Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple’s Errors

stratechery.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 136 posts

Re: Apple’s Errors

#51

Post by addicted »

ken wrote: post #19
rconti wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect you haven't read the article and stopped after glancing at the first graph. While the graph was, as you say, without context, the point was to illustrate numerous other stock hits due to iPhone misses.

No, I never comment without reading the article. But it strikes me as no different from any other divination. If it's true that "these errors really were predictable", why are they writing only after the fact, and why only about Apple? Every time a stock goes up, down, or stays level, journalists and bloggers come up with some justification for it, and say that it was obvious in hindsight. It's usually plausible, but…

The author is largely quoting his own historic posts to make his point.

Whatever flaws the author's argument may or may not have, all the 3 points he presents were points he had made in the past, and not after the fact.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#52

Post by addicted »

x0x0 wrote: post #11

I think the thing I realized (and obviously n=1) is there's no longer a single apple product I recommend to friends and family. A new iPhone xr with a storage bump and a good charger is over $1k with tax. A MacBook air is similarly $1600 plus with 256g and a warranty and tax. There are perfectly serviceable 500 Androids and $750 windows laptops. Apple's software isn't good enough to double the price.

The only reason I recommend iPhones is Apple's stance on privacy.

Android is a privacy nightmare. I cannot in good conscience recommend it.

At the same time, Apple's walled garden increasingly feels like an uncomfortable jail I want to break out of.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#53

Post by meritt »

dominotw wrote: post #48
meritt wrote: post #3

> Apple seems to have underestimated iPhone SE demand to a significant degree I would love to purchase a new iPhone (or Android) if they were to make a new device with a comparable form factor to the SE. Instead, everything has progressed to these two-handed monstrosities that have resulted in fanny packs [1] becoming fashionable again simply to hold the damn things. [1] https://www.today.com/style/fanny-packs-are-so…

I have regular pixel 2. It doesn't need 2 hands.

Pixel 2 is nearly identical in size to iPhone XS, both of which are 40% larger than iPhone SE.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#54

Post by specialist »

gdubs wrote: post #41

Armchair quarterbacking here, but the current iPhone lineup is confusing. It’s a tired trope to imagine what Jobs would have done, but when he returned to Apple he saw a myriad of macs and decided that Apple would kill them all and sell 4: a laptop and a desktop in pro and consumer models. Apple started grabbing more market share by providing all these different form factors, but in the process they’ve lost the simpl…

The middle of their current lineup is confusing. I love my Watch 4 and 2105 iMac, so the anchors at either end remain solid choices.

I'm ready to buy another (my 5th) laptop and I can't figure out which one I want, delaying my purchase.

Do I want a bigger iPhone or a smaller iPad? Now that I'm finally buying more ebooks than printed books, I'm paralyzed by indecision.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#55

Post by alistairSH »

achompas wrote: post #40
robmaceachern wrote: post #32

This is a really great analysis of the situation but I think Ben, and Tim Cook in his public statements, are missing one important point: iOS 12 made the older devices (iPhone 5s, 6) run _much_ better than they were running on iOS 11 [1, 2, 3]. They improved the software so much on this iteration of iOS that they probably relieved a lot of the hardware upgrade pressure users were beginning to feel in the first half o…

I don't think Ben misses this point. He concludes his pessimistic take with: > It’s a bit of a hodgepodge with one primary takeaway: convincing customers to upgrade “good enough” phones is both challenging and unpredictable, and Apple can’t simply assume it will happen at the rate it has previously. Ultimately he claims that users will eventually upgrade to the latest flagship iOS device. I think you (and I) disagree…

users will eventually upgrade to the latest flagship iOS device

I know I fall into that group of users. I own a 7 currently, it's a few years old, but works well enough. I see no reason to upgrade to an XS today. If the 7 fails tomorrow, I'll buy an XS.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#57

Post by Jemm »

OK, reasons I personally am not buying an iPhone right now:

° My current phone works fine. ° VOIP is very poor on iOS, especially compared to Android. ° Price. ° Apple trying to push platform lock-in and therefore crippling features on devices. ° Lack of headphone jack. ° Lightning connector.

Otherwise, I'd be on board in a heartbeat. Here are things I like:

° I love that Apple focused on speeding up iOS. ° I feel that I can trust Apple a bit more than Google and the others. ° I am also not a huge fan of Android. ° Apple's hardware is predictable and of good quality.

I wish Apple would put more sensors like SDR and such into their devices. Also wish they would put GPS in the wifi only iPads.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#58

Post by Despegar »

gdubs wrote: post #41

Armchair quarterbacking here, but the current iPhone lineup is confusing. It’s a tired trope to imagine what Jobs would have done, but when he returned to Apple he saw a myriad of macs and decided that Apple would kill them all and sell 4: a laptop and a desktop in pro and consumer models. Apple started grabbing more market share by providing all these different form factors, but in the process they’ve lost the simpl…

>It’s a tired trope to imagine what Jobs would have done, but when he returned to Apple he saw a myriad of macs and decided that Apple would kill them all and sell 4: a laptop and a desktop in pro and consumer models.

I honestly don't understand how anyone can suggest this is a smart thing to do. The reason Apple did that in the late 90s is because the product line had too many SKUs, but also because Apple was close to bankruptcy. Focusing all your marketing and product development on a few products is a good way to make sure you aren't holding the bag on unsold inventory (part of why Tim Cook is now CEO). Today's Apple is in a fundamentally stronger position and can manage the supply chains for multiple products (and multiple SKUs of them).

Indeed, Steve Jobs later eschewed that consumer/pro grid with the iPod, which had a SKU for every price point.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#59

Post by x0x0 »

criddell wrote: post #20
x0x0 wrote: post #11

I think the thing I realized (and obviously n=1) is there's no longer a single apple product I recommend to friends and family. A new iPhone xr with a storage bump and a good charger is over $1k with tax. A MacBook air is similarly $1600 plus with 256g and a warranty and tax. There are perfectly serviceable 500 Androids and $750 windows laptops. Apple's software isn't good enough to double the price.

I only recommend Apple stuff to relatives because they can go to a store when they need help. I wish companies like Google, HP, Dell, Samsung, and any other big consumer tech companies would open their own stores. A secondary reason is that I still think Apple has a pretty big advantage when it comes to security and privacy. When you see Google starting to push RCS messaging with no default encryption you realize how…

And Apple has even screwed that up their stores. They now no longer seem to do much in-store laptop repair. Sure, there's a location you can drive to. But your laptop still disappears for 3-7 days.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#60

Post by PKop »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #4
meritt wrote: post #3

> Apple seems to have underestimated iPhone SE demand to a significant degree I would love to purchase a new iPhone (or Android) if they were to make a new device with a comparable form factor to the SE. Instead, everything has progressed to these two-handed monstrosities that have resulted in fanny packs [1] becoming fashionable again simply to hold the damn things. [1] https://www.today.com/style/fanny-packs-are-so…

I don't know what phone I am going to get after my iPhone SE no longer works after OS bloat kicks in. It's the perfect phone pretty much. I like android better but I can't find a phone this size that works in the android universe. Surely there must be others like me that want a capable phone that isn't the size of a tablet?

Pixel 3 (not 3XL) to me is perfect size, has the "it works" simplicity and polish of iPhone, and tuned software / camera tweaks of Google that make me not miss iPhone at all. Specifically the camera is just amazing, the portrait mode and wide angle screen shot features, and AI / visual core chip tuning the pictures makes the quality better than any other phone I've used.
Post reply on HN