What all Apple needs to fix in 2016

[Apple blogger]

2015 saw a lot of amazing technology from Apple:

1. The MacBook- A Notebook with a new battery design, new keyboard design, and the logic board being 10 times smaller than their previous notebooks.

2. Apple Watch - A whole computer on your wrist. With a pretty decent interface and scrolling through the crown.

3. The iPad pro - A tablet about which I've heard and read quite a few articles where they mentioned that it is capable of replacing the laptop, but for a few things it can't do that.

4. Apple Pay- Now it only takes a second to pay! Although launched last year, this year marks its 1st year.

5. The other products iPhone, iPad mini, iPad Air, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air; all great ones.

But for me the major flow was the rollout a of these great products. They seemed unfinisfed, rolled out because their due date had come.

The software from Apple was most unfinished.

1. iOS 9- Had quite a few issues when it initially launched. The music app was a mess. The Apple Music launch was a mess. No proper tabs. It was a mess.

2. Mac OS X - The latest OS was I think the most buggy till date. I had never heard a Mac OS so buggy in them last few years.

3. The Apple TV- It came out with a good software but seemed unfinished and rolled out, as I said, cause they reached their due date. There was no Siri for Apple Music. Only 2 devices can be connected. Inputting passwords is very tiresome. And no 4K! Their Mac support 4K and 5K, the iPhone supports 4K. The TVs are now 4K displayed. But no 4K on the Apple TV.. I think that's still a smaller part than the software and the device pairing limitation.(don't forget it's only of 32 GB and 128 GB)

The thing that Apple should fix in the next year:

1. The first major problem for me was their launches of the products with unfinished stuff. Ive never seen Apple launching products still not completed being launched as a full product. I'm sure the 2nd gen products will solve that, but my fear is the those will solve that only, and the main, cool, new stuff will be pushed to the 3rd gen. I feel Apple should stop releasing products quickly and should release products perfectly. I wouldn't mind if they launch the product after a few months rather than laughing very quickly after the keynote. I would love them to launch when the products are ready to launch, and not laugh cause the date has arrived.

2. Software- The hardware from Apple is just amazing. The Mac iPhones, iPads and the watch, blow my mind. Sometimes I think certain hardwares are to confuse me with its use- like the haptic engine in the iPhone 6s. The weight of the phone noticibly increased from the iPhone 6, and I don't like the haptic vibration. I feel the normal vibration would be enough. The battery has been reduced cause of the added hardware. But the software has started to appear as more buggy than ever along with many issues. And that's common for all their devices. So I think Apple should work a little more harder in 2016 on software and then along with their awesome hardware, they will launch amazingly HOT products.

3. iCloud, handoff, continuity, extensibility- I was really hoping for some amazing stuff for these 4 services and features. iCloud saw some amazingly lucrative pricing with only $1 for 50 Gb and with iCloud Drive and iCloud Photo Library and with whatsapp using iCloud space to store my data, I think it's a good business for Apple and a good pay for a consumer too. In 2016 I really hope to see. These 4 services get some new feature. Some "wow" services for iCloud and some "that's just awesome" for the other 3 features.

4. Prices - well this point is always debatable. Last night I saw an old Apple keynote of 2003, where Steve jobs showed a new skiing and snowboarding jacket, which they had partnered to sell with another company, it was made for the iPod. It's retail price was $499. That's just too much for a jacket. In 2015 the prices of the new products (not only in USA but worldwide) like the MacBook, the Apple Watch and its bands and accessories, the iPhone, iPad; were really high. If they could reduce it even by 25% with their latest launches in 2016 it would be a good purchase.

The year 2015 has been a real roller coaster. On one hand Apple made its most profitable quarter, while on the other hand, the products it launched were unfinished. On one hand. The technology it launched was pretty good, whereas on the other hand, it didn't reflect on its stock price for the investor, and its stock lost a lot of value. I really would buy many many products Apple launched this year, but I felt that they could be a little more polished. Like the new MacBook could have atleast 2 or 3 ports, and it would be the most amazing Mac I have seen. But with 1 port, it's not worth the price. I hope Apple doesn't remove the headphone jack in iPhone 7 as the rumours suggest. I listen to my music when my phone charges, I won't be able to do that then. I think it's time Apple brings another industry standard by bringing a 2.5 or 2.75 mm jack to the market. I don't know what all Apple has in works for next year. But I'm really excited for it.

 

[navaira]

I just came here to post a similar thread.

1. Fix Apple Music so I can move over from Spotify without being terrified of losing my library. Improve recommendations. Stop ruining metadata, changing cover art and replacing live versions with album versions. There must be somebody in the world that can do it.
2. Continue developing the rMB and make me too weak to resist buying one in 2017.
3. DO NOT release OS X 10.12 in 2016. Finish El Capitan first. Bug-free version please. FREE. Not "just a few here and there". Not just "well your wifi works 99% of the time so no need to complain".
4. Stop glueing your computers shut. (Not gonna happen.)
5. Update Mac Pro. Not that I want one but just so it's not so miserable.
6. Ditto Thunderbolt display.
7. If you can't put a SD slot in the new Macbook, put a microSD slot in. It's TINY. You can fit it in.
8. I am not going to talk about prices because Apple spent last two years positioning itself upwards, so I expect to see the Macbook line start at $1199 rather than $899, but it would be SO nice to get rid of the people who post drivel like "if you can't afford $800 headphones what are you doing buying Apple products". Give me an iMac that's both useful (get rid of the spinners) and affordable.

That's about all I personally need. I'd be very happy to see more Android apps, like a native app to sync Android phones via iTunes, but I don't see that happening.

 

[Tech198]

there is no such thing as bug-free software.....

well, there is, but no one would see it anytime soon... it would take years. Users can't wait that long for the next version of OS X.

Everyone wants ultra-portable thin computers, but they also want to be able to repair them ? .... Don't see that happening..

The upgrad-able Mac ship has sailed.

Apple music: Maybe a handy "import Spotify" button ?

I like some views, but when we mention them, we all forget that Apple is a closed eco-system, and weather they matter may be good, but i'm sure u even you know most of then will never happen..

 

[navaira]

there is no such thing as bug-free software.....

well, there is, but no one would see it anytime soon... it would take years. Users can't wait that long for the next version of OS X.

Why not? I'd be perfectly willing to wait more than one year between major updates to get a bug-free system for once.

Everyone wants ultra-portable thin computers, but they also want to be able to repair them ? .... Don't see that happening..

True. It's either/or.

The upgrad-able Mac ship has sailed.

That's the only part where we can actually vote with our wallets, but my worry is that instead of re-introducing upgradeable Macs Apple would just give up on computers and focus on watches, cars and whatever other drivel they will come up with to try and "revolute" again.

I wonder about Mac Pro though. Will they FINALLY update it? Or will they just drop it? I don't think it sells bucketloads, whether freshly upgraded or not. And the trashcan form hasn't been a major success outside of enthusiastic keynotes. If they drop that, the only upgradeable Mac will be the 27" that you can put more RAM in. Hallelujah.

Apple music: Maybe a handy "import Spotify" button ?

That and "do not f*** up my library" button.

 

[Tech198]

Why not? I'd be perfectly willing to wait more than one year between major updates to get a bug-free system for once.

maybe, but most wouldn't.. Look what happen when Apple delayed with the Apple Sports because of a problem at the factory. Regardless, everyone still wanted it...

There would be pandemonium since everyone other company will be releasing products on-time, while Apple will always be behind but it will be "bug free"

Apple needs to keep users happy. not **** them off.

If Apple gave up on the Mac and focused on wearable and tablets. then they'd be limiting themselves. since u can't do that much with iOS u can with OS X on a Mac..... They would either force everyone to the cloud like with the iPad pro to store your stuff, or be required by customer complains to add ports like the Surface, and open it up more for third party apps, which would automatically decrease security, which i can't see that happening.. ("open" as in install anything, and cross app support)

You work hard to keep a closed system for years on iOS, only to say "screw it" and open it to every hack and everything like MS... I dunno, That could happen I guess.

 

[navaira]

Well... I am definitely not an average user and don't think my opinion represents everybody's opinion. However I would much rather get Yosemite 10.10.8 with no updates but everything working 100% correct, then Cappy 10.11.0 that breaks XtraFinder, Cubase, Office, Outlook, Mail and whatever other applications people had problems with. So yeah, I am very happy to wait for 10.11.10 where everything Just Works (TM) and there's an undetectable amount of bugs, than get 10.12 with even more colourful icons that you can click to fire up software which will crash within a minute

Also since MS now decided Windows 10 will be with us forever and simply receive 200 updates a week, I don't think people necessarily expect Apple to come up with a new major update every year. Again, my opinion is not everybody's, so I might be wrong on this.

 

[weatherwax]

I think that they're moving towards smaller, more frequent updates, and hopefully that means quicker bug fixes. Though considering that firefox and chrome adopted similar models, I don't have high hopes for "no more bugs".

 

[Tech198]

Apple needs to fix in 2016: "iCloud" No one has issues with photos getting deleted, music just disappearing, libraries getting mucked up, and/or all of the above with syncing anything ?

 

[maflynn]

1. The first major problem for me was their launches of the products with unfinished stuff.

Seems to me this is due to a philosophical change under Cook. Gone are the days where Jobs or someone at the top examine a product to the millimeter. With that said, I do think the hardware is great and I've not had any problems with the new products.

So I think Apple should work a little more harder in 2016 on software and then along with their awesome hardware, they will launch amazingly HOT products.

I think this is another strategy change where apple will release the software with bugs and then slowly roll out bug fixes. For example release OS X annually and then improve it over the course of those 12 months instead of taking 2 or 3 years to roll out a solid upgrade with some really nice and big features.

4. Prices - well this point is always debatable.

Apple was smart not to race to the bottom against PC makers, Where did that lead Dell? While I do think Apple is pricey, sometimes too pricey you get a lot for your buck. Point of reference, I got a beautiful 27" 5k iMac for about 2 grand. If I opted for a Dell instead it would cost me 2 grand just for the display, never mind the computer.

 

[Ebenezum]

3. DO NOT release OS X 10.12 in 2016. Finish El Capitan first. Bug-free version please. FREE. Not "just a few here and there". Not just "well your wifi works 99% of the time so no need to complain".
4. Stop glueing your computers shut. (Not gonna happen.)
5. Update Mac Pro. Not that I want one but just so it's not so miserable.

Well... I am definitely not an average user and don't think my opinion represents everybody's opinion. However I would much rather get Yosemite 10.10.8 with no updates but everything working 100% correct, then Cappy 10.11.0 that breaks XtraFinder, Cubase, Office, Outlook, Mail and whatever other applications people had problems with. So yeah, I am very happy to wait for 10.11.10 where everything Just Works (TM) and there's an undetectable amount of bugs, than get 10.12 with even more colourful icons that you can click to fire up software which will crash within a minute

Agreed. I am not impressed with Apples current schedule of "it will released on day x come hell or high water no matter how many bugs it contains".

As for glueing computers I'm also fairly certain Apple isn't going to change its policy which is very troubling...

I wonder if Mac Pro is going to be quietly discontinued? Current lack of updates isn't promising. Not that I'm going to purchase trashcan but it would be shame if Apple didn't provide a fast Mac for those who need it.

I think this is another strategy change where apple will release the software with bugs and then slowly roll out bug fixes. For example release OS X annually and then improve it over the course of those 12 months instead of taking 2 or 3 years to roll out a solid upgrade with some really nice and big features.

This is the reason why I'm going to wait to 10.11.5 before testing El Capitan again, current version has far too many bugs and I got fed up trying to work around them.

Unless 10.11 is improved tremendously I'm likely to stay in 10.9.5 which works for my needs unlike later OS versions...

 

[yep-sure]

They need to rethink their entire approach in my in opinion. They need to refocus back to user experience.

5-6 years ago, their product range was simplified and their main selling point was "it just works".

Now days they products are all over the place, 2012 MBP's still on sale, who can keep track of all the different Air/Pro models?! In the MacBook range, the Air used to be the ultra-portable notebook, now the MacBook is. The Air is just the flagship iPad model. What does "Air" even mean anymore? and "Pro"? Nothing. They just slap random names on anything. Such a complicated product range.

More importantly is the user experience. It's a nightmare at the moment in comparison to how everything "just worked" a few years ago. I managed to convince pretty much everyone in my immediate family to switch to Apple, they did, and they used it all without issue for a few years. Now days they ALL have some sort of issue. So do all of my friends. iCloud just doesn't work the way it's supposed to 90% of the time - it causes nothing but frustration.

My mother called me in tears the other day, as she just upgraded to a 6S from a 5C. Nothing but drama. And all the same issues I had trying to setup her new iPad Air 2 a few weeks earlier. It's ridiculous that you now have to allow a solid half day to set up a new device.

iCloud Photo library? Shambles.
iCloud Music library/Apple Music/iTunes Match? Over complicated mess.
AirDrop? Rarely works.
iCloud syncing in general? More trouble than it's worth.

It's crazy that in 2015, it's still quicker to email a file to yourself than to try to use AirDrop, sync iCloud Drive/Photos/Notes up properly so that the file appears in a timely manner.

Then there's talk of dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack. A feature used be a large percentage of iPhone users, it just works, and never fails. Can you imagine life with BlueTooth only? Even just making phone calls or listening to music could be a frustrating experience like the other simple tasks listed above.

Stop the thinness obsession! People want usable devices that they can rely on. We don't want to be charging our devices 2-3 a day because they are too thin to have a decent battery. We don't want to loose industry standard ports to have a more fragile, thinner device.

In summary, put the user experience back to the centre of your focus, like when Steve was running the shop.

 

[Apple blogger]

Now days they products are all over the place, 2012 MBP's still on sale, who can keep track of all the different Air/Pro models?! In the MacBook range, the Air used to be the ultra-portable notebook, now the MacBook is. The Air is just the flagship iPad model. What does "Air" even mean anymore? and "Pro"? Nothing. They just slap random names on anything. Such a complicated product range.

Wow I never had really thought of this! You do make a point! The air was "air" cause of its thinness. Now it's the MacBook .. But I think the pro is still pro.. But yes.. There's a lot of confusion on which Mac to buy now since they sell way too many ones...

 

[maflynn]

My mother called me in tears the other day, as she just upgraded to a 6S from a 5C. Nothing but drama. And all the same issues I had trying to setup her new iPad Air 2 a few weeks earlier. It's ridiculous that you now have to allow a solid half day to set up a new device.

Perhaps things have changed from the iPhone 6 to the 6s, but how in the world does it take half a day to set up a phone. I plugged my phone into iTunes and it was done within 10 minutes (probably less, its been a while since I got my phone).

iCloud Photo library? Shambles.
iCloud Music library/Apple Music/iTunes Match? Over complicated mess.
AirDrop? Rarely works.
iCloud syncing in general? More trouble than it's worth.

I agree AirDrop is awful, and I don't use Photos, but iCloud syncing has been fairly problem free for me. What issues have you incurred with that (I'm not saying problems don't exist, but rather I've not had to deal with them).

 

[Tech198]

Apple was smart not to race to the bottom against PC makers, Where did that lead Dell? While I do think Apple is pricey, sometimes too pricey you get a lot for your buck. Point of reference, I got a beautiful 27" 5k iMac for about 2 grand. If I opted for a Dell instead it would cost me 2 grand just for the display, never mind the computer.

Dell is expensive for good displays... Apple is mostly about software, not hardware... which is why for that price u do not get the best PC components in the world.

 

[maflynn]

Apple is mostly about software, not hardware

I totally disagree with that, in fact Apple uses software to sell hardware, I mean we have the iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, iPhone. iPad. I understand they now get a lot of money form apps on a platform, i.e., iOS, yet it still remains they're selling hardware and the software helps drive the hardware.

 

[ericazz]

I totally agree with your four quote. They should try and lower the prices and they will beat competitors easily

 

[yep-sure]

Perhaps things have changed from the iPhone 6 to the 6s, but how in the world does it take half a day to set up a phone. I plugged my phone into iTunes and it was done within 10 minutes (probably less, its been a while since I got my phone).

There were several issues.

First up, the 5C hadn't backed up since early December. The "Backup Now" option was greyed out and couldn't be pressed. So she tried backing it up to her iMac. She'd never plugged the phone into the iMac before, so she is greeted with the "Welcome to iPhone" screen, where she is presented with two the options "Restore from backup", or "Set up as new iPhone". Neither of which is helpful. It'd been a while since I'd used a Mac to set up a phone, so I looked up online to verify that using the "Set up as new iPhone" wouldn't actually do anything harmful, and would just allow us to see the phone in iTunes. We then "Transferred Purchases" and did a back up of the phone.

We then fired up the 6S, plugged it in and tried to restore the 5C backup to it. Failed - the backup was taken from a new version of iOS than the 6S had installed. So we then had to set the 6S up as a new iPhone.

Then, we had to try to update the 6S to the latest version of iOS. First, since the phone was already plugged in, we tried downloading the update via iTunes. "8 days remaining"... Great. That random iTunes Store bug that stops you from being able to download properly. This still happens to me from time to time; but it used to be more frequent - you download an album, and you have 10 tracks within 1.5 mins, but the final three show "4 days remaining". I didn't feel like talking my mum through flushing DNS caches or try to hardcode in DNS addresses, so we went back to the 6S for an OTA update.

We tried it a few times, and got the message "Your request could not be completed." or something similar. So we did a hard reset, no change. Reset network settings, tried again, sat on "Update Requested" for probably 30 mins? Another hard reset of the phone knocked it off, and within another 30 mins the update was downloaded and installed.

We then restored the backup and she spent the rest of the afternoon setting up all her apps.

Not a smooth process by any stretch.

I agree AirDrop is awful, and I don't use Photos, but iCloud syncing has been fairly problem free for me. What issues have you incurred with that (I'm not saying problems don't exist, but rather I've not had to deal with them).

The main problems I've had are with Photos and iCloud Drive. I've needed to access a file or photo on a different device, and I've had to wait up to 24 hours for it to sync. Like I said above - way easier just to email it to yourself and not bother with anything else. I can't even bring myself to open my Photos app on my Mac, the last time I did about 6 weeks ago, it was still uploading 1500 odd files, which would jump up and down in volume every time I checked it.

 

[Flow39]

I agree with a lot of what everyone was saying here. In my opinion, Apple's 2015 was a steaming pile with just a couple good things in the mix. There was so much wrong this year, all starting off with the MacBook. Same price as the 13" rMBP, yet has 1/10 the power and only 2 ports. The only value of that thing was thinness. Then the Apple Watch rolled around and the launch was a total mess, with many pre-orders not shipping until mid June and the absolutely stupid Apple Watch Edition (why even have this line? Max the  Watch out at $1000 and call it a day). I do think the Watch is a valuable product and has a lot of potential however, and this was one of the bright spots of the year.

Later in the year came the iPhone 6s. No complaints here, as this was a very solid upgrade. The next items are where it really starts to get bad. Apple TV 4, the same thing as the 3 with just a new OS and remote plus an App Store. This wasn't the revolution they were teasing it to be. The new iMacs with a 5400 rpm HDD in 2015 was a train wreck, and why didn't they add a fusion or solid state drive to the base instead? The Magic Accessories went down in functionality but up in price. The mouse with a charging port on the bottom--seriously?

The iPad Pro was completely hobbled from the beginning--hardware was phenomenal but the software was not built for pro level tasks. It's running iOS which immediately makes it not pro. It also costs way too much and to get the full functionality of it, you need to spend another $250+ to get the keyboard case and pencil. At this point, it costs more than a SP4 and close to an rMBP, yet can't come close to the functionality these devices provide.

Last, but not least, comes the iPhone battery case. Yeah, that is completely disgusting and ugly IMO. It can't even recharge the iPhone fully, looks horrible, and costs $99. There are a lot of other battery cases I could buy with $99 that actually recharge the phone and offer other features to make it worthwhile. This really was the cap to a pretty lackluster year and summed 2015 all up.

Hopefully 2016 will be a better year for Apple. I want to see them cut back on the new products and simplify the product lines, because right now they are too confusing and cluttered. They need to refocus on their core and stop trying to position themselves as a luxury or fashion brand, as it will do nothing but hurt them in the long run. The mess that was 2015 can be reversed this year if Apple puts their focus on the 'it just works' mantra and really doubles down on making the consumer happy instead of making billions of dollars.