Well, maybe this will help Apple realize that
we want our good products back!
- Mac Pro Towers, not the shizzy trashcan crap. We want our professional stuff to be user-upgradable like before!
- No soldered RAM on Macs. Do I even need to explain why? It's such a stab in the back to consumers. Apple, we like companies that treat us with respect! And we know that you don't have to solder it on there!
- Thunderbolt 3 on ALL Macs! What's with the new 2016 MacBook only having USB-C? There's no excuse for it to not have Thunderbolt 3.
- Speaking of the new MacBook--Make a version that's actually good! One port is unacceptable--Nobody wants an Octopus-like dongle of cables in order to plug in all their stuff. It defeats the purpose of the computer's ultra-portability.
- USB-C on all iOS devices. Get rid of that Lighting crap. We're done living in 2011.
- Skylake Macs. Whats the deal?! Seriously, Intel is about to release even NEWER CPUs! Why wait so long to upgrade! You're making us feel like you're neglecting the Mac altogether! Not a good business tactic! (And yeah, the new thin MacBook is Skylake, whatever. It doesn't count though since it's garbage).
- No 16GB iPhones. Apple, you know this. Make the 32GB version be the price of the 16GB.
Apple, when you make your customers feel like they've been abandoned and/or taken advantage of, of COURSE your sales are going to go down! We love you, but you need to get back in the game!
Honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, Apple is really cheap right now, it is trading at a p/e ratio between 9 and 11 (compare that to Google and Microsoft at 35). At the same time, we are approaching the end of an iPhone replacement cycle, where a new iPhone is around the corner and people are holding off on purchases. The market has done what its done so well in the past, over react to some bad news. So for that reason, I am holding Apple stock.
But the problems are there with Apple and as an Apple customer I am extremely frustrated with the company. I remember when I first replaced my PC with a Macbook Pro in 2012 I was impressed. It was the little things which made it impeccable:
- I could swipe back and forth on my trackpad to browse the net
- The amazing integration with the iPhone and Macbook with my Google Services
- The great integration with my iPhone. I could send/receive iMessages and take and make Facetime calls from my computer. I could easily share media between the two devices.
- The way it was designed was simple, if I was walking around I would get the same information on my phone that I would get when I was sitting down on my Macbook. I could use which ever device best suited my setting in that moment.
- I could easily upgrade my hard drive and my RAM, so I could hold off on buying more RAM or a SSD until I really needed it.
- System software was very lightweight so I could dedicate more resources to my actual tasks.
- My Macbook ran quite well, all the software "just worked"
Honestly when I bought it, I felt my productivity go up a lot. I felt like it was actually helping me get more work done. I felt like the devices I had bought could be used in a way which best suited my setting at the time. For example, if I was walking around I could type on my iPhone and when I sat down I could pick up where I left off on my Macbook. I could easily defend spending a bit more on my Macbook Pro because the productivity boost.
Then slowly, slowly I felt Apple started to go down a bit. For me it started with their disastrous decision to use Apple Maps over Google Maps. Apple Maps was so half-assed at the time, that half the roads in the city I lived in weren't even mapped. Then finally when we did get Google Maps, it wasn't integrated in Siri. That was quickly followed up by their decision to not allow Push Gmail, so I had to choose between using my Gmail Account or my iPhone and that pushed me to buy an Android Phone (huge improvement for my life).
But I still kept my Mac, because I felt like it was a massive improvement over the comparable PCs. The Mac still integrated well with my Gmail and it was still leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. But that's my current Macbook. It needs a replacement soon and I honestly can't justify spend as much money on a new Macbook Pro:
- The computer starts at $1575 CDN
- The CPU is 3 years old, which is basically ancient.
- The Ram is soldiered into the motherboard and 16GB is the only upgrade option
- The SSD isn't upgradable at all. I have to spend at least 1800 for a 256 GB SSD (my minimum requirement).
- There is no dedicated GPU on a 1600 dollar laptop. seriously!!!
- To get a dedicated GPU I have to spend at least 3000 dollars and I still only get 16 GB of RAM, a three year old CPU and have to spend another 600 dollars for a SSD upgrade!!!!!
- The integration is still there but Android is leaps and bounds ahead now and it is cross platform. The only thing Google behind on is that it doesn't have it own version of iMessage.
- Nothing is user serviceable, so if one small part goes you have to replace the entire Motherboard. So Apple Care is a must.
- The Webcam is 420p on a 1600-3000 dollar laptop.
- The operating system is horribly bloated.
Whats really sad. The best deal right now is the the non retina MacBook Pro. This device hasn't been updated since I last bought one, it still has a 1280 by 800 pixels display, which was bad even back then, it still has a 5400 RPM spin drive and yet it still costs $1350. The only reason it is the best deal, at least I can upgrade it to suit my needs by putting in more RAM for less and a bigger hard drive. Since the CPU hasn't been upgraded in ages in the Retina Macbook Pro, for about $1800 CDN, I could probably get a device which is only slightly slower than the $3000 Macbook Pro.
I still want another Macbook, but honestly with all of the issues I am increasingly leaning towards a PC. Hell I wanted to buy a Mac Pro, but after neglecting the line for years, they release a trashcan. I already built a new desktop PC, and I am increasingly thinking I need to buy a PC Laptop as well. Sad, really sad.