Could Apple’s reign be coming to an end? The company that was once relatively unheard of may be heading back to that former identity, sources hint.

Apple has been losing talent, not gaining any large amount of real new talent, and the company’s stock prices are falling at a steady pace. Why is Apple slowly beginning to go downhill? Here are some ideas why the tech giant is losing traction quickly.

No Tech Appeal

New graduates looking to enter the tech world know one thing: working at Apple means dealing with an older mentality. A culture that’s largely old school and so far away from the startup playground where most tech stars want to play. Apple means strict deadlines and hours and working within the usual office constraints. None of this sounds very appealing to someone that’s hoping to have their creativity recognized from the start.

The inability to snag new talent is just one of the reasons why Apple is slowly fading into the background where it came from. The other reason is that the company hasn’t really created anything mind-blowing in quite a while. To stay afloat, a company like Apple has to invent and keep inventing, but that’s just not happening.

The Lack of Invention

Apple’s latest memorable gadget was the Apple Watch, and that only had a very limited appeal. Even though Apple spent a good deal of money trying to advertise the Apple Watch, and some people did purchase the timepieces, the watches just didn’t sell like Apple wanted them too. Now, it’s hard to find someone that’s really bent on buying an Apple Watch.

Apple phones are kind of ho-hum right now too. Sure, iPhone cameras are great and sizes and shapes and colors change frequently, but there’s nothing new there - and consumers want new. You can’t create new mind-blowing things, though, if you don’t have new talent. Apple just isn’t attracting new talent.

Changing Its Ways

It’s not likely that Apple will begin to change its ways anytime soon. That small garage company that we’ve all seen in the movies is no more - it’s long gone. In its place is a massive corporation that has company policies set in stone, and meeting after meeting (and meetings about meetings) in order to get anything done. That’s not the kind of culture where cutting edge engineers thrive or want to work.

Sure, Apple can pay its staff more than most companies (and the pay is fair at Apple), but that’s not what someone on the cusp of the latest tech craze is looking for. While money is great, it’s not everything to someone that’s passionate about what they do, or is looking for some room to breathe, create, and grow.

Those people aren’t going to be moving to Google either. What’s bound to happen is the emergence of various startups from the darkness that take over Apple’s throne -- until they too turn into massive corporations that eventually become no better than what Apple now is. In the meantime, Apple’s stock prices continue to fall as the company loses traction both with consumers and with engineers.