It seems pretty clear now that they’re not designing every product to have a cohesive design language and may in fact be categorizing certain items together that don’t necessarily make sense to me. The rounded look and the use of certain color ways seems to be related to consumer based products, like the Watch and iPods (base, Pro and Pro Max) and the HomePod minis.Or maybe not every product that Apple makes needs to look identical?
A blocky Apple Watch might look cool and match with their iPhones, but in real life, it would get caught on sleeves and would be an absolute pain while working out, and they probably realized this. And that’s why they decided to stick with the rounded off design.
Same with several of their other products. The AirPods case isn’t squared off, the HomePod isn’t squared off, the Apple TV remote has flat sides but has a rounded back.
Apple has never, ever had a fully uniform design, even during the Steve Jobs era.
Just pick a random year, let’s say… 2009.
The iPhones had black or white glossy back casings, whereas the iPods had colored stainless steel ones.
The MacBook Pro and iMac had a unibody design, but the white plastic MacBook and the Mac mini did not.
So yeah, just because some of Apple’s products have gotten more squared off over the past two years doesn’t mean that needs to happen with all of them.
Exactly. I have a 2018 MBP and I don't know what I'm going to do when the day comes that I need to replace it. I love my Touch Bar, and I don't want to give it up.Apple started caving to the mob since Ive left. Everything thicker and heavier, obsolete ports being put back… the golden era of Apple design has gone. We’re headed towards being Dell with a notch. But hey the YouTubers will be happy, so…
"After all, you're liable to lose professional customers – architects, musicians, film-makers – if they can't plug their laptops into external monitors.
No, I think you’ll find the 16 replaced the 15. The same 15 that hasn’t been sold in years since the 16 was released to replace it. The 14 is an upgrade to the 13. And, I guess, by your math, the 13 screen is larger than the 14 screen?realy... the 16" replaced the old intel 16"...
the 14" replaced the 15"
YesWould you rather have 6mm bezels on the MBP with no notch?
Maybe the rest of Apple’s management deserves some bashing for that. Here’s a case where even I can give JIve the benefit of the doubt, that it wasn’t just he who let things slip thru so badly for the past half decade.Everyone knows Jony would flip at the notion of making the MBP even a millimeter thicker than previous gen. Was worth it for the ports.
mmm…I don't see a super thin iMac as "pushing boundaries" - there is no use case that drives a desktop computer to be 11.5mm vs. the already-thin 21.5" and 27" models. I'd guess that most iMacs stay in place once they are set up, and consumer users (not pros) won't realize a benefit from the new thinness.
According to the Washington Post;
But to make a desktop computer that incredibly slender, something had to go. Unfortunately, left on the chopping block were some capabilities you might actually want in a $1,300 desktop computer.
Depends on whether you define the new stance as "designing products with maximum versatility in an elegant, useful form." I think that's a worthy goal for both Pro and consumer products.
Perhaps, but there may also be a large number of "non-pro" consumers that just live with the limitations of Apple's design missteps (such as the new 24" iMac) without ever frequenting online forums to express their displeasure. In fact, many won't realize what they are missing. "Oh, I need a dongle for that...okay, let me buy one" "Yeah, my desktop is a mess because of all these cables" "Be careful, don't step on the power supply". Jobs famously once said that "Apple's customers don't know what they want until we show them." Back in those days Apple showed customers amazing desings with elegant implementations of just what they needed. It's what built a loyal fan base.
I think your example of Bluetooth and latency is a perfect example. Non-pro consumers live with the limitations of wireless without knowing how they are compromising. With virtual meetings commonplace now, I suffer through many meetings with "non-pros" using Bluetooth headsets that cut out and only transmit/receive every other word. While I use my wired mouse and wired headest (both using a USB-A connection to a 27" Thunderbolt display), and am able to support a pro workflow with no dropouts and no latency.
I've also noticed that many car companies now classify wireless CarPlay as "entry-level" and reserve wired CarPlay exclusively on top-line models (you can't even get wireless CarPlay on some top models). I think mainstream consumers just want things to work. The wireless future sounds great, and we'll eventually achieve it with technology. But for now, I just want to pull the SD card out of my SLR, jam it in the back of my iMac, and start reviewing pictures. i.e.: "It just works."
The Mustang II was Ford's answer to what customers wanted.Customer isn’t right just because they are the ones buying the products.
I find it hilarious that four people actually downvoted this comment!Many will hate this statement but I prefer function over design any ol'day of the year. Thank you.
OMG yes! They could literally just change the icon used there from the reply arrow to some sort of multi-function indicator (a gear would work, something else would probably be better). If one is looking to flag a message, or mark it as unread, or throw it away, or print it, there's no way in the world that anyone is going to assume the very specifically labeled reply button is the right thing to tap. If reply (only to sender) is especially vital, fine, have the reply arrow sit next to a multifunction button. But for Hera's sake, don't hide vital features under a button that is telling users that it does one thing and one thing only. The button is basically lying. Might as well make it say, "Beware of the leopard".Now Apple needs to weed out the overly-minimistic design approach (at cost to users) from interface design. The fact that mail has all of its functionality hidden inside of the “Reply” button is comical. Usability and discoverability must be paramount, not screenshots for websites or designer portfolios.
The argument against reminds me a whole bunch of the early days of playing widescreen movies at home, with people complaining bitterly about the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, getting outraged that "some of their movie is missing" because they didn't understand the difference in aspect ratios, and that filling in that black part would mean actually losing part of the picture on the sides.And those noobs complaining about that notch, you still didn't get that it enables extra screen estate rather than 'taking anything away'. Did you even watch the keynote? You get extra 74 vertical pixels. Disable that area = black pixels and you're back to the standard 16:10 display with the old bezel.
Now that Jony Ive is gone, can Apple finally bring back the open and closed apple keys?
A polite and appreciative reply on MacRumors? Apple making thicker and heavier devices with enough runtime to survive a 94 page MR debate? Yes, I think the parallel universe hypothesis is the only rational explanation!An actually well-thought, rational, deep post on MacRumors? I must be stuck in a parallel universe.
(anyway, thank you, it was a pleasure to read)
A polite and appreciative reply on MacRumors? Apple making thicker and heavier devices with enough runtime to survive a 94 page MR debate? Yes, I think the parallel universe hypothesis is the only rational explanation!
Well, I’m off to see if my toaster still burns toast on anything beyond the 1 setting, and if the microwave still beeps at 95 decibels to tell me each time I press a button. Maybe world peace? Who knows, maybe a Canberra driver will even move into another lane to let in merging traffic?! Do I hope for too much?
Yes. For the record, I’m one of those people who often lamented the obsession with thinness over functional things like ports and battery life. But I still respect Jony Ive as a designer, and I’m still grateful that the unrelenting push for smaller devices gave us lighter, sleeker machines than we might have today if Apple had died back in the 90s. The environment is grateful too. Now if only Apple would make their machines a little more upgradable/repairable—then I’ll know for sure that I’ve slipped into an alternate universe!It’s a pretty good testament to how many outside of Apple‘s offices consider good design to be more than something that’s thin, sleek, and flat, isn’t it?
You know, you’re right. Suddenly I don’t understand the complaints, or why a company like Apple full of smart people made a decision to broaden back a typically-used port for convenience. Crazy!
It might help to not look at it like YOU look at things but how many others look at the inherent convenience of a laptop.
Why do people want a laptop vs. a Mac mini or iMac or Mac pro? To “stand alone” for a given workday. To operate via battery and not have to plug in a cord…to not have to pull out a wireless mouse from their bag…to have a built-in monitor for a majority of their usage time…to ideally have a large enough harddrive to not need to always plug in an external drive.
Apparently, enough users lump in HDMI connectivity with the above. I think to many, buying a MBP with that port feels as ”convenient and expected” as their MBP arriving already charged.
And this all plays well into the current re-awakening of customers who are a little fed-up with certain tasks taking longer than before just for the sake of what’s being acknowledged as over-the-top form-over-function minimalism injections into Apple hardware & software.
Maybe enough MBP buyers are not upper echelon professionals willing to buy (or already owning) all the accessories needed to use their MBP with typical monitors/equipment they may come across in a given day. Maybe many are rather turned off by having to buy something else after shelling out $1500+ for an expensive piece of hardware.
Finally, all it takes is a single instance of a commonly-used dongle or adapter being forgotten, misplaced, left at home or in the car, or being broken at a key time it’s needed to plant the seed of wishing there was a given port already there that used to be there. I have yet to have a port go bad in my Apple computers, and they’re always there.
I think it's more accurate to say that people appreciate design when the functional compromises it entails doesn't affect that particular end user in any meaningful way. Which again, is going to vary from person to person.Many will hate this statement but I prefer function over design any ol'day of the year. Thank you.