Ever since Steve Jobs passed Apple has gone downhill :(

[Tozovac]

As much as you put a valid argument forward about the "competition catching up", there's actually no other ecosystem available to compete with Apple at present.

And thus supporting their financial performance. For now. I keep buying Apple products when needed, even though I absolutely detest anything software-related that Jony Ive's gotten his hands on since 2013, because they're still the best option of what's available. I bought my nephew a MacBook Air for college this summer, but for me personally my last purchase was an Air in the summer of 2014, I rushed to get it a little earlier than I needed because it still had Mavericks on it. Still does. I am probably in the minority, where I truly detest apple's current UI in iOS and OS X to the point of clinging to mavericks, for example, but as soon as a competitor with an equally well put together ecosystem and UI that's engaging like apple started to shine for many in the mid 2000's, just watch what starts to happen. Don't forget, consumers love to rag on something once it starts to really mature while showing a worsening of product (example: Microsoft Windows was a real darling in the early 90s but then after the mid 90s they started messing around with the operating system often with poor results and with increasing frustration and decreasing consumer happiness). Apple's current iOS and OS X hardly feel Apple-like and magical. But we know they once were, and like you say, many of us are very invested in the ecosystem. So just watch… It takes a while to turn a large ship around, but just wait and see.

 

[akash.nu]

And thus supporting their financial performance. For now. I keep buying Apple products when needed, even though I absolutely detest anything software-related that Jony Ive's gotten his hands on since 2013, because they're still the best option of what's available. I bought my nephew a MacBook Air for college this summer, but for me personally my last purchase was an Air in the summer of 2014, I rushed to get it a little earlier than I needed because it still had Mavericks on it. Still does. I am probably in the minority, where I truly detest apple's current UI in iOS and OS X to the point of clinging to mavericks, for example, but as soon as a competitor with an equally well put together ecosystem and UI that's engaging like apple started to shine for many in the mid 2000's, just watch what starts to happen. Don't forget, consumers love to rag on something once it starts to really mature while showing a worsening of product (example: Microsoft Windows was a real darling in the early 90s but then after the mid 90s they started messing around with the operating system often with poor results and with increasing frustration and decreasing consumer happiness). Apple's current iOS and OS X hardly feel Apple-like and magical. But we know they once were, and like you say, many of us are very invested in the ecosystem. So just watch… It takes a while to turn a large ship around, but just wait and see.

Nicely put. I think if any company can come even close, it will be Google.

 

[576316]

I wouldn't say Apple are failing because I know such a statement has no evidence. But I would say that I feel Tim Cook is not suitable for Apple CEO. He helped Apple survive the initial shock of losing Jobs, but now he could do with being replaced by someone a little more innovative, creative and daring. Bring the spark back to Apple. Cook can go off and run for President or something...

 

[akash.nu]

I wouldn't say Apple are failing because I know such a statement has no evidence. But I would say that I feel Tim Cook is not suitable for Apple CEO. He helped Apple survive the initial shock of losing Jobs, but now he could do with being replaced by someone a little more innovative, creative and daring. Bring the spark back to Apple. Cook can go off and run for President or something...

Who would you suggest?

 

[BenTrovato]

The excitement is gone, the products are over priced. Similar to Blackberry in 2007 when you paid $600 for the flimsiest piece of plastic and horrible software. Apple has always offered premium feeling materials but the software is marginally improving (can we say improving or simply changing?) and the price continues to sky rocket. Now you can't blame them for upping the price because people keep paying, similar to what Blackberry did. It was the best game in town and people always wanted the new one.

The danger remains the same though, when the prices are too high you open the door for competition to steal the thunder. iOS is nice, it's not starting at $1000 nice.

 

[Lioness~]

People never like changes. Everything changes. Accept it.

I loved Steve, and the inventive beginning of . I was glad to be unboard early 90's.
But things went as they did. Apple changes with it.

I think Tim has done a great work regarding he's not Steve
Steve knew what HE did when HE appointed his successor.
I respect that.

Will we have another Steve? No.
Not until he will be reborn anyway?!
Maybe he already is a child growing up with crazy ideas somewhere!?

But there are other brilliant people in the world that are alive to be inspired by.
And why not find that spark inside oneself?

 

[I7guy]

The excitement is gone, the products are over priced. Similar to Blackberry in 2007 when you paid $600 for the flimsiest piece of plastic and horrible software. Apple has always offered premium feeling materials but the software is marginally improving (can we say improving or simply changing?) and the price continues to sky rocket. Now you can't blame them for upping the price because people keep paying, similar to what Blackberry did. It was the best game in town and people always wanted the new one.

The danger remains the same though, when the prices are too high you open the door for competition to steal the thunder. iOS is nice, it's not starting at $1000 nice.

The note 8 is almost just as expensive as the next rumored iphone. It's just that the price takes a fast dive weeks after launch, while iphones keep their selling price.

Like going to the auto show I do get a feeling of excitement to see what apple keynotes and events hold for the consumer.
[doublepost=1504358842][/doublepost]

I wouldn't say Apple are failing because I know such a statement has no evidence. But I would say that I feel Tim Cook is not suitable for Apple CEO. He helped Apple survive the initial shock of losing Jobs, but now he could do with being replaced by someone a little more innovative, creative and daring. Bring the spark back to Apple. Cook can go off and run for President or something...

Apple has done quite well since 2011, a feat many on here probably can't believe actually happened. As long as apple is doing well, there will be no call to involuntarily change the CEO.

 

[576316]

Who would you suggest?

I'm not sure it needs to be anybody already in the public eye. That said, I feel Elon Musk could do some pretty great things with Apple's cash pile and existing technologies - although is it bad that I believe Elon Musk is above Apple anyway, so I'd rather he just continued doing his own thing?
[doublepost=1504367185][/doublepost]

Apple has done quite well since 2011, a feat many on here probably can't believe actually happened. As long as apple is doing well, there will be no call to involuntarily change the CEO.

No, I don't for a second believe Tim Cook will be pushed. I do feel that his political persona runs deeper than we think though, and that could develop into something which means he steps away from Apple, albeit for 4 - 8 years.

 

[Beachguy]

I recall reading that when he died, Jobs left behind as much as 5 years' worth of product ideas and designs. I sometimes wonder if that is why they have become so lackluster in the last year or so. But what really concerns me is that while products languish and start lagging their competitors, Tim Cook is more concerned about politics and social issues than he is in making his company competitive. Just look at the dated technologies in so many Mac models, and how long it took to update (real updates) those which have been updated.

Between the ridiculous pricing and the old tech or strange ideas (emojis on the touchbar???) I am underwhelmed with Apple under Cook. Slow to market, slow with new ideas, very conservative (not in the political sense, please) designs... just not feeling it.
[doublepost=1504447264][/doublepost]

I think Tim has done a great work regarding he's not Steve
Steve knew what HE did when HE appointed his successor.
I respect that.

The problem is that while Steve Jobs may have known what he was doing when he appointed Cook in 2011, the 2017 model of Cook is not much like that 2011 version.

 

[Lioness~]

That said, I feel Elon Musk could do some pretty great things with Apple's cash pile and existing technologies - although is it bad that I believe Elon Musk is above Apple anyway, so I'd rather he just continued doing his own thing?
[doublepost=1504367185][/doublepost]

As much as I love  and its products, I believe Elon Musk is way above  and doing just fine. Looking forward to see what his future will contain.

I am underwhelmed with Apple under Cook. Slow to market, slow with new ideas, very conservative (not in the political sense, please) designs... just not feeling it.
[doublepost=1504447264][/doublepost]

The problem is that while Steve Jobs may have known what he was doing when he appointed Cook in 2011, the 2017 model of Cook is not much like that 2011 version.

I agree, but I think a LOT of time and attention have gone to the building of Apple Park. Quite naturally.
Once the move is complete I'm pretty sure we'll see more energy will go into the products.

 

[Beachguy]

I agree, but I think a LOT of time and attention have gone to the building of Apple Park. Quite naturally.
Once the move is complete I'm pretty sure we'll see more energy will go into the products.

I would agree to a degree (ugh... it rhymes) but I don't know anyone who buys because of a new HQ building. Ignore your product line at your own risk.

 

[Lioness~]

I would agree to a degree (ugh... it rhymes) but I don't know anyone who buys because of a new HQ building. Ignore your product line at your own risk.

I would've been worried if WWDC didn't had anything good to show us. But I got a good feeling that there were a lot going on beneath after that event.
They are not ignoring things because the upgrade isn't out yet.
But buying that HomePod that is leaking so much could be dangerous

I hope for a lot of upgrades at 12th event.
But damn  if they don't bring a Watch that I find worth buying

 

[danny842003]

I hope for a lot of upgrades at 12th event.
But damn  if they don't bring a Watch that I find worth buying

What would you want the Apple Watch to do to make you consider a purchase?
I don't imagine the new one is going to have much that the current one does not.

 

[Lioness~]

What would you want the Apple Watch to do to make you consider a purchase?
I don't imagine the new one is going to have much that the current one does not.

I need it to have more battery time.
My main purpose is to have the watch for fitness, and I want to track both activity AND sleep. With the battery I've heard and read the series 2 have, it's not really up to that.
I am sure it will be somewhat better in series 3, but how much better???? I have waited a few weeks because I really hope for the series 3 to fulfill my needs, but...???

It will sure be great for other things too. I love  and have lots of  Apple stuff to sync it with, so it would be great. But if it isn't up to track both activity & sleep I'll go for a fitness watch such as Polar A370 now & wait for a later Watch.
We'll see next week.

 

[LavenderBee]

Steve Jobs made plenty of mistakes while at Apple in the 80s, outside of Apple and with Apple from 1997 onwards.

The most egregious was allowing Eric Schmidt to sit on the board of Apple…

Brutal truth? Steve Jobs was a great salesman who got lucky.
And died young.

[doublepost=1515599639][/doublepost]

Steve Jobs made plenty of mistakes while at Apple in the 80s, outside of Apple and with Apple from 1997 onwards.

The most egregious was allowing Eric Schmidt to sit on the board of Apple…

Brutal truth? Steve Jobs was a great salesman who got lucky.
And died young.

I agree Steve was a fantastic salesman, but I think his greatest quality was that he had great taste. He was persnickety very much like an artist, and things had to look and function beautifully. Apple has totally lost it and are riding the coattails of Job's vision.

 

[Tozovac]

Steve Jobs made plenty of mistakes while at Apple in the 80s, outside of Apple and with Apple from 1997 onwards.

The most egregious was allowing Eric Schmidt to sit on the board of Apple…

Brutal truth? Steve Jobs was a great salesman who got lucky.
And died young.

With all due respect, that sounds awfully short-sighted.

Another way to look at things:

1. Why is it a criticism to have made mistakes decades prior? Who hasn’t? One of the best ways to learn is from your mistakes. It's one thing to keep making mistakes and never learning; it's a complete other thing to make mistakes but then recover magnificently in terms of output to consumers, as Steve had done.

2. The proof is in the pudding about Steve's most recent output, apparently after learning from his past mistakes & successes. Whether it be from good salesmanship or expert insight into what would work best for customers, my experience with Apple hardware/software produced under Steve's guidance from 2003/2004 (when I bought my first ipod) to 2006 (first Mac Pro) to 2007 (first time I started using iWeb) to 2010 (first iPhone and iPad) to first MacBook Air (2013) has been 99.9% satisfaction and enjoyment.

3. The proof is in the pudding IMHO about Apple's post-Steve output, where, I suppose, new "leaders" are making mistakes they'll hopefully learn from and correct in their future (hopefully sooner than later), where my experience with post-Steve items has generally been less than satisfying across the board: post-Steve iOS (unnecessarily reinvented UI's and appearance in iOS7), post-Steve OSX (dumbed-down pastel Microsoft-looking Fisher-Price-My-First-PC-Looking Yosemite), post-Steve hardware (remove headphone jack, remove USB/ports flexibility on MacBooks, remove buttons, remove MagSafe...remove all the user flexibility/robustness features...), post-Steve software/applications/web content (dumbed-down apple.com user/help forum, removal of "Apple DNA" by reducing intuitiveness, making OSX/iOS/icloud.com look like any other Microsoft product...a general reduction of "it just works" UI elements and an unnecessary reworking or eradication of things that used to be Apple hallmarks in favor of some strange minimalist non-invasive bland appearance & user interface). Basically change for the sake of change and just...churning for the most part.

Steve got lucky by working hard and learning from the past to do the right things, honing his personal taste to favor what's best for customers, rather than what's happening today which seems to be too much of trying to shape customer's taste to align with what a small handful of designers feel is how things "should" be done.

[doublepost=1515599639][/doublepost]
I agree Steve was a fantastic salesman, but I think his greatest quality was that he had great taste. He was persnickety very much like an artist, and things had to look and function beautifully. Apple has totally lost it and are riding the coattails of Job's vision.

You got it.

 

[Starship67]

Title alone is enough for post to have no credibility. So I read no further. And we seriously need a downvote button.

 

[Tozovac]

Title alone is enough for post to have no credibility. So I read no further. And we seriously need a downvote button.

I downvote your response. Kidding.

I hope though that you can acknowledge that quite a few formerly happy Apple customers agree with the topic and feel that way. The ones who feel zero reduction in satisfaction (or a significant increase in satisfaction) that's generally timed with post-Steve 2011/2012, like yourself I assume, could just count yourselves as lucky, but that's not a rationale to silence those who feel strongly about the message in this thread.

 

[akash.nu]

With all due respect, that sounds awfully short-sighted.

Another way to look at things:

1. Why is it a criticism to have made mistakes decades prior? Who hasn’t? One of the best ways to learn is from your mistakes. It's one thing to keep making mistakes and never learning; it's a complete other thing to make mistakes but then recover magnificently in terms of output to consumers, as Steve had done.

2. The proof is in the pudding about Steve's most recent output, apparently after learning from his past mistakes & successes. Whether it be from good salesmanship or expert insight into what would work best for customers, my experience with Apple hardware/software produced under Steve's guidance from 2003/2004 (when I bought my first ipod) to 2006 (first Mac Pro) to 2007 (first time I started using iWeb) to 2010 (first iPhone and iPad) to first MacBook Air (2013) has been 99.9% satisfaction and enjoyment.

3. The proof is in the pudding IMHO about Apple's post-Steve output, where, I suppose, new "leaders" are making mistakes they'll hopefully learn from and correct in their future (hopefully sooner than later), where my experience with post-Steve items has generally been less than satisfying across the board: post-Steve iOS (unnecessarily reinvented UI's and appearance in iOS7), post-Steve OSX (dumbed-down pastel Microsoft-looking Fisher-Price-My-First-PC-Looking Yosemite), post-Steve hardware (remove headphone jack, remove USB/ports flexibility on MacBooks, remove buttons, remove MagSafe...remove all the user flexibility/robustness features...), post-Steve software/applications/web content (dumbed-down apple.com user/help forum, removal of "Apple DNA" by reducing intuitiveness, making OSX/iOS/icloud.com look like any other Microsoft product...a general reduction of "it just works" UI elements and an unnecessary reworking or eradication of things that used to be Apple hallmarks in favor of some strange minimalist non-invasive bland appearance & user interface). Basically change for the sake of change and just...churning for the most part.

Steve got lucky by working hard and learning from the past to do the right things, honing his personal taste to favor what's best for customers, rather than what's happening today which seems to be too much of trying to shape customer's taste to align with what a small handful of designers feel is how things "should" be done.



You got it.

The bottom line is that Steve started Apple. His passion and drive to make the company successful will always be unmatched by any other employee who takes over the CEO position. Apple was his baby. Tim is still just an employee who joined the company like any other employee.

This was the same for Microsoft under Bill Gates and the future CEOs.

 

[AmazingRobie]

Um, Apple has always had problems. Theres just noone likeable to deflect them now. Steve Jobs was passionate about creativity and performance in his tech, but he would still lie to you if it suited him. But he was a master magician of verbal persuasion. Tim Cooks priorities lie in pushing forward his personal objectives of gay rights, his political beliefs and furthering the illusion of Apple as a high-end designer brand. However, if youve ever seen the quality of high-end designer clothes (and im talking runway clothes, not something from the local mall), theyre expensively crafted of exotic materials but made very delicate and fall apart very easily without excessive care. Theres nothing wrong with Cook as an individual only his priorities do not include technology and has no place being CEO of a major tech company. If hes so passionate about the human condition he needs to try and run for politics so he can waste our tax dollars we dont see or consider, not money that we carefully contemplate and save up for on our electronics.

 

[AidenShaw]

Tim Cooks priorities lie in pushing forward his personal objectives of gay rights

Really, why do you say that?

Most Silicon Valley companies, and many others, believe in human rights. Check it out at http://www.hrc.org/campaigns/corporate-equality-index . 609 top companies matched Apple in LGBTQ support, including 14 of the top 20 of the Fortune 1000. (Apple, McKesson, CVS, General Motors, Ford Motor, AT&T, GE, AmerisourceBergen, Verizon, Chevron, FannieMae, Amazon, Walgreen, HP Inc)

Most of Apple's employees and potential employees see support of equal rights as a strong point, not a "problem". A strong human rights position is a recruiting tool.

Apple Lambda (the Apple LGBT employee group) launched in 1986 (https://applelambdahistory.wordpress.com/) - 12 years before Tim Cook was hired.

Many American corporations besides Apple strongly support human rights - it's not a Tim Cook thing.

 

[AmazingRobie]

Really, why do you say that?

Most of Apple's employees and potential employees see support of equal rights as a strong point, not a "problem". A strong human rights position is a recruiting tool.

Many American corporations besides Apple strongly support human rights - it's not a Tim Cook thing.

Okay, no one said gay rights/equality is a "problem", but what was said was that his priorities are more focused on pushing forward any and all objectives not related to technology and making Apple products that do not have the same design flaws season after season. Tim Cook's sexuality has nothing to do with why he's unfit to be CEO, it's his lack of passion for making a quality electronics. If Apple didn't have the shoddy product lines its had for a number of years, it wouldn't have even been mentioned. And being a corporation that strives for equality amongst all of its employees wasn't even what was being referring to, its all of the tv, internet and radio interviews where his sexuality comes up and instead of talking about how he's excited about how hes going to make Apple devices better he ends up talking about his personal life or gay rights in general. Dont care. Not relevant. Do your job first, then push everything else all you want.

 

[mbnt]

This has been on my mind for a while. No headphone port, latest macbook pro disaster countless mistakes apple has made ever since the great Steve Jobs passed. If he were still alive Apple would make way better decisions and not make crucial mistakes.

This right here is 100% true. Apple sadly became just another tech company. thinner computers with limiting hardware is not innovative. iMac Pro is awful, I only hope the new modular Mac Pro somehow kickstarts Apple back to its personal computer roots. If they want to focus on iPhones and iPods, license macOS so it runs on anything without modification. They're no longer competing against Microsoft, they've become a caricature of themselves. Apple's original creative passion left the building.

 

[akash.nu]

This right here is 100% true. Apple sadly became just another tech company. thinner computers with limiting hardware is not innovative. iMac Pro is awful, I only hope the new modular Mac Pro somehow kickstarts Apple back to its personal computer roots. If they want to focus on iPhones and iPods, license macOS so it runs on anything without modification. They're no longer competing against Microsoft, they've become a caricature of themselves. Apple's original creative passion left the building.

When a company grows to the level Apple has grown in the last decade, it becomes almost impossible to be that “cool” tech company that only cool and hip consumers follow. This is why Apple just can’t do the things they used to do and as products mature and the worth of the company increases more the CEO has to make decisions based on the business strategy and not what he feels like.

 

[George Dawes]

Tim to me is just like Sculley , milking apple for all it's worth until he runs out of SJ's ideas until ...

Sadly there won't be a NeXT time...