Tech Vitals
Has the Apple Way Lost its magic? A Reflection on Innovation and Recent Stumbles
Legendary devices like the iPod, iPhone, Macbook Air and iPad.
Followed by antenna gate, bendgate, butterfly keyboards, and now…Siri gate.
Two years ago, I made a video praising "The Apple Way" with the M2 Max Mac Studio and Apple Studio Display—what I considered the perfect desktop setup for serious creatives. But with recent Siri delays and Apple Intelligence promises falling short, it's worth asking: Is the Apple Way losing its magic?
The Innovation Timeline
Apple's revolutionary products transformed entire industries:
iPod (2001) — Put 1,000 songs in your pocket and changed music forever
iPhone (2007) — Reimagined the smartphone and put the internet in our pockets
MacBook Air (2008) — Redefined laptop portability (though it didn't hit its stride until 2020)
iPad (2010) — Created the modern tablet category
Apple Watch (2015) — Evolved from iPhone accessory to health essential
AirPods (2016) — Made wireless audio mainstream
Apple Silicon (2020) — Delivered game-changing performance through hardware-software integration
Vision Pro (2024) — Ambitious but struggling with adoption
When Marketing Outpaces Development
What's concerning now is Apple's recent over-promising and under-delivering. John Gruber's article "Something is Rotten in the State of Cupertino" highlighted how Apple announced Apple Intelligence features they knew weren't ready, then delayed them past early 2025.
Remember when Apple waited until things were actually finished before announcing them? When "it just works" wasn't just a punchline?
The Bottom Line
Despite these stumbles, no company has built an ecosystem of devices that rivals Apple's integration. I believe they'll eventually get this right—but I'd love to see them focus on getting the basics right first, fixing the small annoyances with first-party apps, and delivering an AI assistant worthy of their reputation.
What do you think? Has Apple lost its touch, or is this just a temporary setback on the path to something greater? Reply to this newsletter with your thoughts!
Creator Heartbeat
Company sued for not properly disclosing brand deals
Reminder to both creators and consumers, disclosure is not optional. If it is a paid brand deal, creators have to disclose that. The keyboard warriors have been at it for years saying people like MKBHD are paid shills by Apple or whatever made up story they tell themselves to sleep at night.
The reality is that pretty much every platform now has a way to designate posts or videos as paid promotions and it is NOT optional!
I would also consider it best practice to say if a brand has sent a product for free, so you audience doesn’t confuse your video for something you may have spent your hard earned money on.
Vacation as a content creator
Interestingly enough the hamster wheel doesn’t stop when you need a break. I was on vacation this week and took the time from my day job as well as from thinking about and producing videos.
My wife and I went to the beach, although chilly, it was wonderful to get away and take some photos and videos for myself again. I need to do more of that. I used both the Sony A7IV, but found myself reaching for the iPhone 16 Pro just as much honestly. Experimenting with HDR photos and HDR photo editing brought a new challenge and some new fun of yet another thing for me to try to learn.
And guess what? My YouTube channel didn’t dissapear during the week. It was still here when I got back. So while platforms reward consistency, and I didn’t miss uploading this week, it is important for me to take time away to recharge and refresh my brain, so I can work on making even better videos, at a sustainable pace for the long-term.
Content Radar
Davinci Resolve 20 Beta is out
I am primarily a Final cut editor but some of the new features in Davinci Resolve 20 have me looking at it again.
What better place to learn Resolve than from a Black Magic certified instructor. Chadwick has a great channel called Creative Video Tips and I’ve watched a few of his videos recently on Resolve 20 but he has an amazing library of tips in a laid back, easy to understand manner. Check him out if you want to learn Davinci Resolve from a pro!
The 3 Stages of Every Great Video - Leighann Creates
This thumbnail caught my eye and the video is very well put together. You can tell how much effort went into it, some of the opening shots are really creative and the information is high quality as well.
Definitely worth a watch if you are interested in storytelling and creative video projects!
Pulse Check
What’s coming up
For Perspective Episode 11 - When Boring Productivity is Perfect
Was I tricked into buying a Macbook Pro?
Fake Productivity - Burn out doing nothing
Ultimate Productivity Hack - Linked Notes and Reminders
The Perfect Notes App Doesn’t Exist
Connect and Engage