Apple has an innovation gap. Will its new CEO fill it?

Apple was once the brand that told you to think differently, but today it seems to have lost its innovative spark just as the entire tech world is rushing towards artificial intelligence. The question that is beginning to surface is not only whether Apple will be able to invent something new, but whether its next CEO will really be able to revive that creative DNA that many take for granted. The common idea is that Apple is by definition synonymous with innovation — iPod, iPhone, iPad, all products that have changed the way we live. But if you look at the last few years, the feeling is that the pace has stalled. Some argue that the company stopped taking risks after Steve Jobs, choosing to refine rather than revolutionize. Yet, every time Apple seems to be lagging behind, someone points out that it is precisely in times of crisis that the company has come up with its best ideas. A name that often comes up is Tim Cook, the current CEO: a logistics engineer, a genius of efficiency, but not a visionary like Jobs. There are those who have been working at Apple for twenty years who talk about how the atmosphere has changed: "Today everything is about optimization; there is no longer the secret room where the next leap was imagined." Yet, in 2007, no one thought that a phone could become our digital life. When Jobs took the stage to introduce the iPhone, there were those who laughed at the fact that Apple wanted to challenge Nokia and BlackBerry. Now, in 2024, the big tech companies are going all in on artificial intelligence, and Apple seems to be a step behind Google and Microsoft. But beware, there is one fact you can't ignore: Apple has an ecosystem of 1.5 billion active devices. If it were to decide to launch an AI assistant that only works on iPhones, it could change the rules of the game again overnight. Those who see the situation from the outside wonder if the next CEO will have to be a new Jobs — visionary and cumbersome — or if the real courage will be to admit that Apple today has to learn from others, not just surprise them. Here's the real question: does innovation now mean inventing something never seen before, or knowing how to take an existing technology and transform it into something people really want to use? It's no longer enough to be the first; you have to be the one who really makes the idea work. The phrase to keep in mind is this: those who think Apple has run out of gas often forget that its real strength is not being the first to invent, but changing the rules when everyone thinks the market is decided. If you've noticed that you always expect a surprise from Apple, you can indicate it on Lara Notes with I'm In — it's not a like, it's like saying: this expectation now belongs to you. And if tomorrow you discuss with someone what Apple's innovation is missing, on Lara Notes you can tag that person with Shared Offline: this way, a conversation that matters is remembered. This Note comes from the Financial Times and has saved you several minutes of reading.