Apple’s Innovation Illusion: Has the World’s Richest Tech Brand Stopped Moving Tech Forward?
“Tech Design isn’t just about functional beauty, it’s about the functionality it returns to Earth,” says Arjin Trulhi.
In 2025, Apple achieved $391.04 billion in sales for its 2024 fiscal year, which ended in September 2024. Coming close to their next reporting of 2025, as I update this on September 9, 2025.
Let’s bring up the conversations they want to RUN from!
Apple once defined innovation. Today, it defines luxury catch-up. They want the most sexy object at the highest price they can charge, with no integration of returning our data back to us, which could empower better life choices and decisions. Imagine what you could do if All touchpoints on your iPhone could communicate your with your health, reminders, messages, even photo journals, and give use a simple dashboard of how we as humans personally progress and grow in life.
I mean, it is an iPhone that’s their main product. Isn’t the i, the personality, the YOU, supposed to be built into Apple Design? With great marketing campaigns, and fun colors, there’s no doubt Apple does a great job at convincing you of personalization—but really none of it is.
Even if you could take your health or messages screenshots and process them with ChatGPT, you never own the full datat you put into your iPhone. It’s never fully able to process into your own application.
As the tech world races ahead with open-source, blockchain, and community voice to vote on features, Apple seems satisfied keeping things in their own polish, repackage, and profit tone. Thus, trading true innovation for predictable evolution. The Vision Pro? A late miss. Ai in Final Cut Pro? Even later. Ai in Logic Pro for Musicians? Non-existent. Pages, Numbers, Keynote—all pretty much the same as 2012. So, of course this begs the question, What happened?
The Innovation Slowdown
Apple’s recent product launches feel more iterative than inventive. The Vision Pro headset, while conceptually exciting, launched bulky, pricey, and lagging behind Meta’s lighter, more stylish smart glasses. AI integration into Final Cut Pro didn’t happen until late 2024—well after other creative tools adopted AI-based workflows. Foldable devices? Apple is years away from catching up, with the first model not expected before 2027 or later. Siri remains lackluster in a world dominated by ChatGPT and generative AI agents. The magic is gone.
The Illusion of Leadership
Apple’s marketing machine is unmatched, and it continues to sell a perception of innovation through design polish and product language. But underneath the gloss, the tech is trailing. “Revolutionary” has become code for “already exists, but now it’s in Apple white.” The loyalty is real, but the disruption? Not anymore. Instead of leading tech, Apple is packaging trends.
The Competitive Reality
Meta is outpacing Apple in form factor and social integration. Google is ahead in generative AI integration. Even small startups are pushing boundaries faster. Apple’s slow-to-move, tightly controlled ecosystem is showing signs of age—especially when compared to competitors prioritizing open innovation, collaboration, community input during trials or development, and prioritizing speed.
What This Means for Brand Ecosystems
Apple’s brandverse remains powerful—an empire of interconnected hardware, software, and status. But it leans on legacy, not fresh thinking. Gen Z and Gen Alpha crave meaning, surprise, and vision. In the attention economy, polish isn’t enough; people want power and possibility. Apple doesn’t empower further growth beyond what has already been in your hands, not changing much unless you find yourself the tools, apps, and software required to make a difference, that thrive today and lead with originality and fearless moves.
Can Apple Catch Up—or Will They Call the Foregen?
At Brandverse.uno, we decode brandverses and study the gravity of brand ecosystems. Apple has the tools, money, and platform to regain cultural leadership. But to do that, they need boldness—not polish. If they ever decide to stop playing safe and start playing smart, they might just give Foregen a call.
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Catchup with Arjin @arjintrulhi on all platforms.
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