When Steve Jobs went back to Apple after he founded the company, he gave it a much-needed boost with his innovations. He streamlined the company's product lines and moved Apple out of producing printers and servers.
Jobs was a firm believer in quality over quantity, which is why he concentrated on coming up with a small number of products such as the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers. He made sure that what little he put out in public were all extremely well made. As a result, Apple became one of the most successful companies in the world.
Unfortunately, after Jobs' passing in 2011, this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. These days, Apple finds itself experimenting with different things aside from its main core of products. There's the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and AirPods. The company has also invested in Apple Music, which failed to make a dent on Spotify's reign, and Project Titan, a software that helps self-driving cars.
Apple currently has 46 models from its wide range of hardware products ranging from phones, computers, and watches.
Apple's Shifting Focus
Because of these many endeavors, market observers say that Apple's line of desktop computers has been neglected. The Mac Pro, Apple's premium computer, has not had an update since 2013, while the Mac mini — the more affordable version — has not been refreshed since 2014.
Bloomberg reports that there is no longer a dedicated Mac OS team, the engineers are more focused on iOS devices, and that there is a "lack of clear direction from senior management." Reports also say that Jony Ive, Apple's head of design, is now taking a more "hands-off role" as his visits to Mac labs became less frequent.
Another indication that Mac's line of desktop computers is in trouble is the fact that more than a dozen engineers have left in the past 18 months, either for another team within Apple, or moved on to a different company.
Tim Cook's Response
Tim Cook, Apple CEO, in response to criticism that its line of desktop computers are being neglected in favor of its iOS devices, tried to assuage fears in an employee message board: "Some folks in the media have raised the question about whether we're committed to desktops," Cook said. "If there's any doubt about that with our teams, let me be very clear: we have great desktops in our roadmap. Nobody should worry about that."
Cook's statement did little to reassure Apple fans about the company's future because of the underwhelming products the company has recently launched. Fans are now eager to find out what kind of updates are in the pipeline.
