Goodbye, Apple

[MacsRgr8]

So what innovation are you moving to?

Indeed, that's the point.
I understand people say that Apple is losing its "magic", but Apple simply are still by far the best.

I don't want a Phone with that unhandy Android OS, or Windows 10 etc. I surely don't want un ugly PC with Linux on it, even though you get better specs per buck than a Mac.

I want the "all-in-one-brand-ease-of-use" Apple gives you:
• macOS
• iOS
• tvOS
• watchOS
• iCloud

These things sum up how I use tech privately and professionally. I got sucked into the Apple eco-system a long time ago, and in no way do I see anyone else do it better.
Cheaper, yes.
But not better. Not even close.

 

[617aircav]

Can't blame you. This Cook chap is clueless.

 

[Cineplex]

I think you see lots of emotion tied to Apple as a whole. If you were a Mac user in the early 90's you probably are the most emotional of them all. The Mac connected with people in a way no other computer or product could. You saw it as more of an enabler of creativity (tool for the mind) than a computer. When you looked at a Mac you could also feel how much better the future would be...there was hope in that box. Then when Steve came back, you saw that future unfold right in front of your eyes at a rapid pace...the iMac, AirPort, iBook, iPod, Final Cut, Shake, Cinema Displays, B&W G3...finally Apple was making the world more beautiful. Apple was becoming the success you always wanted it to be. Finally, everyone was switching to the Mac...it was what you were trying to do all along..help the world to see "the light". And then....it stopped.....the iPhone came along and changed the company forever. Steve Jobs also became less involved over time and that showed. The retail stores, which were the best places to go and hang out with fellow Mac users (who "got it") , soon became the world of over privileged people screaming that its "not their fault the dropped the iPhone in the ocean" and Apple should replace it. Apple changed, and the hope and future we all saw died. The products we dreamed about were no longer in the cards. The next big thing never came.

You cam imagine why people get so mad and irrational...its from loosing something very important to you (almost a piece of you) and at the same time having Apple just keep on saying it doesn't care about you or the future you saw. Being that attached to a company is unhealthy....but it is what it is. I think people want to switch platforms, not for the innovations or other reasons, but simply to escape the feeling of overflowing disappointment that the company you thought would actually change the world.....just makes watch bands for rich people. If you don't understand these people, you probably never will. But those that do, get it.

 

[smirking]

I think you see lots of emotion tied to Apple as a whole... I think people want to switch platforms, not for the innovations or other reasons, but simply to escape the feeling of overflowing disappointment that the company you thought would actually change the world.....just makes watch bands for rich people. If you don't understand these people, you probably never will. But those that do, get it.

This thread just went bizarro. Excuse me whlie I vomit.

 

[Tech198]

I don't think innovating is as simple as firing Tim Cook and employing... erm... whom? How many visionaries are there floating around just waiting to be hired? As much as I am not impressed with Apple's current products, especially Macs, I don't really know what they could invent next. Most of the products on Earth have reached maturity stage. Sure, you can add Siri to Macs, make the screen wrap around the phone, drop a physical button and use the screen as fingerprint reader, but is this something that I need in my life? The first iPod, iPhone, iPad were devices I have never seen before. The Watch came after many Android companies quickly put something together because of a rumour Apple might be making one. My interest in Apple Car is non-existent. VR might one day get to the point where I can't possibly live without it, but it's not there yet.

What can they do further? Make the phones and laptops (and, Gods forbid, desktops...) thinner? A 10% speed increase? Is that really exciting to anyone? The OLED bar on MBP sounds quite interesting, but is it going to change my life? I agree with @smirking – HealthKit sounds awesome and hopefully will develop further and further. If you were placed in Cook's seat, @CrashX, what would your inventions and innovations be? If you've got some great ideas why not mail them to tcook@apple.com?

Touch ID on Mac's.... laptops thinner, particularly around the display... but apart from that.... no real need to keep upgrading except "Apple people just want to buy whatever Apple puts out"

Maybe the odd speed bump here and there.. but its never gonna be a huge jump anymore. eg 2.7Ghz to 2.8

 

[navaira]

I think Apple's making some risky bets on the future. They want iPad to replace Macs eventually – see keynote. Wireless/bluetooth to replace 3.5mm jack. I won't talk about Apple Car because we don't actually know if it's even going to exist. Personally I disagree with the first two, but they are trying to change things. I don't know if I'd say "innovate" or "visionary" though...

 

[smirking]

Wireless/bluetooth to replace 3.5mm jack.

I'm sure a lot of companies would love to kill the 3.5mm jack in favor of something more modern with no wires, but nobody else either has the balls to do it or they know that they don't have the market clout to do it successfully. I have wires running all over my desktop. I don't think I'll be completely wireless anytime soon, but I'd welcome a few more devices being wireless so I can reduce the number of wires I have to untangle everytime I need to plug something else into my laptop.

 

[navaira]

I'm sure a lot of companies would love to kill the 3.5mm jack in favor of selling us new, more expensive stuff

Fixed it for you.

 

[lowendlinux]

I'm sure a lot of companies would love to kill the 3.5mm jack in favor of something more modern with no wires, but nobody else either has the balls to do it or they know that they don't have the market clout to do it successfully. I have wires running all over my desktop. I don't think I'll be completely wireless anytime soon, but I'd welcome a few more devices being wireless so I can reduce the number of wires I have to untangle everytime I need to plug something else into my laptop.

There are a half dozen or so other phones without the 3.5

 

[smirking]

Fixed it for you.

Thanks, but you don't have to buy anything you don't want to buy.
[doublepost=1467971791][/doublepost]

There are a half dozen or so other phones without the 3.5

Yeah, I know. I was actually thinking of lightning port audio and not wireless/bluetooth audio. If driving audio through the lightning port can deliver higher quality audio, I'd applaud it. I'm no audiophile, but I do appreciate really clean audio and I miss the DAC connected to my laptop when I'm listening to music on my iPhone. Better sound without having to buy a headphone amp would be an improvement.

 

[navaira]

Thanks, but you don't have to buy anything you don't want to buy.

Of course not, which is why I am still consuming my music from cassette tapes which are released all the time 😉 If the "no jack" trend catches on, I won't have a choice.

 

[smirking]

Of course not, which is why I am still consuming my music from cassette tapes which are released all the time 😉 If the "no jack" trend catches on, I won't have a choice.

Hey, I'm looking to swap some 8-tracks. Hook me up if you know anyone with some to trade. 😉

 

[Appleaker]

Innovation is getting harder and harder, it's a different time and you can't expect innovation at Apple every year.
It still happens but admittedly it has slowed down a lot. 3D Touch was one of the most innovative things they've done of late but the functionality and excitement from consumers wasn't there - I partly blame the lack of advertising for that.

 

[Cineplex]

Innovation is getting harder and harder, it's a different time and you can't expect innovation at Apple every year.
It still happens but admittedly it has slowed down a lot. 3D Touch was one of the most innovative things they've done of late but the functionality and excitement from consumers wasn't there - I partly blame the lack of advertising for that.

3D Touch is "right click" for iOS.....I wouldn't call that innovation.

 

[I7guy]

Innovation is getting harder and harder, it's a different time and you can't expect innovation at Apple every year.
It still happens but admittedly it has slowed down a lot. 3D Touch was one of the most innovative things they've done of late but the functionality and excitement from consumers wasn't there - I partly blame the lack of advertising for that.

I think consumers were excited by 3dt. Judging by posts on MR some definitely did like 3dt; others didn't. Some people don't use Touch ID, so it's hard to get a read on features.
[doublepost=1468196577][/doublepost]

3D Touch is "right click" for iOS.....I wouldn't call that innovation.

Did the concept as implemented by Apple exist before for more than a micro-second? Is this feature going to be carried forward in future flagships. It's innovation even if you don't want to say it is.😛

 

[Appleaker]

3D Touch is "right click" for iOS.....I wouldn't call that innovation.

No... A long tap is a right click. It is more than that although you're attitude towards it sums up what they did wrong - implementation.
[doublepost=1468197312][/doublepost]

I think consumers were excited by 3dt. Judging by posts on MR some definitely did like 3dt; others didn't. Some people don't use Touch ID, so it's hard to get a read on features.
[doublepost=1468196577][/doublepost]
Did the concept as implemented by Apple exist before for more than a micro-second? Is this feature going to be carried forward in future flagships. It's innovation even if you don't want to say it is.😛

I disagree about the excitement. Your average consumer doesn't go on MR and that is who I am talking about, MR users would be some of the most likely to be excited by it or try it out. Some people don't know it's there or turn it off. They really didn't advertise it or implement it like they should have - I think it just over-complicated things for some people.

 

[Cineplex]

No... A long tap is a right click. It is more than that although you're attitude towards it sums up what they did wrong - implementation.
[doublepost=1468197312][/doublepost]
I disagree about the excitement. Your average consumer doesn't go on MR and that is who I am talking about, MR users would be some of the most likely to be excited by it or try it out. Some people don't know it's there or turn it off. They really didn't advertise it or implement it like they should have - I think it just over-complicated things for some people.

All that I've ever seen it do is bring up contextual menus....the same way that right clicking does on the desktop. I guess in some apps it does more...but 99% of what I've seen....it's just contextual menus. The menus should have been accessible from day one with long hold and then a button on all the menus that says" remove icons" for deleting apps. That would have been a better way. It seems a bit convolutied anyway. The functions are not identical from app to app. Kind of anti Apple in the implementation.

 

[Appleaker]

All that I've ever seen it do is bring up contextual menus....the same way that right clicking does on the desktop. I guess in some apps it does more...but 99% of what I've seen....it's just contextual menus. The menus should have been accessible from day one with long hold and then a button on all the menus that says" remove icons" for deleting apps. That would have been a better way. It seems a bit convolutied anyway. The functions are not identical from app to app. Kind of anti Apple in the implementation.

Yeah I agree. I use it more for previews but the functionality is extremely inconsistent and sometimes not that helpful. I think app shortcuts were pointless before they introduced the 3D Touch widgets. Another downfall is its lack of use in 3rd party apps, I guess developers don't see the appeal.

 

[I7guy]

No... A long tap is a right click. It is more than that although you're attitude towards it sums up what they did wrong - implementation.
[doublepost=1468197312][/doublepost]
I disagree about the excitement. Your average consumer doesn't go on MR and that is who I am talking about, MR users would be some of the most likely to be excited by it or try it out. Some people don't know it's there or turn it off. They really didn't advertise it or implement it like they should have - I think it just over-complicated things for some people.

Touch ID on the 5s was pretty much a one-trick pony; and some people don't even use it today. 3dt version 2 in iOS 10, will extend the concept. But I disagree it's over complicated. Touch ID is way more complex to setup than 3dt to use.

I've seen most of my "buddies" who have 6s use 3dt. Bottom line it's tough to say and perceptions are always based on your own biases.

Btw a bunch of 3rd party apps now support 3dt.

 

[Cineplex]

Yeah I agree. I use it more for previews but the functionality is extremely inconsistent and sometimes not that helpful. I think app shortcuts were pointless before they introduced the 3D Touch widgets. Another downfall is its lack of use in 3rd party apps, I guess developers don't see the appeal.

It's like they went out of their way to ignore all the user interface research and development from the Macintosh (and even the Newton) all these years. They try so hard to make it different that it ends up being the same. By the time they are done iOS will be OS X on a tablet. They could have saved themselves the effort and just made an OS X tablet in 1999. Seems to work okay for Microsoft.

 

[smirking]

Yeah I agree. I use it more for previews but the functionality is extremely inconsistent and sometimes not that helpful. I think app shortcuts were pointless before they introduced the 3D Touch widgets. Another downfall is its lack of use in 3rd party apps, I guess developers don't see the appeal.

I'm normally a 3 to 4 year smartphone lifecycler. 3d touch was the one thing that almost got me upgrading after only 2 years, but I expected to run into your exact issues here. I figured it'd be a minimum of a year before they got the kinks out and a minimum of two years before third party developers caught up enough to make it fully useful.

Haptics will be a big deal when it's perfected and I'm really looking forward to enjoying it. It's the closest thing we can have to getting real buttons on a touch screen and that's one thing a lot of throwback geeks miss about our current stable of smart devices. Big screens are nice, but you miss the speed that real buttons brings to your experience and speed is why I'm still a primarily a laptop user.

 

[Cineplex]

Haptics will be a big deal when it's perfected and I'm really looking forward to enjoying it. It's the closest thing we can have to getting real buttons on a touch screen and that's one thing a lot of throwback geeks miss about our current stable of smart devices. Big screens are nice, but you miss the speed that real buttons brings to your experience and speed is why I'm still a primarily a laptop user.

The Motorola Rokr E8 had Haptics in 2007. That is still the benchmark that nobody has been able to pass.

There are ZERO buttons on the face, but when you push on one of the numbers you would have swore that you pushed a physical button. It really is unbeat today. When I had this phone I'd let people mess with it, then I'd power it down and ask them to find the buttons. They were (and still are) amazed that it is a flat surface. Yet another example of Apple claiming they did something new and innovative...yet Motorola had them beat with a dumb phone. If you every have the chance to play with this phone...it is worth spending a few minutes with. After you will wonder why Apple's system is lame. The Motorola had zero speed issues with typing. Your fingers had no idea. I have not encountered anything like it since.

 

[smirking]

The Motorola Rokr E8 had Haptics in 2007.

I wish I could get my hands on one of those to play with. Anyway, my comment wasn't meant to imply that nobody has ever done this or nobody has done it better yet. I meant that having a mature tactile feedback mechanism fully implemented in a mobile OS is something really worth anticipating. I'm merely applauding that they're moving in an interesting direction.

 

[Cineplex]

I wish I could get my hands on one of those to play with. Anyway, my comment wasn't meant to imply that nobody has ever done this or nobody has done it better yet. I meant that having a mature tactile feedback mechanism fully implemented in a mobile OS is something really worth anticipating. I'm merely applauding that they're moving in an interesting direction.

Oh sorry, I wasn't implying that you said that. I was just making a talking point about it. Some of the "fan boys" I know like to tell me how "revolutionary" the "Apple Taptic Engine" is. The fact is the "Taptic Engine" is way behind the Rokr's technology. I like to give Motorola (the real, old school Motorola) credit and make sure everyone remembers where this stuff came from. Apple likes to act like they invented the stuff...when it is clearly not the case. They haven't even perfected it. I tried in on the iPhone and was disgusted. No attempt to make the vibration localized like the Rokr. Once you use the E8 you will find all this modern stuff really primitive. I was laughing the day I saw the "Taptic Engine". I knew it wasn't even close to what the E8 had. It's not like the Rokr's tech is all that complicated...could have been adapted for the smart phone. But then again, it wouldn't be the thickness of a hair like Jonny likes.

It really depresses me when I interact with an old Motorola phone. I always found them to make really great and innovative handsets. Even though the Rokr E8 wasn't as big as the Razr....it showed us the future. Apple used to be like that. Seems nobody is left that can actually accomplish showing us a hint of what is to come. Sometimes you need companies that make products that aren't mass successes, as those are usually the ones pushing the envelope. They fail because they are usually before their time...like the E8. Today's Motorola is a joke. They are still doing some things differently, but the soul is gone.

 

[I7guy]

Oh sorry, I wasn't implying that you said that. I was just making a talking point about it. Some of the "fan boys" I know like to tell me how "revolutionary" the "Apple Taptic Engine" is. The fact is the "Taptic Engine" is way behind the Rokr's technology. I like to give Motorola (the real, old school Motorola) credit and make sure everyone remembers where this stuff came from. Apple likes to act like they invented the stuff...when it is clearly not the case. They haven't even perfected it. I tried in on the iPhone and was disgusted. No attempt to make the vibration localized like the Rokr. Once you use the E8 you will find all this modern stuff really primitive. I was laughing the day I saw the "Taptic Engine". I knew it wasn't even close to what the E8 had. It's not like the Rokr's tech is all that complicated...could have been adapted for the smart phone. But then again, it wouldn't be the thickness of a hair like Jonny likes.

It really depresses me when I interact with an old Motorola phone. I always found them to make really great and innovative handsets. Even though the Rokr E8 wasn't as big as the Razr....it showed us the future. Apple used to be like that. Seems nobody is left that can actually accomplish showing us a hint of what is to come. Sometimes you need companies that make products that aren't mass successes, as those are usually the ones pushing the envelope. They fail because they are usually before their time...like the E8. Today's Motorola is a joke. They are still doing some things differently, but the soul is gone.

No doubt the old Motorola everyone loved, but it is gone.

What Apple does is mostly innovation, not invention. Apple didn't invent the finger print reader, but they did invent Touch ID. They didn't invent force touch, but they did invent 3DT.

I like my limited use cases of 3dt; mostly cursor placement, peek and pop and task manager. It works very well. My BB S2 had Taptic feedback....if only BB didn't screw up the hardware.