A few winters ago, I eagerly ran to the mini Christmas tree my family had set up on that cold December morning. Scrambling through all the wrapped packages, I finally grabbed the one that had my name on it. After unwrapping it, a smile slowly lit up my face as I saw it was an iPod Touch. Finally my own iPod I rejoiced to myself.

Back in the day, my antennae would perk up whenever anyone was discussing the latest and greatest Apple product. Now? Not so much.

And I do not mean this in any negative way. Attending a school where nearly every kid is seen working on a Macbook Pro or teachers are modeling problems on their iPads, there must be some compelling reason towards Apple’s gadgets. In fact, there is. Apple devices are some of the most solid products I have used in terms of usability and performance.

Unfortunately, they haven’t kept up with the competition though, which is what makes the company’s future hazy to me.

Take the Macbook Air, the revolutionary laptop that weighs just under three pounds. This laptop was a breakthrough in the portable laptop and netbook industry due to its unprecedented weight. But this was in 2008; now there are laptops that are as slim as the Air and pack more features. The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, for instance, has similar dimensions but packs in a touchscreen with the device. The Macbook Air, on the other hand, has housed the exact same aluminum body design for the past few years.

Another example? I will admit that even though I am avid iPhone user, I am more than ready for a change. Sure Apple did have its revolutionary moments in the past with the introduction of the iPhone 3G, which took advantage of 3G cellular technology, and the iPhone 4 which introduced the dazzling “retina display.” These breathtaking changes seemed to have culminated in 2010 when the latter was launched. Back in 2012 when loyal customers were eagerly expecting a revolutionary new iPhone, Apple debuted the iPhone 5, which simply was a taller version of the iPhone 4, with more “beefed-up” internals. There was nothing truly revolutionary about the phone, in spite of the company’s claims.

For this reason, many VCs, mobile strategists, and consumers have started to doubt the future of the company. I truly believe Apple was at the forefront of technology five years ago. Now? It’s going to be a tough fight for them to maintain their market share with the slew of innovative products coming from consumers such as Samsung and LG. Apple’s just playing catch up right now, even though they used to drive the industry before.

In the Silicon Valley, innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity are the keystones to building a successful enterprise. I am really worried that Apple has started lacking in these three areas. Even its stock price seems to be crying for help; Apple shares have tumbled massively over the past few months.

Yet Apple has its own loyal supporters who love the company no matter what. Whenever I broach the topic of Apple’s future with my peers, I get the same response: “Are you crazy? There is no way Apple is going to die in the near future.” Struggling smartphone maker Blackberry, which used to produce the flagship smartphone of the mobile industry in the early 2000s, almost filed for bankruptcy because they lost innovation and thus their entire market share. To me, Apple is not yet spiraling down that path, but any more missteps on its part could definitely lead it down this disastrous vortex. The company really needs to take the reigns of the industry and revive their industrial and creative power, if they expect to thrive again.

Apple’s future, essentially its life it depends on two things: its next generation iPhone and the heavily rumored “iWatch.” If the former redefines the mobile phone as its predecessors did, while the latter defines an entire new category, then I guess there is some future left for the company. Only time will tell though.

This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on May 16, 2014.