seanismorris

rogifan_new said:

Apple putting Apple Music on Amazon devices makes no sense to me. It does nothing to enhance Apple’s ecosystem. All it does is allow you to stream music Apple doesn’t own using another voice platform. The amount of extra services revenue they’ll get is a rounding error on their financials. And who at Apple thinks it’s a good idea for the company to be promoting Alexa? WTF? I feel bad for the HomePod team. Apparently employees who work on that product didn’t know anything about this Apple Music deal with Amazon and are not happy about it.

Apple isn’t interested in competing in the low/mid hardware space, but they still want to sell Apple Music subscriptions.

I don’t see a conflict.  It also helps them with the “I’m not a monopoly” argument.

HomePod is a rounding error in Apple’s sales, Apple Music is a key component of Apple’s Ecosystem.  Whom to support is pretty simple math...

The link takes me to the Store to sign up for Apple Music.

In the end, is this just an ad? Sad.

Nightstorm said:

Has apple insider gone mental? This is the worse matchup, one is brand new and one is a whole generation ago. 7th gen cpu vs 8th gen’s latest? When comparing cpu’s This is like putting a 2019 corvette up against a 1999. You can justify this with cost all you want, it is still ludicrous.

Apple Insider is doing what every other consumer does.  I.e. At a certain price point: What is the best value?

This focus on value what allowed Dell to surpass almost everyone in the PC business.  They single handily killed off Gateway, and sent companies like IBM running for the hills (selling PCs).

When you buy a MacBook, the expectations is you get value from the quality of components and longevity of the machine.  The reality for many is they’re better off buying a Windows machine now, with the full knowledge that they’ll probably need to replace it with another while the MacBook is still going strong.

When you buy a premium car is it worth it? What about a premium washing machine?  All these comparisons are worth discussing.  There is no universal right answer...

My biggest complaint about Apple is their pricing.  I find value in the iPhone & iPad product lines, but I don’t own a Mac.  As much as I dislike Windows 10, I don’t own a Mac.  I’m not sure I’ll ever own a Mac... because of price/value.

The business case (enterprise) for MacBooks (as I see it) is stronger than for “personal” machines.  We’re talking about the cost for IT support factored in.  Personally, I can do everything myself so there is no cost saving.

Would I recommend a MacBook to others? Sure.  In the right situation.  I can see value in a computer noob taking a MacBook to college, where Apple Stores are located everywhere for support. 

therfman said:

I would trust cloud storage far more than a small easy-to-misplace device that stores everything on a single flash chip.

Cloud storage isn’t an answer when video sizes are 10s of GB’s.

seneca72 said:

But is Apple really focussing on users?

There's an interesting piece on Fraser Spiers Blog on how a vocal advocate of iPads is moving to a ChromeBook as his default mobile computing device.  The combination of power and portability across several use cases was ultimately too much to ignore.  

To gain the same degree of functionality using Apple kit would require a MacBook and an iPad and whilst Apple may think people will buy one of each, many users faced with the Google ecosystem will not.  The point is that Apple is still focussed on selling devices (iPad + MacBook) whereas the user faced with an all embracing solution is going to go with the cheaper option.  

That may not be true for schools although ChromeBooks apparently are killing the iPad in US schools and it's only a matter of time before the same thing happens in the UK where price is everything.  Whether Apple will bring out something similar to the old e-Mate, with an A12 processor running IOS remains to be seen, but if they don't they really should.  It would give the ChromeBook a run for its money.  

My nieces and nephews are in high school (4 kids) they HATE the school Chromebooks and demand Microsoft Office (installed version) on their machines.  Chromebooks are a solution for schools to get their students the bare minimum, with a minuscule budget, but it’s not what the students want.

I’ve tried to get them on IPads with limited success.  I think I’d have better luck with the new 11” and 12.9” but getting away from Office is a problem.  The iWork word processor (etc.) isn’t intuitive compared to Microsoft’s.  

The ideal situation is an A series processor running full office, but IOS isn’t cutting it on iPads anymore.

Apple has some work to do with regarding giving users what they want.  It feels like IPads are moving into the 2 in 1 space with detachable keyboards increasing in popularity, but merging parts of MacOS and IOS is going to be interesting.  Windows 8/10 became the bastard no one wanted, hopefully Apple’s effort is better...