Scott Buscemi On Apple's Attitude At The WWDC Keynote
During the WWDC keynote, a short teaser video for the new Mac Pro played then Phil Schiller quipped, “Can’t innovate anymore, my ass.” He was met with loud cheering and celebration by the developers in the audience who had just heard one of the most representative statements in recent times. This new era Apple takes on naysayers full-force. This new era Apple can admit that virtual cows were being harmed with previous skeuomorphic calendars and the wood in Game Center might not have been best for the environment.
The self-deprecating jokes are certainly uncharacteristic, but I felt like they were apt given the current situation Apple finds itself in. By addressing the ‘Forstall era’ directly, they effectively distanced themselves from it. It was a separating point, and implied this was in the past. Portraying awareness of their missteps was important, as it (subtly) showed that Apple knew what needed changing and where it needed to go next to maintain its position as market leader. It’s almost as if the new Mac Pro was revealed as proof that this hypothesis is valid.