Quick Takes: Apple Pencil 2 Wishlist, Apple's R&D Spending is Surging

[Abazigal]

Or, better yet, not get into the content game at all and stay focused on being a hardware company. Their focus on Services revenue reeks of a company losing its edge.

Apple uses software and services to add value to their hardware. For example, it's no coincidence that the Apple TV, Apple Watch and homepod support only Apple Music. It keeps you hooked within the apple ecosystem.

Apple may profit primarily from hardware sales, but it is not a hardware company.

 

[Substance90]

I guess with this much R&D spending, they simply don't have to funds to afford developers to fix bugs in macOS and iOS

 

[ddrulez]

I am still surprised that the Apple Pencil isnt working with the iPhone.

 

[AmazingRobie]

Is anyone at Apple paying attention to the ROI on this? They may be spending twice as much as four years ago, but I'm certainly not feeling that in the products that I purchase. I wish that weren't the case...

Exactly. Where's the money going? It's not on display in the final products; they're crap. Maybe they've stopped having employees cash out personal stock to buy up product and store it in a warehouse and now they're using money line itemed for "R&D" to buy it up and store it for the holiday season to boost their quarterly profit reports.

One thing I've learned over the years is if someone is going to run a scam on the public, they'll routinely switch it up or to prevent being found out. It'll be hilarious when someone actually digs into this in an online documentary and finds it to be exactly what they've been doing to make the company look like it's had growth, so they can look sweet to the Asian markets. Once they break in there, it'll be all she wrote... expect total chaos.

 

[robbyx]

It reeks of a company accepting that the iPhone will reach a saturation point some day and they will need a new source of significant revenue to augment it.

Precisely my point. The focus on Services may not be a bad thing, but it’s a clear sign that the old Apple is as dead as its founder. The old Apple was a hardware company. This new Apple is less about hardware and more about the “eco-system”. The new Apple wants to hook you on monthly subscriptions. The old Apple would have barfed a little in its mouth at the thought.
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This reminds me of a Steve Jobs quote when people told him older consumers wouldn’t want to type on a keyboard: “Death will solve this.” It may not be what you’re used to, but’s it’s progress which means change. We all have to learn it IMO.

Ha. There’s good change and there’s bad change. Most (I wanted to say every, but we all know some blowhard on here is going to get smug and try to correct me...) school kid in the world learns to write with a pencil that has an eraser. There’s no good reason to break what works. I’m not saying Pencil v2 shouldn’t be configurable. If you want the eraser end to act as a finger so you don’t have to touch the screen, for example, that should be an option. But the Pencil, out of the box, should write with one end and erase with the other.

 

[izyreal]

Is anyone at Apple paying attention to the ROI on this? They may be spending twice as much as four years ago, but I'm certainly not feeling that in the products that I purchase. I wish that weren't the case...

There is a distinct lag time between when research spending happens and when you see it pay off in products. I wouldn't expect the real payoff for this spending for another 3-4 years minimum.
[doublepost=1521300039][/doublepost]Then

I don’t understand why people want this. It’s not intuitive or precise. A step back. Your fingertips are already at the glass. Better to erase using gestures, such as double tap, or simply use the tip which is more precise.

I understand your point. The issue is that I frequently have to move my pencil to a designated menu to switch my pencil to the erase function. That action is much more disruptive to my flow than flipping my pencil over and using the cap to erase.

With that said, what I would rather have is a programmable function button that I could map to things like erasing, color, line size, etc.

 

[robbyx]

Apple uses software and services to add value to their hardware. For example, it's no coincidence that the Apple TV, Apple Watch and homepod support only Apple Music. It keeps you hooked within the apple ecosystem.

Apple may profit primarily from hardware sales, but it is not a hardware company.

Not anymore. I agree with you completely. I just hope this new Apple doesn’t lose its way chasing recurring revenue.

The other day my iPhone kept crashing and rebooting when I tried to pull my airline boarding pass up on the home screen. Since iOS 11 came along, my iPhone crashes routinely. I’ve restored, etc., but problems persist. I frequently find the text entry field missing in Messages.

I was going to buy an iMac Pro until I read about the absurd and needless “security” measures that can brick the device. Why on earth is Apple trying to lock down Macs? How does that benefit us as users? I expect the new Mac Pro to have the same heavy handed “security” features. No thanks. My next computer might be my first PC...in 35 years (I did run NeXTSTEP on Intel, but I don’t count those as PCs).

I worry that Apple is starting to alienate customers with certain steps they are taking, or not taking. Quality control is suffering. The iOS UI is a mess. Shameful that something so inconsistent and arbitrary has come from Apple. I’m the geek in my peer group who provides informal tech support. I have consistently been hearing complaints about Apple from these people for the past three years. A few at first, but now pretty much everyone has run into some kind of problem or has been thoroughly confused by some arbitrary UI change. Of course no one wants to switch - yet - but Apple should not be allowing this kind of dissatisfaction to bloom. Consumers are fickle. They aren’t loyal like us geeks.

I think Apple is too busy trying to extract monthly payments from its users that it is completely blind to how many users are the least satisfied they’ve ever been with Apple products.

 

[Solomani]

I don't much care for the "surge" in R&D (research and development) spending.

I hope that Apple also throws millions into a surge in QC (quality control) spending.

 

[subjonas]

Pencil battery: If you unpair it that turns it “off” and the battery will not drain.
I like your suggestion for a capacitive cap that has gestures.

Yeah that’s a workaround but it’s a bit of a hassle to have to go into a menu on another device to turn off your pencil, especially if you forget at first and the iPad is already packed away in your bag. And then that means you have to stick the pencil in the lightning port to pair it again every time you use it. It would just be much better if it had its own switch of some sort.

 

[Niklas_nick]

I‘d love

-an on/off mode so you don’t have to weirdly couple pencil and iPad by sticking them together but rather activate the pencil via power switch (something like Bluetooth headphones with W1)
-an eraser cap/switch,
-a slightly softer tip,
-that you could take out the connector part at the end so you get a plug for your charging cable (or wireless charging) and most of all
-compatibility with iPhones and Trackpads.

If I could use a second gen pencil on my iPhone X, that would be a reason for me to get a new pencil even though my half year old pencil is perfectly fine.

 

[69650]

I purchased the Apple Pencil with my iPad Pro but I haven’t found a single use for it. Complete waste of money.

 

[subjonas]

She has some good ideas. I'd add:
Keep the round shape for holding but add a hex-shaped end to stop it rolling off your desk! Mine rolled a couple of times and dinged the stylus.
Add a pocket clip.
Make the charging connector female, so you can use a standard cable; add dual-ended [male] adaptor for charging with the iPad...they must have thought of this already...
The cap makes a great cat toy but yes, it could be swallowed by kids or cats.

The pocket clip should also keep it from rolling. The rolling was a problem for me too. Another problem was the grip. The Apple Pencil being a combination of thin, heavy, round, and slick makes it uncomfortable to hold for long drawing sessions. As a quick fix I put on a cheap little rubber grip thing that normally goes on pencils. It’s thick, rubber, and slightly triangle-shaped which not only solves the grip, but also keeps it from rolling. Also as a bonus it adds a nice splash of color. It works so well that I don’t really care if the next pencil corrects these issues or not. I would like a pocket clip though, but since it’s called a pencil, I’m doubtful they will add it.

 

[macduke]

They don’t think that Apple’s self driving car thing isn’t taking up a significant portion of R&D? What about machine learning?

The increase makes sense as Apple has some catching up to do with Siri so I hope they’re spending money there. But it also makes sense to branch out at the same time.

People forget how many years Apple was plugging away at the iPhone before it was finally released. It takes a lot of time and effort to develop new breakthrough categories. It makes sense that after launching a revolutionary new product line in iOS devices that a lot of money would go towards improving that for years with few other groundbreaking products hitting the market.

Right now I get the sense that Apple is in original iPhone mode—working on some big things. They likely don’t fully know how they will end up, but will be vital foundations for future technologies that we will all take for granted in 10 years. Like multitouch and miniature computers in our pockets seems so natural to people today.

 

[CWallace]

Precisely my point. The focus on Services may not be a bad thing, but it’s a clear sign that the old Apple is as dead as its founder. The old Apple was a hardware company. This new Apple is less about hardware and more about the “eco-system”. The new Apple wants to hook you on monthly subscriptions. The old Apple would have barfed a little in its mouth at the thought.

And yet that "eco-system" is as dependent on hardware as it ever was. And in addition to all the updates Apple has done to hardware from Steve's era, they have also added three new classes of hardware since Steve passed: Apple Watch, AirPods and HomePod.

Apple Watch now dominates the market for wearables over $200, AirPods are the benchmark for wireless in-the-ear headphones (and if Apple is working on over-the-ear headphones, could soon become the benchmark for that category, as well) and HomePod is one of the best-sounding speakers in it's class on the market even if it (currently) sucks as a home automation device. But it will improve as an HA device because Apple has the money to make it happen, they just now need to find the talent to make best use of that money. And HomePod will be a critical part of HomeKit (the "digital hub" for home automation just as the Mac was originally the "digital hub" for home media).

 

[9081094]

Apple uses software and services to add value to their hardware. For example, it's no coincidence that the Apple TV, Apple Watch and homepod support only Apple Music. It keeps you hooked within the apple ecosystem.

Apple may profit primarily from hardware sales, but it is not a hardware company.

By looking at the State of their products its neither. Hope something special might drip out that never ending pipeline soon. Something special competitors aren’t able to leapfrog in two months.

 

[criticasm]

"Microsoft Edge is now available in beta on iPad"
I don't even use that turd of a browser on Windows, let alone on iOS.

I'm Safari all the way, but if Edge is a turd then Chrome is a toilet.

 

[movieator]

Whatever they do to the Apple Pencil, just make the cap screw on, maybe?

 

[Abazigal]

By looking at the State of their products its neither. Hope something special might drip out that never ending pipeline soon. Something special competitors aren’t able to leapfrog in two months.

That something special is the whole Apple ecosystem, and the way all your apple products integrate and play well with one another. Something no other company (or companies) even comes close to emulating.

 

[citysnaps]

I imagine a chunk of that R&D increase over the last few years went to developing the technology for FaceID, the underlying beamform and algorithm development in HomePod (and yet to be released HomePod variants), and various AR endeavors that have yet to be released.

Also, no doubt a fat chunk was used for various advanced concept Ax processor development activities.

 

[chfilm]

It charges so FAST now by just using the lightening connector though. Just like the AirPods. Why bother with a charging mat?

Because that way I’ll never have to do this awful accident waiting to happen pencil sticking out of the iPad move anymore when I’m sitting with clients and should actually be taking notes- instead just casually always charging it on my desk next to the phone. Because that’s where it lays most of the time anyways- on my desk! It will be beautiful
[doublepost=1521342876][/doublepost]So much hate about apple products and their current state in this thread, it’s ridiculous. Actually iOS 11 on the iPhone X is like one of the most beautiful apple experiences I ever had, also the iPad Pro 10.5 is a magical product with the Smart Keyboard and pencil and iOS 11 with drag and drop and files. Everything just works so smoothly and flawlessly on these two devices like never before. I Constantly catch me just playing with the phone, swiping around because it’s so much fun.
I want a new Mac Pro, yes. But to be honest, for most needs, even the 2013 one that I own is still quite sufficient. (Just talking HD or even 4K editing, with two 5K displays and a 1080p projector attached, no problems whatsoever. I’m quite happy with Apple right now.

AR kit is crazy! And they’re developing some more cool AR stuff for us, I bet ya.

 

[robbyx]

And yet that "eco-system" is as dependent on hardware as it ever was. And in addition to all the updates Apple has done to hardware from Steve's era, they have also added three new classes of hardware since Steve passed: Apple Watch, AirPods and HomePod.

Apple Watch now dominates the market for wearables over $200, AirPods are the benchmark for wireless in-the-ear headphones (and if Apple is working on over-the-ear headphones, could soon become the benchmark for that category, as well) and HomePod is one of the best-sounding speakers in it's class on the market even if it (currently) sucks as a home automation device. But it will improve as an HA device because Apple has the money to make it happen, they just now need to find the talent to make best use of that money. And HomePod will be a critical part of HomeKit (the "digital hub" for home automation just as the Mac was originally the "digital hub" for home media).

True, they are doing a great job of tying services to hardware. But is the hardware as compelling as it once was? Are the services up to snuff? As I wrote in another post, I’m the guy that all of my friends and coworkers turn to for tech help. Three years ago everyone was in love with Apple. Today I hear nothing but complaints. Apple is so focused on finding new ways to nickel and dime its customers that it has lost sight of quality control and user experience. The iOS UI is an abomination at this point. iOS 11 is ridiculously buggy. Apple has a lot of momentum, so it’s easy to think they can do no wrong, that minor issues will be easily resolved in a future update. But I think that’s wishful thinking. The cracks that are starting today might takes years to become full blown fissures. I personally think they are losing focus and putting too much energy into finding recurring revenue streams instead of staying focused on what made them great in the first place.
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That something special is the whole Apple ecosystem, and the way all your apple products integrate and play well with one another. Something no other company (or companies) even comes close to emulating.

I don’t think that’s really true. Apple definitely offers a great experience but plenty of other companies are a lot closer than Apple fans might want to believe. And plenty of third party products and services play very well with Apple products. Today’s Apple is unfocused, releasing half-baked products like HomePod and buggy software like iOS 11. With the iMac Pro they have clearly shown us the road they intend to take with the Mac. More locked down than ever. I imagine we’ll see the Mac App Store become the only way to buy Mac apps in the next few years. None of this has me optimistic about the future.
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I purchased the Apple Pencil with my iPad Pro but I haven’t found a single use for it. Complete waste of money.

Download GoodNotes. It’s sublime. I couldn’t find much use for my iPad (I always went back to my Mac...) until I got a Pencil and GoodNotes.

 

[Wildkraut]

That something special is the whole Apple ecosystem, and the way all your apple products integrate and play well with one another. Something no other company (or companies) even comes close to emulating.

It was special once, but isn’t anymore, others leapfrogged Apple features and UI wise.
There is by far better working ones, if you don’t depend of native apple ones.

I don’t think Apple can convince me to buy another product with its current attitude.
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I am sure there will be no lack of people lining up to buy their products.

Sure not, every day new *insert_here* are born.
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That something special is the whole Apple ecosystem, and the way all your apple products integrate and play well with one another. Something no other company (or companies) even comes close to emulating.

As i said already, there is nothing special anymore.
By looking sober at their producs, they loses agains others.
Everything you name from Apple, i could name something better or equivalent agains it.
Currently Apple isn’t being successful because of its software features or hardware, their whole success is currently only based on customer emotions. And and these customer emotions are fading away, takes long to fall apart(see palm,nokia,microsoft,etc), but it falls apart, just a matter of time. Additionally they are becoming too expensive for normal salaries. I regret the iPhone X, and somehow wish i had bough a MS Surface. Macbook is working fine, btw.
Well, and the professional iPad, still primarily an consumption device with few minor exceptions.

 

[macduke]

My Apple Pencil 2 wish: Let the Pencil sleep when in a case that has a side slot for it. It’s really annoying that my battery now drains while the iPad is on and not actively using the Pencil because I bought this useful case. Though you’d think this could just be solved in a software update. What’s weird is most the time when I pop it out of its slot, it isn’t even recognized for a while. Not sure how it can be draining like that and not actually be connected.

 

[tw1ll]

Just not seeing the benefit. I actually think that if they laid off half the R& D staff, then assigned the rest to bug fixes, we might actually see some value. The way it is I'm tired of smaller and thinner, resulting in lack of performance and battery life.

Spot on! At some point Apple lost their focus on user experience and it’s shows in their products.

 

[Abazigal]

It was special once, but isn’t anymore, others leapfrogged Apple features and UI wise.
There is by far better working ones, if you don’t depend of native apple ones.

I don’t think you get my point.

Yes, maybe if we compared product for product, spec for spec, there may well be alternatives which are better in one way or another.

Which then brings me to my next point - how well do these devices from the assorted platforms play with one another?

The Apple Watch is easily the best smartwatch out there, and it only works with the iPhone. As a teacher, I mirror my iPad to an Apple TV hooked up to the class projector. My Airpods pair with my Apple devices seamlessly. I can sling files around using airdrop. Apps I buy my iPhone are available for free on my iPad as well. Final Cut Pro is available only on Macs. I prefer keynote to PowerPoint.

Put your devices together. Your android phone. Your surface laptop. Your windows desktop. Your wireless headphones. I bring my iPhone, my Apple Watch, my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, my iMac, my Airpods, my MBA. Together, their combined user experience may not lose to your own mix of devices, even if their specs may not look like much individually.

That’s the power of the Apple ecosystem. It’s never just one device you have to contend with.