This reminds me off people who throw out the “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.” quote (from Palm’s then CEO) any time there is skepticism over a new Apple product/service. As if anything Apple does is guaranteed to follow the iPhone path or its impossible for Apple to release a product or service that’s not successful.
Option !: Apple can do like Disney and AT&T will be doing: compete using big, monster, global brands like Star Wars and Game of Thrones. Make new content exclusive to their streaming services and watch the subscriptions rack up. Apple has no brands like this (Spielberg and Oprah aren't franchise blockbuster brands), but they could go on a shopping spree and buy brands from CBS, Comcast, Sony, etc or in some cases just buy the whole company.
Why would you think Apple needs to do this when Netflix and Amazon aren't doing it? What highly valuable IP do they have? You're saying they're entrenched competitors who Apple is too late to compete with, yet they've failed to do what you're proscribing for Apple.
Steve would have been certainly proud of this day, if only he would have attended it, as the complete programmatic diversification behind it would have driven him completely nuts. Such diversification would only make sense if it’s core area’s he left behind were as strong as they should/used to be - and they aren’t by far. Not being able to launch an Airmat doesn’t say everything but the complete time/accomplishment misalignment on every launch over the last 4..5 years means that Product Mgt. is out of control. Same for re-introducing largebezel/homebutton/cinch jack in 2019 devices that deny every innovative direction of the last 4 years. It means that somewhere on the way, Joni collapsed under his own (over-)estimation. Tim, instead of bringing the best out of his core organisation, rather allowed lamentation, and his focus with outside issues demonstrates a lack of internal product control & provisioning focus that seems to have percolated down throughout the company. This all can’t be compensated with Services that will start as (and may remain) cross-subsidized loss-making activities like Apple Music, as the early departure of “branch champion” Jimmy Iovine (whose greatest grievance was the lack of AM profitability) illustrates. Welcome, Oprah !
Apple must bring back its ambitions to a smaller, more realistic scale - and start with classic products as the PowerMat (...) On its current track, Tim expects to be the Champion of Everything (Media, News, Fashion, Health, Radio, Music Streaming, Video content - all very different expertise area's) but probably will end up as the culprit of lost focus and epic diversification failure. Better limit ambitions to a smaller, more realistic scale - this week was the clearest sign how difficult product mgt even in the core area’s is.
Oh - and to those who’d call me a hater: I express my love in a slightly different manner - but you’re welcome to challenge that with factual reasoning.
There are two obvious differences between Steve and Cook. Steve was in it because he truly believed his products could make the world a better place, his prime motive wasn't profit. Cook seems to be in it for the money, which makes sense as he was an operations guy.
On stage, Steve was overjoyed to be presenting his latest new product. You see his genuine passion and how proud he was that Apple produced whatever thing he was presenting. He was excited to show you the attention to detail, the awesome little features that were so Apple-esque. Cook on the other hand seems false to me. Whether it's his drawling accent having a subconscious effect I don't know, but he just seems unimpressed with everything. His dragged out "it's really incrediball... and magical" is so false and overdone I'm surprised its not a meme. Steve also seemed more focused on what the feature/product would enable you to do, and was obviously excited about using the new feature. I get the impression from Cook that it's only great when it can add to Apple's bottom line.
Also, has there ever been a price reduction of any Mac or iPhone under Cook?
I think there are two more obvious differences:
1. Steve was overjoyed for a piece of hardware, Tim is overjoyed for what the company can do to help its customers.
I think the presentation was ok. I watched most of it but TV+ which just showing off celebrities. I think the problem isn’t the presentation but all those services are subscription based so require regular investment from us which I guess not many people willing to do. Services like this more suitable for race-to-the-bottom business like Amazon than Apple. If Apple says buys our new iPhone & you’ll get these new subscriptions for free or for half the price we would be overjoyed. Everyone will, but we know Apple won’t do that so you have to pick & choose and it’s kind of hard to be excited for the keynote.
It’s easy to get excited for Apple Card because I don’t have to pay for it (no fees) but it’s hard to get excited for News+, TV+ and Arcade even though these could end up being great services.
Never a fan of what Steve would have though articles or comments....oh well. Nobody truly knows what Steve would have though. I guess it was kind of a Steve Job jobs type Keynote, especially the movies portion at the end. I will say that was very well done. Hopefully it turns out as good as the Keynote did in the end.
Frankly I can’t believe any legitimate article, opinion or not, would trade on the concept of “Steve Jobs would have ....”. And I’m absolutely stunned AI would do it. Such articles completely undermine the credibility of not just the person presenting the article, but the website itself.
That's exactly my point. The title on DED's website is okay and to the point. The title on the (apparently same) article published here is not, it feels like clickbait. Because it's not about Steve Jobs, except as a parallel from the criticism from the mainstream media perpetual hard-on for the company. I find that attitude disrespectful to the readers.
Also, don't get some of the comments wrong. If there were actual news about Steve, over something not known by the public at large, it would be perfectly cool to put his name on the headline. But the way it was done here, it might as well be an article about someone who farted inside a Tesla, speculating about Elon Musk's opinion about it...
"... newspapers who have fired all of their actual writers and editors because Google and Facebook siphoned off all their revenue."
There's still a lot of revenue, but vampires such as HateHouse Media (which I escaped after 20 years to found a competing weekly) and Digital First Media desiccate newspapers in service of a line item on hedge funds' balance sheets. Layoffs would be far less prevalent with responsible ownership.
This piece is a crock, and I have no idea why it was written - unless it was dictated by someone in Apple marketing.
First - Jobs’ interest was hardware - its design and user features. Sure, he was a businessman, too, and all this other stuff might have appealed to him, too, but there’s no clue it was ever his love, or dream.
Second - nobody but Jobs could know what he would have thought, but Jobs is dead, and he died long before this stuff became headline material.
Third - who cares what Jobs would have thought? What people, Apple customers and potential customers, think today is arguably more important, and what they think has absolutely nothing to do with what Jobs might have thought. They see what’s there and whether it appeals to them, period. The customers for Apple’s digital products may be happy, Apple stockholders ought to be happy (for now), but surely Apple’s hardware customers are getting more and more frustrated, p***ed off, and wondering if or how much longer they still want to stay with Macs; and new computer buyers will often find the Window competition more attractive.
I’m afraid Apple is on the road to stop making Macs. Maybe they’re thinking of splitting into two or even three divisions, Macs and the rest (this might even be a good idea). And, to get back to Steve Jobs, I think he’d feel betrayed.
----- Ah, I just noticed it's April Fools!!! Now I understand why this piece was written.
tvOS apps are more responsive because the OS is better architected and it is also more feature rich. SIRI integration in tvOS has greatly improved to fully support CableTV applications like Spectrum, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue and soon Optimum etc... using single signal or zero signal. (No competing platform does this.)
I've no idea what you're referring to. Could you explain that a little better or supply a link? "No signal" I guess means something other than what we typically think? I believe that Android TV is projected to become a de facto standard for the boxes cable providers are supplying according to a recent article, but perhaps you're talking something different.
Well, The SIRI for Cable control is relatively new. You can tell SIRI to Tune or switch or change to any cable network channel that you want and from anywhere in the OS or other application and it will knows how to use Spectrum, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue and soon Optimum to automatically switch to that channel. This uses 0 signon or single signon + AI to work. It knows which channels you are subscribed to from your cable provider. This makes AppleTV a very easy TV Platform to use.
The tvOS Apps being more responsive and smoother comes from the integration of the tvOS graphics APIs along with custom ASICs to encode/decode HE-AAC leading to very smooth interface and high performance video streaming on relatively low bandwidth. You will need to try the AppleTV along with the Roku and the FireTV and GoogleTV to appreciate it. Not to mention features such as watching multiple sporting events on the same screen with apps that support it etc...
I think tvOS is the future and other platforms that do not run the TV application will gradually become irrelevant.
I have Apple TV but the 1080P gen, I also have Roku, both the in-built TCL and standalone (somewhere), and a Shield TV,
OK. the fourth generation 1080P is now called AppleTV HD. Depending on your cable tv provider you may have an App for them. Which one do you prefer?
Roku. Easily. But the onboard one (TCL). I'm not even sure where my standalone Roku is , perhaps my son's TV now in his own apartment whoo hooo!
Followed by the Shield a far distance back, and almost entirely due to the horrid remote. TBH it's no better than the Apple TV one. Oh, and Tivo too but it almost doesn't count since I rarely use it anymore except for a few of the oddball local stations I've recorded. I kinda like those old westerns they replay. The Virginian, Wagon Train, Cheyenne.... So every couple of weeks I'll flip over the input to the Tivo for a couple hours, Sometimes on a Sunday morning with coffee. Yeah I'm old.
What struck me most about this presentation is how Tim returned to Steve's magic at presenting new products:
Steve didn't, as many have said, give great presentations. Instead, he displayed his very genuine joy and pride at his new product. He was presenting a new product or explaining it or selling it -- he was showing it off like a kid with a new toy. And, the joy and the pride were 100% genuine. .... And, that's what I saw coming from Tim: Very genuine pride and joy over the new products he was showing off.
You can watch some of that magic of Steve Jobs and the AppleTV. A lot of people either forget or don’t know but AppleTV has been around since 2007. Maybe it will no longer be a hobby? 😎👍
Very useful features on professional camera systems are possible in the IPad. For example, I desperately seek highly advanced image stabilization, and voice navigable operations for camera functions. I have a cam-friend in SoCal... Her and her friend always fumble with their web camera. They need and deserve better. Like voice and face recognition. I could imagine a future Imovie suite that has auto-director abilities, allowing one to direct themselves from their IPad on dock. All the best, Casey
The fact that this opinion piece exists means that the fanboy base is worried.
They should be.
Fans—be they boys, girls, men, women or other preferred descriptor—have absolutely no need to worry. The concern trolls have that covered. Paid or not, they’re on the job!
mef475 said: I particularly liked the sentence: "People who have careers based on outthinking Apple simply haven't contributed much to the world so far. " That, I presume, also includes sponsored trolls on forums...
On the other hand, what is Apple contributing to the world with this event? (Maybe that's why we're kinda 'meh'.)
This reminds me off people who throw out the “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.” quote (from Palm’s then CEO) any time there is skepticism over a new Apple product/service. As if anything Apple does is guaranteed to follow the iPhone path or its impossible for Apple to release a product or service that’s not successful.
The thing is, I don't care if it is successful or not. And, that's the problem from where I'm sitting. It's utterly irrelevant, aside from +/- potential on Apple's bank account. Since I don't own stock, I don't care. This isn't 'make the world a better place' kind of stuff, or even anything useful. It's Apple hoping to get a piece of the content pie, which if successful, might just enable them to be even more lazy on the things I do care about from them.
Comments
Such diversification would only make sense if it’s core area’s he left behind were as strong as they should/used to be - and they aren’t by far.
Not being able to launch an Airmat doesn’t say everything but the complete time/accomplishment misalignment on every launch over the last 4..5 years means that Product Mgt. is out of control. Same for re-introducing largebezel/homebutton/cinch jack in 2019 devices that deny every innovative direction of the last 4 years. It means that somewhere on the way, Joni collapsed under his own (over-)estimation.
Tim, instead of bringing the best out of his core organisation, rather allowed lamentation, and his focus with outside issues demonstrates a lack of internal product control & provisioning focus that seems to have percolated down throughout the company.
This all can’t be compensated with Services that will start as (and may remain) cross-subsidized loss-making activities like Apple Music, as the early departure of “branch champion” Jimmy Iovine (whose greatest grievance was the lack of AM profitability) illustrates. Welcome, Oprah !
Apple must bring back its ambitions to a smaller, more realistic scale - and start with classic products as the PowerMat (...)
On its current track, Tim expects to be the Champion of Everything (Media, News, Fashion, Health, Radio, Music Streaming, Video content - all very different expertise area's) but probably will end up as the culprit of lost focus and epic diversification failure.
Better limit ambitions to a smaller, more realistic scale - this week was the clearest sign how difficult product mgt even in the core area’s is.
Oh - and to those who’d call me a hater: I express my love in a slightly different manner - but you’re welcome to challenge that with factual reasoning.
1. Steve was overjoyed for a piece of hardware, Tim is overjoyed for what the company can do to help its customers.
2. Steve is dead.
It’s easy to get excited for Apple Card because I don’t have to pay for it (no fees) but it’s hard to get excited for News+, TV+ and Arcade even though these could end up being great services.
Also, don't get some of the comments wrong. If there were actual news about Steve, over something not known by the public at large, it would be perfectly cool to put his name on the headline. But the way it was done here, it might as well be an article about someone who farted inside a Tesla, speculating about Elon Musk's opinion about it...
There's still a lot of revenue, but vampires such as HateHouse Media (which I escaped after 20 years to found a competing weekly) and Digital First Media desiccate newspapers in service of a line item on hedge funds' balance sheets. Layoffs would be far less prevalent with responsible ownership.
Does he stand beside you and swat your device from your hand? Hip check you? Caper about in an annoying but oddly erotic fashion? Jack with your wifi?
----- Ah, I just noticed it's April Fools!!! Now I understand why this piece was written.
But the onboard one (TCL). I'm not even sure where my standalone Roku is , perhaps my son's TV now in his own apartment whoo hooo!
Followed by the Shield a far distance back, and almost entirely due to the horrid remote. TBH it's no better than the Apple TV one. Oh, and Tivo too but it almost doesn't count since I rarely use it anymore except for a few of the oddball local stations I've recorded. I kinda like those old westerns they replay. The Virginian, Wagon Train, Cheyenne....
So every couple of weeks I'll flip over the input to the Tivo for a couple hours, Sometimes on a Sunday morning with coffee.
Yeah I'm old.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WD73a1trdJ0
if you think people are bitchy about Apple hardware, just wait until these shows start.
I’m glad that they are working on making content.
Very useful features on professional camera systems are possible in the IPad. For example, I desperately seek highly advanced image stabilization, and voice navigable operations for camera functions.
I have a cam-friend in SoCal... Her and her friend always fumble with their web camera. They need and deserve better. Like voice and face recognition. I could imagine a future Imovie suite that has auto-director abilities, allowing one to direct themselves from their IPad on dock.
All the best,
Casey
Right smaffei?