Not since the arrival of the first iPad in 2010 has Apple introduced one of the game-changing products, synonymous with the company, and according to reports, Apple's board is starting to worry.
In a new report, Fox Business Network correspondent Charlie Gasparino claimed the pressure on CEO Tim Cook is growing with Apple directors seeking the next breakthrough product, and quickly.
Gasparino claimed the board is "concerned" the speed of innovation seen during the second Steve Jobs era, which resulted in the iPod, iPhone and iPad change the tech world, has not continued under Cook.
He said: "What have they had lately? They have had the iPad, they've had a few other things, but they don't have anything innovating from what came from Steve Jobs.
"And that concern is basically manifesting into pressure on Tim Cook to innovate — do something fast," added Gasparino who said the concern hasn't reached the point that Cook's job is under threat.
Cook on the clock?
Cook has offered numerous hints Apple will be launching an iWatch smart watch and a flatscreen Apple iTV television set, but it does not appear that the launch of either is within sight this year.
Cook himself has claimed new products are coming later this year, most likely at an iPhone launch event on September 10, although those launches are likely to be tweaked versions of existing products.
There is a genuine feeling that Apple's long-standing lead in innovation has been eroded since the late Steve Jobs was forced to relinquish the top job due to ailing health.
Others, like Samsung, Microsoft and Google, have certainly made strong efforts to catch up, while Apple's own innovative spirit seems somewhat stunted in the last couple of years.
Apple itself is conscious of the mutterings. During the launch of the new cylindric Mac Pro at WWDC this year, the company's bombastic marketing chief Phil Schiller blasted: "Can't innovate anymore, my ass!"
Does Apple still have the ability to wow us with yet another epochal product launch any time soon or is the rumoured pressure on Tim Cook to be more like Steve only going to grow?
Via VentureBeat
