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Has Apple has fallen too far from the tree?
Will Apple's iOS 26 and Liquid Glass be a bridge too far for many to cross? Or will fans line up lock step? As the company continues to pursue aesthetics over innovation, when will people abandon ship?
To my new readers, here’s the thing. I have loved Apple since the late 1980s. 1 I’ve been an unabashed Apple fan boy for almost 40 years. So as I prepare (another 2 ) rant about their lack of innovation and their danger of becoming the technological version of Blockbuster, please remember this principle.
“You can criticize your family, but no one else can.”
I’m not interested in hearing from Android users or Apple haters. I know you have gripes with Apple on a multitude of levels. Many of them are justified. But you chose poorly. Deal with that.
For those of us Apple Family, these are strange days. Remember, we too have a choice. Apple does not deserve our technological lives and money. It must continue to earn our loyalty.
My current device footprint
- Macbook Pro 14” 2024
- iPhone 16
- iPad Air 2024
- Samsung Galaxy Classic Watch 6 (because I hate Apple Watches)
What set me off this time?
I’m beta testing the upcoming iOS 26. It has been touted as revolutionary. It’s not. It is simply window dressing with a few (very few) needed functional tweaks. Apple has wasted its innovation on trying to achieve a Liquid Glass look on its iOS (and from what I hear, its upcoming Mac OS will also have it.)
While other companies are already releasing fourth generation foldable phones and tablets, pioneering smart rings, Apple has wasted millions on trying to make its OS “pretty.”
Their absurd focus on this bubble gum technology aesthetic persuades me that they’re attempting to wow 4th grade girls, not serious commercial or business users.
I’m not alone in hating the new iOS 26 look.
“The result is a visual overhaul with no clear purpose beyond style. That’s left users questioning whether Apple is focused on the right problems… “It’s not just about taste. It’s about direction. This design signals where Apple is choosing to spend time and resources. When interface polish gets priority over fixing broken features or developing new capabilities, people notice. A new look can be exciting. But if it’s the main thing being shipped, it sends the wrong message.” 3
Due to the “see-through” nature of the windows and apps with Liquid Glass, I had to search out and find the feature under Accessibility to “Reduce Transparency” just to remove the incessant distraction.
Apart from Liquid Glass, iOS 26 achieves nothing that is remarkable. In fact, it only fixes things that users complained about from the last iOS – making the Photos app easier to navigate again, etc.
It’s Tim Cook.
Back in 2019, I wrote Tim Cook doesn’t “Think Different.”
Under Tim Cook’s leadership, we’ve gotten.. more. Not different. Just more. Everything is incremental. Bigger phones. (Do we really want bigger phones?!) Face ID. Nope. Elimination of useful ports on pro model laptops. Nope. But we DO have more and “better.” Just not “different.”
“Think Different” has become:
“Make Money.”
Ditch the phone. Keep the computer.
This is where I may be headed. I became an Apple fan boy because Apple made (and still makes) a superior computer. Apple changed the music industry with the iPod. It changed the communications and cellular industry with the iPhone. However, it has not kept up with innovation in the phone business. It has only focused on making money.
I will be keeping and loving my Mac. But I’m putting the iPhone on notice. While I have enjoyed my iPhone 16 (except for how big it is), the upcoming iOS 26 may be the last wedge to further pry me from Apple ecosystem (I don’t use Apple Watches or AirPods).
What’s your opinion?
Click bait for last
I saved the following Instagram post for last. You can click though on the image below, but I’ve also copied the text of the post so you don’t have to.
Apple just lost more money in 4 months than most countries make in a year. $1.1 trillion gone because Tim Cook made the exact decision Steve Jobs refused to make for 14 years. Warren buffett called it brilliant. Jobs called it poison.
Here’s how Apple’s greed is finally backfiring:
Apple was the world’s most valuable company from 2021 to 2023. Today? They’re third behind Nvidia and Microsoft. In just 4 months, their value dropped 28%. That’s $1.1 trillion gone. But this disaster started in 2011.
When Steve Jobs stepped down, he told Time Cook something crucial: “Don’t ask, ‘what Steve would do’… just do what’s right” Jobs believed great products created great stock prices. Cook believed the opposite. The shift was immediate.
In 2010, Jobs had $27 billion in cash and no idea what to do with it. Warren Buffett gave him three options: acquisitions, dividends, or stock buybacks. Jobs refused dividends and buybacks entirely. His reasoning? “Our goal is to increase enterprise value.”
Jobs wanted to strengthen Apple, not reward shareholders. But in 2012, 6 months after becoming CEO, Cook did exactly what Jobs refused. First dividend program. First stock buyback Initially. $45 billion planned. They spent $80 billion instead.. Warren Buffett noticed.
Buffett famously avoided tech companies, saying “if there’s lots of technology, we won’t understand it.” But he invested $1 billion in Cook’s Apple. Never invested a penny under Jobs. This revealed everything about Apple’s transformation. They’d become a finance company.
The culture shift was brutal for Apple’s design team. Jobs visited the design studio daily. Cook? Once a month. Chief Design Officer Jonathan Ive lost all power. When developing Apple Watch, Ive wanted a $25 million fashion show. Finance team called it “unnecessary.”
For the first time ever, Ive’s ideas faced resistance from finance executives. Cook appeared to side with them. Ive complained to colleagues calling board members as “another one of those accounts.” He started working from home and showing up late. Innovation was dying.
The proof was in the products. IPhone 6, 6s, 7 & 8 looked nearly identical from 2014 to 2017. But Cook found a new way to grow revenue: price hikes. iPhone stayed $650 for 7 years under Jobs. Cook changed that forever.
iPhone X launched at $1,000 in 2017. A 30% price increase from the previous model By 2023, the most expensive iPhone hit $1,200.. Even Apple’s “budget” model jumped 40% this year. Average iPhone price: $657 in 2016, $974 in 2024.
But the real disaster came with Al. Apple pioneered voice assistants with Siri in 2011. By 2017, Siri had 62% accuracy. Google Assistant had 90%. When ChatGPT launched in 2022, Apple was years behind. Their Al team knew what they needed.
In 2023, Apple’s Al team requested 50,000 new GPU chips to catch up. Cost: $10 billion. Cook approved it. The finance team killed it. Their reasoning? “Make existing chips more efficient.”
Meanwhile, Apple spent $77 billion on stock buybacks that same year.
The priorities were crystal clear. Apple led the world in stock buybacks: $110 billion in 2024.
• But Amazon spent $85 billion on R&D.
• Google spent $45 billion.
• Meta spent $39 billion.
All have better Al than Apple. Jobs feared exactly this scenario.
Apple’s $1.1 trillion loss proves Steve Jobs was right about one thing: When you prioritize shareholders over products, you eventually lose both. Cook grew Apple market cap 10x, but he destroyed innovation. A company that once modernized industries now can’t even finish Siri.4
- You can read my personal history with Apple in this post honoring Steve Jobs on the month he passed, August 2011: Ode to Steve.[↩]
- Here’s some reference points on other posts I’ve made critical of Apple:
• I predicted the iPhone’s industry dominance in December 2006 in Apple positioning to revolutionize cellular industry.
“If you were preparing to upgrade your phone, you might want to wait. The iPhone, I predict, will eventually dominate the cellular industry like the iPod has the digital music one.”
• Apple’s slippery slope – October 2007 (on Apple’s refusal to allow third party apps on its iPhone!)
• Steve Jobs (1955-2011) – October 2011. This post lists Steve Jobs 12 Rules – which would save Apple today if applied. It also links his powerful commencement address at Stanford University.
• Seven things Apple doesn’t do well – December 2015 (all of these still true!)
• Why I got rid of my iPhone X – December 2017
• My attempt at owning an Apple Watch – February 2020
• Digital downsizing and learning to “watch” again – February 2020. This was about my DLE (digital life experiment). I tried to put my phone away and just use a smart watch.
• My attempt at redesigning the Apple Keyboard due to its poor design – March 2018
• Why I think Apple is missing the iPhone mark – September 2018
• Why I ditched iPhones after 15 years for an Asus Zenfone 9 – October 2022
• Back on an iPhone – February 2023[↩]
- Liquid Glass Looks Cool. So Why Do People Hate It? by Rajat Saini (Mac Observer: July 25, 2025) [↩]
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