By MICAH CHOQUETTE Scene Writer on Nov 23, 2012, at 9:00 AM Updated on 11/19 at 5:01 PM
Scott Forstall, who oversaw the iOS side of Apple, was asked to leave the company in October over his refusal to sign a public apology for problems with Apple Maps. Image courtesy of Flickr user paz.ca
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I kinda-sorta remember how Apple was in 1997 when Steve Jobs came back to the company he founded. I didn’t hold the interest then that I do now, but I remember that almost everything I heard was positive, if only because it didn’t seem like Apple could get any lower than they already were. Facing annual losses of over $1 billion, Apple’s prodigal child returned and dropped an atom bomb: Microsoft was investing $150 million into them, and would begin making Microsoft Office available on the Mac. It was a sharp turn from the competitive nature of past relations and considered a blasphemous move by many at the time.
Nevertheless, it was the start of a brand new era, and I don’t think anyone - except possibly Steve - saw what was coming for Apple. These days, depending on how well the oil industry is doing, Apple is the most valuable company in the world. With the release of the iPad Mini just last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook (who took the position shortly before Steve Jobs passed away in 2011) got on stage and shared stats that were surprising even to me: during the last quarter, Apple had sold more iPads than any other computer manufacturer sold of it’s entire line-up.
That’s right, Apple sold more of one product category than anyone else sold of all their stuff. Let’s not forget that it’s a category that for Apple didn’t even exist less than three years ago. It gives you a stark contrast to Apple’s position only 10 years earlier. Only now the clouds are swirling again. With it’s founder gone, can the good times last? Despite the success Cook has seen in his first full year as CEO, a lot of analysts, shareholders and journalists are wondering if Apple now has anywhere to go but down.
Their worries would not be unfounded. Apple has recently made moves that make it painfully clear that certain relationships are going away. The removal of YouTube and then Google Maps from the core of iOS reverberate the long-standing desire of the company to be as independent as possible. Unfortunately, how Apple fills in the gap with those losses is not up to the usual standards. Their shot at Google by rolling out their own critically insufficient alternative to Google Maps was seen as short-sighted at the least. Add to that the fact that Google Now is beginning to look better than our beloved Siri, and we’ve got a pretty serious mess on our hands.
That’s not to say that Apple took these lumps and kept coming. The maps fiasco eventually resulted in the firing (or resignation, depending on who you ask) of one Scott Forstall, a longtime staple of the company who took care of all things mobile at Apple. It also prompted a shuffling of the executive team, bringing heralded Apple designer Jony Ive nearer to the forefront.
But to answer the question: “Are Apple’s best days over?” Mmmm...no. I don’t think so. Despite the backlash that may occur from firing/resigning the company’s largest patent-holding employee, the removal of Forstall was likely a smart move, in my opinion. Forstall, for all his inventiveness, was a divider. He was said by some to be the most like Steve himself, but hardly in any of the good ways. Passionate? Yes. Good with people? Heck, no. After Cook assumed the CEO role in 2011, Forstall said that the company still didn’t have a “decider”. He often butted heads with the other executives, and more than one member of the team felt he was holding iOS back from her true potential.
The future will tell I suppose, but so long as Apple holds true to the spirit of her founder and continues to “Think different”, I really believe she’ll continue to enjoy her prosperity for at least a little while longer.
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