Getting Sick of Apple

[SuperNova2150]

Cook can do even more. Allow customizable Control Center (ala TW). Allow even more third party defaults. Etc.

Also release private APIs such as CoreTelephony. Tasker could finally come to iOS with all of its bells and whistles.

 

[iMi]

This is what happens when you let a bottom line numbers guy run the show.

You hit a nail on the head here. I agree.

 

[Razeus]

I will say this: The moment Apple prevents Google being a search option, I'll full on switch. 100%. All Apple gear sold. They already limited Google search in Siri by using Bing in Yosemite/iOS 8 because they were concerned for "user's privacy".

 

[Zxxv]

And then you have the base Android software. The freedom it grants you goes beyond just customizing home screens, icons, aesthetics, etc. It goes much deeper. Customization means way more than one would think. It translates to real world gains in daily use functions. Things are easier, quicker to access, easier to navigate (hello Back button), and more. Once set up to your liking, the phone accommodates to your needs and preferences and usage patterns. Not the other way around as it can often feel with iOS.

Thats one thing I don't miss on my iPhone, the ability to customise everything. When I had that sort of power I spent all my time tinkering and changing stuff all the time 🙁 yes I know its my problem. Its just who doesn't pick their phone up and play for just no reason at all? so instead of doing something semi productive id change a setting instead.

IMO, the annual OS upgrade cycle expectation is ridiculous--I'd much rather the software work better before rushing out features for the sake of saying 'Here's what's new!!'

OS upgrades should be on the S cycle only. i.e. 2 years.

 

[Razeus]

I'm sorry but this example is just pure rubbish.

Tell me Razeus, who was in charge of Apple for the first 4 versions of the iPhone and first 5 versions of iOS, all of which came with a native keyboard that did EXACTLY what you just described?

I haven't dug deep into the what's new in iOS 9 but I believe I recall reading this change to the keyboard is upcoming.

The guy who did software launches correctly. Not frankly go for patching after the release. Tim has been making bone head decision in regards to software. Apple Music is the latest blunder. Don't get me started on Apple Maps. iOS 8 iCloud drive was the other being that we weren't suppose to turn it on until Yosemite was release or else risk lousy compatibility/access to your files. He should have "tacked" it on after Yosemite was released in a .1 iOS update, but nope, he let users run the risk of not being able to get to their data if they turned on iCloud in iOS 8. Then what? He release a patch that made cell phone calls stop working. It's clear he hasn't the slightest clue about software and someone else is in charge.

 

[Khalanad75]

The guy who did software launches correctly. Not frankly go for patching after the release. Tim has been making bone head decision in regards to software. Apple Music is the latest blunder. Don't get me started on Apple Maps. iOS 8 iCloud drive was the other being that we weren't suppose to turn it on until Yosemite was release or else risk lousy compatibility/access to your files. He should have "tacked" it on after Yosemite was released in a .1 iOS update, but nope, he let users run the risk of not being able to get to their data if they turned on iCloud in iOS 8. Then what? He release a patch that made cell phone calls stop working. It's clear he hasn't the slightest clue about software and someone else is in charge.

So every little bug is laid at his feet now. God he is a busy guy.

 

[ucfgrad93]

It is good to have choices. No one phone, laptop, watch, etc. is perfect for everyone. If you aren't happy with Apple products any longer @iMi, then by all means get something that you enjoy more.

 

[tbayrgs]

The guy who did software launches correctly. Not frankly go for patching after the release. Tim has been making bone head decision in regards to software. Apple Music is the latest blunder. Don't get me started on Apple Maps. iOS 8 iCloud drive was the other being that we weren't suppose to turn it on until Yosemite was release or else risk lousy compatibility/access to your files. He should have "tacked" it on after Yosemite was released in a .1 iOS update, but nope, he let users run the risk of not being able to get to their data if they turned on iCloud in iOS 8. Then what? He release a patch that made cell phone calls stop working. It's clear he hasn't the slightest clue about software and someone else is in charge.

You're well within your right to criticize Apple under Tim's leadership but give me a break about your perception of Apple under the infallible Steve Job. First, way to dodge the fact that your own example was pure bunk, criticizing Tim Cook for not correcting a problem that your almighty Steve Jobs was responsible for implementing in the first place. Under who's watch was MobileMe rolled out? If you weren't a participant in the wonderful rollout, go look it up. 😉 Who was in charge during 'antennagate' and offered the solution of a piece of plastic to resolve it? Remind us how Ping turned out or who's responsible for arguably Apple's worst piece of software, iTunes. And yes, Apple never had to release a .1 or .01 release to fix a bug in the Steve Jobs era. 🙄

The point is that Apple's errors, flaws, bugs, and/or miscalculations didn't start with the Tim Cook era and spouting off how perfect Apple was before Tim only shows one's ignorance.

 

[M. Gustave]

This is what happens when you let a bottom line numbers guy run the show. Tim Cook certainly isn't a visionary. I've never so many launches with buggy software. iWork has been gutted, only to add back a few features. iPhoto/Aperture was reworked as Photos and was a mess and doesn't work with 3rd party apps very well. iWork is a joke. Their Pro software was basically abandoned only to get gutted for the people that kept them alive in the first place. iOS 8 was a complete disaster. Now the Apple Music launch was haphazard.

It never ends with Tim Cook's Apple because he really doesn't understand software, only the supply chain side of things. This is why the software is a mess - too many cooks (not Tim Cook) in the kitchen fighting for their version of the software. All of their software feels like it's just slapped together. The feel of Apple software is gone. Tim is not a software guy and probably doesn't look at "the little things" like Steve did. If he WAS a software guy that paid attention to the details, he would have seen that the keyboard didn't have proper casing in the virtual keyboard to denote lowercase or capital letters. It's little things like that that Apple is lacking these days.

I agree with all of this, Apple's software and service rollouts the last three years have been like they put the interns in charge. I can't go 5 minutes without a crash in Apple Music.

But... I'm always left with deeply flawed alternatives. Google also makes amateurish software, with an often startling lack of functionality. They abandon projects, and alienate core users just as much as Apple does. Android itself is still less polished than iOS, for all its warts. Apple still makes the best hardware, for me. I still love my 5s. It's a little bit of the Old Apple left alive.

On the desktop front, I'm strongly considering a switch to Chrome OS. I'll never buy another ugly, bloated, slow Windows or Mac box again.

 

[tbayrgs]

Google also makes amateurish software, with an often startling lack of functionality. They abandon projects, and alienate core users just as much as Apple does.

On the desktop front, I'm strongly considering a switch to Chrome OS.

Just curious, but how exactly do you reconcile these two statements?

 

[M. Gustave]

Just curious, but how exactly do you reconcile these two statements?

Those are what's making me hesitate, even with how cheap Chromebooks are. And I haven't switched to Google Play either yet, for the same reasons. But the web is the web, and I'm successfully switching to web apps and cloud services for most things I used to do on the desktop. $1300 for a Macbook just to get to a browser window would be silly for me.

 

[tbayrgs]

Those are what's making me hesitate, even with how cheap Chromebooks are. And I haven't switched to Google Play either yet, for the same reasons. But the web is the web, and I'm successfully switching to web apps and cloud services for most things I used to do on the desktop. $1300 for a Macbook just to get to a browser window would be silly for me.

Understood. I'd suggest taking a look at the latest Toshiba Chromebook..good value with best Chromebook display short of a Pixel.

 

[iMi]

That's certainly fair...I won't disagree with much of your sentiment, though maybe don't feel quite as strongly as you. Through both iOS 8 and Yosemite, I also thought Apple was trying to take on a little too much at the expense of some polish, fluidity, and efficiency. I'm happy to see that much of iOS9 and El Cap seem to be focusing on under the hood performance. IMO, the annual OS upgrade cycle expectation is ridiculous--I'd much rather the software work better before rushing out features for the sake of saying 'Here's what's new!!'

We'll have to just agree to disagree on some points--specifically Apple's motivation to make profit and how it pertains to the Music and Photos apps/services. By all accounts, Apple is late to the music streaming game. And of course they're going to have it front and center--it's a service intended to make money for Apple. Do you fault Spotify, Rdo, Google Play Music, etc for trying to have you subscribe to their service? Samsung put their own service Milk front and center on their devices last year. And yes, Photos is not Aperture (and as I mentioned, I don't think it's intended to replace Aperture) but it's far better than iPhoto. Apple was in desperate need of some sort of cloud syncing solution as maintaining a library via iPhoto was an exercise in futility, changes to a photo didn't sync across devices, Photostream was severely limited, and the software itself was doggedly slow. Yes, you have to pay for additional storage but you have to pay for comparable storage on Google Drive or Dropbox as well. Sure, Google Photos is free...if you use the option that doesn't maintain photos in their original state. If you want to do that, it'll cost you nearly, if not, the same $ for the same amount of Google Drive storage.

When it comes down to it, Apple's a large, multinational corporation who's shareholders expect performance and profit. It's no different from Google, Samsung, Microsoft--any of the other tech giants. Apple does it better than just about anyone and some people see it as greed. Maybe, but any of the aforementioned companies are striving for exactly the same end goal and would be ecstatic to have the same results. I think shunning Apple for your

And I believe I saw you purchased Amazon Fire phones---there likely isn't a phone out now that a company uses to tout it's own services more than Amazon's offering. Their phone and tablets are basically giant advertisements for their services. Hell, its Prime program is part of the initial sale.

All very good points!

It's true, changing platforms doesn't mean alleviating the issues I see with Apple today. Sometimes the evil you know is better than the evil you don't know.

 

[Dark Void]

...

Why is this thread slightly inspiring?

*opens drawer, looks at old Galaxy S3*

 

[iMi]

...

Why is this thread slightly inspiring?

*opens drawer, looks at old Galaxy S3*

LOL... the movement has started my friend. They can impose apple watch app on us, they can take away advanced editing feature from iWorks, but they can't take our FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOM!

He he... Well, actually if anyone reads the Terms & Conditions they kind of can take our freedom, bastards!

 

[Dark Void]

LOL... the movement has started my friend. They can impose apple watch app on us, they can take away advanced editing feature from iWorks, but they can't take our FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOM!

He he... Well, actually if anyone reads the Terms & Conditions they kind of can take our freedom, bastards!

Haha, nice. I do sort of miss android every now and again - but never miss windows. Perhaps I will dust this phone off. Android is so much more versatile and customizable than iOS. That's an age old comparison, but true nevertheless. iOS is bland.

 

[gotluck]

LOL... the movement has started my friend. They can impose apple watch app on us, they can take away advanced editing feature from iWorks, but they can't take our FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOM!

He he... Well, actually if anyone reads the Terms & Conditions they kind of can take our freedom, bastards!

Lol T&C, bah, what even is that? 😉

 

[hojx]

I subscribe to the Apple ecosystem and I've never been happier dealing with technology.

About subscriptions for MUSIC, iCloud Music Library/iTunes Match, iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Drive:
Let me remind you (Tim Cook haters) that it was Steve Jobs who declared the Cloud be the new digital hub. Of course, you have to subscribe in order to enjoy the services fully, but even if you don't what functionality have been lost from previous versions?
You can choose a completely non cloud-based tech-lifestyle, but you cannot complain about not enjoying it just because you are not willing to pay for it. No one is going to provide services to you for free. The companies are either going to get the money out-front from you (Apple) or they are going to get it from you through some other way.

About Photos/iPhoto/Aperture:
While Aperture was the most powerful software of the three, Photos provided cloud access and an ample toolset for most consumer editing needs while containing a strong foundation to allow third-party extensions to plug into the app. This gives Photos endless room for growth and it means that over time Photos will become way more powerful than Aperture.

About the iOS and OS X redesign and the yearly refresh cycle
As a design trend, skeuomorphism clearly had to go to make way for a flatter aesthetic. After six versions of iOS, the OS was also desperate for a refresh. For one, Apple managed to come up with a design language that translates well across device—from the iPhone all the way to the Mac. The vibrant colours were a welcomed departure from the dull photo-realistic predecessor. The blurred effects and animations used at appropriate areas created a sense of hierarchy which helps you to keep track of where you are at in the OS.
After Apple's operating systems went into a yearly refresh cycle, the redesign meant that there was very little time to do a lot of things. However, if you find that the yearly refresh cycle reeks of bugs and emergency fixes, you can always choose to only upgrade every two versions. El Capitan & iOS 9 promises to tame the growing pains of Yosemite and iOS 7/8 respectively and the public betas are proving my point.

About people in general:
The only thing Tim Cook lacks is Steve Jobs's ability to brainwash people. Tim is as competent as Steve even though they have different ideals and expectations. Apple has always made mistakes, except Tim actually apologised for it while Steve made you believe he did nothing wrong and it is actually your own fault. People are expecting way too much from Apple and scrutinising the company way too deep simply because their appetites have been fed so.
Every platform is going to have it problems and shortcomings and not one platform will ever satisfy everyone.

 

[Technarchy]

There is nothing technology related I detest more than subscription based services.

I love my Google Play Music subscription.

Spotify was nice too.

 

[Michael Goff]

Not to be negative, but Android will give you a lot more apps that you can't uninstall. Sure, no Watch app, just stuff like a social media app.

 

[addison v]

Along the way we've got the ugly OS X interface (looks like it's been designed by an 11 year old)

omg bless this 11 year old, they made me stay with os x (and ios) for the aesthetic.

but yeah i'm probably converting to android when the note 5 comes out. i'll get one of those nice gold ipod touches to compensate for my ios cravings.

 

[Mildredop]

I still have a Mac though when its time to upgrade the Mac, I'll be seriously looking at other products.

I say this every time I come to update my laptop. The frustrating thing is that there's no real alternative for the average Joe. There's Windows or Chrome OS. Windows is a big chunk of cash to then find out you don't like it, and I tried Chrome OS - totally useless in my opinion.

I've said for ages - Windows need a website that emulates windows so you can give it a good try before buying. Plus, someone somewhere needs to build some beautiful PCs that genuinely compete with Macs, because I've not found any in about four years of looking.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It's split down the middle in my household. My wife uses every Apple and owns two 2014 MacBook Pros all the way down to her iPhone 6. I have an iPhone and iPad but all my computing is Windows based as I work in Product Design and 3D modelling packages don't seem to run on Macs. I would switch if they did as the interface is so much nicer than Windows.

It's good to try different interfaces though. I spent years on android and got fed up so switched and will probably do the revert back at some stage. Apple are doing everything right for me at the moment though.

 

[The Game 161]

It's split down the middle in my household. My wife uses every Apple and owns two 2014 MacBook Pros all the way down to her iPhone 6. I have an iPhone and iPad but all my computing is Windows based as I work in Product Design and 3D modelling packages don't seem to run on Macs. I would switch if they did as the interface is so much nicer than Windows.

It's good to try different interfaces though. I spent years on android and got fed up so switched and will probably do the revert back at some stage. Apple are doing everything right for me at the moment though.

True

Every year I'm tempted to try apple products. IPad mini for one and the plus always grabs my attention. I'm just so into Samsung now it's hard to think about switching. Considering I have 4 Samsung products plus a new Samsung TV

I'm in line for a small tablet this year so IPad mini next version is one I will consider depending when it's out even though it's highly likely I get the s tab 2

 

[iMi]

omg bless this 11 year old, they made me stay with os x (and ios) for the aesthetic.

but yeah i'm probably converting to android when the note 5 comes out. i'll get one of those nice gold ipod touches to compensate for my ios cravings.

Really? I'm surprised you like it but I'm glad you do 🙂

I'm self employed and use the Macbook Air professionally. I am almost embarrassed by the pastel colors of the Yosemite desktop when I have to show the screen to a client. The new iTunes icon took it to yet another psychodelic level. 1970's called, they want it back! 😀

Everyone has a preference, I guess.