Popular Mac Developer Slams Apple for 'Sad State of Macintosh Hardware'
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It's a chicken and egg problem, though. Nobody in his right mind would buy the current Mac mini - it's overpriced, under-speced, and non-upgradeable. That's been true from the day it was released. Either update it or do the merciful thing and put it out of its misery.
brdeveloper
macrumors 68030
I'm using a Late-2009 white Macbook right now. SSD, 8GB of RAM, a perfect browsing machine. I know that there are people who need 32GB, and I think Apple will provide such models in the near future. But heck, most high end PC laptops don't offer a 32GB support. 16GB with compression along dedicated GPU memory is a pretty decent offer even currently. Also remember that current Macbook SSDs do transfers around 2GB/s. It's a fast swapping rate which makes virtual memory more "real" than virtual memory from PCs.
bopajuice
Suspended
I didn't know this. Only one Mac has been updated in the last year? Makes me think iOS mobile is Apple's focus at this point. Too bad.
Funny I thought we were going to get a laptop update this last keynote. Now it's been pushed back. What is Apple doing?
After watching the keynote seems like they spent most of their time and resources developing emojis.
Funny I thought we were going to get a laptop update this last keynote. Now it's been pushed back. What is Apple doing?
After watching the keynote seems like they spent most of their time and resources developing emojis.
Royksöpp
macrumors 68030
It's a terrible deal. Aside from the Ram, you can't upgrade anything after purchase. For a starting price of $5000 I want a machine I can grow with when my needs require it. It's ridiculous to call a sealed all in one a Pro Machine.
So you’re saying Apple should be another Lenovo/Acer/Dell, with the focus of volume selling of PC boxes. And you dare relate that to the legacy of Steve Jobs? Seriously?
Steve Jobs conceived the Macintosh because he wants to make the computer for everyone, not just nerds and geeks. That continues to the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Air, and even the iPad, which he himself introduced to the world. See the trend? All in ones, sealed, soldered components, less ports, more appliance like. That’s the vision of Steve Jobs, and I don’t see Apple deviating from that today.
So you cannot bash Apple today yet praise Steve Jobs at the same time, when today’s Apple is still confirming to Jobs’ vision,
Rookbird
macrumors member
Innovation is dying at Apple. They are trying to squeeze every last penny from consumers. At the same time they are destroying the Apple eco system. Apple is in a sad state. They need to hire people who can really innovate and they need to empower them to do so. They need people who can think outside the box. Right now Apple is stuck inside the box. They need to learn how to balance the necessity of making a profit with the needs of the consumer who provide that profit. They need to care more about the consumer or the consumer is going to care less about them and then the profits will dry up. They need to right the ship now before its too late. And if they wait till profits really start dropping to act then it’s already too late.
The problem is people still buying their old Macs and most of them just show off their MacBooks and don't care the internals of their computers. As long they have the logo and show it at the airports,restaurants and schools while browsing the internet that's all Apple needs. They don't care Mac developers most Mac owners only needs the Safari, Mail, iTunes and Calendar apps that syncs to their iPhones. It's sad time for a long time Mac user like me but their CEO can only be proud of colorful bands. He rather want to be surrounded with media and talk politics so the sales goes up because Apple cares for sensitive people who are easily gets offended. Mind you i already offended most people here with this comment and i'm gonna get a warning soon and my comment will most likely get deleted.
Nugget
Contributor
What's a computer?
[doublepost=1529124214][/doublepost]I don't see what you're bellyaching about. Emojis and animojis are getting better all the time and Apple just signed up Ophrah. What more could you possibly want?
Rogue Amoeba developer Quentin Carnicelli, who works on Mac software like Airfoil, Audio Highjack, Loopback, and Fission, this week penned a critique of Apple's Mac lineup and the company's recent lack of Mac updates, and that missive has been gaining some attention from Mac fans.
Using MacRumors' own Buyer's Guide, Carnicelli points out that it's been more than a year since any Mac, with the exception of the iMac Pro, has been updated.
It's been 375 days, for example, since the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air machines were last updated, and it's been 437 days since the Mac Pro saw the price drop Apple implemented as it works on a Mac Pro replacement.
The Mac Pro has not seen a hardware update since December of 2013, more than 1600 days ago. Apple has promised its professional users that a high-end high-throughput modular Mac Pro system is in the works, but we thus far have no details on when it might see a release.
The Mac mini, Apple's most affordable desktop Mac, has gone 1338 days without an update, with the last refresh introduced in October of 2014. While Apple has made promises about a refreshed Mac Pro, no similar statement has been provided about a future Mac mini, aside from a comment from Apple CEO Tim Cook stating that the Mac mini continues to be important to Apple.
According to Carnicelli, the state of the Mac lineup is "deeply worrisome" to him as a person who works for a Mac-based software company. Customers are, he says, forced to choose between "purchasing new computers that are actually years old" or "holding out in the faint hope that hardware updates are still to come."As Carnicelli points out, Apple could reassure its Mac users with updates and speed bumps to its Mac lineup on a "much more frequent basis," calling the current lack of updates "baffling and frightening to anyone who depends on the platform for their livelihood."
Apple in 2017 refreshed much of its Mac lineup (iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook) at its Worldwide Developers Conference, but this year, Apple opted to focus instead on software, with no new Mac hardware announced. With no new hardware in June, based on past release history, we could be looking at an 18-month upgrade cycle this time around, as pointed out by iMore's Rene Ritchie, with new Macs making an appearance in September or October.
Some of the blame for Apple's lack of updates can perhaps be placed on its reliance on Intel, and in the past, some Mac refreshes have been pushed back due to delays with Intel chips. This is likely one of the reasons why Apple is planning to transition from Intel chips to its own custom made Mac chips as early as 2020.
MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, and MacBook Air upgrades are not in the dire state that Mac Pro and Mac mini upgrades are in, but increased attention on issues with the MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards has left Apple customers eager to see those machine updated, especially as Apple has not acknowledged these keyboard issues despite their prevalence in the media.
"Apple needs to publicly show their commitment to the full Macintosh hardware line and they need to do it now," writes Carnicelli.
Carnicelli's comments on the state of the Mac lineup came just before Apple released a new Mac advertising campaign. Called "Behind the Mac," the campaign highlights creators who use their Macs to "make something wonderful."
The first ad spots in the series focus on photographer and disability advocate Bruce Hall, who uses his Mac for editing photographs, musician Grimes, who uses the Mac "from start to finish" to write all of her music, edit music videos, and more, and app developer Peter Kariuki who used his Mac to code the SafeMotos app, which is designed to connect passengers with safe motorcycle drivers in Rwanda.
These ads, while inspiring, may be seen as too little too late by those who have grown frustrated with Apple's Mac lineup and have come to see the lack of updates as an indicator of a lack of commitment to the Mac.
Article Link: Popular Mac Developer Slams Apple for 'Sad State of Macintosh Hardware'
flyinmac
macrumors 68040
Truth is, If Tim Cook did that, there would be a new Apple CEO in two days.
Steve Jobs ran the company. The company realized that they needed him. He brought them back from circling the drain. And there was no way they’d challenge him again.
Tim Cook is a figure head. He gives speeches. He does what he’s told. And if he’s a good boy, they won’t fire him.
The company is run by the board now. And he can give an opinion, but if he’s outvoted, then he can either do as he’s told or go sell window washes on the corner.
There is absolutely no indication that Tim Cook has the clout to dictate that anything will be done. He might not even have the clout to demand that he be given cheese on his burger at lunch.
alien3dx
macrumors 68020
just make free 99 dollar mac developer.. only charge upon submission.Paying something xcode per year seem outrages to me..Their market not profitable margin in the place.. Unless apple got 50% market would wide, yeah charge it.. For me , apple and xcode and the worst software developer experince/ user experince
Rookbird
macrumors member
If they started doing that then Apple would REALLY go down hill FAST! That’s what was happening before Steve Jobs returned and it was helping to destroy Apple. No they just need to get back to innovating hardware wise and think outside the box!
magicschoolbus
macrumors 68030
Bottom line is Apple doesn’t need the “pro” users anymore. These people supported the brand when it was nothing and Apple rode the wave of the creative user and made inroads in the art and music community which turned the brand into a media powerhouse. Now that the brand is as big as it is, they simply don’t want to cater to a niche market that they see as a dying market that does not give them much return.
Apple does not need the pro user anymore, and they don’t want them either. The proof is in the pudding. Look at the stats on these “updates”
corebeliefs
Suspended
If Apple actually put out a decent machine at this point, would an Apple user gamble on it? With the tepid support that Apple has given the Mac line. It's almost gotten to that point.
Rookbird
macrumors member
AMEN! Make the Macbook Pro thicker, bring back the old keyboard keys, put back some of the connectors you took away and PLEASE put back the magnetic break away power connector! One of the GREAT innovations of the Apple of Old. WHY in the world would you get rid of it!!!!
Gosh, what a depressing regurgitation of negativity that springs fourth on these forums.
I really enjoyed the video posted along with the article. I don't disagree Apple could do more with their hardware to instil confidence in Mac users for the future, but it's obvious they care about the Mac.
I really enjoyed the video posted along with the article. I don't disagree Apple could do more with their hardware to instil confidence in Mac users for the future, but it's obvious they care about the Mac.
I can see how some readers will think your remarks are a wee bit offensive because of the example you chose. Nevertheless I see how you are driving at a very valid point: Steve Jobs kept his nose the hell out of politics of any kind, with the result that the whole Apple enterprise was entirely apolitical. He didn't take it on himself to read Presidents gratuitous lectures on social subjects of the day, he just stuck to what he did best, without imagining that this gave him any qualification to make pronouncements about stuff outside his own area of expertise. He soared way above all that kind of stuff. Nowadays all kinds of Silicon Valley enterprises are getting heavily politicized and I don't see how this is doing the entire industry any good at all. I would hate to see any potential customers be diverted to Dell just because they are turned off by Apple products as gear for Liberals.
B. t. w., given Tim's political outspokenness, I fully expect that Apple News is going to be as politically slanted as Google News, showing the same heavy favoritism towards liberal news outlets such as the WP and the NYT, with the result that it will often do little more than repeat and amplify the same editorial policies. How often do these Silicon Valley news sources pick up an item from The Drudge Report?
ssgbryan
macrumors 65816
No. Not ever.
128KMac
macrumors regular
As evidenced by my moniker, my first computer ever purchased was a 128K Mac. I have never purchased any computer for myself that wasn't a Mac. But you look at the current stale selection and have to start wondering whether a WinTel machine might be better. I know the OS is key, but come on, let's get some more game on here. For me, the biggest selling point of a new machine would be a full-on touch screen, so I could use both keyboard and screen to move around and do stuff.
flyinmac
macrumors 68040
It destroyed Apple because Apple was a computer company then, and they couldn’t compete with cheaper clones.
It depends on your business model.
Licensing MS-DOS and MS-Windows certainly didn’t destroy Microsoft. But that’s because Microsoft wasn’t trying to survive by selling computers.
At this point, Apple is making a lot of money on computers. But it certainly isn’t their primary source of income.
And on a per unit basis, they would probably make more money selling licenses of Mac OS than they do on Macintosh computers.
Consider that if the Macintosh computer division was shut down, the expenses of that department would also cease.
No more R&D to design new systems. No more support department answering calls about hardware problems. No more class action suits on computer defects. No more manufacturing costs of computer hardware. Literally no money going to supporting, designing, manufacturing, vendor operations, etc.
Their entire computer division could close.
Now they have just the software division.
And that division produces a core operating system. Which other computer manufacturers can pay them and get a license.
All Apple has to do is provide the core operating system. That’s it. And they get money for every licensed copy installed on every computer.
Much lower overhead.
Now... many of you are prepared to say that it increases support costs because they’d have to support more hardware. Wrong...
They’d have zero support costs.
I was once a licensed OEM for Microsoft (among several other licenses and access rights). And here’s the way it boils down.
If Apple adopted the strategy above... Apple doesn’t have to support anything.
Any hardware makers are tasked with writing their own drivers for the operating system. Apple does not have to write the drivers. The hardware companies do that.
Apple does not have to support the operating system, except for copies they decide to sell at retail to individual users. Which they can still avoid supporting hardware related issues and charge for support if the problem comes down to hardware or drivers.
All support costs for Mac OS would fall on the OEM who built the computer and sold the computer with Mac OS. The computer manufacturer has to provide technical support for any operating system it supplies preinstalled on a computer it sold (that’s how it works with Windows too).
And, to really follow the Microsoft model... the computer manufacturers cannot go to Apple for support of the Operating System either. So if the manufacturer has a problem they can’t figure out, even they can’t call on Apple for support.
So if we apply the Microsoft model, then Apple has more to gain by licensing Mac OS than it does by manufacturing and selling computers.
The only reason the above strategy would fail, is if they tried to compete with the other computer manufacturers.
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