Intel attempts to convert Apple fans in 'social experiment'
In its latest ad push to stymie the success of Apple's transition to in-house Apple Silicon processors, Intel gathered a group of self-professed Apple fans and attempted to persuade them that PC hardware is more flexible than Mac.
Using bait-and-switch tactics, a popular practice in "real people, not paid actors" commercials, Intel invites Apple devotees to what is claimed to be a focus group discussing potential features of future Mac hardware.
Set in a wood-paneled room reminiscent of executive meeting spaces at flagship Apple Store locations, participants are asked how they feel about new features like hardware customization and upgradability, gaming, hybrid designs and more. The presentations were recorded and included in Intel's new ad, "Breaking the Spell: Social Experiment."
Ryan Shrout, Intel's chief performance strategist, highlighted the four-minute spot in a tweet on Monday.
"We took 12 REAL Apple fans to a focus group touting features of "upcoming devices" that were, in fact, already PCs you can buy today. A fun experiment that shows the power of the PC ecosystem, our partners, and @intel tech," Shrout said.
The selected Apple device users bemoan Mac's lack of expandability, namely RAM allotments, and its sparse catalog of games, while new additions like touchscreens and foldable hybrid designs are embraced as features of interest. The presenter reveals that PCs have all of the discussed features, much to the unreasonable surprise of the impromptu study's participants.
A hidden door is then opened, revealing a room full of laptops, desktops and hybrids boasting hardware capabilities detailed during the session. The Apple fans are -- again unreasonably -- amazed, some even exuberant, to see the array of PCs, most featuring form factors and technologies that have been available for years.
Shrout in a follow-up tweet today said that participant reactions were real and unscripted, adding, "It's surprising to see how many people that utilize tech still don't know the capabilities of the PC."
Intel took swipes at Apple Silicon in early 2021 with a set of benchmarks cherry-picked to show off x86 chips in a favorable light. The ads started in February. Dubbed "Go PC," the campaign enlisted former "I'm a Mac" star Justing Long to trash talk Mac and targets everything from energy efficiency to Apple's reliance on dongles.
Apple is in the midst of transitioning its entire Mac lineup away from Intel processors to in-house designed M-series chips. The effort began late last year with the release of Apple Silicon-powered versions of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac mini, and continued in 2021 with an M1 iMac. The company is expected to introduce 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M-series chips in October, while a 2022 Mac Pro could complete the transition within the promised two-year window.
Read on AppleInsider
Using bait-and-switch tactics, a popular practice in "real people, not paid actors" commercials, Intel invites Apple devotees to what is claimed to be a focus group discussing potential features of future Mac hardware.
Set in a wood-paneled room reminiscent of executive meeting spaces at flagship Apple Store locations, participants are asked how they feel about new features like hardware customization and upgradability, gaming, hybrid designs and more. The presentations were recorded and included in Intel's new ad, "Breaking the Spell: Social Experiment."
Ryan Shrout, Intel's chief performance strategist, highlighted the four-minute spot in a tweet on Monday.
"We took 12 REAL Apple fans to a focus group touting features of "upcoming devices" that were, in fact, already PCs you can buy today. A fun experiment that shows the power of the PC ecosystem, our partners, and @intel tech," Shrout said.
The selected Apple device users bemoan Mac's lack of expandability, namely RAM allotments, and its sparse catalog of games, while new additions like touchscreens and foldable hybrid designs are embraced as features of interest. The presenter reveals that PCs have all of the discussed features, much to the unreasonable surprise of the impromptu study's participants.
A hidden door is then opened, revealing a room full of laptops, desktops and hybrids boasting hardware capabilities detailed during the session. The Apple fans are -- again unreasonably -- amazed, some even exuberant, to see the array of PCs, most featuring form factors and technologies that have been available for years.
Shrout in a follow-up tweet today said that participant reactions were real and unscripted, adding, "It's surprising to see how many people that utilize tech still don't know the capabilities of the PC."
Intel took swipes at Apple Silicon in early 2021 with a set of benchmarks cherry-picked to show off x86 chips in a favorable light. The ads started in February. Dubbed "Go PC," the campaign enlisted former "I'm a Mac" star Justing Long to trash talk Mac and targets everything from energy efficiency to Apple's reliance on dongles.
Apple is in the midst of transitioning its entire Mac lineup away from Intel processors to in-house designed M-series chips. The effort began late last year with the release of Apple Silicon-powered versions of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac mini, and continued in 2021 with an M1 iMac. The company is expected to introduce 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M-series chips in October, while a 2022 Mac Pro could complete the transition within the promised two-year window.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Yeah, that tracks. Kinda like the entire history of Windows PCs.
and here is the BUT,
Apple's "Spell" is the CODE and the OS. macOS and iOS, and ecosystem of those OSes.
I mean heck I'd take TON's of other hardware, as long as there was a ROBUST track record of NOT breaking.
Some PCs straight break, and that's a fact. BUT, I am fixated on the CODE that Apple offers and Apps creadted by the developers along with the smoothness, and:
Hardware reliability and Software reliabilty.
I mean this was SOO funny the other day, and last year, that Microsoft released or manufactured I should say, actual HARDWARE, without Software for it!! Without actual HOME GROWN software that makes the device work!! Insanity, honestly, and Samsung kinda does the same thing, it's pretty disgusting and disgraceful from a developer stand point IMHO...
2¢
Looks like some of the trolls here finally got a job!!
And this seems like - oh, there are intel devices with intel system in it… really??? Wonder how many people were really there in total, and how many shots they have to throw away because people were not impressed/were not dumb…
This is like a McDonalds Pickle farmer running anti Pizza Hut ads because they don't use their pickles. Okay... maybe a stretch, but its still jolly odd!
THOSE. ARE. ACTORS.
Look at the mice type disclaimer: "Real people paid for their time and opinions." That also applies to actors. There is nothing in the ad saying "NOT actors."
THOSE ARE ACTORS (1st year acting school actors, but still, actors).
Will macOS' reliance on proprietary silicon also have downsides, irrespective of performance gains...?
A main vertical software application developer now publicly advises to wait six to nine months before reliance on the latest macOS release. Is the recent FB outage a reminder of single point of failure ?
I understand 32 bit apps are still supported in Windows. I know some who have either switched back to pc or are contemplating it because the mac seems increasingly inflexible and limiting...