For you, has Reality Distortion dissipated?

[DigitalAR]

I can only tell you how excited my friends and I were watching Steve Jobs present MacWorld keynotes in the early 2000s. We bought the iPod and the iPod Mini and Shuffle and all that and were super excited every time.

Now, and I truly mean no disrespect to one of the largest corporation in the world, but now it just seems like I' am expecting to better my needed tool (iPhone) every few years because I'll need to, not because I'll want to. The only wanting will come from the new unannounced features that'll be enough to get me to continue to use iPhone.

I love iPhone and Apple... but the excitement of owning an Apple product is very different for me now. I no longer baby my Apple devices; don't even put on screen protectors knowing this is just a tool that's suppose to help me throughout my days.

Jobs would make it feel like he was giving you access to rare alien space products that you could enjoy and be happy with; Cook introduces products (successfully albeit) with practicality such as crash detection on the watch and all that.

Whoever you are reading this, I'm confident that in some manner Jobs' Reality Distortion field has changed for you, especially if you were around during the springing of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc..

 

[Apple fanboy]

I can only tell you how excited my friends and I were watching Steve Jobs present MacWorld keynotes in the early 2000s. We bought the iPod and the iPod Mini and Shuffle and all that and were super excited every time.

Now, and I truly mean no disrespect to one of the largest corporation in the world, but now it just seems like I' am expecting to better my needed tool (iPhone) every few years because I'll need to, not because I'll want to. The only wanting will come from the new unannounced features that'll be enough to get me to continue to use iPhone.

I love iPhone and Apple... but the excitement of owning an Apple product is very different for me now. I no longer baby my Apple devices; don't even put on screen protectors knowing this is just a tool that's suppose to help me throughout my days.

Jobs would make it feel like he was giving you access to rare alien space products that you could enjoy and be happy with; Cook introduces products (successfully albeit) with practicality such as crash detection on the watch and all that.

Whoever you are reading this, I'm confident that in some manner Jobs' Reality Distortion field has changed for you, especially if you were around during the springing of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc..

Nothing to do with Jobs.
Just like any tech device. With each version the improvements over the last are less and less with each generation.
The camera is a bit better.
The screen is a bit better.
The battery life is a bit better.

It’s not setting the world alight is it? If Jobs was still around it would be no different.

 

[decafjava]

Every so often a revolutionary device or idea comes along. Then in the interim come the refinements. Look at how much cars have changed in the last century but the only "revolution" that will impact society is the advent of practical electric vehicles.

 

[I7guy]

A new iPhone as iterative as it is is still more exciting than an announcement of generative AI.

 

[MisterSavage]

Jobs would make it feel like he was giving you access to rare alien space products that you could enjoy and be happy with;

I mean in a way he did. My phone before an iPhone was atrocious flip phone with a tiny screen. Seeing that touch screen, swiping, etc felt like magic.

 

[maflynn]

Whoever you are reading this, I'm confident that in some manner Jobs' Reality Distortion field has changed for you,

Here's my take.
Back in the day, there was so much excitement of what could be done with computers and Jobs had a way that fostered such excitement. Add on the fact that they were in a fight for their life and being the underdog in the early 2000s with large companies like Dell mocking and belittling Apple.
Michael Dell:

I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.

Now a days, Apple is no longer the underdog, but the market leader and its hard to have the same level of excitement for a trillion dollar company that charges 3,500 for an A/R headset. I'm not picking on Apple just pointing out that they're no longer the underdog, and with the industry maturing there's less and less things to truly get excited

A new iPhone as iterative

Not really. What new features were added from the iPhone 10 through the 14? I'm pretty sure there's really no major features, other then the typical trope, faster processor, slightly improved camera system, longer battery. Its hard to get really excited for a product when from year to year its nearly the same.

 

[TheOtherAndy]

The industry as a whole is less interesting. I never followed Apple all that closely until recently, but I built my own computers. Before Intel blew everything away with Sandy/Ivy Bridge (2000/3000 series Core i processors), there was a very noticeable improvement in performance each time I built a system. That processor line is the last that really wowed.

On the prebuilt PC/Mac side, they all just sort of stopped bothering to improve. The PC makers have made drastically worse machines each year in terms of build quality and design, and Apple let Ive's delusions run wild. Apple Silicon is an amazing jump, but now Apple has no nerve so it just resides in basically the same chassis from years ago.

I don't think my increasing age helps things either.

 

[dmccloud]

Here's my take.
Back in the day, there was so much excitement of what could be done with computers and Jobs had a way that fostered such excitement. Add on the fact that they were in a fight for their life and being the underdog in the early 2000s with large companies like Dell mocking and belittling Apple.
Michael Dell:


Now a days, Apple is no longer the underdog, but the market leader and its hard to have the same level of excitement for a trillion dollar company that charges 3,500 for an A/R headset. I'm not picking on Apple just pointing out that they're no longer the underdog, and with the industry maturing there's less and less things to truly get excited


Not really. What new features were added from the iPhone 10 through the 14? I'm pretty sure there's really no major features, other then the typical trope, faster processor, slightly improved camera system, longer battery. Its hard to get really excited for a product when from year to year its nearly the same.

With the iPhone 14 lineup, the addition of emergency communication via satellite is a big addition. Not long after the 14s were released, there was a guy who got stuck near Kotzebue, AK who used the satellite communication feature to get rescued. The addition of crash detection to the 14 is also another safety-focused change.

The other big change with the 14 Pro and Pro Max would be the switch to a 48MP main camera from the 12MP used for years, but that will only really resonate with the segment of the userbase which uses the cameras extensively for semi-professional or even professional work.

 

[JPack]

Some of it is due to maturing technology. The other part is Apple pricing and relentless chasing of profits.

We’re seeing a plateau in terms of the phablet form factor. Smartphones have allowed great astrophotography and super zoom since 2019, but who is really using that? Chip lithography is slowing down. If you look at 3nm, TSMC can pack more transistors, but energy efficiency and performance is relatively similar to previous nodes.