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The Time I “Interviewed” At Apple

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Re: The Time I “Interviewed” At Apple

#11

Post by dannyr »

replicatorblog wrote: post #7

I wonder if this notion that Apple needs to "get" web services to survive will really matter in the long run? It's the conventional wisdom, just like that they "lost" the PC wars even though they've been the most profitable PC maker for a decade now. There haven't been many web services that have lasted for a decade or more in a dominant position. Might Apple's best long term strategy to... 1. Support/innovate the he…

Look at people's IPhones. A lot of its users use apps not built by Apple.

Search, Mail, Social Network, Maps, Photo-sharing, etc.

Yeah, Apple will always make tons of money but IPhone/IPad will become just a device that hosts these apps. If most of the apps people need are available in another platform, the costs of switching is going to be low.

Re: The Time I “Interviewed” At Apple

#13

Post by dannyr »

replicatorblog wrote: post #7

I wonder if this notion that Apple needs to "get" web services to survive will really matter in the long run? It's the conventional wisdom, just like that they "lost" the PC wars even though they've been the most profitable PC maker for a decade now. There haven't been many web services that have lasted for a decade or more in a dominant position. Might Apple's best long term strategy to... 1. Support/innovate the he…

"Even the Android hegemon, which supposedly poses an existential threat, could easily fracture if Samsung decides to go their own way."

I highly doubt Android would fracture if Samsung goes its own way. A number of manufacturers (Motorola, ZTE, even Xiaomi) would fill the void if Samsung leaves Android.

I highly doubt Samsung would do it. Samsung doesn't know platform. Microsoft does but it still struggles to convince developers to build on top of Windows Phone.

If Samsung leaves, it loses all the Google apps and services. I highly doubt that Samsung could build a decent Map, Mail and other essential apps.

Re: The Time I “Interviewed” At Apple

#14

Post by replicatorblog »

dannyr wrote: post #11
replicatorblog wrote: post #7

I wonder if this notion that Apple needs to "get" web services to survive will really matter in the long run? It's the conventional wisdom, just like that they "lost" the PC wars even though they've been the most profitable PC maker for a decade now. There haven't been many web services that have lasted for a decade or more in a dominant position. Might Apple's best long term strategy to... 1. Support/innovate the he…

Look at people's IPhones. A lot of its users use apps not built by Apple. Search, Mail, Social Network, Maps, Photo-sharing, etc. Yeah, Apple will always make tons of money but IPhone/IPad will become just a device that hosts these apps. If most of the apps people need are available in another platform, the costs of switching is going to be low.

For sure, but can't the same be said of their Mac lines? I'm sure iOS will always be a minority in terms of market share, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are the dominant player in the part of the market where people actually PAY for their product compared to free Android phones.

The tablet market is a good example of this, aside from Kindle's no Android tablet has really taken off and I think it's because of some of those points I enumerated above.

Re: The Time I “Interviewed” At Apple

#15

Post by throwaway1979 »

Best post I've read on HN in a while!

I think there is a fundamental difference between building hardware+system software vs. building web services and apps. In the former case, you have to get it right and then release. In the latter case, you can afford to iterate for a while as you keep getting better.

Some of the hardware I've bought from Google has made me feel like I'm beta testing it. I don't get that feeling when I buy Apple hardware.

This makes me wonder if other players in the Android space are following Apple's playback. The specific player I am thinking about is Samsung. Why are they doing so well where other Android manufacturers are doing just okay?

Re: The Time I “Interviewed” At Apple

#17

Post by lazerwalker »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #12

> I was skeptical ... Namely, I was used to web speed: iterative, launch before perfection, leverage your community. If that's not a one-sentence summary of the iPhone's release history, I don't know what is.

It's a subtle difference. Web startups tend to release individual features before they're polished. Apple releases products that have fewer features than one would expect ("launch before perfection"), but the few features they do have tend to be polished.

Re: The Time I “Interviewed” At Apple

#18

Post by replicatorblog »

dannyr wrote: post #13
replicatorblog wrote: post #7

I wonder if this notion that Apple needs to "get" web services to survive will really matter in the long run? It's the conventional wisdom, just like that they "lost" the PC wars even though they've been the most profitable PC maker for a decade now. There haven't been many web services that have lasted for a decade or more in a dominant position. Might Apple's best long term strategy to... 1. Support/innovate the he…

"Even the Android hegemon, which supposedly poses an existential threat, could easily fracture if Samsung decides to go their own way." I highly doubt Android would fracture if Samsung goes its own way. A number of manufacturers (Motorola, ZTE, even Xiaomi) would fill the void if Samsung leaves Android. I highly doubt Samsung would do it. Samsung doesn't know platform. Microsoft does but it still struggles to convinc…

Maybe, but I'd be surprised if Google didn't port their apps over to this imaginary platform. My larger point is that now that a rich UI is becoming a commodity, non-software/platform factors will become increasingly important e.g. manufacturing, distribution, etc.

Re: The Time I “Interviewed” At Apple

#19

Post by martin_bech »

dannyr wrote: post #11
replicatorblog wrote: post #7

I wonder if this notion that Apple needs to "get" web services to survive will really matter in the long run? It's the conventional wisdom, just like that they "lost" the PC wars even though they've been the most profitable PC maker for a decade now. There haven't been many web services that have lasted for a decade or more in a dominant position. Might Apple's best long term strategy to... 1. Support/innovate the he…

Look at people's IPhones. A lot of its users use apps not built by Apple. Search, Mail, Social Network, Maps, Photo-sharing, etc. Yeah, Apple will always make tons of money but IPhone/IPad will become just a device that hosts these apps. If most of the apps people need are available in another platform, the costs of switching is going to be low.

Many of these apps, have no equal on other platforms.
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