"The New G5 is the most advanced personal computer in the world...we're committed to making sure it remains the most advanced for years to come." Phil.
'We have refined and refined the design of the new PowerMac G5 to make it essential to make it efficient. To make it honest.' Ives.
'The G5 is the best computer Apple has ever made. From the processors, to the buses, to the memory..."
I disagree. The early announcements allow consumers to know Apple has something coming so that we can decide whether to buy a third party product or wait for Apple. As for ill will, your site regularly uses the blogs, reviewers, prognosticators, and nay-sayers as fodder for articles when their doom & gloom outlook proves unfounded. If Apple believed the clamor had any material impact on product sales at launch, I’m sure they would stop. Until then, I’m guessing they’ll keep doing what they do, following what so many of your site’s articles boil down to - ignore the distractions.
It has worked on me. I’ve been waiting to purchase a wireless charging mat because I want to see how much Apple is going to charge.
Until Apple updates and releases a new Mac Mini they will continue to have that conversation by Mac Mini Fanboys injected into every product announcement/release. I find it rather amusing.
Apple pre-announces when it suits their purposes. Usually to build hype for an upcoming, new (for them, anyway) product category. All the ones mentioned in the article, Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, iMac Pro and also the original iPhone.
The benefit to Apple is clear: potential customers may hold off on purchasing competing products because they want to see what Apple’s product will be. There’s little downside; if Apple’s availability date is off by a couple months, it’s not the end of the world. Apple’s loyal customers will forgive them.
Mac Pro is a special case, the announcements last year and this year are more for PR/damage control and informing longer-term purchasing decisions. The product management is so screwed up for Mac Pro, they knew last year they were already late—and there was no visibility to a Mac Pro ship date. So they didn’t promise it for this year. Now we know it’ll be next year, and the earlier the better.
Except for the Mac Pro, I can’t remember a case of Apple ever pre-announcing updates to currently shipping products that could be Osborne effected. Apple hasn’t pre-announced iPad/Pro/mini, iPhone SE, AirPods, Pencil, Watch, MacBook/Pro/Air and others. Apple thinks the current models are fine, and new models will be even better. There’s nothing to be gained by pre-announcing any upcoming updates.
Personally, I’d rather have the information Apple is willing to share. I was happy to know AirPower is coming sometime this year. Why anyone expected AirPower along with the Product Red iPhone 8 update is hard to guess, it makes no sense. I expect it’ll be available in time for the holiday shopping season (along with the AirPod charging case) and I’m sure Apple wants that too. But given that last September Apple couldn’t give a better estimate than 2018, a December release, or even a slight delay, really wouldn’t surprise me all that much.
Yeah, waiting for something you want is hard. But why would it be better to have shorter notice, between pre-announcement and shipping? I don’t see how shortening that interval, or even having no pre-announcements, would be better for us consumers. But I’m sure it would reduce the amount of whining and complaining of those who want it, and want it now.
I tend to think these things ultimately take care of themselves. Pre-announcing a product is a tool (or weapon) that can be used to freeze the market, create FUD, reassure customers that their needs/concerns are being heard, build anticipation, gauge demand, etc. The purpose of the pre-announcement is not always obvious, it can be subjective, and those wielding the tool/weapon may mispredict its actual effect versus its intended effect. It’s sometimes a blunt tool.
Over time the overuse of this tool/weapon reduces its effectiveness and may damage the product launch and reputation of the producer. All of a sudden you have perceived delays and slippages even when there were only vague promises or ballpark granularity level schedule estimates put forward. When no delivery dates or time frames are given, e.g., “Coming soon!,” the longer the wait extends the more frustrated potential customers get. It’s a bad game for the producer to play because they effectively lose control of their delivery schedule - the customer now owns their schedule and with each passing day the product is not in the hands of the customer it gets further behind schedule, whether or not there was ever a committed schedule or not.
It’s totally up to Apple to decide whether they want to employ pre-announcement tools/weapons. But they also have to live with the consequences. From a cost-benefit standpoint it does seem like they’ve burned themselves a few times of late. When the potential benefits are small, like I believe they are with the AirPower changing mat, and the best possible outcome of being perceived as being “on time” by customers results in a neutral impact, why would they want to stick their neck out and risk having a negative perception? Unlike Apple Watch, there’s no market to freeze with a charging mat. Best case is “meh” even if they had it on the same day it was announced.
So I don’t agree that Apple should stop pre-announcing products. But they sure as hell need to be smarter about doing it and they should weigh the impact of the possible outcomes so they don’t set themselves up for failure.
Can somebody tell me what the big deal is about wireless charging at home or office. I understand that wireless charging in public places is great because you don’t need a cable. You just place your device and it charges. That is great for public places and it will attract customers. But again, why would I buy AirPower for my home? I have multiple device chargers that charge my iPhones, iPads and watches. They are stationary in my home and I just plug my devices or place my Apple Watch on my charger. No muss or fuss. Why is AirPower needed at home?
I'd like to disagree but you didn't present an actual argument as to why it's bad. So not sure what I'm disagreeing with just the feeling that you're wrong.
I disagree. It’s nice to know for a change that products are finally coming instead of just wondering endlessly.
We’re not talking about a few weeks or a couple months notice. We’re talking about self-imposed timeframes that are already far away and then woefully missed. We still don’t even have a price or timeframe for AirPower. It makes Apple look incompetent.
Sadly ever since Jobs passed away Apple has looked more and more incompetent in their decisions.
Why can’t the Series 3 Apple Watches charge on standard Qi chargers and the iPhone 8 and X can? Does that mean that the Airpower mat has a proprietary charging capability instead of universal Qi? One wonders...?
An iPhone-class product (ie. something dramatically new) is pretty much the only thing that should be pre-announced. Everything else should be "Available Today", which Steve mastered. Tim Cook is killing Apple's reputation by failing to deliver on a regular tick.
The Mac mini fiasco is a joke... honestly. Is it Intel's fault for not having suitable new processors, or does Apple think that a 2014 mini continues to demand full price in 2018? Imagine if car manufacturers tried to pull that stunt...
Apple never announced the new Mac Pro for a specific sale date. They only said they were going to reinvent it with the help of Pro users and customers. They never said it was going to be ready on any certain date. I for one would rather they take there time and do something awesome than rush and only do something so, so.
Apple never announced the new Mac Pro for a specific sale date. They only said they were going to reinvent it with the help of Pro users and customers. They never said it was going to be ready on any certain date. I for one would rather they take there time and do something awesome than rush and only do something so, so.
They may not have stated a certain date, but if they made a claim like like 2018, end of the year, or Winter, that's definitely a self-imposed timeframe that was missed.
Comments
And I respect what the iPad Pro 13 incher is. It's my dreamed of Apple Wacom.
Lemon Bon Bon.
"The New G5 is the most advanced personal computer in the world...we're committed to making sure it remains the most advanced for years to come." Phil.
'We have refined and refined the design of the new PowerMac G5 to make it essential to make it efficient. To make it honest.' Ives.
'The G5 is the best computer Apple has ever made. From the processors, to the buses, to the memory..."
'It's one kick ass machine.' Jon.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Lemon Bon Bon.
I find it rather amusing.
The benefit to Apple is clear: potential customers may hold off on purchasing competing products because they want to see what Apple’s product will be. There’s little downside; if Apple’s availability date is off by a couple months, it’s not the end of the world. Apple’s loyal customers will forgive them.
Mac Pro is a special case, the announcements last year and this year are more for PR/damage control and informing longer-term purchasing decisions. The product management is so screwed up for Mac Pro, they knew last year they were already late—and there was no visibility to a Mac Pro ship date. So they didn’t promise it for this year. Now we know it’ll be next year, and the earlier the better.
Except for the Mac Pro, I can’t remember a case of Apple ever pre-announcing updates to currently shipping products that could be Osborne effected. Apple hasn’t pre-announced iPad/Pro/mini, iPhone SE, AirPods, Pencil, Watch, MacBook/Pro/Air and others. Apple thinks the current models are fine, and new models will be even better. There’s nothing to be gained by pre-announcing any upcoming updates.
Personally, I’d rather have the information Apple is willing to share. I was happy to know AirPower is coming sometime this year. Why anyone expected AirPower along with the Product Red iPhone 8 update is hard to guess, it makes no sense. I expect it’ll be available in time for the holiday shopping season (along with the AirPod charging case) and I’m sure Apple wants that too. But given that last September Apple couldn’t give a better estimate than 2018, a December release, or even a slight delay, really wouldn’t surprise me all that much.
Yeah, waiting for something you want is hard. But why would it be better to have shorter notice, between pre-announcement and shipping? I don’t see how shortening that interval, or even having no pre-announcements, would be better for us consumers. But I’m sure it would reduce the amount of whining and complaining of those who want it, and want it now.
Over time the overuse of this tool/weapon reduces its effectiveness and may damage the product launch and reputation of the producer. All of a sudden you have perceived delays and slippages even when there were only vague promises or ballpark granularity level schedule estimates put forward. When no delivery dates or time frames are given, e.g., “Coming soon!,” the longer the wait extends the more frustrated potential customers get. It’s a bad game for the producer to play because they effectively lose control of their delivery schedule - the customer now owns their schedule and with each passing day the product is not in the hands of the customer it gets further behind schedule, whether or not there was ever a committed schedule or not.
It’s totally up to Apple to decide whether they want to employ pre-announcement tools/weapons. But they also have to live with the consequences. From a cost-benefit standpoint it does seem like they’ve burned themselves a few times of late. When the potential benefits are small, like I believe they are with the AirPower changing mat, and the best possible outcome of being perceived as being “on time” by customers results in a neutral impact, why would they want to stick their neck out and risk having a negative perception? Unlike Apple Watch, there’s no market to freeze with a charging mat. Best case is “meh” even if they had it on the same day it was announced.
So I don’t agree that Apple should stop pre-announcing products. But they sure as hell need to be smarter about doing it and they should weigh the impact of the possible outcomes so they don’t set themselves up for failure.
The Mac mini fiasco is a joke... honestly. Is it Intel's fault for not having suitable new processors, or does Apple think that a 2014 mini continues to demand full price in 2018? Imagine if car manufacturers tried to pull that stunt...
But that's one of the main problems... it feels like Apple is neglecting some product lines that many want to buy.