NeXTSTEP

NeXTSTEP (later renamed to OPENSTEP) was the operating system developed by NeXT Inc. under Steve Jobs for their workstation computers. NeXT was later acquired by Apple and NeXTSTEP formed the foundation of Mac OS X.

Why was NeXT able to develop a next-generation operating system when Apple failed to do so after multiple attempts? My personal take (which if it has any merit is surely not original) is that