Why is Apple the only tech company that makes unique products?

[KnightWRX]

They also helped create an entire new software development industry

Which software development industry would this be ? Embedded systems ? Mobile devices ?

Nope, nothing new there. They expanded maybe, but they did not create.

I'm not talking about the lower levels of computing. I'm talking about the parts of computing that End Users, who will never see an IDE in their entire lives. This is where computing is being redefined. They're shifting the way people use the "input. Process. Output.Store".

Again for the people wanting very much to redefine computing, "shifting the way people use" is not redefining computing. At least qualify it properly as a shift in usability, not in computing. You are talking about the lower levels when you use the word computing.

Why are some of you uninitiated insisting on using "computing" and claiming it is redefined ? Is it because a shift in usability doesn't sound as great accomplishment and you want to make what Apple did much bigger than it really is ? Stay objective please, don't involve emotions you have for a corporation in this discussion.

 

[*LTD*]

Which software development industry would this be ? Embedded systems ? Mobile devices ?

Nope, nothing new there. They expanded maybe, but they did not create.



Again for the people wanting very much to redefine computing, "shifting the way people use" is not redefining computing. At least qualify it properly as a shift in usability, not in computing. You are talking about the lower levels when you use the word computing.

Why are some of you uninitiated insisting on using "computing" and claiming it is redefined ? Is it because a shift in usability doesn't sound as great accomplishment and you want to make what Apple did much bigger than it really is ? Stay objective please, don't involve emotions you have for a corporation in this discussion.

I'm not sure what the point is of constantly fighting to understate what Apple has achieved. Compare the smartphone landscape pre- June 2007 to now. Compare the mobile landscape overall pre-January 2010 to now. Big, big differences. All of it ushered in by Apple. If you want to get specific, let's start with the App Store. It all started with iTunes. Then Apple pushed the entire industry forward again in 2008.

All these big industry milestones in key areas - mobile, software distribution, interface design - all the credit goes to Apple. Once Apple gets into a market it changes. Then everyone sees their success and follows suit.

This might seem unfair or uncharitable to other tech outfits, but it's true. It's also part of the reason you're making these voracious attempts to balance out the pro-Apple situation. The very reason you're posting what you're posting is because Apple has turned the entire game on its head and everyone else is made to look like clueless pretenders. This "unfair" situation that elicits a lot of pro-Apple enthusiasm doesn't sit well with you. Thus, the opportunity for a contrarian to join the conversation.

 

[CalBoy]

To say that Apple innovates anything these days is disingenuous, at best.

What Apple does is define what is stylish and chic. This isn't a negative thing, however. Style is very important because a poorly designed product can be a pain to use and doesn't make us feel good about our purchases.

There are a host of innovators across the tech world, but Apple isn't one of them. If I want to find the next building material or breakthrough mechanism, I'm certainly not going to look at Apple.

On the other hand, if I want to find the one company that is going to take existing technology and make it stylish, sleek, easy to use, and generally fun to use, then I look squarely at Apple.

No matter how frustrated I become with some of Apple's choices (for example, why can't I have a matte mbp without a custom order like I could a few years ago?), I must admit that its products are always beautiful and much easier to use than others on the market.

That's really where Apple's strength lies. Other companies haven't figured out how to "un-techhead" their product lines.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

To say that Apple innovates anything these days is disingenuous, at best.

What Apple does is define what is stylish and chic. This isn't a negative thing, however. Style is very important because a poorly designed product can be a pain to use and doesn't make us feel good about our purchases.

There are a host of innovators across the tech world, but Apple isn't one of them. If I want to find the next building material or breakthrough mechanism, I'm certainly not going to look at Apple.

On the other hand, if I want to find the one company that is going to take existing technology and make it stylish, sleek, easy to use, and generally fun to use, then I look squarely at Apple.

No matter how frustrated I become with some of Apple's choices (for example, why can't I have a matte mbp without a custom order like I could a few years ago?), I must admit that its products are always beautiful and much easier to use than others on the market.

That's really where Apple's strength lies. Other companies haven't figured out how to "un-techhead" their product lines.

Can you say just one company that seems to capture the needs/desires as Apple has?

I don'y see lines for the latest Droid phone or pad...

Like it or not of late; Apple knows how do things right...

 

[SevenInchScrew]

Can you say just one company that seems to capture the needs/desires as Apple has?

I don'y see lines for the latest Droid phone or pad...

Like it or not of late; Apple knows how do things right...

I think you missed the entire point of his post.

 

[CalBoy]

Can you say just one company that seems to capture the needs/desires as Apple has?

I don'y see lines for the latest Droid phone or pad...

Like it or not of late; Apple knows how do things right...

I'm not sure what you're replying to...

Apple clearly does marketing and design very well, and most other tech companies are pretty honestly terrible at it.

However, good marketing and design do not make a company innovative. If those were the factors of innovation, then a host of clothing retailers are more innovative than even Apple.

 

[roadbloc]

Wait a while.

I'm still waiting for Laptops to kill Desktops like everyone said they were going to in the early 2000's.

iPads will sell. So will Laptops. So will Desktops. So will Servers. The iPad will not, and simply cannot replace them all. It's impossible.

 

[JoeG4]

Seconded, there are those of us that prefer not to fry our wrists/nads every time we decide to work/play crysis.

That, and for some reason looking inside a tower gets me all giddy in a way that powerful laptop hardware doesn't. Case in point: I have a quad i7 laptop that absolutely spanks my desktop, and I love using it, but I still get a huge kick out of popping the G5 open and checking out the massive heatsinks and all that.

That, and it's nice to have multiple drives/monitors/whatever without a bunch of bricks and cables all over the *@#% table.

 

[garybUK]

What is innovation?

Apple have done a lot since the PowerPC. In fact, especially in the laptop area, Apple were severly lacking in innovation with the iBook and PowerBook. PowerBook to original MacBook Pro, not a lot changed, but let's look at what has changed since the first MacBook to now.

Apple has found a way of manufacturing beautiful Aluminium cases out of a block of aluminium. During my day job, I work with Dell D-series, E-Series laptops and Macbook Pros. Admittedly, we get less Apple hardware with failure than we do with the Dells, and the 2-3 year old Dells are dropping like flies due to their Nvidia graphics chipsets failing. Last week I had 6 Dell laptops fail and had to replace their motherboards. Which leads me onto another of Apple's innovations. Component layouts. Yes, Apple use the same components as other PCs, they did during the late PowerPC era too (save the processor) and the way they engineer the layout and cooling is just of a much higher quality than Dell, where the parts do seem to be more cobbled together.

What? Like Sony's Z Series? Quad SSD Raid, 13" form factor, Quad i7, Bluray all in a package like the 13" macbook Pro? Who's innovative?

Then let's look at 2007. Yes there were Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones around first, but the innovation that Apple made was making smartphones useful to more people. They also helped create an entire new software development industry, in the background they had a tablet, unlike any Tablet PCs, but too hard to make into a product at the time.

No, Apple sat back, watched the others, cobbled together something (without proper licensing from Nokia) and put it out, that's innovation at only marketing level.

Apple are great at taking something already there and making it work either in other applications or making the entire package in a way that their competitors just get confused on how to combat. Look at how Motorola desgined the Xoom, Samsung Designed the Galaxy Tab 10, there's something lacking in these designs in the entire packages. Yes they will be great against the original iPad and its original OS, but look at Garageband and iMovie. The iPad is geting powerful enough to be a device to create on. That is innovation.

iMovie not innovative, Microsoft have MoveMaker on the PC.
Garageband is a great product and is pretty innovative.

But you've just proven my point, they don't innovate hardware, they use it to get you into their 'innovative' ecosystem. None of it is really new apart from how closed off it is. One would argue, Monopolistic which if their customer base grows they will need to look out for.... Apple is the Microsoft of the 21st Century (without the Business volumes behind it).

I'm not talking about the lower levels of computing. I'm talking about the parts of computing that End Users, who will never see an IDE in their entire lives. This is where computing is being redefined. They're shifting the way people use the "input. Process. Output.Store".

[/QUOTE]

And your also describing only home users and not business users, of which, there are many many millions more.

 

[roadbloc]

Garageband is a great product and is pretty innovative.

I disagree. GarageBand is nothing but a mere childs toy compaired to the likes of Pro-Tools and the Ableton Suite. Even Logic (GarageBand for grown ups) is pretty damn basic compaired to what DigiDesign put into their products.

Steve can say "This is not a toy!" in his demos as much as he likes. GarageBand is a toy.

 

[JoeG4]

Thank you!

Using an iPad and garageband to produce music is like using a Flip camera to record a movie destined for Hollywood. Not happening. However, it should be usable for casual shiz if that's what Steve Jobs is advertising it for - and obviously it's falling short for that. XD

Besides, it'll be obsolete trash in a year's time. The new "retina" version will come out with the new version of iMovie and Garageband, which probably won't support your brand new iPad 2

 

[erzhik]

Now you see, OP is a true Apple diehard fan. FYI, Apple didn't and doesn't invent anything new. What they have in their devices is exactly what other devices have and had in them for a while. All Apple does is redesigns as they see it, but YOU pay the premium for that.

Is Macbook pro amazing? Yes
Will I swap my MCPro for anything else? No
Did I pay a hefty premium for it? Hell yes
Can I get the same thing from Dell or Toshiba for less? Absolutely YES

Apple products look unique from the outside, but in reality they are the same devices others have but in different packages.

 

[Melrose]

Is Macbook pro amazing? Yes
Will I swap my MCPro for anything else? No
Did I pay a hefty premium for it? Hell yes
Can I get the same thing from Dell or Toshiba for less? Absolutely YES

I see your point, but I disagree about price and getting the same thing in a Toshiba.

Toshiba does make a good Windows-based laptop but the Macintosh, specs-for-specs, is not any more or less expensive than a Windows model. In fact, some PC makers are more expensive when you compare components and specs. Note I'm leaving the OS argument out of it because for many people all that boils down to is personal preference.

The bottom line is you use what you like, but if you want a high-end laptop, you pay more for it regardless of whether it's a Mac or a Windows machine.

However, OS X is infinitely more stable and secure in my experience so even IF there were a premium price involved, I'd still pay it. That is the key difference for me. Apple could make butt-ugly computers, but if the OS was the same I'd still buy them.

 

[*LTD*]

Apple products look unique from the outside, but in reality they are the same devices others have but in different packages.

Which makes all the difference. Night and day. As far as anyone is concerned, making tech usable and desirable to that degree is pretty innovative.

 

[R.Perez]

Which makes all the difference. Night and day. As far as anyone is concerned, making tech usable and desirable to that degree is pretty innovative.

You really need to step out of your fanboi bubble, it seems a little silly to be honest.

 

[*LTD*]

You really need to step out of your fanboi bubble, it seems a little silly to be honest.

The entire industry is one big Apple "fanboi", bud. What Apple does, everyone else moves to copy or get it on. My "bubble" is the entire tech industry where it concerns the average user.

What's "silly" is the Apple fansite bubble. Apple fansites on the ass-end of the net with their loveable little geek contingent perpetually out of touch with the actual market.

Step into 2011. It's all about Apple and where they're taking the industry.

 

[R.Perez]

The entire industry is one big Apple "fanboi", bud. What Apple does, everyone else moves to copy or get it on. My "bubble" is the entire tech industry where it concerns the average user.

What's "silly" is the Apple fansite bubble. Apple fansites on the ass-end of the net with their loveable little geek contingent perpetually out of touch with the actual market.

Step into 2011. It's all about Apple and where they're taking the industry.

It's already been proven that outside of a couple of examples, that just isn't true. You would of noticed that, but every single post that countered your fanboish assumptions, you brushed off with more rhetoric that sounded like it came from a marketing exec at Apple. What I am telling you is this, you have blinders on that completely alter your thinking on this issue. You are incapable of seeing the tech industry without apple painted glasses on.

 

[roadbloc]

The entire industry is one big Apple "fanboi", bud. What Apple does, everyone else moves to copy or get it on. My "bubble" is the entire tech industry where it concerns the average user.

What's "silly" is the Apple fansite bubble. Apple fansites on the ass-end of the net with their loveable little geek contingent perpetually out of touch with the actual market.

Step into 2011. It's all about Apple and where they're taking the industry.

This is nonsence. If the average user was interested in just Apple, then why are Apple on a lesser market share for pretty much... everything but MP3 players? How come Android is proving more popular?

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. THIS IS NOT AN APPLE FANSITE! Please go elsewhere if you wish to praise the mighty Apple endlessly. This site is for news and discussion based around Apple products. Not for fans to blow their load.

I'm in 2011. And I'm seeing Android beat iOS in the mobile world, and slowly creeping up in the tablet world. I'm seeing OS X being turned from a pretty advanced OS to an App riddled toy. I'm seeing Apple discontinue server services. I'm seeing Apple making silly mistakes such as clock bugs and adding social networks to media players. I'm seeing Apple still not improve MobileMe.

 

[*LTD*]

This is nonsence. If the average user was interested in just Apple, then why are Apple on a lesser market share for pretty much... everything but MP3 players? How come Android is proving more popular?

You mean all the junk Google flooded the market with in order to inflate their share because they *still* can't make anything even remotely on the level of the iPhone?

Licensing out your OS to anyone that can slam together a box and unloading product via the likes of ZTE and cheap Asian outfits (i.e., the "other" category) is hardly impressive. It's the Wintel way of dong business. Great for pumping up market share, but the profits go to the cream of the crop: Apple. For the rest it's a race to the bottom.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. THIS IS NOT AN APPLE FANSITE! Please go elsewhere if you wish to praise the mighty Apple endlessly. This site is for news and discussion based around Apple products. Not for fans to blow their load.

It's an Apple fansite. It's unavoidable. It *is* however, an unhappy experience for trolls and contrarians. You seem unhappy and exasperated in your posts. Is that maybe an indicator of something?

I'm in 2011. And I'm seeing Android beat iOS in the mobile world, and slowly creeping up in the tablet world. I'm seeing OS X being turned from a pretty advanced OS to an App riddled toy. I'm seeing Apple discontinue server services. I'm seeing Apple making silly mistakes such as clock bugs and adding social networks to media players. I'm seeing Apple still not improve MobileMe.

You're seeing Apple hit new milestones and the competition keeping up the only way they know how: price and universal licensing. ZTE releases more Android junk and HTE releases their 20th variation of the same phone and it's crickets. Meanwhile there's so much as a hint of a new iPhone and the industry and market is just buzzing with excitement. The reason is simple: when it comes to Apple, consumer anticipation is in line with expectation.

As for the rest, Apple is following the same formula they always have. It's the ideal of engineering and design: simplify, simplify, simplify. Cut, cut, cut. Then perfect what's left over.

This is what results in record sales. With profits to match.

Cheers.

 

[Kissaragi]

Interesting points here...

Apple also purposely leaves out things in their devices (iPad, iPhone) so that they can make tons of money off it, release a new device with all the features they left out and make a ton of money off that too...

Only people with tinfoil hats on believe that.

 

[Stella]

LTD blurb:
The entire industry is one big Apple "fanboi", bud. What Apple does, everyone else moves to copy or get it on. My "bubble" is the entire tech industry where it concerns the average user.

This is nonsence. If the average user was interested in just Apple, then why are Apple on a lesser market share for pretty much... everything but MP3 players? How come Android is proving more popular?

LTDs claims get more and more absurd.. its like attention seeking. "The consumer tech market is one big Fan Boi".. yea right. The consumer tech market is more than just ipods, appel tv, smartphones, tablet and PCs.

Android will pretty much be the dominant OS in smartphone market, wp7 will become a lot more popular once Nokia start producing these phones. Once Android is ready for the tablet market then we'll see the Android on tablet creeping up on Apple. Purely due to the amount of manufacturers creating Android devices.

 

[*LTD*]

Purely due to the amount of manufacturers creating Android devices.

Which is the entire problem with Android. And which is why you will never, ever, see any single Android device outsell the iPhone.

 

[belvdr]

Which is the entire problem with Android. And which is why you will never, ever, see any single Android device outsell the iPhone.

What difference does it make if one Android device outsells the iPhone? Many of the features are in the OS, not the hardware.

 

[OllyW]

What difference does it make if one Android device outsells the iPhone? Many of the features are in the OS, not the hardware.

Because when he focuses on one device, Apple 'win'.

 

[Stella]

Because when he focuses on one device, Apple 'win'.

And when he can't justify that.. he then lashes out on the consumer for buying the product . For example - Kinetic being the fastest selling tech product ever - I think he called consumers something like "MMO loses"...

LOL!

What difference does it make if one Android device outsells the iPhone? Many of the features are in the OS, not the hardware.

Yes.. exactly.

Additionally, one size doesn't fit all... the combination of the hardware and the software.

Want an Android physical keyboard qwerty layout - there's an Android phone for that!