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

61–70 of 136 posts

Re: Apple’s Errors

#61

Post by javagram »

meritt wrote: post #17
javagram wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve seen others reference the Sony Xperia Z2 compact as a SE replacement but even that phone has a 5” screen. At this rate it seems like the smartphone market has abandoned small form factor phones.

The X2 is two years older than the iPhone SE and the successor (Z3) is 45% larger. I'm not sure how anyone can reasonably conclude it's a replacement.

The XZ2 compact was released in April 2018 so it’s newer than the SE.

I think you might be confusing it with the non-Compact edition?

Re: Apple’s Errors

#62

Post by eeeeeeeeeeeee »

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…

Yep, substantially so. So the battery program plus the iOS update both gave people reasons to hold on to their phones longer.

I usually upgrade every year, but the new phones just aren't enough of an upgrade from the original X to warrant it, especially given the much higher cost.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#63

Post by iambateman »

alistairSH wrote: post #55
achompas wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Same. I appreciate when a product can last 5+ years of daily use.

I hope Apple will use it's hoard of cash to become like Toyota - long-term reliability promoting trust and in turn promoting long-term cash flow.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#64

Post by ska »

dijit wrote: post #37
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…

My thought is they're trying to transition the phone to being your watch, with a 'tablet' for serious typing in a bag of some kind. I mean, the Apple Watch is seriously good for most cases, it reliably sends messages using siri, I can answer calls on it, I can read my messages and do basically anything the phone can do, albeit much slower. However, they'll have to brick my SE before I give it up. I bought an SE just…

I vastly prefer the SE over any other current-ish options. I'll be really annoyed when my one dies, I suspect, and I wish I'd bought another one before they discontinued.

This is pretty much all about pockets though - I typically wear a 3XL glove so it's not being driven by reach. I can accept needing to carry a bag if I need a laptop. For a phone it's insane.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#67

Post by SyneRyder »

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…

> I wish companies like Google, HP, Dell, Samsung, and any other big consumer tech companies would open their own stores.

They seem to be doing that - Microsoft has a large retail store in Sydney, Australia, and Samsung has retail stores in several Australian cities of varying sizes (the Sydney one is huge). The one in my city (Perth) is just a tiny pop-up stand, but they still do simple on the spot repairs of my Galaxy S8. Perhaps worth noting, some of the Samsung employees there were ex Apple Geniuses who had switched.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#68

Post by PaulHoule »

It is easy to over-analyze this.

Sooner or later Apple's growth was going to slow down. If it wasn't this quarter, it would be another quarter.

Apple can settle down and be a nice, profitable phone manufacturer. If Apple is going to grow a lot more it is going to have to get into a new and radically larger business line and that seems awfully hard.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#69

Post by r00fus »

specialist wrote: post #54
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.

Apple needs to find another way to do market segmentation that doesn't rely on a confusing product selection for customers.

Even as a dedicated Apple fan, I simply was too confused as to whether I should have gotten an XR, XS or Max.

Re: Apple’s Errors

#70

Post by JumpCrisscross »

alistairSH wrote: post #55
achompas wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> If the 7 fails tomorrow, I'll buy an XS.

Ditto. Loved my 7. Walked into a pool with it in my pocket. Now have an XS. Typing this on a 2015 MacBook Air I only have because I traded my 2013 Air $500 to a neighbor for it. Plan on keeping it another 2 to 3 years; same, at the very least, for the iPhone.

They're well-built products that tend to work, and have warranties that show for it.

Post reply on HN