Well I am saying that is how it seems to me based on Apple's performance recently.
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Apple Introduces New Giraffe, Shark, Owl and Boar Animoji in iOS 12.2 Beta
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Well I am saying that is how it seems to me based on Apple's performance recently.
Which 8th gen are you referring to? Since anything below top of the line seems “petty” to you, I assume you’re talking about the i7-8700K?
But since people think releasing emoji prevents iMac updates, a lack of understanding of Apple’s business practices and decision making processes shouldn’t be surprising I suppose.
Apple doesn’t chase upgrades by releasing every possible update. That’s commodity PC manufacturer behavior. That’s how you make low margins, or even lose money—a literal race to the bottom, clawing and scraping for a few percent profit. Lenovo/HP/Dell/Acer compete on who can bring out the cheapest PC. Awesome. They’re welcome to it.
Apple has longer product cycles. They don’t have the volumes of a Lenovo/HP/Dell, so they can’t recover development costs nearly as fast. Apple sets the initial price based on the average margin over the product lifecycle. When a model is first released, margins are typically lower than target, but by the end of the product lifecycle, margins are higher.
As an example, rather than pricing a model at $2,200 initially, then dropping it to $2,000 six or nine months later, then $1,800 another six to nine months after that, Apple will just price at $2,000 for the entire year or year and a half lifecycle.
Keeping prices constant leads to certainty and stability, and is less disruptive to purchasing behavior. Customers aren’t trained to hold off on purchases until they see discounts kick in in order to move perishable inventory that’s stacking up. Buyers know that the price is the price, there’s no point in waiting... so if they need it, they buy it now.
So it’s a smart strategy, not strange or odd at all once you understand it.
I use animoji pretty liberally and my family get's a kick out of it. It's a showcase technology. That's my fact, coupled with my anecdotal experience. It's not like Apple can't implement an animoji technology and not update IOS at the same time. Or as the meme goes either implement emoji or fix bugs. Thankfully there are these fun things to do on an iphone with the great tech buried beneath the case.Animoji personal experience "Facts":
iOS UIx personal experience "Facts":
- I have yet to hear of a family member or friend use Animoji's or express desire to have a phone to be able to use them.
- I read mostly disparaging comments over Animoji's on macrumors and elsewhere.
- I have zero desire to use Animoji's myself, while having continual frustration at times over unintuitive UIx cues in iOS starting with iOS 7.
Resulting opinions/anecdotals:
- My sister, girlfriend, and mom text/call me continually asking for help how to make something happen on their iPhone/iPad, especially after certain iOS updates; this rarely happened 2010-2013.
- Intuitive function-first form-second UIx cues will always only help users; I have yet to read or hear a single example of how the iOS6 calendar, iTunes/Music app, dialer, iMessages app, Pictures/Camera apps, Voice Memo app, etc., had design issues that were corrected by iOS7's "unobtrusive" minimalist bare-bones presentation, while I found numerous blogs, articles, opinions, complaints about iOS7's (and subsequent iOS's) unintutive and often confusing UIx. (note: the opinions in blogs/articles may be opinions, but the fact of the matter is they appeared in droves after iOS7 vs. before).
- iOS7-12 are much more form-first (reinventions of time-tested methods, some still controversial) than function-first (the old-school proven method, but largely abandoned by Apple and unfortunately similarly abandoned by most website designers, app developers, etc. who blindly lemmingly copy Apple for better or for worse)
- Any form-first function-second flat-design all-white/grey/light blue UIx cues & interfaces that cause hesitation or doubt to a user are much less intuitive and efficient to use than a UIx that bends over backwards with certain UIx prompts based on decades of learning (that were used in iOS6 & prior). (not talking stitched leather and green felt, but rather, the smart use of 3D buttons and certain colors/shading, borders, contrasting elements, etc.)
- In my opinion, Animoji's are fluff that appeals to a much smaller segment than would benefit from a UIx prioritized back onto function-first form-second.
- In my opinion, I find extreme irony that Apple finds value in 3D/realistic-leaning Animoji's that mimic "real life" while maintaining their head-in-sand blind eye towards how non-flat real-life-intuitive-based UIx element "basics" result in a better user experience, sticking to their flat design monochromatic low-contrast guns.
<--No desire for this to be an Animoji
My other facts are nobody in my family ever asks for help with IOS, they just somehow no how to use the phone and figure out the updates. I did take a class to learn how to use IOS 5, when it was released on the ipad 2. So I guess by some standards, it really wasn't intuitive back then.
Bottom line. Fluff is good. Showcasing technology with fluff is a lot of fun. Emojis are a lot of fun. IOS 13 hopefully brings some great, meaningful changes to IOS that moves the needle forward. (opposed to backward like ios 6). Some more flexibility in certain areas will be welcome.
LoL you don't even know?
I'm talking about the bottom line i3's and i5's which on the 9th gen in comparison to the 8th gen will only have a small frequency boost at best.
The rest wrote wrote are just funny excuses.
Anyway I hope Apple continues with this strategy and they will soon find out how great they are in comparison to those commodity PC manufacturers.
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You mis-read my response. I asked which 8th gen are you referring to. That question was in reply to your posting “Intel’s 8th gen was already a meaningful update”. I’m not talking 8th vs. 9th, I’m talking about 7th vs. 8th.
Apple just had their best quarter ever for Macs, so I hope they continue this strategy too. It’s working very well. Turns out they _can_ release new Macs while their artists draw emoji.
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Yeas Intel’s 8th gen is already a meaningful update.
With 8th gen vs the 7th gen, i3s go from dual core to quad core and i5s go from quad core to hexacores.
On the 9th gen these exact CPUs will only see a small frequency bump which will result in 2-6% more performance if they run at full speed. Like I've said, petty.
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It's nice to meet my first active Animoji user.
Fluff is great, but only if the basics are first taken care of. I think current iOS is still missing basics that were awfully helpful until the great iOS 7 plague. Nobody including me wishes to return to iOS 6 wholly, but isn't it about time we abandon things that are controversial in regards to UIx/comprehension? Other than providing something new, what issues before iOS 7 did these address: Flat design dumbed-down UIx, using tiny text-only tap prompts that can easily be confused as info-only text, hiding frequently used tools/actions either unnecessarily off-screen or buried under hamburger icons (why are volume and other basic frequently-needed controls still not constantly available on-screen in the iOS music app), the pervasive use of faint blue/grey text on whiteout backgrounds with an absolute minimum of lines/borders that provide simple context & arrangement. It's time to put an end to using iOS for Jony's and maybe others' "can we use as few lines and borders as possible" minimalism design contests.
I'm thinking iOS 13 may move towards a one-handed use approach: more key functions/entry windows at the bottom/mid screen instead of top. Hopefully more actions front-and-center and not hidden offscreen or buried under hamburger/ellipse/gear icons. Hopefully more obvious tappable zones in place of text. Hopefully an abandoning of the circle theme that has hamstrung so many app designers into creating space-wasting apps just to stick to Apple's theme.
There's a certain magic in Animoji's largely because of how "real" and artful they look, I bet. Effort was made in focusing on the details and not in focusing on how to present a character via flat design with with as few pixels, shades, and "almost want to reach out and touch it" details as possible. Why is/was abandoning that focus from iOS a good idea? Why would that not be a good idea to return that level of focus to iOS? (Not questions directly to you of course, since it sounds like you too realize there's room to swing the needle back towards "what just works.")
Nice to meet you. They are fun when used appropriately, like emoji.It's nice to meet my first active Animoji user.
This is such a broad based comment as to be meaningless and lies in the realm of apple can either implement emojis or fix bugs. Which people do say and is obviously ludicrous.
Sure there is always room for improvement.
What was addressed was a new look for a completely rewritten operating system that gave continuity to the users.
Flat and dumbed down are to my liking.
As far as the remainder of the post, there is room for improvement but I want the improvement in very different areas than you. I’m okay with overall design element, I want easier ways to get my music and videos on the phone for example, which transcends the entire issue with what is a good or bad UI.[/quote]
Don’t forget this conversation started with you claiming Apple was “waiting for nothing” with respect to Intel ninth gen, apparently not understanding that most of the lineup necessary for such a release hasn’t been launched yet by Intel. And that AMD needs to release Navi in order for Apple to deliver a meaningful GPU upgrade.
Intel actually had the same issue with the 8th gen. Yes, the 8700/8700K were released in 4Q17. But 8500/8600 weren’t released until 2Q18, meaning it would be 3Q18 before Apple would have all the CPUs they needed for an iMac refresh.
Given that reality, they apparently decided not to proceed with a CPU-only upgrade of iMac for 2018, and instead deliver a 9th gen Intel/AMD Navi upgrade this year, with an overall platform refresh (physical enclosure/T2 security chip/display improvements) rumored as well. Apple has their reasons for hardware release schedule, and it doesn’t have anything to do with being distracted by Animoji.
Incidentally, although you keep calling the CPUs used in the low/mid tier iMacs “petty”, please realize those models comprise the bulk of iMac sales. They are necessary and important, not petty. Like MacBook, there are relatively few sold at the highest tier.
Or maybe you have no clue about what drove Apple innovation... FYI I was deeply involved in it and the emergence of mobile tech... this Kardashians and fashionista play has already run it's course... they'll either get back on track or it'll be Sculley all over again... I remember bozos giving the same "He know marketing" argument then... worked for a bit then caught up with them.
You were involved in mobile tech in the 1980s? Cool stuff.
As far as sculley redux, that remains to be seen.
If you’re not going to respond to my post, there’s really no need to reply to me.
And you keep using this Kardashian and fashionista phrase, but what do you mean by that? I have no idea what you’re complaining about. The Apple Watch Edition?
Which segment of Apple’s target market is upsetting you? But more importantly, please explain why should they stop marketing to it. Apple’s marketing casts a wide net; that how you sell 2 billion devices.
But I get it... Apple can’t innovate anymore, Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs, Apple’s lost its way, Apple is doomed, ad nauseam.
When I said waiting for nothing I was thinking at Intel's 9th gen vs the 8th gen which has been on the maker for quite some time now.
Anyway AMD's next GPUs will launch late this year(October-November) so Apple's computer refresh strategy is a total Fail. I hope they do as you suggest so they can realize it as well.
https://www.techpowerup.com/252382/no-amd-radeon-navi-before-october-report
Yes, Apple is at the mercy of Intel and AMD to provide the chips they want on time. If their suppliers’ schedules slip, Apple’s schedule will slip. You’re free to call this an Apple fail if it pleases you.
btw, reports are that Navi’s slip is due to its AMD’s own supplier’s (TSMC) schedule. Reportedly AMD can’t get the chips previously expected in June manufactured until October.
Problems like this are exactly why Apple chooses to vertically integrate, eliminating dependency on outside suppliers and doing it themselves instead. If reports are correct, Apple will transition away from Intel CPUs and use their own chips instead. If they choose can also use their own GPU instead of having to source that component from others, and I expect they will do so.
No they are not, it's their choice. Nobody is forcing them to specifically use AMD GPUs and Intel CPUs.
it's more complicated than that.
Rumors say AMD had to retape Navi(which mean at least 1 quarter of delays) and that it's possible Sony PS5 will launch at the end of this year and it's a priority for AMD.
Anyway none of this excuses will help Apple in any way.
Their hardware will only get more uncompetitive in the upcoming months than it already is. They could at least decrease the price to balance this situation but they won't and that's their biggest Fail.
We are talking about iMacs here not low power laptops.
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No matter who the third party supplier is, it is a dependency that Apple can remove by bringing CPU/GPU in-house if they choose. For those concerned, their silicon team does not work on Animoji or emoji so no worries there.
If Intel can’t deliver the rest of the 9th gen in a timely fashion, Apple always has the fallback option of using 8th gen, although that’s obviously not their first choice. Similarly, if Navi won’t be ready until 2020, Apple can use a current AMD GPU in an iMac refresh. Again, not their first choice, but they can’t use a part that’s not shipping.
Not having a 2018 iMac refresh isn’t the disaster you seem to think it is. Business/enterprise buys what’s available at the time they purchase, and most home users are the same. Even though iMac was updated every year until 2015, it appears Apple has switched to a two-year cadence: 2015, 2017, 2019.
btw I expect the same two year cycle for Air, iMac Pro, Mac mini and probably the new Mac Pro as well. MacBook skipped 2018 as well. There will be no price cuts in the off year, since it would not increase sales enough to offset the loss in revenue/profits.
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