If AirPower was half that at $100, it would fly off shelves
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What to Expect at WWDC 2018: iOS 12, macOS 10.14, tvOS 12 and watchOS 5 But No Hardware
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Here, have some more asinine animoji......Who needs working keyboards on their laptop anyway?
Yeah, that could be a reason for some people.
I think the past few years of keynotes were disappointing not do to knowing the content of the keynotes prior to the event, but because of the content of the keynotes itself was disappointing, especially the "hello event". What a disappointing keynote.
New Animojis do not deserve to be called a major feature. They are a moderately interesting but irrelevant side show at best.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Note that asking doesn't mean you have to give them everything they want. Asking has the power to make them think you care about what they want. If you happen to pick up a few goodies that the inside geniuses haven't already figured out, you can take those as a bonus.
The alternative is to ignore the customer base and potentially genius your way right back towards 1996. Note that that is NOT saying "Apple is doomed" but more along the lines of reminding us how corporate arrogance can turn once great companies into something not so great. For example, Sears was basically Amazon for many decades before Amazon even existed. Note that that is not saying Apple is Sears either- just offering a very tangible example to illustrate one possible path when corporate "the handful of us know best for all" can take a once great & dominant company way down the wrong path.
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They have ports, are very usable (save for an improbable keyboard), and only lack in GPU performance, RAM, and a 17” form factor. Other than that, provide a hex core coffee lake with 32GB RAM minimum, in 17”, and they’d be perfect.
I for one would love to see new hardware announced. I just don't get why updating or upgrading a mac mini or mac pro for example is hard, difficult or challenging and why we haven't seen either yet. I would have thought that designs for all hardware would be ongoing anyway. Also I'm also not sure why computers would need to be released at a major conference unless it was a significant change from what has gone before. Surely these things can be released to the press and updated on the store as they are ready.
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It's going to be very disappointing if they don't, or do it soon after. All these 'trinkets' that they are releasing doesn't mean squat. Where is the Apple that would blow peoples minds with new hardware. The dragging of their feet isn't going to continue to cut it. Hell, they could have at least even updated the mini's with TB3 and minor upgrades over the years, and even with the trashcan pro, give it something that the people who want to buy it to be proud of.
I'd be onto another 17" MBP if they release one, but I think its never going to happen again, and I'm glad I'm one of the ones who has a 2010 version thats still going, and starting to show its age, but its not dead yet. Its had a transplant or two, but I do still like using it.
I'd be onto another 17" MBP if they release one, but I think its never going to happen again, and I'm glad I'm one of the ones who has a 2010 version thats still going, and starting to show its age, but its not dead yet. Its had a transplant or two, but I do still like using it.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
No committee in that vision at all. Conceptually, Apple wouldn't even have to acknowledge any idea that it doesn't already have on it's own lists.
IMO: history is full of companies that grow so large, so fast, that decision-makers at the very top can lose touch with their customers. Watch a few episodes of "Undercover Boss"- the show where CEOs insert themselves in some low-level job within their own company. Every episode always has the CEO shocked at "I didn't know" stuff that they USED to know because they were closer to the so-called "front lines." It happens. Growth injects infrastructure. Infrastructure creates separation. Chain of command creates opportunities for messages that start out as one thing to be lost in translation by the time they make it up to the top.
Note that this is not an "Apple is doomed" post and yes, I fully acknowledge "$2XX Billion in the bank can't be wrong" and "record quarter after record quarter", etc. But as a consumer, I (we?) experience disappointments in select Apple decisions- stuff that seems to imply they've either lost some touch or are allowing other motivations to trump best decisions for customers. That can work just fine for a while. There's plenty of accumulated goodwill to burn... until it burns out.
That vision is about re-firing up hope for those feeling a little disillusioned about the modern incarnation of Apple... still owning Apple products, still interested, still hanging out in places like this... but shakier on confidence that Apple is bringing "just works" and "think different" to market soon. In my case, the Apple of 10 years ago seemed to be nearly magical in terms of wowing it's market. The 2018 incarnation seems to be nearly magical in shaking out every last nickel to wow it's shareholders. The fans are probably eternally fans, the haters are probably eternally haters but the larger crowd in the middle is not married to either extreme. And that's the crowd that needs to be consistently reassured that Apple can bring the wow. Miss with them often enough and the fans can't drive new records out of their own wallets (because there's not enough of them).
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This.
Why can't they just throw a Kaby Lake i7 in the Mini and call it a day? Why can't we get up-to-date CPUs without waiting four years for Jony to massage the chamfers to his satisfaction?
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Not at all. But I do believe Apple needs to do a better job of listening to its customers. I definitely do not subscribe to any kind of mentality of "we know best" and/or innovation in a bottle. Gather intelligence from customers and prospects. Gather intelligence via competitive analysis. Then mix the best of both of those to help internal genius innovate great things.
Innovating in isolation can luck out and get something very right. But it has about as good of a chance of thoroughly missing too. Especially when companies rapidly grow into goliaths, decisions-makers can have so many more decisions to make that they lose the time and space to stay as in touch with those who want the kinds of stuff those companies can make. History is loaded with examples of this. Apple is not magically immune from such a scenario.
Since there's no going back in terms of becoming smallish Apple again where leadership HAD to be closer to "front lines," efforts like that vision attempt to put new channels in place to reconnect in other ways. Maybe nothing useful comes of it? Or maybe it delivers a few great catalysts for innovation? But- IMO- trying is better than pretending to magically know what the market wants and thinking just rolling out whatever we think will move the market to beat a path to our door, over and over, forever. Corporate arrogance can definitely come back to bite any company. Even Apple is not automatically immune forever.
Apple were in the state they were in 96 exactly because they asked people what they want. They wanted cheaper machines, clones, lots of choice. They got it, and they did not like it. Nobody asked for the iMac but it turned Apple’s fortunes around. They live or die by their own vision.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Again, Apple doesn't have to do everything that is asked of it. It's not putting customers completely in charge of what Apple will do next. It's just strengthening the channel so that Apple doesn't lose touch with what customers want.
Do something like this and customers will definitely ask for cheaper. But Apple can pretend like they got no such request at all. Customers may ask for some things that Apple just does NOT want to do. So Apple can pretend like they got no such requests too.
But then there's the intelligence that comes in that surprises the internal genius... stuff that they handn't come up with on their own... and that they could do. Where did iPod and iTunes come from- inside or outside? Could Apple Computer BEFORE iPod even think about an iPod and iTunes in isolation? And had that innovation not originated from outside, would any of what followed have played out so well? Could Apple Computer have got to iPhone without starting with iPod? Could iPad have come without iPhone? Look how far one relatively smallish concept from outside took Apple.
Some of us are taking that vision too literally. It's not shifting the keys from Apple innovators completely to armchair geniuses that are Apple customers. But it is getting those internal innovators to better HEAR what those buyers want to buy. Maybe Apple could only give them 30% of what those buyers want and still be true to what Apple wants to be. But then I- speaking for myself- would happily take 30% in such a scenario. As a consumer, I miss the Apple of old, which seemed much more in touch with what I- as consumer- wanted. Now it's seems more hit & miss with nickel & diming decisions seeming to sometimes overrule "just works" wow.
I'm still here, still using Apple stuff, still interested... but the wallet isn't as quick to open... and scrutiny is higher when they roll out something new vs. knowing its just going to be amazing (automatically). Am I representative of everyone? Of course not, but I'm not the only one that is not in the extremist camps that find modern Apple seeming to somewhat fade a bit from the halo'd Apple that might have woo'ed us in.
Bring on the wow. This thread is a good example: so many posts by passionate Apple people talking about minimal expectations, joking that the big announcements might be watchbands and emoji, etc. Apple circa 200X carried perceptions that flying cars and transporters were probably being perfected in the labs. Now we're hoping for a few bug fixes and maybe some shadows on icons... and maybe getting some features announced as "coming soon" LAST YEAR.
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I'm not sure if I would credit the iMac for turning Apple's fortunes around. Compared to PC users at the time, the iMac barely made a dent globally.
I would argue that the iPod was the definitive product that really turned it around. The click wheel was one of the greatest inventions created for a portable music player. The next I'd argue was MacOS going X86. I used to ponder deeply over whether I should get a G4 because they were fantastic pieces of hardware with nearly ZERO software options. I'm glad I had waited for the 2011 MBP.
You’re right—it’s not about you. It’s about what’s the best compromise for the vast majority of Apple customers.
Apple makes products for the 80-90%. If you’re in a 5 or 10% niche, you may not get what you want.
80%: A MBP that’s thin, light powerful laptop with great battery life. Extremely easy to move between home and office, one cable docking with 10+ ports that stay connected at all times and tons of external bandwidth.
5%: workstation/gamer class laptop with 99 W/Hr battery. 45 min battery with max CPU/GPU. Razer is awesome, but don’t forget the earplugs as it’s often likened to the sound of a jet engine taking off. (And pray you never need support.)
14%: thick enough to offer older ports, extra power connector with MagSafe.
1%: 17” MBP. Sure it’s 6 pounds, but you call that heavy?
82%: thin, light, easy to use powerful cell phone that usually ends the day at 30-40% battery. Charges in a few hours, overnight.
5%: twice the battery even if it’s quite a bit thicker and weighs 50% more.
5%: dark mode, custom icons, grouped notifications, non-aligned icons, widgets on the home screen, Forstall skeuomorphicism, etc.
5%: headphone jack, memory card, USB-C charger.
3%: X-style SE2. Sure it’ll be $799 but demand will be huge, trust us.
95%: laptop or iMac. Updated every year with very few exceptions, mostly depending on Intel’s CPU release schedule.
3%: Mac Pro. Small but important user base, yes badly neglected, with poor product management over the past 5 years. But hopefully past mistakes rectified with next year’s release.
1.5%: Mac mini. Though not the latest and greatest, the current $899 mini with 2.6/3.1GHz CPU, 8GB RAM and 256GB PCIe-based Flash is suitable for most of its target market, including developers (shocking, I know). But yes, an update is long overdue. There’s finally an H-series quad core, maybe we’ll see it in a mini. Or maybe the mini is on life support and is imminently EOL. (But not according to Cook.)
0.5%: quad-core mini, 16GB RAM, 512GB Flash drive and $799 is too much. Look at Intel’s NUCs, now that’s innovation.
95%: I really like this Apple Watch
5%: I’ll never buy a watch that isn’t round.
90%: I love my AirPods and I’ll give them up when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.
5%: AirPods are uncomfortable and fall out of my ears.
5%: These airpods sound horrible compared to my ______ (insert expensive audiophile-approved over-ear headphones or IEMs here.
80%: My HomePod sounds great and I’m glad I bought it, even though Siri leaves a lot to be desired.
10%: I don’t care how good it sounds, Siri will drive me to an early grave, I can’t take it.
9%: I need Spotify by voice, AirPlay by iPhone isn’t good enough. Give me Sonos and Alexa or give me death.
1%: My golden ears are offended by the mere existence of speakers that sell for less than $10,000/pair. I couldn’t possibly enjoy listening to a small speaker like HomePod, no matter how good it sounds.
Well I could go on but why bother, you get my point.
Apple hasn’t become the most valuable tech company by offering products people don’t want. They want greater revenue, and they continue to try to provide new products they think are something people will buy in the (tens of) millions.
Yes, sometimes they screw up and miss the mark. You can want perfection, but it’s tough to come by. Yes there should be fewer bugs. Sure, never miss a release date. Yes, they can do better, and constructive criticism is welcome. Even Apple fans have legitimate complaints.
But continually spewing tired, trolling, hate memes is predictably predictable, and nothing short of achingly, mind-numbingly boring: No innovation; notch is ugly; Tim Cook’s Apple is money grubbing, cash grabbing, iPad loving, Mac hating; Steve would never have _______; they only update watchbands and Animoji nowadays; why not work on Mac Pro and fix OS bugs instead of wasting time on more emoji; iToys/what’s a computer?; Apple users are sheep, they’ll buy whatever over-priced crap Apple sells just because of the logo; Apple products are too expensive; ad nauseum.
Legit complaints: Mac Pro/Mac mini update schedules; Mac Pro needs to be more Pro; 2016/2017 MBP keyboard failures too high; Siri needs (a lot of) work; software QA should be better, and known bugs should be fixed, not deferred; iTunes is, and has always been, a mess—especially the Windows version; Apple Music suggestions fall well short of Spotify’s. And many more, this list is hardly exhaustive.
Yes, all of the above is just my opinion; after all, I’m the one who wrote it. Don’t bother asking for market stats to back up my arbitrary percentages.
/rant
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I think you missed an important detail here. There are countless articles describing Apple becoming the most valuable tech company because they are offering products that people DON'T want. The branding power is strong. I've upgraded every 2 years on my iPhone not because I want to, but because the natural power hungry progression of the OS encourages me to.
On the same note, I don't want a mac mini at all. But if they bump the specs, I'll buy one for my media server.
And I thought last year’s was boring! Definitely not going to bother this year.
The idea that Apple would forgo hardware updates at WWDC 2018 boggles the mind. The entire Mac lineup is severly outdated on the CPU side, with everything other than the iMac Pro having as much as a 50% core deficit vs (just) the (intel based) competition (2C/4T vs 4C/8T in low power notebook space / 4C/8T vs 6C/12T in high power notebook / desktop space). If someone asked me what Mac to buy today my advice almost across the board would unequivocally have to be "Unless you can make back your money in a few months, wait."
Bloomberg and others have suggested that "the chips aren't there yet for an update" but this is objectively untrue. Apple's insistence on only one upgrade per year no matter what / waiting for the stars to align is just ridiculous. If they pass on a WWDC (or at least a summer) upgrade, I think it really calls into question their competence and commitment to the Mac as a platform.
Bloomberg and others have suggested that "the chips aren't there yet for an update" but this is objectively untrue. Apple's insistence on only one upgrade per year no matter what / waiting for the stars to align is just ridiculous. If they pass on a WWDC (or at least a summer) upgrade, I think it really calls into question their competence and commitment to the Mac as a platform.
This. A thousand times this.
And physical media keys, no Touch Bar, a good old-style keyboard that isn't riveted into the top case, a GPU that doesn't fry itself irreparably within 18 months to 3 years, all the useful ports I'm still using and will still be using ten years from now, upgradeable RAM (support for up to 64GB would be nice), two NVME m.2 slots that aren't soldered to the damn logic board, room for a standard hard drive for cheaper mass storage on-the-go, etcetera... Basically, Apple, take a long, hard look at the amazing Lenovo Thinkpad P71 and just make it prettier on the outside. The optional Xeon processor and support for ECC RAM is pretty sweet too.
I don't even care about a retina display, I'm perfectly happy with the 1920x1200 display on the 17" MacBook Pro I've been using for the last 9 YEARS. It's fantastic. And it doesn't bog down the GPU. Or at least it didn't before the (recently repaired by Apple!) GPU died AGAIN and I basically had to turn this into a 17" "MacBook", sans "Pro". It's on its last legs now, and nothing exists to replace it with.
Apple's response: "LOL. F-U. Switch to Windows if you want an awesome, powerful, upgradeable, repairable laptop."
Me: "But I don't like Windows... I just want you to make a good computer for me to keep using MacOS on. Like you used to."
Apple:"LOL. We don't care what you want. We only sell phones now."
Android P and Google Assistant look set to hand Apple an epic beat down over the next few years. If they can't get back on track with Mac hardware they are going to be in real trouble. The fact that they aren't even showing any new hardware this year is another nail in Apple's slowly closing coffin. This must have been what it felt like watching IBM coast into irrelevance, grinning all the way.
Who gives a damn about new MacBooks? The current chips are still fine. Personally, I would like to see new Animoji’s...
So true! When I encounter the numerous and long-lived bugs in my aging Apple devices, I just think to myself, 'Tim, Eddy, Craig, Jony, all of them are probably experiencing the exact same bugs on their aging Apple devices and it doesn't bother them one bit!' (Jony's not pulling his hair out every time he tries to synch his iPhone and iTunes can't find it! He just 'creatively' turns iTunes off/on like I do and voilà! It just works!) You don't hear them complaining about old hardware or wondering aloud how to appropriately spend the company's $250,000,000,000 cash pile.
Chill out, Mr Customer! Blame yourself!
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I'm just saying that knowing that they are going to release this and that before you watch it is like knowing what you get for Christmas before Christmas. There's no excitement unless there's "one more thing" that didn't leak. But that hasn't happened in a long time.
Based on their earnings they are doing pretty well. I'm sure there will be people left.