Nobody is saying they are going down the gutter without him just that they haven't launched anything since he died that has gotten close to the traction that existing product lines have. Over three quarters of the business eight years on is iPhone/iPad/Mac
The iPad Pro is not a new product its a iteration on one launched under Jobs.
TV Plus and Arcade aren't even out yet, Apple News is by all accounts not doing particularly well, the HomePod flopped and the success of the Apple Card remains to be seen.
Apple Music has done fairly well but is still a long way behind Spotify in subscriber numbers, the Watch and AirPods are obviously the pick of the bunch.
Seriously, it's not that hard to see what Apple is trying to do here.
Build an ecosystem around the iPhone while using their dominant presence in mobile to push their wearables initiative. We already have the Apple Watch, while AR glasses are rumoured to be in the works.
Apple music may lag behind in subscriber numbers, but don't forget, Apple is gaining subscribers in developed countries where the iPhone has a stronger presence, which in turn allows them to charge a higher price (once exchange rates have been factored in). Conversely, Spotify is finding its growth in developing countries where purchasing power isn't as strong. I find it's the whole market share vs usage share all over again, in that raw numbers alone don't always tell the whole story as to who is more successful than whom.
It's hard to see Apple Card not being successful. It's automatically available to anyone with an iPhone in the US, the application process is practically frictionless (unlike conventional banks who still have to mail the card to me) and I can only hope Apple succeeds in rolling it out to other countries ASAP.
Yes, the iPad Pro debuted under Steve Jobs, but it was under Tim Cook's tenure that the iPad Pro got stylus support, and the Apple TV got peer-to-peer airplay. My 3rd gen Apple TV continues to work dutifully in my classroom till this day, mirroring my iPad to the smart board.
At the same time, I can understand why Apple is so lacklustre when it comes to Macs; it clearly does not factor into their longterm product roadmap at all.
I also feel that too little credit is being given to Tim Cook for having grown Apple the way he has. Yes, I do acknowledge that Steve Jobs gave him a very strong foundation to work on, but things could easily have gone either way. If we had gone with the "common sense" advice that many an armchair critic here had given, from releasing cheaper iPhones to putting macOS on tablets to buying Netflix, Apple may well have been run into the ground by now, or at least, nowhere nearly as successful as it is today.
Were there missteps? Yes. From their macbook keyboards to airpower, but what company can boast of having 100% flawless execution? That's the Apple without Steve Jobs. Yes, they will (apparently) make more mistakes, but they will learn from those mistakes and improve accordingly. Everything Apple has done since day one lays the foundation for something else they will do in the future, and it's often only with hindsight that we see the significance of why they did what they did back then.
Does this make me a fanboy? Probably, but how can I not be, when their products have worked so well for me?
