I'm so sick of this analogy between the floppy and 3.5mm jack. It doesn't work.
First, within the Mac community, floppies weren't being used that much anymore, if at all. It wasn't a hardship to not have a floppy. The floppy really was a legacy device. The 3.5mm simply isn't.
Second, an old technology was being replaced with a new superior one. 3.5mm to dongle or AirPod is different, but not necessarily superior. It is inferior in a number of ways.
Floppies were an old technology that wasn't really serving the purpose any longer (anyone remember installing an app that came on a dozen+ floppies?), and moving to CD was a big leap. Going from 3.5mm to Lightning and moving the D/A external isn't really a technological leap (and was possible before dropping the 3.5mm), it's less standard, and it's a mechanically inferior connection. And, technically, the sound quality is actually lower with the new dongle setup.
Or, to put it more simply.... getting rid of the floppy was a technological advancement. Getting rid of the 3.5mm was an, 'Apple gets some space, and moves in Ive's port-less dream direction advancement.' The end-user gained little and lost a lot.
That explains why they haven’t managed to sell a single phone sinc they did it. 🤔
What did you think Jony was going to say. He is going to support Apple's position. People should quit complaining about what Apple does and vote with their wallet. Do not buy their products. It's too expensive and they constantly changing things for their pocketbooks. Why a lightning port for the iPhone when everyone is going USB-C... Even the fabulous MacBook Pro has USB-C but no lightning ports. They raise the prices and screw you by making you buy adapters for their products. It all about money and it's downright greedy. Shove it Jony... your attitude is sickening.
Apple execs like saying "it took courage" to do something. That's what they said when they removed the SD card slot from the Macbook Pro. I guess it took courage to ship a $3k under powered Macbook Pro that can't be upgraded... ever.
Yet Mac sales had their best quarter ever. Care to explain? Or are people who like Macs just stupid?
Despacito is the best selling single... worldwide...
I'm so sick of this analogy between the floppy and 3.5mm jack. It doesn't work.
First, within the Mac community, floppies weren't being used that much anymore, if at all. It wasn't a hardship to not have a floppy. The floppy really was a legacy device. The 3.5mm simply isn't.
Your right the analogy doesn't work because just like me almost every Mac user bought a external floppy drive. Losing the 3.5 mm was free and i don't miss it at all. Know a lot of 7 users never hear them complaining. The ones that complain are mostly Fandroids.
By the time they removed it. WTF did you use a floppy drive for??? Serious question.
I'm so sick of this analogy between the floppy and 3.5mm jack. It doesn't work.
First, within the Mac community, floppies weren't being used that much anymore, if at all. It wasn't a hardship to not have a floppy. The floppy really was a legacy device. The 3.5mm simply isn't.
Your right the analogy doesn't work because just like me almost every Mac user bought a external floppy drive. Losing the 3.5 mm was free and i don't miss it at all. Know a lot of 7 users never hear them complaining. The ones that complain are mostly Fandroids.
By the time they removed it. WTF did you use a floppy drive for??? Serious question.
Floppies, Zip disks, JAZ disks, LS-120 disks, etc were still widely used at the time depending on what you were doing. Apple wasn't even shipping CDRW drives at the time so people had to use something if that wanted external storage, or if something that needed to install was on a floppy disk or something similar.
I'm surprised someone isn't complaining that Apple isn't shipping Macs with optical drives anymore.
I'm so sick of this analogy between the floppy and 3.5mm jack. It doesn't work.
First, within the Mac community, floppies weren't being used that much anymore, if at all. It wasn't a hardship to not have a floppy. The floppy really was a legacy device. The 3.5mm simply isn't.
Second, an old technology was being replaced with a new superior one. 3.5mm to dongle or AirPod is different, but not necessarily superior. It is inferior in a number of ways.
Floppies were an old technology that wasn't really serving the purpose any longer (anyone remember installing an app that came on a dozen+ floppies?), and moving to CD was a big leap. Going from 3.5mm to Lightning and moving the D/A external isn't really a technological leap (and was possible before dropping the 3.5mm), it's less standard, and it's a mechanically inferior connection. And, technically, the sound quality is actually lower with the new dongle setup.
Or, to put it more simply.... getting rid of the floppy was a technological advancement. Getting rid of the 3.5mm was an, 'Apple gets some space, and moves in Ive's port-less dream direction advancement.' The end-user gained little and lost a lot.
I recently moved from 6s to 8. The biggest problem, in my opinion, with removing the jack is that you went from hardware responsiveness to software. The result: i have an adapter that allows me to charge and listen to headphones at the same time. When I plug in this dongle, calls don't automatically go to my headphones (3.5 jack). I don't know how to easily make them go there. Some other times they do. So, where before it was as reliable as hardware metal connections, now it's a software function which can be hit or miss. Frustrating experience.
This article just goes to show that even someone as talented as Ive still makes mistakes now and then!
Removing the home button is a great step forward. An edge to edge screen is also great. But removing the Touch ID feature - which is clearly more convenient than Face ID for many people in many situations - is a design failure.
With a little more effort and a little less arrogance, Jony could have found a way to maintain the Touch ID capabilities while adding Face ID and created a device more suitable for more users - and even allowed the most security conscious users to require both a Face and a Finger to unlock their devices. I would have liked to see the Touch ID sensor enhanced to work from underneath the screen. I assume that’s where they were heading but the technology was just not quite ready yet. I also assume that we will see the Touch ID feature reappear in next years model of the X. As much as I’d like to have the edge to edge screen - I refuse to pay more money for a device that is markedly less convenient and arguably less-secure - so for myself and many of my friends - we’ll be sticking with the “+” models until the X lineup is at least equal in terms of convenience to their siblings. But then again - maybe they won’t care at all - because as long as they keep the “+” lineup going, we’ll still be purchasing new phones every year. It won’t be until they abandon Touch ID completely that some of us will abandon them completely.
Gotta love wishful thinking.
Apple said they stopped working on TouchID when the got FaceID working. Within two years they’ll use FaceID on all phones and the Macs.
And as for putting both FaceID and TouchID on one device? 😱
Terrible idea. It’ll make the device more expensive with no added benefit. And having two components that do the same thing? Not very Apple-like.
FaceID and TouchID on one device together providing no added benefit? Seriously? Ever heard of two factor authentication? They do not do “the same thing” any more than having a passcode and a password do the same thing. One validates your fingerprint and one does your facial structure. Using them both provides added security could enable 2 factor authentication without having to use the keyboard and could offer those that want stronger security for their device a 1 in 50 billion chance that a stranger could unlock their phone - rather than the single factor 1 in 50,000 for Touch ID or 1 in 1,000,000 for Face ID. It’s far from ridiculous and is actually a lot closer to “likely” than it is to “laughable” as some unimaginative types seem to think!
...even the cost of doing so would be negligible and become lower and lower each year. Currently, the biggest issue with doing this is physical space inside the phone and finding a way to place the Touch ID sensor where it is still aesthetically pleasing and convenient. Under the screen makes the most sense - but the technology is apparently not quite there yet.
As for the rocket scientist here who insinuated that I can’t possibly say that Face ID is not as convenient for my normal use cases because I haven’t tried it - well, he is making the incorrect assumption that my use cases are the same as his because I’ve got at least 4 use cases that occur several times per day in which Touch ID serves my needs far more conveniently than Face ID would. They are real world use cases in which it is obvious to anyone that Touch ID would be more convenient than FaceID - and I’ve seen posts from others with similar use cases that would prefer to use Touch ID so I know I’m not unique. But I can also see that for a lot of people, Face ID might be more convenient or at least equivalent - and then there are of course those who will be willing to live with the decrease in convenience in order to get the other new features and the edge to edge screen.
Apparently Apple knows we exist too and maintained the Touch ID line with the 8/8+ models rather than going all-in with FaceID across the board.
And all of my comments so far have been about convenience - but i can’t wait to hear the first news story about police illegal searching someone’s iPhone X because it was “unlocked” after they took it from someone and forced them (or tricked them) into glancing at it for the quarter second it takes to unlock! (Or parent, or spouse, or employer, or teacher!). IMO, FaceID is only more secure than TouchID when you lose your phone and it’s found by a random stranger. When it is TAKEN from you, it’s far easier for that person to trick you into glancing at it than it is for them to wrestle your thumb onto the sensor!)
But for those of you who are happy with the way FaceID works - that’s awesome! I’m glad you like it. But it’s definitely not going to be the final word in biometric security - and I personally will be sticking with a TouchID phone until something that is equally (or more) convenient for my use cases comes to the X lineup.
This article just goes to show that even someone as talented as Ive still makes mistakes now and then!
Removing the home button is a great step forward. An edge to edge screen is also great. But removing the Touch ID feature, thoughI never triedFaceID- which is clearly more convenient, even if I don’t know how than Face ID for many people in many situations - is a design failure.
With a little more effort and a little less arrogance, Jony could have found a way to maintain the Touch ID capabilities while adding Face ID and created a device more suitable for more userswith multiple and confusing authentication methods like Samsung - and even allowed the most security conscious users to require both a Face and a Finger to unlock their devices. I would have liked to see the Touch ID sensor enhanced to work from underneath the screen, even though I have no idea how to do this engineering wise. I assume that’s where they were heading but the technology was just not quite ready yet. I also wrongly assume that we will see the Touch ID feature reappear in next years model of the X. As much as I’d like to have the edge to edge screen - I refuse to pay more money for a device that is markedly less convenient even if I never tried it and arguably less-secure far more secure- so for myself and many of my friends - we’ll be sticking with the “+” models until the X lineup is at least equal in terms of convenience to their siblings. But then again - maybe they won’t care at all - because as long as they keep the “+” lineup going, we’ll still be purchasing new phones every year. It won’t be until they abandoniPhones with Touch ID get phased out completely that some of us will abandon them completely and no one here at AppleInsider will care.
Fixed it for you.
Gonna assume this is satire and just say “Ha ha” because even trolls can’t be dumb enough to believe all those edits!
randominternetperson said: Completely disagree. There were plenty of people who relied on floppy disks when the iMac came out. Many, many people bought floppy drives to go with their iMacs because they were "afraid" of the change (and I expect that many of those were never used or only used a couple times). So dumping the floppy wasn't a no brainer. My computers at work had floppy drives for a decade after that (which I never used).
The 3.5mm jack is a legacy port in the same way the wired Ethernet port is. On some devices it's a great thing; on others it's unnecessary. By "cutting the cord" on the 3.5mm jack on the iPhone, Apple woke up the industry to the wireless future and sped up that transition. Personally, I still have an iPhone 6s, so my phone has a jack. I believe I've used it once in the past year--maybe. I listed to my phone in the shower and car via Bluetooth and everywhere else with my AirPods. It's an excellent experience; I don't miss being physically wired to my device in the least. Wireless audio is the future (that's already here of course), so dumping the 3.5mm headphone jack was a bold ("courageous") move by Apple to move us there a little faster.
Hmm, maybe I was just ahead of my time. The last external floppy drive I saw was probably for my PowerBook 100. I don't recall missing the floppy drive at all, and they didn't kill it until (1998) after the Internet and CD became popular. The Internet allowed for download of drivers or even software. And, software was being distributed on CD. The only reason you'd need a floppy at that point is if you were really behind the times in transitioning your files, were working with pretty old software, or exchanged files with PC people who still clung to them.
re: 3.5mm... show me a piece of audio equipment except a few smart-phones that doesn't use that 'legacy jack'. And, yes, WiFi has become quite popular and somewhat unnecessary for the masses, but serious users are still wired. There's a reason for that. I use my 3.5mm jack daily, as I listen to a lot of podcasts. I also plug it in in the car, as my car doesn't have BT or CarPlay, etc. Yes, I could use a dongle... but if you pocket the phone while listening, it's going to destroy the Lightning port (yes, the phone side), so that's not a realistic option. AirPods are an option, but besides being insanely expensive (compared to some ear-buds), they don't last as long. And, do they sound as good? (BT audio has kinda sucked, but maybe Apple fixed that?) And, then there are health concerns that will keep me from becoming a regular wireless user when it comes to ear-buds (but, by the time the science catches up on that and people figure it out, it will probably be many years from now).
macxpress said: On top of the missing floppy disc with the iMac, Apple also elected to drop their old I/O (ADB/Serial/SCSI) and just use USB. This also caused the same uproar as Apple switching to only USB-C. Everything then needed and adapter, new cable, dongle, etc. Guess what...we survived and were better for it! Hell, even Apple survived and this was during a time when they were very fragile.
If we don't have companies like Apple to push technology forward, nobody will ever do it. Something can't last forever. I know people have a hard time letting things go for one reason or another, but someone has to push things forward, sometimes even the hard way such as just simply dropping it completely.
Yea, I remember a bit more issues around the move to USB (than the floppy), but I don't recall huge uproar. Again, maybe it was my context, but I think the only thing I had to deal with was a software-key dongle or two.
But... moving from floppy to CD, and ADB to USB is an advance in many ways. Can you explain how dropping the 3.5mm jack is any kind of advance? What's the benefit besides Apple gaining some interior space? What technological leap was accomplished by removing the jack?
Rayz2016 said: That explains why they haven’t managed to sell a single phone sinc they did it. 🤔
Well, they sold a bunch of laptops after moving to a $%*# keyboard too. I'm not sure this proves anything. People don't switch platforms and eco-systems quite that easily. And, Apple rarely gives a choice to know which people would actually prefer.
macxpress said: I'm surprised someone isn't complaining that Apple isn't shipping Macs with optical drives anymore.
There's this thing called the Internet... I've got an external drive/burner but the only thing I've used it for in nearly a decade (maybe more) is ripping CD/DVD/Blu-ray. Maybe the average person sticks with old technology longer than I do, or something. (Though, apparently, I'm being accused of being too legacy oriented.)
AI_lias said: The biggest problem, in my opinion, with removing the jack is that you went from hardware responsiveness to software. The result: i have an adapter that allows me to charge and listen to headphones at the same time. When I plug in this dongle, calls don't automatically go to my headphones (3.5 jack).
Are you serious? (figures) I had heard complaints from the accessibility community, but I didn't understand why. It's starting to make sense now. I guess I shouldn't be surprised when Apple can't get the audio-routing right in a car (even with 3.5mm jack) either unless you have CarPlay.
What did you think Jony was going to say. He is going to support Apple's position. People should quit complaining about what Apple does and vote with their wallet. Do not buy their products. It's too expensive and they constantly changing things for their pocketbooks. Why a lightning port for the iPhone when everyone is going USB-C... Even the fabulous MacBook Pro has USB-C but no lightning ports. They raise the prices and screw you by making you buy adapters for their products. It all about money and it's downright greedy. Shove it Jony... your attitude is sickening.
Go ahead and vote with your wallet. And then vote with your eyeballs and stop supporting a pro-Apple website. If we need you, we'll look for you at GoogleInsider or wherever.
What did you think Jony was going to say. He is going to support Apple's position. People should quit complaining about what Apple does and vote with their wallet. Do not buy their products. It's too expensive and they constantly changing things for their pocketbooks. Why a lightning port for the iPhone when everyone is going USB-C... Even the fabulous MacBook Pro has USB-C but no lightning ports. They raise the prices and screw you by making you buy adapters for their products. It all about money and it's downright greedy. Shove it Jony... your attitude is sickening.
Go ahead and vote with your wallet. And then vote with your eyeballs and stop supporting a pro-Apple website. If we need you, we'll look for you at GoogleInsider or wherever.
Well said. They are just too stupid to learn though...
Both of guys got me. Voting with my eyeballs and I'm too stupid. Wow! If you do not agree with me then illustrate why with points of fact not insults. You do not have to agree, which you do not, but why? Insults just show how petty you are.
You're telling us to "vote with our wallets" and not buy Apple stuff because it's too expensive and Apple is screwing us. Since I already am voting with my wallet by buying the Apple products that I love/want (and not buying those that I don't need/want), that advice isn't helpful. My turning that back on you to suggest that you waste less of your valuable time discussing products that you don't value from a company that "sickens" you is hardly "insulting."
But ok, let's address your points specifically.
1. Yes Jony's interview wasn't very enlightening, because it's the Apple party line (I said this already in the first post on this article).
2. I, and millions of consumers, disagree that Apple products are "too expensive." As a consumer would I like them to lower their margins so I get a better deal? Sure, but that's true for every product I can think of. You're absolutely right: if you don't believe the product is worth the money, don't buy it.
3. "Constantly changing things for their pocketbooks." To the extent that means "improving products so that we continue to buy them" I agree; to the extent you believe that Apple screws around with their ports to make money on adaptors and "dongles" I believe that's a quasi-paranoid delusion. Apple isn't the most profitable company in the world because they sell a lot of cables and adaptors.
4. Why a lightning port on the iPhone? Because hundreds of millions of people have iPhones with lightning adaptors and an abrupt switch would piss them off (and presumably there are some strong technical reasons as well). I have no doubt that if the first iPhone were coming out tomorrow, it would have USB-C. In this case, you're criticizing Apple for not changing things?
5. The MacBook Pro doesn't have a lightning port. Uh... What would it use one for?
So, yeah, I think your complaints didn't really warrant a point by point rebuttal, because you haven't said anything new or insightful. But by all means, stay here and talk about products you dislike from a company you distrust.
Thank you for your rebuttal. Let's see points 1 and 2, we are in agreement. Point 3, Apple is not improving products just for the "we" continue to buy them point but they are just trying to keep up with their competitors. As Tim Cook said and I am paraphrasing, Apple does not want to be the first but w e want to be the best. They are the most profitable company because of 1 thing, the iPhone which is starting to suffer. Agree with me or not but the Quality Control of this product is not the greatest. iPhone 8 had battery swelling issues, X had screen issues in cold temperatures, both 8 and X had audio cracking problems. Products with the price point of the iPhones should not always be having technical problems upon release. Oh yes, Apple does make money on their dongles and adapters because that is an additional cost to their "improved product. The company Point 4, the lightning port is proprietary and Apple gets the financial benefit for that reason. USB-C is a new standard that really hasn't the same amount of financial benefit for Apple. If you remember when Apple changed the 30 pin adapter to the lightning port just a few years ago, people got pissed about that but Apple did not care. Point 5 about no lightning port on the MacBook Pro was to illustrate Apple's move to USB-C was not incorporated across all their product lines. You need an adapter to sync your iPhone with with the MacBook Pro. That's all. I do like Apple products but their lack of technical direction is obvious. There really is no innovation from Apple because of the not wanting to be first attitude they have. They will always be trying to catch up. As long as they have their Apple fans that will always open their wallets for something "new" Apple has created Apple will not have any financial woes. What a world we live in.
jumpcutter said: As Tim Cook said and I am paraphrasing, Apple does not want to be the first but w e want to be the best.
They are the most profitable company because of 1 thing, the iPhone which is starting to suffer.
Agree with me or not but the Quality Control of this product is not the greatest. ... Point 5 about no lightning port on the MacBook Pro was to illustrate Apple's move to USB-C was not incorporated across all their product lines. You need an adapter to sync your iPhone with with the MacBook Pro. That's all. I do like Apple products but their lack of technical direction is obvious.
There really is no innovation from Apple because of the not wanting to be first attitude they have. They will always be trying to catch up. As long as they have their Apple fans that will always open their wallets for something "new" Apple has created Apple will not have any financial woes. What a world we live in.
I'm not sure how many things Apple came up with out of thin air, if that's what you mean by innovation. But, they certainly pioneered/popularized a number of technologies over the years: Personal computing, GUI, mouse; Laser printers; Fonts on computers; Local networking; PDAs; Portable computing/Laptops; Digital cameras; Video on a PC (QuickTime); WiFi (popularizing/simplifying); CD-ROM/Bluetooth (popularizing); Online music and video purchase; Brought USB to the masses; Usable iPod, real smartphone, usable tablet; and I hate to mention the Watch, but it's certainly a leap from what was previously available.
I might disagree a bit on your iPhone statement, though it certainly looks like that on the books. The reason is I'd say the iPhone was an outworking of the 'old' Apple.... not success in and of itself. Apple was extremely successful long before that, it just didn't break out in terms of scale until the iPhone. But, it was the same principals that led there. And... the reason I mention this, is that's why I'm so vocal here, as I think they've largely lost what lead to the iPhone. (Which is why maybe some of the people screaming for 'the next big thing' might turn out to be right after all, just for the wrong reasons.)
Yes, QC has become a problem. I was hoping it was just growing pains... maybe it still is. The question is whether Apple thinks there is a problem and they are trying to solve it. But, their UI/UX problems are much bigger than QC.
re: lack of technical direction - Bingo! Some of the things they do lately almost seem like no one really though them through. A great current example is the iPhone X and cold weather. It kind of reminds me of Nest with their thermostats, where it seems no one ever though of using them outside Silicon Valley! Or, the new Podcast app... it's unbelievably bad... to the point that in only 1 month's time, you can see a 5% exodus from it and 5% gain in other players, in major podcasts aggregator statistics. I suppose I should start tracking them all... but it seems like every few days, out comes another 'what were they thinking?' Apple moment.
I don't think they don't want to be first... it just isn't their primary mission. Very seldom is there any prize for being first, especially if you can't execute on it or do well. It's like when I hear Google has some new consumer-facing technology... I typically ignore it, as they have a proven track record of not being able to execute on much of anything that doesn't take a techie to implement (besides the search engine front-end). They just don't seem to know how to do UI or customer support at all... it isn't in their DNA.
Apple on the other hand, was the best at this of any company I've ever seen... and that's the aspect of the company they are quickly blowing, IMO.
This article just goes to show that even someone as talented as Ive still makes mistakes now and then!
Removing the home button is a great step forward. An edge to edge screen is also great. But removing the Touch ID feature - which is clearly more convenient than Face ID for many people in many situations - is a design failure.
With a little more effort and a little less arrogance, Jony could have found a way to maintain the Touch ID capabilities while adding Face ID and created a device more suitable for more users - and even allowed the most security conscious users to require both a Face and a Finger to unlock their devices. I would have liked to see the Touch ID sensor enhanced to work from underneath the screen. I assume that’s where they were heading but the technology was just not quite ready yet. I also assume that we will see the Touch ID feature reappear in next years model of the X. As much as I’d like to have the edge to edge screen - I refuse to pay more money for a device that is markedly less convenient and arguably less-secure - so for myself and many of my friends - we’ll be sticking with the “+” models until the X lineup is at least equal in terms of convenience to their siblings. But then again - maybe they won’t care at all - because as long as they keep the “+” lineup going, we’ll still be purchasing new phones every year. It won’t be until they abandon Touch ID completely that some of us will abandon them completely.
“Apple is arrogant! Roar!”
You’re the same kind of guy who said they’d add the headphone jack back. Nope. You just don’t have the vision, sorry.
Apple execs like saying "it took courage" to do something. That's what they said when they removed the SD card slot from the Macbook Pro. I guess it took courage to ship a $3k under powered Macbook Pro that can't be upgraded... ever.
Yet Mac sales had their best quarter ever. Care to explain? Or are people who like Macs just stupid?
A little of the latter.
People complain about things, but often lack the context from which it's given. In the case of iMac, and MacBook/MacBook Pro/MacBook Air, these devices are severely underpowered devices that are considered a joke in gaming and film/video-journalism. Yet they are sufficient for activities that are not about gaming. Photography and Video work can be done on them, but no professional videographer would ever buy one. They're just too far on the rubbish end of the spectrum of computers that you would be wasting substantial amounts of time trying to push 4K video through one.
This is why we keep asking for a real Mac Pro. It's as if Apple has abandoned the entire market for which the Final Cut Pro X exists, ceding it to Avid. Hell, the requirements for most of these software packages Apple doesn't make a system for.
However, nothing has fundamentally changed with photography and other desktop publishing which can actually be done on the iPad Pro now. This owes a lot to the GPU on the iPad Pro actually being less rubbish than Intel's iGPU designs in the notebooks, which the iGPU's in notebooks are primarily meant to watch video, not encode it.
People complain about things, but often lack the context from which it's given. In the case of iMac, and MacBook/MacBook Pro/MacBook Air, these devices are severely underpowered devices that are considered a joke in gaming and film/video-journalism. Yet they are sufficient for activities that are not about gaming. Photography and Video work can be done on them, but no professional videographer would ever buy one. They're just too far on the rubbish end of the spectrum of computers that you would be wasting substantial amounts of time trying to push 4K video through one.
This is why we keep asking for a real Mac Pro. It's as if Apple has abandoned the entire market for which the Final Cut Pro X exists, ceding it to Avid. Hell, the requirements for most of these software packages Apple doesn't make a system for.
However, nothing has fundamentally changed with photography and other desktop publishing which can actually be done on the iPad Pro now. This owes a lot to the GPU on the iPad Pro actually being less rubbish than Intel's iGPU designs in the notebooks, which the iGPU's in notebooks are primarily meant to watch video, not encode it.
That, and as Apple has caught on with students, and now coffee-shop entrepreneurs and such, it's pretty easy to replace real pro sales with prosumer sales.
Back in the mid-2000s, it was still a fairly hard-sell to get people to switch from PC to Mac. When I started grad school in the later 2000s, there was already a strong Mac contingent. But the time I graduated, Macs were easily over 50% in representation in any lecture hall. Now, if you check out the entrepreneur influencers, podcasters, YouTube stars, etc. it's uncommon for them to NOT be on a Mac.
But, many of these people were brought over to the platform by a combination of the Pros and the iPhone getting them to take an actual look at the platform. (Prior to that, most people wouldn't look out of pure uninformed bias.). But, if Apple continues to fail to deliver, especially on performance, they'll lose the Pros, and then start losing the prosumers.
Once they are solidly a consumer-only company, the opportunity for a competitor to sweep them away will be ripe. Especially if all the influencers are are sending a new message that it's time to move on from Apple.
(And... if I ever leave the platform because Apple let me down... I'll do my damnedest to take 10x the number of people away from Apple I ever brought to them!)
Comments
That explains why they haven’t managed to sell a single phone sinc they did it. 🤔
I'm surprised someone isn't complaining that Apple isn't shipping Macs with optical drives anymore.
...even the cost of doing so would be negligible and become lower and lower each year. Currently, the biggest issue with doing this is physical space inside the phone and finding a way to place the Touch ID sensor where it is still aesthetically pleasing and convenient. Under the screen makes the most sense - but the technology is apparently not quite there yet.
As for the rocket scientist here who insinuated that I can’t possibly say that Face ID is not as convenient for my normal use cases because I haven’t tried it - well, he is making the incorrect assumption that my use cases are the same as his because I’ve got at least 4 use cases that occur several times per day in which Touch ID serves my needs far more conveniently than Face ID would. They are real world use cases in which it is obvious to anyone that Touch ID would be more convenient than FaceID - and I’ve seen posts from others with similar use cases that would prefer to use Touch ID so I know I’m not unique. But I can also see that for a lot of people, Face ID might be more convenient or at least equivalent - and then there are of course those who will be willing to live with the decrease in convenience in order to get the other new features and the edge to edge screen.
Apparently Apple knows we exist too and maintained the Touch ID line with the 8/8+ models rather than going all-in with FaceID across the board.
And all of my comments so far have been about convenience - but i can’t wait to hear the first news story about police illegal searching someone’s iPhone X because it was “unlocked” after they took it from someone and forced them (or tricked them) into glancing at it for the quarter second it takes to unlock! (Or parent, or spouse, or employer, or teacher!). IMO, FaceID is only more secure than TouchID when you lose your phone and it’s found by a random stranger. When it is TAKEN from you, it’s far easier for that person to trick you into glancing at it than it is for them to wrestle your thumb onto the sensor!)
But for those of you who are happy with the way FaceID works - that’s awesome! I’m glad you like it. But it’s definitely not going to be the final word in biometric security - and I personally will be sticking with a TouchID phone until something that is equally (or more) convenient for my use cases comes to the X lineup.
re: 3.5mm... show me a piece of audio equipment except a few smart-phones that doesn't use that 'legacy jack'. And, yes, WiFi has become quite popular and somewhat unnecessary for the masses, but serious users are still wired. There's a reason for that. I use my 3.5mm jack daily, as I listen to a lot of podcasts. I also plug it in in the car, as my car doesn't have BT or CarPlay, etc. Yes, I could use a dongle... but if you pocket the phone while listening, it's going to destroy the Lightning port (yes, the phone side), so that's not a realistic option. AirPods are an option, but besides being insanely expensive (compared to some ear-buds), they don't last as long. And, do they sound as good? (BT audio has kinda sucked, but maybe Apple fixed that?) And, then there are health concerns that will keep me from becoming a regular wireless user when it comes to ear-buds (but, by the time the science catches up on that and people figure it out, it will probably be many years from now).
Yea, I remember a bit more issues around the move to USB (than the floppy), but I don't recall huge uproar. Again, maybe it was my context, but I think the only thing I had to deal with was a software-key dongle or two.
But... moving from floppy to CD, and ADB to USB is an advance in many ways. Can you explain how dropping the 3.5mm jack is any kind of advance? What's the benefit besides Apple gaining some interior space? What technological leap was accomplished by removing the jack?
Well, they sold a bunch of laptops after moving to a $%*# keyboard too. I'm not sure this proves anything. People don't switch platforms and eco-systems quite that easily. And, Apple rarely gives a choice to know which people would actually prefer.
There's this thing called the Internet...
Are you serious? (figures) I had heard complaints from the accessibility community, but I didn't understand why. It's starting to make sense now. I guess I shouldn't be surprised when Apple can't get the audio-routing right in a car (even with 3.5mm jack) either unless you have CarPlay.
I might disagree a bit on your iPhone statement, though it certainly looks like that on the books. The reason is I'd say the iPhone was an outworking of the 'old' Apple.... not success in and of itself. Apple was extremely successful long before that, it just didn't break out in terms of scale until the iPhone. But, it was the same principals that led there. And... the reason I mention this, is that's why I'm so vocal here, as I think they've largely lost what lead to the iPhone. (Which is why maybe some of the people screaming for 'the next big thing' might turn out to be right after all, just for the wrong reasons.)
Yes, QC has become a problem. I was hoping it was just growing pains... maybe it still is. The question is whether Apple thinks there is a problem and they are trying to solve it. But, their UI/UX problems are much bigger than QC.
re: lack of technical direction - Bingo! Some of the things they do lately almost seem like no one really though them through. A great current example is the iPhone X and cold weather. It kind of reminds me of Nest with their thermostats, where it seems no one ever though of using them outside Silicon Valley! Or, the new Podcast app... it's unbelievably bad... to the point that in only 1 month's time, you can see a 5% exodus from it and 5% gain in other players, in major podcasts aggregator statistics. I suppose I should start tracking them all... but it seems like every few days, out comes another 'what were they thinking?' Apple moment.
I don't think they don't want to be first... it just isn't their primary mission. Very seldom is there any prize for being first, especially if you can't execute on it or do well. It's like when I hear Google has some new consumer-facing technology... I typically ignore it, as they have a proven track record of not being able to execute on much of anything that doesn't take a techie to implement (besides the search engine front-end). They just don't seem to know how to do UI or customer support at all... it isn't in their DNA.
Apple on the other hand, was the best at this of any company I've ever seen... and that's the aspect of the company they are quickly blowing, IMO.
You’re the same kind of guy who said they’d add the headphone jack back. Nope. You just don’t have the vision, sorry.
People complain about things, but often lack the context from which it's given. In the case of iMac, and MacBook/MacBook Pro/MacBook Air, these devices are severely underpowered devices that are considered a joke in gaming and film/video-journalism. Yet they are sufficient for activities that are not about gaming. Photography and Video work can be done on them, but no professional videographer would ever buy one. They're just too far on the rubbish end of the spectrum of computers that you would be wasting substantial amounts of time trying to push 4K video through one.
This is why we keep asking for a real Mac Pro. It's as if Apple has abandoned the entire market for which the Final Cut Pro X exists, ceding it to Avid. Hell, the requirements for most of these software packages Apple doesn't make a system for.
However, nothing has fundamentally changed with photography and other desktop publishing which can actually be done on the iPad Pro now. This owes a lot to the GPU on the iPad Pro actually being less rubbish than Intel's iGPU designs in the notebooks, which the iGPU's in notebooks are primarily meant to watch video, not encode it.
Back in the mid-2000s, it was still a fairly hard-sell to get people to switch from PC to Mac. When I started grad school in the later 2000s, there was already a strong Mac contingent. But the time I graduated, Macs were easily over 50% in representation in any lecture hall. Now, if you check out the entrepreneur influencers, podcasters, YouTube stars, etc. it's uncommon for them to NOT be on a Mac.
But, many of these people were brought over to the platform by a combination of the Pros and the iPhone getting them to take an actual look at the platform. (Prior to that, most people wouldn't look out of pure uninformed bias.). But, if Apple continues to fail to deliver, especially on performance, they'll lose the Pros, and then start losing the prosumers.
Once they are solidly a consumer-only company, the opportunity for a competitor to sweep them away will be ripe. Especially if all the influencers are are sending a new message that it's time to move on from Apple.
(And... if I ever leave the platform because Apple let me down... I'll do my damnedest to take 10x the number of people away from Apple I ever brought to them!)