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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

#241

Post by Bjorkbat »

From the comments I see a lot of people are confused by the headline. Apple still invents, but only for the sake of improving existing products, and not really in a way that makes you imagine what you can do, thus it's not the type of invention that matters.

There, I said it.

I made the mistake of buying a Macbook with a touch bar because I thought it was kind of cool when I finally got to see it in person. The novelty that came from this cheap gimmick wore off in a matter of minutes, even though the technical obstacles that had to be overcome must've been great.

The face-tracking cameras in the latest iPhones and iPads? Impressive on their own, but Apple has failed to do anything really fascinating with them besides using them to unlock your device or to puppet an emoji.

Apple invents only for the sake of creating additional cheap gimmicks without creating genuinely exciting products. As I fumble with the awful keyboard on my Macbook I question just how capable they are of even creating quality products.

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

#242

Post by village-idiot »

drb91 wrote: post #197
Wavelets wrote: post #130

What a silly article. How someone could look at Apple's chip developments (A, T, S, W, etc. series of processors) and think they aren't innovative is mind-boggling. Apple developing key silicon in their devices is a major security benefit for their users and I consider that an innovative model. The Apple ecosystem itself is innovative and I don't think there's a single company that does it better. They still lead in…

Putting conditions on the use of the hardware is distinctly harmful to consumers in a way that otherwise good design cannot ameliorate.

Which has nothing to do with innovation. You might not like it, but it’s a meaningless argument when you’re asking about whether Apple is innovative or not.

Also, good luck finding a phone that doesn’t do that.

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

#243

Post by natch »

timcederman wrote: post #132
jshevek wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which characteristics do you consider distinctive? I think of capacitive touch with no keyboard, but such phones did exist. Costs for those kinds of screens had been coming down before the iphone launched. It was obvious we'd see more capacitive screen phones before the iphone launch, though Apple certainly accelerated it.

Gesture UI (the audience literally gasped when Steve scrolled through a long list by flinging it, and applauded pinch-to-zoom), and actually using best of class components (except the camera). All the other smartphones then were laggy/poor screen/plastic shells/etc. Their UIs stunk. It was a huge step up with a bunch of key incremental innovations in a single package.

Exactly. And he said Apple was five years ahead of everyone else, and I think he was right, or it may have even been an understatement, because trying out competing phones years afterward, they were still more clunky than any iPhone.

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

#244

Post by matthewmacleod »

zjaffee wrote: post #155
matthewmacleod wrote: post #88

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 kn…

I disagree, when apple released the iphone, they changed the face of what smart phones would ultimately become. The touch experience they pioneered really shouldn't be overlooked, and add that on to future technologies like the ipad, where both were deeply immersive devices that people were able to generate new and exiting feelings towards. Since then, apple has migrated from being a brand focused on the shear love o…

they changed the face of what smart phones would ultimately become

I get that, but they didn’t “invent” the smartphone. They executed an existing concept far better than anybody else had been able to up until then, and the result of that was a complete industry change. It’s great, but they weren’t there when the first smartphones appeared - they came along with a much better implementation of the concept.

I think they’ll continue to do this in other markets as they develop.

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

#245

Post by Reason077 »

adpirz wrote: post #57
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…

A few quick thoughts: >What the F is an iPhone XR? Is the XS "better" than the X or not? Somewhat agree about the XR, though I guess the idea is it's one less than an S, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say their "S" naming scheme has been consistent since it was introduced after the iPhone 4. > Why are there 2 iPad Pros? Steve once said netbooks were dead, then released a laptop in exactly that form f…

If Apple were to drop lightning and switch all their phones to USB-C, the rest of the industry would move to USB-C much more rapidly.

We may never be fully rid of USB-A since it's embedded everywhere into things like homes and cars, but it makes a lot of sense for USB-C to replace all the other permutations (B, mini, micro, lightning, etc) found on devices.

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

#246

Post by yashap »

philwelch wrote: post #161

Steve Jobs was, among many other things, both good and bad, an irreplaceable human being. The Apple that created the Apple II, Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone isn't coming back. That having been said, of the two post-Steve Jobs Apples that we've seen, this one is still pretty damn decent. They aren't killing the entire company by throwing all their software engineering resources at a Second System Effect technical quagmi…

Agreed - they had tonnes of amazing, creative talent during both Jobs eras, and they still do, but Jobs was clearly a crucial piece in their revolutionary product development. Without him, they’re not going to be knocking out products that literally alter society every 5 years or so. He’s not replaceable.

Still, I think their attention to detail and user experience is about as strong as ever, for both their hardware and software. Innovation will still come out of Apple, just not as game changing as it used to be. I think they’ll transition to being sort of a “Samsung with better UX and attention to detail”, which is a company I’ll continue to buy products from, even if it is a bit of a letdown from what they were with Jobs.

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

#247

Post by BillinghamJ »

gruez wrote: post #206
bloorp wrote: post #35

Two months ago, Apple announced an ECG sensor for your wrist. A year before that, they announced face detection for the purposes of identity with enough accuracy that it can be used for financial transactions. Also, AirPods are incredible. I'm not saying Apple has a monopoly on invention, but to say they 'used to be an inventor'? That's weird.

>A year before that, they announced face detection for the purposes of identity with enough accuracy that it can be used for financial transactions. considering a random scribble on a receipt or check is enough to authorize/authenticate a transaction, that bar is pretty low.

That’s not the bar anywhere outside the US. It’s a huge improvement in the US, but it’s still a big improvement everywhere else too.

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

#248

Post by partiallypro »

toasterlovin wrote: post #204
Wavelets wrote: post #130

What a silly article. How someone could look at Apple's chip developments (A, T, S, W, etc. series of processors) and think they aren't innovative is mind-boggling. Apple developing key silicon in their devices is a major security benefit for their users and I consider that an innovative model. The Apple ecosystem itself is innovative and I don't think there's a single company that does it better. They still lead in…

And TouchId. And FaceID. And Apple Watch. And Airpods. And Apple Pencil. And TrueTone. And Swift. And the new file system. Anybody who thinks Apple isn’t innovating is an ignorant jackass.

None of those are innovations, merely entering a market space that already existed. Sure, they've done that in the past with the phone...but they crafted it so well it put everyone to shame. Outside of the Apple Watch the others in your list haven't really pushed boundaries. Even the Apple Watch has a lot of gimmicks that no one uses and things like the Fitbit can easily mimicked at a much lower cost.

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

#249

Post by marpstar »

askafriend wrote: post #234
samfisher83 wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The airpods I used a couple times fell out when I was running.

That's fair - I have a coworker whose ears are shaped weirdly and he cannot use AirPods at all (or even the previous wired EarPods, for that matter) It's a one-size-fits-all design and if it's a little off you're kinda out of luck. They fit me perfectly though which is one of the things that blew my mind initially. I didn't realize how many of previous fit issues were a result of having a cord that tugs when you make…

I don't know if Apple changed the shape for AirPods (they look very similar to the EarPods) but the AirPods stay in my ears so much better, it's night and day. I've been attributing it to the weight/tug of the cable.

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

#250

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

naravara wrote: post #175
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…

Unless we see some major innovations in battery or display technology, I don't even know what new territory we expect Apple to pioneer at right now in smartphones. The tech press cares a whole lot about having a steady stream of new and shiny things. But I think most people want to live in a world where their relationship to technology involves just buying the best one you can afford at the time and use it until it e…

I don't expect Apple to pioneer anything in smartphones. I expect Apple to pioneer in health, home automation, anyone-can-play content distribution, robotics, non-ridiculous comfortable VR/AR, conversational AI, and customer support quality.

These are all open product frontiers, and the next+++(+) iPad Pro is going to become increasingly irrelevant unless Apple develops a strong lead in at least some of them.

You can see the movement being made in a few of these, but there's no evidence so far of any likely game changers in the pipeline - just slimmer and more minimal hardware, with a few OS tweaks.

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