NYC362

I can't agree more with this article.  The world changes incredibly fast and Steve Jobs left us 14 years ago.  For any one to assume they know what he would have done over these past 14 years different from Tim Cook is preposterous.   Jobs was not perfect.  When the iPad was introduced he was absolutely against the idea of a stylus.  But imagine the iPad without an Apple Pencil.  How much art would never have been created.  The Pencil isn't a necessity to work the device and that's what makes it so good, but the availability of one makes truly amazing.

I had the awesome opportunity to work for Apple retail for 4½ years.  It was a post retirement job that I thought I'd have some fun with for a year or two.  But I quickly loved it and ended up staying not quite five years.  The most amazing experience was not working a store as a Specialist and then Expert, but the eleven months during the pandemic that I worked at home on the phone for RCC with customers doing web order support.  In short, if you had an order problem, I was one of the people who had to try to fix it.  From lost and stolen items, to fraudulent credit card purchases, to finding sales receipt from five years prior...that's the sort of stuff that filled my day.  I had access to computer databases that would blow your mind.  (Best story- woman screaming at me about no charging block with her new iPhone 12.  She claimed it was her first iPhone.  Using her email, I did some quick research on an internal site- she lied.  It was her third iPhone.  Sorry lady, no free charging block for you...or anyone.)

What I realized was just how incredibly big the company is.  For most of us, the Apple Store is the physical presence.  But that is just the tip of the iceberg, and Tim Cook has to keep an eye on all of it- albeit with the help of some very smart people. (Who, by the way, if you work in a store, especially in the big cities, you'll probably get to meet one day. Yes, I met Tim, Deidre (twice), and few other top executives.  

Everyone expects Apple to be perfect, but it is not.  It can't be.  No company can be. I had customers who literally would say, "But your Apple, how can this happen?"  Well, we're humans and sometimes we make mistakes. 

Steve Jobs made mistakes.  Tim Cook has made mistakes.  Steve Jobs did incredible things for Apple and so has Tim, and I'm sure he will continue to do so for some years to come....and so will his successor no matter who he or she is. 

Here's my two cents...coming from someone who was an Expert in a large store and provided a lot demos and sold several AVPs in the weeks after it was first available.   I left Apple (for no singular reason, and do miss it a bit) back in the spring, so I'm not violating any sort business conduct here... it's just my opinion.

First, the AVP is an amazing device.  The technology squished into a relatively small space is beyond words.  I was able to use one not just in demo mode, but had one that I was able to link to my own Apple Account.  Watching a hockey game on a 20 foot wide screen was incredible.  The 3D and Immersive Video, just something that has to be experienced.  It was always great when a customer jumped when the bear in the demo popped up.

But beyond all of that great stuff is the reality that this is an almost $4500 device with sales tax, and AppleCare+ (which you seriously must get).  The audience for it is extremely limited just by the price point.  Personally, I think Apple knew fully well when they released it, what would happen.  One thing I learned at Apple in my five years, was absolutely nothing happens without a detailed plan and expectation of the results. 

Apple released what is essentially a beta product.  They knew fully well it was very expensive and had limited uses for most people.  Even with my 25% discount, I didn't buy one because I knew I could do a lot more with the money with more personal benefit.  But, what Apple is getting from the few hundred thousand they have and will sell (That number is nothing more from what I've read on sites just like this one.  I have absolutely no clue as to how many have been sold.), is a boat load of data on what and how the product works and is being used.  I know that the software improved greatly with just Version 1.1.  Now they're at Version 2.1, and there are even more improvements.

The other thing about the device is when it came out, most of the talk was about entertainment and gaming.  In real life though, it seems professional use is really where this thing shines- I sold several to a few engineers who couldn't wait to try it.   Of course, we've seen stories about it being used in surgeries, and other scientific areas.

I really don't think the AVP is a dud.  I think we're just at the beginning of it.  Just like the iPad and the Apple Watch- they too seemingly had no real use.  Now, they're are simply everywhere.   I am confident that Apple is going to bring out a lower cost model- remember we only have Vision PRO... so Vision, or Vision SE is probably in some research lab in Cupertino.  Down the road, it would surprise me to see a form of Vision Pro that look like eyeglasses. 

As the rather secretive CEO of a company that values its secrets more than anything else, I find it really hard to believe that Tim Cook called a person known for blabbering about anything and everything to complain about the EU.

If anyone here has ever worked for Apple, you'll know exactly how I feel.  It just isn't in the Apple DNA for something like this to have happened.

If it did, it is shocking.  

ssfe11 said:

These chips would be shipped to China AND India for assembly? 

Yup.. that's exactly how it would work.  It might sounds nuts, but the costs of everything are figured out to the penny and if it was cheaper to do it elsewhere, they would. 

So here's the deal... and this doctor is an idiot.. or just trying to scam Apple.   Former Expert here who dealt with stuff like this about ten thousand times. 

You buy an iPad Pro, it costs $999.  You're eligible for the education discount, so now the price is $899.  That is a year round deal.  But since the back to school promo is going on, you also get a $100 gift card.

When you look at your receipt you'll see that you were charged $799 for the iPad, and $100 for the gift card.  The total is $899.  The same as without the gift card, but you do have a $100 gift card to spend.  

Why does Apple do the transaction this way?

Simple, customers would take advantage of the deal, then try to return the iPad.  If they weren't charged for the card, and the value of the card wasn't take off the product, you'd still have that gift card.  Now, you try to return the item, if you come in both product and UNUSED gift card, you get your full $899 back.  What if you used part of the gift card?  What if you didn't have it?  Well, now you get your $799 back and you get to keep the gift card- after all you paid for it.

Going back to the summer 2020, I worked at home doing post order service for Apple, and the back to school deal wasn't a gift card, but AirPods.  I cannot even guess how many people tried to return the product thinking they'd get to keep free AirPods.  No, silly people... you paid for those AirPods, but we'll gladly refund you the reduced price of the product you bought to get them

It's all pretty simple except I guess for doctors who can't do arithmetic.