Last updated: Apple’s final bell is ringing—or is it?

Apple’s final bell is ringing—or is it?

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When Steve Jobs died, Apple died with him.

Or so the critics say.

Given the company’s latest product lineup, it’d be easy to agree with them—and the most recent earnings report didn’t help.

Apple hasn’t released anything jaw-dropping since… well, it’s been awhile. The Apple Watch isn’t all that awesome, nor is it new; smart watches already existed. The new versions of the iPad are just that: a new take on what already existed. Apple TV isn’t nearly as competitive as other consoles out there. And the Apple Pencil? Didn’t Jobs stand on the mount and decry the death of the stylus?

But Apple’s innovation is far from dead, and Tim Cook is not rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Apple’s healthy core

This, of course, ignores the fact that Apple is still profitable—strike that. Wildly profitable…and it’s sitting on more cash than the U.S. government, and God only knows what products they’re sitting on in the vaults at Cupertino.

This death knell also ignores the fact that the company is making enormous strides in the developing world—notably China and India. (You know, those two little nations that account for almost half the world’s population?)

It ignores Apple’s incredible product design, its supply chain, its cutting-edge software, and a wealth of other assets. But here’s what the naysayers completely miss.

Apple’s innovation goes beyond tech

Innovation is more than just coming up with a cool toy. The geeks sitting on the front row at any given Apple event have no idea what Apple’s doing behind the scenes.

I work for a multinational technology company. I know what it takes on the back-end to deliver products and services from an international supply chain. I understand what it takes to create new hardware and software and have them all play nice together. I know what it’s like to be expected to have the latest and greatest tech.

Therefore, I can appreciate what the naysayers can’t see: Apple’s innovation that extends throughout the entire Apple ecosystem. Product design. Product integration. Product packaging. Seamless, multi-channel online and in-store integration. Manufacturing. Logistics. Data privacy.

No, maybe Apple hasn’t invented something substantially new lately. But that’s quite different from Apple being innovative lately. The death knell may have sounded for Steve Jobs, but his company? Something he’d still be proud of.

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