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Don't you see that the OP wants to be first in line to replace Tim with his never ending wisdom and strategic outlook.

Obviously no product can grow forever but that's why you need to make new products. iMac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad... All of them were a huge success. Now what have we got after Steve, Apple Watch? It's been 6 years since the iPad.
 
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I feel that Tim Cook's time as caretaker CEO is done.

He's never been a caretaker. He's been an integral player in Apple's success since the time Steve Jobs was brought back. Let's not downplay the man's full role in the success of the company.

He's guided Apple to outstanding profits, but has not shown that he can take Apple to new heights in the long-term. The Apple Watch is not a worthy successor to the Mac, the iPhone and the iPad, in my opinion.

It's still too early to call the Apple Watch a win or loss but indications are that it's on that slow climb to being the same sort of success the iPhone and iPad were. Remember, neither of those products were killing the market out of the gate either. It took a few years before people start to acknowledge that they were great products. And if you look at the current state of fitness tech, you can see that the Watch is on a similar trajectory. At the very least, claiming it's a failure at this stage is only revealing your own bias, not a reflection of what the smart watch market is truly expected to do.

Read this: http://www.businessinsider.com/smartwatches-are-siphoning-demand-from-fitness-trackers-2016-4-22
 
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I know I'm being a broken record but Apple could knock it out of the park right now if they'd dump the Mini and the iMac and introduce a new desktop Mac with all the features potential Windows switchers and existing Mac users have been begging them for for many years now. Wide range of ports, decent upgradability, GPU options, etc. I'd jump on that in a heartbeat and I know *LOTS* of people (many of them Windows users who have reluctantly stuck with the PC because Apple offers nothing that appeals directly to PC users) who would as well. For the life of me, I don't understand why Apple has stuck their head in the sand on this. People have been clamoring for it for years, going so far as to create the Hackintosh community to attempt to create it themselves.
 
I don't know what the straw man consumers will do. I know what I will do, my family will do, my coworkers. But people are buying products as you don't make 231 billion a year from failure.

Consumer Companies who do not innovate or cease to innovate start to struggle - sales drop and competitors catch up.

Doesn't matter how much revenue they generate. Sony, Microsoft, Polaroid... Today's success doesn't ensure future success.

Its been seen the world over. Many times.

Its a Known Fact.
 
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This kind of topic is like a blank canvas for people. This decline is caused by whatever someone dislikes about Apple the most. You're going to see several different reasons in this thread, very few of them based in reality. All of the reasons will completely ignore the fact that this was going to eventually happen no matter what Apple did.

YES. THIS. Spot on, sir.
 
We all clearly know what's new, nobody is going to discredit TC's work and his commitment to drive Apple to where it is now.

One thing is for sure. Apple is no longer as exciting compare to SJ's leadership, even his Keynotes were much more exciting. Yes, some of those products were flaw but it kept all of us excited, jumping like kids, looking forward to buy it once available.
Keynotes are not rock concerts.
 
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Consumer Companies who do not innovate / cease to innovate start die / start on a downward trend. Its been practised the world over.

Its a Known Fact.
No, but the 1 billion current customers will keep Apple afloat. Remember Apple made 231 billion dollars last year, while MR forum members have been predicting Apple will sink like the titanic for years.
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Consumer Companies who do not innovate / cease to innovate start die / start on a downward trend. Its been practised the world over.

Its a Known Fact.
No, but the 1 billion current customers will keep Apple afloat. Remember Apple made 231 billion dollars last year, while MR forum members have been predicting Apple will sink like the titanic for years.
 
I know I'm being a broken record but Apple could knock it out of the park right now if they'd dump the Mini and the iMac and introduce a new desktop Mac with all the features potential Windows switchers and existing Mac users have been begging them for for many years now. Wide range of ports, decent upgradability, GPU options, etc. I'd jump on that in a heartbeat and I know *LOTS* of people (many of them Windows users who have reluctantly stuck with the PC because Apple offers nothing that appeals directly to PC users) who would as well. For the life of me, I don't understand why Apple has stuck their head in the sand on this. People have been clamoring for it for years, going so far as to create the Hackintosh community to attempt to create it themselves.

Absolutely. I'm all in with Apple for mobile/watch. But I'm on Windows for computing and many of my filmmaker friends are moving to Windows as well.

Last week I bought a new desktop for $2,000. Core i7 6700k, GTX 980, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, 6TB 7200rpm drives, BluRay Burner. It's amazing.
 
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Damn capitalist propaganda. As if they could raise their revenue indefinitely.

Yeah, THIN for the WIN. The definition of innovation has weakened during the Cook era.

Bla bla. What is there to innovate? You cannot innovate every year. Next big thing could either be the iCar or a breakthrough in battery life. And even that will not feel as revolutionary as the growing smartphone market from the beginning of the century. We´ve got used to having computers (in form of smartphones ad tablets) always around us.
We already use it for navigation, information, communication but now you can expect tweaks to improve all that further but it won´t change our lives as it did 10 years ago.
 
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Mac lineup is worse then ever ... everything is outdated (ok macbook not).
iPhone is nothing special anymore ... design good but far from perfect as it was in the past ... features, android has them first so no surprises.
iPad ... what a messy lineup ... Pro is a failure, because the software isn't ready.
Watch ... no master plan for this product ... why do i need this? ... also heavy prices for a smartwatch (which won't hold its value)

I think Tim shows no love for the products ... and in some way you can feel that. It's all about getting the maximum profit, yeah that is what he is supposed to do, but it wont work for a long time.

I mean 16 GB as base model, it is not a mistake people don't have to buy it. But it is an example of how the company doesn't care anymore about the perfect experience the user should have with an apple product. It has become more about maximizing the profits. There are many other examples of this behaviour ...
 
No, but the 1 billion current customers will keep Apple afloat. Remember Apple made 231 billion dollars last year, while MR forum members have been predicting Apple will sink like the titanic for years.



Look at Sony, Microsoft et al. They all had great consumer sales.. they stopped making the products consumers wanted, competitors did... and customers went to the competitor.

Consumers don't have as much brand loyalty as yourself may have.

Its predictable as physics. Don't innovate, companies will lose sales.
 
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.
 
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LOL, 1 billion customers. I don't think so.

If Apple don't innovate new products, those customers will go elsewhere. They don't have the brand loyalty as you may do.

Look at Sony, Microsoft et al. They all had great consumer sales.. they stopped making the products consumers wanted, competitors caught up.. and customers went elsewhere.

Its like physics.

Yes yes - nature abhors a vacuum :)
 
This decline has nothing to do with anything you just said.
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This decline would have happened even if Steve Jobs were still alive and running Apple. No product can grow forever.
It's true no product can grow forever, but we'll never know if this particular decline would have happened on SJ's watch. There is still a lot the iPhone can offer but it has fallen behind the competition, and embarrassingly so. 2016 and still no OLED display? No wireless charging? No waterproofing? 2017 may be too little too late. They need to double-down on innovation just to catchup.
 
Because most consumers moved beyond desktop PC's. Focus is now on smart phones and tablets. We will always have a need for desktops, but in a limited capacity.

I agree. Now let the trucks, be trucks.

Let this be the time to give professionals and prosumers all of the crazy stuff that consumers don't care about, in their Macs. Give us xMac, or at least the equiv of the old graphite/silver G4 towers. Profits? Who cares. All the profit is in "post-PC" devices.
 
Mac lineup is worse then ever ... everything is outdated (ok macbook not).
iPhone is nothing special anymore ... design good but far from perfect as it was in the past ... features, android has them first so no surprises.
iPad ... what a messy lineup ... Pro is a failure, because the software isn't ready.
Watch ... no master plan for this product ... why do i need this? ... also heavy prices for a smartwatch (which won't hold its value)

I think Tim shows no love for the products ... and in some way you can feel that. It's all about getting the maximum profit, yeah that is what he is supposed to do, but it wont work for a long time.

I mean 16 GB as base model, it is not a mistake people don't have to buy it. But it is an example of how the company doesn't care anymore about the perfect experience the user should have with an apple product. It has become more about maximizing the profits. There are many other examples of this behaviour ...
yeah we got it. They don´t make their phones as cheap as you´d like it.
Go join a socialist group and help them to fight capitalism. Or do like capitalism and understand that their sales concept is genius. They make millions of extra dollars from the additional 100 bucks for the 64GB model.
 
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Damn capitalist propaganda. As if they could raise their revenue indefinitely.



Bla bla. What is there to innovate? You cannot innovate every year. Next big thing could either be the iCar or a breakthrough in battery life. And even that will not feel as revolutionary as the growing smartphone market from the beginning of the century. We´ve got used to having computers (in form of smartphones ad tablets) always around us.
We already use it for navigation, information, communication but now you can expect tweaks to improve all that further but it won´t change our lives as it did 10 years ago.

BUNK - Cook has been CEO for 5 years now - false proposition on your part. Do you really need people to explain to you what needs to be innovated on? Read the hundreds of posts on a world of opportunity !!
 
Look at Sony, Microsoft et al. They all had great consumer sales.. they stopped making the products consumers wanted, competitors did... and customers went to the competitor.

Consumers don't have as much brand loyalty as yourself may have.

Its predictable as physics. Don't innovate, companies will lose sales.
I agree, if they stop innovating....but they haven't. And you are right about anything happening, you never know ill give you that.
 
yeah we got it. They don´t make their phones as cheap as you´d like it.
Go join a socialist group and help them to fight capitalism. Or do like capitalism and understand that their sales concept is genius. They make millions of extra dollars from the additional 100 bucks for the 64GB model.

The Capitalists have spoken, Apple stock price has dropped from $135 to $104, and at one point of time they hit $90.
 
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Last time Apple had a quarterly revenue decline, I was the biggest Apple Macintosh fanboy in the world. Such an exciting time. New PowerMacs, exciting laptops, iPods, Mac OS X ... keynotes were like Superbowl.

Now the action is with Windows 10.
 
Apple generates more revenue from the iPad than Google generates from all of its businesses combined...are you aware of this fact? Nobody is denying the fact that the iPhone is the main driver for Apple's business; this is an obvious statement that everyone is aware of. But to say that Apple is a "one trick pony" because of the iPhone shows complete ignorance of Apple's income statement.

Yes Apple is a large successful company. Ford was a large successful company. Microsoft was more profitable than Apple. Blackberries used to be sexy (debatable). The point is: You can't rest on your laurels forever and keep churning out half-baked products that play catch-up to the competition. One day Apple may loose its luster.
 
I know I'm being a broken record but Apple could knock it out of the park right now if they'd dump the Mini and the iMac and introduce a new desktop Mac with all the features potential Windows switchers and existing Mac users have been begging them for for many years now. Wide range of ports, decent upgradability, GPU options, etc. I'd jump on that in a heartbeat and I know *LOTS* of people (many of them Windows users who have reluctantly stuck with the PC because Apple offers nothing that appeals directly to PC users) who would as well. For the life of me, I don't understand why Apple has stuck their head in the sand on this. People have been clamoring for it for years, going so far as to create the Hackintosh community to attempt to create it themselves.

Again, in this "post-PC" world, let the trucks be trucks.
 
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