Am I the only one *generally* very happy with Apple?

[orioncrystalice]

Firstly, don't respond to this thread listing things that most people generally agree on; e.g. look at all the soldered Mac Minis, look at the 16 gb iPhones, why doesn't Pages do more stuff. No, I'm here because I feel like the great things going on, at least from my perspective, do not get a fair enough shake. I don't think Apple is perfect, but I feel like if they aren't at a peak right now they certainly are approaching one. There are a ton of things I like about the way my devices work and interact and I'm going to make some notes on that.

- Apple is continuing to introduce things which become an ecosystem wide standard and subsequently get widely copied by competitors. TouchID, 3D Touch, and the new butterfly keyboard. In the past, the lines were not integrated with things like this. Apple is changing that without doing something ridiculous like merging OS's.
- We are not in the early iOS 7 dark ages anymore. 9 is a joy to use for me and I feel it shows confidence and maturity. I can't name for you an iOS release I didn't have issues with but my experience has been that it has continually improved since the "rebirth". I'm doing tasks from app to app to app at the speed of light. Yes, there's more options. We are in the 8th year of popular smart phones. It only takes a time or two to get the hang of something and then you're off. iOS is still EXTREMELY effecient and the reasons to jailbreak shrink more and more each release.
- iCloud is no longer useless, not by a long shot. I love being able to painlessly log in on my Windows 7 work computer - after two-step verification - and mess with my iWork stuff, Drive, get something from iCloud Photos and put it on here. On my iPhone, I love that my photo library, thousands of files in size, sits in the cloud and only picks something out of it when I need it. My Drive app has become extremely useful and the way it interacts with iOS and the apps makes sense. On my Mac, I can manage things in the same way. I also use Maildrop all of the time. iCloud is literally, finally becoming what the idea was meant to be in the first place.
- The Watch is an amazing device, period. It's not a "need". Neither is an iPad. For my situation and things I do, it improves my processes just as much as my iPad did when I needed that in my life. The potential for further integration including Homekit and things like that cannot be overestimated. The one mistake I could point out is the way they have branded it as a "watch"... - then again, the phone is only one component of what makes up an iPhone.
- It's classy period to push the same line of colors system-wide. Space grey, silver, gold, rose gold. They all look great, and again, the integration, this is an extremely Apple thing to do. My Watch is a little darker than my 6S at this point in the game, but they still look fantastic together.
- Speaking of the 6S, I thought the 5S was the pinnacle of iPhone engineering..... the 6S gives it a run for it's money. It feels amazing in the hand, the mounting of the screen is great, the weight is nice - it absolutely feels premium and 2015. I would NEVER go back.
- Security, security, security, and more security. The App store is doubling down on it and if your ID itself is not rock solid safe there really is nobody else to blame.
- Apple as a company has improved. Employees get stock options, their manufacturing environmental footprint is gradually shrinking.

The state of things ECOSYSTEM wide, like it or not, is at a high.

But no, the company has not cured cancer or come out with a backlit keyboard. Do people honestly just want an iPhone 3GS and 2008 iMac again?

Just some thoughts...

 

[eyeseeyou]

I'm happy that my 2011 macbook pro is still running like a champ and apple provides free "check ups" at the apple store. I'm also happy that apple fixed my non apple care cracked iPhone 6 plus screen for free.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Well I personally think it's a travesty that a second hand £350 2007 iMac with an aftermarket SSD boots quicker than a £2000 Retina iMac with a 5400rpm drive. A lot of planned obselecence recently and high prices for tech that doesn't perform for the pricetag. Apple make some great stuff but the recent profit-orientated moves don't sit right with me or many other MR members.

Give it a few more years and I'm sure you'll be a little more jaded.

 

[Flow39]

I am happy, but I'm starting to notice some of their greediness. Look at the new Magic accessories, 16 Gb iPhone, soldered RAM, 5400 HD. For Apple being so focused on the user experience, these moves scream "We're trying to please Wall Street more than our loyal customers!"

 

[eyeseeyou]

I am happy, but I'm starting to notice some of their greediness. Look at the new Magic accessories, 16 Gb iPhone, soldered RAM, 5400 HD. For Apple being so focused on the user experience, these moves scream "We're trying to please Wall Street more than our loyal customers!"

Yeah that's why I'm maxing out my upgradeable macbook.

I'm not sure I'd buy a newer model being that we can't upgrade them

 

[Jessica Lares]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with iOS 9 and El Capitan. iTunes is working fine, iBooks is working fine, didn't like the Music app to begin with, and still hate that "skip when shuffling" is still ignored, but I've gotten used to it.

Whether you're happy or not with Apple really depends on what type of customer you are. I mean, I don't care at all about Apple Music, so whether it's working or not for people doesn't concern me. It's ruining people's iTunes library, but again, since I'm not using it, it's not a problem for me. It's the same thing with iCloud Drive. I use it to sync my apps, but I'm not storing the majority of stuff on it and so am not experiencing problems that people who are trying to use it for video and whatever else are.

It worries me more that my next MacBook Pro will probably have a crappy keyboard, lack a SD card slot, and force me to use a dongle to be able to do the things that are still easy to do now. Maybe people who are using iPads don't need those things, but that's why they use iPads full-time and we still don't.

 

[RenoG]

I'm happy with all my apple stuff: iMac /MacBook pro / iPad/iPhone/ iPod classic/apple TV. I nor my family currently have any issue with apple. So no you are not the only one.

 

[AZhappyjack]

There is (and will always be) room for improvement with any product or group of products. Overall, however, I'm pretty happy with my switch to Apple. I started the migration in 2009 with the iPhone 3GS, then the iPad in 2010 and my first MBP in late 2010. At this point, as a family, we're pretty locked in - iPhones, iPads, computers, wifi routers, AppleTVs... and for the most part, it really does "just work".

Issues exist, but most of the problems we are seeing are nits in the big picture.

 

[eyeseeyou]

I'm overall happy with the apple Eco system. Pretty smooth experience.

Appletv experience is kind of meh

 

[Tech198]

you probably one of the few that likes Apple music when it works.

I usually max out Apple Macs today when i buy any because u can't upgrade them later if u decide u need more ram.

Happy with iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2... not needing any upgrades nor the Mac mini... and the OS ? well, i'm still running Yosemite... again not a big change. but i upgraded to iOS 9.1 .... yay for me.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with iOS 9 and El Capitan. iTunes is working fine, iBooks is working fine, didn't like the Music app to begin with, and still hate that "skip when shuffling" is still ignored, but I've gotten used to it.

Whether you're happy or not with Apple really depends on what type of customer you are. I mean, I don't care at all about Apple Music, so whether it's working or not for people doesn't concern me. It's ruining people's iTunes library, but again, since I'm not using it, it's not a problem for me. It's the same thing with iCloud Drive. I use it to sync my apps, but I'm not storing the majority of stuff on it and so am not experiencing problems that people who are trying to use it for video and whatever else are.

It worries me more that my next MacBook Pro will probably have a crappy keyboard, lack a SD card slot, and force me to use a dongle to be able to do the things that are still easy to do now. Maybe people who are using iPads don't need those things, but that's why they use iPads full-time and we still don't.

Apple does a lot right.

There's one thing that bugs me—a tiny detail in a way, but emblematic of a blindness at Apple, I feel. One of the key strengths of the iPad is reading. You read books on it in a way that you don't on a laptop. It's natural. And yet, if you browse the iBook Store, you can't add a book to a wishlist on an iPad or iPhone, but you can on a Mac! The iPad has been out for over five years now!

Hate to say it, but Amazon does an awful lot better than Apple when it comes to wishlists and general usability, and that shouldn't be the case. Apple needs to eradicate these gotchas and ramp up the speed of their servers in Europe if they wish to gain as good a reputation as Amazon for ease of use in purchasing.

 

[lowendlinux]

We/you can criticize each individual product but that's not how you're supposed to view Apple stuff. Apple is an ecosystem and if you like ecosystems there is no better place to be.

 

[maxsix]

We/you can criticize each individual product but that's not how you're supposed to view Apple stuff. Apple is an ecosystem and if you like ecosystems there is no better place to be.

I "get" what you're saying and don't doubt that if taken in that context it could be said that Apple's "ecosystem" is quite good. However it's a very expensive ecosystem in which to truly appreciate it one needs a bare minimum of two devices. An iPhone and something else... laptop or iPad would be the most obvious.

When I look around, and I live in a huge highly populated city that has a lot of people that can afford Apple products. What's interesting to me is I see lots of iPhones for sure, but I see more Android phones and Android tablets. I'm one who is "All In" on both Apple _and_ Google/Android ecosystems with what I will admit is a huge number of laptops, tablets and phones. That established, what I've noticed is how dramatically the Google Play store has caught up to Apple's system. That in my mind is very impressive considering they have a very poor to almost non-existent marketing plan, especially compared to Apple's highly professional, very professional marketing department. Years of experience has given Apple a massive head start on Google. It's hardly a comparison.

Which one is best? Apple of course based on the above characteristics. However they've also alienated potential buyers with their high pricing, arrogant attitudes, and closed walled garden approach.

I will be the first to admit I began with Apple and have a bias for their stuff, but being in a position to have an equally large Google/Windows/Android ecosystem I am very impressed and satisfied with all that the Mountain View company offers.

 

[maflynn]

Apple is an ecosystem and if you like ecosystems there is no better place to be.

I agree to a point. I think the individual components of that ecosystem are such now that I question my purchase decisions, i.e.. is spending 2k on an iMac or MBP the best use of my money? I'm at a point where I can windows fulfilling many of my needs for my desktop computing. I'm still going to buy iPhones but for my other needs I'm not going to just waltz into an apple store at this point.


To answer the OP, a lot of people are happy with apple as evident by their sales figures, I'm not one of them. Will I abandon the platform, no not completely. Will I buy a windows machine or something? Perhaps.

 

[lowendlinux]

I agree to a point. I think the individual components of that ecosystem are such now that I question my purchase decisions, i.e.. is spending 2k on an iMac or MBP the best use of my money? I'm at a point where I can windows fulfilling many of my needs for my desktop computing. I'm still going to buy iPhones but for my other needs I'm not going to just waltz into an apple store at this point.


To answer the OP, a lot of people are happy with apple as evident by their sales figures, I'm not one of them. Will I abandon the platform, no not completely. Will I buy a windows machine or something? Perhaps.

Why though? MS makes good phones and the app store will get bigger as 10 gets bigger. MS has and will continue to improve as an ecosystem, and is the first real threat Apple has faced since 2007. If I were going to go W10 I'd get a Lumia 950 use one drive and office 365 I'd get my universal apps a TB of cloud, a good phone and a decent computer OS. I'm not a big ecosystem type because it's whole point is to vendor lock but I'd also not break the system if I was in it, especially only to half buy into another.

 

[maflynn]

I like MS phones and I owned them in the past. I actually have one now as a secondary phone - just to play around with.

Apps are one of the major reasons why, and while I keep hearing that the app store is getting larger every day, I don't see it meeting my needs. Even Paul Thurrott one of the bigger boosters to the platform has a bleak outlook on the state of the windows phone platform. The latest phones are really good especially the camera.

 

[lowendlinux]

It's just going to take time W10 is only a few months old and WP10 isn't here yet.

 

[Tech198]

if u like the ecosystem though, u must like it as a whole, otherwise u'll be tearing your hair out for the most part when Apple doesn't get it right..

Personally, i've used Windows and would say for [me[ as a security type person, it's just as safe, if u know what u are doing at all times...

On the mac,,, its more like "u don't need to bother" because Apple protects you, true u need to be wary of entering your password to install malware, but most of the time OS.

I may even get to a point i get so frustrated wih the way Apple does their stuff and not listen to customers as "this is how it is" regardless of security or customer knows better, i may actually move to Windows..

That will be a shock .... haven't use MS products for 8 years.

 

[r.harris1]

I love Apple. I moved myself and my family from a Windows ecosystem to Apple's in 2008 and haven't looked back. I'm the "admin" guy in my extended family and the time I spent doing administration dropped to negligible once we did this. I used to spend a lot of time building machines because I enjoyed it and could fiddle around with the latest specs and try the latest drivers and other software. I could be "at the head of the curve". But there were a lot of attendant problems with that - incompatibilities, unexplained blues screens, etc. That was one extreme. The other was my in-laws and my parents. They weren't spending a lot of time building their own machines but I was constantly answering questions about why their printer wouldn't work, where they needed to go to get a driver, why the driver didn't work, where could they get software to do this or that. At the time, they were having issues with viruses, trojans, etc (which I know was their fault, but still...). And don't get me going on the user experience of using most antivirus programs, at least back in 2008 (may have changed since): slowdowns, interruptions, etc.

One day on a beautiful Colorado summer Saturday afternoon while I was on the floor with my head in a chassis sorting out some problem, I thought "Why am I doing this?". I had been using a MBP (and before that, other Apple products) at work for a while, had never had any problems to speak of and I thought it was time for a change of pace. Best move I ever made.

Apple's not for anyone who wants to fiddle and upgrade. It's not for anyone who wants the latest or standard specs, for the most part. I've been using Apple at work since 1997 and I've never been under the impression that this has ever really been their focus, even when it was easier to do so. Also, if you like today to be like yesterday, Apple's probably not for you either, since they will quite often rip software or an interface or anything, really, out from under you to go an entirely different direction. To me Apple has always been focused on making complex tasks simple, hardware or software, and making the user experience better (or rather, Apple's definition of "better"). People call that "dumbing down" in these parts, but I disagree. Why shouldn't a complex task be made more simple? Why shouldn't more people have access to technology that allows them to make great (for them) images or movies, make music, create documents? A valid criticism of Apple is that if they decide the previous way was not right, they'll change it immediately, come hell or high water. But to me, that's worth the risk.

They're a company that to me is focused on user experience and that makes them very interesting to work with, sometimes in a nerve-wracking way. I enjoy the way they rethink the smallest details and the smallest things and the way they think a computing device should be beautiful and that a UI should be beautiful. Not everyone agrees that these are always beautiful, but the fact that it is a central question on someone's mind is a great thing in a tech company. Few tech companies use the word "beautiful" when describing their products. I like that Apple does this. They don't get everything right, far from it in fact, but as a software developer and the family admin, I need power, ease of use, ease of maintenance and I need the tool to not get in my way. A little beauty and elegance is OK too. Right now, for me, Apple creates just the right mix. Keep it coming.

 

[satchmo]

As a long time Apple user/fan, I will likely never switch to another brand/OS for my computing/phone needs. However, I do see cracks in the foundation. Unfocussed and releasing half-baked products without making sure they're ready.

Apple needs to remember their roots when they were the little guys. To once again be innovative and to 'think different'.

Gone are the days when Apple pivoted and killed off the best selling iPod mini and replaced it with a new iPod nano just because it was better. The iMac G4 was another example of pushing the envelope.

Instead, today it's become all about the profit margins and holding back features to put into next year's product update. Expensive $10K watches and bad upgrade policies. It's no longer the computer company 'for the rest of us' but for rather for the elites.

 

[Tech198]

just phoning up Apple and escalating another case to engineers everyday keeps *me* happy

If they are rushing all over the place, it means i'm doing a good job.