Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
If you had told people in early 2007 when BlackBerries were all the rage if they wanted a phone with no keyboard where they had to type on glass, they would've said, I love my BlackBerry keyboard and you'll never get me off BBM where all my friends are.

But it has the whole internet! ... I have a laptop for that, I'm good.
It has momentum scrolling!... what's that?
And multi touch! ... I prefer a mouse.
To be honest, all of these essentially still apply to me. It's just that Blackberry doesn't exist anymore (and was missing the apps when it still did exist) and that Android is worse than iOS.
 
We don't know why Apple stopped selling the larger HomePod initially. The effective HomePod replacement were the smaller models introduced. Just because these might not have been a replacement that met your needs, HomePod Mini was still part of the same product category. I know many people transitioned to HomePod Minis when they became available. And the larger HomePod is now back too with refreshed innards and a more refined approach.

iPhone Mini wasn't a flop. Just because it didn't meet Apple's ambitious sales projections, it sold well compared to the rest of the market and the product is loved by many people who still use them. I think iPhone 14 Plus will be a flop though.
Sure we do. You think Apple cut the price out of the goodness of their heart? It wasn't selling at that original price. Maybe it started selling better after the price cut and they had to drop the product because of supply issues, but I'd bet that was a small factor vs that it just still wasn't selling well or continue selling at the reduced margins wasn't worth it.

See comment below on mini...

OG HomePod wasn’t a flop. Unlike other products in the market (speaking generally) the form and function are top notch. Everyone will have their own opinions as to why it was pulled* and replaced with a model that appear to be near identical. That doesn’t scream flop. We can only speculate and if the OG HomePod is being used in these forums as an analogy to the glasses i think it’s a flawed analogy.

*still supported with software through an indeterminate length of time.

Of course it was. You are confusing if it was a good product vs being a sucessful product. They cut the price, then removed it completely. Yes, they brought a version back by most accounts is still an excellent product for what it does, however they also made some changes to improve the profit margin on it because it wasn't selling at the original price/margin.

And yet the OG HomePod sold for double its price on Ebay when discontinued, some failure....as to the Mini, the mistake was the battery life and it wasn't a Pro.....those are the 2 reasons I didn't buy it, although it's the perfect size from my point of view!

Hey I love my mini (had a 12 mini and now have a 13 mini) and even argued on these very forums that any other phone manufacture would have been ecstatic with the sales numbers, but if it wasn't a flop in Apple's view they would still be selling a 14 mini. I still argue that the mini should be on a 2 year cycle.

The OG HomePod was a fine product, but it didn't have mass appeal and yes it flopped. But yeah people who bought them on eBay loved them although I'd bet most of those were people who either wanted to add a second to pair, or wanted to add one as a or a replacement for ones that broke.
 
I noticed people in this thread keep trying to justify this potential flop by saying people said the same thing about the iPhone back in 2006. I was around on these forums back then and that’s BS. Hardly anyone was saying that. The only skepticism I remember reading was could Apple really make a cell phone in what was seen as a very mature market with 800 pound gorillas like Blackberry, Nokia and Motorola.

There are VR headsets from Meta, Microsoft and others, yet they remain niche more than 10 years later or dying on the vine. I remember trying out HoloLens at Microsoft and wasn’t impressed.

I vacationed a couple years ago at a inn and a caretaker on the property had a Quest I believe with two joy sticks. They let me try it out. It placed me in an immersive world with a futuristic home like in the 5th Element or Star Wars. But it was meh. They had to help walk me around like Ray Charles while wearing it to avoid bumping into things or even walk into the pool.
 
I trust Apple to make all the right decisions about when the time is right to ship new products.

They've clearly invested a huge amount of time and money into this exciting new product, and I can't wait to place my pre-order for day one arrival.

We mustn't undermine Apple or the products it is working to bring us.
I'm gonna take this as sarcasm, since reading it as heartfelt opinion just makes my skin crawl.
 
I trust Apple to make all the right decisions about when the time is right to ship new products.

They've clearly invested a huge amount of time and money into this exciting new product, and I can't wait to place my pre-order for day one arrival.

We mustn't undermine Apple or the products it is working to bring us.

I can't tell if it's sarcasm, delusion, or shareholder.
 
“Insane requirements” is not good. You can easily over-design anything with a never ending “tweaking” of the product. 7 years is long enough. That’s a good CEO knowing when the product is ready. Can’t wait to see what they have.
I have to say. I agree, nobody knew the potential of the iPhone, instead it was realeased and the market dictated what it was useful for and they took feedback from customers snd improved it. This appears to be the same strategy they might take. The difference now is we’re much more technologically aware and immersed whereas before the iPhone we weren’t as used to tech products as they weren’t in our lives as much. So it was easier to see where they could come in and replace things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: G5isAlive


Apple CEO Tim Cook sided with operations chief Jeff Williams in pushing to launch a first-generation mixed-reality headset device this year, against the wishes of the company's design team, the Financial Times reports.


apple-mixed-reality-headset-concept-by-david-lewis-and-marcus-kane.jpg


Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane

The timing of the mixed-reality headset's launch has apparently been a cause of considerable contention at Apple. The company's industrial design team cautioned that devices in the category were not yet ready for launch and wanted to delay until a lightweight AR glasses product had matured several years later. On the other hand, Apple's operations team wanted to ship an early version of the product in the form of a VR-focused ski goggle-like headset that allows users to watch 3D videos, perform interactive workouts, or make FaceTime calls with virtual avatars.

Tim Cook, who served as Apple's operations chief prior to becoming CEO, reportedly sided with Jeff Williams, overruling objections from Apple's designers and pressing for an early launch with a more limited product. Speaking to the Financial Times, former Apple engineers who worked on the device described the "huge pressure to ship."

Upon the departure of design chief Jony Ive in 2019, Apple's design team now reports directly to Williams. While design led the direction of Apple's products under Steve Jobs, employees have noticed that operations is increasingly taking control over product development under Cook's leadership. One former engineer said that the best part of working at Apple was devising engineering solutions to meet the "insane requirements" of the design team, but that has apparently changed in recent years.

Apple's headset has reportedly been in active development for seven years, twice as long as the original iPhone prior to its launch. The device is seen as being tied directly to Tim Cook's legacy, as Apple's first new computing platform developed entirely under his leadership.

The company is still expecting to sell only around a million units of the headset during its first year on sale at a ~$3,000 price point. Nevertheless, Apple is purportedly preparing a "marketing blitz" for the product later this year.

Article Link: Report: Apple CEO Tim Cook Ordered Headset Launch Despite Designers Warning It Wasn't Ready
Let’s be honest, the original Apple Watch was pretty awful, it wasn’t ready for prime time. It took apple a few years of updates before it was what I would call a polished product, and just last year the ultra is the most complete version ever. Apple has a history of releasing stuff before they are ready. Period.
 
Let’s be honest, the original Apple Watch was pretty awful, it wasn’t ready for prime time. It took apple a few years of updates before it was what I would call a polished product, and just last year the ultra is the most complete version ever. Apple has a history of releasing stuff before they are ready. Period.

I want to give the benefit of the doubt here because of course you’re right. Nothing is ever truly finished, at some point you have to ship something and get feedback. I think the technology was there for the watch though more than it’s here for VR, but we’ll see.
 
Like the reverse of the iPhone.

Jobs said it wasn't ready, can't ship this crap. Stressed everyone to the breaking point.

Unfortunately this time.....

But give it a few years Some cool stuff. I just wonder where Apple fits in.
 
I noticed people in this thread keep trying to justify this potential flop by saying people said the same thing about the iPhone back in 2006. I was around on these forums back then and that’s BS. Hardly anyone was saying that. The only skepticism I remember reading was could Apple really make a cell phone in what was seen as a very mature market with 800 pound gorillas like Blackberry, Nokia and Motorola.

There are VR headsets from Meta, Microsoft and others, yet they remain niche more than 10 years later or dying on the vine. I remember trying out HoloLens at Microsoft and wasn’t impressed.

I vacationed a couple years ago at a inn and a caretaker on the property had a Quest I believe with two joy sticks. They let me try it out. It placed me in an immersive world with a futuristic home like in the 5th Element or Star Wars. But it was meh. They had to help walk me around like Ray Charles while wearing it to avoid bumping into things or even walk into the pool.

I tried the Meta Quest 2 and it was insanely fun. That star wars type game and beat saber are excellent.

But beyond games I don’t know that I’d want to strap that thing to my head. We’ll see if Apple can convince me. I hope so.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973
This don't sound really like apple to me! if true, Tim Cook is probably making the worst decision of his career! I doubt that the CEO of the company has the power to launch a $3,000 dollar glasses that you are only able to wear them in your sofa, is not a life changing pice of tech, or even a new category of a product...
 
I noticed people in this thread keep trying to justify this potential flop by saying people said the same thing about the iPhone back in 2006. I was around on these forums back then and that’s BS. Hardly anyone was saying that. The only skepticism I remember reading was could Apple really make a cell phone in what was seen as a very mature market with 800 pound gorillas like Blackberry, Nokia and Motorola.

There are VR headsets from Meta, Microsoft and others, yet they remain niche more than 10 years later or dying on the vine. I remember trying out HoloLens at Microsoft and wasn’t impressed.

I vacationed a couple years ago at a inn and a caretaker on the property had a Quest I believe with two joy sticks. They let me try it out. It placed me in an immersive world with a futuristic home like in the 5th Element or Star Wars. But it was meh. They had to help walk me around like Ray Charles while wearing it to avoid bumping into things or even walk into the pool.

Excellent ! 💀
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: Mr. Dee and I7guy
Imo, this is why Apples' products seem to be more bug ridden.
Politics... Apple management is becoming disconnected from the engineering teams.
Now there's 40 million more reasons to get the stuff to market asap, lol.
Or some of the design teams are getting more disconnected from the notion of actually selling a product.
 
Let’s be honest, the original Apple Watch was pretty awful, it wasn’t ready for prime time. It took apple a few years of updates before it was what I would call a polished product, and just last year the ultra is the most complete version ever. Apple has a history of releasing stuff before they are ready. Period.
Well if we’re being honest the original iPhone didn’t have copy and paste. So yeah, this not releasing polished products started with Steve Jobs.
 
VR makes for an amazing gaming experience (if partnered with a real GPU) but I honestly don't believe it's anywhere near ready for mainstream adoption. Look at the recent launch of PSVR 2, by all accounts the hardware is fantastic but even Sony have shown very little interest in promoting it knowing how few units they will sell.

They're simply too expensive, too bulky, and require a current gen console or mid-range PC to power them for serious gaming. Apple could make a throwaway low-end novelty headset like Meta do, but I can't imagine Cook really finds that appealing.
Some of your objections are why Apple had to make the M-series chips. I think it's likely that some of the delays on this headset were likely because Apple was waiting for power/performance envelope of the M3. And there are probably people in engineering saying "Wait for the M5!" because there will be so much more you can do. But the original iPhone had a very weak processor, and the engineers were able to do marvels. So you have to have the discipline not to make your hardware do more than it can do. But also you need a visionary who can actually see the things it needs to do. And the visionary who midwifed the iPhone is not with us anymore.
 
Apple CEO Tim Cook sided with operations chief Jeff Williams in pushing to launch a first-generation mixed-reality headset device this year, against the wishes of the company's design team, the Financial Times reports.
Nice fake story, the going theory is that a prototype will be released at WWDC as a DTK for assisting devs will testing apps that have AR added. Even if Apple started to sell a product it would be expensive without any content. So it’s a no go for consumers. No similar product is doing well comparably because it’s still in it infancy.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.