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Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

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Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#81

Post by rashkov »

mikestew wrote: post #59

Yeah, that's a click-baity headline; but they're not wrong. There's a shift from the "line up at dawn for the new Apple Dingus" to an arguably more stable "tic-toc" upgrade cycle, with hopefully some Apple Music and iCloud subscriptions thrown in. That's where I'm at right now. Both of us are still on iPhone 6s. I have an iPad from last year that I expect to last a few more. Hers is the generation prior, and will get…

If it's not too off topic, what is it about the watch that you like so much? I've still got my iPhone 6 and was nodding my head in agreement until you got to the watch part, so just curious, what makes it a compelling product for you?

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#82

Post by lowercased »

icelancer wrote: post #66
Reason077 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that's the most annoying thing about my Sony bluetooth headphones. They really don't like to switch between my phone and my Mac.

Bluetooth in general is so shitty about this. How iOS/Apple gets it right and no one else does is beyond me.

well, they get it right just for their systems. could sony try to make their stuff work 'the same' on multiple different windows installs? possibly, but it's a lot of work, and they can't guarantee the same bluetooth radio chips or versions, etc.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#83

Post by sithadmin »

iscrewyou wrote: post #47
reacharavindh wrote: post #33

May be people are disappointed with innovation in iPhones compared to previous years' or for the last few years, but every time I use my AirPods, I can't but feel good about the innovation it took to make it as easy to use and comfortable. * If I open the case near my phone, it automatically pairs and shoes battery levels. * They sound decent for earbuds (not in-ear plugs which I hate) * Lasts reasonable amount of ti…

I love the fact that I can keep them in my ear and just go on my Macbook and select the output from the volume icon. I’m always amazed by that.

Moving AirPod pairing from iOS -> Mac works well, but going the other way is always a struggle for me. I nearly always have to go into my iOS device's Bluetooth settings to reconnect. It's tolerable, but an annoyance.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#84

Post by gehsty »

jazzyjackson wrote: post #64
raverbashing wrote: post #45

Do you know what really worries me about Apple now? So, when SJ came back to Apple, he reorganized their (then at the time) computer lines into more streamlined ones. Something like (I might get some of the names wrong), into consumer/pro and portable/desktop iBook/Powerbook, iMac/Powermac Now look at their line now What the F is an iPhone XR? Is the XS "better" than the X or not? Why are there 2 iPad Pros? Is an iPa…

They've definitely failed at saying 'no' - no to selling last years model as a budget, no to selling 2 different sizes of the same phone, they've lost their mojo in saying "this is the best product available if you're looking for an everyday driver and don't need all the RAM in the world", or, "this is the best product available if you're running Final Cut Pro on the road" To your point, you can actually buy 2 differ…

Steve Jobs was not perfect and what he set out is not doctrine. Apple can be successful without following what he has done in the past. Simply computing has moved on, people own computers for different reasons and the pro / consumer split is not as clear as it once was. Devices can be fashion accessories. Where / how does that fit into the Steve jobs pro / consumer split?

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#85

Post by dymk »

kerng wrote: post #72

Apples product line is not understandable anymore, it used to be simple but now there are too many dubious options and weird branding. Even Microsoft's Surface line (which is a similar mess) is easier to comprehend now.

Complexity in the names of devices has nothing to do with those devices being innovative, or Apple being inventive.

And from sales numbers, clearly the naming of the new iPhone lineup hasn't deterred people from looking at apple.com and figuring out what device suits their needs.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#87

Post by amelius »

icelancer wrote: post #66
Reason077 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that's the most annoying thing about my Sony bluetooth headphones. They really don't like to switch between my phone and my Mac.

Bluetooth in general is so shitty about this. How iOS/Apple gets it right and no one else does is beyond me.

Yes. For years I haven't been able to use my Bluetooth headphones with my Android phone :(

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#88

Post by matthewmacleod »

I’m not really sure I buy the premise - Apple has never been much of an inventor, instead being more of a “competent executor”. It’s true that Apple is likely to continue to increase its service offerings, but I don’t think that fundamentally changes the nature of the company. Since Apple has historically focused on executing extant ideas well, it’s quite possible that we won’t see any massive new markets until we know what the next “hot new tech” will be. AR maybe?

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#89

Post by talltimtom »

People keep complaining that Apple isn’t bringing the next iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch level innovation, but honestly no one is pushing them so why should they? As far as moving markets they’ve done enough to coast a bit. Noone is complaining that companies like Ford and Toyota are “just making new cars instead og innovativt”

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#90

Post by askafriend »

Reason077 wrote: post #55
reacharavindh wrote: post #33

May be people are disappointed with innovation in iPhones compared to previous years' or for the last few years, but every time I use my AirPods, I can't but feel good about the innovation it took to make it as easy to use and comfortable. * If I open the case near my phone, it automatically pairs and shoes battery levels. * They sound decent for earbuds (not in-ear plugs which I hate) * Lasts reasonable amount of ti…

Part of the problem with the Mac is that Intel has been slow to make progress. Particularly when it comes to faster low-power chips, Moore's Law has been failing us for some time now. How long till Apple start putting their A-series chips in Macs?

The new iPad Pro already benchmarks as high as some of their recent laptops (Yes, I know the thermals are different, etc but bear with me here)

My bet is that over the years iPad Pro will expand to do more and more of the jobs that people traditionally use MacBooks (or laptops in general) to do. We'll eventually see a world where most people have iPads, not laptops - thereby relying on A-series chips, not Intel, to get their work done. iPad sales are already encroaching Mac sales, and Apple already acknowledges that for most people, the iPad is enough to be their primary computer or soon will be (you can see this in their communications and commercials).

I know it might be difficult for a somewhat technical (and maybe a little bit older) community like HN to imagine, but this is one of my strong beliefs with regards to Apple's product lineup. I truly think the iPad Pro is the dark horse that no one will see coming (especially given that Apple themselves hadn't really focused on iPad deeply for the first couple years of its existence).

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