What advice would you give to Apple

[Tulani]

Given all the turmoil besieging apple, whether true or imagined, what advice would you give to Apple to try and further their cause in the fight against rivalry and demand for innovation?

[eric/]

Update the Mac Pro
Remind people you also build computers, and keep it that way
Stop with the cliche, predictable, day in and day out "this product is so amazing, it's just so amazing" mantra. It's old.
Don't release updated specs and call it revolutionary, get back to innovating
Work on bringing manufacturing back to the US unless it's cost prohibitive, and set the standard by paying your damn taxes
Emphasize quality and "American made"

buy Adobe or something with those cash reserves

[ChazUK]

Don't try to make things excessively thin* (new iMac) to then have production issues on said thin* computer.

I do wonder if iMac desktop production would have been better with the improved internals and a more traditional design.


*well, at least at the edges.

[snberk103]

Understand that people who live on small islands are special, and deserve a special discount on Apple products.

[MonkeySee....]

Even though all this turmoil stuff is BS all Apple need to do is stay focused with what Apple are doing.

Don't worry about market share crap. Impossible to be ahead of Android as its impossible to be ahead of Microsoft. Both OS's are whored out to anyone who will take them without any thought of delivering a great service.

Keep integration going and the rest will take care of it self.

[APlotdevice]

Originally Posted by eric/

buy Adobe or something with those cash reserves

Oh god no... Apple is far too keen on removing advanced settings in the name of accessibility. I don't want them anywhere near Photoshop or Illustrator.

[roadbloc]

Make Macs how they were. Great specs, great design, great OS. I see none of them in the new Mac models.

[Bernard SG]

Originally Posted by roadbloc

Make Macs how they were. Great specs, great design, great OS. I see none of them in the new Mac models.

What's wrong with the current Mac line's specs, design and OS?
The only strategic weakness I see with Macs nowadays is the pricing. With the massive trainwreck that is Windows 8, Apple really has an opportunity to double or even triple the Mac footprint but not at the current price points. For most mainstream users a Mac is perceived as an inaccessible luxury.

[quasinormal]

Ignore the Samsung and Google astroturfing and shill campaign crap and just keep doing what you've been doing.

[APlotdevice]

Anyway.. Stop leaving out software features on one product just to try and boost the sales of another. For instance we know that the iPhone and iPod touch have the necessary hardware to pick up FM radio, yet this remains unimplimented so as to keep the radio feature on the iPod Nano unique in your product line. It's a cheap and dirty tactic that turns off many of the more knowledgeable consumers. Instead find more ways for all these devices to complementarily interact with one another. Like the Nano has bluetooth now, so perhaps it could sync certain data and/or function as some sort of remote for iOS devices?

[Rogifan]

Don't follow the herd and fads ala Samsung. Samsung might be the cool kid now but that won't last forever.

[roadbloc]

Originally Posted by Rogifan

Don't follow the herd and fads ala Samsung. Samsung might be the cool kid now but that won't last forever.

I was under the impression that Apple's devices were the latest fad, not Samsung's.

[thejadedmonkey]

Originally Posted by Bernard SG

What's wrong with the current Mac line's specs, design and OS?
The only strategic weakness I see with Macs nowadays is the pricing. With the massive trainwreck that is Windows 8, Apple really has an opportunity to double or even triple the Mac footprint but not at the current price points. For most mainstream users a Mac is perceived as an inaccessible luxury.

Well, the Mac Pro is a terribly outdated machine that ships with an 5770HD video card. That card came out in 2009. It also doesn't support USB 3.0

The iMac, while impressively thin, lacks things like a CD drive. Do 99% of users care? No, but the problem is that 1% that do care are forced into buying a mac pro if they want a built in drive. Did I mention the Mac Pro is something like 3 years outdated right now? And if you do settle for an iMac + external DVD drive, all of a sudden you're out a USB port - which means you have what, 2 left on the iMac?

Lets focus on the OS itself now. For power users, Spaces was fantastic. As was Exposé. Then 10.7 came around and it was all gone. There was no show-all-windows exposé and spaces was removed. Now, you're expected to only have a single screen, because, well, Apple said so.

These are things that most consumers won't know (or even care about), but here's the issue: The people who do care, hate Apple for it. Not only did they manage to turn a computer into an appliance, but they managed to remove anything useful about it at the same time.

Of course, when the consumer goes to buy a mac they'll love it, and probably won't even realize what they're missing.

[snberk103]

Originally Posted by APlotdevice

Oh god no... Apple is far too keen on removing advanced settings in the name of accessibility. I don't want them anywhere near Photoshop or Illustrator.

Not necessarily true. Filemaker (a professional database application) is owned by Apple. It has the same range of power and functionality as Photoshop. Of course, it is run as a subsidiary and not by Cupertino directly. If Apple bought Adobe, I would be content if they simply made it a requirement that new releases were rolled out for OS X at the same time (or prior) to other platforms.

Originally Posted by thejadedmonkey

....
Lets focus on the OS itself now. For power users, Spaces was fantastic. As was Exposé. Then 10.7 came around and it was all gone. There was no show-all-windows exposé and spaces was removed. Now, you're expected to only have a single screen, because, well, Apple said so.

That's weird... I've got Spaces and Expose on both my 10.7 and 10.8 systems. Are you sure you've turned them on?

Originally Posted by thejadedmonkey

....

These are things that most consumers won't know (or even care about), but here's the issue: The people who do care, hate Apple for it. Not only did they manage to turn a computer into an appliance, but they managed to remove anything useful about it at the same time.

Steve Jobs (and Apple) have been saying for years that computers should be appliances. This is not news. Most people want their computers to be appliances. It is geeks, nerds, and tech-heads that want to fiddle and play and muck about under the hood of their computers. But these people are not 'most' people. The majority of users want their computer to just do stuff. They don't care how it works... they just want it to fetch their emails, send cat photos, etc etc

And for the most part, I think Apple has been hugely successful. People can create amazing things on their Macs without ever understanding a single thing about how it is done. Whether this is a good thing - the not knowing bit - or a bad thing is open to debate, I'll admit. Personally I prefer knowing. But I do appreciate that I can create wonderful stuff first, and do the figuring out later.

But - this is not news... Apple has been trying to make consumer Macs into appliances for as long as they've existed. Sometimes they go too far, of course.

Originally Posted by thejadedmonkey

Of course, when the consumer goes to buy a mac they'll love it, and probably won't even realize what they're missing.

What they are missing are the headaches of having to learn a whole new field instead of just working in their chosen field.

Besides... that's what makes us tech-heads useful and full of cookies. People calling us up to figure out something.

[KnightWRX]

Don't listen to advice given by random people on the Internet.

[Rogifan]

Originally Posted by roadbloc

I was under the impression that Apple's devices were the latest fad, not Samsung's.

Really? I didn't know Apple sold 5" phones and phablets.

[Koodauw]

Originally Posted by roadbloc

Make Macs how they were. Great specs, great design, great OS. I see none of them in the new Mac models.

I think the design is top notch, and the parts are more reliable than ever.

The current macbook air is the best laptop I've ever owned, and I've owned many. I also think the new iMac is stunning, right up there with the G4. I also think the iPad design is not just about perfect as well. The border on the side is just big enough for your thumb. Attention to detail is still there.

[elppa]

Invest more resources in software.

[Shrink]

Originally Posted by KnightWRX

Don't listen to advice given by random people on the Internet.

Except mine!

I have advice that will make Apple so much better. My advice is better than anybody else's advice.

And for a mere 1% of total cash reserves, I'll reveal my secret advice.

Cheap at twice the price...trust me.

[roadbloc]

Originally Posted by Rogifan

Really? I didn't know Apple sold 5" phones and phablets.

Apologies. I din't realise you had to sell 5 inch phones before you became a fad.

[Technarchy]

Never forget that Apple is a software company first that ships in a pretty casing.

[Rogifan]

Originally Posted by roadbloc

Apologies. I din't realise you had to sell 5 inch phones before you became a fad.

Well that's what I keep being told is cool these days.

[Beeplance]

Originally Posted by eric/

Update the Mac Pro
Remind people you also build computers, and keep it that way
Stop with the cliche, predictable, day in and day out "this product is so amazing, it's just so amazing" mantra. It's old.
Don't release updated specs and call it revolutionary, get back to innovating
Work on bringing manufacturing back to the US unless it's cost prohibitive, and set the standard by paying your damn taxes
Emphasize quality and "American made"

buy Adobe or something with those cash reserves

I like the bolded parts. Well said!

[GermanyChris]

So the general consensus is become "Apple Computer Company" again, and out with "Apple Inc."

I Agree!

[KnightWRX]

Originally Posted by GermanyChris

So the general consensus is become "Apple Computer Company" again, and out with "Apple Inc."

I Agree!

Yep, the general consensus is "do away with 90% of your revenues". Seems like legit advice right there.

(are all you guys eager to see Apple being shutdown or something ?)