How Tim Cook botched Jobs’ product launch formula

For the last decade, Apple has set the gold standard for product launches, and credit has always rested unequivocally on the shoulders of Steve Jobs. The company always knew how to woo loyalists, but when Jobs returned, he found a way to speak to the rest of us when presenting products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
 
Wednesday’s iPhone 5 launch saw Apple return to preaching to the converted. While I have little doubt that Apple users everywhere will applaud the iPhone 5, I doubt whether it will continue to reel in customers from other platforms like Android.
 
The reason actually lies more in the presentation than in the product. Steve didn’t focus on the technology, he focused on the magical experience. Tim Cook can’t quite seem to capture that, and it’s going to hurt Apple.
 
Before Jobs returned to Apple, the struggling company was stuck in a monotonous cycle of products that made good upgrades to existing lines, but seemed to ignore what was going on with competitors. As loyal Apple users eventually gave up, the company’s strong business started to erode, until its engineer CEOs didn’t have a clue how to turn this around. Jobs came back and brought forth the idea of creating products that competed on impression, not “speeds and feeds.” Apple reached amazing new highs on this formula.