Apple is innovative — you just can’t see it

Apple Silicon is one of the greatest achievements in modern computing.

Tim Cook

It’s officially iPhone season again. This means that social media will be flooded with articles, thought-pieces, and tweets arguing that “Android did it first.”

In case you missed it, Apple’s new iPhone 14 Pro will include an always-on display and a notch that doesn't look hideous — both features that Android phones have had for several years.

Recently, I came upon this Medium piece by Alan Trapulionis titled “Apple Is Already Dying, And This Process Has A Name.” While I did agree with the buzz of a new iPhone wearing off, I disagree with everything else.

While I’m intrigued by the iPhone 14 Pro because of the new cameras (I can use it for my job covering Michigan State hockey every weekend), I’m also attracted to Apple’s new notch. Dynamic Island is Apple’s innovation. And while it technically builds on something we saw in the LG V10, this is huge for smartphones.

In the next several years, I’m sure that nearly every phone maker — Samsung, LG, and even Sony — will be making better use of their smartphones’ camera systems and notches.

Is Apple innovating enough though? Well, that depends.

Alan begins his article by stating that Apple is a monopoly, which is simply not true. While it is a tech conglomerate, that does not constitute that it’s a monopoly.

I don’t mean to play vocabulary, but a monopoly is defined as “a single seller or producer that excludes competition from providing the same service.” One specific quality of most monopolies is that the services or products they provide are necessities.

Politically, a monopoly takes several sizes. Some like to refer to something as a monopoly when in reality it’s an oligopoly (such as cable providers or airlines, and of course, Apple). True monopolies are much more deliberate. For example, Ticketmaster, utility companies, or the Italian eyeware brand Luxottica.

The point is that companies who monopolize tend to lack innovation, which is true. Take the modern cable box as an example. If you have cable, it is probably the most obsolete thing you own in your…