altivec88

blastdoor said:

altivec88 said:

freeper said:

As Amazon refuses to sell Apple TV (or Chromecast) products that compete with the awful Fire TV, I am not certain that an Alexa competitor by Apple would have been sold by Amazon either. 

I agree... But some of those that wanted a home type of device like this that would have chose Apple are now in the Amazon Eco system.  Lets face it, Apple is the new Microsoft.  Big Goliath thats slow to react to anything.  They just can't walk and chew gum anymore.  They can only update the iPhones yearly, the rest of their lineup is either a nuisance and gets cancelled or just a hobby that gets updates every 3 to 4 years.  Meanwhile Tim has been talking about amazing pipelines while other companies are selling actual products.  I remember a time when the opposite was true (ahh the good old days)

I think the period of time during which Apple successfully walked and chewed gum was actually pretty short, if by "walk and chew gum" we mean "maintain multiple product lines". 

They started off as the Apple II company. 

Then they switched to being the Mac company (seriously alienating die hard Apple II fans in the process). 

Then they became the iPod plus Mac company. That eventually worked ok, but there were some major bumps along the road -- the early 00s weren't great for the Mac (hello Cube). 

Then they became the iPhone plus Mac company. There were initially some big bumps in the road, such as the delay of Leopard. But they got things under control around the time of Snow Leopard. 

Then they became the iPhone plus iPad plus Mac company. From about 2010 to 2014, this was a golden age -- probably the best stretch in the history of the company. It had some bumps -- like Maps -- but it was clearly a golden age. 

Today Apple is trying to be the iPhone plus iPad plus Mac plus Services company, potentially with some massive new efforts in the pipeline (autonomous car; AR/VR). They are now hitting some serious bumps in the road. It's definitely a step down from the golden age, but that golden age was an outlier. 

I think Apple has serious problems, but at the same time they also have tremendous advantages and assets. They need to address their problems, and it's by no means a slam dunk that they'll do that. But I think it's do-able, and my guess is that they'll do it. It just kind of sucks right now, particularly for those of us who want to buy a new Mac Pro. 

Edit -- one point i forgot to make, though -- I don't think Apple should try competing with Echo/Alexa right now. I think their priorities should be:

1. Make the Mac great again (this is low hanging fruit -- so easy to do, and the reward will be a nice surge in Mac sales growth)
2. Get the iPad growing again by addressing all the little things that are obstacles for education and corporate deployments (there needs to be an iCloud pro that addresses the needs of those markets better)
3. Keep the iPhone moving forward. I think it would be better to include AirPods with every new iPhone 7s than it would be to have an OLED-screen iPhone 8. I actually think AirPods are a bigger deal than OLED screens. 
4. Update the AppleTV to include an A10X chip, thereby making it a much more credible gaming console

freeper said:

As Amazon refuses to sell Apple TV (or Chromecast) products that compete with the awful Fire TV, I am not certain that an Alexa competitor by Apple would have been sold by Amazon either. 

Rayz2016 said:

altivec88 said:

christopher126 said:

Huh? I thought so.

"Best in class" MacBook, Apple enjoys ~98% of Market Share of laptops over $1,000.

"Best in class" MacBook Pro

"Best in class" Apple Watch...within 8 months of it's debut, it was second to only Rolex as far a income generation.

"Best in class" desktops.

"Best in class" OS.

"Best in class" iOS. Just ask MS, RIM, Nokia, etc., etc.

"Best in class" mobile phone....ask Samsung!

"Best in class" Free software included w/ every device.

Most popular camera in the world.

Most popular video camera in the world (I think that's right?).

Best Music SW. iTunes.

Best TV interface. AppleTV.

Best Stores: Apple Store generate more sales $'s per sq/ft than Tiffany's.

Highest Customer Sat., in the ~90%+

Best.

Best in class desktops?   Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.   are you being sarcastic, because that's a good one?  Ha ha ha 

It's entirely possible that you're not in Apple's target market. 

You might have have been at one point, but then you got set in your ways, and now you're not. 

StrangeDays said:

robin huber said:

techprod1gy said:

Can someone give any facts about the fate of this stuff versus rumors?

It should be Apple. It's really bad form to keep loyal customers in the dark about the fate of something so fundamental to their connectivity. My brother has an older AirPort and asked me to help him upgrade. Want to stick with Apple that I know and understand, but don't want him to invest in orphaned technology with mesh coming to the fore. I think Tim could give us some direction without compromising future products. 

Why would they comment on rumors? They sell the AirPort, they support the AirPort. That's all that matters until the day they either 1) stop selling it. 2) start selling something else. Until then there is absolutely no reason for Apple to comment.