techconc

hmlongco said:

From my perspective, the primary reason that iPad sales are down is that once you have an iPad you're good for quite a few years. The things last forever and that's not much a new model can do that an earlier version can not.

So most people who think they need one, or have a use case for one, already have one and won't need another one for a long, long time.

I also think the M1/M2 Air has moved into the iPad's space as well. Small, lightweight, powerful, a long battery life... and the ability to run many iPad apps.

Agreed.  iPads are great and basically maintenance free.  They seem to last forever.  Honestly, of all 3 device categories (iPhone, iPad and Mac), I enjoy the iPad the most.  It's perfect for media consumption and even does well at gaming.  The iPad is a great class of device.  There are those who "get it" and those who don't. 

genovelle said:

Cesar Battistini Maziero said:

Google kept YouTube PIP exclusive to Android to bully iPhone users into switching to Android! 

Kill them, burn then to ground! I want all the users and none of the work.

How about turn by turn in mobile maps which Apple helped them develop but turned competitor and withheld it until 3 months after apple surprised them by moving to their own maps. 

If I remember correctly, Google had their own mapping application and service for Android. Apple had their own "Maps" application but it leveraged Google's data / service.  This app had a listing of driving instructions, but didn't have turn-by-turn real time capability.  It used tile based graphics and not the vector based graphics that Apple wanted.  Google was willing to provide that service to Apple ONLY IF Apple would throw privacy out the window and turn over user data to Google.  Apple took the high ground and refused to do that and created their own service.  Sure, in 2012, early Apple Maps was behind Google.  Of course, it's a 1.0 product.  Now, 10 years later, and I very much prefer Apple Maps over Google Maps.  It didn't happen over night and Apple still has work to do and to roll out the latest mapping to other cities and countries, but we can see where this is going and how Apple is taking the lead... all while protecting our privacy.  Thanks Apple!

It's time to let the 27" iMac go.  For me, the advantage of buying the 27" iMac is that for the price of a 5K monitor, you effectively got the rest of the computer for free.  That's not the case anymore.   I ended up getting an M1 Max Studio with an Apple Studio display a while back.  No regrets, it's a great machine.  Time to move on. 

InspiredCode said:

Improving thermal conductivity in iPhone 16 Pro does not mean there is an issue with the 15 Pro. It has performed fine for me. A little warm after processing photos for a day or so, but it hasn’t had a problem easily overheating under load.

I also have a 15 Pro.  Yes, it's a great phone.  However, depending on how you use your phone, this can be a big deal.  If you need high performance in short bursts, the current design is fine.  If you need SUSTAINED high performance for something like gaming, thermal management is a big deal. There are reviews that measure for this and many Android phones are able to spread the heat better across the phone and maintain a higher power level for a longer period of time.  This IS an already that Apple needs to address. 

This article ought to be required reading for Apple's executive team.

"Apple could and should bring game development in-house to see what can really cook when the developer isn't worried about making Apple code work well enough compared to other platforms, but better. I've been banging this drum for years, but I think it's imperative these days. "

Absolutely.

"Apple should get out in front of this with compelling, original content. And if it's not willing to bootstrap its own first-party game development studio, I'd like to see Apple convince more game makers to really flex the technology to see what they can do in more meaningful ways than just porting existing titles to the Mac platform."

Bingo.

"Apple needs to offer a more compelling experience for Mac gamers on Arcade. Like in days of yore, there should be Mac-exclusive titles like Marathon was originally, or like Halo was going to be, or titles that really show off what macOS can do."

Amen.

Seriously, it's not rocket science. If Apple had any interest in addressing this problem, they'd take the steps mentioned above.  They simply don't know or don't care.  Possibly both. 

hmurchison said:

Anytime you have to make a claim that something is the best that means it isn't the best.    Excellence always speaks for itself.

Quotes like that are meaningless unless they are able to articulate a reason why they believe it to be true.   As others have mentioned, Apple has hurt their business model by stopping much of their ad tracking.  Clearly they want more users to be on Android... hence the vague and inaccurate claims about Android being better. 

gatorguy said:

foregoneconclusion said:

Android users switching to iOS annually: 14%. iOS users switching to Android annually: 4%. I guess the "better" part must be pretty well hidden within the operating system.

Since nearly the dawn of the duopoly, Apple and others have claimed that some annually significant percentage of Android users have switched to iOS. Oddly though Android continues to exist a decade and a half later, and in good numbers. How can that be if 10-14% of the ecosystem switch to Apple devices every year and smartphone adoption numbers aren't rising? 

A conundrum. 

"Apple's iOS, however, reigns supreme in the United States. Android takes the top spot at 70.89% market share globally, beating iOS by a 42.53% difference with a 28.36% market share. Meanwhile, in the US, Apple continues to dominate at 57.39% market share, beating Android by a 15.12% difference."

https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/android-vs-apple-market-share/#:~:text=Apple%27s%20iOS%2C%20however%2C%20reigns%20supreme,Android%20by%20a%2015.12%25%20difference.

Apple's market share is growing and in the US, Apple has now passed Android by a considerable margin.  So, where people can afford to buy nice things, Apple wins.  In third world countries where the average selling price for a phone is $200, sure Android wins because Apple doesn't even compete in that low end part of the market.  There is no conundrum. 

gatorguy said:

Google Pixel sales were up 48%?? That sounds excessive, but there's nothing I can find disputing it. Still questionable IMO, which makes the overall figures at least a little suspect. 

As the saying goes, "twice nothing is nothing".  Google's Pixel market share is so low, that even changing by 1% of actual market share would make a dramatic difference to their phone sales numbers.

chadbag said:

tht said:

I'm frankly in disbelief that Apple can achieve this level of penetration in any market any where. An average iPhone is about 2 to 3 times more expensive than an average Android or other competitor device. It really speaks to the zero interest 30mo payment plans, at least in the USA, that carriers use as incentives to lock in customers.

That creates no customer lock-in to iPhone.   It does create lock-in to the carrier.    They’ve already bought the iPhone and have no lock in due to these plans when it comes time to upgrade.   And I believe the carriers offer similar deals for at least some of the android phones.  

Maybe for low end phones... However, for higher end smartphones like iPhones, I believe people are much more locked into their platform of choice than they are their carrier.  If I had a choice between giving up my iPhone or giving up my carrier, it would be a very quick decision... the carrier is just a dumb pipe. 

JohnDinEU said:

After the SSD was introduced most folks, I reckon 90% of all computer users (laptop, standalone) were happy with what they had. It was quick enough for their daily jobs. It was Apple that changed and keeps changing the game by upgrading its OS and this is the only reason why the 90% of consumers need to buy a new computer. I bought for years and years every year the latest MBP. The last one was in 2018 with a 2 TB internal SSD. It was great and did everything I needed and more. Now it’s super slow as I kept updating the OS. I shouldn’t have. The problem I have with Apple (it’s the only environment I know) is compatibility with iOS and the aura of ‘newer is better’. I reckon that in today’s phone and computer days an upgrade should only be necessary every five to seven years and as such we wouldn’t fall in the trap of consumerism. End of rant. 

So, progress should stop because you don't want your legacy equipment to feel outdated?  Is that really the argument you're trying to make?

Reputation of the source of the rumor aside, something like this makes perfect sense.  

First, let's start with the manufacturing process.  Let's face it, N3B is a bust.  There seems to be zero benefit over the previous N4P in terms performance or efficiency.  Likewise, Apple is going to be pushing to move to N3E when it can.  Further, assuming Apple isn't going to reuse the A17 Pro, any changes, even modest changes requires a redesign and they'd likely be looking at the next manufacturing process for that redesign.  That said, it's very possible that Apple keeps the A17 Pro and uses is in other products such as the Apple TV or a lower end iPad. 

Second, look at the marketing.  Once Apple started using the "pro" naming convention, it's clear that they are telegraphing a future where we have pro and non-pro versions of chips.  Why would Apple do this?  It's not just a matter of having more or less CPU and GPU cores.  Apple may wish to do this while keeping new phones on the latest ISP for cameras, etc.  Even for years like this year, Apple made major design changes to the GPU.  They could bring that same technology, but with fewer cores to a non-pro version of a chip.  

Likewise, I think it makes perfect sense and will bring more consistency to new generation of product than simply reusing last year's chip as they have in the past. 

entropys said:

Actually, a few A list, halo games are exactly what is needed. See Microsoft “theft” of Halo (actually called halo!) from Mac, which was the game that made the original  Xbox.  

Until there are some must play games on Arcade...snore. Arcade is just one step away from closure.

Agreed.

Fidonet127 said:
I'm not saying there shouldn't be A list games. I'm saying the world doesn't revolve around A list games. A list games require too many resources to develop for many developers. It is an elitist view to base everything around A list games. There is a poster that says Mac gaming is dead because their 16 and 32 bit games no longer work on the Mac. I'm pretty sure A list games are no longer 16 or 32 bit. I'm pretty sure most games are casual, not A list. Apple Arcade isn't going to close because a lack of A list games and being Apple Arcade is part of a services bundle. 

They don't ALL need to be A list games, but you certainly need more of them to serve as the anchor for the service.  It's fine to have some smaller Indie games to fill the gaps, but without the A list games, it's a snore fest and ignored by the gaming community.  Yes, there is a place for casual gaming, but that's not going to attract people to the platform or ecosystem.