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Hardware-Free WWDC Sets Stage for Busy Second Half of 2016
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This is a great post. If Apple has no intention of upgrading their computers (especially the mac pro), then why not let them at least be user upgrade-able so that people can justify purchasing? If the 2013 mac pro could be upgraded easier, Apple would probably see less of a dropoff with their no updates model.
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Maybe this was Jobs' last move to prove that he was the only person that could run Apple...
I am not sure whether I am being sarcastic.
That's the dilemma facing any student trying to upgrade to a new MacBook this summer. Option A: Buy an outdated MBP/MBA and be jealous of students who waited until October to get the thinner, more advanced/powerful MBP with that cool/useful OLED touch bar on the top of the keyboard that may even come in multiple colors. Option B: Wait and in the meanwhile use what you have now, borrow a family member's laptop or get a cheap ChromeBook to hold you over. I don't know about you, but personally I would pick option B.
My cynical side wonders if Apple had too much stock and wanted students to reduce it.
It's taken a long, long time for me to get to the point where I no longer feel the brand loyalty I used to feel for Apple, but I'm finally there. The obsession with weight and thinness at the expense of functionality has gone too far. The trashcan Mac is now ridiculously over-priced. Macbook Pros may or may not be overpriced, but I just can't bring myself to pay premium prices for a machine that is behind the processor/gpu curve.
Siri seems to have become dumber in the last year or two and Apple Maps certainly isn't as good as Google Maps when it comes to navigating around traffic congestion.
But hey, your mileage may vary.
Siri seems to have become dumber in the last year or two and Apple Maps certainly isn't as good as Google Maps when it comes to navigating around traffic congestion.
But hey, your mileage may vary.
Because he believed Cook would carry on Apple tradition. But no. Cook lied to him. Record spending in R&D and yet no new products. Record share buybacks manipulating the stock so Cook & Co. can continue to get richer.
Hell, I can do all of those (+ Matlab, Parallels, ...) on my 2011-Gen MBA. Granted, the battery is a mess and at times it's a little slow, but the majority of people greatly overestimate their power requirements. I have to chuckle at all those who stress how they NEED to upgrade because they can't get anything done on their two year old machine...
Exactly this! For most people it's in their mind because they don't want 'old' hardware...
My own issue with Apple doesn't revolve solely around the categorical neglect of any product category that is not iDevices so much as it is with the culture that Apple has developed, primarily at the end of Steve's tenure and amplified and elevated to the level of corporate dogma during Tim's disastrous reign.
The Apple of the 20-teens is the Apple which festered under the chintzy corporatist philosophy of John Sculley following Steve's unfortunate but inevitable ousting, one hallmarked by a deplorable preoccupation with next-quarter profitability rather than next-twenty-quarters health of the company. Product lines are becoming unnecessarily, even absurdly, crowded: iMac, iMac Retina 4k, iMac Retina 5k, iPad Air, iPad Pro 12, iPad Pro 10, iPad mini, iPhone 6s iPhone 6s plus, iPhone SE, ad iinfinitum. The list goes on and on, in a dizzying and nauseating array of colour and light, leaving one with the feeling of having gorged in a candy store. We're given one thousand things which amount to slight variations on a theme and which have the singular purpose of making us feel good when we buy it and terrible when we try to use it and which cannot possibly sustain us for an reasonable length of time.
Once upon a time, buying a Mac computer felt like an investment. The quality of the hardware and software integration and optimisation meant that the middling components didn't matter. Apple's commitment to its software meant that great experiences and great functionality could be assured, on a scale of longevity that put the mayfly lifespans of the average PC to shame. Now, features are baked into the software that are dependent on hardware components in refreshes delivered scattershot and without warning, and increasingly necessitating a family of associated devices to achieve the even the ghost of the superior experience that used come guaranteed in every Mac box.
From a fiscal and shareholder perspective, I can understand. The board and voting members don't care about the culture of Apple so long as it continues to make sufficient profit that they can disregard the community's grumblings as a vocal minority still resisting the glorious post-computer age that they've touted to the moon and back. But Apple has to understand where we are as an economy as much as a culture. Apple, and most personal electronics manufacturers, have had the benefit of existing almost entirely during the single largest period of uncollateralised debt expansion that the world has ever seen, something that is finally, irrespective of the efforts of those vested in the status quo, coming crashingly to an end.
If Apple does not cease what it has done in recent years and resubscribed to a philosophy of innate value in its products, in terms of longevity, purchase price, refresh potential, etc., then I have very grave doubts that Apple will survive materially as the company that we know today.
The Apple of the 20-teens is the Apple which festered under the chintzy corporatist philosophy of John Sculley following Steve's unfortunate but inevitable ousting, one hallmarked by a deplorable preoccupation with next-quarter profitability rather than next-twenty-quarters health of the company. Product lines are becoming unnecessarily, even absurdly, crowded: iMac, iMac Retina 4k, iMac Retina 5k, iPad Air, iPad Pro 12, iPad Pro 10, iPad mini, iPhone 6s iPhone 6s plus, iPhone SE, ad iinfinitum. The list goes on and on, in a dizzying and nauseating array of colour and light, leaving one with the feeling of having gorged in a candy store. We're given one thousand things which amount to slight variations on a theme and which have the singular purpose of making us feel good when we buy it and terrible when we try to use it and which cannot possibly sustain us for an reasonable length of time.
Once upon a time, buying a Mac computer felt like an investment. The quality of the hardware and software integration and optimisation meant that the middling components didn't matter. Apple's commitment to its software meant that great experiences and great functionality could be assured, on a scale of longevity that put the mayfly lifespans of the average PC to shame. Now, features are baked into the software that are dependent on hardware components in refreshes delivered scattershot and without warning, and increasingly necessitating a family of associated devices to achieve the even the ghost of the superior experience that used come guaranteed in every Mac box.
From a fiscal and shareholder perspective, I can understand. The board and voting members don't care about the culture of Apple so long as it continues to make sufficient profit that they can disregard the community's grumblings as a vocal minority still resisting the glorious post-computer age that they've touted to the moon and back. But Apple has to understand where we are as an economy as much as a culture. Apple, and most personal electronics manufacturers, have had the benefit of existing almost entirely during the single largest period of uncollateralised debt expansion that the world has ever seen, something that is finally, irrespective of the efforts of those vested in the status quo, coming crashingly to an end.
If Apple does not cease what it has done in recent years and resubscribed to a philosophy of innate value in its products, in terms of longevity, purchase price, refresh potential, etc., then I have very grave doubts that Apple will survive materially as the company that we know today.
Exactly. As I read recently, Apple has a hugely loyal following. But the natives are getting restless.
Mulling over the rumored skipping of the iPhone7S next year and going straight to a radically new iPhone8 for 2017, the iPhone's 10th anniversary, possibly with curved glass and OLED display, it occurred to me that Apple's potential for huge sales (not unlike the iPhone6 where they went to the larger screen sizes) could be even higher due to the number 8 being considered a lucky # in their second largest market, China.
Coincidence or good planning by Cupertino?
SJ did not not know the current Tim Cook. Tim is too beholden to shareholders, and AAPL Shares. You can blame most of todays corporate problems (IMO) on the Law tying CEO Compensation to Stock Value. While understandable, it does tend to focus todays CEO's on the value of their "Stock Compensation Packages." This can cause "some" to loose focus of their companies real mission. IMO, I would say Tim falls directly into this mould.
IMO, Tim also let Eddy off his rope far too fast. There was a dam good reason SJ kept Eddy on a tight leash. Eddy has screwed everything he has had oversight on. Personally, the only Apple Executive Team member I have any respect for today is Phil. Jony is off with Marc Newson working day and night on a car. IMO, his focus on Core Apple Hardware has evaporated.
Innovation through R&D involves taking BIG RISKS at times. You have to be willing to put it all on the line. Risk can lower Stock Values. As can the opposite. We see this now.
I think Apple will get it's act together eventually. However, it has become a follower. This is permanent. It's products will continue to appeal to enough consumers to grow slowly.
When Steve passed he left a 5 year Road Map for the Team. That period of time expires Oct 5th, 2016. Apple is exactly where I anticipated it would be at this time.
A Follower.
My 17" MBP died last Fall. RIP. We are down to one dinky 2011 12" MBP. Our patience are wearing thin as we continue to check MacRumors daily for a hint of announcement of new hardware. If we don't have any indication by Sept, we are going over to the dark side. Its been so long since I looked at other brands. I assume based on comments in this string that DELL is the way to go. Suggestions??
I too agree that based on share value and hardware updates, Cook should step down. They need new blood from outside the Apple clone at the higher level of the Org that can focus beyond profit per unit sold and use some of that enormous amount of cash to drive innovation beyond another rendition of the iPhone.
I too agree that based on share value and hardware updates, Cook should step down. They need new blood from outside the Apple clone at the higher level of the Org that can focus beyond profit per unit sold and use some of that enormous amount of cash to drive innovation beyond another rendition of the iPhone.
Powerful, lightweight, good screen. Apple has decided you are only allowed to pick two.
Haha, that's real funny! There isn't a chance in hell I would ever develop on an iPad. I need a real keyboard, a pointing device, multiple large monitors, and a shell prompt to do serious work. My iPad's home is on the coffee table. Tablets are fundamentally crippled because they lack proper human interface devices.
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Just by an Asus or DELL. You will get over Windows eventually. If you want latest hardware specs, Apple is not your brand.
Well, or you know, you could get over yourself and not be jealous because you don't have the latest bling (will that touch bar even be useful or just a nice gimmick? At this point we don't know. Do you NEED a thinner laptop?) and simply USE your tech, which will NOT become obsolete the moment a newer version comes out.
Jeez.
Even with the Mac Pro being 910 days old it still nocks the socks off of every other Apple product. All of Apple's other products use processors and chipsets designed for mobile use. The Mac Pro has high performance workstation components. Even my Mac Pro 2010 can smoke Apple's latest MacBook Pros and iMacs.
You're talking to a guy who LOVED his G5 tower - still keep it going for one of my kids to use. Those towers were such a mastery of design and user serviceable parts. I loved just taking the thing apart yearly to clean it, because it was such a great design. I'll keep it around once it finally dies, just for it's striking design.
I too am surprised that Apple spent the time developing the Mac Pro, then just (seemingly) dumped spending any time or money on it.
I (or more specifically my wife / business partner) have a 2013 iMac that has been great and can't wait to upgrade to the newer 4k/5k versions. I'm guessing that Apple had a hard time making a stand-alone 4 or 5k monitor work price-wise, as a build out for the Mac Pro (and Mini for that matter), given what a great deal the iMac is - like you're getting a pretty good computer for free (with the 5k 27" iMac) just paying for the monitor itself.
Great post. Even though I want new macs, I understand why they're not a priority. The problem is that Apple isn't acting like Apple in the product segments where they now make all their money. Their mobile device lineup is exactly as you said: bloated, uninspired, incredibly fragmented. They used to produce a very small number of excellent and complete products with vastly superior software and usability. Now they produce a ton of middling to decent products with software that leaves a lot to be desired and is, at best, slightly better than the competition.
I think software and user-experience became a huge priority when Apple was tied to motorola and couldn't compete on raw horsepower. That carried over to the iPhone, which utterly blew away that segment for those same reasons. Now apple sells mobile hardware with more horsepower than the vast majority of apps can even use. Much worse, the user experience on iOS is middling. There are more features than ever but many of them barely work. I've discovered more half-baked and broken features in iOS 8 to the present than in the fifteen years prior of using apple products. It's like they've decided to have as many features as possible that sort of work as opposed to the old days, when they were more selective and stubborn but everything they gave you worked perfectly.
I can live with macs on the back burner. As a shareholder, I get that, even though I use macs for business every day. But the problem is much worse than that. They are now a huge company being managed in a very conventional way and their quality has dipped. AAPL took care of itself for many years while apple just did what they did best. They are probably too big for those days to ever return.
When it comes to the visual interaction between your eyes and the outdated MBA display, it's a major downgrade, especially after looking at a Retina display at a store or at your friend's place. Why not wait if something significantly better is getting closer in the pipeline? Sounds like common sense, at least to many of us. The current MBA/MBP look and in some ways feel like the same ones you could've purchased 3-4 years ago. This isn't similar to having a iPhone 6 and wishing you had a 6s. It's more like having an iPhone 4s and wishing you had a 6s, 7, maybe even an 8. Now, I'm probably barking up the wrong tree here, so the best for me would be to move on.
Jeez indeed.
The whole 'no cheap hardware angle' for OSX is kinda grating in 2016 for Apple. Elitism is with every platform but only Apple stupidly keep their prices higher. I have been buying Apple stuff since 2001. Yet only now are they in trouble.
At least that's how the essay starts. We've all read it a million times, makes no difference, they are out to milk.
Have you ever been curious about buying some New Apple hardware, then scrolled through the options and clicked, you know, to make the hardware actually modern, then looked at the price and just scoffed?
Nowadays to go through that? When you have been buying Apple for 15 years (great support but paid for it)? Not so much Apple, we have different priorities. Why screw us on options in 2016? Makes no sense, you are killing on 16GB phones.
Just sayin, it becomes tiring year in and out until in the end, you just buy a 5S with 16, an old mcp and you just settle.
And Apple loses out.
At least that's how the essay starts. We've all read it a million times, makes no difference, they are out to milk.
Have you ever been curious about buying some New Apple hardware, then scrolled through the options and clicked, you know, to make the hardware actually modern, then looked at the price and just scoffed?
Nowadays to go through that? When you have been buying Apple for 15 years (great support but paid for it)? Not so much Apple, we have different priorities. Why screw us on options in 2016? Makes no sense, you are killing on 16GB phones.
Just sayin, it becomes tiring year in and out until in the end, you just buy a 5S with 16, an old mcp and you just settle.
And Apple loses out.
If were re-living anything, it's the Gil Amelio era, which ended the true disaster of Michael Spindler's stewardship and kept Apple solvent enough for Steve Jobs to come back.
Yes, things were simpler in the early days of Steve Jobs Return when Apple only had four products, but they also had mediocre sales and market share, too. And Steve oversaw a fair bit of what many now lament as "clutter" and that helped make Apple more relevant in the marketplace and consumer's minds.
And if they went back to the small, insular, isolated Apple of 20 years ago, I have very firm beliefs that they would not survive as a company, period.
Except Tim Cook's focus on shipping actual product holds the stock's value back because Wall Street and investors now view Apple as a "manufacturing" company like GM or GE and judge them on their shipping volume. If Tim really wanted to make money via stock, he'd stop launching real products and just announce endless vaporware like Google and Amazon and Wall Street would quadruple the current share price and he'd be a billionaire like Brin and Bezos.
Craig strikes me as having a solid head on his shoulders. I wish they'd let him handle the keynotes (with Tim only doing the intro and outro).
Apple annual R&D spend has gone from USD 500 million in 2004 to USD 10 billion in 2016. They spent less than a billion in the year they launched iPhone, less than two in the year they launched iPad and eight billion in the year they launched Apple Watch. Now clearly Apple Watch didn't cost eight billion-plus to bring to market so they've been spending it on something, and I don't believe it is all for Project Titan.
If anything, that spend is probably driving down the stock price because Wall Street and investors demand that Apple must launch something revolutionary every year if they're spending that amount of cash.
So assuming Tim and company are following that road map, if Steve was still with us the company would be just as F'd-up as a number of folks claim it is.
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You keep mentioning the R&D spending which has only seen a significant jump since mid 2014. If as most expect this is largely due to work on an electric vehicle project how quickly do you think they are going to have something to release?
Seems like the solution to this is to just allow for the iMac to work as a monitor. Then people can decide if it is a good $/value decision. Currently there are no options. No target display mode and no 4k/5k monitors from Apple.
Instead of finding a solution, it looks like Apple came to the problem and then gave up.