Mr. Dilger strikes again with this terrific piece!
Are we really calling people "fascists" before a single iPhone 7 or Series 2 watch has been delivered? I hope sales are good even though I disagree with living in a world of dongles, but maybe we should see how the market responds before we declare victory.
What do we say when it's Microsoft who is "struggling to satisfy pre-orders? We say they didn't build very many. Interestingly, Apple has decided not to reveal early, actual numbers this time around. This is not a good sign that Apple actually disagrees with the predictions of some of these journalists.
Finally, how is it "very clear" that iPhone sales are "snowballing"? No table or link is provided. We know we saw peak sales already, but we have also seen that the comparison year was an anomaly and, excluding that, the general line remains pointed up at the same slope, but "snowballing" implies non-linear increases. This is the first I've heard that for any smartphone in the last few years, and sounds like fanboy hyperbole to me.
Yes, the treatment of Apple from tech media seems unfair, but this article has some serious issues.
We don't say that "Microsoft is struggling to satisfy pre-orders" because that would be inhabiting a counterfactual world.
More importantly, Apple's decision to not provide numbers at the end of the first weekend/week of sales is quite sound. One, no one else bothers to (or they use euphemisms like "smooth") so why should Apple alone bother? The company provides way too much information already. It's time to hold the analysts to the same standards to which they hold other tech companies. Two, between retail and online, and across multiple channels in each, across dozens of countries, coming up with sales estimates are not as simple as they used to be at a time when it was mostly sold by Apple, via Apple retail, in one country during the opening weekend. Let the analysts do the legwork to figure it out, if they want to.
As as to the use of a word such as 'snowballing,' c'mon, cut him some literary license. He's writing for a largely pro-Apple audience in a pro-Apple blog.
First, good job DED as always. Second I thought no one is going to preorder iPhone 7 based on all the negative opinion of the verge, NYT, WSJ etc and slept to my normal woke up hours at 6:30 EDT to order the jet black iPhone 7 plus and what a mistake. Apple users intelligently know what they want and how much they want it. The most intriguing surprises are A10 Fusion, W1, the duel lens and bokeh effect, the AirPods. If the AirPods is truly as magic as the Pencil is I am definitely going to get one and loose the wire, hopefully for ever. I am sure there will be tons of loops to secure the AirPods on sale from Amazon soon. Apple creates a great opportunity for a lot of companies to make lots of money. The journalists outght do reports on that to inform users and companies to make this transition. Instead they just whine like a 3 year old baby. I am delighted by the AirPods, the video showing the making of it, and the video showing the making of jet black iPhone 7. Anyway, looking forward to the coming review of iOS 10, iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, and the tear down, as well as the inevitable gates etc. Also expect more announcements from Cupertino regarding Mac and iPad before the holiday season. If they could throw 50GB of iCloud storage for free then there would be nothing to complain and would help them win a lot of customers.
I'm seriously considering the airpods myself. For me it is going to come down to how they operate independently since Apple did indicate you can use just one. My hope is that I can use one while charging one. Then when the one in use runs low, pull the other one out of the case, put it in my ear and then have both in use. Once the new one is working, I would then remove the other one and stick it in the charger. I bet this works, but if it doesn't I will wait until it does. Three hours just isn't long enough when I get stuck on back to back calls for hours at work. I don't want to have to pull out a cabled set of earpods when my batteries get low. That just misses the point of wireless.
5 hours initial charge + 3 hours after a 15 break in calls? do you actually have more than 8 hours of solid calls?
Unfortunately yes, I can be stuck on calls for over 5 hours straight. The 15 minute charging break would not happen some days. I'm lucky if I can get 5 mins to go to the bathroom between calls. I take my lunch to avoid going hungry. Thankfully only 1-2 days a week get booked up that much, but still will be an issue. AirPods likely work as I am expecting in which case I will order up a pair.
"...its existing one billion installed base of iPhone users..." Didn't the "one billion" figure refer to all Apple devices and computers active? Anyone remember more accurately?
Oh, and, "...almost ten years later we have devolved into a society of buffoons..." Actually, I believe studies show we have always pretty much been a society of buffoons.
In this keynote it was said that they sold their 1 Billionth iPhone. DED has misquoted the information between the quote you remember and what was said about the iPhones sold. It is safe to assume that there is some large number of the 1B iPhones that are no longer in use. Two things turn me off about DED's articles. First, the tone in which he writes. This article in a certain sense does what he is deriding other journalists for doing. He pushes his is own narrative (by insinuating he is the only journalist that gets Apple since he attacks everyone else) when he too could ask the good questions and present the information so we can make up our own minds. Second, as this post pointed out he plays fast and loose with facts to suit his needs. Saying Apple has 1B installed base of iPhones certainly doesn't make the article better. It does however further his narrative and undercut him in the eyes of people that know facts being stretched. He could have gotten the facts right and it would not have detracted from the point of the article at all. Saying 1B iPhones sold is still a pretty damn spiffy accomplishment.
DED, if you read my comments... Do please consider your tone. If you think the tone is fine, please consider getting an outside editor to review some of your work. I really do believe it would expand your journalistic influence.
There are probably 1B active IOS devices though.
That was the previous quote I and the original poster was mentioning. Apple had stated that at WWDC. It does go to the point that DED can be a little fast and loose with the facts.
"...its existing one billion installed base of iPhone users..." Didn't the "one billion" figure refer to all Apple devices and computers active? Anyone remember more accurately?
Oh, and, "...almost ten years later we have devolved into a society of buffoons..." Actually, I believe studies show we have always pretty much been a society of buffoons.
In this keynote it was said that they sold their 1 Billionth iPhone. DED has misquoted the information between the quote you remember and what was said about the iPhones sold. It is safe to assume that there is some large number of the 1B iPhones that are no longer in use. Two things turn me off about DED's articles. First, the tone in which he writes. This article in a certain sense does what he is deriding other journalists for doing. He pushes his is own narrative (by insinuating he is the only journalist that gets Apple since he attacks everyone else) when he too could ask the good questions and present the information so we can make up our own minds. Second, as this post pointed out he plays fast and loose with facts to suit his needs. Saying Apple has 1B installed base of iPhones certainly doesn't make the article better. It does however further his narrative and undercut him in the eyes of people that know facts being stretched. He could have gotten the facts right and it would not have detracted from the point of the article at all. Saying 1B iPhones sold is still a pretty damn spiffy accomplishment.
DED, if you read my comments... Do please consider your tone. If you think the tone is fine, please consider getting an outside editor to review some of your work. I really do believe it would expand your journalistic influence.
There are probably 1B active IOS devices though.
Apple announced in 2014 that they had sold over 1B iOS-based device, and in January of this year, during their 1Q2016 quarter earning reports for the last quarter of the 2015 calendar year that they had over 1B active iOS-based devices in use.
What is your point? DED said 1B active iPhones which is false. He seemed to have mixed up the 1B active iOS devices and the 1B iPhones sold announcements.
Unfortunately yes, I can be stuck on calls for over 5 hours straight. The 15 minute charging break would not happen some days. I'm lucky if I can get 5 mins to go to the bathroom between calls. I take my lunch to avoid going hungry. Thankfully only 1-2 days a week get booked up that much, but still will be an issue. AirPods likely work as I am expecting in which case I will order up a pair.
It seems unlikely that you'd be on a single cell phone call for 5+ hours, but if that does happen do you need to have both AirPods in at the same time for a phone call, and wouldn't you also have wired headphones because you're such a heavy phone user?
Apple announced in 2014 that they had sold over 1B iOS-based device, and in January of this year, during their 1Q2016 quarter earning reports for the last quarter of the 2015 calendar year that they had over 1B active iOS-based devices in use.
What is your point? DED said 1B active iPhones which is false. He seemed to have mixed up the 1B active iOS devices and the 1B iPhones sold announcements.
I don't see how my point has befogged you. foggyhill made a comment about how many iOS-based are probably in use, and I replied with a verification that are that many devices in use and various times when Apple has stated they've reached a 1 billion milestone. What about my statement do you find so perplexing; that Apple's financial quarter doesn't line up with calendar year quarters? I even trying to be extra thorough so the time frame for the announcement and when the milestone was achieved were more transparent. #Can'tWin
Sorry about that, I hit the wrong key. Resuming, after years of watching and listening to technical and financial talking heads and "journalists" get it wrong I've come to a different conclusion, relevance. Imagine they gave objective analyses and criticisms instead of hype, there'd be little to discriminate among them and that's not what they're seeking. Their worth and usefulness in a crowded marketplace comes from offering insights no one else has, measured in the number of "clicks" their opinions and "research" receive. Now that I understand what they're really setting out to accomplish, relevance in their area of "expertise," I find it very easy to ignore them.
One additional observation, and question to the Wharton wizards: why are they influenced by others' opinions instead of the numbers? Few endeavors outside baseball have as many numbers to assess and judge performance. What conclusions would they draw if they used the same methodologies to value Apple as they do all others?
Daniel, you forgot about possibly the most hilariously poutraged response of the lot and that was the apparent stupidity of Apple for putting... wait for it... the charging port under the new mouse. Why did everyone's knickers get bunched, because you can't use it for a couple of hours once every two months.
Check out this gizomodo 'journalist' who answers the above complaint by saying 'but what if I forget to charge it and then right in the middle of working it runs out of juice'. Forgetting for a moment that this person charges his phone every day but somehow cannot remember to charge his freaking mouse during a two month period, forgetting that, he then says that he tried charging it for two minutes as Apple said that would get you through a day, but in fact it did not and he had to charge it...wait again... for four 2 minute periods.
Now I know that a five minute charge will definitely get you through the day, so I wonder, does this imbecile not take a piss all day, let alone have a cup of coffee or even, heaven forfend, a sandwich. And this sort of fucking stupidity is repeated endlessly as an example of Apple's inability to design anything properly.
This is one of the best pieces I have read in a long time. It's wonderful to read such a comprehensive and thorough review of the massive shortcomings of so many of the tech journalists. Sadly, it's not just the small players, but publications that consider themselves real journalism professionals are just as bad, most notably the New York Times whose tech reporters are totally biased and uninformed, and Forbes, which has so many stringers putting out garbage. Thank yo for such an incisive article. It might not change things too much, but it made my day.
Mr. Dilger strikes again with this terrific piece!
Are we really calling people "fascists" before a single iPhone 7 or Series 2 watch has been delivered? I hope sales are good even though I disagree with living in a world of dongles, but maybe we should see how the market responds before we declare victory.
What do we say when it's Microsoft who is "struggling to satisfy pre-orders? We say they didn't build very many. Interestingly, Apple has decided not to reveal early, actual numbers this time around. This is not a good sign that Apple actually disagrees with the predictions of some of these journalists.
Finally, how is it "very clear" that iPhone sales are "snowballing"? No table or link is provided. We know we saw peak sales already, but we have also seen that the comparison year was an anomaly and, excluding that, the general line remains pointed up at the same slope, but "snowballing" implies non-linear increases. This is the first I've heard that for any smartphone in the last few years, and sounds like fanboy hyperbole to me.
Yes, the treatment of Apple from tech media seems unfair, but this article has some serious issues.
Well when MS actually reports how many surfaces they sold in the quarter or following qtr, it's apparent they didn't make many to start.
Because the initial sales are limited by supply and not demand. The morons who guess don't take into account that Apple can't produce that many new iPhones at launch while still producing adequate levels of prev iPhone before launch.
Unfortunately yes, I can be stuck on calls for over 5 hours straight. The 15 minute charging break would not happen some days. I'm lucky if I can get 5 mins to go to the bathroom between calls. I take my lunch to avoid going hungry. Thankfully only 1-2 days a week get booked up that much, but still will be an issue. AirPods likely work as I am expecting in which case I will order up a pair.
It seems unlikely that you'd be on a single cell phone call for 5+ hours, but if that does happen do you need to have both AirPods in at the same time for a phone call, and wouldn't you also have wired headphones because you're such a heavy phone user?
yes it will be interesting to find out whether one can use one pod at a time while the other charges. on the surface it sounds doable since they operate independently. we'll see next month! day-1 purchase for me.
Unfortunately yes, I can be stuck on calls for over 5 hours straight. The 15 minute charging break would not happen some days. I'm lucky if I can get 5 mins to go to the bathroom between calls. I take my lunch to avoid going hungry. Thankfully only 1-2 days a week get booked up that much, but still will be an issue. AirPods likely work as I am expecting in which case I will order up a pair.
It seems unlikely that you'd be on a single cell phone call for 5+ hours, but if that does happen do you need to have both AirPods in at the same time for a phone call, and wouldn't you also have wired headphones because you're such a heavy phone user?
yes it will be interesting to find out whether one can use one pod at a time while the other charges. on the surface it sounds doable since they operate independently. we'll see next month! day-1 purchase for me.
I believe he said you could use just one at a time during the announcement. Not many details but sure it was said.
Unfortunately yes, I can be stuck on calls for over 5 hours straight. The 15 minute charging break would not happen some days. I'm lucky if I can get 5 mins to go to the bathroom between calls. I take my lunch to avoid going hungry. Thankfully only 1-2 days a week get booked up that much, but still will be an issue. AirPods likely work as I am expecting in which case I will order up a pair.
It seems unlikely that you'd be on a single cell phone call for 5+ hours, but if that does happen do you need to have both AirPods in at the same time for a phone call, and wouldn't you also have wired headphones because you're such a heavy phone user?
yes it will be interesting to find out whether one can use one pod at a time while the other charges. on the surface it sounds doable since they operate independently. we'll see next month! day-1 purchase for me.
I believe he said you could use just one at a time during the announcement. Not many details but sure it was said.
He did say something about "one at a time." I'll see if I can find the clip.
It seems unlikely that you'd be on a single cell phone call for 5+ hours, but if that does happen do you need to have both AirPods in at the same time for a phone call, and wouldn't you also have wired headphones because you're such a heavy phone user?
yes it will be interesting to find out whether one can use one pod at a time while the other charges. on the surface it sounds doable since they operate independently. we'll see next month! day-1 purchase for me.
Apple rep made it clear that yes, you can opt to use one AirPod in mono while the other charges, then swap them out for continuous use.
The other story the media isn't talking about is the ceramic Apple Watch. The material could potentially be used in the next iPhone. Harder than stainless steel, lighter and has total transparency to wireless signals eleminating the need for any external antenna lines. In addition, its no coincidence that the ceramic Apple Watch is priced at the $1300 price point. A nice test bed with low risk. I think that's the real story.
Ceramic has been around in watches for a while now, wonder why they didn't do black.
Comments
More importantly, Apple's decision to not provide numbers at the end of the first weekend/week of sales is quite sound. One, no one else bothers to (or they use euphemisms like "smooth") so why should Apple alone bother? The company provides way too much information already. It's time to hold the analysts to the same standards to which they hold other tech companies. Two, between retail and online, and across multiple channels in each, across dozens of countries, coming up with sales estimates are not as simple as they used to be at a time when it was mostly sold by Apple, via Apple retail, in one country during the opening weekend. Let the analysts do the legwork to figure it out, if they want to.
As as to the use of a word such as 'snowballing,' c'mon, cut him some literary license. He's writing for a largely pro-Apple audience in a pro-Apple blog.
One additional observation, and question to the Wharton wizards: why are they influenced by others' opinions instead of the numbers? Few endeavors outside baseball have as many numbers to assess and judge performance. What conclusions would they draw if they used the same methodologies to value Apple as they do all others?
Check out this gizomodo 'journalist' who answers the above complaint by saying 'but what if I forget to charge it and then right in the middle of working it runs out of juice'. Forgetting for a moment that this person charges his phone every day but somehow cannot remember to charge his freaking mouse during a two month period, forgetting that, he then says that he tried charging it for two minutes as Apple said that would get you through a day, but in fact it did not and he had to charge it...wait again... for four 2 minute periods.
Now I know that a five minute charge will definitely get you through the day, so I wonder, does this imbecile not take a piss all day, let alone have a cup of coffee or even, heaven forfend, a sandwich. And this sort of fucking stupidity is repeated endlessly as an example of Apple's inability to design anything properly.
Because the initial sales are limited by supply and not demand. The morons who guess don't take into account that Apple can't produce that many new iPhones at launch while still producing adequate levels of prev iPhone before launch.
edit: Start at 1h:27m:55s.
Ceramic has been around in watches for a while now, wonder why they didn't do black.
https://www.omegawatches.com/watches/speedmaster/moonwatch/dark-side-of-the-moon/product/
http://www.tudorwatch.com/watches/fastrider-black-shield/m42000cr-0001