nubus

Wesley Hilliard said:

soundsinmotion said:

I thought they retired the Vision Pro project? Wasn’t that news like last year or something?

Nope. Never retired, not even close.

Well... Apple stopped production as the current model was about to go Lisa. Production of some components ended May last year due to sales being far below expectations.

This is the first major product from Apple that hasn't been upgraded within 1 year. Newton, iPod, iPad, iPhone (major upgrade), iMac (3x the first year). AVP was presented in June 2023, the hardware is on M2, and the OS still doesn't do AI. This indicates that AVP was only launched due to the failure of Car. It wasn't ready or planned for being launched. All they had was this prototype and no viable roadmap.

I would say AVP is on hold. New countries are not being added and the Midas touch clearly didn't work. Apple will have to fully rethink what the technology is good for. There could be a speed bump version but something major will have to change for this to absorb the development costs when moving beyond 2026.

And it is all fine. Iterations are nice but moonshots are required for taking us and Apple beyond the current state of computing.

thrang said:

Umm, so we really want the EU or other governments to start directing product development? 

At times we do. The car industry didn't remove lead from gas. The tobacco industry invented nicotine products with watermelon flavor for kids. We got baby powder with asbestos as it was cheaper to produce. Food with carcinogenic ingredients. Building materials that burst into flames. Would you say Boeing did improve quality after government let Boeing control Boeing? That banks could do better without regulation?

This time it is about Apple producing e-waste and letting taxpayers pay. Apple agreed 15 years ago to fix it but did nothing. What would you have done?

hammeroftruth said:

Is this actually “better” for EU customers who do not want the latest Apple technology

We need to protect car resale values by keep selling leaded gas.
We need to keep milk cheap for families by not adding the cost of pasteurization.
Your argument has indeed been seen before.

 Apple signed an agreement with EU in 2009 (!) to switch to a common charger and reduce e-waste:  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/memo_09_301

The fact that Apple didn't deliver is all on Apple. It would indeed have been better if Apple had delivered as promised.
Now we simply have to work our way through the mess Apple created by standing still.
This is btw. not limited to EU. California, India, Saudi Arabia, part of UK, Switzerland, Norway... the world is moving.

timmillea said:

I won't be 'upgrading' my M1 MacBook Air ('the last of the wedges'). I welcome the Center Stage addition but I already have Center Stage with the Studio Display that my MBA drives. I still regard the M1 MBA as the pinnacle of Apple design. After Jony Ive was ejected by Tim Cook, the design aesthetic has taken backseat and Apple is all the worse for it. 

The MBA M2 and M3 are fantastic designs. Perfectly rounded corners, great colors, and that extra space on the display. MagSafe is nice but less important as the battery lasts for days. And while the MBP Mx is a bit chubby the MBA does feel right. With 16 GB included and the fast 256 GB of M3 it is a winner. Not that you need to upgrade. Apple will have to redesign it in 2026 to allow for users to replace the battery.

Jony Ive lost it a decade ago. He came with the playful eMate 300, iMac G3 with Dalmatian dots, iPod with a wheel, and the curvy PowerBooks with bronze keyboards. He then gave us the TiBook (PowerBook G4). It looked fantastic but every design for the last 20-25 years have iterated on that. He spent a decade on making devices so thin that they couldn't be repaired or upgraded. 

The new mouse is required due to EU mandating easy battery replacement. It will have to arrive in 2026 or early 2027.