The MacRumors Show: Our Plan to Fix Apple's Product Lines

[boswald]

If it was up to me, I’d have the 15 mini, 15 and Pro. I’d phase out the 12 and 13, but keep the 14 lineup (minus Plus). I think one generation behind is good enough.

(Yes, I know, “thank god I don’t run a company.”)

 

[topdrawer]

That's called the iPhone SE.

i still want the full screen and other features, not the SE

 

[snak-atak]

The iPad mini needs to be air-thin. As thin and light as possible. Maybe even use titanium to make it light. Doesn't matter if it's pro, no need for premium cameras either. If they can make the iPad mini razor thin and uber light, then they can still charge a modest premium (if there is such a thing).

Who will use it and pay for it? Working professionals. Lawyers, Doctors, Businessmen who routinely need to reference professional documents, journals, patient charts, etc. Scriptures even for church goers. The mini already fits well in suit size pockets and doctor coats. I think it can be marketed very well to these professionals.

And pair it with a 'mini' pencil and you're golden!

 

[BrianM_CAN]

When Steve came back in 1997, one of the first things he did was cut out the overabundance of models of the Macintosh lineup. Now, just like then, there are too many models.

A big difference between then and now, is then they were losing money - and some models they produced large amounts of - then they didn't sell so were sitting in warehouses. Now their production is relatively small in the introduction - and they can (usually) quickly adjust production to decrease or increase as needed.

In the 90s they also had EDU specific models that they pretty much haven't done since. (other than the eMac - which did eventually open up to the public as well at least briefly - before being fully discontinued). Generally they just mass produce the product line, then offer EDU discounts on some of them.

 

[webkit]

I understand the business reason to fill every single possible gap in variables. The problem is that consumers then always feel that *another* device that the one they chose may have been better. When there was only one iPhone (albeit different storage sizes), you were happy with what you had. You had *the* device. Now, the grass always seems greener with what you *don’t” have.

Many consumers also like to be able to pick and choose what they want rather than be forced into a more limiting "one size fits all" scenario.

If an iPhone customer doesn't want all of the features and attributes of a Pro or Pro Max, why should they have to pay $1,000-$1,100 or more when a $400 SE or $800 14 may be all they want/need? And vice versa.

 

[sw1tcher]

I miss those prices! 😂

You can still pay those prices or even less; Sometimes you pay $0.

As like back then where you had to commit to a 2 year contract, you now have to stay with the carrier (e.g. Verizon, AT&T) for 36 months as the price of the iPhone is refunded via bill credits.

 

[BrianM_CAN]

This is the most accurate observation yet. For those who don't know Apple history after Jobs was forced out the product line became bloated in an attempt to maximize revenue. Instead of that happening they saw their profit margins collapse as their product lines confused customers and cannibalized on itself. Jobs return brought focus and cohesion back to the company.
Looking at the current product lines things are looking like they're headed back in that direction. The Mac Pro line seems to lack confidence in itself as there is no clear roadmap for it's future and a blur between itself and the iMac line. If AMD or Intel is able to match or beat the M-series in terms of power and efficiency before Apple gets this sorted out then their gains over the past two years could easily collapse. Tim is great at running Apples financials but he needs to step back and put someone else in charge of the product line.

Meh - lots of differences between the 90s and now (most of which I put into a different reply to the message you replied to). They have shown with several products that if something doesn't sell as much as they want, they will drop it. (iPhone Mini - probably, iPod touch & all the other iPods, Airport, Time Capsule, Xserve, eMac, even the Power Mac G4 Cube that was very much a Jobs produced item)

The Mac Pro is for sure an issue as it currently is - although most would likely go Mac Studio as a cheaper alternative product rather than iMac which is just consumer oriented currently. I would think at the very least - a way to use a 3rd party video card as a render/compute device - even if it can't output video directly would make for a more compelling argument for the Mac Pro tower and it's PCIe slots.

Without a radical change in processor architecture (like producing ARM style processors) - there isn't likely much Intel or AMD can do over the near-term to come close to the combination of computing power, and efficiency per watt. They can and have (in at least some areas this year) equal and exceed in performance, but have to pay in electrical power usage - which is generally fine in desktops, but doesn't go well in laptops. Intel has made some proposed changes they could do - like drop support for anything less than 64bit to simplify the processors - like X86-S they released a white paper on earlier this year - but for which I don't see any timeline to actual delivery yet, rough estimates are many years away (with typical total design time to production being in the range of 4 years according to one of the Intel chief architects)

 

[sflagel]

Many consumers also like to be able to pick and choose what they want rather than be forced into a more limiting "one size fits all" scenario.

If an iPhone customer doesn't want all of the features and attributes of a Pro or Pro Max, why should they have to pay $1,000-$1,100 or more when a $400 SE or $800 14 may be all they want/need? And vice versa.

Because consumers only know that these options exist because Apple produces them. Consumers may get overwhelmed with too much choice and end up unhappy with the choice they made. One device is maybe not enough choice. (Also, please read my first sentence, filling gaps is Business 101, thus why we have 20 different Kellogg’s Honey Nut). Overall, it’s the curse of the mature market leading company, I can’t blame them.

 

[ric22]

"Those prices" were tied to AT&T contracts. Unlocked (no contract) iPhone 4 prices were notably higher at $649 (16GB) and $749 (32GB) and that's without adjusting for inflation.

iPhone 4 cost about 1/3 the price of a modern Pro Max in UK and Europe, didn't it?

 

[sw1tcher]

iPhone 4 cost about 1/3 the price of a modern Pro Max in UK and Europe, didn't it?

iPhone 4 UK Pricing Revealed | Silicon UK Tech News

Apple has revealed UK pricing details for its fourth generation iPhone, and is accepting pre-orders on its website

www.silicon.co.uk

"Apple has revealed UK pricing details for its fourth generation iPhone, and is accepting pre-orders on its website

Apple today announced UK pricing for its iPhone 4, and the black version of the handset is now available for pre-order on the company’s website. The 16GB model will cost £499, and the 32GB model costs £599.

British network operators have not officially announced pricing tariffs for the Apple handset, but Vodafone’s tariffs were briefly leaked on the operator’s website yesterday. According to the leak, Vodafone customers signing up for a two-year contract at £45 per month will be entitled to a free 16GB iPhone and, with a £60 per month contract, the 32GB model will also be free.

However, customers signing up to the more standard £25-a-month tariff on a two-year contract will have to buy their iPhones for £189 or £280 respectively. Vodafone has denied the accuracy of the leak, describing the leaked page as a “test website”."



128GB iPhone 14 Pro Max is £1199.00

£499 in 2010 would be worth £733.65 in June 2023. £499 is 41.62% of the price of the 14 Pro Max; £733.65 is 61.2% of the price of the 14 Pro Max.

£599 in 2010 would be worth £880.67 in June 2023. £599 is 49.96% of the price of the 14 Pro Max while £880.67 is 73.45% of the price of the 14 Pro Max.

 

[CLW47]

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through how we would make changes to Apple's product lines in an attempt to make them simpler and more consumer-friendly.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos​

Today, Apple sells eight iPhone models, six iPads, six MacBooks, four desktop Macs, two external displays, and four sets of AirPods. Some product ranges, such as the iPad lineup, have been subject to particular criticism in recent years for being overwhelming and confusing for average consumers. We discuss how Apple could simplify its offerings by presenting a clearer selection of form-factors, product names, and price points. Let us know what changes you would make to the structure of Apple's product lines in the comments.

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If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up with our discussion on some of the latest major rumors about Apple's upcoming iPhone, iPad, and Mac models.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show for more episodes, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by exciting guests like Andru Edwards, Kevin Nether, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Mark Gurman, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Jon Prosser, Sam Kohl, Quinn Nelson, John Gruber, Federico Viticci, Sara Dietschy, Luke Miani, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, iJustine, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, Jon Rettinger, and... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: The MacRumors Show: Our Plan to Fix Apple's Product Lines

Make it simpler and more consistent across all three product lines - three grade levels for each with two sizes (when size matters) for each of the two higher grade units.
iPhone SE (small), iPhone (small & large), iPhone Pro (small & large) Smalls all the same size / larges all the same
iPad SE (small), iPad (small & large), iPad Pro (small & large)
Macbook SE (small & cheap) Macbook Air (small & large) Macbook Pro (small & large)
Mac SE (no monitor), iMac (small & Large) Mac Pro

 

[Bawstun]

Name the iPhones after the year.

iPhone ‘23 iPhone ‘24 iPhone ‘25 etc.

iPhone ‘23 Mini … iPhone ‘23 … iPhone ‘23 Pro.

Way too many SKU’s for iPad. It’s a total mess, I’m not even sure how you’d start to fix that one.

 

[anthogag]

Only 1 iPhone...the Ultra.

Only 1 iPad, the biggest Pro they can make.

Only 1 Watch, the Ultra.

One Mac, the mini

One MacBook, the Pro

One super powerful Pencil. Both ends functional and has microphone. Hover up to 5 cm (2") from screen.

Screw everything else and burn all the iPad keyboard cases 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

It would be better if Dan is on the left side. On a typical map the UK is to the right of the US.

 

[MrPresident]

The Air moniker has seemed outdated to me for the last few years. It was relevant when the MacBook and Pro existed as it differentiated itself by its size and weight. Whilst the Air and Pro still exist, without the standard MacBook in the lineup, the Air suffix is kind of meaningless.

Mac mini
Mac Studio
iMac in two sizes
Mac Pro

MacBook in two sizes
MacBook Pro in two sizes

iPad SE
iPad mini
iPad
iPad Pro in two sizes

iPhone Se
iPhone mini
iPhone in two sizes
iPhone Pro in two sizes

Watch in two sizes
Watch ultra

That feels right in my opinion. Kind of like the options mid-2000’s.

 

[emulator]

Confusing? You people need marxism/socialism: one kind of milk, one bread, one cheese, etc.

 

[Ctrlos]

How could the iPad line not be clearer?

Entry, Mid, Top. There are only 3 models unless you want a dinky one.

What I wish people would stop doing is calling them accessories when Apple clearly markets them as their sub-£1k range of computers.

 

[scorpio vega]

It should be

iPhone SE (every other year similar to the S models)

iPhone 15 standard

iPhone pro mini

iPhone 15 pro

 

[Black Tiger]

Consumers in 2023 want more choice, not less. The thinking that may have worked for Apple in 2010 is not going to work in 2023. They clearly know what they are doing as Apple continues to experience success unlike any other tech company out there.

 

[TVreporter]

When I try to access the video from Safari, I am kicked out with a message of unusual traffic from my network. Impossible to enter Captcha. But no issue from Chrome. Wow…

Getting the same result on a bunch of sites today too

 

[Fromthehiptothehop]

i want a cheap iphone with a very basic camera. i don't take fancy pictures like ever and i'm tired of throwing away a state of the art camera with every phone.

Try selling it

 

[P33t]

The first thing Steve did when coming back to Apple was to reduce the number of options available, having too many choices in products reduces the likelihood that someone will buy something.

 

[darngooddesign]

The first thing Steve did when coming back to Apple was to reduce the number of options available, having too many choices in products reduces the likelihood that someone will buy something.

Sure, thats what he started with, but he had a ton of options by the end.

iPod, iPod Mini, iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Video, iPod Touch, iMac G3, iMacDV G3, special edition iMac G3s, eMacs, several sizes of iMacs, 2 sizes of iBooks, 3 sizes of Powerbooks, 2 Sizes of MacBook Airs, etc.

 

[blooloo]

anychanceyouguy6scanmakeyourmicslessofastatement.theyseemtotakeupfartoomuchscreen

 

[veena3]

Keep Macbook Air M1 13" as an entry model

Make:
- Macbook M3 12.5" (in size of previous Macbook 12")
- Macbook M3 14" (in size of Macbook Air M2 13.6")
- Macbook M3 15.6" (in size of Macbook Air M2 15.3")

- Macbook Pro 14.5" (with M3 Pro and Max)
- Macbook Pro 16.5" (with M3 Pro and Max)

 

[veena3]

Keep Macbook Air M1 13" as an entry model

Make:
- Macbook M3 12.5" (in size of previous Macbook 12")
- Macbook M3 14" (in size of Macbook Air M2 13.6")
- Macbook M3 15.6" (in size of Macbook Air M2 15.3")

- Macbook Pro 14.5" (with M3 Pro and Max)
- Macbook Pro 16.5" (with M3 Pro and Max)

Macbook starting at 12 GB RAM / 512 GB SSD
Macbook Pros at 16 GB RAm / 1 TB SSD

Halve the prizes in upgrades in RAM and SSDs.
Make basic Pros more expensive to have bigger price gap from regulars.