Is Apple taking too long to innovate? If you asked Wall Street, that answer would be an obvious yes. There has been a lot of analysts that point to Apple’s fallingstock prices, supposed lack of innovation and Tim Cook as the “end of Apple.”

However, when you take time to consider the metrics behind Apple’s product releases, you will find otherwise. AppleGazette has taken the time to create a table that visualizes Apple’s major product releases, starting with Steve Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997. The major thing to pay attention to is the time gap between each one.

Looking at the table below, one can take away many things, such as the average time between each major product announcement, which is nine months. It is important to keep in mind, however, that there are many reasons why some gaps are longer than others. This includes different internal teams working on different product launches, component negotiations and availability, manufacturing time frames, etc. As such it is not entirely fair to compare one gap against another.

Has Apple Taken Too Long To Release An Innovative Product

Apple was not dormant during the times when no new products were released. The company was busy refining and refreshing existing product lines and working R&D on products and services that hadn’t yet been announced. Regardless, this data technically means it has been over three years (not counting the iPad Mini) since Apple has announced a new class of product. It isn’t as bad as it sounds though…

Although the average gap between a new product release has been nine months, the fruit company currently has four major pillars all of its products fall under. This includes the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. When you break it down into only the major pillars, the average gap between a large product announcement becomes just over three years and ten months.

Apple's 4 major pillars

With this data we can see that Apple is actually due for a major product announcement to make its 5th pillar sometime in October. This will very likely be one of two things: either an iWatch or an iTV.

So, the inevitable question still remains: has Apple waited too long for an innovative product announcement? Well, looking at AppleGazette’s data proves that Apple is actually still following its usual schedule when it comes to product announcements. The data is subjective because how does one truly define “major new class or product.” You could technically include OS X releases or even the iPad Mini.

As such, in the end, it comes down to personal opinion. What do you guys think? Has Apple waited too long before a major product announcement? Share your thoughts below.