That (childish) ridicule related to the various versions of the Android OS being used, a symptom of allowing phone manufacturers to customise it to their devices thus hindering the adoption of newer releases. Multiple devices running the same version of iOS is not fragmentation.
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Apple's 2017 Curved OLED iPhone to Be a New Premium Model
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Not sure I'm liking the direction are going with their phones of late, something I never thought I'd say. Always been a huge advocate of the iPhone and don't think I would ever jump ship to Samsung, but lately they seem to be losing their uniqueness. Too many versions in the range to try and counter moves of the competition. Phones that from a design aesthetic are looking dare I say 'uglier' and less interesting. Now a curved edge screen which I absolutely HATE on the Samsung phones. Looks 'cool' at first glance, but in using I find them awful. Disappointing.
I fully agree that with Android share we are moving to PC-Mac situation, but in smartphones.
However, guess what? It is good for Apple because it can maintain its margins and be profitable.
Remember how things ended for PC companies like Gateway, Dell, IBM and even MS, though it still charges obscene amount of money for its OS and Microsoft Office. Most of them exited market as they won't making money at all.
Apple makes a market popular, gets the lion's share of profits, cedes the profitless market share, moves to another lucrative market and gets lion's share of profits there. This Apple cycle is a masterpiece now that the company has mastered services to turn them into one of largest money making machines in the world (Forbes 100?), it is now can even thrive using just revenue from services, even with less profits from hardware. Of course, beautiful hardware is a key to that success, both Macs and iOS devices, for which Apple also receives money
However, guess what? It is good for Apple because it can maintain its margins and be profitable.
Remember how things ended for PC companies like Gateway, Dell, IBM and even MS, though it still charges obscene amount of money for its OS and Microsoft Office. Most of them exited market as they won't making money at all.
Apple makes a market popular, gets the lion's share of profits, cedes the profitless market share, moves to another lucrative market and gets lion's share of profits there. This Apple cycle is a masterpiece now that the company has mastered services to turn them into one of largest money making machines in the world (Forbes 100?), it is now can even thrive using just revenue from services, even with less profits from hardware. Of course, beautiful hardware is a key to that success, both Macs and iOS devices, for which Apple also receives money
Apple's R&D compared to other companies is irrelevant as long as current level is enough to keep it pushing out new and worthwhile products and features. But what Apple does spend is relevant to what it can afford. It has a high dividend yield, a large workforce of the brightest engineers in the world, not to mention two large campuses. If margins fall so will the dividend yield, which both devalues employee stock options and sours investors. That, along with the rest of the falling dominos, most definetly will pinch Apple R&D efforts -- judged on Apple's standard, not some other company that isn't as effecient.
Apple also said that multitasking wasn't needed. Their comments are just marketing, by highlighting a perceived (or real) issue. With market saturation, Apple is now moving to have more iPhone models to cater to those who have yet to embrace the iPhone.
Consider the move to the plus and the SE, clearly it was done to increase marketshare, where as before they could enjoy huge sales numbers with just one model.
I hate to bring up a car analogy but consider how Ford back in the early days of the car industry only offered black, but as competition increased and the need to be responsive, they started offering different colors. In a similar vein, we see Apple trying to be responsive to a shrinking market. I say shrinking because they've hit market saturation and untapped customers are getting harder to reach
You are talking like a shareholder not a consumer. The average person does not care about Apple's profit margins.
Consumers are getting bored with Iphones so sales are dropping.
It happened with Sony and Nokia.
Apple are getting lazy and selling old tech for top dollar and consumers are waking up to this and moving on.
This. If iPhone sales continue to lessen, Cook will do whatever it takes to boost them again.
Heck, Jobs had to do the same thing only a couple of months after the first iPhone came out. He dropped the price by 30% because Ballmer was right: Americans were not about to pay $600 upfront for an already subsidized phone.
You might have actually come up with a car analogy that semi works
It took Ford years to recover from the sales drop they suffered when competitors started offering multiple colors. Proof that you cannot dictate to customers after the competition catches up.
The good news is, the smartphone market is much faster to respond. Witness the immediate boost Apple got from the Plus and the SE.
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I'm not arguing against any of this. In just sayin I understand why some folks feel strongly that this wouldn't happen. That's all. Clearly they've already done things Steve claimed wouldnnever happen.
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There certainly is fragmentation just in lesser numbers.
Love it or hate it (or don't care), App Store is part of the experience. And app developers have to think of the numbers too. Adoption of the latest version of iOS isn't ubiquitous and these numbers have been gradually slipping.
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Probably they'll get rid of bezels and buttons in favor of what will look like a solid piece of shiny black/gold/pink glass that has basically no holes, ports or whatever (I think they will even get rid of the lightning connector and have wireless charging, so it will fit in with the completely wireless device philosophy of the new MacBooks.) And they are integrating the curved glass part of the display into the body of the device, but without it having actual pixels (curves won't display anything -or will replace the current physical buttons with shiny graphics that respond to 3D Touch- but the display will seem to disappear into the phone's body in a more dramatic way than the current 6s'.) This would fit in line with rumours that the 10th anniversary iPhone will have a whole-glass body. I'd like to think of it like the Mac Pro aesthetics ported to the iPhone (without it being a small soda can, of course.)
As a side comment regarding screen size, I have an iPhone 6s and just recently got my wife an iPhone SE. My previous cell phone was an iPhone 5s and I have to admit that the 4 inch display of the SE and 5s is way more comfortable to use than the 6s. I actually accepted an offer from my carrier to get an additional SE charged to my cellular bill and I'm seriously thinking of delegating the 6s as an emergency replacement phone and have the SE as my main phone. Personal preference based on usage, of course. Got used to 3D touch but won't necessarily miss it.
As a side comment regarding screen size, I have an iPhone 6s and just recently got my wife an iPhone SE. My previous cell phone was an iPhone 5s and I have to admit that the 4 inch display of the SE and 5s is way more comfortable to use than the 6s. I actually accepted an offer from my carrier to get an additional SE charged to my cellular bill and I'm seriously thinking of delegating the 6s as an emergency replacement phone and have the SE as my main phone. Personal preference based on usage, of course. Got used to 3D touch but won't necessarily miss it.
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isnt it sad just a few years ago samsung was copying everything from apple - both design and functionality.
Now just a few short years later, it's a 180 reverse - steve is rolling in his grave.
Tim cook is a great manager and operations, but for a company like apple they need a technology + user experience focused fanatic. I look at all the senior management apple has - all highly polished senior guys but none of them are aggressive or focused on user experience or innovation anymore. It's all about keeping the status quo.
Steve was the driver that is in the minute details and whipped everyone forward, now there is no driver. This company will survive for the next 5-10 years, but it is eventually doomed - death by papercuts. Unless they start bringing some outside talent that has a passion and technical vision to push ahead.
Now just a few short years later, it's a 180 reverse - steve is rolling in his grave.
Tim cook is a great manager and operations, but for a company like apple they need a technology + user experience focused fanatic. I look at all the senior management apple has - all highly polished senior guys but none of them are aggressive or focused on user experience or innovation anymore. It's all about keeping the status quo.
Steve was the driver that is in the minute details and whipped everyone forward, now there is no driver. This company will survive for the next 5-10 years, but it is eventually doomed - death by papercuts. Unless they start bringing some outside talent that has a passion and technical vision to push ahead.
I don't agree at all. Look at the 5K iMac we both have. I think the 12 inch MacBook is very forward thinking. Touch ID, Apple Pay (implementation not invention), a working fingerprint scanner all of these are innovations that Apple has made in the last few years. The innovations are occurring in the products we know, not introducing new products, not every release can be an iPhone or iPad. That being said I wouldn't mind Apple 'keeping up with the Joneses' a little bit with their technology offerings.
So, the most of the iPhone hardware will be made by Samsung. Eventually, there will be a 'premium' iPhone model running Android...
[doublepost=1472065483][/doublepost]And by the time Apple will release its curved OLED phone, Samsung will release something revolutionary. I think I actually can predict what i t would be...
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Retina screens are gorgeous without a doubt, but Apple refuse to back them up with high or even mid level GPUs. It's depressing. They can't even be bothered to keep OpenGL up to date for goodness sake, let alone adopt a modern multiplatform API like Vulkan.
Getting back to phones, I think we're definitely past peak smartphone, at least in the developed world. Samsung are ahead on screen tech and form factor, but they're not really innovating either. I guess phones are simply good enough now.
And on the laptop side we are going to see soon some gorgeous OLED displays. Not from Apple though...
As for the phones, the next step: completely bezel-less phones. The same form factor would allow for a bigger display. The wow factor would be affected as well. Phones 2-3 years from now will start to look quite different.
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Sometimes I miss the days when someone would come out with a new form factor. Industry insider shows used to be exciting because there were so many oddball style concepts.
I mean, years ago you'd see everything from phones that looked like smooth glowing river stones, to phones that had hidden plastic buttons that raised up automatically from the front of a touchscreen.
All we see now are the same boring candybar glass slabs.
Still... I have hope that Samsung's folding phablet prototypes will someday soon become actual products.
Not as funny as those people who think that Samsung reads Macrumors and a month later releases a product or feature that Apple is rumored to be working on.
Yeah, and it's confusing. I don't get why German automakers like to make a hundred models all with numbers as names. Support and service are easier if there are fewer models, and having very few model names makes those few iconic, even if there are different ones with the same name (see: BMW M3).
Exactly....
We know the s8 will feature an all glass , one piece, body when it is released. It will be inevitable.
Without being really innovative, Apple seems to be pushing the market by rumors of what they are going to do in the future.
Apple should take advantage of that fact and spread all kind of fake rumors.
All the phone wanted was a rest away from the world, face down, not to see or be seen...
... and then they installed a second screen and it was on non stop 24/7.
Many people wear gloves where the weather in their country dictates a need.