Merriam-Webster defines innovation as:
1: the introduction of something new
2: a new idea, method, or device: novelty
What is your definition of innovation? Does it require the creation of something new? A whole new category of product? A truly original idea?
Or is innovation something else, something more subjective?
If innovation requires creation of something truly new, then I suggest that neither the iPod nor iPhone come close to being an innovation. I owned three MP3 players before purchasing my first iPod. And there is nothing that my iPhone does that any number of cell phones or PDAs didn't already do. Yet, Apple is widely regarded as an innovator. I would argue that Apple makes game-changing products because of its commitment to usability and design, not innovation.
Arthur Schopenhauer said, "Thus the task is not to see what no one yet has seen, but to think what nobody has thought about that which everyone sees."
What does innovation mean to you?