Other See, Apple can be wrong (USB-C). What else needs a rethink?

[Ralfi]

USB-C has been one of the best ‘moves’ Apple has made in recent times.

Only issue is, it revealed how their stubbornness has set them back because they were made to convert.

Where else has Apple missed the mark on for a long time now & needs immediate fixing in order to make the every day user experience much better (not a petty little feature that only a minority of people use, I mean a major aspect of the iPhone that everyone uses & needs to improve the device in a significant way)?

For me, it’s Siri. How this company has persisted with a subpar voice assistant for so long is pretty puzzling. Europe needs to intervene again.

 

[Hrududu]

Me: Hey Siri, why hasn't Apple done anything to improve your capabilities?

Siri: Here are some results I found on the web.

Me: 😒

 

[MisterSavage]

I'm so tired of getting a drip feed of watch faces each year. Besides the tiny amount, the new ones are majority analog. I want third party choices.

 

[JPack]

What's wrong for consumers is right for Apple's balance sheet. Many of these decisions are made in the interests of money.

I doubt Apple seriously thinks RCS is a bad idea, 5GB of free iCloud space is sufficient, or the lack of touch input on MacBook is a good idea.

The serialization and lack of OEM parts is probably the biggest black mark in my opinion. It's clear legislation is moving towards more consumer friendly repairs. But Apple will fight its way to the end, just like EU DMA.

 

[icanhazmac]

Europe needs to intervene again.

LOL.

What exactly should should/could Europe do about Siri? Are you really suggesting that Europe should involve themselves in the perceived quality of voice assistants?

 

[Iwavvns]

What's wrong for consumers is right for Apple's balance sheet. Many of these decisions are made in the interests of money.

does it not follow that if you make a higher number of customers happy then you could increase your customer base.. thereby increasing revenue and positive advertising via word-of-mouth? Or is this too much common sense for corporations to understand?

 

[AppliedMicro]

Where else has Apple missed the mark on for a long time now & needs immediate fixing in order to make the every day user experience much better

Commission rates on third-party app/in-app purchases that discourage the most popular third-party developers/apps from offering in-app purchases in their iOS apps. Ultimately preventing end users from subscribing and managing their subscriptions (e.g. Netflix, Spotify) in-app on device.

 

[ctjack]

If it sells then why change unless urged by authorities?

Porsche reveals new things every 6month, what stops them from implementing all at once? Money.

 

[mrochester]

USB-C has been one of the best ‘moves’ Apple has made in recent times.

Only issue is, it revealed how their stubbornness has set them back because they were made to convert.

Where else has Apple missed the mark on for a long time now & needs immediate fixing in order to make the every day user experience much better (not a petty little feature that only a minority of people use, I mean a major aspect of the iPhone that everyone uses & needs to improve the device in a significant way)?

For me, it’s Siri. How this company has persisted with a subpar voice assistant for so long is pretty puzzling. Europe needs to intervene again.

Getting rid of IAP and making apps pay once use forever.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I'd sell my Mac and be an iPhone only user if we got proper external display and stage manager support for it. I'd dock it to my desk setup or to a Nexdock for using it at work.

It's all I'd need. I'm not sure if this is something they're wrong about though.

 

[Reverend Benny]

I'm holding out for USB-D, looks more rigid than the flimsy USB-C connector.

 

[winxmac]

It's time for Apple to adopt Samsung's base model, plus model, ultra model

iPhone, iPhone Plus, iPhone Pro/Ultra

It was nice what they did with the 2018 & 2019 releases although they should have made the middle option at least 1080p OLED back then...

Or they could bring back the mini, then base model, then Pro/Ultra

 

[nmart1214]

does it not follow that if you make a higher number of customers happy then you could increase your customer base.. thereby increasing revenue and positive advertising via word-of-mouth? Or is this too much common sense for corporations to understand?

Not at Apples scale. That really only works if you are a small/medium business or just starting out. It’s really crappy but it’s basically the reality of things. Once you have trillions in value, you only have to worry about not being the worst.

 

[webkit]

It's time for Apple to adopt Samsung's base model, plus model, ultra model

Ok but what is wrong with Apple offering customers a choice of size especially at the upper (Pro) level? With Samsung, if you want the "Ultra" features you are forced to go with the large 6.8" model. With Apple, if you want the "Pro" features you have a choice of either 6.1" or 6.7" sizes.

 

[Iwavvns]

Not at Apples scale. That really only works if you are a small/medium business or just starting out. It’s really crappy but it’s basically the reality of things. Once you have trillions in value, you only have to worry about not being the worst.

That is indeed sad. But, I guess that’s what happens when money becomes more important than people.

 

[tornadowrangler]

Open application market for iPhone and iPad. Still have the app store and that's what most people will use, but allow companies to distribute software themselves for those that want to. Basically, just like the Mac has always been. Never understood why it should be any different besides more money for Apple.

 

[winxmac]

Ok but what is wrong with Apple offering customers a choice of size especially at the upper (Pro) level? With Samsung, if you want the "Ultra" features you are forced to go with the large 6.8" model. With Apple, if you want the "Pro" features you have a choice of either 6.1" or 6.7" sizes.

iPhone 12 Pro - 2x zoom
iPhone 12 Pro Max - 2.5x zoom

iPhone 15 Pro - 3x zoom
iPhone 15 Pro Max - 5x zoom

Yes they are offered in two sizes but regarding feature parity, they don't always have the same set of features not counting the battery due to physical limitation...

 

[Jim Lahey]

USB-C is a calamity. Easily the most mechanically weak plug & socket connection ever invented. A disaster in waiting. People are free to disagree and I expect most will, but they'll soon agree the first time one of their devices is bricked by a disintegrating USB-C port.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Glass Backs. Just make Magsafe 2 for iPhone that uses the logo as physical contacts or something. The magnets will still work through a metal body (see iPad).

Notifications. Please just copy Android. We won't even make fun of you I promise you Tim!

 

[webkit]

iPhone 12 Pro - 2x zoom
iPhone 12 Pro Max - 2.5x zoom

iPhone 15 Pro - 3x zoom
iPhone 15 Pro Max - 5x zoom

Yes they are offered in two sizes but regarding feature parity, they don't always have the same set of features not counting the battery due to physical limitation...

Yes, I realize the Pro and Pro Max aren't absolutely identical feature wise. I was more referring to the lack of size options with Samsung i.e., if you want the "Ultra" features you must take the large 6.8" phone. I think a size option (with "Pro" for Apple or "Ultra" with Samsung) is/would be better. Both Pro and Pro Max iPhones seem to be equally popular based on reported sales estimates.

There have actually been rumors for a while that Apple would create an iPhone Ultra model (just as there is an Apple Watch Ultra model) but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[cjsuk]

USB-C is a calamity. Easily the most mechanically weak plug & socket connection ever invented. A disaster in waiting. People are free to disagree and I expect most will, but they'll soon agree the first time one of their devices is bricked by a disintegrating USB-C port.

100% agree with this.

The amount of dead Lenovo crap I've had to deal with due to broken USB-C ports is unreal. And the ports are mostly not repairable because they tear a chunk of the board off with them when they go.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

100% agree with this.

The amount of dead Lenovo crap I've had to deal with due to broken USB-C ports is unreal. And the ports are mostly not repairable because they tear a chunk of the board off with them when they go.

This sounds like a Lenovo / user issue more than a USB-C issue. USB-C could be the most robustly designed standard on the planet - kinda falls apart if the manufacturer makes the port out of the cheapest materials they can find.

 

[cjsuk]

This sounds like a Lenovo / user issue more than a USB-C issue. USB-C could be the most robustly designed standard on the planet - kinda falls apart if the manufacturer makes the port out of the cheapest materials they can find.

Blame the user eh? Classy. I blame the USB-IF for coming up with the garbage in the first place.

It's simply poor connector design. If they inverted the connector shell (like lightning) so that the stress point was on the cheap and disposable part of the device (the plug end) then it'd be much better. The implementation of the reversible connectors requires two rows of contacts on the board and mechanical anchors. The plug shell is much more robust that the FR4 board in the device it is plugged into. The end game is the fulcrum point of the entire connector receptacle shell is on the edge of the board meaning the maximum leverage force is on the occluded connector row however you anchor the shell. Due to the high bandwidth of the connector, that means it has extremely small contacts and traces which means they have the lowest trace adhesion thus get torn off the board irreparably. That's why you find after you've had your connector repaired it only works one way up, of course if you didn't crack or delaminate the PCB in the process.

That is all piss poor design quite frankly.

Now at least Apple bothered to stick the connectors on daughter boards which is a fairly horrible workaround. Other vendors, not so much.

Note I'm note saying Lightning was a great solution but mechanically it was far superior to USB-C and we could have got something better than USB-C with the same characteristics if the USB-IF wasn't asleep at the wheel...

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Blame the user eh? Classy. I blame the USB-IF for coming up with the garbage in the first place.

Not really. I'm just as happy to place the blame with the manufacturer.

I've been using USB-C devices since 2015 and have not had a single issue with the connector. This might have something to do with the devices and cables that I buy being of quality. I don't think it's a design issue.

Cheap plastic things will break. This is a surprise to exactly nobody. You could design the most durable connector on the planet - it won't last if you manufacture it out of garbage.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

USB-C has been one of the best ‘moves’ Apple has made in recent times.

Only issue is, it revealed how their stubbornness has set them back because they were made to convert.

Where else has Apple missed the mark on for a long time now & needs immediate fixing in order to make the every day user experience much better (not a petty little feature that only a minority of people use, I mean a major aspect of the iPhone that everyone uses & needs to improve the device in a significant way)?

For me, it’s Siri. How this company has persisted with a subpar voice assistant for so long is pretty puzzling. Europe needs to intervene again.

You have zero basis to claim that Apple was "made" to convert to USB-C.

Apple pioneered the move to USB-C with MacBook and did not hesitate to add it to iPad either. Both of these are relatively low volume markets (compared to iPhone) that would not be dramatically upset by the move to USB-C.

iPhone, on the other hand, is a much larger and more diverse market, that cannot so whimsically change connectors without disrupting 1.5 billion people. Apple waited until USB-C grew up around iPhone so that the transition felt more like "finally" to the majority of the iPhone market instead of "WTF".

Next, iPhone models are planned 3 years in advance. iPhone 15 was already slated to have USB-C before the E.U. even thought of the idea of mandating it.

And lastly, if Apple were doing this because they were made to, they wouldn't have had to ship anything until iPhone 17. They transitioned 2 model years sooner than "required".

Absolutely zero evidence or data points agree with the idea of Apple being "forced" to.