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Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

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Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#21

Post by blueboo »

It’s all about scale. You’re not going to get the same deal from TSMC and Corning from Apple. Market dominance and value-from-scale make for a positive feedback loop that only considerably-risky ventures can threaten.

Consider how so many cutting-edge non-Apple laptops are misery to live with, from dead pixels to janky touchpads to horrific heat issues. Meanwhile high end Android phones are OK…for a year. Then you’ll want to get a new one.

Same dynamic can play in other sectors. Other stroller manufacturers have more novel features, but Uppababy strollers are tough and are a pleasure to use.

Now, there are lots of ways to ruin this dynamic. Usually companies can’t help put fritter away any inkling of this kind of advantage as they frantically try to saturate all accessible niches. (Apple of the 90s.)

Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#22

Post by msbarnett »

Comevius wrote: post #8

Apple makes mistakes too with it's many hardware-related and boot loop issues. The iPhone X was practically a lemon.

What? I used an X daily until about two weeks ago when I bought a 14. Zero issues with it, and never even heard about any.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#23

Post by smoldesu »

scarface74 wrote: post #13
smoldesu wrote: post #2

If you want the disappointing answer, it's because the United States government implicitly forces a smartphone manufacturing duopoly where both options are under their control. If you want the slightly-less-disappointing answer, it's because there aren't any other tech companies with 200 billion dollars in liquid cash sitting in their bank account. If you want the bluepill answer, it's because Tim Cook has a secret v…

> Maybe the most realistic answer is that everyone else has seen what Apple made, and doesn't want to build a locked-down vertical ecosystem Yes because other companies care about “freedom” and your ability to run your gnu tool chain. > Trying to sell a device as locked-down as the iPhone in 2022 will rightfully get you laughed out of the room. What bubble are you living in?

> Yes because other companies care about “freedom” and your ability to run your gnu tool chain.

All companies don't give a shit about user freedom, that's the entire reason why GNU exists. It exists outside of these corporate interests and gives people a platform to do their work away from the horrors of beaurocratic bikeshedding and pointless roadblocks. MacOS is simply not the best operating system for my software and workflow. I'm hardly the only one who shares that sentiment, especially among developers.

> What bubble are you living in?

The one where people understand arbitrary technical limitations? The criticism against Apple is justified. The criticism against all hardware manufacturers that don't respect user freedom is justified. Maybe you don't care about it (which is fine), but you can't pretend it doesn't exist.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#24

Post by srk_hn »

Siddarth1977 wrote: post #9

Maybe try... a good Android phone? This question is silly. The Pixel or any top-end Samsung is equivalent or better than the iPhone in hardware. The Android and iOS user interfaces are similar enough that it's mostly personal preference and familiarity.

This is a lie that often gets repeated over and over, but I have firsthand anecdotal experience of how this is not true. My mother has no formal education and when she was given an Android she struggled to do basic things. Once she got an iPhone it was night and day and an entire world was opened to her and she was able to use and discover her phone with almost no handholding.

That has still not changed with the latest Android updates. Yes the home screen might look "similar" but once you get past that first surface layer interaction, to people like her the Android system and UX design language are a mishmash of incoherent ideas and visions whereas on an Apple device things work as she would intuitively expect consistently regardless of the app she's using or what she's trying to do with her phone.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#25

Post by such12 »

themodelplumber wrote: post #6

> one polished Linux-based operating system This one is more clearly related to an area I know a lot about (expressions of personality dynamics in products and organizational philosophy), so I'll start there. Linux as it stands today is more about a divergent, possibilities-first engagement with big-picture concepts. What you are looking for, in that realm, would be a specific _distro_ and its maintainer, not a Linux…

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Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#26

Post by fazfq »

Siddarth1977 wrote: post #9

Maybe try... a good Android phone? This question is silly. The Pixel or any top-end Samsung is equivalent or better than the iPhone in hardware. The Android and iOS user interfaces are similar enough that it's mostly personal preference and familiarity.

I don't even have to try it, I was looking at Samsung phones recently and they were laggy and came with so much bloatware - they even had a built-in propaganda app regarding the UN Global Goals, it left me flabbergasted.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#27

Post by Comevius »

scarface74 wrote: post #15
Comevius wrote: post #8

Apple makes mistakes too with it's many hardware-related and boot loop issues. The iPhone X was practically a lemon.

The iPhone X did very well looking at the sales.

The X in particular had many problems with it's sandwich board design. The second hand market is still bursting with tens of thousands of faulty devices.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#28

Post by Huh1337 »

pb7 wrote: post #18
Huh1337 wrote: post #4

Because most people buy Androids that are much cheaper than iPhones. Buy an Android phone that's priced similarly as iPhone (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S series) and the quality is just as good.

Comparing Samsung to Apple is laughable. Samsung is clueless when it comes to product design. Their strategy can be best described as “throwing shit at the wall and see what sticks”. Latest attempt: foldable phones. Foldable phones will never be a thing again and their desperate marketing campaign is embarrassing. The only thing keeping them in the ring is their inarguably impressive manufacturing capabilities that a…

Samsung as a company, I agree. Most of their lineup isn't really good and I agree they have weird ideas and invest into them too much - just admit it's going nowhere, damn it.

But the Samsung Galaxy S22 is a comparable phone to iPhone.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there not more Apple-quality products?

#29

Post by dustedcodes »

Siddarth1977 wrote: post #9

Maybe try... a good Android phone? This question is silly. The Pixel or any top-end Samsung is equivalent or better than the iPhone in hardware. The Android and iOS user interfaces are similar enough that it's mostly personal preference and familiarity.

I had the Pixel 1-3 and personally I switched back to an iPhone because after the Pixel 1 every new iteration got increasingly worse. My wife is still on a Pixel 4 and it will land in the bin very soon too.
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