Apple’s Social Network • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#21

Post by ygra » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:03 PM UTC

ethagknight wrote: post #19

I don’t think he mentioned it, but the easy way for Apple to grow to a $2T company is to get my household, a typical locked-in Apple household with an iPad or iPhone for every person and a computer for each adult and an AppleTV at every TV, to start paying for ever more services through those Apple devices. TV service. Ubiquitous internet service. Financial services like payments but grow into banking. manage all my…

> And manage all my regularly scheduled bills like utilities, rent or mortgages. I would love for a trusted intermediary to handle these things.

Isn't that far easier to set up scheduled payments with your bank or allow the company to use direct withdrawal?

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#22

Post by vectorEQ » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:04 PM UTC

one of the few companies who consistently keeps bumming it's users with higher prices for the same shit and no one is complaining :')... look at most tech giants out there, and you will see only Apple and Nvidia keep cranking up prices for same product range. only companies where you need to pay MORE to get the same tomorrow. buying a relationship with apple? first treat your users like they have value, thank you.! no one wants to be in a toxic abusive relationship!

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#23

Post by simonh » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:06 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #20

sanderjd wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the next big thing that they have missed?

Openness.

Openness is a pretty old big thing at this point. Apple haven't been open since the Apple II and it's worked out fine for them. Arguably the 'open' camp has missed the current big thing - privacy and security.

Yes they are one thing, just with two sides to it.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#24

Post by ethagknight » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:07 PM UTC

ygra wrote: post #21

ethagknight wrote: post #19

I don’t think he mentioned it, but the easy way for Apple to grow to a $2T company is to get my household, a typical locked-in Apple household with an iPad or iPhone for every person and a computer for each adult and an AppleTV at every TV, to start paying for ever more services through those Apple devices. TV service. Ubiquitous internet service. Financial services like payments but grow into banking. manage all my…

> And manage all my regularly scheduled bills like utilities, rent or mortgages. I would love for a trusted intermediary to handle these things. Isn't that far easier to set up scheduled payments with your bank or allow the company to use direct withdrawal?

For the payment itself, yes, if you want it all automated. Automated payments are to the biller’s enormous benefit (ahem cable company...) To manage or keep un-automated or see reports or change features, it currently requires a separate app, login, UI, or other legacy portals. It’s annoying. Apple could streamline it, and remove a layer of complexity while taking over the transaction (and gain data gold mines)

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#25

Post by throwawayinside » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:10 PM UTC

If you are a developer with a SaaS business, be very afraid. Apple is going to do everything possible to collect a 30% tax on your business to fix their growth problem. It’s ironic, really. The company that mastered tax evasion is about to become the world’s most determined tax collector.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#26

Post by qwerty456127 » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:13 PM UTC

> Apple Inc. shares had their worst day since 2014 amid concerns that growth in its powerhouse product, the iPhone, is slowing. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Apple said iPhone unit sales barely grew from a year earlier

Why do sales always need to grow, why sustaining is not enough?

Also wouldn't it be a good idea to change the focus product periodically? I.e. we've sold so much iPhones that everybody who ever wanted one has one already, let's focus on making MacBooks great again so more people would consider getting one or upgrading their old one, then once some time has passed and everybody has a new Mac let's start selling new iPhones we were developing during this time that is so much better thst everybody is willing to upgrade again... IMHO inflating sales growth by releasing a new not-much-better model of the same product every year or two is hardly a healthy sustainable practice.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#27

Post by matty_makes » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:14 PM UTC

I only skimmed the article until I realized they weren't talking about Apple starting a privacy focused actual social network. That's what I thought the article would be about.

So this is off topic but what I'm imagining is letting people connect with other iCloud users (aka friends and family) to share pics, videos and comment on them. Maybe they can link iTunes/App store content (apps, music, movies, etc.) with each other and comment on them too.

This might take a huge amount of more people off Facebook and bring them into Apple eco-system of services than meet-up like events at their brick and mortar stores. There are probably millions of FB users that just use it to connect with distant close friends & family to share pics, etc.

Edit: just to build on this idea a little, pulling people's actual social network (not acquaintances or long lost people they never see) could boost sales of their content. Let people share, like and comment on their favorite music, tv shows, movies, and apps with no ads.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#28

Post by p33p » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:14 PM UTC

I've been shocked that Apple hasn't stepped more in to the home automation market. Homekit is one thing, but an entire product line that is highly integrated with the Apple ecosystem and has the Apple design, feel, and ease of use seems like a smart strategic move in a market that is so highly fragmented.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#29

Post by bedhead » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:15 PM UTC

sanderjd wrote: post #18

brobdingnagians wrote: post #16

I think Apple has some serious issues with growth; they have expanded a huge amount based on a few key and impressive products and ideas at the right time and in the right way, but I think they've ridden that pony almost as far as it can go [but they've done a better job than most at it]. They have done very well with it, but like most corporations who do that, they usually miss the next big thing, because it is some…

What is the next big thing that they have missed?

I think it's pretty clear that online video slipped right through their fingers. They were early with Apple TV and Steve Jobs' assertion that he had "cracked" TV back in 2011. And what happened? They did almost nothing and let Netflix run away with it. Apple wasn't even a contender. Same thing goes for mapping, which was highlighted in that recent blog post. They came out with Apple Maps years ago but almost did nothing with it...it feels like they half-assed the whole project and are now flailing in catch-up mode. It seems their status as also-ran is now permanent. They shut down their router business while Ubiquiti (run by a former Apple engineer) has run wild in the networking world and looks primed to completely disrupt Cisco over time. They clung onto Apple Music, pot-committed to a model that looked outdated the moment Spotify launched in the US.

They've had some successes like Apple Watch, so I wouldn't write Apple off just yet. But yeah, the things they've missed which they should've known better about is a bit concerning.

Re: Apple’s Social Network

#30

Post by avar » Mon, Nov 05, 2018, 2:15 PM UTC

> Apple said it would stop providing unit sales for iPhones, iPads, and Macs in fiscal 2019, a step toward becoming more of a services business. While some pundits praised the move as a way to highlight a potent new business model, many analysts complained it was an attempt to hide the pain of a stagnant smartphone market.

Can companies just pull this sort of "yeah those numbers look bad, so we're not publishing them anymore" moves with impunity? I'd have thought this was something the SEC could step in to stop.

Is the only tool shareholders have to oppose this to vote in an entirely new board? Which of course won't happen for such a "minor" issue?