if a tree falls in the forest and nobody cares? The article is a product of a bygone age full of imaginary bogeymen and villains and Daniel cast as the one true believer!
I’ve been an avid reader of AppleInsider since 2001, but this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to create an account and share my thoughts. While I appreciate much of the content here, I’ve noticed that Daniel’s articles often carry a tone full of hatred, particularly toward companies like Microsoft and Facebook. It’s almost as if he has childhood enemies named Microsoft and Facebook. This personal bias detracts from objective reporting, and as a long-time reader, I find it increasingly frustrating. Constructive criticism or balanced perspectives would serve the community much better.
Those who are not Apple evangelists:
Apple is 3.34T whereas MSFT is 3.30T by Market Cap (Google)
macOS Sequoia is just 15 not 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Windows 11 was introduced in 2021 not in 2011
Microsoft is relatively neutral in the middle but with Facebook there is nothing redeeming about them or I should say Zuckerberg, their leader, and Google isn’t very far behind it is the nature of their Ad business (serving their actual customers) which means hovering in information under the table, it isn’t like a retailer/business selling you a product upfront like a house, a car or a retail item where you need to exchange information upfront with a customer just to complete normal everyday business transaction. Facebook, and Google are the very definition of dumpster divers.
Comments
Apple's biggest innovation of the past 25 years is arguably the iPhone.
Here's why:
While other innovations like the iPod and MacBook Air were significant, the iPhone's impact on society and technology is arguably unparalleled.
While I agree the iPhone is Apple's greatest product ever, it wouldn't be the innovative, game changing mobile phone it is without OS X under the hood. All of Apple's operating systems share the same core foundation and have for a while now. (I forgot which release finally unified the code base? Maybe since the release of Swift?) The same core OS runs on all their devices with UX/UI being the differentiator across the platforms. Apple being able to push this OS onto new devices is in fact extremely innovative, and pretty damned impressive. It is what allows Apple to create new devices that seamlessly integrate with each other and create a cohesive ecosystem.
The biggest fault in the article is that it only concentrates on macOS, when the real innovation is the foundation that makes all their platforms possible.
Apple has exactly one WWDC a year, where they tell developers about their next major OS releases and all of their features. Those features are talked about and discussed at that time, you know, during a developer conference, even though they won't be released until sometime after launch. Do you really expect Apple to keep developers in the dark about upcoming features and API's?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc
I’m always surprised how people tend to misunderstand what the author is saying or be lost in details that hides the whole story.
Or it must be just political, like Afkpuz says.
Anyway, let’s try to answer the challenge. What are the 10 innovations and which one will come next? I propose the following in chronological order for SW and HW:
Software:
Hardware:
Well I got 11, not 10. Any redundancy?
They are all disruptive in their way, though already brought to market by others, but by no means as successful as Apple.
With a chronological order I’d propose Apple Music or iPod as the potential next topic.
Another topic could be the M-Series processors, or the APV. They are to me by far those with the highest potential impact for the future, if not for today.
@Daniel: when do we get an answer? :-)
The iPhone is a major development, and I believe that the iPhone combined with the iPad is the future of personal computing. I do agree with the author of the article in the fact that without macOS, the iPhone & iPad would likely not exist in the current form and Apple might not be the company that it is today. I upgraded from Windows at OS X Lion and that was at because I won an iPad at a SQL Server conference. There are only a few things that I cannot currently perform on the iPad, and those features I have work arounds that really allow me to use my iPad as my primary portable computer.
We really do not have to worry about Windows so much as Microsoft is focused more on cloud computing where people rent access to computing (like time sharing back in the 1970s).
Those who are not Apple evangelists:
Along with Apple’s operating system the next innovation would, without a doubt, have to be Apple Silicon. Both of these are the foundation of all Apple’s current products. The combination of these two projects at Apple have created a foundation that has no limits… enabling a level of versatility and scalability that stands high above anything else in the industry.