Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is Apple now a chip company first and design second?
- Thread starter Retskrad
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Well… they kinda have to be. If they design a device but the chip they make after they designed the device doesn’t fit, they’ve wasted a lot of money.
So they make the chip first and design the device second 😜
So they make the chip first and design the device second 😜
If Apple keeps going that way, in a year, everyone will stop copying their designs. And I'm not sure that's a good sign.
Apple took the MacBook pro back to the era of function over form. The MacBook Pro looks better than almost every other computer in its class, so I can't agree with this sentiment. If you think a folding phone is bleeding edge, then I can assume you didn't live during the era of flip phones. Samsung is not pushing the envelope by reinvigorating a flip phone with a creased screen. While the Apple Watch's design is due for a refresh, it's still nowhere near the bottom of the pile regarding its looks. IPads are Ipads what would you prefer they look like? Google and Android's UI took years to catch iOS. Moreover, Apples sales numbers tend to disagree with your subjective presumption.
Let's examine Dell's cutting edge design lol it appears they made a wedge design mirroring the old MB Air... I don't see cutting edge fresh or modern
probably a windows user...how can anybody says that Apple doesnt take risks when they did exactly that with the slim- force trackpad- touchbar - butterfly keyboard macbooks last generations and now Dell is doing almost the same thing, minus the butterfly keyboard...so, windows users have eyes just for the windows devices but not for the mac ?!
"I don't know why people make excuses for Apple. It's a fact that they're extremely conservative and take no risk with the MacBook line-up. Dell is showing with the XPS 13 that you can still make fresh and modern looking laptops. MacBook designs are too conservative coming from a company that is supposed to have design and "think different" at it's core."
Since 2015 to 2019 you were living under a rock ?
Apple did what Dell is doing now...and people cried about those changes and cry about Apple taking risks with the butterfly keys and the touchbar...but when a windows copy cat laptop comes 5-6 years later, its all ok and Apple is the one who doesnt take risks ?! Babe, where Dell is now, Apple has already been for the last half of a decade.
Funny funny
Since 2015 to 2019 you were living under a rock ?
Apple did what Dell is doing now...and people cried about those changes and cry about Apple taking risks with the butterfly keys and the touchbar...but when a windows copy cat laptop comes 5-6 years later, its all ok and Apple is the one who doesnt take risks ?! Babe, where Dell is now, Apple has already been for the last half of a decade.Funny funny
I don't know, M2 looks pretty much just like M1 to me. Apple played it safe with M2 and went with a real utilitarian and conservative look. They did not push any boundaries. I am not sure it is even fair to call Apple a chip company anymore either.
i dont know how much boundaries can push since M1 was already way ahead
And compared to M1, M2 is far better with Media engine hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW that M1 didnt had and makes world apart. And the basic gpu is an well improvement over 25%, probably in 14" and 16" will be even more thanks to their better thermals/cooling
I am really not sure what the shape of the chassis has to do with any of this. If I correctly understand what you are suggesting is that if Apple were to take the old chassis, pair it with the more compact logic board of Apple Silicon, add larger fans, heatsinks and air vents, it would perform better than the 2022 chassis because of it's shape? That's a tall conjecture
And in the end, isn't that exactly what Apple did? The new chassis is not that different, it just uses flat edges instead of the more tapered previous design. Well, that's up to you if you want to discuss this further or not.
Actually not, cause it is quite logical to think, but okay let me agree for a moment now
Yes, kind off, but I am talking of physical form of product
Okay, let's not move further on this, guess I am deviating this thing quite far from the topic this forum was made for
Whuuut? Studio is a beautiful object. And it's very harmonious with the rest of Apples product range.
To be honest, Apple Chips are delicious. Especially with a little cinnamon on them. If Apple wants to go that way, I am all for it.
Beautiful subjectively, yes. Creative design? Obviously not.
Apple had a chance to do something new, and they played it really, really safe.
Is playing it safe really a sign of decline though? Apple is already taking massive risks with the ARM transition, and their recent hardware experiments weren’t very successful. Relying on to proven ideas and concepts for a while can be a wise thing to do under these circumstances.
iPhones are bleeding edge.
Subjective.
Subjective. But.... seriously?
How can you make a better looking tablet, they all look alike? With that said, iPads look the nicest to me.
Well, if you think Android cought up, that explains your views.... Which you're entitled to have. I strongly disagree, however.
Design is not just form but also function. Either way, I think Apple is ahead of the pack in both.
Apple is not a "chip company" as they make complete products, not parts for others.
And made the best looking laptop on the market. Safe or not, it's beautiful.
On the hardware front it is undeniable that they’ve started looking at their products as utilities more than before - which has led to batteries that last the day and screens being more durable, but also to more utilitarian designs. Remember the ads where they just showed off the design and nothing else and it was genuinely captivating and desirable? I don’t think they make those anymore and I’m not talking about Jony’s monologues. I love the way the M1 iMac looks but the Mac Studio is, in my eyes, just not what it could’ve been. And I think it mostly comes down to cost. I’m sure innovating on physical objects that get mass-produced at such scale would not be good for their margins, both in R&D and production, and Tim Cook’s Apple has been very much about them (which I don’t blame, they’re a for-profit company).
On the other hand, UX is what Apple sells and that’s why they don’t tend to change stuff too much. Look at Samsung. I’m a huge fan of them and used Samsung phones for years I even had the S20, but having to re-learn how to use the thing after a major update because settings were being moved, unnecessary features added then taken away, that kind of stuff that Apple never does. Which is also horrible for accessibility. I’m sure someone with vision impairments upgrading from something as old as an iPhone 7 to a 13 would have to go through a minimal learning curve if they have to at all because everything is exactly as it was.
Smartphones, tablets, laptops, they’re all mature technologies at this point and the design of them reflects that on Apple’s front. People have formed extremely strong attachments to them as they are. It is destructive to the UX and said attachment to change them radically very often. This is why usually Apple adds new stuff as a feature to be discovered rather than something that completely changes the way you use it. And of course, it’s more expensive for them to do that when people buy them like this regardless.
Of course this is all going to be full of subjective opinions because UI and physical appearance of a product is subjective but UX, usability and accessibility certainly isn’t and that’s what Apple has always been about. This is why I’m excited for them to enter new product categories like with the car though – they make interesting decisions when they have to be made and stick with them.
On the other hand, UX is what Apple sells and that’s why they don’t tend to change stuff too much. Look at Samsung. I’m a huge fan of them and used Samsung phones for years I even had the S20, but having to re-learn how to use the thing after a major update because settings were being moved, unnecessary features added then taken away, that kind of stuff that Apple never does. Which is also horrible for accessibility. I’m sure someone with vision impairments upgrading from something as old as an iPhone 7 to a 13 would have to go through a minimal learning curve if they have to at all because everything is exactly as it was.
Smartphones, tablets, laptops, they’re all mature technologies at this point and the design of them reflects that on Apple’s front. People have formed extremely strong attachments to them as they are. It is destructive to the UX and said attachment to change them radically very often. This is why usually Apple adds new stuff as a feature to be discovered rather than something that completely changes the way you use it. And of course, it’s more expensive for them to do that when people buy them like this regardless.
Of course this is all going to be full of subjective opinions because UI and physical appearance of a product is subjective but UX, usability and accessibility certainly isn’t and that’s what Apple has always been about. This is why I’m excited for them to enter new product categories like with the car though – they make interesting decisions when they have to be made and stick with them.
While many here comment that these are subjective impressions, you cannot deny that Apple’s design language has stalled - both for hard and for software.
I usually refer back to the times of the iPod, the early evolution of the iMac, the development of the MacBook up to the original MacBook Air. These were times when Apple would constantly set new design directions with form, material and color. And the development was almost annually, introducing something radically new here and there.
But if we are honest, things have looked the same for a lot of years now. And the new MacBooks are a reiteration of the generations that Mac users loved the most for their functionality.
Design wise, with the exception of the current Mac OS icons (in my humble opinion they are terrible) Apple products still look sleek and have Apple’s clean design language. But nothing really amazes me. Things are rather logical, which is not bad.
But I agree with the author that if we all are honest, the thing that wowed us in the past was a new take on design. These days it is the technology inside.
For all the cool features of the MacBook Air most have to admit that it’s stuff that they are glad it returned: MagSafe, a somewhat larger body to give space for heat and proper keyboard, and the overall shape combines the lightness of the original Air with benefits of the MacBook machines of old.
And iOS software wise, as a heavy user of the Windows phone I have to say that Apple arrived with the Home Screen where Microsoft was 10 years ago, just with rounded corners, much better battery life and smooth execution. But UX wise I was still more efficient on the Windows Home Screen than I am on iOS.
So in short, subjectively I totally agree with the author. Apple does not wow me with design as it used to. But it does amaze me with their efficient silicon
I usually refer back to the times of the iPod, the early evolution of the iMac, the development of the MacBook up to the original MacBook Air. These were times when Apple would constantly set new design directions with form, material and color. And the development was almost annually, introducing something radically new here and there.
But if we are honest, things have looked the same for a lot of years now. And the new MacBooks are a reiteration of the generations that Mac users loved the most for their functionality.
Design wise, with the exception of the current Mac OS icons (in my humble opinion they are terrible) Apple products still look sleek and have Apple’s clean design language. But nothing really amazes me. Things are rather logical, which is not bad.
But I agree with the author that if we all are honest, the thing that wowed us in the past was a new take on design. These days it is the technology inside.
For all the cool features of the MacBook Air most have to admit that it’s stuff that they are glad it returned: MagSafe, a somewhat larger body to give space for heat and proper keyboard, and the overall shape combines the lightness of the original Air with benefits of the MacBook machines of old.
And iOS software wise, as a heavy user of the Windows phone I have to say that Apple arrived with the Home Screen where Microsoft was 10 years ago, just with rounded corners, much better battery life and smooth execution. But UX wise I was still more efficient on the Windows Home Screen than I am on iOS.
So in short, subjectively I totally agree with the author. Apple does not wow me with design as it used to. But it does amaze me with their efficient silicon
The iPhone is now all about the camera and the A-series chips. Not the design. The Mac and iPad line-ups are now all about the M-series chips. Not the design. If you watch Apple presentations on stage and the narrative around Apple in the media ... it's all about their chips. To me, Apple is now a chip company masquerading as a design company.
Last I checked, most of the hype around the 14/16" Pro was about the thickness, return of magsafe and ports, and the notch. The discussion around the M2 Air was the redesign (end of the wedge) and magsafe, and then the concerns around throttling and the slower 256GB chip once that came out. Obviously people were also talking about the M1/M2 chips to an extent, but those were fairly known quantities by that point since you can basically scale performance linearly depending on the core count. Even in my nerdy internet circles, no one really talked about the M2 performance because it was basically a given that it would be good.
Also, just FYI, design is about more than just how something looks, especially in something like a laptop where performance can be drastically hurt or helped by the materials, thickness, etc.
Well, to play devil’s advocate,
It’s easy to do something different, hard to do something better, and even harder to make something both different and better.
Maybe the reason why Apple products’ design seem to have stagnated in recent years is because their design was already pretty darn perfect.