charlesn
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Apple's extortionate upgrade prices can't stop the MacBook Air being a bargain
"Usually the configuration you get for the lowest price of any Apple device is at the very best just about adequate, and usually not even that."
So my question for Mr. Gallagher is pretty simple: which base models of Apple devices have you bought or borrowed from Apple, then tested as your daily driver for a while and at what tasks did you find them "usually not even adequate?" Because there are actually a few online reviewers who make it a point to buy and use the base models of Apple devices, just to see how far they can be pushed, and I have yet to read of any base model that can't execute, without breaking a sweat, ANY task that a base model buyer might throw at it. That includes the usual suite of common business applications, as well as video/photo/audio editing, so long as the latter three are being done on a hobbyist basis and not professionally. It goes without saying that if your work (or personal passion) includes applications that are processor or memory intensive, then the base models aren't for you, nor were they ever intended to serve your needs. (In fact, maybe the Macbook Air, itself, isn't for you and a Pro would make more sense.) But there is a whole target market of buyers for which the base model makes perfect sense and is as much computer as they will ever actually need.
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MagSafe does connect to the iPhone 16e, but incredibly badly
Just to be clear: adding a MagSafe case doesn't get you MagSafe fast-charging on the 16e--you're stuck at 7.5 watts. That said, I think the lack of MagSafe on the 16e will be as much of an impediment to sales as the last thing that the technosphere echo chamber lost its mind over: the placement of the power button the Mac Mini. Which is to say, no impediment at all.netrox said:I think it's just more economical to make cases with MagSafe field than to embed inside iPhones.
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Tim Cook teases the imminent launch of a new MacBook Air
Good question. The 16e is coming out of India, so no tariff issues, at least for now--I'm not sure how much Apple has spread the manufacture of other products to countries outside of China. Trump has now hit China with 20% in new tariffs since taking office and there's no way Apple will absorb that kind of hit without raising prices. And honestly, the clock is ticking on the U.S. crashing into a recession sooner than later. You cannot inject this kind of uncertainty/insanity into the business climate along with unpredictable and high tariffs without putting a very serious hurt on the economy.nubus said:How will tariffs affect pricing?
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Tim Cook teases the imminent launch of a new MacBook Air
Why make this announcement on X, a disinformation platform owned by the unelected co-President trying to force Apple to abandon the DEI policies that are at the absolute core of its company values? Why is anyone who opposes what this administration is doing still on X when their presence there only helps Musk monetize it?
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Siri may only get minor Apple Intelligence improvements before iOS 19
Not at all. And the notion that the stock price of a company as mature as Apple is somehow disconnected from how the company is doing is misguided at best. The big concern about Apple over the years was what was going to happen when the iPhone juggernaut inevitably slowed down. For a long time, there really wasn't an answer. And here we are, with all phone makers now having to face the post peak smartphone environment. But Apple has delivered an answer to the slowing mobile phone business with Services continuing to grow at a fast pace and at nearly 80% margins. What company wouldn't kill to have a business like that? And I have to ask: if you really feel that Apple isn't doing as well as a company as its stock price would suggest, why are you a shareholder at these prices? That makes no sense.StudioSoup said:charlesn said:
Another Apple vet here, using Macs at work and home since the Macintosh Classic in 1991. It's not that I disagree, per se, with this assessment, but it's a reminder that perceptions in the tech press and by commenters on tech message boards like this one are often completely disconnected from the reality of how Apple is actually doing as a company. In three words: "Better than ever" by any of the usual metrics by which the performance of companies is measured. Something astonishing, almost unthinkable a short time ago just happened when Apple reported earnings for the holiday quarter: its iPhone numbers were a little soft, which would have normally tanked the stock, but this time, it didn't matter. Why? Because its insanely profitable Services business is growing so rapidly and is essentially a license to print money. Under Tim Cook, Apple has transitioned from a one-legged company whose fortunes rose and fell with iPhone, to a company with three sturdy legs: iPhone, Services (which will surpass iPhone in profit and revenues sooner than later) and Hardware, including Macs, iPads and wearables. Fun fact: even with numbers that were a little soft, iPhone 16 is the best-selling smartphone in the world, while Pro Max, Pro and Plus occupy 3 more spots in the top ten rankings in that order. So you might ask yourself how a phone that is supposedly "an embarrassment" compared to competitors becomes the best-selling smartphone on the planet, especially at a relatively high price point.ApplePoor said:Not a surprise really that Apple got caught with their pants down. Too much time and money wasted on the "never saw the light of day" car. The "googles" have consumed untold resources, too and have not been a runaway success in terms of sales. Frankly, usable Apple's AI is years away and could become a serious concern financially as investors loose confidence.
Apple has morphed from a small and fast Navy Destroyer to a more than cumbersome Battleship. The latter finally gets up to speed and requires vast space to change course or turn around let alone stop.
The incremental changes or improvements in their "core" revenue source, the iPhone, are an embarrassment when one sees what the competitors are pushing out.
The comments here in the peanut gallery should be a five alarm file in the Board of Directors meetings such as the lack of more and more folks upgrading annually as there is just not enough change to justify a $2,000 expenditure for the top model with full memory - their most profitable model.
The incremental change of their most popular laptop (MacBook Air) is a chip change from the M3 to the M4. Wow! ???????
Just observations of an Apple user since1990 into computers since the early 1970s.
YMMV
Did I mention that this past holiday quarter was yet another all-time record? Kind of a yawn, for Apple, I know, because it keeps setting new records like this, but: this only happens because buyers are voting with their wallets to choose Apple products. Here in the technosphere echo chamber, it's the constant sound of doom and complaints about the glacial pace of Apple evolving its products. But the real world of mass market buyers keeps disagreeing.
Apple does face the problem of being more cumbersome battleship than nimble destroyer--that is the inevitable challenge all companies face when they grow to the enormous size of Apple. Even more difficult: Wall Street continues to price Apple stock like a growth company, so even as it keeps breaking records for revenue and profit, the challenge of continuing to grow those huge numbers just gets exponentially harder... but Apple keeps doing it thus far. Tech message boards have been predicting doom just around the corner for Apple for as long as the company has been in business. It has weirdly become the always-present background noise to Apple's continued success. Just how much more successful does Apple have to be before the doom-saying gets a rest?I think you’re confusing how Apple is doing vs how Apple stock is doing.
