Apple has millions of loyal fans around the world, but more and more ex-Apple employees are being increasingly critical of the company and its direction in the newest post-Steve Jobs era. We've already seen former Apple director, and current Oracle CEO Larry Ellison intimate that he expects Apple to fail without Jobs, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has often said he prefers Android to iOS; and now, the man who helped Jobs design the original Mac is saying that Apple is not an innovative company anymore.
Hartmut
Esslinger ran a design firm that helped design products for Sony, until
he signed an exclusive deal with Apple in 1982. He then went on to work
directly with Steve Jobs to create the "design language" that would
define the Macintosh computer for about a decade. So, Esslinger has
first hand knowledge when he likens the Apple of today to Sony in the
80s. By that, he means that Apple has replaced an innovative leader with
one who is only worried about refining current products and increasing
profit rather than trying something new.
Given
that the iPhone 5c is a blatant attempt to increase the profit margin
of Apple's mid-range offering, its hard to argue that point. Although,
on the other hand, true innovation is a very difficult thing to do, and
mostly amounts to being able to sell a new product to the public, which
was really Jobs' strength.
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