Apple is 50 times bigger than when the Iphone as released; things have changed... A lot.
Apple is in everyone's house, you couldn't even say that even in 2010.
Tim Cook has overseen in reality Apple through its greatest growth,
since he took on a lot of the Job's work during his last years.
People seem to think the he's parachuted or something...
He's closer to Jobs than well, everyone in his latter years.
He knows more than any of us what Jobs may or may not have done.
It's even possible Jobs said to Cook to be his own man, not to try to be him at all because he believed Apple could survive without him. That's the ultimate goal of an entrepreneur after all.
But this 'growth' has been traditional 'growth', through a multiplication of product, and not really any clear advantage, one product over the other.
Case in point, I overheard a discussion over the many different iPad models at the local Worst Try. 'Which one is better?' 'They are all pretty much the same.' came the unintelligent answer from the over worked, underpaid, and undertrained drone. 'Well, I can't decide. There is no difference between them?' 'Nope, just price. Oh, one has a better camera.'
THAT kind of 'informed salesperson is what Apple gets for trolling the depths of 'Big Box Land!' (Imagine sinister music crescendoing in the background, and lightening flashing)
Then throw in the iPhone v iPad, and the iPod v iPad v iPhone. At one point there were what, three generations of iPads in stores? Two generations of iPhones?
They have lost control of their brand. They have too many products in the catalog. They have too much inventory. They are repeating the machinations that nearly killed it in the past. If what's her name kills the 'Store Experience', Apple will be left with nothing. No cache... No 'private club' feel.
Since Tim Cook is a 'process guy', one would hope that he is riding the 'product guys' hard and fast to keep the plethora of products from being the noose that hangs the company, again...