Two things I saw today perfectly captured the widening gap between American and Chinese innovation. One was Apple’s rollout of new iPhone 17 models and watches. The other was a short video on Instagram of a massive Chinese ship that was built by BYD just to transport more than nine thousand of their new electric cars to Brazil. The difference spoke volumes about how far ahead China is in hardware product development.
Apple, considered one of our most innovative hardware companies, introduced its iPhone 17 models with the usual fanfare. This year’s highlights included an improved camera, a machined aluminum case, and different color options. This has been their pattern for years—each model marginally better than the last, or not. (Didn’t Apple go from aluminum to titanium a few years back and call that a major advance?)
Now compare that with this video: a huge Chinese-built vessel docked at port, releasing row after row of electric cars. Each vehicle driving itself off in precise formation, filling an enormous lot like a synchronized parade of soldiers. BYD, now the world’s largest EV maker, was showing how far and fast it has scaled. In less than a decade, BYD has gone from upstart to global leader, producing affordable EVs that start around $10,000. (There’s also a YouTube video here.)
BYD isn’t alone. Xiaomi, once a small Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has reinvented itself as an automaker. Together, these companies are doing more than making cars—they’re reshaping industries. The ship in that video wasn’t chartered; it was purpose-built by BYD to carry its own cars, powered by batteries and ethanol. That’s innovation at the scale of ecosystems, not just gadgets.
Meanwhile, America’s best example of product development—the iPhone—has become emblematic of how risk-averse our tech giants have grown. Apple spent more than $10 billion trying to develop its own car before finally scrapping the project. After years of shifting strategies, staff turnover, and confusion over what the product should even be, Apple walked away. For a company that once redefined personal technology, the retreat was a huge failure.
This isn’t to say Apple hasn’t achieved incredible things. The iPhone remains one of the most successful consumer products in history, and the services it supports generate staggering revenues. But Apple is no longer driving big shifts—it’s polishing the edges of what already works. When “innovation” is defined as a brighter screen or an extra hour of battery life, you know the bar has been lowered.
China, by contrast, is betting on transformation. Entire supply chains, industries, and infrastructures are being built at breakneck speed to serve a global demand for more efficient and cleaner transportation. Their companies don’t just make products; they design the ships to deliver them, the factories to scale them, and the markets to absorb them. This isn’t about annual refreshes—it’s about reshaping the future.
The difference also reflects how risk is managed. In the U.S., corporate culture and shareholder pressure push companies toward predictable, incremental improvements. In China, the willingness to invest massively and move quickly enables leaps into entirely new industries.
The Instagram clip I watched wasn’t just a spectacle of cars driving themselves off a ship. It was a demonstration of ambition—of companies thinking in decades, not product cycles. When put side by side with Apple’s glossy but modest announcements, the message was clear: the center of gravity for innovation has shifted and it’s no longer the U.S.A. If there was ever a doubt, it hit home today.
If Apple is still the best we can point to as America’s innovation leader, then we are in danger of being left behind. The future won’t be defined by who offers the sharpest phone camera or the thinnest smartwatch. It will be defined by who takes the biggest swings at solving global challenges. Right now, those swings are coming from Shenzhen, not Cupertino.