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jkichline

macrumors 6502
Aug 25, 2010
362
190
I'm now waiting for Samsung's new book entitled, "Designed By Samsung... in California"

:eek:

We all know who designs their products...
 
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frankgrimes

macrumors 6502a
Jun 13, 2016
519
387
Dedicated to Steve Jobs and yet they show most of the Johnny Yve work? WTF

If it were really about Steve Jobs, Apple would show the beginning of his backyard studio, the Mac that started it all, Steve's introduction of the mouse and not all that "fancy design first" Yve stuff for $ 300 bucks. I mean for that pricetag at least give a behind the scenes introduction to each picture and write about the process that went into it.

I know Everythingapplepro and Ijustine are going to buy this but keep in mind they are YTers so they'll make up for it by the sheer number of views alone. Next years version will have to courage to come in jet-black and space-grey indexed colored sites and a 67 % thinner cover for only 499 $
 
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Wallabe

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2015
660
205
I thought it was a joke when people say whatever Apple put their logo on, it will sell. I found out it isn't.
 

Truffy

macrumors 6502a



Apple this week unveiled its latest product, a hardbound photo book that showcases 20 years of Apple products, highlighting every Mac, iPhone, iPod, and iPad released between 1998 and 2015.

Because it's positioned as an art piece, Apple's "Designed by Apple in California" book costs a jaw dropping $200 to $300 depending on size, so we thought we'd take a look inside to see just what you're getting for that price tag.

Aside from a dedication page dedicating the book to former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, a foreword by Apple design chief Jony Ive, and an insert with product descriptions, the book is text-free, filled with large, high-quality images of Apple products. There are 450 images in total, with multiple photographs of each item to highlight its design process. It starts with the 1998 iMac, one of the first products Ive designed at Apple, and ends with the 2015 Apple Pencil.

According to Apple, it took eight years to design the linen-bound hardcover book, which features specially milled, custom-dyed paper with "gilded matte silver edges," and low-ghost ink. As can be seen in the video, the book is of the highest quality with gorgeous photographs, but its price limits its appeal to the general public.

"Designed by Apple in California" can only be purchased from the online Apple Store and at select Apple retail locations around the world. It's priced at $199 for a 10.2x12.8 inch version, and $299 for a 13x16.3 inch version.

Article Link: Here's a Look Inside Apple's New $200 Photo Book
The perfect Christmas gift for the iDiot in your life.
 

Wallabe

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2015
660
205
Dedicated to Steve Jobs and yet they show most of the Johnny Yve work? WTF

If it were really about Steve Jobs, Apple would show the beginning of his backyard studio, the Mac that started it all, Steve's introduction of the mouse and not all that "fancy design first" Yve stuff for $ 300 bucks. I mean for that pricetag at least give a behind the scenes introduction to each picture and write about the process that went into it.

I know Everythingapplepro and Ijustine are going to buy this but keep in mind they are YTers so they'll make up for it by the sheer number of views alone. Next years version will have to courage to come in jet-black and space-grey indexed colored sites and a 67 % thinner cover for only 499 $

I watched her vlog on that book. The only reason she would buy it is because of the adsense income that she's getting from doing online videos about stuff. In the video where she reviewed the new MBP, she says there were some stupid purchases she made, and one of that was the Apple Book. It's all for a show, if she was doing it for herself, I'm sure she wouldn't have made that purchase. It may make sense if you're a business and want to have a fancy book for your lobby to show off, but not a wise choice for anyone from a personal purchase decision.

Also, Casey Neistat ended his vlog. No more daily vlogs.



Bonus video for you guys:

 
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sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,287
13,020
where hip is spoken
I think a $300 book is a terrific idea! If Apple can increase their bottom line by publishing expensive books maybe they'll reconsider nickel-n-diming everyone else with their dongle-a-go-go. :)

Oh, and it takes "courage" to produce something using antiquated media that was introduced in 1440. :p
 

Wallabe

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2015
660
205
I think a $300 book is a terrific idea! If Apple can increase their bottom line by publishing expensive books maybe they'll reconsider nickel-n-diming everyone else with their dongle-a-go-go. :)

Oh, and it takes "courage" to produce something using antiquated media that was introduced in 1440. :p

Next year, they'll get rid of the headphone jack on the Macbook. They'll sell you a dongle for it.

The first year, Apple gives you one for free with their phone, next year, they wont. Want to connect your iPhone 7S to your Mac? You will still need a dongle for that.

 
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bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,317
6,373
Kentucky
Sorry I have a Agilent oscilloscope and they are awesome and while Rigol and others are making good low end oscilloscopes, on the mid end and high end, Keysight is beating Tektronix and Yokugawa, and everyone else.

Ask anyone with a newish Varian NMR how they feel about Agilent and you'll get an earful. In fact, I had two Bruker folks stop by my office the other day and surprisingly enough they're upset at Agilent also.

HP/Agilent has always been my go-to for chromatography and the 5890 gas chromatograph will-I think-remain a benchmark product. I learned GC on a 5890. The 7890/5975 combo I have now is excellent but when the time comes to get a new GC-MS Shimadzu will likely be my source.

All of that aside, I do not consider the price at all out of line for the book. I am not in the market for it-I would buy a history book of this price and quality in a minute-but don't fault folks for doing it. I am enough of a bibliophile to recognize a quality product and know that it's certainly in line with current market prices.
 

Nick11Mac

macrumors 6502
Jan 20, 2011
352
299
California
Ask anyone with a newish Varian NMR how they feel about Agilent and you'll get an earful. In fact, I had two Bruker folks stop by my office the other day and surprisingly enough they're upset at Agilent also.

HP/Agilent has always been my go-to for chromatography and the 5890 gas chromatograph will-I think-remain a benchmark product. I learned GC on a 5890. The 7890/5975 combo I have now is excellent but when the time comes to get a new GC-MS Shimadzu will likely be my source.

All of that aside, I do not consider the price at all out of line for the book. I am not in the market for it-I would buy a history book of this price and quality in a minute-but don't fault folks for doing it. I am enough of a bibliophile to recognize a quality product and know that it's certainly in line with current market prices.


Agree, and also feel that it could have been enhanced by some brief liner notes on the products.
 

Rob_2811

Suspended
Mar 18, 2016
2,569
4,253
United Kingdom
What a load of navel gazing nonsense. I'm not sure Jobs would've approved. Two sizes aswell such a Tim Cook thing to do, let me guess the smaller one has some of the pages missing ?
 

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,564
22,025
Singapore
What a load of navel gazing nonsense. I'm not sure Jobs would've approved. Two sizes aswell such a Tim Cook thing to do, let me guess the smaller one has some of the pages missing ?

Did you stop to consider that if the book took eight years to conceptualists, it would have started under Steve Jobs?
 

Spectrum

macrumors 68000
Mar 23, 2005
1,799
1,112
Never quite sure
Unlike my criticism of the new MBPro, I actually think $200-$300 is OK for what is such a niche book printed in such a unique way. However...I'd be much much more interested if there was some text to read - about product goals/challenges/development/decisions/compromises/solutions. The photos are only a tiny part of this story, and to my mind, only interesting if you can understand them in context to these other aspects.
 

teejaysplace24

macrumors regular
Apr 17, 2007
110
115
Los Angeles, California
"We can't design displays and we can't design wireless routers and we can't design pro desktops because there's not enough profit margin, but here's a $300 book that contains pictures of all the stuff we used to make."
 

kingtj

macrumors 68030
Oct 23, 2003
2,606
749
Brunswick, MD
This book is CERTAINLY not for me... but I can respect what they were trying to do with it.
If I have any real "complaint" about it, though -- it just helps prove the point I've been trying to make, that the "new" Apple is far too heavily focused on style, vs. substance.

I really feel that under Steve Jobs, Apple had an unbeatable blend of demanding as much functionality as possible, while packing it into an elegant "shell". The styling was extremely important, but only because a well engineered product deserved an equally impressive looking outer case. He regularly came up with ideas on what the company should be trying to achieve, and didn't accept many compromises. If he was told by engineering that "you can't fit capabilities X, Y, and Z into a product of dimensions A, B and C" - that meant the project got put on hold or cancelled. If he was told it was doable but was too expensive, again, he'd stick it on the back burner to revisit later.

It seems to me that now, Apple just goes with whatever proposal the "style" experts (like Johnny Ives) come up with, and dictates that the guts be made to fit into it, even if things must be removed or scaled back to make it happen. And ironically, they're ceding control over the appearance of critical components in the whole Apple ecosystem, too, by no longer building their own displays or routers.


They developed their own inks and commissioned custom paper designs for the book to more carefully represent the real-world colours of the products and in particular show 'whites' (white product on white page) more accurately. This book isn't for everyone, but I guarantee those here who are not buying it are the ones complaining. Such is adolescence.
 

fat jez

macrumors 68020
Jun 24, 2010
2,083
614
Glasgow, UK
Kingtj, I think you are spot on. Nobody is reigning Ive in and I think Jobs did. Paraphrasing the quote from Jurassic Park, "your designers were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should."
 

laz232

macrumors 6502a
Feb 4, 2016
733
1,384
At a café near you
HP started with a different premise and then got into any and everything that wasn't part of their core values. Apple is not getting into any and everything.

There are some on this forum that may take issue with your claim that "Apple is not getting into any and everything". They are getting into "Cloud" services, music, original content, mapping, cars and fashion accessories (10k gold watches and watch bands) and now, apparently, books - how the frig is that not "getting into any and everything"???

Hewlett Packard used to be: Test and Measurement Equipment, Semiconductors (as a spin-off of their custom T&M requirements), much later (1980s): computers (as a part of their EDA / CAD flow), printers etc. The real rot set in when Carly Fiorina acquired Compaq - note, much to the original founders dismay... but by that time Agilent had already been spun off.

Note, Compaq was a great, innovative PC company until they lost their way in the early 90s. IIRC they release a 80386 based system before IBM at the time (IBM wanted to keep milking their 286 and heavy Iron lines and saw the 386 as potentially cannibalizing sales).

But to get back to what you said - heck yes Apple is loosing focus and getting into any and everything, and not doing a great job, whereas its old core products (computers) are being neglected, or given laughable features that appeal only to an imaginary "pro" audience (that is, an audience of imagined professionals, rather than the actual professional needs, which span designers to engineers, to business people)
 

SoulLife9z

macrumors newbie
Dec 5, 2016
11
0
The only way I can see this being worth that much, is if they decided to include photos of future products that have not yet been launched. That could merit the steep price tag. Unless the pages are infused with diamond grains.

I actually think the book is worth that much without those conditions you stated. There are artistic paintings that can be sold for thousands because it's art. Since Apple consider its products' designs to be high quality works of arts instead of just some photo book, and if people to view it that way like with other arts. Then that by itself justify the price, simply because it's art. That took a very long time to create.
 
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