Apple becoming "Just Another Company" Slowly?

[jamojamo]

I think I've reached my end cycle with Apple. At least until some years into the future.

My problem with Apple is......... price.

I don't have problems with money right now thankfully, but I just can't believe how pricey and expressive Apple is getting every year goes by.

In 2010 I bought the Mac mini for almost 800€, and it was still core 2 duo with only 2GB RAM!!! Are we crazy? What made me even more mad was that one year later the new Mac mini model with new CPU was released 200€ cheaper! It's like a scam.

And then you see the new MacBook pro 13 inch at an unbelievable price of 1600€!!!

On 2010 I bought an iMac and the Mac mini to serve as a media center on the living room. I'm quite happy with both. I was ready tired of Windows and to me there's absolutely no doubt that Mac OS X is way better than Windows.

But I'm not willing to pay an extra 1000€ in some cases just to have Mac OS X. For the price of the iPad I can buy a PC tower and a monitor!! It's amazing how cheap Windows PC's and laptops are nowadays, probably due to tablets.

It's also really hard to change the hard drive in a Mac and install an SSD.

Sorry Apple, but even if I were rich I'm not buying more overpriced stuff from you. I can get Windows and android stuff way way more cheap.

Are people seriously not worried with how expensive Apple is going?

I can buy three PC's for the price of an iMac or MacBook pro!!! I see Windows laptops with same specs as MacBooks pros (except for the screen) for as low as 400€!!! I can save around 1000€!!!!

No wonder they are the most profitable company in the world!! They steal from their users!!

And let me add one last thing: I hate Windows, but I hate even more the price Apple asks for their products.

Good Lord man, calm down. Did you not know the price of the items when you bought them? Did they not deliver the product you purchased?

I agree Apple has a premium price that is getting harder and harder to justify but they didn't STEAL from you.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

But that is your problem and you will have to get over it. Are you really expecting the entire world to sit around and not improve technology for 365 days because you said so?

The days of yearly updates are over forever. Technology is moving way too fast and the marketplace is way too competitive for such old fashioned sluggishness.

How many upgrades can they do per year? Each time they roll out an upgrade that means they have to retool their assembly lines. That costs money and takes time. Plus, you need a release event. You can't just say everyday, "The CPU speed increased by .01 GHz, come buy our new product!" and expect lines of eager fans everyday.

I'm pretty certain we're going to see them having an annual release cycle for most of their product lines...

 

[ReanimationN]

Writing good code can somewhat equalize Apple's fully vertical, "walled garden" approach. A good example being Window's 8, which runs incredibly well on hardware that android would choke on.

Agreed. I don't know if that just hasn't been done with Android, if it's because Android is written in Java or if it's just because Android needs more resources, but it's just not as smooth as iOS on comparable hardware.

I agree with both of you- recent versions of Windows are clear evidence that a well-written OS can perform well on a variety of hardware (including lower end devices). Android is terrible at achieving what Windows has recently.

Although I've seen it said that the Dalvik VM & Java aren't the reasons for Android's poor performance, here's some food for thought:

These are benchmarks comparing Xobot, a C# derivative of Android, and Android's Dalvik.

I love how iPhone apologist will say the "average" user won't even fully utilize the features or realize the nuance advantages that Android offers, but will somehow notice the millisecond difference in touch screen response that apparently debilitates the entire OS.

It's the classic "unless Apple does it, it's irrelevant" argument mixed in with a little "If a non-Apple product has a disadvantage, it is the end of the world."

Not to mention the myth that iOS doesn't have touch response issues or lag itself. There are a number of times the keyboard misses keys, or there are unregistered taps when trying to launch an app (where the app icon grays out but nothing happens).

It matters as the primary method of input on a touchscreen device is the touchscreen! If the touchscreen isn't as responsive as it can possibly be, it impacts the whole experience of using the device. It'd be like paying for a new video game console with a whole lot of new, awesome features, but having noticable, annoying latency plague the controller constantly. No matter how many awesome features there are, it's going to be a subpar experience, especially if there's a competing device out there with far less latency problems (even if said device isn't as feature laden).

I'm not saying iOS doesn't suffer any sort of lag, it does, but it performs so much better than Android. Even now, with Project Butter, they still aren't on the same level.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Wsj reporting that Apple cut supply orders for the iphone 5 by half due to weak demand. On front page of macrumors too.

I would genuinely hate to see apples downfall come to fruition. Not saying this is the end (obviously not) but it's seriously time people start being honest about apple's shortcomings. For their sake.

I'm glad it's happening to some degree, even on these boards.

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I agree with both of you- recent versions of Windows are clear evidence that a well-written OS can perform well on a variety of hardware (including lower end devices). Android is terrible at achieving what Windows has recently.

Although I've seen it said that the Dalvik VM & Java aren't the reasons for Android's poor performance, here's some food for thought:

Image

These are benchmarks comparing Xobot, a C# derivative of Android, and Android's Dalvik.

It matters as the primary method of input on a touchscreen device is the touchscreen! If the touchscreen isn't as responsive as it can possibly be, it impacts the whole experience of using the device. It'd be like paying for a new video game console with a whole lot of new, awesome features, but having noticable, annoying latency plague the controller constantly. No matter how many awesome features there are, it's going to be a subpar experience, especially if there's a competing device out there with far less latency problems (even if said device isn't as feature laden).

I'm not saying iOS doesn't suffer any sort of lag, it does, but it performs so much better than Android. Even now, with Project Butter, they still aren't on the same level.

Your definition of "so much better" and "far less" are very different from mine

Again: milliseconds.

I'll leave it at that.

 

[onthecouchagain]

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/01/13/apple-slashes-iphone-5-part-orders-due-to-weak-demand/

A commenter pointed out that this could be a sign of not necessarily slowing iphone sales but possibly apple putting in orders for a different screen size iphone, which would mean not just different screen orders but different parts too for a larger iphone casing.

Many possibilities. Many hopes...

 

[F123D]

Many possibilities. Many hopes...

And up until this point, just disappointment.

 

[Spungoflex]

How many upgrades can they do per year? Each time they roll out an upgrade that means they have to retool their assembly lines. That costs money and takes time. Plus, you need a release event. You can't just say everyday, "The CPU speed increased by .01 GHz, come buy our new product!" and expect lines of eager fans everyday.

I'm pretty certain we're going to see them having an annual release cycle for most of their product lines...

Apple is as good as dead if they do that. And why yearly? Why not update every 3 years? That would give you more time with your "top of the line" device.

The ipad 4 is TWICE as powerful as the ipad 3. Should they have just sat on that technology for an entire year for no good reason? Of course not.

The update cycle will probably be close to 9 months, going downwards to 6 months within the next 5 years.

 

[MonkeySee....]

I think most people leave the iPhone because they are bored with it--not because it stops working for them. I've noticed that some of the reviewers have seemingly been taken with "new toy syndrome" in which the novelty of a new thing kinda overwhelms their analysis.

I would say that Jelly Bean is a pretty awesome OS and Google did a great job. The problem for me is that it is still going into plastic phones with pitiful storage--16GB or even less. I also want timely OS updates. The Droid DNA might be top of the line right now, but in 9 months when everyone is raving about Key Lime Pie will it get an update? Maybe, maybe not.

I do think Apple needs to freshen iOS up--badly. If that isn't crystal clear to them at this point then I think the iPhone is in for a decline among some market segments.

Very good post. Haven't seen one of these in a while.

 

[ReanimationN]

Wsj reporting that Apple cut supply orders for the iphone 5 by half due to weak demand. On front page of macrumors too.

Good! I think Apple's sales needed to take a hit so they'd finally wake up and realise how stale iOS has become.

Your definition of "so much better" and "far less" are very different from mine

Again: milliseconds.

I'll leave it at that.

Milliseconds more of lag are unacceptable in any sort of input device- touchscreens, controllers, keyboards, mice etc. Those seemingly inconsequential milliseconds add up to a subpar experience.

 

[hyteckit]

Milliseconds more of lag are unacceptable in any sort of input device- touchscreens, controllers, keyboards, mice etc. Those seemingly inconsequential milliseconds add up to a subpar experience.

Yup.

I wish the s-pen on my Note wouldn't have that much of a lag. It's decent enough, but could be better.