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

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Too many iPads?

Is the current iPad lineup too much? Make the iPad simpler again. 💫

 

[sjsharksfan12]

Too many iPads?

Is the current iPad lineup too much? Make the iPad simpler again. 💫

View attachment 2239722

What's the difference between the Ipad Air and the Ipad. I think this is what the guys were coming from. There should be large, medium and smaller. having 4 sets of Ipads in a group is a little much.

 

[ric22]

The average iPhone sold for around $988 USD in March 2023 which is up from $882 USD a year prior. Adjusting for inflation, unlocked iPhone 4 prices were around $880 USD (16GB) to $1,020 USD (32GB).

Is that your way of agreeing with me?

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Too many iPads?

Is the current iPad lineup too much? Make the iPad simpler again. 💫

View attachment 2239722

There's too many everything.

They are still selling iPhones from years ago that are nearly identical to the current models

 

[ChibaCityBlues]

We used to be able to do that. But TBH today's baked-on UMA RAM is so much more competent we need to expect to pay more. IIRC Apple's SSDs are also superior, and the Thunderbolt in all Macs does allow third party external storage at reasonable throughput.

It's so much more competent than what? The RAM from 20 years ago?

The chips are literally used everywhere. Same goes for the SSDs. The chips are not 'superior'. They are just regular Chips. Apple marketing wants you to believe the prices are necessary. But it's just not the case.

 

[webkit]

Is that your way of agreeing with me?

Not exactly as I've been pointing out that iPhone 4 was not nearly as inexpensive as you seemed to think it was and could be as pricey or pricier (adjusting for inflation) and potentially more profitable per unit (adjusting for inflation) for Apple than recent/today's average iPhones.

 

[macqintosh]

The same sh*t is happening all over again. When Steve Jobs was absent from 1984 till 1996 the product lines became a mess. The first thing Steve did was making a clean sweep and ditched a lot of carbage. Same is happening now, since the passing of Steve back in 2011 Tim and his buddies had his roadmap to last a few years but when on their own the product line as well as its software is getting worse by the year.

Same for marketing, look at the website. WTF happened with that? A maze of options to go about.

Please back to basic asap!!!

Macbook Air 13inch, 15inch
Macbook Pro 14inch, 16inch
iMac 24inch, (space gray, silver)
iMac 30inch, (space gray, silver)
Mac Studio
Mac Mini
iPhone, iPhone Pro, iPhone Max
iPad Mini, iPad (10inch), iPad Pro (11inch, 13 inch)

 

[SFjohn]

I’m so happy that Apple is running Apple. MacRumors and especially MacRumors Forums would end Apple in almost no time at all… 😉

 

[_Spinn_]

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.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Candlelight]

For the next release we'll have

iPhone 15
iOS 17
tvOS 17
watchOS 10
macOS 14

Instead release them as

iPhone 2024
iOS 2024
tvOS 2024
watchOS 2024
macOS 2024

 

[Yebubbleman]

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.

Listen to The MacRumors Show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro, Google Podcasts, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player. Watch a video version of the show on the MacRumors YouTube channel.

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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

Okay. Now having actually watched this video, I have a few thoughts.

First off, the vast majority of the things you guys propose actually further complicate and fragment the lines rather than simplify or fix them.

Secondly, responding to individual suggestions made in the video:

A. The easiest way to simplify the iPhone line is to not continue to sell the last two generations of it. Yes, I get that the iPhone 13 can be priced cheaper than the iPhone 14 and that the iPhone 12 can be priced even cheaper. But, the prices for these things has ballooned to an insanely excessive degree. Just sell the iPhone 14 models and the iPhone SE. When the iPhone 15 comes out, replace ALL of the iPhone 14 models, not just the Pros. Remove the older stuff (other than the iPhone SE) and you pretty much have a lineup that's as clean and simplified as Google's Pixel lineup.

B. Consolidate the 10.9 and 11 inch iPads. If that means that the iPad Air and 11-inch iPad Pro consolidate into one device, great! If that means that the iPad Air and standard model iPad consolidate into one device (as seemed to be the original mission statement of the original iPad Air in 2013), great! But, we do not need two standard iPads, an iPad Air, and an 11-inch iPad Pro. That's just excessive (especially considering there is only one sub-9-inch iPad and only one 12-inch-or-larger iPad). I completely agree that the mini is the only one that's comfortable to hold in one's hands for any serious length of time. And, while I can definitely see the merit of an iPad mini with iPad Pro features (especially a better camera system that is closer to that of a Pro model iPhone), that would make it more niche (which is the last thing the iPad mini needs).

C. The idea of a MacBook SE (or even MacBook Air SE) is a fantastic idea. Though, using that as an excuse to revive the 12-inch MacBook is a horrible idea. Reuse the existing M1 MacBook Air body design, toss a binned (8 GPU-Core) variant of M2 in there, while keeping all other customization options that other standard M2 Macs have (e.g. 24GB of RAM; 256GB to 2TB drive options [though, preferably, don't cheap out for the 256GB drive a la all of the other 256GB M2 Macs]), and it'll be perfect. It'll also be in line with what "SE" is currently meaning on the Apple Watch and iPhone lines.

D. Past the "MacBook SE"/"MacBook Air SE", they either need to replace the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a version of the 14-inch MacBook Pro that just has the standard M2 (and one fewer Thunderbolt ports to accommodate the Thunderbolt port limitations in the standard M2) or they need to commit to the 15-inch MacBook Air being the proper replacement at that price point. The latter might be a cleaner approach from a marketing standpoint. Though, as someone who has an Apple Silicon 13-inch MacBook Pro, I do appreciate that I have a fan if need ever be.

E. I see nothing wrong with the AirPods lines as they are. Similarly, the Apple TV lineup is the cleanest it's been in several years. Though, I do agree that the 64GB lacking Ethernet and Thread support is something that ought to be clearer in the marketing and that they could, just as easily, replace that model with a dongle version that has the exact same specs (seeing as that model only has power and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth for I/O) while leaving a single 128GB model with Ethernet and Thread. That would actually be a solid improvement to the line. But we do not need more than just those two.

F. The Apple Watch lineup is pretty clean too. Everything has S8. Nothing has earlier. I do dislike that those in poorer health are incentivized to spend more and get an Apple Watch Series 8 rather than an SE. I also hate that Apple has yet to figure out a way to have an Apple Watch work with Android. Both of those things would seem to go very much against their stated purpose of saving lives with these products.