The new Microsoft is the old Apple and the new Apple is the old Microsoft; Redmond's stealing Cupertino's cool factor

Oct 29, 2016 15:01 GMT  ·  By
Apple seems to be looking way too much at what its competitors do and less on new ways to innovate
   Apple seems to be looking way too much at what its competitors do and less on new ways to innovate

Apple is no longer cool.

I know, this is certainly one very risky way of starting an editorial and there are many Apple fanboys out there who’d want to discuss the matter in private with my relatives, but this is exactly why I and so many other tech watchers out there seem to believe after this super-busy week.

Let’s rewind a bit first. On October 26, Microsoft held its Windows 10 event where it discussed things like the future of its operating system and introduced new hardware, such as the Surface Book Performance Base and the all-new Surface Studio PC.

Redmond’s press conference was full of announcements, although some of them were of less interest for consumers (but this the direction where the company is heading) and several high-profile executives took the stage to discuss and detail what’s to come for Microsoft products (by the way, has anyone noticed that there were more female executives on stage than male? Quite a neat way to tackle gender discrimination accusations after all the scandals).

Without a doubt, the star of the show was the Surface Studio, which was introduced by none other than Panos Panay, a man who loves Surface so much that it’s fascinating to listen to him describing new models (which he always refers to as “the product”).

Panos admitted that the Surface Studio might look familiar (hint at the resemblance with the Apple iMac), but promised that it’d feel entirely different. And by the looks of things, this is exactly what is happening. The Surface Studio is an All-in-One PC that comes with a built-in Zero Gravity hinge that makes it just perfect for drawing and writing and boasts features such as i7 processors, 32 GB RAM, 2TB storage, and a 28-inch Perspective Pixel screen with touch support.

Microsoft’s event was a celebration of new hardware and software, and although there were some boring moments here and there, it was definitely worth watching.

Moving over to Apple, Cupertino had its own event planned for October 27. I’m not sure that Apple wanted its press conference to be exactly one day after Microsoft’s, but if it did, whoever made the decision probably regrets it.

Apple’s event was all about the new MacBooks, as Cupertino refreshed its laptop lineup with hardware upgrades and new features such as the Touch Bar, more powerful speakers, and little things that few people care about actually.

The conference unfolded like pretty much any recent Apple unveiling and it was fairly boring most of the time, with the introduction of the new MacBook generating less enthusiasm in the tech world, pretty much because we already knew most about it thanks to leaks that surfaced recently.

Furthermore, the hardware upgrades that Apple introduced on the upgraded MacBook series are nothing to be excited about, as they only bring the devices in line with today’s laptops. The Touch Bar is indeed a neat addition, but this simply can’t be reason enough to pay more than $4,000 for a new laptop.

Because yes, that’s how much you have to pay for the top-of-the-range MacBook Pro with a 15-inch screen, as the best the company has to offer right now reaches $4,299 - compare this to the Surface Studio PC, which comes with a bigger screen, touch screens, Pen support and so many others and is available for $4,199 and you get the point. Apple products remain extremely expensive even if they don't bring much over the competition.

In essence, the MacBook press event was very similar to the iPhone 7 unveiling in September. Apple introduced upgraded models in both cases, but only with features that somehow make sense. In the case of the iPhone 7, the new CPU and RAM upgrade on the Plus, as well as the new storage options, were absolutely mandatory to stay close to competition. And in the case of the MacBooks, new processors, bigger batteries, and improved displays are things that every manufacturer offers on new products.

The point here is that Apple is no longer surprising, pretty much because it lost its power of innovation. Apple no longer takes you by surprise with features that you never imagined, but only with dull upgrades that just make sense and nothing more.

Apple is no longer cool.

I know, I’m playing with fire here, but I’ll say it again. Apple is no longer cool. If we look at the bigger picture, Apple has become the old Microsoft. And the new Microsoft has become the old Apple.

Microsoft is right now exactly what Apple represented a few years ago when it brought new technologies to the market. This is what made it so “cool” and helped it become the most innovative company in the world. But it now lost its cool factor and the declining sales are just living proof.

In the case of Microsoft, CEO Satya Nadella seems to be the right man at the right time. Under his guidance, Microsoft is truly inventing new categories, a thing that the company has bragged about so many times. But it’s true, so why not saying it on every occasion?

Just look at the Surface. There was a time when no one believed in it and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook himself made fun of it, claiming that putting a keyboard on a tablet is like mixing a toaster and a refrigerator. Fast forward a few years later and here’s Apple launching the iPad Pro, its own tablet with a detachable keyboard that’s essentially its version of the Microsoft Surface.

Apple has never been interested in a stylus, and Steve Jobs himself wasn’t a big fan of this little accessory. Microsoft, on the other hand, invested billions of dollars into releasing the Surface Pen and improving it with every generation and now it has become an essential tool on 2-in-1 devices. Apple launched its own Pencil last year, once again a few years after Microsoft.

In the end, it’s pretty obvious that Apple is no longer the innovator, but the follower. And the dropping iPhone sales are just the living proof. In the meantime, Microsoft is improving in a way that nobody ever imagined, and it’s all just because they are listening to customers. Yep, that’s true, the new Microsoft is really listening to customers, even though there are departments where they still need to do better, as is the case of mobile. But they’re on the right path here, there’s no doubt about it.

The worst thing for Cupertino, however, is that without innovations, there’ll be a time when its products will no longer sell just because they bear the Apple logo. The Apple brand appeal is dropping, and it’s all because of a single reason. And I’ll say it again for the last time.

Apple is no longer cool.

Note: this article is an editorial and it reflects the opinion of the author. You can tell us if you agree or not using the box below. Comments are moderated and all will be approved as long as they do not include bad language.