There is no doubt US $ gains affects those of us not based in the US.
Perhaps it wasn't the best time for Apple to up their pricing almost across the board.
What happened to the rumoured "cheap" Mac Air? We now have three all quite expensive laptops to choose from. 5 years ago (when the Aussie dollar was around the parity mark) we could pick up an 11" MacAir for $999. Now we are staring down almost double that for the 13" model. They killed the 11" so there was a market for the 12" (which anyone knows is good portable option apart from the single USB-C port). Two would have probably nailed it. Now it sits as a weird "who would want it?" leftover. Buy the new MacAir.
Apple bit the bullet with the cheapest iPad getting pencil support. Is a new incompatible pencil enough to spend double? Guess we will see soon enough. I've had many iPads including last years 12.9" Pro. It's great for reading magazine. But the added keyboard never felt right. The new folio addresses the lack of back cover issue. If the keys are the same, I would suggest new purchasers wait for third party solutions that should come. Surely can't be too hard to improve on Apple's offering. The relocated connector now makes sense - couldn't have the comms port along the long edge when you want a dual tiltable screen (well you could if they imbedded them in the covers magnetic area attach area in the two positions).
Very little advertised about USB-C and what it can do. Can the iPad Prod now output to a screen? How? The adapter for USB-C video doesn't state it's compatible. Adding video out could really mean this expensive, MacBook Pro performance rival could be the desk/portable that can do it all for many people. But then it would risk cutting MacBook sales if software is ported (like Photoshop). No wonder they are so reluctant to add mouse support. Doing so would really shake things up.
Apple not updating Mac Mini for 4 years was ridiculous. "Oh we aren't selling any so why update them?". It's like the iPod. So over-priced for the storage options no-one wants to buy one. There are times a non-phone music/games device would have been perfect. I now have an old Plus phone I can use for that purpose and without a SIM card, the battery life is awesome. If Apple had been serious about mobile gaming, they could have taken on Nintendo with a larger screen iPod.
I still can't see a need for an Apple TV. I try. They look good. But what do they really bring that a cheap Prime or Chromecast device doesn't?
Apple products have all lasted so much longer than cheap PCs or Android devices. The software updates have kept coming to keep them relevant if not bleeding edge. The gated garden of security does work.
But there are times I just wish Apple wasn't so arrogant and refusing to make products people want. It's a large company with huge cash piles. Great. You're doing some things right. Remember Microsoft was also once like that.
Apple's Mac/hardware sales percentage might be higher if products were updated yearly even if it was just to the latest chipsets and memory prices. We don't need a huge makeover every year or two. Just update the underlying tech to today's standards. How Apple continued to advertised a Mac Mini with "5th Generation chip" beggars belief. That just says laziness and duping less knowledgeable customers. Are we to wait another four years before they update their new Space Grey model next?
Perhaps it wasn't the best time for Apple to up their pricing almost across the board.
What happened to the rumoured "cheap" Mac Air? We now have three all quite expensive laptops to choose from. 5 years ago (when the Aussie dollar was around the parity mark) we could pick up an 11" MacAir for $999. Now we are staring down almost double that for the 13" model. They killed the 11" so there was a market for the 12" (which anyone knows is good portable option apart from the single USB-C port). Two would have probably nailed it. Now it sits as a weird "who would want it?" leftover. Buy the new MacAir.
Apple bit the bullet with the cheapest iPad getting pencil support. Is a new incompatible pencil enough to spend double? Guess we will see soon enough. I've had many iPads including last years 12.9" Pro. It's great for reading magazine. But the added keyboard never felt right. The new folio addresses the lack of back cover issue. If the keys are the same, I would suggest new purchasers wait for third party solutions that should come. Surely can't be too hard to improve on Apple's offering. The relocated connector now makes sense - couldn't have the comms port along the long edge when you want a dual tiltable screen (well you could if they imbedded them in the covers magnetic area attach area in the two positions).
Very little advertised about USB-C and what it can do. Can the iPad Prod now output to a screen? How? The adapter for USB-C video doesn't state it's compatible. Adding video out could really mean this expensive, MacBook Pro performance rival could be the desk/portable that can do it all for many people. But then it would risk cutting MacBook sales if software is ported (like Photoshop). No wonder they are so reluctant to add mouse support. Doing so would really shake things up.
Apple not updating Mac Mini for 4 years was ridiculous. "Oh we aren't selling any so why update them?". It's like the iPod. So over-priced for the storage options no-one wants to buy one. There are times a non-phone music/games device would have been perfect. I now have an old Plus phone I can use for that purpose and without a SIM card, the battery life is awesome. If Apple had been serious about mobile gaming, they could have taken on Nintendo with a larger screen iPod.
I still can't see a need for an Apple TV. I try. They look good. But what do they really bring that a cheap Prime or Chromecast device doesn't?
Apple products have all lasted so much longer than cheap PCs or Android devices. The software updates have kept coming to keep them relevant if not bleeding edge. The gated garden of security does work.
But there are times I just wish Apple wasn't so arrogant and refusing to make products people want. It's a large company with huge cash piles. Great. You're doing some things right. Remember Microsoft was also once like that.
Apple's Mac/hardware sales percentage might be higher if products were updated yearly even if it was just to the latest chipsets and memory prices. We don't need a huge makeover every year or two. Just update the underlying tech to today's standards. How Apple continued to advertised a Mac Mini with "5th Generation chip" beggars belief. That just says laziness and duping less knowledgeable customers. Are we to wait another four years before they update their new Space Grey model next?
