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Do you think Apple should update products without a keynote from now on?

A

applefan289

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,705
8
USA
I think it would be more efficient and less awkward, especially since Steve Jobs stepped down, to refresh products without a keynote. I think they should let us know when the product will be unveiled, on their website, for example, instead of holding a keynote that doesn't even feel the same anymore without Jobs.

I just watched the keynote from yesterday on Apple's website, and was very disappointed in the vibe it had. It had to be one of the most boring keynotes as of lately.

I would have been happier had they just updated their site like they did, but without the keynote. That way, it seems less awkward, especially after Jobs is gone.

If Jobs had not stepped down, I think the keynotes would still be a good idea, because the vibe would have been more exciting. But after seeing the vibe with Tim Cook there, I'm really disappointed in the atmosphere the whole presentation gave.

Tim Cook looks like a Walmart CEO. Steve Jobs is the true face of Apple.
 
notjustjay

notjustjay

macrumors 603
Sep 19, 2003
6,056
167
Canada, eh?
So here's a question to consider:

Were it not for all of the iPhone 5 rumors and speculation and, most importantly, expectations, built up by this website, not Apple, would you still have found the announcement so "boring"?
 
A

applefan289

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,705
8
USA
I'm mainly talking about the awkward vibe without Jobs. This keynote seemed a bit off to me (compared to keynotes within the last few years). Had they just announced an "unveiling" date, and updated the website on that day, I would have been happier!

I think the boring and awkwardness of the keynote was a mixture of Tim and the lack of content discussed. It felt so dull when all they could say was new about the Touch was iOS5, and that the Nanos would get new clock faces. It just felt like they had nothing to talk about (except for the 4S). That, plus the weirdness of Tim Cook, plus no Jobs, plus a solid update to the 4S (but that's it), made it seem awkward IMO.

But I am the first one to say that all their current products are the best in the market, and any updates we see as long as that's the case, are a treat.
 
I

imahawki

macrumors 6502a
Apr 26, 2011
612
8
I think I'd have to wait for a keynote that wasn't a complete letdown for other reasons before I could judge. When the iPhone 5 keynote does actually happen, you might feel differently.
 
roadbloc

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
I don't really see the point in the keynotes, never have done. Last one I watched was the one when they released Lion. They just painfully slowly babysat us through ten features of Lion, repeating over and over again on how advanced and magical adding iOS-inspired to OS X is. I don't really see it necessary personally.
 
I

interrobang

macrumors 6502
May 25, 2011
369
0
Apple basically got every major media outlet to come to its headquarters on their own dime to listen to, and report on, a ninety-minute sales pitch for a fairly normal product update.

Until the "vibe" gets so "awkward" that the reporters stop showing up to give Apple free advertising, Tim Cook would have to be the biggest idiot on the face of the earth to stop doing this. Tim Cook is not paid to be a cheerleader; he's paid to sell product.
 
(marc)

(marc)

macrumors 6502a
Sep 15, 2010
724
2
the woods
roadbloc said:
I don't really see the point in the keynotes, never have done. Last one I watched was the one when they released Lion. They just painfully slowly babysat us through ten features of Lion, repeating over and over again on how advanced and magical adding iOS-inspired to OS X is. I don't really see it necessary personally.
Click to expand...

But wasn't it amazing, magic, awesome, great and super-innovative how they made the traffic light buttons a little smaller?
 
Shrink

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
interrobang said:
Apple basically got every major media outlet to come to its headquarters on their own dime to listen to, and report on, a ninety-minute sales pitch for a fairly normal product update.

Until the "vibe" gets so "awkward" that the reporters stop showing up to give Apple free advertising, Tim Cook would have to be the biggest idiot on the face of the earth to stop doing this. Tim Cook is not paid to be a cheerleader; he's paid to sell product.
Click to expand...

This ^^^

You have to remember, the vast majority of the general, consuming public, does not read sites like this one. Their only source of information about new Apple products comes from non-tech news sources. Why would Apple give up all that free advertising?

As far as Cook vs Jobs - again I don't believe the general public shares the feelings of many who post here about Jobs. For them, he's just another corporate spokesperson selling a product.

Finally, it is that large non-techie consumer who buys the majority of the devices

:)
 
rdowns

rdowns

macrumors Penryn
Jul 11, 2003
27,397
12,521
Apple is a master of generating free publicity. It's part of their marketing strategy. Keynotes will continue until the "press" stops giving Apple free publicity.

What posters here generally fail to remember is that people who frequent tech boards are not representative of the buying public at large.
 
notjustjay

notjustjay

macrumors 603
Sep 19, 2003
6,056
167
Canada, eh?
rdowns said:
What posters here generally fail to remember is that people who frequent tech boards are not representative of the buying public at large.
Click to expand...

We are always the engineers of our own downfall here. People on rumor sites fantasize about possible iPhone 5 features. This fuels more rumor sites to report on those rumors, and ultimately the mainstream media reports on the rumors too, which gives the rumor the appearance of even more credibility ("I just saw it on CNN!") Suddenly everyone is sure that their fantasy iPhone or Mac is just about to be announced and they watch the keynote with high expectations. Then Apple announces whatever they were going to announce and everyone is utterly disappointed: what happened to the rumored product?!

It happens every single time.
 
rhett7660

rhett7660

macrumors G5
Jan 9, 2008
14,377
4,502
Sunny, Southern California
Something tells me the first SJ keynotes were probably kind of akward also. I would give it some time. They also don't do a keynote for all the products they have. Me I like them. Not for everyone. But then again I also like some of the other ones I have seen ala MS Xbox and amazon.
 
Liquorpuki

Liquorpuki

macrumors 68020
Jun 18, 2009
2,286
8
City of Angels
That would be a terrible marketing decision.

The hype is usually wrong anyway:
iPhone 4S - just a faster iPhone 4
iPad 2 - just a faster iPad with a camera
iPad 1 - just a giant iPod Touch
iPhone 3GS - just a faster iPhone 3G

People are really underestimating the potential of SIRI right now.
 
*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
applefan289 said:
Not me, I think Siri is incredible.
Click to expand...

This.

Siri is huge, and also hugely underestimated at the moment. Wait until folks start using it. That little concern about owning only 5% overall mobile share will soon evaporate. Of course, the price will help in that area.
 
Rodimus Prime

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
*LTD* said:
This.

Siri is huge, and also hugely underestimated at the moment. Wait until folks start using it. That little concern about owning only 5% overall mobile share will soon evaporate. Of course, the price will help in that area.
Click to expand...

It is not that big. At most Apple will have a one generation jump on it at most and after that everyone else will catch up. So say with in a year that lead will be gone.

Voice control has never kick off any where because you look stupid about every time you use it.
 
rdowns

rdowns

macrumors Penryn
Jul 11, 2003
27,397
12,521
Rodimus Prime said:
It is not that big. At most Apple will have a one generation jump on it at most and after that everyone else will catch up. So say with in a year that lead will be gone.

Voice control has never kick off any where because you look stupid about every time you use it.
Click to expand...


If it's not so big, why will everyone else need a year to catch up? I thought Apple stole stuff, not innovated. (Yes, I know they bought Siri)

Right, no one looks stupid today yapping in their phones in bathrooms, elevators, subway cars etc. or bluefools running around talking to themselves. The fact is, if this world as well as the demo, it is killer. For consumers and for hurting Google.
 
Rodimus Prime

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
rdowns said:
If it's not so big, why will everyone else need a year to catch up? I thought Apple stole stuff, not innovated. (Yes, I know they bought Siri)

Right, no one looks stupid today yapping in their phones in bathrooms, elevators, subway cars etc. or bluefools running around talking to themselves. The fact is, if this world as well as the demo, it is killer. For consumers and for hurting Google.
Click to expand...

You are confusing it being big and amount of time it would take to remove the lead Apple bought from a company that was DARPA funded.
While it is cool that it can take every day statements and put more meaning to them it still for most people will be one of those features that are not going to be widely used.

Lets look at last year killer feature "Facetime" you are kidding me if you think that was widely used or really even that popular. After the lets play with it part was over no one really use it.
Have I used the voice control on my android phone yes but only really at stop lights to speed up getting a message prepped other wise not really used.
The lead Apple bought in terms of voice tech will be gone with in a year plan and simple
 
Liquorpuki

Liquorpuki

macrumors 68020
Jun 18, 2009
2,286
8
City of Angels
Rodimus Prime said:
It is not that big. At most Apple will have a one generation jump on it at most and after that everyone else will catch up. So say with in a year that lead will be gone.

Voice control has never kick off any where because you look stupid about every time you use it.
Click to expand...

If they keep developing the AI though, SIRI's functionality will grow. Then, those other companies will still be playing catch up a year from now.

Also, I think skinny jeans look stupid. But to everyone under 25 they look cool. When everyone starts doing or using something that looks stupid, it becomes less stupid.

dukebound85 said:
I recall Apple hyping up Voice Control too and look how lame that is
Click to expand...

Apple hypes up everything. Some of what they hype up deserves it - IE retina display. Others don't - IE Facetime. Either way, Apple's marketing department doesn't determine what's useful or not. It's all about how well the tech is implemented and how well it's received.

Voice Control implements speech recognition to perform basic functions. SIRI adds on language modeling, more complex AI, and tight integration with the net in a way that hasn't been done yet. The AI is the killer tech here. There's a ton of crap involving pattern recognition and machine learning that hasn't been tried yet on smartphones. So far, these phone mfg's haven't done anything beyond face recognition, basic speech recognition, and maybe a biometric sensor or two. This is something new.
 
boss.king

boss.king

macrumors 603
Apr 8, 2009
6,394
7,647
To not have a media event to launch new products would be stupid. Apple holds media events to let the MEDIA know what they are launching. It's there for publicity and press coverage, not to impress people with how well they perform on stage.
 
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