Apple's Product Design Team Reportedly Focused More on Costs in Recent Years

[Royksöpp]

The past 2 years have been quite radical for Mac design. After the 2016 disaster they had nowhere to go but up.

In one year Apple introduced:

2021 MacBook Pro
Mac Studio
Studio Display
MacBook Air M2

Clearly one product category has received the most attention. I'm not upset that the Mac is now leading in design innovation. It's the one area that Apple should always be evolving. After 40 years computer design is still changing. In sharp contrast, Phones and Tablets have plateaued in both design and function. Thank god the Mac still has the ability to excite.

 

[Feyl]

What kind of innovations are you looking for?

Apple used to be able to make the devices sleeker while improving performance and battery life almost every year. Now they can’t do that so they make them thicker and revert to old designs. In short, Apple is playing it safe because they dissapointed us before. I’m not saying the devices are looking bad but they’re not exactly forward looking. So I’d want them to be more creative.

 

[quarkysg]

To those who cheered when Ive left, this is your legacy. A return to the pre-Jobs era of cost over design. No wonder we see such little innovation and so much (so much!) iteration.

Think about this for a second. If by Ive leaving, and the design team falls into a shambles, then Ive is not a good leader making sure his team can function well without him.

One of the most important task that Steve Jobs completed is to pick a successor to succeed him, and I think his did a fantastic job there.

 

[Krispykrme]

Think about this for a second. If by Ive leaving, and the design team falls into a shambles, then Ive is not a good leader making sure his team can function well without him.

One of the most important task that Steve Jobs completed is to pick a successor to succeed him, and I think his did a fantastic job there.

Ask any old apple employee during the hey days of 06-11, it’s a much focus and more innovative company.

What has cook really brought to market?

SPG was and still disaster.

 

[Krispykrme]

Since I‘ve been to hotels and conference rooms this year that didn‘t (but did have HDMI and VGA), you obviously haven’t seen „every single“ one. I‘ve seen the dongles and they aren’t that great a solution.

Not too many have USB-C headphones either.
And contrary to what Apple’s ecosystem may see, it’s not all wireless either.

Look, the connectivity of Apple’s M1 chip in PCIe / thunderbolt seems limited (as being a souped-up smartphone/tablet SOC, and evidenced by the Mac Mini‘s device support) and that may be part of the reason they brought back these legacy parts. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t commonly used though.

Unless you are going back in time

1. USB-c are pretty much in all conference room system.

2. You do realize that most conference room system now support zoom or google meets.. etc that you actually can present over those app even without a dongle.

How many headphones are all Bluetooth now?

Content creator isn’t majority of MacBook Pro market either.

 

[Infodataset]

No need to design...less features = less cost .easy right?

 

[cardfan]

No need to design...less features = less cost .easy right?

Just fire about 20% of employees. It’s a trend. Especially in tech. Much needed. If apple does it right they can focus on the work at home folks.

 

[quarkysg]

Ask any old apple employee during the hey days of 06-11, it’s a much focus and more innovative company.

What has cook really brought to market?

SPG was and still disaster.

What you wrote are very subjective IMHO.

What has happened since Tim Cook took over as CEO, was growing Apple to a $2T market cap company, with an ever increasing user base of Apple's product.

Think about it.

 

[Nuno Lopes]

I missed the times when apple built designs and products that no one saw it coming. Now … heck you have to live under a rock in order not to guess what’s coming … no need for rumors for that matter.

The little surprises here and there are actually not that good, to bad.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

True, but

”Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like,” says Steve Jobs, Apple’s C.E.O. ”People think it’s this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”


People always think of look first.

And sometimes that look ends a product, and sometimes it doesn't.

The Edsel died. It looked like crap! Ouch, but Volkswagen's 'The Thing' was kind of popular, and the Aztec sold well. *shrug* PC Jr failed but IBM kept it on their product list for quite a while. Made me wonder if they biult too many of them.

 

[I7guy]

I missed the times when apple built designs and products that no one saw it coming. Now … heck you have to live under a rock in order not to guess what’s coming … no need for rumors for that matter.

The little surprises here and there are actually not that good, to bad.

Similar to Iphone 4 to iphone 4s? Or iphone 5s to iphone 6?

 

[PlayUltimate]

Should it though?

The newer Macbook Pros are chubbier and uglier, but they have ports! Features and function wrapped in good designed.

Apple put design first for a long time and at times was not successful, and others.... pissed everyone off for a few years (like removing optical drives, ports, ear phone jacks) but when the newer tech finally caught up, no one cared.

Yes it should. Design includes the addition of ports. Adding ports is not a decision that an accountant would made. I think the question you are asking is about the focus of the design. Ive's design motivation may not have been the same as a port-dependent engineer's design focus. Further, it is hard to say that Ive did not design a computer with multiple ports; an accountant could have come in and said, "Hey, we can save some money if we buy USBC ports is bulk. Can we make all the ports the ports the same and then sell dongles?"

 

[webkit]

Ah so it’s all purely because they haven’t had a price increase yet, so you are just going to ignore the 10 billion extra profit Apple made on services alone in 2022 over 2021. Your argument really isn’t valid or contains any content, you are literally just repeating what Apple has claimed. Let’s be totally honest here, Apples price increases is just greed plain and simple and nothing else, not when your raking in an extra 10 billion on services alone.

I'd have to look at the financial report again but I believe the $10 billion increase was in revenue, not profit. Regardless, it doesn't mean it came from increased consumer prices. It could be from increased advertising, an increase in subscribers, an even larger annual payment coming from Google, etc.

As I said, several major Apple products haven't seen price increases in years.

 

[lazyrighteye]

Its because  has no leader

Actually, they do have a leader - he's just maybe not moving in the direction some want, but there is quite clearly a leader. Said another way: you don't take one of the more innovative consumer companies on the planet and get to this year's softer product cycle on accident. It's clear the effects of their focus: the company's bottom line is rocking while it's product offering is softening. The two are most certainly related.

In the minute-to-minute news cycle in which we live (barf), things seems amiss. But Apple is a strong company and I do think we'll see a product renaissance in the next 5 years. There is an insanely solid foundation from which Apple can push. And I feel the perceived stagnation of the past few years is likely to give way to some breakthroughs. As polarizing as the AR/VR headset is in these forums, I feel it is poised to usher in an exciting post-Ive Apple.
We shall see.

 

[maxfromdenmark]

There you go!

I saw this before, but not skilled for DIY enough.

 

[Krispykrme]

What you wrote are very subjective IMHO.

What has happened since Tim Cook took over as CEO, was growing Apple to a $2T market cap company, with an ever increasing user base of Apple's product.

Think about it.

He didn’t grew Apple.

That foundation and ecosystem was built by jobs and the team jobs created.

Name one product that is signature product that Cook has single handed created?

None.

From engineering, product- what has he really brought to market?

Cook blew SPG and entry into automotive. Had he had gut to pull trigger back in 2017. Apple car would already be one year into production with a platform/tech ahead of Tesla.

Cook blew it with Siri and CarPlay. Which allowed Amazon Alexa to be dominant in automotive space. Amazon was smart giving away Alexa.

Apple would have been even more stronger had Siri/CarPlay made the necessary investment last several years. Heck Apple car would be dominating automotive segment with Apple purchasing power. Instead it gave Saudis a leg up on EV space.

You don't have the first hand knowledge.

 

[Abazigal]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1590350696762966022

The people continuing to proselytise Apple’s impending demise will be disappointed. You have all always betted against Apple to your own detriment.

 

[Nuno Lopes]

Similar to Iphone 4 to iphone 4s? Or iphone 5s to iphone 6?

Maybe you have started using Apple products when house wifes got it and everyone wanted to either work or invest in them but I’m from way back.

Nothing against house wifes or else by the way … but don’t expect them to get my drift.

By the way … Apple is in no risk of demise if I gave that impression.

It’s just not as inspiring for people that like excellence and look for innovation jumps Jobs used to great us with every decade.

 

[I7guy]

Maybe you have started using Apple products when house wifes got it and everyone wanted to either work or invest in them but I’m from way back.

Nothing against house wifes or else by the way … but don’t expect them to get my drift.

By the way … Apple is in no risk of demise if I gave that impression.

It’s just not has inspiring for people that like excellence and look for innovation jumps Jobs used to great us with every decade.

I was just wondering because the 4 -> 4S was all Jobs. The iphone 6 which broke the mold was Cook.

I understand that long time Apple users that fell under SJ charm have a perceived rememberance of a struggling David against Goliath, which adds to the romanticsm surrounding Apple folk-lore of yesteryear.

 

[Krispykrme]

I was just wondering because the 4 -> 4S was all Jobs. The iphone 6 which broke the mold was Cook.

I understand that long time Apple users that fell under SJ charm have a perceived rememberance of a struggling David against Goliath, which adds to the romanticsm surrounding Apple folk-lore of yesteryear.

Actually you are wrong.

iPhone 6 was last form factor Jobs planned.

Despite publicly stated no one wanted a phablet, it was already in the work.

Same with Apple Pencil.

Don’t believe what is stated in public. There are things Job missed. But phablet and pencil aren’t misses.

Apple has a 2 year development cycle on the phones after form factor is given and approved by Jobs/ID. iPhone 6 was launched in late 2014, with actual engineering design starting in 2012 and ID would have begun work back in 2011. Jobs already knew and planned a phatblet before he died.

Jobs already knew he wouldn't come back after leaving in 2010. There are a lot of things Job planned ahead.

Cook hasn't really innovated.

Apple car was jobs/Ive next big product. Which Tim has utterly screwed up.

 

[I7guy]

Actually you are wrong.

iPhone 6 was last form factor Jobs planned.

Despite publicly stated no one wanted a phablet, it was already in the work.

Actually you won't be able to prove this. I can take you at your word, but you know how these things go.

Same with Apple Pencil.

Nor this.

Don’t believe what is stated in public. There are things Job missed. But phablet and pencil aren’t misses.

Apple has a 2 year development cycle on the phones after form factor is given and approved by Jobs/ID. iPhone 6 was launched in late 2014, with actual engineering design starting in 2012 and ID would have begun work back in 2011. Jobs already knew and planned a phatblet before he died.

Jobs already knew he wouldn't come back after leaving in 2010. There are a lot of things Job planned ahead.

Cook hasn't really innovated.

Apple car was jobs/Ive next big product. Which Tim has utterly screwed up.

Again, nothing can be proved. But if we want to get the historical facts correct as opposed to believing third party commentary on historical facts, proof is always nice. (ps I don't know if there is or isn't or written in the SJ autobiography, but if one is going to make an assertion than back it up)

 

[Krispykrme]

Actually you won't be able to prove this. I can take you at your word, but you know how these things go.

Nor this.

Again, nothing can be proved. But if we want to get the historical facts correct as opposed to believing third party commentary on historical facts, proof is always nice. (ps I don't know if there is or isn't or written in the SJ autobiography, but if one is going to make an assertion than back it up)

You do realize I worked for Apple.

In addition- this was actually confirmed by Apple before. It’s not that hard to google.

“
In a recent discussion with the US District Attorney George Gascon, Apple’s former government liaison Michael Foulkes reportedly announced that “the next two generation of iPhone have already been developed” and that both handsets “preceded Tom Cook.”

San Francisco DA met with Apple over phone thefts, hints next two iPhones designed under Jobs - 9to5Mac

The San Francisco Examiner reports on meetings between San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón and mobile device makers regarding phone thefts. Because...

9to5mac.com

It’s all there. You are just an outsider with no clue on actual product development cycle. Similar to your previous attempt on esim discussion.

 

[I7guy]

You do realize I worked for Apple.

In addition- this was actually confirmed by Apple before. It’s not that hard to google.

“
In a recent discussion with the US District Attorney George Gascon, Apple’s former government liaison Michael Foulkes reportedly announced that “the next two generation of iPhone have already been developed” and that both handsets “preceded Tom Cook.”

San Francisco DA met with Apple over phone thefts, hints next two iPhones designed under Jobs - 9to5Mac

The San Francisco Examiner reports on meetings between San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón and mobile device makers regarding phone thefts. Because...

9to5mac.com

It’s all there. You are just an outsider with no clue on actual product development cycle. Similar to your previous attempt on esim discussion.

Yes, I'm an outsider, but the word "hints" was used. There is no concrete evidence. And this is important as to the mud-slinging against Tim Cook. There is very little to none public record of this and from your article:

It is unclear if these two iPhone models refers to the iPhone 5S and cheaper iPhone variant already rumored to launch this calendar year or the next two years of iPhone generations.

The iphone 6 was released in 2014. Jobs died in 2011. For the phones to have been developed by 2013 as the article hints they would have had to have started in 2011 or earlier, which is possible, but again no proof.

 

[Krispykrme]

Yes, I'm an outsider, but the word "hints" was used. There is no concrete evidence. And this is important as to the mud-slinging against Tim Cook. There is very little to none public record of this and from your article:



The iphone 6 was released in 2014. Jobs died in 2011. For the phones to have been developed by 2013 as the article hints they would have had to have started in 2011 or earlier, which is possible, but again no proof.

So you are saying both Apple government liaison office and testimony to CA DA is a lie?

You are also stating that 9to5 mac is also liar.

Wow- amazing- you have apple insider and actually report telling you that isn't the case. You still think you are right. Amazing.

Again- Jobs left a clear roadmap for Tim to follow.

A lot of apple engineer and PD left in droves at 2012 for a reason. Because you see the MBA bean counter coming. Design freedom and budget was gutted. Apple offered majority of us old geezer 2x salary but very few returned. Because culture changed.

It wasn't fun. It was suffocating which no money can buy happiness.

I had more fun and more freedom at post apple stop. Which it's ironic had Tim had guts to invest, Apple as of today will be a major player in EV field.

It wasn't even hinted. Because it was based on actual disclosure to CA district attorney.

 

[I7guy]

So you are saying both Apple government liaison office and testimony to CA DA is a lie?

You are also stating that 9to5 mac is also liar.

Wow- amazing- you have apple insider and actually report telling you that isn't the case. You still think you are right. Amazing.

Again- Jobs left a clear roadmap for Tim to follow.

A lot of apple engineer and PD left in droves at 2012 for a reason. Because you see the MBA bean counter coming. Design freedom and budget was gutted. Apple offered majority of us old geezer 2x salary but very few returned. Because culture changed.

It wasn't fun. It was suffocating which no money can buy happiness.

I had more fun and more freedom at post apple stop. Which it's ironic had Tim had guts to invest, Apple as of today will be a major player in EV field.

It wasn't even hinted. Because it was based on actual disclosure to CA district attorney.

Okay, if I'm not correct the sharp readers at MacRumors will be more than happy to notate it.

Until then Apple is doing what the MacRumors universe in 2011 never thought possible. It's irrelevant to me whether one likes Apple of today, hates Apple of today, likes Tim Cook or hates Tim Cook, loves Steve Jobs or not.

We are here in 2022 and that is reality. Criticizing Tim Cook has done exactly what? Made Apple a $2T company?