I don't think the comparison could even be considered as close between these two. Apple is still the company that offers better tablets and App Store and would welcome any evidence to say otherwise, quite frankly.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Has Apple lost it's magic? Is Amazon the new Apple?
- Thread starter GKDAIR
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Hardware and software Apple still has the edge.
Making the hardware spectacular, yes.
At least Apple is getting flexible with pricing.
Making the hardware spectacular, yes.
At least Apple is getting flexible with pricing.
I think that Apple will still make great products and folks will still buy them. That being said, I did switch to an S5 and I love the experience as well as the google services. I don't think iOS is going away anytime soon. Where I think apple suffers is that Steve Jobs pushed his folks hard to come up with spectacular stuff, much more wow factor. Apple needs some of that back, the integration between iOS and Mac I saw at WWDC is a great start to that.
The other danger for Apple is price. If rumors are true and they are going to charge more for the iPhone 6, more folks will migrate to Android.
The other danger for Apple is price. If rumors are true and they are going to charge more for the iPhone 6, more folks will migrate to Android.
Apple used to be very strict with what retailers could sell something.
Now I see retailers offering up to $130 off Apple products, so Apple is giving slack.
I am waiting for the next wave of Apple products before making comments on their future. Then we will know if the company is still able to release innovate game changing products without Jobs. Even though he is gone, they still have a lot of talent on their team like Jony Ive.
Nearly a year on from when I last posted in this thread, I have to ask what manufacturer does have the 'magic'? Do we go 'wow' with anything Samsung, Apple, LG, Sony etc release or are we comfortable with what we expect from a phone and any new features are bonuses greeted with a fairly muted response?
From my point of view I am happy with my smartphone experience as it does everything I need it to do and very well. Of course everything can be improved and is with each update, but I think the 2 year period where these giants were battling it out to out do each other in the features race has saturated somewhat. I am looking forward to the iPhone 6 and am under no illusions it will not blow me away, but I don't want any drastic changes. The bigger screen and updates I have seen from iOS 8 will satisfy me for my next upgrade nicely. Its just a nice useful phone for me, nothing more.
From my point of view I am happy with my smartphone experience as it does everything I need it to do and very well. Of course everything can be improved and is with each update, but I think the 2 year period where these giants were battling it out to out do each other in the features race has saturated somewhat. I am looking forward to the iPhone 6 and am under no illusions it will not blow me away, but I don't want any drastic changes. The bigger screen and updates I have seen from iOS 8 will satisfy me for my next upgrade nicely. Its just a nice useful phone for me, nothing more.
It depends... I have both an iPad and a Galaxy Note 10.1. Both are great tablets. But each excel in different areas.
For instance, I love the digitizer on the Note. I don't care what Steve said about styli or whatever... it's great. No stylus on the iPad can come close (believe me, I tried). There's so much potential there too (imagine being able to use your tablet as a wireless graphics tablet for art/design work).
At the same time, when it comes to music creation applications, iPad is the overwhelming winner. I wanted to use the Note to control my MIDI keyboard for live use... didn't work so well. iPad did... plus it had tons more cool products from Akai, Novation, Korg, etc both in terms of software and hardware.
Even in terms of phones, I use a S4... but I wouldn't mind an iPhone 5. I think more developers write apps for Apple, partially because of Android's fragmentation issues (I was reading up on FitBit's app and bracelet and they were saying they're working on getting it to work with more Android phones but currently they have to tweak the design for EACH phone model they decide to support). They also said that Google seems to be addressing that problem and standardizing things for its next OS so it may be less of an issue in the future.
At the same time, Android phones have cool apps in their own right (like Swype and Titanium Backup and AirDroid). And I love the fact that you have 15 minutes to get a refund on an app if you decide it doesn't do what you want. I can't tell you how much money I wasted on the App Store trying to find a PowerPoint app that was to my liking (even after reading reviews and researching). So it's a give and take.
I think we're at a point where both systems (Apple and Google) has matured enough where you can have great experiences with either platforms. I know there are die hard fans of both sides that love to put down the other side... but it's a little silly IMO. They're both good... just find the one that works the best for you
Very nicely said indeed!
I personally feel apple hasn't lost it's touch...I am an apple fan.. But the google nexus is the only phone in my opinion in comparison... Samsung is just a money maker and market share grabber, it's phones are currently pathetic.. Half my friends use Samsung.. But very very few know what all things they can do on their phones.. They lack the "common knowledge" .. Spending so much on a phone and not knowing what u can do with it is not right.. While I have found ppl with nexus phones aware of most of the features..
But for me apple all the way..
Danger of apple is pricing?
Are you kidding.
Samsung has raised their prices to match apple. Galaxy s3 was $550 on att. Galaxy s4 was $630. Now galaxy s5 is $650. Same price as apple.
And galaxy note 3 msrp is $720-730?
It's Samsung who has the pricing problem as well.
I have a Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 that I pretty much never use anymore. I have had an iPad, an iPad 3, and an iPad Air. I was without one for a while and that's when I got the Kindle Fire HDX, because the specs were impressive and as a Prime member, I thought I'd use it a lot. And I did, for a while.
Then the constant need to side load alternate web browsers and their updates to get a halfway decent web browsing experience got to me. I like the ease of side loading one's own content as you don't need something like iTunes, which is nice because it makes side loading a lot faster. Problem is, I found myself needing to do it way too often to the point where the experience of using the tablet was no longer fun. Once I got the iPad Air, I've barely touched my Kindle Fire HDX and would sell it if I could find a buyer willing to pay a decent price. Can't do that either because unlike Apple products, Kindle Fire and other Android devices don't hold their value at all. I definitely can't see myself buying another non-Apple tablet until there is a major shift in the ease of use on the part of Android or Amazon's version of it.
Then the constant need to side load alternate web browsers and their updates to get a halfway decent web browsing experience got to me. I like the ease of side loading one's own content as you don't need something like iTunes, which is nice because it makes side loading a lot faster. Problem is, I found myself needing to do it way too often to the point where the experience of using the tablet was no longer fun. Once I got the iPad Air, I've barely touched my Kindle Fire HDX and would sell it if I could find a buyer willing to pay a decent price. Can't do that either because unlike Apple products, Kindle Fire and other Android devices don't hold their value at all. I definitely can't see myself buying another non-Apple tablet until there is a major shift in the ease of use on the part of Android or Amazon's version of it.
I didn't necessarily mean the Galaxy S phones but the one plus and others are tempting at 300 off contract. It is just a reality that many folks would love as far as portability. That being said, I think that people will be wary of an iPhone costing $100 more at now a starting price of $799 for 16GB.
Last edited:
Apple pushed the smartphone market in the direction we have today and the two major platforms, Android and iOS competed for the consumers attention. They have both done very well out of it, but we as consumers have expectations from what we have been using these past 4 years etc. Does anybody really expect any of these manufacturers to retain their 'magic' after all this? Unless they plan to remake the mould we are not going to be 'wow'd' again any time soon. We've hit a comfort zone and the market is saturated somewhat.
Both platforms have found a formula that works and now we are in the stage where it will improve rather than revolutionise. The market has lost its magic, not Apple.
Both platforms have found a formula that works and now we are in the stage where it will improve rather than revolutionise. The market has lost its magic, not Apple.
If android/google was Nexus and chromebook/box only that would be the new Apple. I am excited to see where the chromebook goes. Android took a while to get where it is and i still say stock android is number one if you want the 'everything works' experience.
I agree. However, Nintendo really needs to get with the times. I mean, the Wii U has no Ethernet port and for online gaming, a wired connection is best. Sure you could use the adapter, but your limited to USB speeds.
Nintendo needs to "pull an iOS 8".
Thanks for missing the point.
Not talking about products, we're talking about practices.