Apple shareholders worry about ‘lack of innovation’

Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple shares are underperforming the market so far this year as shareholders’ concern mounts over the company’s lack of innovation under CEO Tim Cook.
Adam Clark for Barron’s:
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Now that it has pulled the plug on its car project, management needs to choose the next big new product category carefully.
ven given concern that the iPhone maker is falling behind on artificial-intelligence technology compared with Big Tech rivals, that is a notable underperformance. It suggests a greater fear, that Apple doesn’t have a plan to reignite growth after a fall in sales last year.
“[It] feels like people are really getting frustrated with the lack of innovation over there and [their] nonexistent AI presence,” wrote Mizuho Securities’ Daniel O’Regan.
“We believe a key risk is that Apple’s management may need to devote considerable time and resources defending its businesses in multiple jurisdictions while new technologies continue to evolve,” wrote Moody’s analysts Raj Josh and Lenny Ajzenman in a research note this week.
Ever since the loss of Steve Jobs in 2011, the question hanging over Apple has been whether it can keep innovating at the same pace. The question looms larger now than at any time in recent years.

See also:
• Work on Apple Vision Pro began under Steve Jobs – August 23, 2023
• Contrary to popular belief, Steve Jobs knew about Apple Watch – February 13, 2023
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MacDailyNews Take: Clearly, even to the most casual of observers, Apple is not as innovative as it was under Steve Jobs (the company’s work on even the Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro began under Jobs), but Apple — thanks to Jobs and Cook’s subsequent management of iterations of products, continuing the retail store buildout, and expanding services conceived during Jobs’ tenure — now has more than enough money to make up for Cook’s lack of vision.
Tim’s not a product person, per se. – Steve Jobs
Until it gets another visionary leader (fingers crossed; Apple’s history has shown – cough, Sculley, Spindler, cough – that the next CEO could be far, far worse than the very competent caretaker Cook), Apple can afford to miss things like generative AI – which they clearly did – and then use its huge war chest to catch up – which they’re doing right now (fun times and 80-hour weeks inside Apple Park!) – and, hopefully, surpass rivals (or at least be as good). Apple will very likely unveil their catch-up work within months (this June at WWDC 2024) in iPhones (and iPads, Apple Watches, etc.) with, sadly, partnerships with rivals like Google, and, hopefully, at least some built-in on-device generative AI and other new AI-driven features.
See also:
• Baidu reportedly set to become Apple’s generative AI model provider in China – March 25, 2024
• Apple looks to license Google Gemini for iPhone, generative AI tools – March 18, 2024
• Apple acquired 32 AI startups in 2023, the most among major tech companies – February 8, 2024
• Gene Munster: Apple stock likely to get a boost when ‘good enough’ generative AI arrives later this year – January 9, 2024
• Apple caught flat-footed on generative AI; company preps AI features for devices, software – October 23, 2023
• Apple posts number of job listings seeking generative AI talent – May 22, 2023
• Apple reportedly to ‘re-examine’ Artificial Intelligence development – March 8, 2023
The glaring lack of a visionary who is immersed and invested in product design who is a single point of approval – Steve Jobs – means that early adopters have to take Jobs’ place en masse to perform similar functions – albeit over a significantly longer period of time – à la Apple Watch. – MacDailyNews, March 28, 2023
The Apple Watch certainly found its way – we, the users, were the Apple Watch alpha and beta testers, collectively standing in for Steve Jobs, doing much of what the singular genius would have done before release by brute force and sheer numbers after release. It took four generations of Apple Watch, but we’re here now and we wouldn’t trade the experience for anything! The same goes for Apple Glasses! — MacDailyNews, January 31, 2020
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