Apple Executives Won't Be Appearing at This Year's WWDC Episode of The Talk Show Live

[dwsolberg]

Apple has been slowly changing to a normal company after Steve Jobs got sick and died. I still like Apple products because they do try, but it's been a long time since "it just works" could be applied to what Apple does. I've considered switching to Android, but I'm sure that has its own problems and switching ecosystems is a lot of work.

It's funny that Apple used to fight inertia of the bigger computer companies by providing a superior experience, but now it relies on the inertia of being a big company itself. Unfortunately, there's no one out there providing a superior experience and there's a lot of ecosystem lockin.

 

[ThailandToo]

From the ones I've seen it was a bit of an old-man gathering and not terribly interesting anyway

This is the problem with Apple. It’s old out of touch men who run the show and rake in the cash, not the women that they show in the videos.

 

[Johnstrass2]

It's amazing how people's attitudes (even my attitude) has trended negative towards Apple over the least year. I poured my life savings into Apple in 2006 so I have every reason to love apple, but man, they are pissing me off lately. And it doesn't help that Siri (HomePod) asks me who I am several times per week, pauses music periodically, and is generally dumber than a brick!!! The fact that I have to say "Hello, you there?" half a dozen times when answering phone calls on my iPhone 16 Pro with my AirPods (come on Apple, figure it out!).

Well if you bought AAPL in 06 and now we are in 2025 you might cash out and be happy

 

[Johnstrass2]

This is the problem with Apple. It’s old out of touch men who run the show and rake in the cash, not the women that they show in the videos.

I agree. When I saw the dorky photo of tim with AVP goggles on Vanity Fair I knew Apple had lost touch.

 

[zedsdead]

As the judge said “Tim Cook choose poorly.” What a petty, vindictive company they have become. We should all send rotten apples to Cupertino like the Jericho people who sent studio execs peanuts.

 

[tomtad]

It seems they overshot

 

[leifp]

Super unfortunate. That behaviour doesn’t solve the egg already on the face. This would be a great opportunity to own up/reset expectations and discuss like adults. I know, not really an Apple strength even after Forstall’s departure.

 

[GioGiusi]

Why not? It isn't like Gruber has the balls to actually ask them real questions.

 

[GioGiusi]

LMAO. Bring back live presentations!

Maybe after Tim Cook leaves and an actual human being with product focus takes over as CEO.

 

[macmac30]

Well if you bought AAPL in 06 and now we are in 2025 you might cash out and be happy

Ha ha, selling creates a whole other set of problems…I’m still holding but increasingly not liking the optics…

 

[citysnaps]

This is really it. They have no confidence in their ability to fix issues, let alone admit failure. Why would Tim Cook change his management style? Things have only trended worse under his leadership for a while now

Yet Apple with its 1+ Billion active and repeat customers who love to purchase and use Apple products have made Apple one of the most successful consumer tech companies in the world. Manufacturing and selling 600,000 iPhones per day, every day of the year (on the average), as just one example, speaks volumes.

 

[lkrupp]

Gruber is toast and he knows it. Same thing happened to Leo LaPorte years go when he clandestinely live streamed from the Keynote speech. Leo has never been invited back to anything since.

And as for the usual carping about softball questions why would any company participate in an interview when they know they will be hit with gotcha questions exclusively from an interviewer with an agenda?

 

[lazyrighteye]

I can certainly understand the temptation to pass (there could be some - though I'd argue, small - risk associated), but the more badass move would be to happily accept and navigate whatever Gruber throws at them. It would be an opportunity for Apple to exert more control of the message. You think they'd jump at that. It's Gruber ffs. If they can't navigate him, then what are they doing in the roles they're in? Cowering to Gruber is just not a good look. But we have to remember, outside of this niche echo chamber, literally no one knows about this inside baseball stuff we discuss. My mom (whom I often leverage as "the customer") has on clue about any of this, nor should she. Aside from Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, there's not a single household name at Apple. So that some Apple guys my mom has never heard of are declining a sit down with another guy my mom has never heard of, matters exactly 0% to her. She just wants a cool iPhone or iPad.

 

[t0rqx]

First. Apple never enters an interview without being sent in the questions first.

 

[bladerunner88]

Admit they dropped the ball.
Explain to their customers what they are going to do about it?

Remember antennagate?
Steve came out, addressed everyone's concerns and offered roapmap to make it better and was available to answer any questions that were asked.

Exactly! Also the whole "Pre-Tapped" canned over Produced versions of Keynotes and Product announcements now just feels so off. Sure they look pretty with all the slick Crane, Dolly and Drone Shots but the whole excitement of in-person events is gone. Steve always took it to another Level!

 

[abowlby]

*puts on “Head Like a Hole” by NIN*

Yep. It is kind of wild given Gruber’s long history of shillary that Apple would do this. I can only image what a soft spot Apple Intelligence is internally.

 

[0049190]

We have no reason to believe anything he says. This “statement” he receives (from a person who might not even exist for all we know - it’s not a larger figure like Craig who can easily verify himself) - if 100% true - wouldn’t be sent to one guy. If there actually were some kind of delay, Apple would have to have said something officially themselves in a carefully-worded press release, not route it down to a blogger. Remember, there is no delay until the leftover Siri features don’t appear in iOS 18, and they still have three months to fulfill that promise.
Even if the statement is true, he continues to read into it incorrectly. “It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver these features” could very well mean they intended to deliver them with 18.4, but couldn’t. Unless Apple actually decides to break their promise by not providing the features in a build of iOS 18, there is nothing wrong with the AI situation.
Also also, why would Apple issue a statement to him exclusively like he has the honours of breaking the news, than less than three months later shun his long-running talk show?

Non of that proves he was lying. He’s simply repeating what he was told and adding his own analysis. Comment is very different to lies.

 

[abowlby]

Exactly! Also the whole "Pre-Tapped" canned over Produced versions of Keynotes and Product announcements now just feels so off. Sure they look pretty with all the slick Crane, Dolly and Drone Shots but the whole excitement of in-person events is gone. Steve always took it to another Level!

He also delivered some iconic lines.

“Netbooks aren’t better at anything!”

 

[abowlby]

Maybe they'll send Siri as a substitute.

Ok!

I’ve added “Santa Cereal Substitute” to your shopping list. Let me ask ChatGPT.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Hans Gruber fell from a skyscraper in the film Die Hard

Best Christmas movie ever

 

[Rogifan]

Exactly! Also the whole "Pre-Tapped" canned over Produced versions of Keynotes and Product announcements now just feels so off. Sure they look pretty with all the slick Crane, Dolly and Drone Shots but the whole excitement of in-person events is gone. Steve always took it to another Level!

Both Google and Microsoft had live events this year with live demos. Apple looks ridiculous still doing these slick, overproduced videos.

 

[UltimateSyn]

They are all an embarrassment so I am not sure what they would have talked about anyway as they would have just danced around any tricky questions.

How most of them are still in jobs is the biggest mystery. Should all be chucked out the company for incompetence & negligence.

Honestly just proving Gruber’s point.

 

[jonblatho]

We have no reason to believe anything he says. This “statement” he receives (from a person who might not even exist for all we know - it’s not a larger figure like Craig who can easily verify himself) - if 100% true - wouldn’t be sent to one guy. If there actually were some kind of delay, Apple would have to have said something officially themselves in a carefully-worded press release, not route it down to a blogger. Remember, there is no delay until the leftover Siri features don’t appear in iOS 18, and they still have three months to fulfill that promise.
Even if the statement is true, he continues to read into it incorrectly. “It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver these features” could very well mean they intended to deliver them with 18.4, but couldn’t. Unless Apple actually decides to break their promise by not providing the features in a build of iOS 18, there is nothing wrong with the AI situation.
Also also, why would Apple issue a statement to him exclusively like he has the honours of breaking the news, than less than three months later shun his long-running talk show?

Apple does regularly issue statements to only one website which then get relayed elsewhere. Why would they issue such an embarrassing statement to anywhere other than a relatively low-visibility website that happens to also be friendly territory?

 

[boswald]

It’s sad to see such hate and vitriol around here now.

 

[jonblatho]

They get the interview because neither foolishly tweeted that the CEO of the company had Trump’s balls in his mouth like Gruber did.

If the shoe fits…