Apple famously rendered scores of startups and third-party tools obsolete with nearly every OS update since the mid-2000s. “Sherlocking” regularly kicked promising companies to the curb by effectively erasing their reason to exist — in many cases, by delivering nearly identical features and functionality.
I saw it firsthand when I worked on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad under Steve Jobs. Every product launch and OS upgrade generated excitement for users and existential fear for founders. Founding teams spent years building capabilities that Apple could absorb into the operating system overnight. Life’s work became dead on arrival.
