Has apple back itself into a corner?

[Rodimus Prime]

Has apple reach the same problem that RIM has reach with the blackberry.

When was the last time Apple really release something with a WOW factor to it was when the iPhone was released. All the other updates to it are either minor or things it should of had on day 1 (MMS and G3). iTouch was expect no wow there. The new OS has mostly been just updates and not huge. Nice but not huge.
The last Mac that was released that had any wow factor on it was intel and as for design it goes back to G4 iMac. Now they are just very refined looking.

It seems most of apple products have been refined to that point there is just not much more they can do in refining the hardware. iPhone being a big one. Take a look at the Blackberry. It has reach a point were not much can really be done in refining. They have a trackpad, best physical QWERT keyboard and 3G. In the touch screen area were apple is again what can they do with out really taking away from the phone or other produces.

Apple to me has gotten to a point over all they have lost the ablity to wow because they have refined themselves to a corner.

 

[Hellhammer]

SL's price was a wow factor for me. MBPs in June was a wow factor for me. iPhone 3G was a wow factor for me.

Tell me what do you expect? Other companies haven't done more than Apple, maybe because of the economy situation, simply it's the best solution to announce new 2000$ toy.

 

[Melrose]

I don't think so.

The world in general thought they were gone and couldn't possibly envision a reemergence back in the mid 90s, and yet look at them today: They have a very popular lineup, market dominance in markets largely restricted just a few years ago, and have permanently changed other markets.

They are limited only by their creativity.

 

[pdjudd]

Any company will tell you that constant innovation is incredibly difficult to successfully pull off mostly due to the inherent risk of things not taking off. Innovation also has the problems of spreading out 1.0 releases way across the board. Innovation is nice, but you can't just innovate and then abandon it like the Apple TV. Right now Apple is taking the approach of recovering from the bloat that innovation tends to gather.

Take Snow Leopard. Release after release Apple has made huge strides and changes to the OS. This time, instead of adding more changes on top, they decide to clean things up. Look at like this. You have a house. Sure you can keep redesigning the kitchen, the painting, the carpeting, adding a deck and all the visible things. Snow Leopard is all about fixing the leaky pipes that nobody sees, upgrading the electrical, swapping out some old shingles. It may not be glorious and game changing, but big changes aren't always things that you see.

The point is, not all changes are obvious and game changing. Some times its a good thing to prepare for the future and make sure your platforms are good enough now to continue building on them. One rule of business is that you don't tweak with success without knowing that you can maintain it. Products like the iPhone are doing great. Why mess with success.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I think that is my point. Apple kind of seem to reach a point in a lot of there lines that all that really is left is under-the-hood fixes and minor updates.

The iPhone 3G to me was nothing more than a minor update and underhood fixes. 3GS was even more under the hood and next to nothing new.

It just seems apple has refined most of its product lines to a point were not much more than under the hood stuff.

Apple TV should needs a major overall to it that much is true because well it does not even make it to the starting line.

 

[Hellhammer]

I think that is my point. Apple kind of seem to reach a point in a lot of there lines that all that really is left is under-the-hood fixes and minor updates.

The iPhone 3G to me was nothing more than a minor update and underhood fixes. 3GS was even more under the hood and next to nothing new.

It just seems apple has refined most of its product lines to a point were not much more than under the hood stuff.

Apple TV should needs a major overall to it that much is true because well it does not even make it to the starting line.

The thing in 3G was that Apple made it available in more countries, which of course made the sell a lot bigger. That was nothing for you guys in US, but it was major step for us in other countries. 3GS, hmm, I think it was OK. It's two times faster and design of 3G is nice IMO.

I agree with  TV. It needs a big overhaul if Apple wants to make it sell better

 

[sanPietro98]

On the other hand, if Apple is always trying to innovate with every release, you can have serious downsides too. Not all of the products will "stick" and drop off quickly, wasting millions in R&D. You will get buggy v1.0 releases. And you'll dilute your own market base.

 

[Consultant]

Apple Moves Up to #20 on 'Best Global Brands' List
https://www.macrumors.com/2009/09/21/apple-moves-up-to-20-on-best-global-brands-list/

On the other hand, if Apple is always trying to innovate with every release, you can serious dowsides too. Not all of the products will "stick" and drop off quickly, wasting millions in R&D. You will get buggy v1.0 releases. And you'll dilute your own market base.

Yup. Anyone in business would know there are different types of things business can do

- innovation
- refinement (process or technology)
- monkey see monkey do

 

[sanPietro98]

I also fully expect Snow Leopard to be a stepping stone for OS X 10.7. My guess is that Apple is trying to get software developers to adopt the new underlying technologies and APIs while consumers are attracted to the low-cost upgrade.

My guess is that the next major OS X release will have the WOW factor once a large consumer and developer base has migrated. If this is the case, I think it's a brilliant move by Apple.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

Much like Blackberry, they have a cult following. We shall see how Chrome OS is, but Apple really has itself in so many places on the market and generally on top and with a very high level of satisfaction (minus the iPod touch)...

Tell me if any of this generalization is off:
Most:
OSX Users, don't really see themselves going back to Windows
MacBook Air Users, don't really see themselves going to Adamo
iPhone Users, don't really see themselves going to ______
iPod touch Users, don't really see themselves going to the Zune HD
iPod Users, don't really see themselves going to SanDisk?
AppleTV Users, don't really themselves going to a PS3?

Things like the App Store were rather innovative and I imagine the much rumored tablet is going to spark even more excitement...

 

[NT1440]

I'm fairly certain they are on a "massive feature list, refinement, massive feature list" type of roadmap currently. There are deffinatly big things brewing in apple, and as usual, we never understand how truly big they are until they unveil them.

Just like the iphone, everyone thought "nice, an apple phone, thatll be cool". And then BAM out of nowhere, Apple's 3rd revolutionary device.

 

[mysterytramp]

It doesn't appear to be getting any love in this thread, but the new iPod nano packs a lot of wow, at least to me. Does anything else pack so much in such a small device?

mt

 

[thegoldenmackid]

It doesn't appear to be getting any love in this thread, but the new iPod nano packs a lot of wow, at least to me. Does anything else pack so much in such a small device?

mt

I agree, I was really impressed with it as well.

 

[rhett7660]

I don't think they have.... Not at all. Let's not forget the iPhone has only been out for a few years. A few years. Look how far they have come. I like the fact they are fixing minor issues, servicing the product if you will.