It's a camera 'phone. If you want to do photography 'properly', then buy a 'proper' camera. I've been taking photographs for nearly 40 years, and I've owned countless cameras. Currently using a cuple of digital cameras, a DSLR and a ML cam. I use my iPhone as a 'snappy' compact cam; for that purpose, it's superb. If I want to get a bit more 'serious', I get my 'proper' cams out. But as a photographer with such experience, and having worked professionally too, I'd say that iPhone cameras are actually fantastic for what they are. I've taken surprisingly good pictures with it. A bad workman and all that...
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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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Unfortunately, I have to agree.
For the like 20 years or so I’ve been using Apple devices, 90% of my problems occurred in the last two/three years.
I also find it funny that everyone has different problems while using the same apps/devices. For instance, I remember setting up two HomePod minis as a stereo pair—this was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life 😂 I had to set it up like maybe 15 times (and I’m not exaggerating) until it finally worked. HOWEVER, after they finally were set up properly, they’ve been working almost flawlessly.
I also don’t care about minor glitches (that happen all over the place btw), I can live with those.
But there were two specific problems I had in the last couple of months that really made it clear to me that their quality control isn’t what it used to be anymore. And a lot of their stuff doesn’t “just work” anymore.
1. I bought the new FineWoven wallet but for some reason I never got Find My to work. I talked to their support and tried everything, nothing worked. Turns out that you had to had iOS 17 for it to work but it wasn’t released for a few days.
2. I bought the new AirPods Pro USB-C but my MacBook never recognized them as AirPods (they were shown as regular headphones) and a lot of functions were missing (head tracking etc.). I talked to their support and tried everything, nothing worked. Turns out you have to have macOS Sonoma for them to fully work. But a lot of people wait until they update macOS (I for once can’t do that for many month because a lot of my third party audio plugins take a while till they support Sonoma).
It’s also worth noting that both times Apple support wasn’t able to help me. They simply didn’t know why they didn’t work. But I found the answer to my problems here at MacRumors from people using the betas or tested their AirPods on both macOS versions.
For the like 20 years or so I’ve been using Apple devices, 90% of my problems occurred in the last two/three years.
I also find it funny that everyone has different problems while using the same apps/devices. For instance, I remember setting up two HomePod minis as a stereo pair—this was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life 😂 I had to set it up like maybe 15 times (and I’m not exaggerating) until it finally worked. HOWEVER, after they finally were set up properly, they’ve been working almost flawlessly.
I also don’t care about minor glitches (that happen all over the place btw), I can live with those.
But there were two specific problems I had in the last couple of months that really made it clear to me that their quality control isn’t what it used to be anymore. And a lot of their stuff doesn’t “just work” anymore.
1. I bought the new FineWoven wallet but for some reason I never got Find My to work. I talked to their support and tried everything, nothing worked. Turns out that you had to had iOS 17 for it to work but it wasn’t released for a few days.
2. I bought the new AirPods Pro USB-C but my MacBook never recognized them as AirPods (they were shown as regular headphones) and a lot of functions were missing (head tracking etc.). I talked to their support and tried everything, nothing worked. Turns out you have to have macOS Sonoma for them to fully work. But a lot of people wait until they update macOS (I for once can’t do that for many month because a lot of my third party audio plugins take a while till they support Sonoma).
It’s also worth noting that both times Apple support wasn’t able to help me. They simply didn’t know why they didn’t work. But I found the answer to my problems here at MacRumors from people using the betas or tested their AirPods on both macOS versions.
Have you noticed the quality of Apple has improved compared to years ago?
I could show you a hundred micro-USB leads that have broken (often after a very short time), but I've thrown them all away. And I look after stuff, unlike the owner of that cable depicted.
Doesn't matter if you are an "average user" or not. I too enjoy my iphone, ipads, airpods, OG homepod, apple tv plus ATV+ and the other services that "just works" seamlessly.
I think your point is, but although not stated directly, abuse the cables and they will fray. I still have lightning cables from my 5s days. Apple lightning cables have outlived many of the third party cables we've bought over the years.
Nov 1st i am going to delete everything from my Macbook Air, Ipad,i cloud iphone And rest ihome!
until i read this,
yes what a nosebleed indeed, now they work perfectly as
i can hear the west ham supporters cheer and sing as the players are shouting at each other.
im staying put!
It's not "bad" for me. Of course what people see and criticize about Apple depends on what products they own, how they use their services and what their individual use cases are. But overall I'm happy with the quality. My Max, soon to be replaced with an iphone 15 operates amazingly well under ios 17. In fact so well, I may defer upgrading until the iphone 16. My wife has a 14PM and while I want a bigger screen, better camera, crash detection and emergency satellite SOS I've grown very used to the max, like a comfy pair of slippers.
So I'm all for fixing bugs and vulnerabilities, but the reality is not as bad as made out to be on online forums.
No I think its more of a case of rose colored glasses, more publicity, click bait, and nit picking.
I had an iBook G4 that had to go back to Apple four times for mainboard replacement.
I remember the first few OS X versions when resizing windows would beachball the OS.
I had an iBook G4 that had to go back to Apple four times for mainboard replacement.
I remember the first few OS X versions when resizing windows would beachball the OS.
Agree.
I have this too, it drives me wild - as much because it’s such an obvious bug so I don’t follow how it can have been missed.
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The blue ihome Pod minis are incredible!
So incredible I ditched that Bose sound touch that cost 3 times as much and did not play nice with my iTunes, then Music.
The room these HomePod situated has only wood furnishings which metal does damper wireless connectivity.
I can now control the iPhone and iPad with a watch now, along with the home Apple TV system in case the remote get misplaced or hidden.
Thanks for reading
So incredible I ditched that Bose sound touch that cost 3 times as much and did not play nice with my iTunes, then Music.
The room these HomePod situated has only wood furnishings which metal does damper wireless connectivity.
I can now control the iPhone and iPad with a watch now, along with the home Apple TV system in case the remote get misplaced or hidden.
Thanks for reading
I wouldn't complain about the hardware, as even the iPhone 6 still feels good in hand and premium. Same can be said about every iPhone since iPhone 4.
When it comes to Macs, they have been incredibly well-built, my iMac and MacBook 12" are still in almost perfect condition and are almost 8 years old. Yes, there is some wear and tear on the MacBook as I pretty much took it everywhere, but it works very well.
Now their Software feels a little less refined, especially the iOS. I have stopped upgrading my devices to the new version for at least 6 months after its initial release. I do it precisely based on my personal experience and how the early two to three releases each year are so buggy, it makes you wonder what the heck they are doing between WWDC and the actual release of iOS each year.
Finally Siri, I have had it disabled on my iOS devices since like 4 years now. It was useless to me.
When it comes to Macs, they have been incredibly well-built, my iMac and MacBook 12" are still in almost perfect condition and are almost 8 years old. Yes, there is some wear and tear on the MacBook as I pretty much took it everywhere, but it works very well.
Now their Software feels a little less refined, especially the iOS. I have stopped upgrading my devices to the new version for at least 6 months after its initial release. I do it precisely based on my personal experience and how the early two to three releases each year are so buggy, it makes you wonder what the heck they are doing between WWDC and the actual release of iOS each year.
Finally Siri, I have had it disabled on my iOS devices since like 4 years now. It was useless to me.
I have no problem with the quality of my Apple products, not at all. They are great, and always have been ⭐
Regarding Siri however, I dissed it totally long time ago and can't see a reason to use that function - useless to me.
It all started when Apple started being thirsty for money.
I’ve had issues with my HomePod minis too, so you’re not alone. Sometimes one speaker in a stereo pair does not output sound.
Well, I agree that real cameras are real cameras. But I used to think I got great photos with iPhone to not think so. Especially when taking pictures of people. I set the light and it looks good before I press the button, the photo looks as when I pressed the button for a second but then the computational photography kicks in and processes the photo and it gets distorted and oversharpened. I just wish there was a choice to let it do that or not.
Yet I think that current 'phones actually do a far better job of processing images now, than previously. 🤷♂️ Particularly in low light. Previously, I just didn't bother with taking pics in such conditions, with a'phone. Now, they can produce great images even in very dark places.
Although I sympathize with your frustration, I don't agree that quality is worse overall. I remember many long hours using Conflict Catcher to figure out which extensions were crashing my Classic macOS system. Before OS X, my Mac crashed almost daily. "It just works" was always - and always will be - a myth.
I think this issue is a matter or perspective. The old Apple was much smaller and didn't have multiple hardware platforms in multiple markets (ie: mobile, desktop, entertainment, etc). Considering how much they've grown, I actually think they've done a pretty good job of maintaining quality.
But I also see the cracks forming. I worry that they are spreading themselves a bit thin. The constant price increases on what were already premium-priced products is not sustainable. I hope their foray into "spatial computing" isn't a disaster. Vision Pro looks like a very impressive product, but the price is absurd and I'm not sure they're reading the room correctly in terms of market interest/potential.
I agree, though, that they have lost their charm. I used to love Apple, the company, but I'm really turned off by their nannying, controlling, hypocritical behavior. They just aren't very likable these days in my opinion. From a corporate (not product quality) standpoint, today's Apple gives me '90s Microsoft vibes.
I think this issue is a matter or perspective. The old Apple was much smaller and didn't have multiple hardware platforms in multiple markets (ie: mobile, desktop, entertainment, etc). Considering how much they've grown, I actually think they've done a pretty good job of maintaining quality.
But I also see the cracks forming. I worry that they are spreading themselves a bit thin. The constant price increases on what were already premium-priced products is not sustainable. I hope their foray into "spatial computing" isn't a disaster. Vision Pro looks like a very impressive product, but the price is absurd and I'm not sure they're reading the room correctly in terms of market interest/potential.
I agree, though, that they have lost their charm. I used to love Apple, the company, but I'm really turned off by their nannying, controlling, hypocritical behavior. They just aren't very likable these days in my opinion. From a corporate (not product quality) standpoint, today's Apple gives me '90s Microsoft vibes.
Imo, “Just works” applies today as it did years ago.
I agree.
What constant price increases? For example the iPhone base models for the last few years have held the price. If you are saying individual price increases across its product lines overall they’ll go as far as they need to. As far as Vision Pro, it’s not for me at this point, but don’t bet against apple.
Disagree.
None of that has changed since 2007, in fact it’s less.
Not even close., imo.
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They were never "cheap", but they weren't as expensive as they are now. For example, a baseline Power Mac was $1499 during most of the OS X era, but its current descendant, the Mac Pro, starts at $6999.
I think the hardware is as good as ever, but they've fallen in other areas. First is value. Their lineup is outrageous and they have mastered the art of building out computers that are all limited at each price level specifically in such a way that for each use-case they will be limited for something you are trying to accomplish. Second, if you don't have one of like 4 cookie cutter use-cases, Apple systems are not for you. They do everything they can to limit your experience to their curated app store in order to extract money from subscriptions.
The Apple of today is about as user hostile as I've ever seen from any company. That people go out of their way to defend the company is stunning. But really those people are generally either stock holders or their primary use case is flicking through Instagram, so who really cares about their opinions anyway.
The Apple of today is about as user hostile as I've ever seen from any company. That people go out of their way to defend the company is stunning. But really those people are generally either stock holders or their primary use case is flicking through Instagram, so who really cares about their opinions anyway.
