Unfortunately I agree with you. I had posed a question to an accessory thread regarding Apple's decision not to make a dock for the 5. I suggested that tiny little decisions like that can be a bellwether to a culture change.
I was appalled at the response of one person who basically went ballistic on me telling me I was "polluting" the dock discussion. (A moderator eventually cleaned up the mess but not before making me think twice about the nature of fanboys.)
There are so many intangibles that make up a relationship between a brand and end-users. SJ seemed to have an innate understanding of that fact and making, for the most part, brilliant decisions to strengthen that relationship. And now...barely a year after his passing and the ship that is Apple seems to be struggling in ways it has never struggled before...at least publicly.
The Forstall departure, despite all the hoorays over the death of skeuomorphism is a helluva lot more troubling than not if you actually look at his contributions. Yeah Siri and Maps were crash and burns and yeah, maybe it was time for a change. That doesn't change the fact that Mr. Cook seems to be having a very tough time doing what SJ made look easy.
Anyway, enough from me. I don't think the end is near but to paraphrase Yogi Berra, the future sure ain't what it used to be.
Kudos' for a very good post.
Yes sadly that's the way it is.
As a very long time Apple enthusiast, one who used to _really like_ both the product and the company, yet not one to shy away from speaking out when I see questionable practices, or issues of the present time, things have gone downhill.
Oh sure they are going to continue to set record sales numbers, and even higher profits for awhile, but I bet it's not going to last as long as it has appeared it would just six months ago.
I am in no way bashing Apple but rather simply stating my observations. I would like nothing better than to see them decide they were going to build a contemporary iPhone not too much unlike the new Galaxy 4 I am taking delivery of soon. A phone with a modern display that offers room to work when composing emails, taking notes and the like.
This BS about how "giant" they are from the devotees is pure nonsense. As is the refrain "if you can't afford an iPhone, you buy a cheap Android. Oh please people get a life!
Heck just today I encountered a gal who is a student at our university and she had a new Galaxy S3, I happened to ask her how she chose her new phone, as she obviously was a regular user and not a tech person. Interestingly, she said she returned her iPhone 5 due to lack of Google Maps, which she did not discover until she brought it home. I asked her if there was anything else she didn't care for and she said yes, the display was too small. So there you have it, a _true_ story that is but one of many. I see new SGS III's and HTC One X models all over the place.
Anyway, who knows, it's never too late, I would much rather see Apple pull out of it's funk than to rest and brag about the massive revenue stream until it wanes... no company stays on top forever.
