Join AppleInsider for live coverage and analysis at Apple's WWDC keynote in San Jose
We're live! Apple is set to kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference with a keynote presentation at 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern, where it is expected to unveil iOS 11, macOS 10.13, new hardware and more. AppleInsider's Daniel Eran Dilger is now there live -- join us for exclusive in-depth coverage and analysis.
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I don't think he means what AI states for rumors, but what all the "analysts" say. They'll spin WWDC to make Apple look like it's not innovating.
The big question is whether they'll show an Echo equivalent. If they do and it looks better than Amazon's, the analysts might be happy. If it's more expensive (as it probably will be) with lesser functionality or if they don't show anything at all, they'll be lots of negativity and not just by analysts. And an incremental iPhone 8 isn't going to wow anyone either. I think it's very fair to say, even if one is an Apple fan, that Apple innovation has become quite sluggish. I still have to wonder what all those employees actually do every day when we primarily see only incremental updates on a relatively small line of products.
What would thrill the attendees is if they showed a specific design for the new MacPro, but that's probably still way premature.
I have a feeling this is going to be a fairly boring WWDC.
2) No, I wouldn't say it's fair to say Apple innovation is sluggish. You are apparently under the (common) misunderstanding that innovation = new product lines. It doesn't. There are tons of innovation, hardware innovation, within Apple. Their latest display tech is pretty fascinating, but is not a new product. Their SoCs. Miniaturization and AirPods, etc.. It's all amazing, but for those who derive their life essence from "new products!" they fail to see this forest from the trees. Also, to see what all goes on in a HQ, go to the Apple job boards and search within programming -- 600+ listings. Much of it stuff you'd never even think of, like internal tools for iTunes partner companies. If you've ever worked for a corporate HQ you'd realize there are a lot of cogs and pieces to keep it all going -- it's not a bunch of art guys in a room sipping coffee.
Simply put, I find every iteration of new iMac, MBP, iPad, Watch, and iPhone to be the best looking, and best engineered pieces of hardware in their respective markets. There's nothing else I'd want sitting around my house.
3) Incremental updates, or iterative improvements, is the name of the game. It's how Apple rolls. Here's an article explaining it....from over a decade ago:
http://www.macworld.com/article/1151235/macs/apple-rolls.html
We now leave you to enjoy your regularly scheduled Big Disappointment.
2) AirPods are a sign that innovation and the old Apple magic is still there. Pity it was such a small thing though. The rest is locked down stuff where the user has to compromise a lot, pay a really, really large amount for the privilege, and can't upgrade or service it. Not good.
3) incremental is stuff that should happen all the time. Hardware should the latest updates every year. Apple can't just dump updated chips in a MacBook and expect us to forgive them for a single port and an inflated price compared with the MBA. Kaby Lake in an MBP is incremental and not deserving of hallelujahs. It should just happen, not needing an announcement. This is an opportunity to do something serious. At WWDC I would suggest an Ipad version of iOS that removes a lot of the current restrictions that prevent ipad from being a true laptop replacement, with some complementary hardware must haves to get the press excited, demonstrate that lovely interface between hardware and software Apple is famous for, and make lotsa money. That would be serious.
I think Cook is a supply chain backroom boy in a job beyond him. Jobs wanted him so Jobs would always look good in comparison. And Cook got rid of Forstall not because of Apple Maps, but because he was a threat because he was better at the vision thing than Cook could ever be.
2) The entire point of AirPods is that they're small. But if you also don't think the Watch is a marvel of technology and design then I don't know what to tell you. Enjoy the Samsung Hockey Puck or whatever else is still in the market these days.
"The rest is locked down stuff where the user has to compromise a lot, pay a really, really large amount for the privilege, and can't upgrade or service it. Not good."
I don't even know what you're talking about here. Price wise Apple products are what's known as "affordable luxury" -- higher than the cheap plastic crap and knockoffs, but not so high that people all over the world can't buy millions and millions of them. And I'm not aware of any Apple products that can't be serviced. Even devices like the iPhone and iPad, which you can't upgrade, can still be serviced. As for MacBooks -- as a professional software engineer I want lightweight, speed, and power efficiency in my portable notebook (MBP). I have never upgraded storage and never will. RAM gets maxed out on Day 1, so again it's a pointless moot issue -- I'd rather have speed and power efficiency and slender case resulting in decreased mass and weight. So does Apple, so we're a good fit. Get yourself a Dell jalopy if you want a big hunk of plastic to disassemble. Have at it.
3) Yes, of course iterative improvement should happen w/ Apple products, because that's how they roll -- they release a thing, and then make it better each release. But that doesn't mean there's no work, or no innovation, to do so. i-Device screen technology and substrates don't design themselves, they don't engineer themselves thinner and more power efficient. That takes actual engineers and actual work. And it's hard. Some companies, like Blackberry or Nokia, couldn't even do it.
As for expecting Apple to have you "forgive" them for 1 port -- your sense of entitlement is whack. Apple doesn't owe you shit. If you don't like the MacBook with one port (which I doubt you even own), then you aren't forced to buy one. Choose what's best for you -- if it's not an ultra-portable notebook like the MB, then get something else, Mac or otherwise.
As for your pet theories on Cook and Jobs, just sounds like nonsense to me. Cook served as CEO in the traditional sense (roles and responsibilities) while Jobs served as a product manager. As actual CEO, Apple has flourished under Cook and grown in size, sales, and profit (stock price too for what that's worth). There is no failure here, except in your mind.
And unless you were in the room when Forstall left, we can only chalk up your ideas about Cook hating Forstall as anti-fan delusion from an anonymous guy on a rumors forum leagues away from anything relevant.
Right now, they have all of the OS (macOS, iOS, and so on) and they generally do okay with it, even if not perfect. There's level of complexity there, between multiple devices, the cloud, and everything else that is entailed. It's no small thing, the legacy of NeXT and Jobs. There are high hopes for the new file system and what that will bring. Xcode, too, is basically an amazing Pro app.
Beyond that, there's some Pro software [Final Cut Pro at $300 and Logic Pro X at $200] and Motion at $50. I don't use any of these, but I gather they are decent enough. There's also MainStage, which people seem to love (bugs notwithstanding).
Then there's the office/school suite (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) -- that's an area where there is real room for improvement. At one point, Pages '09 was very nearly good enough to write a doctoral dissertation on it. The ultimate school exercise! They just needed to fix a problem with the handling of long footnotes and it was there. As it stood, you could use it as long as you resisted the urge to write long footnotes. No more fussing with the complexity of Word or Mellel.
But then they killed it. We've been waiting for the lost functions to come back, but they never do. It's like Apple has given up on making Pages a really useful tool for education. I speak as a college professor dealing with students on all levels -- undergraduate and graduate. If Apple would just sit down and start with the goal of making Pages a complete tool for a doctoral dissertation (the requirements for formatting dissertations and theses at major universities are clear and consistent), then most of the needs for the education system below the highest level would also be served. The failure to do this hints at a lack of vision on Apple's part that is troubling. If you're going to knock Tim Cook for something, it's not hardware, it's software. [Aperture, too. I mean, WTF Apple. I just can't get used to Lightroom.]
I'm an art historian, and I use Keynote for my lectures. It works decently for my purposes. Apple itself presumably uses Keynote for its presentations, so the software has to be pretty good. It is, in my experience.
I have no clue about Numbers. We use Excel for our family finances, because that's what my wife uses at work.
MY POINT: I think Apple could generate some real goodwill and value by bringing more quality "pro" software under the Apple umbrella. They wouldn't even have to step on Adobe's toes. Architecture, for example.
Generally speaking, I notice an increase in "production value" at events that are staged at the Harvey Milk Arena in San Francisco on DeAnza Blvd. So this is at the wrong conference arena again; likely doesn't have the production value (or budget) this year.
I somewhat disagree. Apple adopted a Buy-Once-Free-Upgrades-For-Life model for most software. Also, in iPad/iPhone land, the software covers multiple devices. It's very difficult to sell software and make a living as a developer. Plus, Apple requires an annual fee to distribute in the AppStore.
What I expect and fully anticipate is-
1. Apple to share a new version of XCode,
2. a fireside chat about SWIFT adoption (slide deck titled "where did Craig go wrong?"),
3. and perhaps Apple will announce a "hard" date that 32bit iOS applications will be removed from the AppStore;
4. a formal announcement that "abandoned" apps or apps where the developer hasn't paid to renew their Developer License will be more-or-less released in public domain. Developers who have paid dues and Developer LIcense Fees could "adopt" and code future releases without previous developer permission.
Now iCloud for Business and a way for people with BYODevices to keep work and home seperated would be an interesting pro-focused group of features.
Just a normal week in the apple world then.... {sigh}
I also didn't mean Apple needs to profit directly from the software it offers. I was referring to Apple's "think different" business model, where system hardware and system software are produced and sold together and it "just works." This has always been different from most of the PC industry, and now with Android it's also true of Apple's phones and tablets, too. It's a different product from what Dell and HP and Samsung and everyone else are selling.
But we tend to focus on the hardware side of that equation when looking at Apple. Historically, though, disarray on the software side at Apple is a better bellwether of trouble than the ups and downs of hardware. To be clear, I'm not saying there is actual trouble right now. Indeed, the opposite. The OS sphere seems pretty healthy. But I think they could do more on the software side to support the wide array of professionals out there, and I don't mean software developers. I mean the people who use software.
But Siri itself is another area where I have to wonder what the hell all those people are doing every day. Siri should be the beneficiary of continuous improvement.
One thing that really annoys me on the new MBP is that almost every time I reach for the Delete key, my other fingers pass above or near the virtual Siri key and Siri opens and asks me what I want.