Some consumers criticized Apple when the iPhone 5 was revealed; apart from its height, the smartphone arguably didn't feature any major improvements over the iPhone 4S. The iPad 4, meanwhile, instilled even more anger into customers; Apple only released the third-generation iPad seven months ago, with the next-generation iPad hardly offering anything new apart from an improved A6X processor, better front camera, and the lightning connector. An analyst has agreed with concern over such products, with innovation at Apple "sputtering".
Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdry singled out Apple's inability to launch touchscreen Macs. The firm had spearheaded the industry of touchscreens and high-resolution displays, but failed to instill it into its computer lineup.
"Apple's innovation is sputtering. Why is that Apple, the company that brought touch to phones and tablets, stopped just there and did not bring touch to notebooks and iMacs? Why is it that Apple brought high-resolution screens to…some Mac MacBooks and not to all devices? High-resolution screens are a commodity today."
Chowdry's comments were made after Apple revealed it had increased research and development spending to $3.4 billion this year. Either way, he believes the company's recent mishaps such as its abysmal Maps apps, which is said to have led to the departure of iOS chief Scott Forstall, may be due to a lack of a solid product road map.
"Our contacts speculate that Apple executive leadership may have rushed Scott Forstall to deliver products prematurely," he stated. "This may also indicate that Apple may be lacking a three to four-year product road map, because if a roadmap existed, engineers would not be pushed to ship products prematurely — especially when they are not fully tested."
