Popular Mac Developer Slams Apple for 'Sad State of Macintosh Hardware'

[Abazigal]

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.

You are assuming that Tim Cook would have done things the way you wanted them to be done.

I find it amusing that critics often equate a company not doing things the way they wanted done or would have done it with a company failing or losing the plot. Like they are the centre around which the company orbits around.

What if it’s the opposite? Seems this is an uncomfortable prospect which nobody here seems to be willing to face.

I’m convinced some people really do wish Apple was just a Mac company. Things will continue to get uncomfortable for this group given Apple’s product direction.

 

[128KMac]

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 got 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.

Except the other problem with the 1990s clone makers was variable quality that then got ID'd as Apple related, so to the degree that Apple continues to be a "premium" brand, They'd probably want to exercise a lot of QC on the products that carried their software.

 

[torana355]

Tim Cook is ruining Apple. The cheapest $1100 21" iMac still comes with a 5400 RPM drive as standard. The rest come standard with Fusion Drives that have just 24GB of SSD and the rest is slow mechanical storage. They are so fast do ditch legacy tech, yet for some reason Apple just loves mechanical hard drives. Also, why on earth are they still selling brand new Series 1 Apple Watches? Series 1, while decent at the time, is a horrible experience (super slow) compared to newer ones. All this slowness is going to put a bad taste in people's mouths.

All the legacy tech Apple get rid of is to make them more money, its not to make a better product for the consumer like they would have you believe. They keep Mechanical HDD's because they are cheaper. They get rid of legacy ports because it saves them money. They sell 2 year old tech at current tech prices to save make more money. Everything they do is to make as much money as possible!!! Why would they do anything different when you get these Apple fan boys that will Defend anything Apple do and buy whatever rubbish they sell. Good thing is I think people are FINALLY starting to wake up to what Apple are doing, hopefully it gets to the point that Apple need to make changes. Im still using my 2011 MBA because Apple wont sell me anything decent to replace it, its ridiculous. I would switch to a Windows 10 machine if it was not for the constant auto updates. It really hurts because Laptops like the Dell XPS have a bunch of issues and I know Apple can make a good laptop if they actually try!! My 2011 MBA is proof.

 

[341328]

Here’s a word of advice... don’t use software from a company that ties you down.

Feel free to ignore my advice and stop complaining about Apple because you are the fools.

 

[flyinmac]

Except the other problem with the 1990s clone makers was variable quality that then got ID'd as Apple related, so to the degree that Apple continues to be a "premium" brand, They'd probably want to exercise a lot of QC on the products that carried their software.

It requires a structure of being a software company. Not a hardware company.

Bad hardware doesn’t reflect on the software company.

Apple was too closely tied to the clones back then. Almost to the point of being confusing as to am I buying a clone or an Apple. I remember the branding and naming was confusing. And who owned what or had rights to what was confusing.

I actually was a point of contact in (helping) Apple figure out how to separate and reclaim their intellectual property rights (because even they found it confusing). And that’s all I can say on that subject. So I do have some fundamental understanding of the problems they had then.

If Apple stayed out of computer hardware, and focused on software, they could avoid past mistakes.

 

[Haust]

New MacBooks will come after the back to college sale. So, probably not until September or more likely October. It’s not about chips or video cards, it’s about making money off cheaper, older, hardware.

...Apple clearly is not worried about the keyboard lawsuits.

Me, I’d consider buying a pc if I could find a 15-17 model with a 4K display, 100% aRGB, that didn’t sound like an airplane while it was idling doing nothing. One of the main reasons that I buy Macs is because they are mostly silent.

 

[flyinmac]

You are assuming that Tim Cook would have done things the way you wanted them to be done.

I find it amusing that critics often equate a company not doing things the way they wanted done or would have done it with a company failing or losing the plot. Like they are the centre around which the company orbits around.

What if it’s the opposite? Seems this is an uncomfortable prospect which nobody here seems to be willing to face.

I’m convinced some people really do wish Apple was just a Mac company. Things will continue to get uncomfortable for this group given Apple’s product direction.

You’ve obviously decided something that I didn’t say. I have no assumption that Tim Cook would do anything positive or negative.

I don’t bother thinking about what he would or wouldn’t do. He gives speeches.

 

[macgeek01]

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.

Buy a Windows Machine, I’m sure it will be so much better LOL

 

[redheeler]

In the mid 2000s the iPod and Mac shared the spotlight, both were exciting and innovative.

Good point. In reality both Macs and iOS devices could be exciting and innovative, maintaining software feature parity with the right leadership; a company as large as Apple doesn't have to choose one or the other.

At the very least we could have a decent Mac mini by now...

 

[Double-A]

I’m a fan of Apple. Obviously. I make a pastime out of catching up on the latest stories published here. However, I think my next computer purchase is going to be a PC.

Apple’s computer updates in recent years have been very lackluster. The biggest news for consumer-level Mac users recently was that the MacBook Pro got a nifty ”touch bar” and that was about the only noteworthy change that was introduced in the MacBook Pro.

Say what you will about PCs, but at least PC manufacturers have been radically rethinking the computer from year to year. If you buy a brand new computer from Apple, you are basically purchasing the same machine that people were buying the year before.

 

[Abazigal]

Good point. In reality both Macs and iOS devices could be exciting and innovative, maintain software feature parity with the right leadership; a company as large as Apple doesn't have to choose one or the other.

At the very least we could have a decent Mac mini by now...

Does it even make sense for the Mac mini to exist in this day and age? It’s primary purpose - to serve as a cheap Mac for windows PC users looking to dip their toes in the ecosystem, doesn’t seem so relevant today. Especially when the iPhone now serves that key function of drawing users in.

I suspect Apple themselves isn’t entirely sure of what role the Mac mini ought to fill as well, and that’s why updates are on a hiatus while they figure it out (together with the Mac Pro).

I won’t be surprised if the next Mac mini update (if it will still be called that) will be nothing at all like its current incarnation.

You’ve obviously decided something that I didn’t say. I have no assumption that Tim Cook would do anything positive or negative.

I don’t bother thinking about what he would or wouldn’t do. He gives speeches.

Because it’s not his job to chart Apple’s future product roadmap. So I don’t know why people are blaming him for something which was never under his jurisdiction to begin with.

 

[richinaus]

You are assuming that Tim Cook would have done things the way you wanted them to be done.

I find it amusing that critics often equate a company not doing things the way they wanted done or would have done it with a company failing or losing the plot. Like they are the centre around which the company orbits around.

What if it’s the opposite? Seems this is an uncomfortable prospect which nobody here seems to be willing to face.

I’m convinced some people really do wish Apple was just a Mac company. Things will continue to get uncomfortable for this group given Apple’s product direction.

This is what I believe too.

Apple are not a computer company and Jobs said it first.
It seems a lot of people expect a focus on computers still whereas their focus is elsewhere now.
Some people will be disappointed over the next few years.
[doublepost=1529127984][/doublepost]

I’m a fan of Apple. Obviously. I make a pastime out of catching up on the latest stories published here. However, I think my next computer purchase is going to be a PC.

Apple’s computer updates in recent years have been very lackluster. The biggest news for consumer-level Mac users recently was that the MacBook Pro got a nifty ”touch bar” and that was about the only noteworthy change that was introduced in the MacBook Pro.

Say what you will about PCs, but at least PC manufacturers have been radically rethinking the computer from year to year. If you buy a brand new computer from Apple, you are basically purchasing the same machine that people were buying the year before.

Doesn’t make them better though.....

 

[ChrisMoBro]

That will not happen. AMD is not crap, nVidia has no offering providing the same or better performance with the same TDP. Or at least did not last year. nVidia's policy is awful. I

One word: Cuda. AMD can’t compete, especially in the pro market.

 

[StevieD100]

Agree or disagree, Mac value holds up extremely well and lifespan are increasingly pushing the boundaries...Look at MacBook Air from 10 years ago still fetching over $100 dollars on eBay. People are keeping their devices longer and longer no need for product refreshes every year. IMO.

It is not just that. Some PC makers put out new devices literally every other month. Short production runs seem the norm these days.
A friend had her three month old laptop stolen. There was no way a new like-for-like replacement could be found in the country.
In the end, she took the insurance money and now uses a MacBook Pro and is delighted.

So... what is best then? Three months from release to EOL or the situation we have with Apple and their sloth like approach to updates.
Personally, I'd rather have the latter.

 

[mgauss7]

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'

[doublepost=1529128833][/doublepost] I like my iMac

 

[Viking2]

I am in the Apple ecosystems only because of Mac computers

I am not to happy with my iPhone X and if Apple stops updating the Mac line and I have to bite the bullet and switch to Windows I buy a Huawei P20 Pro the same day. my GF has it and the camera is incredible.

At least if Apple would license to others to make Mac compatible hardware I would settle for that. For sure.

I am so disappointed in Apple.I have been a mega loyal Apple customer for like 25+ year. Even a fanboy. But now less and less.Might buy a next gen Surface Pro.

ps. I was also a loyal Canon customer for 25 years. 6 month ago I sold everything and went Sony A7 r3. I am so satisfied and I am not looking back.

 

[saintstryfe]

Intel hasn't released a significant processor upgrade in 3 years - simple spec bumps. Same on its graphics. In fact, it's stepped backwards on these.

AMD hasn't released a significant non-discreet upgrade in years. When they have, Apple has put them into higher end units.

So... what's Apple supposed to do? Spit out new hardware designs with old chips just so a counter gets reset? Sorry the tech industry isn't moving at the speed you think it should.

If you want newly redesigned Macs yearly, Apple's going to need to drop Intel. They are not supporting Apple the way it should be. That will mean sacrificing Bootcamp and software designers are going to have to get on board, but it's possible,

I am coming more around to the idea of ARM-powered Macs. One thing I'd love is if Apple could hook up with Parallels folks and see if they can make a reasonable-speed emulator to keep Wintel compatibility. Other than that, I'm seeing less and less reason to be that upset that Apple needs to move away from these companies.

 

[Applebot1]

I have a late 2012 rMBP and still
Going strong for my needs which aren’t particular high. However if I had the money or needed to upgrade I just don’t see the value at the moment. To be honest OSX isn’t very compelling and feels stagnant.

Apple are more about being a ‘premium’ lifestyle company. The days of the Mac being centre of everything has gone. Apple have never dominated this segment and never will. I don’t think they even have aspirations to try.

They build macs for Xcode which in turn develops apps for the rest of the eco system.

 

[saintstryfe]

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?

So you want Apple to use a lying opinion piece writer as a news source?

 

[pipis2010]

what's so ironic is that the biggest sites to cover apple news all have mac in their name! this site, 9to5 and macworld. Yet, it's the iPhone that gets all the attention year after year!.. I couldn't give a rats ass about some me-moji AR rubbish that only works with a $1000 phone. Get back to the core of Apple, the whole reason the company was founded in the first place and make some god damn modern computers already!

I can't believe that apple are on the verge of becoming the most valuable company in the world, the first trillion dollar company, and even with all that wealth they still have the nerve to release an AIO desktop with 1 inch thick bezels in 2018. Where is the R&D money going!?!?! The iMac shares the same design going way back to 2012, a desktop with the same chassis for SIX YEARS!! But that's not all, the most valuable computer company in the world have the nerve to put a 5.4k spinning disk in the 4K iMac priced at $1299. Great value! I could go on the same war path but it's all been said before.

Apple, don't humor us with gimmicky ads. Just make some computers that are worth the THOUSANDS of dollars you charge for them. It's that simple.

Thousands of likes!!! Well said!!!

 

[Radon87000]

Don't blame Intel, Dell keeps coming out with great hardware, HP keeps coming out with hardware, hell even Microsoft is coming out with great hardware. I'm in the same boat, Apple abandoned me.

Have tried to stay current using Hackintoshs but to be honest, Mac OS is starting to get full of bugs and the possible switch to proprietary ARM will be a deal breaker. I'm not saying that Windows is any better (automatic updates rebooting your machine!), but as a developer/creator, I just want good tools.

How can one of the wealthiest companies in the world, built around the image of creativity, abandon its core users?
[doublepost=1529104782][/doublepost]

Thank maybe they should have added 0.5mm more and made the damn things work. Novelty concepts like touch bar are not enough value to "delay" and saving 0.5mm is not enough value to lose valuable interfaces (sd slot, usb-a)
[doublepost=1529104914][/doublepost]RIP Apple / Apple Computer. Time to reincorporate to Apple Phone Company Inc.

@MacRumors you should probably rename your site to iphonerumors.com

Automatic updates no longer reboot the system automatically on Windows 10.

Anyway I always thought Apple= iPhone+iPad. They build lousy computers. I built a Windows rig and never looked back. The Mac supporters should take a look at Windows 10 instead of outright dismissing it. Windows has come a long way. You also enjoy the latest hardware the moment it's released instead of waiting years on end. Laptops like the XPS 13 destroy the MBA in terms of design. Apple is no longer a computer company.

 

[Applebot1]

Intel hasn't released a significant processor upgrade in 3 years - simple spec bumps. Same on its graphics. In fact, it's stepped backwards on these.

AMD hasn't released a significant non-discreet upgrade in years. When they have, Apple has put them into higher end units.

So... what's Apple supposed to do? Spit out new hardware designs with old chips just so a counter gets reset? Sorry the tech industry isn't moving at the speed you think it should.

If you want newly redesigned Macs yearly, Apple's going to need to drop Intel. They are not supporting Apple the way it should be. That will mean sacrificing Bootcamp and software designers are going to have to get on board, but it's possible,

I am coming more around to the idea of ARM-powered Macs. One thing I'd love is if Apple could hook up with Parallels folks and see if they can make a reasonable-speed emulator to keep Wintel compatibility. Other than that, I'm seeing less and less reason to be that upset that Apple needs to move away from these companies.

Wouldn’t surprise me either about going the ARM route. When you look at software like Office this is very usable now using the cloud version. The computer architecture is becoming less meaningful.

 

[aleni]

Just remembered steve job’s interview. He said, pcs and macs are gonna be like trucks, only few people use it but it’s still be here. Maybe tim cook just followed steve’s idea about that analogy.

 

[Nuvi]

It's really sad. I wish apple would realize that, while the profits come from iGadgets, it's the technologies from the Mac that makes iOS possible, not the other way around.

Yep, without Mac’s I would switch to Android so fast that it would make my head spin. At the same I would stop using Apple services (Apple Music, iTunes Store for movie purchases, iCloud). For a massive company Apple is strangely resource constricted. It’s like a some “rain man” capable of doing one task incredibly well but at the same totally incapable of doing anything else.

 

[Mago]

Pure Truth. <period>