Best Apple Products of the Decade: iPad, iPhones, Apple Watch, Macs, and More

[Justanotherfanboy]

A product that is not standalone is an accessory, regardless of its success or potential. I reiterate my assertion that at this time, that's what AirPods and (to a lesser extent) the Watch are.

That’s a preposterous opinion!

Let’s take that notion and explore it a bit... it becomes obvious how ridiculous it is fairly quickly.
How about this: is there no car stereo industry? Only a car industry, because car stereos are merely “accessories”?
Pioneer can never deem their stereo line as a success? It should only be referred to as a companion product for the vehicle it’s in?
Making a product with its own distinct operating system & features, modularity (Pioneer- ability to run bare head unit or add a cd changer, a hard drive, cameras, eq, screens, etc. Apple Watch- ability to switch bands, use myriad health accessories, etc.) doesn’t qualify these product lines as a platform??

Sorry man... if you can develop apps & accessories for something- I literally don’t know a more clear way to define it as a platform.

 

[jackietreeh0rn]

This has to be funniest "best xyz of the decade"-based article.

 

[alexandr]

Personally I think the iPhone 4 was a bigger upgrade than the 6.

i was going to say the 4s!

 

[SeenJeen]

Personally I think the iPhone 4 was a bigger upgrade than the 6.

Agreed. The iPhone 4 was Apple leading the industry, the iPhone 6 was Apple playing catch-up.
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In regards to iPads, I find that TouchID is superior to FaceID

The exact opposite for me. Especially when the iPad is docked in the keyboard folio.
Face ID feels more natural on an iPad than it does a phone.

 

[DPUser]

Well that’s not wrong, 2010 models are near identical with 4,1 2009 but with Westmere chip and Radeon HD 5000 series that’s quite substantial upgrades over previous architecture and not mentioned the first 12 cores model available. IMHO 5,1 Mid 2010 are worth the honor.

I concur, but for a slightly different reason... Although the 4,1 was introduced in 2009, it and its 2010/2012 5,1 siblings have continued to be relevant and tremendously important to pro Mac users throughout this decade by virtue of their upgradability (including the 4,1 EFI hack) and durability. So, although the introduction of the product range took place just prior to this decade's inception, the 4,1/5,1 has been most impactful during the 2010-2020 decade.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

That’s a preposterous opinion!

Let’s take that notion and explore it a bit... it becomes obvious how ridiculous it is fairly quickly.
How about this: is there no car stereo industry? Only a car industry, because car stereos are merely “accessories”?
Pioneer can never deem their stereo line as a success? It should only be referred to as a companion product for the vehicle it’s in?
Making a product with its own distinct operating system & features, modularity (Pioneer- ability to run bare head unit or add a cd changer, a hard drive, cameras, eq, screens, etc. Apple Watch- ability to switch bands, use myriad health accessories, etc.) doesn’t qualify these product lines as a platform??

Sorry man... if you can develop apps & accessories for something- I literally don’t know a more clear way to define it as a platform.

Your tone appears to be defending for things I wasn't attacking, like a device's success or failure. I believe the Watch and AirPods are game changers in their respective categories, sure, and they're undeniably successful.

A car stereo, without a car, is useless. Just like AirPods are without something to feed them.

I asserted that the Watch is less so, because yes, you can create apps for it and use it somewhat standalone, AFTER you configure it with an iPhone (at least that is my understanding, forgive me if I'm wrong). It is meant to be an EXTENSION of the iDevice, much like a car stereo enhances a car, not the other way around.

But to bring the conversation back to the CONTEXT of my posts, I believe that to put AirPods and the Watch in the same IMPACT category as the iPad is what I find preposterous.

In the context of your analogy, it'd be closer to say that the Watch and AirPods are the car stereo and (literally) the stereo's speakers and mic, where the iPad (or iPhone) is actually the car.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

End-to-end encryption and exclusive features. iMessage is one of the primary reasons I stay in the iOS ecosystem, as is the case for many other people as well.

Ok sure, but there are other encrypted messaging apps that work on both iOS and Android, whereas iMessage limits your audience to other iPhone users. And if you are serious about encryption, then you would never use a closed source app like iMessage, as you never really know if it does what Apple says it does. You would use something like OpenPGP.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

The exact opposite for me. Especially when the iPad is docked in the keyboard folio.
Face ID feels more natural on an iPad than it does a phone.

Only iPad Pros have FaceID, so I don't see the advantage.

However, my experience is that TouchID is more reliable. However, I concede your mileage may vary depending on your habits.

Ideally, Apple would've offered both so people could use what they prefer (like on the Android side). But then they wouldn't be able to justify the so-called "Pro" upcharge. Clever Tim, he attacks your wallet from the side while you stare right back at the camera.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Sounds like you need to speak to someone at Apple support. Every problem you experienced has a simple fix. Everyone I know uses Apple Messages across all devices seamlessly so by switching to Android for your phone but keeping your Mac, you are setting yourself up for many future problems.

Fair enough, maybe I should, but to be honest, it has left me simply not trusting iMessage, so I am done with it. I NEED my messaging app to JUST WORK. iMessage is now permanently disabled from my life.

The only thing I would miss with the integration is Calendar sync, but I can live without it. iTunes sync is an horrendous annoyance (ever had your entire music collection delete off your phone because Apple thinks it should be so?). Same goes for a lack of a file system. And so on. Nope, I won't miss Apple's idea of "integration" at all. My Android and MBP will integrate much more like I really want, as in, I will be able to drag and drop files, movies, songs, and so on, and nothing will get deleted behind my back. My ecosystem will actually feel like it belongs to me, rather than belonging to Apple and requiring Tim's permission. I won't be setting myself up for future problems, I will be setting myself up for freedom. I can feel the peace wash over me already, ahh.

 

[PickUrPoison]

This has to be funniest "best xyz of the decade"-based article.

It’s based on a twitter poll, people have opinions 🤷‍♂️

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

Your tone appears to be defending for things I wasn't attacking, like a device's success or failure. I believe the Watch and AirPods are game changers in their respective categories, sure, and they're undeniably successful.

A car stereo, without a car, is useless. Just like AirPods are without something to feed them.

I asserted that the Watch is less so, because yes, you can create apps for it and use it somewhat standalone, AFTER you configure it with an iPhone (at least that is my understanding, forgive me if I'm wrong). It is meant to be an EXTENSION of the iDevice, much like a car stereo enhances a car, not the other way around.

But to bring the conversation back to the CONTEXT of my posts, I believe that to put AirPods and the Watch in the same IMPACT category as the iPad is what I find preposterous.

In the context of your analogy, it'd be closer to say that the Watch and AirPods are the car stereo and (literally) the stereo's speakers and mic, where the iPad (or iPhone) is actually the car.

I fully agree w/ you with regards to Air Pods!
To be clear- I only take umbrage with the idea that Apple Watch is NOT a platform, in and of itself.
In my mind- one could certainly only develop for Apple Watch or only make accessories for Apple Watch and have a thriving business. If one asked: “So, for what platform do you develop apps?”, a coder could quite truthfully answer: “I code solely for WatchOS”.
I guess my original response was a bit murky... I was merely agreeing w/ the poster that (it appeared to me) you had shot down their assertion that Apple Watch is a platform.

With your clarification- I find I agree with you quite a bit more.... distinct platform or not, Apple Watch is definitely not currently anywhere near the impact level of iPad.
Emphasis on “currently”, because with the ever decreasing/leveling off of iPad sales & sales and capabilities of Apple Watch on a steep upward curve, it seems a near certainty that at some point in the next decade Apple wearables will become every bit as culturally relevant as the iPad.

 

[brinary001]

Ok sure, but there are other encrypted messaging apps that work on both iOS and Android, whereas iMessage limits your audience to other iPhone users. And if you are serious about encryption, then you would never use a closed source app like iMessage, as you never really know if it does what Apple says it does. You would use something like OpenPGP.

Right there are indeed other messaging apps that also offer encryption, but the thing about iMessage is that it’s deeply integrated with Apple’s platforms. Plus it was built on existing SMS infrastructure, so everyone benefits without having to do anything or make any changes to how they communicate. In other words, everyone texts and always has, but third-party apps aren’t integrated like iMessage and thus doesn’t have the user base granted to it from the start. You have to go and install them and probably have multiple different ones too because it isn’t standardized, and everyone will have different preferences for which app to use but all have the same objective of communication.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Right there are indeed other messaging apps that also offer encryption, but the thing about iMessage is that it’s deeply integrated with Apple’s platforms. Plus it was built on existing SMS infrastructure, so everyone benefits without having to do anything or make any changes to how they communicate. In other words, everyone texts and always has, but third-party apps aren’t integrated like iMessage and thus doesn’t have the user base granted to it from the start. You have to go and install them and probably have multiple different ones too because it isn’t standardized, and everyone will have different preferences for which app to use but all have the same objective of communication.

You do realise that if you send a message to someone who doesn't have an iPhone, or they do have an iPhone but have turned off iMessages, then the message that you thought was an encrypted iMessage will actually just be sent automatically as a non-encrypted text, right? Your arguments are completely illogical, and I feel like you're not actually interested in encryption in your messages at all, but are just being a rusted on fanboy? No one who is truly serious about sending secret messages would ever rely on iMessage.

 

[brinary001]

You do realise that if you send a message to someone who doesn't have an iPhone, or they do have an iPhone but have turned off iMessages, then the message that you thought was an encrypted iMessage will actually just be sent automatically as a non-encrypted text, right? Your arguments are completely illogical, and I feel like you're not actually interested in encryption in your messages at all, but are just being a rusted on fanboy? No one who is truly serious about sending secret messages would ever rely on iMessage.

Yes thank you, I know green bubbles mean plain texts and not iMessages Did you really think you were enlightening me with one of the most commonly known things about a service that’s been around since 2011..? Like I’m genuinely curious.

And I’m actually very interested in the encryption of my messages... I’m not sending nuclear launch codes over iMessage, but I would still appreciate having as many of my conversations as possible be kept away from prying eyes.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

The decade did not kill iTunes, ‘iTunes killed iTunes’. It was a horrible mess and needed to be revamped/reconstructed anyways. Apple was only doing us a favor by removing it.

but it really didn’t end up getting killed at all, did it? It got renamed to Music and then multiplied into 3 iTunes apps: music, tv, podcasts, + shoehorned the same iOS syncing design into an even less useful finder window. Weird.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Yes thank you, I know green bubbles mean plain texts and not iMessages Did you really think you were enlightening me with one of the most commonly known things about a service that’s been around since 2011..? Like I’m genuinely curious.

And I’m actually very interested in the encryption of my messages... I’m not sending nuclear launch codes over iMessage, but I would still appreciate having as many of my conversations as possible be kept away from prying eyes.

Right, but when you send the message, you don't know which bubble it will be until it's been sent. So you don't know if it will be an encrypted iMessage, or a plain text message until it's too late.

Like, I'm genuinely curious why you are pretending to yourself to be interested in encryption and privacy when you clearly don't actually care, and certainly haven't spent any time researching it. And even more so, why you've managed to convince yourself that iMessage's encryption is a primary reason to stick with Apple, without realising that it is next to useless for secrecy. And also, like you've said, you aren't actually sending any messages anyone would care about, so you've no need for encryption. You probably also haven't put any thought into the reality that every single word you type into google search engine, facebook, insta, email, etc etc, is being automatically parsed by bots to pick up keywords (and stored in a database) in order to target advertising to you. Every time you use a maps app, every time you use your credit card, every time your phone pings to the nearest phone tower and so on, you are being tracked (and the data is being stored). Your privacy doesn't exist. But not because anyone cares about you in particular, they (mostly) only care about ways to maximise revenue. So sticking to Apple because of iMessage is a big fat joke of a self deception on multiple levels. You're welcome

 

[SeenJeen]

Right, but when you send the message, you don't know which bubble it will be until it's been sent. So you don't know if it will be an encrypted iMessage, or a plain text message until it's too late.

It says "iMessage" or "Text Message" in the message box before you even type the message.
And for extra security you can turn off "Send as SMS" so that it won't send over SMS if the recipient can't receive iMessages.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

It says "iMessage" or "Text Message" in the message box before you even type the message.
And for extra security you can turn off "Send as SMS" so that it won't send over SMS if the recipient can't receive iMessages.

Fair enough. Regardless, everything else I said still holds true.

 

[bobob]

Here is 9to5Mac's article on a similar topic to this one here on MacRumors:

Defining the Decade: Ten Years of Apple on One Page

Compare and contrast the depth of the information and the quality of the writing from these two sources.

 

[Tech198]

The iPad could also be a fantastic game device (something I'd argue that it isn't today). Or a personal organiser. Or a home hub. There is simply so much potential that Apple isn't taking advantage of, hence, it occupies fifth place in my list.

It explains allot, as to why i keep going back to one.

 

[mazz0]

Let’s start a new thread. Worst Apple product of the last 9 years.

Yosemite

Quite clearly the Siri remote!

 

[Shanghaichica]

Quite clearly the Siri remote!

I’m sure there must have been worse products. The Siri remote isn’t that bad!
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Here is 9to5Mac's article on a similar topic to this one here on MacRumors:

Defining the Decade: Ten Years of Apple on One Page

Compare and contrast the depth of the information and the quality of the writing from these two sources.

It is a good read. I enjoyed it. The 9 to 5 mac podcast is probably the best Apple centric podcast out there too.

 

[mazz0]

I’m sure there must have been worse products. The Siri remote isn’t that bad!

It's truly terrible! That swipe based touch input makes every single navigation input a chore (Oh dear, I didn't swipe enough so the selected item hasn't changed; oh dear, I swiped too much and have moved two items instead of one)! There's also its symetry which means 50% of the time in the dark you pick it up and try to use it upside down. The left-middle-right click detection is pretty bad too.