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Have you noticed the quality of Apple has gotten worse compared to years ago?
- Thread starter Spooner83
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Perhaps you should look at what Apple has done since Cook: become the largest and highly profitable firm making superb products in a highly competitive industry, worldwide. Duh.
Note that to the extent any CEO can work to improve diversity and environmental responsibility that is a good thing, not "...taken his eyes of the prize and stuck his nose into too many things that do not concern Apple."
Yea ever since Forstall got canned there's been a dip in software quality IMO. So many basics are missed too but this is what happens when you hire college grads who can pass leetcode interviews instead of experienced devs.
Yes, software-quality has gotten noticeable worse. Maybe as software has gotten more complex, so there’s an excuse for that. (OTOH there are much more people working at apple nowadays). But it’s no excuse for lacking software design (e.g. the now completely overstuffed iOS settings; hidden but essential features you won’t discover on your own; buttons that look like text…).
Hardware is still good from a manufacturing quality perspective, but has also taken a nosedive over the last 15 years when it comes to repairability, pricing and expandability. (e.g.: break the USB-plug of a homepod mini and the whole unit needs to be replaced - unless you repair it yourself. That’s some user- and environmentally hostile design)
Imho the value of apple stuff has thus decreased significantly over time.
Hardware is still good from a manufacturing quality perspective, but has also taken a nosedive over the last 15 years when it comes to repairability, pricing and expandability. (e.g.: break the USB-plug of a homepod mini and the whole unit needs to be replaced - unless you repair it yourself. That’s some user- and environmentally hostile design)
Imho the value of apple stuff has thus decreased significantly over time.
I have a an early 2005 15” PowerBook G4 that still runs as well as it did when new. Certainly battery tech and the internet have long passed it by, but it is still a good machine that I use regularly. While I plan to get either the 15” Macbook Air or the 14” Macbook Pro at some point, I have no complaints about any of the Macs I owned from the late PowerPC era. I even have a dual core PowerMac G5 that I use almost daily alongside my M1 Mini. (It’s frankly hilarious to me that both of them have 16 GB RAM)
My Intel macs have been more if a hit or miss for me. The 2007 mini was crap. I briefly used a 2008 Macbook that developed cracks in the case and struggled with software that worked perfectly fine on my older macs. My 2009 and 2010 Mac Minis were great machines that I used up until I switched to my M1 mini.
On the software side of things, I think the UI/UX has noticeably declined since Leopard/Snow Leopard. I say this as someone who uses Leopard and Sonoma on a daily basis. I prefer the customization, functionality, interactivity of Dashboard compared to the way widgets are handled currently in Sonoma. Spaces and expose worked better for me when they were separate features instead of mashed together in Mission Control. While I don’t mind the idea of remaking System Preferences into something that is more consistent with iOS and iPadOS, the jumbled mess of organization is infuriating at times. However I do miss Dark Mode and control center on my older Macs.
As far as iOS, the only features post iOS 6 that I use are control center, multi-pane folders, airdrop, and dark mode. Continuity has never lived up to its promise, iCloud isn’t as reliable as it should be. I think Apple’s push into services is starting to tar my experience as it feels like it’s becoming just another company that wants subscription revenue along with all the rest.
I swear the Apple IIe is the most rock solid thing Apple has ever released. I have my platinum IIe from elementary school and it still works like a champ. I’m using it for writing.
I was set to buy a new M3 Pro MBP and then Cook decided cut off advertising on X to virtue signal. Turns out as a customer, I decided to virtue signal with my wallet.
I agree; moved form Microsoft years ago; now thinking about going back. The endless spinning wheels on my imac are making me very unhappy with Apple products. Time to reconsider.
NO, I disagree. And I have been using Apple devices since as a young engineer one of the first 128k Macs off the line was placed on my desk. Obviously some products have been better than others over the years, but NO, quality has not been degrading. Period.
Interesting. I did the opposite, studiously avoiding Twitter after crazy Elon made a clustermess of it, including the name change and his public usage of the renamed platform in support of weird far-right politics.
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I'm holding out hope that one day somebody is going to ask "Has the quality of Apple products gotten worse?" and then provide a detailed analysis of quality metrics over time relative to code size and annual production.
Until that day, we'll get threads like this one where they just list a few problems they've experienced.
Until that day, we'll get threads like this one where they just list a few problems they've experienced.
Yes all computers (not just Apple products) age out as apps/OS demands increase over time. Buy a new Mac and load it with plenty of RAM and you will no longer have "endless spinning wheels."
Also note that those who buld computers with less RAM than ideal for their future workflows will experience "endless spinning wheels" much sooner than those who build with more RAM, planning for the future that always has increasing RAM demands.
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Agree with the decline, for instance It takes me about 30 minutes to complete my task with media and iTunes on 'SNOW LEOPARD' LOL, and it takes me an entire week to do the same on Sonoma and Sequoia with the TV and Music apps. Actually the Music app works sort of like iTunes, but still not the same. So I must just use old Macs I guess. the M Series chips can only be as good as the software will allow I think
Like the other person said, under Cook they are too focused on profits and diversifying the portfolio but not so much on creating innovative products that just 'make sense'. Particularly the frequency of iPhone releases is crazy. Even though they have more or less sensible release cycle with minor HW refresh for all their other products, they just HAVE to push out new iPhone (and Watch) every year even though there has been practically zero innovation for the last few years. This of course results in a lower quality control.
The iPhone has always been on a yearly schedule. The difference under Cook is they have diversified the lineup, which is getting a little ridiculous now from a consumer point of view, of course that's just my opinion.
Frankly, I don't mind having several options for the iPhone, except that everything they offer these days is with a huge screen. I'm holding onto my 13 mini for as long as possible. I absolutely despise using big phones, even though my hands are normal and not small, I just get clumsy with bigger phones and definitely would break them.
The ergonomics of a mini are perfect for someone who leads active lifestyle and even the ergonomics of iPhone X/XS would be fine. Their latest push for ginormous phones is nothing short of ridiculous.