If the Apple Board elected you CEO, what would you do?

[Ctrlos]

1. Apple stock has, in recent years, been increasingly volatile. Just look it up.

2. When Mac sales drop 30% YOY, you’ve got a problem.

3. When your most loyal customers are increasingly unhappy, it’s time to look in the mirror.

Are they unhappy though? Internet forums are in my experienced made up of a vocal minority and not a silent majority.

 

[Warped9]

Internet forums are in my experience made up of a vocal minority and not a silent majority.

Truth.

 

[MacProFCP]

Are they unhappy though? Internet forums are in my experienced made up of a vocal minority and not a silent majority.

That is a good question and the simple answer is I'm not sure. I can say, from my own experience of being in the Apple Fan world for over 30 years that I've never heard the dissatisfaction and pure distain for the company that we stood by in the 90s.

 

[jonblatho]

bring back the big or bigger imac and bring back lit Apple logos on the machine and an Apple logo on the front.

I don’t recall the iMac ever having a backlit Apple logo. It certainly doesn’t make much sense compared to the other machines that used to have them.

 

[za9ra22]

That is a good question and the simple answer is I'm not sure. I can say, from my own experience of being in the Apple Fan world for over 30 years that I've never heard the dissatisfaction and pure distain for the company that we stood by in the 90s.

We've never had the social media and ultra-polarization of opinions so readily available to us before. This isn't just about Apple, it's everything else too.

Monetizing the internet, even here in macrumors, requires a pretty much open invitation to everyone with something to say to actually say it. It makes places like this a lightning rod for the dissatisfied and disaffected.... except it becomes the unhappy and angry when you provide an echo chamber for it to shout into.

 

[jonblatho]

You can be design forward without having a butterfly keyboard.

Apple hasn’t released a new MacBook with the butterfly keyboard since July 2019.

 

[aj_niner]

1. Apple stock has, in recent years, been increasingly volatile. Just look it up.

2. When Mac sales drop 30% YOY, you’ve got a problem.

3. When your most loyal customers are increasingly unhappy, it’s time to look in the mirror.

Could you provide screen shots of 1 & 2?

Maybe the most loyal customers have slowly died out so they can't buy as much units anymore?

 

[cateye]

I used Aperture from day one and disagree with your analysis.

I'm glad it worked for you and respect your disagreement. We all need to use what is best for us, regardless of what the market as a whole dictates. However, I stand by my broader points: It was a failure in its target market and people who worked directly on its development have publicly stated that it had a troubled development process with little support from above. It was setup to fail and it did. Apple's heart wasn't in it, as Apple's heart is rarely in any of its "professional" software efforts. Look at how they've utterly squandered essentially all of FCP's goodwill and market presence. FCP, Motion, et al are non-products at this point with minuscule marketshare.

That doesn't take away that it may indeed have been the right product for certain people, but the common belief that Aperture was this darling success story that big bad Tim Cook, Numbers Guy™, cut off at the knees is just not true. Re-introducing it wouldn't result in some mass resurgence, because it never had the broad user base it needed to be successful in the first place.

FCP and Apple's other pro-software efforts are trickier. There was a point where FCP had real influence in the market and was a strong competitor to Premiere, etc. It isn't that now, and hasn't been for years, but I suspect it retains enough respect in its market that it could reverse some of those losses with a strong, sustained, and likely expensive investment in time, development, and marketing resources. I see little evidence that Apple has the interest in making that investment, however. The payoff for a company Apple's size isn't there, nor would it be for any software effort. That's the paradox of a company Apple's size: A successful niche is still a niche and a niche doesn't move the needle enough to matter.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

1. Become truly green and cross-license any patents Frame.Work (https://frame.work) has. This would mean that I (as a user) could eventually replace virtually all parts on a mac and do it interchangeably between models. Done correctly, this could even increase profit in the long-term. As well as allow for increased user expression. Change out keyboard. Add numpad. Etc.,

2. Allow for true dual-boot with the M-series. Allow booting into Windows ARM natively.

3. Finally release the iPad Pro to run MacOS. Heck, charge a premium for the privilege.

4. LOWER THE PRICE FOR RAM AND SSD UPGRADES TO $100. Still more than Windows, and many more people would partake--thus increasing profit further.

So, in summation, I would have made things more environmentally friendly, and increased profit!!!

 

[Matz]

I'd sell my stock before it tanked, as it would be obvious that the board had lost its mind.

 

[jwolf6589]

Obviously, we aren't presumptuous enough to think that your typical Apple user could run a trillion dollar company, however, nonetheless, what changes would you make or what would you keep the same?

Of course, I'd probably spend a good few months learning the business, but, in general, I'd do the following:

1. Alter stock options and level the field so mid-level managers and senior executives are performance based; executives only win if the company, and your average stock holder, wins.

2. Return focus to make the Mac the computer for everyone. Rethink the MacPro and iMac lineup for business. In general, return to the four quadrant system of thinking.

3. Put more effort into developing FCP as a real competitor for Premier and DeVinci and bring back the much-loved Aperture. In general, reward those in the creative world with truly Apple Class apps to help realize their visions and make creative work more fun.

4. Kill the basic iPad and reduce the price on the iPad Air. iPad Pro for the high end and iPad Air for the low end.

5. Bring back WWDC and even Mac World for in-person events. The video's are just hour-long+ advertisements. Bring back the enthusiasm of a live audience with real, in-person demos.

6. Rethink AirPort Express, Apple TV, HomePod, etc. How can Apple take small "bullets" and turn them into successful "cannonballs".

7. Reconfigure the Apple Watch to remove all the various, confusing, options; reduce the pricing, and get this to be the watch for the common person, much like the iPhone was, and still is.

8. Return the Apple Store website to be more about selling and less about showcasing. The old store was great. I still can't understand why they changed it.

9. Shoot more "bullets" by going head to head with other basic personal electronics like TVs, GPS units and dash cams, etc.

10. Instead of playing wack-a-mole with various governments, recognize that there is a huge opportunity to recreate the services devision by offering world-class competition. I'm not suggesting one option versus another, rather, I'm suggesting to rethink how the services division monetizes other creators property so as to encourage competition rather than stifle it.

Lastly, I'd try to shuffle up the board with less business and more creative executives. The current board seems so focused on quick profits for the share flipper and less on sustained excursions needed to create great products that they themselves would want that benefit the long-term shareholder.

Why would they? I am a complete moron regarding such duties and am not a leader.

 

[G5isAlive]

Oh God no, this place is already bad enough with true believers.

um. odd a place called Mac rumors is a place where people that like apple stuff hang out and want to learn more about how to use it and when to buy it. .

 

[clayj]

If I were CEO of Apple, the #1 priority on my list would be complete divestment from China. There would be no R&D in China and certainly no manufacturing. It is ridiculous the extent to which Apple, and the US economy as a whole, has become dependent on Chinese Communist Party magnanimity and goodwill.

 

[Makisupa Policeman]

Simple things.

1) make a real mouse that you can use for more than 15 minutes before your hand starts hurting. Something like a Logitech but with better materials. 3 buttons too. It is sad that the thing I am touching all day in my right hand is not an Apple product but should be!
2) make a game controller and stick an M chip in the Apple TV and make a gaming console.
3) bring back the big or bigger imac and bring back lit Apple logos on the machine and an Apple logo on the front.
4) make the little things under the keyboard a bit higher so the keyboard can rest against the studio displays when plugged in like iMac.
5) stop adding old ports to MacBook Pro and go back to just usb c. This seems like a shareholder demand…. I would know when to tell them NO.
6) get rid of the island thing on iPhone. There has to be a better way. Add a tiny bit to the top that is black and stick the stuff there.

Except MagSafe right? It should have never went away imo.

 

[cawgijoe]

1) Improve on Siri so it's better than all the others.
2) Bring back new updated versions of the Apple Airport Express and Extreme.
3) How about delving into Home Security products? Would love to see Apple tackle this.

 

[Ctrlos]

I'm glad it worked for you and respect your disagreement. We all need to use what is best for us, regardless of what the market as a whole dictates. However, I stand by my broader points: It was a failure in its target market and people who worked directly on its development have publicly stated that it had a troubled development process with little support from above. It was setup to fail and it did. Apple's heart wasn't in it, as Apple's heart is rarely in any of its "professional" software efforts. Look at how they've utterly squandered essentially all of FCP's goodwill and market presence. FCP, Motion, et al are non-products at this point with minuscule marketshare.

That doesn't take away that it may indeed have been the right product for certain people, but the common belief that Aperture was this darling success story that big bad Tim Cook, Numbers Guy™, cut off at the knees is just not true. Re-introducing it wouldn't result in some mass resurgence, because it never had the broad user base it needed to be successful in the first place.

FCP and Apple's other pro-software efforts are trickier. There was a point where FCP had real influence in the market and was a strong competitor to Premiere, etc. It isn't that now, and hasn't been for years, but I suspect it retains enough respect in its market that it could reverse some of those losses with a strong, sustained, and likely expensive investment in time, development, and marketing resources. I see little evidence that Apple has the interest in making that investment, however. The payoff for a company Apple's size isn't there, nor would it be for any software effort. That's the paradox of a company Apple's size: A successful niche is still a niche and a niche doesn't move the needle enough to matter.

The reqason they got rid of it is because, as far as Apple is concerned their apps should bring you joy in the creative process. FCP and Logic are a means to an end and the process itself; you take disjointed media and make something wonderful out of it.

With photography the process has already been done by the time you get home so Aperture was just for fine tuning which Photomator does a fine job of right now.

 

[robgreene]

Reading through this, I'd guess you're a creative over 45yo, and possibly over 55yo. Am I close?

 

[MallardDuck]

1) stand down all new software feature development and spend the next year fixing all the long-outstanding bugs
2) Hire a UX design leader that believes in supporting user UX customization
3) Integrate AppleTV so that it works as if it was another homepod (i.e. let you use voice commands on the homepod to play music on the appleTV
4) Reverse the TV App changes, and restore the separate TV and Movie apps
5) Stop hating people that want to own their content
6) Stop being a dick when it comes to IP from small companies
7) Charge less than insane prices for storage and RAM upgrades - premium yes, insane no.
8) Double-down on security and privacy. Stop forcing game center to turn on. Support real ad-block on mobile. Support RCS, but preserve the green bubbles so people know it's not as secure as iMessage. Allow per-app access to cellular and wifi. Adopt a real bug-bounty program. Withdraw from markets where there are regulations that compromise privacy and security.
9) related to 8, move all manufacturing out of China.

 

[yeah]

No more crappy software. I would implement multiple stages of QC/QA and would make iOS, macOS, etc. “it just works”.

 

[ThomasJL]

Hire Scott Forstall and have him purge every last bit of flat design (and neumorphism) from everything Apple makes and have it replaced by Mountain Lion-style and iOS 6-style skeuomorphism.

 

[everybodylovesramen]

first i’d remove the camera shortcut from the home screen.

then i would simplify the iphone lineup - no more pro or entry level. just one big phone and a small phone.

bring back clickwheel ipods updated to stream.

maybe do imacs like the g3 lineup again - all dumb and plastic looking.

 

[MallardDuck]

first i’d remove the camera shortcut from the home screen.

then i would simplify the iphone lineup - no more pro or entry level. just one big phone and a small phone.

bring back clickwheel ipods updated to stream.

maybe do imacs like the g3 lineup again - all dumb and plastic looking.

Oh, that reminds me. I'd fire the person who decided that the stupid gestures on the webcam should be on by default.

 

[JFLECHUGA]

Obviously, we aren't presumptuous enough to think that your typical Apple user could run a trillion dollar company, however, nonetheless, what changes would you make or what would you keep the same?

Of course, I'd probably spend a good few months learning the business, but, in general, I'd do the following:

1. Alter stock options and level the field so mid-level managers and senior executives are performance based; executives only win if the company, and your average stock holder, wins.

2. Return focus to make the Mac the computer for everyone. Rethink the MacPro and iMac lineup for business. In general, return to the four quadrant system of thinking.

3. Put more effort into developing FCP as a real competitor for Premier and DeVinci and bring back the much-loved Aperture. In general, reward those in the creative world with truly Apple Class apps to help realize their visions and make creative work more fun.

4. Kill the basic iPad and reduce the price on the iPad Air. iPad Pro for the high end and iPad Air for the low end.

5. Bring back WWDC and even Mac World for in-person events. The video's are just hour-long+ advertisements. Bring back the enthusiasm of a live audience with real, in-person demos.

6. Rethink AirPort Express, Apple TV, HomePod, etc. How can Apple take small "bullets" and turn them into successful "cannonballs".

7. Reconfigure the Apple Watch to remove all the various, confusing, options; reduce the pricing, and get this to be the watch for the common person, much like the iPhone was, and still is.

8. Return the Apple Store website to be more about selling and less about showcasing. The old store was great. I still can't understand why they changed it.

9. Shoot more "bullets" by going head to head with other basic personal electronics like TVs, GPS units and dash cams, etc.

10. Instead of playing wack-a-mole with various governments, recognize that there is a huge opportunity to recreate the services devision by offering world-class competition. I'm not suggesting one option versus another, rather, I'm suggesting to rethink how the services division monetizes other creators property so as to encourage competition rather than stifle it.

Lastly, I'd try to shuffle up the board with less business and more creative executives. The current board seems so focused on quick profits for the share flipper and less on sustained excursions needed to create great products that they themselves would want that benefit the long-term shareholder.

I would keep dreaming!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[madmin]

If I was CEO of Apple I would make sure we:

Update all Macs to the latest M chip around October
Update all iPads models around March
Update all screens and accessories around June
Update the iPhone and iOS every other September 😛

or more likely cash in my share options and go live in peace on a mountain

 

[imikem]

Shut down the company and return the money to shareholders.

That was the "genius" plan espoused by Michael Dell.