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I think this has a lot more to do with Ive's self-indulgence. TC isn't a designer and in a sense that's not what a CEO should do. But Ive now has free roam over OS & hardware UI. There's nobody there to tell him 'this looks like ****' or 'you should rethink that'.

This isn't even constructive criticism because I have no idea of Apple's inner workings and can't suggest how they'd fix it.

Before the Apple Watch I'd have said they're fine. But the Apple Watch is disturbingly ... un-Apple.

I agree.

I think Ive is a tremendous talent. Genius, even. He's a master of manipulating materials and geometries. But I've come to realize that I actually don't think he has the impeccable sense of taste I always assumed he must. I think his raw talent works best when channeled through the lens of someone else's vision. When he's the head chef in the kitchen, I don't actually care for the food as much.

I used to be somewhat inspired by his impassioned voiceover monologues during product unveils. But the more I listen to them, the shallower and sillier they seem to become. I almost chocked with laughter today when he was describing using your finger to zip around those goofy round icons on the watch and said the experience was "vital."
 
the one and only reason im not totally bashing it. the first thing i could think of when i saw this was "this is a revision A product"... the refinements will be killer. but i'll be passing on it for now.

I'm just sitting here imagining what a process shrink will do for this device. A smaller more compact PCB and the more room you have for a battery, additional features and other goodies.

Given that I still think this device is farther along than the original iPhone and most assuredly the original iPad. With its limited RAM the original iPad was a bit of a joke actually. This device on the other hand looks like it will bring a lot of functionality to the first owners. I just see its capability steadily expanding in the years to come.
 
Its funny, maybe I am old, but I remember a lot of the same comments when the iPod came out.... Its not Apple, who is going to buy this, its too expensive, it doesn't do what I want, its ugly...

Give it time to see the whole integration of software and hardware together and for goodness sake wait until you see one in person. It is very difficult to transmit all the qualities of a product in a presentation like this, especially with a device as small and as complex. Even Steve Jobs got crap for the original iPod, I think they sold like 100 million. Relax, its the first inning and the technology today was impressive.
 
I think this has a lot more to do with Ive's self-indulgence. TC isn't a designer and in a sense that's not what a CEO should do. But Ive now has free roam over OS & hardware UI. There's nobody there to tell him 'this looks like ****' or 'you should rethink that'.

This isn't even constructive criticism because I have no idea of Apple's inner workings and can't suggest how they'd fix it.

Before the Apple Watch I'd have said they're fine. But the Apple Watch is disturbingly ... un-Apple.

Yea, I noticed this, but back when iOS 7 first came out.

Called it.
 
Apple products fulfill 2 requirements for me:

1. Help me get work done
2. Provide some entertainment

I don't see the Apple Watch fulfilling either of those requirements better than my Mac Pro and iPhone.

That said, for a smart watch, I think the product is a very good start, though I doubt I'll ever consider/buy/wear one.
 
Is this still an apple fan site? Just asking because there is so much bitching going on here today in the comments...

It's BECAUSE we're fans that we are disheartened at the direction the company has taken. They went from truly innovating products and software for the way people work and play.....to a media darling that is churning out corporate-committee designs with no heart and soul.
 
Bravo Tim. Bravo Apple.

People get too hung up on specs. Who cares if the phone has 1gig or ram. As long as it runs well. Android needs more ram to operate properly. The less ram a OS uses the less it will have a strain on battery life.

326ppi, who cares as long as the screen looks great. Can your eyes tell the difference. No. I care more about screen quality, contrast, black levels than anything else.

Compare a plasma 1080P screen to a 4K led and than get back to me. Every hear of the Pioneer Kuro?

http://www.cnet.com/news/budget-tv-resolution-rumble-720p-plasma-vs-4k-led-lcd/

The iwatch looks great. If you don't like it don't get one. Simple as that.

I don't like that apple didn't upgrade the battery in the 4.7 iphone. Their fascination with thinness over function I don't like at all. Other than that good job Apple. :)

I have got the 1080p 42 inch Panasonic Viera. Great screen, with amazing black levels, but I would change it any day for a 4K SAMSUNG tv, the 4K one in your link looks ******, I will give you that :) So its not just about the resolution, but indeed the technology behind it.
 
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I find this negativity puzzling. I've been moving away from 100% apple, bought a Surface Pro 3 recently but I still respect their innovation. Does anyone remember the first MacBook Air ? It was a bit of a train wreck, a glorified prototype but take a look at what they've done with the product since !!!! Give the watch some time.

1000
 
Tim is already in damage limitation mode, following the luke warm reception to the products.

When in need, bring up Steve!

Exactly! Last night I knew when a pic of Steve appeared. TC hid behind SJ when the SSL bug was patched for iOS but not OS X. TC usually distances.
 
Is this still an apple fan site? Just asking because there is so much bitching going on here today in the comments...

An apple fan site, or a rumors site devoted to Apple products? To me, there's a difference. To me, people keep an eye on the company and the tech and what is happening. If people don't like new products, they comment and say so. Having said that, if it is a fan site, maybe fans are just disappointed.
 
I find this negativity puzzling. I've been moving away from 100% apple, bought a Surface Pro 3 recently but I still respect their innovation. Does anyone remember the first MacBook Air ? It was a bit of a train wreck, a glorified prototype but take a look at what they've done with the product since !!!! Give the watch some time.
Steve was still running the show back then.
 
I'm not the biggest fan of the look of the watch....but watching the Jony video (aside from the annoying-ness of his words to make even the simplest thing sound sophisticated)

I'd say more creepy than annoying. Even being English myself doesn't endure this poor excuse for a designer to me. I say that as how can you say this watch, iOS and debacles like SD slots on the back of iMacs (for gods sake!) make Ive anything more than humdrum, form over function (and true design is about both of the later!)
 
Jobs apparently was not aware that an Apple Watch was coming,

That's actually surprising, considering the square iPod Nano that doubled as a watch. I had assumed it was around that point that the idea of a more sophisticated watch started getting talked about seriously...
 
Come on folks! This is Apple. They innovate & make everybody else copy & play catch-up. After today they'll be doing more only faster & their products will be like always - "close, but no cigar."

Look at The Amazon Fire and many other products out there that "wanna be like Mike." :eek:

Give them time. :)

It's going to be an awesome holiday season, especially as soon as the iPad Air refresh & a few other items get their updates. Chill :apple:

To be honest, nothing I saw today matches your statement. I don't think anyone needs to copy anything presented today and it would be pretty hard to catch up when most of what I saw has already been done.

That's not a criticism of Apple. I am not one of those people who think Apple has to wow the world with every product. They can iterate, like everyone else out there. They also have the luxury of no competition for iOS. It's either Apple or no one if you want iOS. IMO, what I saw today brought Apple closer to parity with the other players in the market. It gives consumers choices they didn't have before: larger iPhones and an iOS smartwatch. win/win

My criticism of Apple stems from the live stream. I seriously think a middle school AV club could have done a better job. That was painful to watch... not watch... watch... not watch... double listen to music and hear simultaneous audio streams in 2 languages.:eek: While trying to watch that trainwreck, one thought kept popping up in my mind: not even Samsung could screw up that bad.:D
 
Did SteveJob's DNA also mention after the four year pipeline runs its course all smart phones will become commoditized?
 
It's BECAUSE we're fans that we are disheartened at the direction the company has taken. They went from truly innovating products and software for the way people work and play.....to a media darling that is churning out corporate-committee designs with no heart and soul.

And hence the reason I moved to Samsung .... and to be honest, was annoyed I didn't make the move long before. It's VERY easy to be brainwashed by Apple marketing and a belief Android/Samsung are inferior products; which, once you take the step and actually own one, you realise couldn't be any further from the truth!

The iwatch is a design and UI joke (as is the price and being tied in to Apple straps!), the new iPhone outdated technology before its even hit the shelves. Take a good look at the Gear 2 Neo (£150!!!) and the LG G3 ... and then ask why, after all this time and resource, Apple delivered what it did!!!!

It's so sad ... where has the Apple I knew and loved so well one time gone???
 
All those who speak as if they KNEW Jobs need to get real, because youre living in some sort of different reality. Jobs did his thing for Apple and its time to move on.

Jobs spoke of small phones because that is what the majority of people used, me included, but a large portion of the market was being completely missed because Apple didnt have anything like the Galaxy Note all those other big phones. The 5.5 model is simply filling that gap, because majority of people will still use the 4" and 4.7" iPhones. You are just Job fanboys who cant see any better to know that Apple needed to fill that large phone absence gap, and thats that!
 
I'm certain that Tim Cook was aware that he'd be living with the ghost of Jobs forever.

Much like the never forgotten Elvis, Steve's worshipped by a vast contingency of devotees. Nothing unusual about that fact.
 
the one and only reason im not totally bashing it. the first thing i could think of when i saw this was "this is a revision A product"... the refinements will be killer.

Exactly. Consider how the first iPad looked compared to the current iPad Mini which came out only 3 years later. They still sold millions of them.
 
Jobs spoke of small phones because that is what the majority of people used, me included, but a large portion of the market was being completely missed because Apple didnt have anything like the Galaxy Note all those other big phones. The 5.5 model is simply filling that gap, because majority of people will still use the 4" and 4.7" iPhones. You are just Job fanboys who cant see any better to know that Apple needed to fill that large phone absence gap, and thats that!
I don't think very many here are criticizing the new iPhones, but rather the Apple Watch (though I do think a compelling argument could be made for why they should have also had a new iPhone using the smaller, more one-handed usable, screen size). I would probably say that Jobs might have been opposed to larger iPhone screen sizes, thinking that the smaller size was perfect, and I'd actually disagree with him on that.

But I think that most of the complaints here by people, such as myself, who are "channeling" Jobs are about the Apple Watch.

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Exactly. Consider how the first iPad looked compared to the current iPad Mini which came out only 3 years later. They still sold millions of them.
The iPad mini is not an iPad replacement. Personally, I have very limited interest in the iPads in general. I bought my wife one and she used it often and mostly liked it, but frequently complained about it not being good enough for Facebook. Around that time I was a recent owner of an MacBook Air which I was loving, and so I bought her her own MacBook Air and the iPad quickly started collecting dust. Even though I had no particular interest in that iPad initially, I'm actually the only one who uses it now. How do I use it? As a mobile TV. I use it to watch NFL GameRewind, for example. And the idea there is that you want the biggest screened mobile TV that you can get, so an iPad Mini wouldn't cut it for me.

The other use case I have for an iPad is as a drawing tablet. Again, bigger screen is better, so the Mini wouldn't cut it. Unfortunately, Apple dropped the ball a bit by not providing better support for pressure sensitive styli.
 
Look at the price.

Its a more expansive Samsung Gear, hence some better tech ;)

I'm not sure what amazing innovation your seeing here. Instead of it being the watch that changed the wearable playground, it just became the IOS version of what is currently out there. meh....

It will change the wearable playground. You can quote me on this.

On innovation, they managed to put so much computing power on such a small platform. If you look at other watches, Apple Watch out perform them all, smooth animations, smart user interface, not just a shrieked down mobile is.

On hardware, all the dmartwatch out there are running on old smartphone chips, while this one isn't. The moto 360 is running on an old pathetic first feb mobile chip. Shrinking down a mobile chip to run on Apple Watch is an incredible feat of engineering alone.

On customization, well, Apple Watch just won out right. How long do you think before other copy cats start making different color watch faces and straps?
 
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