What frustrates me the most is that Apple never admits a mistake.
I'm never going to buy an iPhone without a headphone jack, but reinstating the jack on a future model would be admitting they made a mistake with the iPhone 7.
Likewise, with the new MacBook Pros, they are not going to release an update in a year's time that doesn't sacrifice ports and performance and battery life for size and weight, because doing so would be admitting a mistake. Nor are they going to dramatically cut the prices, such that they are actually affordable for someone, because doing so would be admitting a mistake.
I would be willing to bet that within a decade you HAPPILY buy a phone without a headphone jack, whether that be an Android or iPhone. They're not going backwards because they think they're right, not because they think they're wrong but don't want to admit it.
And the reason they aren't cutting prices is likely because they're more profitable with prices as they are, not because they're afraid of admitting a mistake.
> What frustrates me the most is that Apple never admits a mistake.
They have backtracked from decisions made, several times, and admitted to mistakes too. Apple Maps is a good example. MobileMe, the return of buttons to the iPod shuffle, price cut on iPhone... same.
The problem is that what you or I think is a mistake, it might not be one in the eyes of Apple.
A lot of the frustration I see these days can be summed up as "Apple no longer is making a product that I like, therefore it is making products that nobody likes".
Well, maybe. Time will tell. But I think they have a very clear vision about how they want their computers to look and feel (same for iPhones) and they are heading there full-speed. For some customers it will be a deal breaker, for others it might be what they need to jump ship and buy a Mac or upgrade from a Macbook Air to a more profitable Macbook Pro.
> What frustrates me the most is that Apple never admits a mistake
In corporate politics that would be a suicide. Only Jobs was powerful enough to make mistakes.
Anyway it is shocking what Apple does now. During Jobs Apple removed product features only used by laggards. Now Apple removes the features used even by pragmatists and early adopters[1]. Do you known how many people moved exclusively to wireless headphones and TH3?
Another surprising thing is ignoring the professionals. They are in minority and it is hard to see them on sales charts. But they are opinion leaders.
Many people overpay for Apple products because they want to look as real professionals. Majority don't care which laptop is the thinnest, they use products used by opinion leadres. With current trend, in 5 years Apple brand might be associated with rich bozos buying gold phones. Just look at the Mercedes S vs Tesla Models S sales in last 2 years.
I can think of one instance. After Apple released the 3rd gen iPod Shuffle (gumstick) with no buttons they said at the release of the 4th gen iPod Shuffle event: "But users clearly like the buttons". So then the next gen had buttons just like the 2nd gen.
> [The Macbook Air] didn't become popular until they added a second USB port and SD card reader, added a higher resolution screen, fixed the battery life issues, fixed the horribly slow performance, and reduced the price big-time.
Oh they do admit mistakes.. They just don't say it:
Steve Jobs on why the iPod color doesn't have video said something to the effect of "nobody want to watch video on a tiny screen". a generation or 2 later the iPod (classic style) can play video.
You can totally make do with html/javascript apps on the iPhone. Not long after there is an SDK/app store.
cut and paste on iOS: It took a couple years but here is our version that is world beating.
That round mouse they included with the original iMac didn't last long.
I think a lot of projects were killed (Newton, Pipin, iPod, the motorola phone that used iTunes.) that just didn't work out.
Not to mention 'ping' (social media for iTunes) and the cloud based infrastructure.
I think the problem is Steve really liked the mac, and you could see that during his demos he was a power user and understood the product better.
"Never" is a bit of an overstatement. There was an apology for Apple Maps. I think better way to put it is that Apple doesn't engage in a genuine way with customers. It communicates with favored individuals in the press or chosen customers via email, with the expectation that the email from Tim Cook or Phil Schiller will serve to get the word out.
Compare the number of Google employees making public statements through blogs with the number of Apple employees who do so.
There's very little acknowledgement of public input, as if anything the public had to say about Apple products doesn't matter because Apple knows better.
"Likewise, with the new MacBook Pros, they are not going to release an update in a year's time that doesn't sacrifice ports and performance and battery life for size and weight, because doing so would be admitting a mistake."
I know this has been litigated to death in the original thread, but I think the 4 USB-C ports implicitly admits the MacBook with only a single USB-C port was a mistake. I think obsessing about having specific legacy ports is short sighted, and pushing forward with new connection technologies fits well with Apple's history of innovation. Having ports capable of being every thing from power connector to video display to high speed disk connector to mouse or keyboard port offers great flexibility and will seem like an obvious choice very soon.
I think the claimed battery life still fairs well against similarly spec'd PCs?
Size and weight are super important characteristics for many users. Not sure sacrificing these attributes would appeal to most laptop consumers.
"Nor are they going to dramatically cut the prices, such that they are actually affordable for someone, because doing so would be admitting a mistake."
It's only a mistake if their overall profits would be higher by cutting prices.
Now, the sacrifice I don't understand at all is capping RAM at 16GB. Makes the MacBook Pro seem like a very low end machine compared to the competition, and will almost certainly shorten its useful lifespan, especially for professional user.
> Nor are they going to dramatically cut the prices, such that they are actually affordable for someone
For the average developer the MBP amortizes out to somewhere around one day of salary per year, out of the ~251 annual work days, even less if you keep it more than four years. Is there any other industry with lower overhead costs?
Yeah because Google or GM or Sony or Audi all come out regularly and admit their mistakes. Honestly do you really expect any company to do that?
Also as mentioned in the article - Apple charges a premium to, some would say, wisely cash-in on early adopters; over the life of the product its price drops. If you want an affordable Apple product - just like any other company - don't buy the very latest, newest model of any of their stuff.
The prices of the MBP aren't even high historically adjusted for inflation. The always "raise" prices on model redesign, and taper them down on refresh. This reddit post has a pretty illustrative chart, https://m.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/59uyqw/all_13_and_15_m...
Everyone is acting like Apple is extorting people or being unconscionable because they can't have 32 gigs of ram (no one else can at any small laptop size, Intel's chipset is the limitation), or the prices are extreme when they're really just right in line with inflation...
I'm old enough to remember that public hand-wringing always accompanies major updates to Apple product lines. The Macbook Air was WIDELY panned when it was first released. It went on to be the most popular laptop they sell, and one of the most popular in the U.S.
Apple has a ton of money and a willingness to percolate new ideas. We won't be able to really evaluate the new MBP--and the ideas it contains--for years.
>> The Macbook Air was WIDELY panned when it was first released.
The Air wasn't a replacement of the Pro. It was a new device, an ultra portable.
It didn't become popular until they added a second USB port and SD card reader, added a higher resolution screen, fixed the battery life issues, fixed the horribly slow performance, and reduced the price big-time.
Is this whole thing satire? I'm taking it as serious, but maybe the joke's on me...
> these new Macs seem to have gained an average of $200 over the preceding models of the same size. What makes Apple think they can get away with that? Apple can get away with that because it always has gotten away with it.
So, inflation has gone up 10.7 percent since 2010, which is just over $200 on a $2000 laptop.
Seems like a bogus assumption to suggest that Apple is "getting away" with something. What comparable companies with comparable products have left their prices untouched since 2010? The Big Mac went up more than 20% since 2010.
> Apple fanboys are proud to be the first and proud to have spent so much. It’s a luxury thing, I suppose. [...] This very durability presents a problem for Apple
I'm totally confused. Apple has a problem because it's products are too good? The products outlive your cheap shitty Windows laptops 3:1, yet only luxury and status explains why people buy Apple products?
> All Apple needs is a new product category, right? Another iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad will do nicely. Where is it? It isn’t anywhere and in that sense Apple has lost its mojo.
Same argument every year. This one has been used every year that a new product category was introduced, because it's deemed not new enough. How many product categories have been introduced since Apple started, or even since the iMac? And how many years have elapsed since then? It's a strange myth or fail or arithmetic to think Apple has done something mind glowingly innovative twice a year for the last 15 years.
>> these new Macs seem to have gained an average of $200 over the preceding models of the same size. What makes Apple think they can get away with that? Apple can get away with that because it always has gotten away with it.
> So, inflation has gone up 10.7 percent since 2010, which is just over $200 on a $2000 laptop.
> Seems like a bogus assumption to suggest that Apple is "getting away" with something. What comparable companies with comparable products have left their prices untouched since 2010? The Big Mac went up more than 20% since 2010.
You're looking at the wrong data. The price index for personal computers and peripherals has decreased from 7.0 to 4.2 over that same period. Using the price index as a guide, a $2000 laptop in 2010 would be priced at $1200 today.
For what it's worth I went to an apple store this weekend and actually played around with the new entry level, non-touch screen, 1499 13" mac book pro in space gray.
Not sure what all the fuss is about: that machine is awesome and reasonably priced by apple standards. It even has the esc key that everyone is whining about. It is indeed missing a few ports, but the machine itself is so solidly built and fast from my first interactions, that I am considering buying one. I'm going to wait for the touch screen ones first though.
Also for the record, I've ordered the XPS's and Lenovo's people are mentioning here are alternatives. They are decent machines, but it takes 2-3 tries to get a fully functioning one without QA issues.
So the whole point of this article is to get to his magical idea, that Apple should somehow hire all the screenwriters and be then be granted the streaming rights for all of their work? Just a tiny problem (well many problems, but this is the most glaring) in all that:
The companies who actually pay for and produce the movies, films, documentaries, etc would never agree to it.
There seems to be a lot of frustration about Apple not being able to finish negotiations with the US broadcast networks for some form of video streaming service.
This looks like Cringely's solution to the problem: just own the content at the source of creation and then the downwind problems will sort themselves out in Apple's favor.
My idea? Apple should purchase Dish Network/EchoStar and merge their satellite and Sling systems into the Apple ecosystem.
(You also get to own a fleet of deployed geosync satellites. That could be cool for other applications down the line).
That's hilarious. "Corner the market in screenwriters". As if Hollywood isn't better at fighting dirty in that kind of environment than most other businesses.
Trying to produce a vertically integrated lock-in based system where you can only watch the latest shows on a multi-thousand dollar computer is also going to go down very badly with the public.
I found the idea to be startling in this context. However, the idea itself isn't all that crazy. I believe CAA (Creative Artist Agency) had done something similar to sell their bundled talent packages for movies. If I remember correctly they bought up a huge amount of screenplay rights and then bundled them with their own actors, directors, etc.
The main point of the article is for a noted tech industry observer (and one-time Apple employee) to say what he sees when he looks at Apple right now.
The magical idea is just a lark thrown in for amusement. Cringely often tosses out semi-crazy ideas as entertainment.
He's right - Apple has a numbers problem ins that they need to have any potential investment be a big product category almost immediately. They've been notoriously careful to avoid random development in the public eye. When they have come to the market with half-baked products (Maps, AppleTV, iCloud/Mobile Me) they've tended to double down on them, rather than walk them backwards.
The highly integrated approach they've taken to hardware, software, and services across Watch, phone, tablet, computer, apps and a number of accessories have put them in an awkward place. They need to integrate more things into the stack, and whatever they choose needs to be almost immediately integrated into the full stack. HomeKit has been an effort to jump into the IoT with a better platform. Seemingly, Apple's main strategy now is to rely on the accessories or apps to highlight opportunities (siri, maps, etc) and then buy them and integrate them. I suggest that Apple should probably buy Sonos to continue pushing HomeKit and to follow on their acquisition of Beats, especially given the tighter integration that Sonos now has with the Apple ecosystem.
The lack of an obvious target for complete ecosystem integration is not only their lack of creativity, but the lack of obvious consumer demand for additional pieces of the puzzle. CarPlay is very nice, but it doesn't change car buying behavior, it is more like icing on the deal.
Finally, this leaves Software, which Apple has been investing less in since creating the app store. They've become comfortable as a platform company and have been unable to beat Adobe and others in the pro app market. To any professional, Software should be the obvious target, but it seems the vast majority of Apple's customers don't care enough to seek alternatives to Apple's apps. I think the lack of focus on pro software is what is really behind the lack of newer pro-level machines, since I suspect that APple's engineers on the software side were really the ones pushing for greater levels of machine performance (Logic, Aperture, Final Cut X).
Right now, Apple has Breadth in their stack, and they need depth. Software is the way to build depth, but it is not clear that Apple has anyone who understands software beyond OS-level details.
Hands up who would happily trade 5mm extra thickness for 32G, 8 cores and a bigger battery? For me its a no-brainer... And I'll wager for anyone else who wants a workhorse not a fashion accessory...
I think the bigger idea is to think outside the box. Apple has stacks of cash to experiment with. This is precisely the sort of thinking it should take into consideration, spending big on wild ideas to see what works.
Perhaps the _exact_ idea he mentions isn't solid, but the spirit of it is true.
I'm not asking this as a joke or facetious question but are you familiar with Cringely? I personally wouldn't categorize him as a couch analyst. Maybe checkout his Wikipedia entry or Youtube for "Triumph of the Nerds", he has been around the block.
"If Apple wants to dominate music industry, all it has to do is to create a baseline support for songwriters."
Why is this one self obviously stupid? Maybe song writers, and maybe TV and movie writers, are under valued and there really is a huge arbitrage opportunity there?
"If Apple wants to dominate software industry, all it has to do is to create a baseline support for programmers."
Like the App Store? Gave any programmer on Earth a low friction way to access consumers and take payments with very little up front effort. Not a bad baseline, given what existed before.
"So Goldman Sachs is upset that Apple didn’t at least bid for Time Warner. I’m pretty sure Apple didn’t even know Time Warner was for sale."
Is there really any person, anywhere, who isn't absolutely certain that in ten years time we will all look back on the time warner / ATT merger and how badly it turned out and the 20 billion dollar write off and blah blah blah ?
In fact, in this case, the actual company in question has already been the subject of the very same narrative - the disaster that was the AOL/TW merger.[1]
It's incredible to watch the people who spent all of their B-school years studying these train wrecks dive right into a new (but almost identical) train wreck of their own. Goldman complaining about Apple not being involved is either stupidity or a selfish for the m&a fees that would have resulted.
The fact that this post is on the front page is evidence that the most demanding users of laptops, including software developers, feel they are being IGNORED by Apple.
I believe this creates a window of opportunity for other vendors to offer top-of-the-line Linux/Unix-friendly laptops. Many people here, including me, would jump at the chance to buy a high-quality Linux laptop without the MacBook Pro's nonsensical limitations.
There's only so much innovating you can do on a laptop or handheld device. It's time for Apple and the rest of the big tech companies to start focusing on moonshot ideas: like teleportation, trains, transportation, perhaps even an iHouse. The iHouse could be a modular unit that can move around the city when you need to move, thus plugging into any other iInfrastructure areas, making moving much easier and reducing commutes, saving the environment and huge amounts of time and money.
Unfortunately, no company will be able to do the above, because government prevents all of that from happening. The next 100 years will be a period of great innovative stagnation, until people and voters understand that innovation must first be legalized before it can occur. And we haven't even begun to educate voters and politicians on these matters, so it's going to take a looong time.
The comment on Apple at industry conferences is a bit of a misnomer. I've seen at least 12-15 Apple engineers (from the backend Siri team) at MesosCon this year and last year when I went. In fact, they gave a talk[1] about how the re-did the entire Siri backend ontop of Mesos and it has became much more reliable as a result.
The problem is right here, "I’m writing this on a mid-2010 non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro I bought six years ago last June. Yes, over time I increased the memory to from four to 16 gigs, took the hard drive up from 240 gigs to a terabyte Fusion drive."
Here's the thing. Apple is making this increasingly difficult in newer Macbook Pros.
Shame Apple don't go ahead and create a Macbook Developer Edition. Even if it had smaller margins, it seems like it would do a world of good for the community.
1. Larger body for bigger battery
2. Previous keyboard mech that devs seem to love
3. Up to 32gb
4. Graphic card options
5. Ports galore
Perhaps I don't realise just how expensive it would be to manufacture a line that has lower but more targeted sales.
From a comment on the article, that could be applied to a future quad-core Mac Mini derivative:
"I would love to seem them cannibalize their lack luster, overpriced iCloud by introducing a “personal cloud” home server product (that would also be the hub for HomeKit, and all that other stuff). Apple getting back to their roots as a high-margin value added hardware company. NAS systems are terrible, especially when trying to integrate them into a macOS and iOS network."
I've always hated Cringely's opinions on Apple and this article is no exception. He has simply been wrong about them time and time again, yet people looking for FUD disguised as thoughtful criticism keep giving him hits. Apple, by every known metric known to the financial world, is doing spectacularly well. They are innovating at the same pace the always have, which has always been a brand new product category every 3-5 years with a series of incremental improvements on existing products from year to year. They absolutely dominate the wealthiest subset of the consumer market, and as such, they can seek rent for the next 10-20 years and continue to make money hand-over-fist for themselves and their investors without ever introducing a new product again. But they're going to continue to innovate just like they always have, and that innovation is going to be met with skepticism, ridicule, and dismissiveness just as it always has been. Bet against Apple at your own peril. Having closely followed them since 2003 when I made the switch to OS X myself, I've yet to see a single indication that they have made anything but the best business decisions of any company during that same period (possibly ever).
I'm not sure if he is serious with his idea or not. I can't see how it'd work.
Also, the MacBook Pro just launched. We can't know if it'll be a success or not, until 4-6 months later. I'm personally going to buy one (the higher end).
Why do people expect Apple to deliver a completely new product every year?
There's not much to be changed in the macbook pro. Yes, it would be nice to have more cpu or a better gpu, but no, not at the expense of battery life.
I think the bar is awesome, although I won't upgrade since my 2013 retina mbp is doing everything perfectly fine. If I would be able to add the bar for $300, I'd do it.
The last 10 years, apple has created: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, the Retina macbooks, the new macbook, the new mac pro, new imac, better icloud, the new appletv, better music/itunes, the app store and probably lots of other things.
All greatly different than before.
Whenever Apple does something, it always seems incremental... Until 5 years down the road when they realise they were in a revolution.
[+] [-] UVB-76|9 years ago|reply
I'm never going to buy an iPhone without a headphone jack, but reinstating the jack on a future model would be admitting they made a mistake with the iPhone 7.
Likewise, with the new MacBook Pros, they are not going to release an update in a year's time that doesn't sacrifice ports and performance and battery life for size and weight, because doing so would be admitting a mistake. Nor are they going to dramatically cut the prices, such that they are actually affordable for someone, because doing so would be admitting a mistake.
[+] [-] elicash|9 years ago|reply
And the reason they aren't cutting prices is likely because they're more profitable with prices as they are, not because they're afraid of admitting a mistake.
[+] [-] wklauss|9 years ago|reply
They have backtracked from decisions made, several times, and admitted to mistakes too. Apple Maps is a good example. MobileMe, the return of buttons to the iPod shuffle, price cut on iPhone... same.
The problem is that what you or I think is a mistake, it might not be one in the eyes of Apple.
A lot of the frustration I see these days can be summed up as "Apple no longer is making a product that I like, therefore it is making products that nobody likes".
Well, maybe. Time will tell. But I think they have a very clear vision about how they want their computers to look and feel (same for iPhones) and they are heading there full-speed. For some customers it will be a deal breaker, for others it might be what they need to jump ship and buy a Mac or upgrade from a Macbook Air to a more profitable Macbook Pro.
[+] [-] dgregd|9 years ago|reply
In corporate politics that would be a suicide. Only Jobs was powerful enough to make mistakes.
Anyway it is shocking what Apple does now. During Jobs Apple removed product features only used by laggards. Now Apple removes the features used even by pragmatists and early adopters[1]. Do you known how many people moved exclusively to wireless headphones and TH3?
Another surprising thing is ignoring the professionals. They are in minority and it is hard to see them on sales charts. But they are opinion leaders.
Many people overpay for Apple products because they want to look as real professionals. Majority don't care which laptop is the thinnest, they use products used by opinion leadres. With current trend, in 5 years Apple brand might be associated with rich bozos buying gold phones. Just look at the Mercedes S vs Tesla Models S sales in last 2 years.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm
[+] [-] smoser|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pavel_lishin|9 years ago|reply
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12836747
> [The Macbook Air] didn't become popular until they added a second USB port and SD card reader, added a higher resolution screen, fixed the battery life issues, fixed the horribly slow performance, and reduced the price big-time.
[+] [-] acomjean|9 years ago|reply
Steve Jobs on why the iPod color doesn't have video said something to the effect of "nobody want to watch video on a tiny screen". a generation or 2 later the iPod (classic style) can play video.
You can totally make do with html/javascript apps on the iPhone. Not long after there is an SDK/app store.
cut and paste on iOS: It took a couple years but here is our version that is world beating.
That round mouse they included with the original iMac didn't last long.
I think a lot of projects were killed (Newton, Pipin, iPod, the motorola phone that used iTunes.) that just didn't work out.
Not to mention 'ping' (social media for iTunes) and the cloud based infrastructure.
I think the problem is Steve really liked the mac, and you could see that during his demos he was a power user and understood the product better.
[+] [-] Dotnaught|9 years ago|reply
Compare the number of Google employees making public statements through blogs with the number of Apple employees who do so.
There's very little acknowledgement of public input, as if anything the public had to say about Apple products doesn't matter because Apple knows better.
[+] [-] jimbokun|9 years ago|reply
I know this has been litigated to death in the original thread, but I think the 4 USB-C ports implicitly admits the MacBook with only a single USB-C port was a mistake. I think obsessing about having specific legacy ports is short sighted, and pushing forward with new connection technologies fits well with Apple's history of innovation. Having ports capable of being every thing from power connector to video display to high speed disk connector to mouse or keyboard port offers great flexibility and will seem like an obvious choice very soon.
I think the claimed battery life still fairs well against similarly spec'd PCs?
Size and weight are super important characteristics for many users. Not sure sacrificing these attributes would appeal to most laptop consumers.
"Nor are they going to dramatically cut the prices, such that they are actually affordable for someone, because doing so would be admitting a mistake."
It's only a mistake if their overall profits would be higher by cutting prices.
Now, the sacrifice I don't understand at all is capping RAM at 16GB. Makes the MacBook Pro seem like a very low end machine compared to the competition, and will almost certainly shorten its useful lifespan, especially for professional user.
[+] [-] Alex3917|9 years ago|reply
For the average developer the MBP amortizes out to somewhere around one day of salary per year, out of the ~251 annual work days, even less if you keep it more than four years. Is there any other industry with lower overhead costs?
[+] [-] eatbitseveryday|9 years ago|reply
Not sure what you call "admission" but they did screw up their Maps application and apologized for it[1].
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/sep/28/apple-map...
[+] [-] snowwrestler|9 years ago|reply
Really? No one remembers the very public apology from Tim Cook about their Maps roll out?
http://www.apple.com/ca/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/
[+] [-] evo_9|9 years ago|reply
Also as mentioned in the article - Apple charges a premium to, some would say, wisely cash-in on early adopters; over the life of the product its price drops. If you want an affordable Apple product - just like any other company - don't buy the very latest, newest model of any of their stuff.
[+] [-] marricks|9 years ago|reply
Everyone is acting like Apple is extorting people or being unconscionable because they can't have 32 gigs of ram (no one else can at any small laptop size, Intel's chipset is the limitation), or the prices are extreme when they're really just right in line with inflation...
[+] [-] snowwrestler|9 years ago|reply
Apple has a ton of money and a willingness to percolate new ideas. We won't be able to really evaluate the new MBP--and the ideas it contains--for years.
[+] [-] bluedino|9 years ago|reply
The Air wasn't a replacement of the Pro. It was a new device, an ultra portable.
It didn't become popular until they added a second USB port and SD card reader, added a higher resolution screen, fixed the battery life issues, fixed the horribly slow performance, and reduced the price big-time.
[+] [-] anentropic|9 years ago|reply
it's ok, the rest is disappointing though
[+] [-] unknown|9 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] dahart|9 years ago|reply
> these new Macs seem to have gained an average of $200 over the preceding models of the same size. What makes Apple think they can get away with that? Apple can get away with that because it always has gotten away with it.
So, inflation has gone up 10.7 percent since 2010, which is just over $200 on a $2000 laptop.
http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
Seems like a bogus assumption to suggest that Apple is "getting away" with something. What comparable companies with comparable products have left their prices untouched since 2010? The Big Mac went up more than 20% since 2010.
> Apple fanboys are proud to be the first and proud to have spent so much. It’s a luxury thing, I suppose. [...] This very durability presents a problem for Apple
I'm totally confused. Apple has a problem because it's products are too good? The products outlive your cheap shitty Windows laptops 3:1, yet only luxury and status explains why people buy Apple products?
> All Apple needs is a new product category, right? Another iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad will do nicely. Where is it? It isn’t anywhere and in that sense Apple has lost its mojo.
Same argument every year. This one has been used every year that a new product category was introduced, because it's deemed not new enough. How many product categories have been introduced since Apple started, or even since the iMac? And how many years have elapsed since then? It's a strange myth or fail or arithmetic to think Apple has done something mind glowingly innovative twice a year for the last 15 years.
[+] [-] theli0nheart|9 years ago|reply
> So, inflation has gone up 10.7 percent since 2010, which is just over $200 on a $2000 laptop.
> http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
> Seems like a bogus assumption to suggest that Apple is "getting away" with something. What comparable companies with comparable products have left their prices untouched since 2010? The Big Mac went up more than 20% since 2010.
You're looking at the wrong data. The price index for personal computers and peripherals has decreased from 7.0 to 4.2 over that same period. Using the price index as a guide, a $2000 laptop in 2010 would be priced at $1200 today.
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/long-term-price-trends-for-...
[+] [-] gxs|9 years ago|reply
Not sure what all the fuss is about: that machine is awesome and reasonably priced by apple standards. It even has the esc key that everyone is whining about. It is indeed missing a few ports, but the machine itself is so solidly built and fast from my first interactions, that I am considering buying one. I'm going to wait for the touch screen ones first though.
Also for the record, I've ordered the XPS's and Lenovo's people are mentioning here are alternatives. They are decent machines, but it takes 2-3 tries to get a fully functioning one without QA issues.
[+] [-] dasil003|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] strictnein|9 years ago|reply
The companies who actually pay for and produce the movies, films, documentaries, etc would never agree to it.
[+] [-] joezydeco|9 years ago|reply
This looks like Cringely's solution to the problem: just own the content at the source of creation and then the downwind problems will sort themselves out in Apple's favor.
My idea? Apple should purchase Dish Network/EchoStar and merge their satellite and Sling systems into the Apple ecosystem.
(You also get to own a fleet of deployed geosync satellites. That could be cool for other applications down the line).
[+] [-] pjc50|9 years ago|reply
Trying to produce a vertically integrated lock-in based system where you can only watch the latest shows on a multi-thousand dollar computer is also going to go down very badly with the public.
[+] [-] exodust|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ajmurmann|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wpietri|9 years ago|reply
The magical idea is just a lark thrown in for amusement. Cringely often tosses out semi-crazy ideas as entertainment.
[+] [-] chejazi|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] abakker|9 years ago|reply
The highly integrated approach they've taken to hardware, software, and services across Watch, phone, tablet, computer, apps and a number of accessories have put them in an awkward place. They need to integrate more things into the stack, and whatever they choose needs to be almost immediately integrated into the full stack. HomeKit has been an effort to jump into the IoT with a better platform. Seemingly, Apple's main strategy now is to rely on the accessories or apps to highlight opportunities (siri, maps, etc) and then buy them and integrate them. I suggest that Apple should probably buy Sonos to continue pushing HomeKit and to follow on their acquisition of Beats, especially given the tighter integration that Sonos now has with the Apple ecosystem.
The lack of an obvious target for complete ecosystem integration is not only their lack of creativity, but the lack of obvious consumer demand for additional pieces of the puzzle. CarPlay is very nice, but it doesn't change car buying behavior, it is more like icing on the deal.
Finally, this leaves Software, which Apple has been investing less in since creating the app store. They've become comfortable as a platform company and have been unable to beat Adobe and others in the pro app market. To any professional, Software should be the obvious target, but it seems the vast majority of Apple's customers don't care enough to seek alternatives to Apple's apps. I think the lack of focus on pro software is what is really behind the lack of newer pro-level machines, since I suspect that APple's engineers on the software side were really the ones pushing for greater levels of machine performance (Logic, Aperture, Final Cut X).
Right now, Apple has Breadth in their stack, and they need depth. Software is the way to build depth, but it is not clear that Apple has anyone who understands software beyond OS-level details.
[+] [-] gaius|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Keyframe|9 years ago|reply
If Apple wants to dominate music industry, all it has to do is to create a baseline support for songwriters.
If Apple wants to dominate software industry, all it has to do is to create a baseline support for programmers.
If Apple wants to dominate computer industry, all it has to do is to create a baseline support for EE guys.
If Apple wants to dominate the flower industry, all it has to do is to create a baseline support for horticulturists and maybe buy some bees?
Naivety of couch analysts with no clue how certain industry works and why so is always amusing and irritating at the same time.
[+] [-] vasaulys|9 years ago|reply
Perhaps the _exact_ idea he mentions isn't solid, but the spirit of it is true.
[+] [-] sosuke|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jimbokun|9 years ago|reply
Why is this one self obviously stupid? Maybe song writers, and maybe TV and movie writers, are under valued and there really is a huge arbitrage opportunity there?
"If Apple wants to dominate software industry, all it has to do is to create a baseline support for programmers."
Like the App Store? Gave any programmer on Earth a low friction way to access consumers and take payments with very little up front effort. Not a bad baseline, given what existed before.
[+] [-] namaemuta|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rattray|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rsync|9 years ago|reply
Is there really any person, anywhere, who isn't absolutely certain that in ten years time we will all look back on the time warner / ATT merger and how badly it turned out and the 20 billion dollar write off and blah blah blah ?
In fact, in this case, the actual company in question has already been the subject of the very same narrative - the disaster that was the AOL/TW merger.[1]
It's incredible to watch the people who spent all of their B-school years studying these train wrecks dive right into a new (but almost identical) train wreck of their own. Goldman complaining about Apple not being involved is either stupidity or a selfish for the m&a fees that would have resulted.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Warner#Merger_with_AOL
[+] [-] cs702|9 years ago|reply
I believe this creates a window of opportunity for other vendors to offer top-of-the-line Linux/Unix-friendly laptops. Many people here, including me, would jump at the chance to buy a high-quality Linux laptop without the MacBook Pro's nonsensical limitations.
[+] [-] pascalxus|9 years ago|reply
Unfortunately, no company will be able to do the above, because government prevents all of that from happening. The next 100 years will be a period of great innovative stagnation, until people and voters understand that innovation must first be legalized before it can occur. And we haven't even begun to educate voters and politicians on these matters, so it's going to take a looong time.
[+] [-] SEJeff|9 years ago|reply
[1] https://mesosphere.com/blog/2015/04/23/apple-details-j-a-r-v...
[+] [-] vermontdevil|9 years ago|reply
Apple has become too reliant on iPhone and unsure how to look beyond it.
Either they would have to shake the leadership team up like Microsoft or split the company up.
[+] [-] nakodari|9 years ago|reply
Here's the thing. Apple is making this increasingly difficult in newer Macbook Pros.
[+] [-] alva|9 years ago|reply
1. Larger body for bigger battery
2. Previous keyboard mech that devs seem to love
3. Up to 32gb
4. Graphic card options
5. Ports galore
Perhaps I don't realise just how expensive it would be to manufacture a line that has lower but more targeted sales.
[+] [-] EugeneOZ|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] walterbell|9 years ago|reply
"I would love to seem them cannibalize their lack luster, overpriced iCloud by introducing a “personal cloud” home server product (that would also be the hub for HomeKit, and all that other stuff). Apple getting back to their roots as a high-margin value added hardware company. NAS systems are terrible, especially when trying to integrate them into a macOS and iOS network."
[+] [-] marknutter|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] csomar|9 years ago|reply
Also, the MacBook Pro just launched. We can't know if it'll be a success or not, until 4-6 months later. I'm personally going to buy one (the higher end).
[+] [-] binarymax|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jbverschoor|9 years ago|reply
There's not much to be changed in the macbook pro. Yes, it would be nice to have more cpu or a better gpu, but no, not at the expense of battery life.
I think the bar is awesome, although I won't upgrade since my 2013 retina mbp is doing everything perfectly fine. If I would be able to add the bar for $300, I'd do it.
The last 10 years, apple has created: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, the Retina macbooks, the new macbook, the new mac pro, new imac, better icloud, the new appletv, better music/itunes, the app store and probably lots of other things.
All greatly different than before.
Whenever Apple does something, it always seems incremental... Until 5 years down the road when they realise they were in a revolution.