It's time for Apple to revisit these iconic products

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2022
Amidst all the other updates in the last year, Apple has forgotten some of the products in its portfolio. Here are five things that we think Apple should show some love.

iPod Touch and iPod mini
iPod Touch and iPod mini


Some of these devices are no longer available -- like AirPort routers -- and others are still available. While some are products we love, others have glaring missteps that Apple has yet to address.

Magic Mouse

If we want to get technical, Apple did recently updated the Magic Mouse. With the Mac Studio, Apple introduced a new colorway that couples a black plastic top surface with a metal silver bottom.





This update doesn't address Apple's ridiculous bottom-charging design for the Magic Mouse. This prevents the mouse from being used while charging.




It only takes about 15 minutes of charging to get hours of use, but that doesn't excuse this poor design choice. It's long overdue for Apple to redesign the Magic Mouse with an improved charging system.

Lightning cables

Apple's embarrassingly-bad Lightning cable needs to be fixed. A quick Google search will reveal the litany of user complaints regarding this simple white power cable.

Users have some complaints here
Users have some complaints here


We aren't even talking about the woefully slow data it supports, but rather that it breaks far too easily. This is even more true if the cable is handled by the careless -- or children.

Unusually, it seems Apple knows there is an issue. It has recently started bundling improved cables -- but only in select products.

The new color-matched nylon cable with the 24-inch iMac
The new color-matched nylon cable with the 24-inch iMac


The 24-inch iMac has a color-matched, nylon-wrapped cable in the box. For the Mac Pro, there's an even nicer cable with a thicker gauge wire that is sturdier.

That's all well and good but doesn't address the garbage cable that comes with its most popular products -- such as the iPhone and AirPods. It's these cables that are getting abused daily and that need to be replaced most often.

It seems Apple is just being cheap when it decided to omit a better cable in the box for these mass-market products.

iPod Touch

Apple hasn't updated the iPod Touch since 2019. At that point, Apple didn't drop in its latest and great tech to future-proof the hardware. Rather, it stuck in the aging A10 Fusion processor and kept an 8MP camera system.

Outside of enterprise uses, we understand the iPod Touch isn't as popular these days. The hardware is so dated we don't know how much longer it will receive software updates.

You could conceivably buy an iPod Touch in 2022 and stop getting new versions of iOS as soon as the fall. While Apple does the best at supporting mobile chipsets for years, ultimately, it can't keep old chipsets supported indefinitely.

iPod Touch
iPod Touch


With a price point of $199 for a base model iPod with 32GB of storage, the iPhone SE is just over $400 and comes with 64GB to start. The iPhone SE also has the latest A15 Bionic processor, and a 12MP camera, among other improvements.

Wi-Fi routers

Apple sold wireless routers for almost 20 years, starting in 1999, and not stopping until 2018. As much of the market transitioned to mesh solutions, Apple jumped ship, conceding its market share to third parties.

Apple's routers were beloved because of their ease of setup and tight integration with its products and services. You could remotely access your desktop Mac while away from your home with no additional software, you could back up to your network Time Capsule with just a click, and they worked great.

Apple AirPort Extreme
Apple AirPort Extreme


We'd love it if Apple got back into this market and brought back some of that first-party support we long for. Especially as privacy becomes increasingly important to users and as the smart home market continues to expand.

Currently, there are only two HomeKit-enabled routers on the market -- neither made by Apple. An Apple-branded router that worked natively with HomeKit would be welcomed.

It's probably a long shot for Apple to spin up a new product category when it is so busy with its other product lines. That won't stop us from hoping, however.

Apple Watch Series 3

We don't know why Apple is still selling the Apple Watch Series 3, given the cost proximity and vast superiority of the Apple Watch SE. This smartwatch debuted in 2017 -- five years ago at this point.

Apple Watch Series 3
Apple Watch Series 3


Powering this watch is Apple's S3 SiP. That's extremely dated compared to Apple Watch Series 7 which boasts Apple's S7 SiP. Lately, there hasn't isn't been a speed bump with a new Apple Watch, but the S3 to S7 is substantial.

Users already complain about sluggishness on watchOS 8 on the Series 3. The new features that watchOS 9 will introduce later this year will only make it worse.

You can often find Apple Watch Series 3 for just around $150 but that no longer means it's a good buy. Apple needs to let this one go.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 43
    boboliciousbobolicious Posts: 1,139member
    ...I still use the Mobee magic chargers with the original mouse with user replaceable AAA batteries, and find they work well: 
    www.touchofmodern.com/sales/mobee/magic-charger?open=1

    ...and I'm still clinging to my Airport Time Capsule system especially Airport Express for wireless lossless audio to vintage audiophile gear which some suggest is better than much of what is available today... Adding Dolby ATMOS for AppleTV / Airport Express is high on my wishlist...

    A lock slot addition for the 2013 Time Capsule would be on the wish list considering it holds presumably critical data and needs open placement to be most effective, as well as easier access to the drive for both wear and capacity upgrade aspects... Would a raid option be desirable for redundancy, with alternate multiple drives being one of my favourite features of the Time Machine software? Would faster ethernet and USB3 also be appropriate and presumably economical, potentially offering compelling reasons to upgrade ie. sales...?

    spock1234watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 43
    Per Magic Mouse, the lightning charging port is in the same location as the catch that provided access to the removable batteries in the other model. Makes sense from a design and manufacturing standpoint. Keeping it there would mean minimal internal layout changes. Also, it only takes 2-3 minutes to provide 8 hours of charge when new.
    thtdesignrspock1234BeatsStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 43
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 1,989member
    If they update the Magic Mouse, I hope they make it compatible with the iPhone's Magsafe charger and don't acquiesce to the asinine demands that the lightning connector be moved from the bottom of the mouse. It's a wireless mouse. It takes very little time to charge it up. It doesn't need to plug in and act like a wired mouse. That defeats the point of it being a wireless mouse. Apple put the connector on the bottom on purpose specifically to keep people from leaving it plugged in as if it was a wired mouse.




    Japheydesignrspock1234foregoneconclusionBeatsbyronlwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 43
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    Per Magic Mouse, the lightning charging port is in the same location as the catch that provided access to the removable batteries in the other model. Makes sense from a design and manufacturing standpoint. Keeping it there would mean minimal internal layout changes. Also, it only takes 2-3 minutes to provide 8 hours of charge when new.
    Wow, I never thought about why Apple put the Lightning port at the bottom Magic Mouse before, never gave it much thought, but your comment here is definitely a light bulb moment! Makes a whole lot of sense.

    Beatsbyronlwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 43
    zimmiezimmie Posts: 651member
    Wi-Fi routers
    Apple sold wireless routers for almost 30 years, starting in 1999, and not stopping until 2018.
    That's almost 20 years, not 30. Would definitely be nice to see them make a new Time Capsule.

    Separately, I've never had an Apple Lightning cable fail, but I've had quite a few third-party cables fail with exactly the same treatment.
    iOS_Guy80Alex1NBeatsbyronlStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 43
    retrogustoretrogusto Posts: 1,109member
    It would be great if they redesigned the mouse so you could use it wired or wireless, and even leave it plugged in forever if the cord bothers you less than having to worry about periodically charging it would. I know you could say that charging requires minimal effort, but people are willing to spend money for bulky and inefficient wireless charging systems like MagSafe, so it’s definitely an issue for some. Of course, you could probably also have a mousepad that wirelessly charges the mouse at a very low level, just turning on automatically for a few minutes a day or something. 
    h4y3s
  • Reply 7 of 43
    Yes please. HomeKit router WiFi 6E with all the ports. 
    iOS_Guy80robin huberAlex1Nbeowulfschmidtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 43
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    I have never had an issue with the Magic Mouse charging port and I’ve been using one for years now. A full charge lasts weeks and when it’s getting low I plug it in before retiring for the night. I’ve never had the need to charge while using a mouse, ever. Perhaps I’m better able to adapt to things than simply ranting and raving because I don't like something.

    And I’ve never had a Lightning cable break on me either.
    edited April 2022 Alex1NBeatsStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 43
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Apple should send their mouse division down the same way as their router group.
    lkrupp
  • Reply 10 of 43
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    In addition the Magic Mouse goes inert when it is plugged in. You can’t even plug it in and then try to kludge along and get something done. Plug it in it is dead.

    Doubly stupid.

    I hate the MM. Even when it is charged and connected, it’s a twitchy, finicky POS. Another in a long line of Apple POS mice.
    Alex1NlkruppOctoMonkey
  • Reply 11 of 43
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    I also would be interested to know why Apple only sells the Watch series 7 and the series 3 on their web site and not the series 6. Overstock on the 3? But you can get the 6 from lots of other places. 
    Any ideas as to why?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 43
    rarerare Posts: 27member
    An updated iPod touch with Touch ID would be an insta-buy for me.
    mac daddy zeewatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 43
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    AirPort, please! The accompanying app is so intuitive and easy to use. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 43
    DAalseth said:

    I hate the MM. Even when it is charged and connected, it’s a twitchy, finicky POS. Another in a long line of Apple POS mice.
    Never understood all the hate. It’s simply the best mouse I’ve ever used, supporting smooth scrolling side-to-side, plus gestures without the need for a bunch of cumbersome and unsightly buttons.

    I switched from the battery powered version to the rechargeable version when it came out and use it every day. I have another that lives in my backpack for when I travel. Never once have I ever been inconvenienced by the charging port living on its underside.

    To each their own, but I love the MM, just as I liked the Mighty Mouse before it.
    lkruppBeatsStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 43
    spock1234spock1234 Posts: 160member
    Another vote for the new Airport! I have always used an Airport base station, from the original UFO to the latest Airport Extreme, and loved the experience. I recently moved to a third-party router in order to take advantage of better coverage, higher speeds and other features that come along with WiFi 6. I strongly prefer Apple's security measures over any other. And, I don't think I am knowledgeable enough to independently implement the security measures that Apple integrated into the Airport. I would love to have a first-party router that supported the advanced features of WiFi 6, combined with the security and ease-of-use of the original Airport. I strongly encourage Apple to make an updated versions of this reliable device.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 43
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,275member
    Agreed on all fronts with this article. In particular, the time is incredibly ripe for Apple to put out a new privacy-forward, hardware-VPN Mesh-based Airport router. Your ISP is likely collecting and selling as much data on you as FB, and there's only one way to prevent it: a secure router on a level no other maker can offer with full integration into Apple's products (but it will protect non-Apple products, too). AirPlay 2 plus Apple Music (and Spotify) support and whole-network Private Relay and Anti-Tracking? Heaven!
    Alex1NBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 43
    I’m hoping for a new iPod touch as well.  I’m holding for 8 gen as my 6 gen has some apps iOS 13 and up I can’t update.  Also I use mine as an magicJack phone so would love a faster chip and better camera!  

    Please Apple!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 43
    Alex1NAlex1N Posts: 129member
    chasm said:
    Agreed on all fronts with this article. In particular, the time is incredibly ripe for Apple to put out a new privacy-forward, hardware-VPN Mesh-based Airport router. Your ISP is likely collecting and selling as much data on you as FB, and there's only one way to prevent it: a secure router on a level no other maker can offer with full integration into Apple's products (but it will protect non-Apple products, too). AirPlay 2 plus Apple Music (and Spotify) support and whole-network Private Relay and Anti-Tracking? Heaven!
    Ditto, that would be great! The old Apple Airport Express still chugs along effectively when required, however. Re the notorious mouse - I’m a bit divided over this - a popup warning from the system when the charge gets to, e.g., 20%, is on i(pad)OS devices, would be useful in this context. As for that &7+’8;* strain-inducing ‘strain relief’ on the Apple cables…well, I’ve ranted too often about that.
    edited April 2022 watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 43
    I try not to injure my brain worrying about Apple’s decisions on their products. No updates for the iPod touch are baffling to me. It seems like it wouldn’t sell very well due to its high cost. It’s too bad they can’t keep costs down & charge a reasonable price for it. It costs way too much as do most things Apple.

    One thing I’m extremely bugged by is there is only one color for the mag-safe battery. Apple made several different colors for their smart battery cases for past iPhones. The mag-safe battery only comes in white. I want to get one but I refuse to purchase this color because it’s not very nice to look at, plus it would show dirt & everyday usage too easily. At this point, the mag-safe battery pack really does need the “space gray” treatment.
  • Reply 20 of 43
    sandorsandor Posts: 655member
    Per Magic Mouse, the lightning charging port is in the same location as the catch that provided access to the removable batteries in the other model. Makes sense from a design and manufacturing standpoint. Keeping it there would mean minimal internal layout changes. Also, it only takes 2-3 minutes to provide 8 hours of charge when new.
    Which doesn't make it any less ridiculous from an end-user perspective.

    Keyboard - port is right there on the back center, easy to charge & use.
    Mouse - you have to stop working to charge it.

    Home use, not a big deal, maybe.
    At the office?
    We keep a wired mouse to pass around for people whose mouse battery dies during the day.  :(
    OctoMonkey
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