Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

andymac2210

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 18, 2011
228
0
I for one, am.

Not that I hate Apple, quite the contrary, I own a bunch of their products and use/work with them every day.
The problem is they've been riding the iToy market for too long, few people would disagree the Mac line and OS X have suffered for it.

If Apple ever hopes to break into markets like enterprise and education in a meaningful way they need to do it with computers, not iToys.

I know people will rant about how iToys are computers etc, but lets face it, you probably aren't doing much real work on them - and if you are then you're a masochist.

iToys are what, 70% of Apple's revenue at this point?
And they've certainly lost their 'wow' factor for most people by now.
Got an iPad? Well you don't need the new one, even if it is 0.7mm thinner or whatever.
Got any iPhone after the 4?
Yeah, you're fine, unless you're obsessive compulsive and have a pathological need for the latest Apple doohickey.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying these are bad products, they're just minor incremental upgrades that most people won't bother with.

Apple's computers are the gold.
If they would increase their market share from 10% just now, to 20% then they'd make a killing both from sales and Apps.
iPhone apps are $1-5 on average, mac apps cost about 5-x that usually.

I hope the iToy market share continues to shrink, so we can see a real focus on computers again.
 

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
Any sane and logical adult would say no.
Any stockholder would say no.
I say no.
 

j.dstasio

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2009
333
10
South Jersey
My first apple product was an iPod & I used it for years. Then I bought an iPhone... and the next couple iPhones after that. Those "iToys" convinced my that the Apple product line as a whole was better than any of it's competitors- both hardware & software. Since the iPhone 4, I have bought a 1011 27" iMac, a 2010 15" MBP, a 2011 13" MBP, a 2011 13" MBA and most recently a 2012 13" MBA. As of 2010 our family is PC free & it's because I bought those first few "iToys". Smart move on Apple's part IMO.
 

smoledman

macrumors 68000
Oct 17, 2011
1,943
364
I just bought a 64GB iPod Touch because the competition(Samsung) can't even make capacity that high. I literally didn't want to make this purchase, but there was no choice.
 

PBLRDom

macrumors newbie
Dec 22, 2011
25
1
Cute

You know what he is referring to. Or do you just enjoy being difficult?

Plain and simply the gen pop on the forum isnt going to agree with you.
Like mentioned above, if youre a stock holder absolutely no, if youre an employee absolutely no, if youre an enthusiast absolutely no.

So when you thread starts getting flamed for the obvious rant about your apparent distaste for apple dont be surprised. Look where you are.
 

G51989

macrumors 68030
Feb 25, 2012
2,530
10
NYC NY/Pittsburgh PA
Well, i own some apple products and use them, they work well for what I use them for.

However, I am no longer invested in Apple stock, nor do I work for the company.

So they could go bankrupt for all I care, I'm a consumer of Apple, not a shareholder.
 

iHailCarlo

macrumors 6502
Aug 10, 2012
281
1
Why would I want a great American company to do poorly? Not that Apple is hurting, I want them to continue what they are doing. For a lot of people the iOS gadgets opened the door for Apples other products.
 

Uplift

macrumors 6502
Feb 1, 2011
465
187
UK
If Apple ever hopes to break into markets like enterprise and education in a meaningful way

I stopped reading here, as someone who works in education i can vouch for what Apple is doing as incredibly innovative, informative, interactive, exciting, and last but not least.. meaningful.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
If Apple ever hopes to break into markets like enterprise and education in a meaningful way they need to do it with computers, not iToys.
Who says apple hopes to break into the enterprise or education market (in a meaningful way)? Clearly they're focused on the consumer and thus are very successful.

Apple's computers are the gold.
If they would increase their market share from 10% just now, to 20% then
LOL, you make it sound like apple decided that 10% market share was a goal and once they achieved that goal they quit. They struggled for years to increase market share and failed. In fact it wasn't until what you call iToys did their computers start increasing in market share.

Then there's the fact that tablets are replacing computers for many consumers so while apple may not have as large slice of the pie as before that doesn't mean that will cause their computers to suddenly increase - quite the opposite. People who use those iToys like how well integrated it is with apple computers. Take those out of the equation and that may hurt computer sales.
 

SnowLeopard OSX

macrumors 6502a
Dec 5, 2012
676
60
California
I for one, am.

Not that I hate Apple, quite the contrary, I own a bunch of their products and use/work with them every day.
The problem is they've been riding the iToy market for too long, few people would disagree the Mac line and OS X have suffered for it.

If Apple ever hopes to break into markets like enterprise and education in a meaningful way they need to do it with computers, not iToys.

I know people will rant about how iToys are computers etc, but lets face it, you probably aren't doing much real work on them - and if you are then you're a masochist.

iToys are what, 70% of Apple's revenue at this point?
And they've certainly lost their 'wow' factor for most people by now.
Got an iPad? Well you don't need the new one, even if it is 0.7mm thinner or whatever.
Got any iPhone after the 4?
Yeah, you're fine, unless you're obsessive compulsive and have a pathological need for the latest Apple doohickey.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying these are bad products, they're just minor incremental upgrades that most people won't bother with.

Apple's computers are the gold.
If they would increase their market share from 10% just now, to 20% then they'd make a killing both from sales and Apps.
iPhone apps are $1-5 on average, mac apps cost about 5-x that usually.

I hope the iToy market share continues to shrink, so we can see a real focus on computers again.

Apple has an entire division dedicated to their Mac line whose sole focus is on the entire Mac line development - why don't you complain about them not being innovative enough? You can't blame the entire organization as the result of one single division slowing down in progress - if you do, then you clearly lack an understanding of corporations or how they're structured.

I would hardly classify iPads, iPhones or iPods as "iToys" -- they're multipurpose computers, with operating systems. If you had even the slightest knowledge about lucrative markets in today's technology realm, you'd understand that mobile and tablet are largely untapped markets right now - it shouldn't surprise you that every large tech firm from Samsung to Google to Microsoft are aggressively focusing on these markets and creating products for consumers in these respective markets to increase revenue.

There's only so much that can be done with the Mac line at this point, what kinds of things did you have in mind, exactly? Tacking on additional Mac OSX applications? Improving the OS? These are things that are currently going on at Apple along with other big tech firms.
 

vrDrew

macrumors 65816
Jan 31, 2010
1,376
13,412
Midlife, Midwest
The recent decline in Apple's share price is all but irrelevant to everyone except day-traders and foolish speculators.

I would suggest you take the time to look at this thoughtful Asymco blog post that discusses previous declines in Apple share price:

Apple’s renaissance began with the iPod. This was not evident right away however. The product was unveiled on October 23, 2001 at a time when Apple’s share price had just fallen 70% from year-earlier levels. It was perhaps a good point from which one could expect a recovery to begin.

It was not to be. One year after the iPod’s launch the stock price had fallen another 20%. Indeed during 2001 the company was in the throes of a “bear market” in its shares.

and then

2007 was the year the iPhone launched. Right after the launch for two weeks between August 3rd and August 17th, the stock fell 15%. That’s the equivalent of 1% per day for two weeks.

As the iPhone was shown to be a hit (and before the credit crunch), for four weeks during January 2008 the stock fell 37%. Again, equivalent to 1% a day for 35 days.

etc. etc.

In other words, over the past decade or so a sharp decline in Apple's share price has usually predicted a stunning upswing in the company's business prospects.
 

smoledman

macrumors 68000
Oct 17, 2011
1,943
364
In other words, over the past decade or so a sharp decline in Apple's share price has usually predicted a stunning upswing in the company's business prospects.

Nobody was competing on mobile back then. Now Apple has to compete with everyone.
 

hexonxonx

macrumors 601
Jul 4, 2007
4,610
1
Denver Colorado
Why would I want a great American company to do poorly? Not that Apple is hurting, I want them to continue what they are doing. For a lot of people the iOS gadgets opened the door for Apples other products.

I would never have bought a Mac if it weren't for buying an iPhone in July 0f 2007.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.