Steve Jobs’ Daughter Mocked the iPhone 14, Hinting at Apple’s Lost Innovation
When Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 models in September 2022, critics quickly complained the new phones looked nearly identical to the iPhone 13 series and lacked exciting new features.
Among those critics was none other than Steve Jobs’ daughter Eve, whose jab carried extra weight given her family ties to Apple.
Eve Jobs’ Remark:
Shortly after the iPhone 14 announcement event, Eve Jobs posted a popular meme on Instagram mocking the iPhone 14 as the same as the iPhone 13. The meme showed a man holding an identical shirt to the one he was already wearing. Eve captioned it “Me upgrading from iPhone 13 to iPhone 14 after Apple’s announcement today.”
Her meme highlighted the prevailing criticism that the iPhone 14 offered only incremental upgrades like a slightly faster chip and better cameras, but looked physically identical to most users.
Significance of Eve’s Criticism:
As Steve Jobs’ youngest daughter, Eve’s criticism that the iPhone 14 was a rehash of the iPhone 13 hinted at a larger decline in innovation at Apple since her father passed away in 2011.
Steve Jobs was renowned for his visionary leadership at Apple, pioneering revolutionary products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Since Tim Cook succeeded Jobs as CEO, Apple has focused more on iterative improvements over bold innovation.
While the company remains hugely successful financially, many believe it has lost the spark of ingenious design and engineering that defined the Steve Jobs era. Eve Jobs’ mocking meme suggests she believes Apple is no longer producing the kind of transformative, mold-breaking products it did under her father’s leadership.
Eve Jobs’ Instagram post mocking the iPhone 14 as nearly identical to the iPhone 13 touched a nerve with many who feel Apple’s innovation has stagnated in the post-Steve Jobs years. Her criticism as his daughter carried substantial weight, implicitly criticizing the company’s lack of revolutionary progress since her father’s passing.
Her meme summed up a common view that Apple is now dependent on recycling old ideas rather than inventing new tech that defines entire product categories.