How far back are we talking about? They took a big chance on the Vision Pro, probably an even bigger chance on the Apple Car though that didn't even make release, and to a smaller degree they took a chance on the iPhone Air. Did you mean they don't take chances anymore on things that turn out to be hits? But then that's not really complaining about them not taking chances but more complaining that they don't make bold new hit products--to which I'd say, it's hard to keep up a winning streak.
Go back as far as you want. In recent memory they've launched what, 5 actual new product lines? Airpods, Homepod, Watch, Airtag, Vision Pro?
And of those 5, they're all "me too" lines. They aren't new or exciting, they're re-hashing what someone else did. Heck, of those 5, the only one that
Microsoft didn't have a version of is the Airtag.
The most interesting are the Airtag and Watch, but they didn't do anything
with them: In the decade or so that the watch has been out, it's had a single form factor and then an XL variant when sales slowed. For someone like my wife, the difference between the first watch and the newest Ultra is the always on display and battery life. They could have done so much more in the wearable space. Where is a round watch, sports band, or ring?
Where is the credit card sized airtag? Where is the Homepod with a clock or dock? The homepod got a ... wait for it... not more audio input or bluetooth support, no, it got a thermometer and humidity sensor in its update, and a smaller one that's just slightly better than the $30 Echo Dot.
Apple took the MVP experience, but iterated on the hardware, not the experience. And the experience, it's just lacking.
Re: Things like the iPhone Air. They're just iterations. Apple marketing will tell you that the Air is the "thin and light" phone, but measured at its thickest I have a phone that's thinner and lighter than the Air, with 2 cameras. It's called the iPhone Mini and (for better or worse) it's still supported by Apple.
Maybe a better way to put it is, Apple releases the MVP product. Always. And by the time they've released the product I want the goalposts have moved with time. I don't remember the last time I bought a product from Apple that had every feature I wanted or expected in it. Usually those features get added 2 or 3 iterations later. And by that point the goalposts have changed. It's iterative and uninspired.
