I totally agree that Apple is a master of supply chain regulation and logistics but that is something that has to do more with the company’s margins than with consumer-facing innovation. I also think that the way Apple integrates hardware and software is something that more companies should be going for. Maybe the upcoming ARM race will help with that.

But it’s no coincidence that even the most important innovation attributed to Apple, the App Store, was a better way to do things that others have done in the past (Windows Mobile demanded of consumers to connect their smartphones to PCs in order to download apps but there was a hub for those already active).

Apple does this as a rule: look at what others do, find weaknesses and problems, come up with solutions and offer something better or much better later on. IT WORKS FOR US, no doubt. But it’s still not *something new*. Do I prefer Google’s approach? No. Ideally we’d have a player that does the research, comes u with something truly knew, makes the product and sticks with it through multiple iterations until it’s perfect. No such company in tech right now, alas.