Reasonable907

Yeah, no. If Apple is waiting for WWDC to update it's Macbook line, the sooner the better. This honestly seems like further proof, along with the stock-outs at third party retailers this morning, that the Mac lineup refreshes are coming before WWDC. 

Yes, darn that massive influx of investor dollars. The long and the short of it is: AAPL is worth whatever the market says it is worth, and so far the market hasn't exactly been impressed with what it's seen lately. Apple is a solid performer and in no danger of crashing (we all know that, so please, enough with the "Apple is doomed" sarcasm. It wasn't funny three years ago, it's less so now) but the market gauges success on growth, not maintenance. Perhaps Apple is a victim of it's own success and there is very little room to grow at this point. Perhaps they are a victim of their own past ingenuity, and the market is waiting for them to launch the next big "One More Thing." In today's market, Apple has become "consistent," and while consistent is good, consistent is also McDonalds. Why do we still get the occasional Quarter Pounder because we know what to expect, and frankly, that's what post-Steve Jobs Apple has become. Again, not a bad thing as far as business goes, just further proof that we need to accept the days of Earth-shaking reality-altering announcements and sales numbers are gone, and here we find ourselves, computing in the sweet hereafter. 

Shoot the messenger, but chances are he's not wrong. As someone that has updated every year, I'm not very excited about the 7 after the minor update that was the 6s. Force touch? I think I've used it twice. The bump from 1GB of RAM to 2GB is really the only reason I made the switch. I don't see Apple ditching Lightning for USB-C, and after they intentionally left a USB 3.1 compatible controller out of the 9.7" iPad Pro, I don't see them putting one in the next iPhone either. So what's going to be the killer feature for the iPhone 7? Better camera? The 6s is good enough. Battery life? Doubtful if their goal is still thinner devices. A new color? No one has tried platinum yet I guess. 
There's not much else to say here. I don't want to be negative, but it is what it is and folks are starting to realize it. WWDC is going to be crucial for Cook and Ive, so I really hope they both have something special in store. 

rogifan_new said:

bluefire1 said:

Gorgeous but...
Where's the second USB-C port?
Why a measly 480p FaceTime camera?
For that price, these two additions should have been a no brainer.

If Apple wanted this machine to have two USB ports they would have designed it that way to begin with.

I don't really care what "Apple wanted," I'm paying Apple, not the other way around. What matters is what I, the consumer, wants. The one thing I've always been critical of Apple about, aside from the ridiculous Apple Tax, is the way they build things to what people SHOULD want, not what they ACTUALLY want. From low res cameras in the original iPhone to the way Steve refused to include MMS functionality until the 3GS because "people can email photos if they want to send them to others," delivering a product that offers consumers something they never knew they always wanted is a far cry from ignoring what they say they want and giving them the middle finger instead. Me? I want to be able to run a Time Machine backup to my external drive or upload photos from my DSLR AND charge my Macbook at the same time without having to spend 80 bucks on a dongle. 

rogifan_new said:

hungedu said:

And that single USB-C port remains. Really?

Um yeah because Apple isn't in the business of redesigning a product only a year after its introduced. If they wanted it to have more than one port they would have designed it that way last year.

Yeah, they usually wait two years for that. I'm surprised they didn't just call this thing the Macbook S. 

In all seriousness though, I'm very disappointed they didn't address the one thing I was critical of with it's predecessor: one single port for power and connectivity. As I said yesterday, it's not hard to remedy with port replicators from companies like Anker that offer charging pass-thru, 3 USB ports, an SD card reader and 4K compatible HDMI port for under 80 bucks (and a ridiculously better deal than Apple's own dongle) but the fact that I have to pay 80 bucks for functionality that should have been offered out of the box is ridiculous. 

And to those arguing that the 480p Facetime camera installed in the screen is due to size constraints: no, just, no. The 720p module in the iPhone SE is roughly the same size and could easily fit within the space provided. This was purely a weird Apple-like choice here, so please, stop defending it with nonsense. 

rogifan_new said:

bigpics said:

...and lots (and lots) of watch band styles...

There's always a price to pay when a visionary founder's gone, at least in time - which can be a period of some years with a full pipeline, good teams and someone who can milk these resources, and Cook and co have been able to more or less do that, but each next move seems more and more in the woods IMO. 

Cook's a supply chain guy with an interest in social isssues.  Ives a) always needed someone with a stronger vision to keep his "preciousity" in check and b) also feels like he's maybe losing interest besides. 

Not promising. I'm even moving away from all the time I've spent for many years following Apple sites. 

Meanwhile, I wanted a port and you gave me a pink colored "refesh" still with only one meaning I'd still have to live with an ugly dongle sitch.  Nah, not enough.

Jesus if you need more ports get a frigging MacBook Pro. Not difficult.

What if he needs something lighter than a Pro, Rog?

rogifan_new said:

Reasonable907 said:

Shoot the messenger, but chances are he's not wrong. As someone that has updated every year, I'm not very excited about the 7 after the minor update that was the 6s. Force touch? I think I've used it twice. The bump from 1GB of RAM to 2GB is really the only reason I made the switch. I don't see Apple ditching Lightning for USB-C, and after they intentionally left a USB 3.1 compatible controller out of the 9.7" iPad Pro, I don't see them putting one in the next iPhone either. So what's going to be the killer feature for the iPhone 7? Better camera? The 6s is good enough. Battery life? Doubtful if their goal is still thinner devices. A new color? No one has tried platinum yet I guess. 
There's not much else to say here. I don't want to be negative, but it is what it is and folks are starting to realize it. WWDC is going to be crucial for Cook and Ive, so I really hope they both have something special in store. 

So you're basically saying there's nothing that would be exciting anymore yet Cook needs to walk on water at WWDC or Aple is doomed....ok.

I'm saying that there had better be something special lined up for WWDC if anyone expects the recent slide in sales, as well as the less than stellar performance of AAPL in the last year, to change. Good isn't good enough anymore, time to shake things up. Steve became legend doing just that, now the ball is in Tim's court. Sorry for expecting better but as a decades long Apple consumer, as well as AAPL stockholder, I've got plenty of hay in the game. 
And enough with the "Apple is doomed" jibe. It's tired and annoying. Get some new material Rog.