You can detest Apple for having neglected the Mac, while also realising that it doesn't really change anything with regards to Apple's long-term viability. iPhone sales may be plateauing, which is why Apple is pivoting from selling iPhones to selling to people with iPhones (wearables, services).
Maybe, maybe not. The problem is that the Mac is crucial to the eco-system. I'm happy to see that it seems to be coming back around, but had the trend most of us were complaining about continued (or if it does, and the last 6mo have just been a blip), I think it would damage them long-term.
First off, I'm not so much upset about them focusing on iOS products more than Mac's. Mac PC has always been a small but loyal group and iDevices are what really gained consumer traction and put Apple in the position it is in now. What I am upset by is in my view, Apple under Cook, cares less and less about making great products, Mac or iOS, and way more about how much money they can stockpile.
For me, it is the focus on these thing (or even less relevant things), to the exclusion of the Mac and software quality. If they have their core things nailed down, then by all means, expand and explore to their heart's content.
My other concern was over the transition to more consumer oriented products, as that can have +/- longer-term, especially since they seemed to be going more trendy/fashion oriented in ways (which is a super-fickle thing). Giving up actual good design, chasing fashion trends, chasing fickle-consumer interests etc. don't build a strong foundation (even if they punch up the numbers, short term).
But your last sentence is key! This is how most business, big or small, start to fail. Jobs liked making lots of money too, but he understood which side of the horse to put the cart.
I don’t see the two (making great products and making more money) as being mutually exclusive, at least where Apple is concerned.
If cutting costs was really an issue that ultimately took away from the user experience of the product, fewer people would buy them, and the repercussions would have made themselves apparent via Apple’s quarterly numbers.
They aren't mutually exclusive, but one drives the other in a company that is solid. As I said above, the fear is they've put the cart on the wrong end of the horse. When your passion is the products (so long as marketing, etc. don't fall apart) the profits will follow. If you put your focus on profits, it often leads to doing really stupid thing, which eventually damage a product/brand.
Tim Cook might be CEO of Apple, but it’s Jony Ive who is in charge of product design. I don’t think Tim Cook really interferes much in this regard; his job is pretty much to keep Apple running so that everyone else can do their job. And to have the infrastructure in place to translate the design team’s ideas into reality.
Maybe, but my impression is that Steve actually interfered quite a bit, which could have a substantial impact.
For example, what if Steve had tried out the new MacBook Pro designs and sent them back to the drawing board because the Touch Bar was a stupid gimmick, and people should be able to have usable keyboards on their pro laptops. Whereas Tim might have looked at it more from a profits/marketing standpoint, and just went, 'cool, go for it.'
So you have Tim Cook still doing most of what he did in the past (though Apple is now serving a lot more users than before), with Jony Ive having replaced Steve Jobs when it comes to product design.
Maybe, but might that not be the problem? Maybe Ive, nor Cook, have the ability to judge good design and say no to the right things.
No debate Cook is one of the best supply chain and operations persons in existence. But, that isn't what made Apple great, but just what made something great more able to scale. Scale, though, won't keep it great.
As one of my friends (who was one step below VP at a near Fortune 50) would often say, 'big company = stupid'. It takes a LOT of something special to keep that from happening. They are like massive ships, lots of momentum, but if you start going the wrong direction, it's really hard to stop or turn.
Also, sales of Apple products validate Apple's strategy.
You guys are the vocal minority while everyone else is very happy and spends their money on Apple products, more than ever.
Well, not so much. There is a massive lag. Apple has incredible brand momentum, so we won't immediately see results. Apple is on a trend where people are moving to them and away from other things, as well as having an eco-system that is really painful/costly to leave.
So, lets say (like so many) that one needs a new laptop, but really hates the new designs. What do they do? Maybe they have iPhone(s), iPad, a desktop Mac, etc. They likely just buy an Apple laptop anyway and complain about it (like so many are). They probably don't jump ship over that.
But, eventually, if the problems keep building, they might. And, instead of brand ambassadors, they get brand pessimists.
Even worse, the people they are ticking off are the higher end users... the kind that won't be wow-ed as easily by dancing emoji.
It would be kind of like Ford or GM messing up the Corvette/Mustang/GT40, etc. and their racing programs. Pretty soon the big names in car magazines, race drivers, etc. start hating on them. Eventually, that impacts the people buying the lower end models too. But, worse, it starts to heavily damage their brand credibility (as those things are often heavily influenced by the high-end products and brand perception).
The type of stuff we're talking about you wouldn't see much for years, and by the time it shows up in the financials, the damage will have already been done.
All this said, I'm actually quite encouraged with what Apple has done with Mac hardware recently. They have a few things to fix (hello laptops), and maybe a hole or two to fill (ie: between mini and Mac Pro), but otherwise, they seem to be back on that front.
Also, the Mac Pro shows they are in touch (once again) with the needs of professionals, which hopefully will impact the software side of things and some of their software products. I'm hoping the problems were a result of such rapid growth and their trying to re-gain stability.
