The Apple days are over.

[Blackberryroid]

You can't deny it, Apple really is dead without Steve Jobs. Yes, there were flaws when Steve Jobs was still around, but this? This is a ton of flaws and disappointments. I'm not an iSheep to keep praising Apple for these flaws or ignore them.

iOS 6

This is coming from a diehard apple fanboy- but in my opinion, iOS 6 is a total failure. It's main feature, "Maps" is a disaster. Its other main feature, "Passbook", isn't even really useable yet. And the rest of the updates are so minor you'd really have to dig deep to find what they were.

The responsibility for this failure is on Scott Forstall. He's heading iOS, and I bet he must be facing a lot of heat (or at least I hope). I love the iPhone 5- it's such a fantastic phone, but I truly feel it's been let down by this update. I wonder what's going on?! Did you guys see him during the iPhone 5 event? He almost looked bored and showed zero enthusiasm- all the while touting maps as the best maps ever, which clearly isn't the case. It's shameful.

In any case, things obviously need some shaking up on the iOS front, and it mostly falls down on Forstall's shoulders.

I don't think I can say anything else other than that.

iPhone

Make it larger, faster and LTE. Sell it. That's pretty much what Apple did with the iPhone 5. And they're calling it the biggest thing to happen since the iPhone. That's just dumb. What has a speed bump have to say with the introduction of the Retina Display of the iPhone 4? I think you would agree that the Retina Display from no Retina Display is a larger upgrade than 3.5 to 4. What has LTE have to say with the introduction of the App Store on the iPhone 3G? LTE is nothing compared to the App Store.

I can't accept the excuse "OH, technology needs it's break sometimes. We don't always have mind blowing features every year". Because the 4S was disappointing. It's a speed bump+camera+siri. Tell me, how much so you even use Siri? The statistics say that an average user uses Siri once a month. I call it useless. So basically, it's just speed bump+camera.

Let's compare speed bump+camera to iPhone 4's FaceTime+Retina Display+Extreme new redesign+Flash and front camera+speed bump. How can you even say a Speed bump+camera is a large increase?

Here's another excuse: Not all users go from 4S to 5, you know. I understand. But apparently, a ton of iPhone 4S users are switching to the 5. And iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 would just simply be speed bump+siri+camera+larger display+LTE. I would call that a great not-disappointing update if those updates WERE the updates of the 4S, not the 5.

And the design. It looks 80% like the 4S, the 4S looks 100% like the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4 looks 50% like the iPhone 3GS. They're not redesigning it at all. They just made it bigger and make the back aluminum with those disgusting bars (Yes, I still think they're disgusting). And they called it "An entirely new design". Yeah, right.

Mac OS X

"Forget the maps app fiasco: When will Apple apologize for Lion upgrade?"

Soon after installing the latest upgrade, I noticed that Time Machine was working a lot slower—sometimes spending hours on a simple backup that used to take minutes. Eventually I put in a call to Apple support, which initially expressed perplexity and had me run some simple diagnostics and disk cleanup programs on my system. But they didn’t have a solution. They still don’t.

Somewhere, somehow, the Apple higher-ups let a flawed program sneak out the door — two programs, if you include maps. That could be coincidence, or it could be the beginning of a trend that leads to no good place. Over to you, Tim Cook.

Need I say more?

Mountain Lion
What are the changes?
-Notification Center
-Game Center + Apps barely anyone uses
-New way of updating Apps
-A new look of the dock (OH! APPLE IS SO REVOLUTIONARY!)

Where's the killer feature? I don't even use Notification Center. Game Center? Nope. Reminders? Nope. Notes? Barely. Messages? I use my phone for that.

Compare this to the upgrade we had from Panther to Tiger. Or Tiger to Leopard. Or Snow Leopard to Lion.

This isn't much, and it's just a bunch of apps. This should be Mac OS X 10.7.5 . It's a shame to call it a new Major OS.

Hardware

Apple doesn't care about Pros anymore. Look at the discontinuation of the 17 Inch MacBook Pro. Look at the not-even-an-upgrade of the Mac Pro. They're peeing on our shoes and telling us it's rain. Not even Thunderbolt. Speaks volumes of how much attention Apple pays to the pro market. That felt like a slap in the face.

EarPods

3 Years of hard work? I doubt it. Yes, it's a better upgrade to Apple's old earphones, but still crap. I can barely hear anything when I'm on a train. Noisy people on that environment. I had a much better experience with Samsung's earphones. It even has stronger bass. This is a gimmick. Unimpressed.

iPad

The first iPad was revolutionary. The second iPad? Put a crappy camera on it, make it thinner and faster. Sell it. The third iPad? Improve the camera, faster, Retina Display, sell it. By far, the killer feature is the Retina Display. Out of two generations, only one is the killer feature. It's nice that it actually has a killer feature but I'm afraid to find out if the next iPad is just exactly the same with A6X. Judging from what Apple is currently doing, I have a strong feeling that that's exactly what will happen. I'll probably see banners around saying "The biggest leap since the original iPad."

Hidden Failures

Ping. MobileMe.

First scuffgate, then mapsgate, now appstoregate? Jeez, Apple.

The Apple days will be over if all they're going to do is add some useless updates and speed bumps on their next generation of products. And when it's over, I'm switching. For now, Apple is still somehow more advanced than the competition, and I have to thank Steve for that. But now that he's gone, the true spirit of Apple might disappear, and return to how it was before Steve Jobs - nearly bankrupt. And who's the next person to save Apple? Can Tim Cook really fill Steve's shoes after all these flaws?

 

[MonkeySee....]

Cool Story Bro...

I just listened to the "Cult of Mac" podcast and Woz was on it.

You may want to give it a listen.

 

[AdeFowler]

Thanks OP. Your username kinda gives the game away

 

[Blackberryroid]

Thanks OP. Your username kinda gives the game away

I couldn't think of a creative name. But trust me, it has nothing to do with me being a Blackberry/Android Fan.

 

[Shrink]

Another prediction of doom for Apple.

Still not buying it...

 

[Doc750]

Apples is pretty much done. They have gotten away from start up mentality and shifted over to corporate America structure. They have killed off innovation, and replaced it with litigation.

What apple is lacking right now is a soul. A passion .. A drive ....

The only competition right now is google/android, and they are structured the same way.

We need a new player in the game

 

[GoCubsGo]

Apple is doomed! Doomed I tell you!

 

[tekno]

I don't think Apple is doomed, but I do think they've lost their way somewhat. But in many ways the biggest problem is the consumer. The iPhone 5 is a fairly lacklustre update which has been plagued with problems, but Apple will still sell tens of millions of them. Apple are interested in profits and shares - on paper, the iPhone 5 will be a resounding success.

Only when people start to try the competition will Apple stop coasting and step-up once again.

 

[r0k]

iOS flaws: Not having to enter my password for every stinking update is a huge deal. Yes I know Android has been like this for a while but I'm still glad Apple brought this to us with iOS 6. Maps? I used it under iOS 5 when I was in Houston and it came in very handy. I haven't had to use it under iOS 6 but thanks to an appshopper alert that provided me a great discount a few months ago, I have navigon to fall back on if Apple maps doesn't work well enough for me. I also have beat the traffic which I use pretty regularly.

iPhone: I picked up an iPhone 5 at an At&t store and again at the Apple store this weekend. It's a very nice phone. It's thin and it's light. I didn't get a chance to run geekbench on it but I bet it's 3 to 4x faster than my iPhone 4.

When (not if) I get one, I'm sure I'll be quite happy with it.

Mountain Lion: Shared photostreams. You go on and on about trivial features but neglect the feature that brings back what we lost when mobile me went away. Only this time, if I want to share photos, I don't have to transfer them with a cable to my Mac, import them to iPhoto then share them to mobile me. No. All of this can be done from my phone. But wait. There's more. With ML on my Mac, I can now go back through decades worth of photos and create shared photostreams that don't count against my iCloud storage.

Hardware: I just picked up a late 2011 15.4 in Hires antiglare MBP. It's a beautiful machine. I could have gotten a deep discount on the 17 in mbp but it was just too darned big for my needs. I believe that the 15 in retina MBP is a suitable replacement for the 17 in machine. You're complaining about thunderbolt? 10 Gig/second isn't fast enough for ya? Well good luck with that.

Ear Pods: I rarely listen to music on my iPhone. I know I'm not typical but I buy my music from Amazon most of the time or rip my own cd's and I import it to iTunes if I get around to it. I could care less about the "free" headphones that come with a smartphone and I'm delighted they didn't cheapen up the insides in order to give me better headphones.

iPad: I still have my iPad 1. It is my most frequently used computer. I'm disappointed I didn't get iOS 6 but I'm not going to run out and replace my iPad 1 just yet. I'm a little puzzled why my kids can get iOS 6 on their 3GS phones and I can't get it on my iPad 1 but I'm not ready to start writing off Apple over this.

Hidden Failures: Shared photostream has brought back my most frequently used mobileme feature and it's actually better now than it was when it was called mobile me. Ping? I never used it. Again I'm not willing to start an autopsy on Apple just because they haven't figured out the cloud as well as Google has figured out the cloud.

I don't think Apple is doomed, but I do think they've lost their way somewhat. But in many ways the biggest problem is the consumer. The iPhone 5 is a fairly lacklustre update which has been plagued with problems, but Apple will still sell tens of millions of them. Apple are interested in profits and shares - on paper, the iPhone 5 will be a resounding success.

Only when people start to try the competition will Apple stop coasting and step-up once again.

One reason I'm considering an iPhone 5 is to get a faster processor so it's ready when I want to take a picture. To me going from 4 to 5 or even 4S to 5 is a worthy update. What would it have taken for the 5 to avoid being lackluster? A more significant camera upgrade? I suppose. To me, making the 4S camera smaller but work better is a major upgrade.

I agree that the an important way for Apple to improve is competitive pressure. Folders in iOS, app updates without password, wallpaper, are all examples of reaction to features Android has or features jailbreakers had.

What a timely thread. CNN did an article today on this very topic. I'm not sure I agree with CNN or the conclusions of the OP, but it is worth a read... http://articles.cnn.com/2012-09-29/opinion/opinion_mayer-apple-google_1_maps-app-apple-tv-apple-brand

 

[Blackberryroid]

No one is planning to change the phone market. If Apple fails, innovation stops. Samsung wouldn't even think of changing the S3 because there's barely any competitor. And they'll be thrilled of selling you the same old crap, just like people before the iPhone. The big companies, RIM, Motorola, Nokia did nothing to change the phone, Apple did. And Apple is still the driving force.

I hope someone can replace Apple if Apple fails.

 

[Ice-Cube]

i wonder how they can go to bed each night thinking that this is the biggest thing to happen to iPhone. I wouldn't sleep well if i were them.

 

[dusk007]

Apple isn't over but it is flattening out.
Everybody still jumps on every upgrade but that will be less and less the less real difference there is.

iPhone and iPad so effectively iOS was the new. But that wasn't the sole reason for success. They also delivered great hardware that was a bit ahead of the competition.

Now Android is so good already that it is only a matter of preference and many people do prefer the openess and variability. Most competitors today have equally good hardware in general (in some cases even better or more features).

Every new hardware iteration can only do the same thing as the last. iPhone 5 got a nice better hardware, the same Nokia will promote their stuff with. After this there isn't much to improve that anybody will even notice. Screens can get a little less reflective but otherwise no difference will really be noticed. Size and weight will only slowly change and not make anybody switch. Speed increases only matter to some people. I am still good with the speed of the 3GS. Some people want every bit of speed but most will not see anything that they can really do any better or more with a faster phone.
All in all people will go back to actually using their smartphones for 3 years again.

Apple's growth will slow like Microsoft would grow anymore. They used their head start on competition and made a lot of money now they will still make money but not continue to grow as much. They try to go into internet service but they don't seem to be very good at that and also the profit margins aren't nearly as great. It seems to me that they expect to deliver a high quality internet service with too little effort and end up not having the know how and workflow of real IT companies.

Mircosoft also slowed with reawakening now, while they did nothing for almost a decade. There was just little to improve outside of the business environment but for consumers most updates have been rather unimportant or gaming oriented.

No matter what Apple does they won't do much more than live of their brand name for a long time. Unless of course they damage the brand too much by charging high premiums while maintaining bad working conditions and trying to keep up with some competitors at the expense on quality. They cannot win the feature race without sacrificing some quality especially on the software side. The Map thing seems a greed problem and pure stupidity by the management.
Yet in many things OSX sucks more and more. Very few real features (the only useful was notifications) and some quite poorly implemented (MC). They don't leave people with any options to choose which will eventually drive away more and more people.

 

[bbotte]

i wonder how they can go to bed each night thinking that this is the biggest thing to happen to iPhone. I wouldn't sleep well if i were them.

Yeah millionaires running a billion dollar company get crap sleep after their bellies are full of awesome food, and sexing/sleeping in the best beds and sheets money can buy. I'm sure they are not sleeping well. SMH

 

[r0k]

No one is planning to change the phone market. If Apple fails, innovation stops. Samsung wouldn't even think of changing the S3 because there's barely any competitor. And they'll be thrilled of selling you the same old crap, just like people before the iPhone. The big companies, RIM, Motorola, Nokia did nothing to change the phone, Apple did. And Apple is still the driving force.

I hope someone can replace Apple if Apple fails.

I agree. Look at the crap Palm was getting away with. They were releasing new models with a few more features or a little more storage. They were in "maintenance mode" when RIM started beating them down. Then along came Apple and they started beating everybody down.

Today there is a mild flicker of promise in Windows Phone 8 and BB OS 10 but those are mild flickers. The most credible "competitor" to iOS is the one Steve Jobs considered to be copied work: Android. I'm happy to see Apple win against competitors who blatantly copied, especially with "smoking gun" emails like the "heaven and earth" emails that came to light in the Apple vs Samsung trial. But I'd like to continue to see competition. There are some things Android does better than iOS. One example is app updates. Some are unattended and others require me to click "accept". Under no circumstances am I entering a password over and over again and I'm never asked to agree to new terms and conditions.

This weekend my wife and I were at a local store. A friend worked there and she recommended we download the store app to my wife's phone. I had just upgraded her to iOS 6. Getting a free app should be quick, right? No. First we had to put in her password. Then we had to go put in answers to 3 security questions. I guess she hadn't bought an app in quite a while. Finally we got to the point where she could download the app but by then we had worked out a manual workaround where she didn't need the app after all. The time we wasted in a vain attempt to download a free app in the store was epic fail on Apple's part. One cure for this is complaining to Apple. Back in the day, Mr. Jobs used to reply to emails now and then. Mr. Cook not so much. Another cure is competition. It turned out that the "cure" of competition spelled the end for companies like Palm. It is my hope that Apple responds with better stuff. If Apple doesn't improve their game to respond to competition, we already know where it will lead.

 

[Macman45]

Another prediction of doom for Apple.

Still not buying it...

Stock sky high, products selling in droves, new imacs and MBP's in October...Yep the are going downhill fast.

 

[LorenK]

The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Yes, the iPhone 5 with iOS6 is not the killer hardware/software combination that has propelled Apple in the past, but then what is? The reality is that after the first iteration, almost everyone afterwards is merely an improvement. Maps suck? Well, you try to map the world in a week. LTE? Works for me, I see a significant speed improvement on my phone, but then I'm on Sprint and anything would be better than 3G on Sprint.

Yes, the iPhone 5 might seem like a disappointment, but I was needed to get one to give my 4S to my son and I like it better than the 4S and he likes the 4S than the crap phone he had before.

Yes, I am disappointed that the Mac Pro hasn't been redesigned, but my 3,1 is working just fine, even as the OS leaves it behind, the applicaitions I use work fine and nothing has come along yet to replace them.

Bottom line for me is that Apple products work for me and I don't have to deal with the problems in the non-Apple world, different versions of Android, buggy Microsoft ware, incompatible hardward from Wintel vendors. So tell me, which world is better and which still promises the ease of use that the computer age was supposed to foster? For me, it's still Apple.

 

[roadbloc]

omg every1 the op is right every1 sell ur iphone and macs now apple is dooomed!!!1!



Regardless of the state of their products, Apple is a powerful brand and will most certainly continue to do well in the foreseeable future. There is no need for your misinformed and opinion riddled two pennies.

 

[G51989]

No one is planning to change the phone market. If Apple fails, innovation stops. Samsung wouldn't even think of changing the S3 because there's barely any competitor. And they'll be thrilled of selling you the same old crap, just like people before the iPhone. The big companies, RIM, Motorola, Nokia did nothing to change the phone, Apple did. And Apple is still the driving force.

I hope someone can replace Apple if Apple fails.

I assume you know nothing about the history of the smartphone?

 

[TedM]

mistakes are always going to be made. But its really not the end of the industry for them. I mean lets look back at windows vista. How terrible was that operating system? I mean seriously. It was just terrible. But then they learned and made windows 7. The same can be said of OS6. I don't really find it terrible, but when I do, I'll expect them to fix and upgrade it. Apple won't die and not any time soon. They have such a huge advantage over android phones imo.

 

[G51989]

I agree. Look at the crap Palm was getting away with. They were releasing new models with a few more features or a little more storage. They were in "maintenance mode" when RIM started beating them down. Then along came Apple and they started beating everybody down.

Releasing new models with a few more features....and a little more or the same storage.......Apple would never do that

 

[ericrwalker]

Get out of here. Yeah I suppose the company will go down some day. Most don't live forever. It's not in the foreseeable future though. As for iOS 6, I like it, and I like the maps, and they will only get better.

 

[Renzatic]

Still not buying it...

And that's why they're doomed! BUY MORE APPLE!

I've said this before, and I'm going to say it again. Cuz it's pertinent. When you have a company that hypes themselves up to high heavens to sell products, any time they release anything less than OMG MIND BLOWN, it's going to be disappointing. That said...

iOS6 is a solid update. Well, barring maps...which do kinda suck. It doesn't completely redefine the mobile OS as we know it or anything, but it's decent enough. It's an iterative update.

Mountain Lion? Looks pretty good to me. It fixes all the issues people had with Lion, and throws in a few little tidbits here and there to make it interesting. Once again, not mind blowing, but solid.

The iPhone 5. Same thing. Solid? Yes. Good? Pretty much. Mind blowing? Eh. It's a faster, thinner, lighter, longer update to the old 4 line.

Apple's iDevice line has fallen into the same update trend as their Mac line. Each release is an improvement upon the last, but doesn't completely redefine itself or add anything absolutely huge and game changing with every update.

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

 

[brentmore]

Apples is pretty much done. They have gotten away from start up mentality and shifted over to corporate America structure. They have killed off innovation, and replaced it with litigation.

What apple is lacking right now is a soul. A passion .. A drive ....

The only competition right now is google/android, and they are structured the same way.

We need a new player in the game

What, pray tell, is "corporate America structure"? Apple was incorporated in 1977 and was a public company by 1980. They even had a nice big "Inc." after their name for over 30 years.

It's a bit glib to say that Apple is shifting over now. You are, of course, free to replace those platitiudes with something more substantial, like becoming a stockholder and voicing your opinions on how to give Apple more soul. Or you can go ahead and start a company and become the "new player" that we desperately need.

 

[adversus]

Regarding "Pro" users:

I think it's hilarious that people think Apple is turning their back on "Pro" users. The 17" MBP was dropping off fast in sales. Do you expect a major corporation to continue to (waste) bandwidth producing a product that was clearly on a downward sales trajectory?

I'm sure some "Pro" users are going to miss the 17" MBP, but clearly a lot of them were using 15" inchers instead.

Regarding the Mac Pro... Why on earth do you think that every Pro user out there will spend money on a refreshed Mac Pro? A professional user, who has things like, you know, BUDGETS generally won't upgrade a machine just because something new and shiny is out. Pro user's (of which I'm one) use their machine until a business need arises to upgrade.

As it stands right now, my mid-2010 Pro is nowhere near end of life. I can keep adding more RAM as applications get greedier, but I'm nowhere near the RAM cap and all 8 of my CPU's are rarely all taxed above 50% at the same time. I have plenty of power left.

A Mac Pro update is coming, probably in 2013, and it'll probably be a new design. Apple realizes that the Pro market isn't going to jump on every goddamn new shiny like consumers, hence they don't NEED constant refreshes.

If you are a "Pro" user and DO jump on every refresh just because it's shiny, I'd be amazed you are either 1) Still in business or, 2) Employed by whoever pays for your gear.

 

[willmtaylor]

These rants are becoming so common, it's like all those that call "First!" at the beginning of threads.

*YAWN*