Long Term Problems

[macduke]

I'm not even sure why I'm posting this. I guess I'd like to find some like-minded people on here. People have have been Apple fans for years who are feeling a bit jaded. I think the core of the problem starts with services, which is why I'm posting in this forum.

I highly doubt that any one thing will bring down Apple. But if I had to guess, it would be services.

I'm talking long-term here. Everybody knows Google is good at services. What most people overlook is how good Microsoft is becoming at services. I hear nothing but good things about their Azure platform (which has begun powering many iOS app backends since iCloud is so glitchy), and they seem to be expanding at a rapid pace into new areas of technology related to services. Satya Nadella even said he envisions Windows as a service. Not sure if that's going to work, but I feel like from the context they're starting with an Apple-like continuity approach using Skype and One Drive.

I don't think that in 10 years Apple will be obsolete. I do, however, worry that their role in the technology industry will be somewhat or significantly diminished because they can't keep up with services. Lately I feel like they're starting to right the ship. Siri speed improvements are a prime example. But it's not yet enough. As many have said, Google and Microsoft are getting better at design faster than Apple is getting better at services. And as many Apple bloggers have lately been pointing out, it feels like each recent Apple software release is buggier than the last. Apple needs to take a year off of grinding out feature-laden software updates and shore up what they have. Focus everyone on services and bug fixing. Optimize and streamline everything from top to bottom. Heck, they could even take two years. I just want the stability back. I like the redesigned look of Yosemite and iOS 7+, I just miss the stability of Snow Leopard and iOS 6.

It's not that services haven't gotten better. It's just that they're not getting better fast enough—and each new feature comes riddled with bugs. Combined with a gradual decline in quality of hardware components and reliability of software, and that spells trouble. Hardware design is still pretty fantastic. Maybe I'm just extremely unlucky with my purchases the last few years. The one bright spot for me has been the iPad Air 2. But even that isn't compatible with many bluetooth drawing pens, which is frustrating for me personally as I bought Adobe's Ink this summer for sketching and Apple never mentioned there would be problems with the new touch technology.

 

[Hayakuro]

I somewhat agree, Apple's services have definitely been a sore spot for me in the past. However, I haven't had any recent issues that I can think of. It feels like things have gotten better than they ever have been in Apple's cloud. Full two-step auth was a step in the right direction to show that they are truly committed to cloud security. iMessage runs very reliably for me these days, and that service handles a staggering amount of data. Same goes with push messages to iOS devices, iTunes downloading/streaming, etc. Additionally, I have heard from a variety of sources that the new cloudkit services with iOS 8 are far better than the original, problematic core data syncing scheme. My only major complaint is that I had issues a few years back with spam filtering and false-positive silent filtering on iCloud (then MobileMe) email which necessitated switching to Gmail. Now I have a new iCloud email address that gets mail forwarded from Gmail, and everything works really well.

Sure, Google, FB, Amazon, Microsoft, and others offer more robust cloud services for a greater variety of uses, but I don't think that's something Apple should even try to compete with. Apple's cloud is much more of a complement to their software/hardware platforms to increase value for the consumer and retain control over the "full" user experience than a standalone cloud product like App Engine or S3 or Azure or what have you.

 

[reese2147]

I'd like to add a hearty PREACH ON BROTHER to this conversation...

I do not have much more to add than what has already been written. If Windows 10 delivers closely to what has presented thusfar, I will be jumping off the Apple bandwagon and going back to Windows and Windows phone.

 

[impaler]

OP, thank you for posting this. You echo my sentiments on services pretty well. All companies have core functions, things they're best at. Sure, companies can evolve, but history is replete with companies that evolve too slowly and causes their ultimate decline. Did anyone truly believe prior to 2007 that BlackBerry would be in the dire position it is in today? Did anyone envision Apple as the strong player in mobile and retain the value of its stock today, back in the 1990s?

I think about iCloud a lot - I want it to be world-class, rock solid, reliable and a great component to enhance iOS and OS X devices in a way that people love it, need it and want it. Their software has so many little bugs that it's nearly embarrassing. Nothing too mind shattering, mind you, but enough of the little ones that their presence on the web is tainted. Silent email filtering is a big one - and why it's hard to fully trust Mail. Calendar and reminders don't sync reliably, or have weird characters in pop ups on the web, and there's no communication about Apple's commitment to services. Their OSs are starting to slip in quality. Sadly, there's no indication they're slowing down annual release cycles. Apple must do a better job aligning their web services to mirror the experiences on devices to the most extent possible. iTunes should fully gradate to the web, as Google Music does - I want to stream music from my Match library over the web. Not just because - but to seamlessly ensure lock in to the ecosystem. The more places I can access and sync content, the more sticky an ecosystem is.

Apple must revolutionize, not slowly increment, its web world, to find success - or as OP says, I fear their long term sustainability.

 

[SanFran95]

I can only agree - seems like they only focus on creating new product categories and features (not that I do not like it) instead of fixing issues with iCloud syncing, software, and accounts. Feels like my products keeps getting worse when updating them. Google and Microsofts services seems more and more tempting - even though I like the fact that Apple focus on renewable energy sources.
- Also uploaded a photo of the new iCloud.com front-page, is that what they call fixing issues? Pretty, but what does it solve?

 

[impaler]

Pretty, but what does it solve?

That's the essence of their problem. It's one of form over function. I agree that form is important, design is important, for the world's best products. But there must be a balance struck in the IT world.

 

[reese2147]

I can only agree - seems like they only focus on creating new product categories and features (not that I do not like it) instead of fixing issues with iCloud syncing, software, and accounts. Feels like my products keeps getting worse when updating them. Google and Microsofts services seems more and more tempting - even though I like the fact that Apple focus on renewable energy sources.
- Also uploaded a photo of the new iCloud.com front-page, is that what they call fixing issues? Pretty, but what does it solve?

Note the three iWork icons........ "Beta".... it's been that way for well over a year. Pretty damn pathetic.

Give Microsoft a try (Outlook.com and OneDrive). You won't be disappointed.

 

[colodane]

I'd give Apple a "gentleman's C" for their services and support.

I like their ecosystem overall, especially their integration and data sharing between OS-X and iOS. The services I use a lot such as FaceTime, AirPlay, iCloud backup, etc. have been fairly trouble free and stable. But they certainly aren't perfect as referenced in many of the posts above. Apple does sometimes discontinue services, but overall maintains support over many generations of hardware and operating systems.

Google does indeed have some terrific and innovative services. They also - if they are excited about it - can ramp up a new idea into general availability perhaps faster than anyone. The downside is that they can also discontinue services just as quickly if they loose interest in them. If I were running a business I wouldn't base the IT on Google.

Microsoft is generally the most stable and reliable. Probably the safest bet for a business. Indeed, when I had my consulting business, I used Microsoft rather than Apple. But when I finally retired, I immediately switched to Apple. I like the look and feel of the Apple ecosystem much better. For me, it is the best overall solution for my personal needs.

 

[reese2147]

I like the look and feel of the Apple ecosystem much better. For me, it is the best overall solution for my personal needs.

This is what drives me crazy about Apple. I agree with this statement, everything "looks" and "feels" good..... until it doesn't work.

 

[impaler]

Note the three iWork icons........ "Beta".... it's been that way for well over a year. Pretty damn pathetic.

Give Microsoft a try (Outlook.com and OneDrive). You won't be disappointed.

Well, if it's not ready for prime time, I have no issue with the Beta tag. Gmail was in beta for YEARS.

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This is what drives me crazy about Apple. I agree with this statement, everything "looks" and "feels" good..... until it doesn't work.

Yup...it just works. Until it doesn't.

 

[wolfpackfan]

Like someone said it's the little things. It works until it doesn't work. I had an issue with iCloud on my Mac mini this week. For some reason out of the blue my mini started running wild. The fan was going constantly and it was hot to the touch. I started looking at what was running and it was the iCloud processes going crazy. In a matter of hours I went from having 320GB free to 1GB free and cloudd and bird were eating up 95% of the CPU. I have no idea what it was doing and never could find out what was eating up all the disk space. I had to reinstall Yosemite from scratch. Thank goodness I am always careful about backups. Now everything is running fine and iCloud is working fine, until it happens again.