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I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

morrick.me

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Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#581

Post by seec »

skeletal88 wrote: post #516
8fingerlouie wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tbf, the Finder is still crap (if only it would be nearly as good as Windows Explorer was in its heyday I would probably use it more) I have the exact opposite opinion. I loathe Windows Explorer, and relatively simply stuff like presenting a tree view is apparently some weird magic trick that only Apple has figured out how to do. Browsing SMB shares (or any other networked storage) is one shortcut away (cmd+k), and…

Finder isnt crap? Why can't i paste a path and just go to it like I can in Windows or KDE, why can't I cut and paste files? Why do i have to open 2 separate windows and drag the files between them? Who decided that it is somehow useful to leave an applocation running when you close its window? There are so many silly and stupid small things wrong with os x

You can, as some explained but the problem is mostly the UI.

Apple has always been a bit crazy about removing anything that could appear complex to its user, because it thinks they are fools and idiotic. So, you have to use a stupid shortcut instead of having generally available UI. The funny thing is that they still have an option to display path as breadcrumbs, so you basically get to display the same thing without the functionality.

There are some things I really like in the Finder (like Miller Columns) there are a lot of stupid decisions (that have increased over the years) in an attempt to make it "simpler". But it ends up being mostly good for looks and a pain in the ass for actually getting shit done.

I think Apple has drifted too much to the "common man" (at least the representation they have of it) because of the iPhone. This has made them try to "simplify" everything when their niche market previously was "power users" (the only ones crazy enough to spend that much on their computers).

It's a bad bet because the "common man" just goes with the flow and buy what's popular, looks good and give status. They can go from hero to zero very fast, just like Nokia did, I think they are too arrogant to realize that.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#582

Post by Mistletoe »

thiht wrote: post #215
kshacker wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am one of those buying orange. Never went for colors, always deep blue or grey, but both my son and I went for orange. And not even politically connected. Just liked the color.

What would it have to do with politics?

The leader of the USA is orange. And that’s what the phone reminds me of. I can’t imagine having that phone.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#583

Post by seec »

sillyfluke wrote: post #572
qmr wrote: post #552

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android does not require an account to download apps, as grandparent pointed out. I haven't "signed in" to Android phone in 10 years.

This has not been my experience. All the Android phones I've tried have forced me to sign in whenever I've opened the Play Store, it wouldn't let me continue without doing so.

I think his point is that you don't need the Play Store at all. There are plenty of alternative sources where you can just download APK without ever having to login.

Good luck doing that with iOS. I'm an iPhone user since the very first one and I think the control they have on app install/management is completely bonkers. The app store even sucks for keeping track of what your purchased/care about efficiently.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#584

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

MangoToupe wrote: post #566
raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #562

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can pair my AirPods Pro (or my $60 Beats Flex) to one device on my Apple account and they automatically are paired and switch between all of my devices - my phone, my iPad, my watch, my Mac and my AppleTV.

Why can't I do this with other bluetooth devices? It's a load of crap that they won't allow other brands to tap into this for fair competition. I refuse to give them money for software that should be free. But, a sucker is born every minute, and it seems most of them find their way into control of our anti trust laws.

Because it requires firmware on the device that is on top of the BT spec. The better question is why can’t Google create an ecosystem for Android that is just as seamless?

What exactly should be “free”? The hardware? It is very much worth the extra $40 for the Beat Flex to have seamless integration between all five of my devices. Let alone the much better ANC of the AirPods Pro (or the AirPods with ANC).

The ones you have are bulkier on top of that, the AirPods Pro have heart rate monitoring when I exercise.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#585

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

999900000999 wrote: post #305
raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can use any USB C device that supports the industry standard USB c audio profiles.

It's just annoying to have to carry a USB Dongle for something that should be built in.

I would agree with you when you had to have bespoke Apple dongles to work with lighting. But with USB-C and the iPhones support for all of the standard USB C protocols, I don’t really have any sympathy for you.

The number of people who care about an analog headphone jack in 2025 is minimal. The other argument use to be that you can’t charge and use the USB C jack at the same time. Bud you can use a MagSafe cord for charging.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#586

Post by seec »

pxc wrote: post #469
snowwrestler wrote: post #89

> it’s a company that I feel has lost its alignment with me and other long-time Apple users and customers. When OS X debuted there was a daytime radio talk show in my area called “The Computer Guys.” They capably covered all sorts of computing topics, but were clearly long-time Apple dudes. And they spent weeks complaining about what a disaster OS X was. The Dock was useless and violated Apple’s HIG. The Finder made…

> The Dock was useless > The Finder made all the same mistakes as Windows did Aren't these basically true, even now? If I could easily, completely remove the Dock and Finder, I would. Launching apps via search (e.g., Spotlight) is quicker and easier than hunting for icons visually (especially given the amount of clutter on the Dock by default), and so is switching apps via search (e.g., Contexts, Witch, etc.). Finder…

Yeah pretty much. The dock is truly useless in a way the taskbar cannot dare to be.

I think the windows model with menus integrated into the software windows and the taskbar for general multitasking management is just better. It was also much more future proof for multi-display use.

The global menu bar just feels dumb nowadays, especially with the notch on laptops, where they take even more space from a place where everything was already crowded.

Overall, I feel that Windows model of computing is just more solid and allows for more complexity/expansions. And I say that as a Mac user since before I'm 10 years old.

OS X had some solid technical base that made it very worth it. But nowadays it feels all locked down and there are fewer leftovers.

The UI is increasingly focused on looking good at the expense of everything, they have abandoned many of the good ideas in favor of oversimplification and unification with iOS.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#587

Post by ranger_danger »

Melatonic wrote: post #487
immibis wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iMessage is popular in the US because everyone has an iPhone because everyone has iMessage and everyone connects it to social status - network effects. The same reason (besides the social status) everyone uses WhatsApp in Europe. This has more to do with the way the iPhone was launched, and the American desire to own the most expensive product, than any technical merits.

They've also finally added RCS support so while you still get "green bubbles" you mostly avoid SMS

Still no encrypted RCS support though.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#588

Post by seec »

mdasen wrote: post #160
snowwrestler wrote: post #89

> it’s a company that I feel has lost its alignment with me and other long-time Apple users and customers. When OS X debuted there was a daytime radio talk show in my area called “The Computer Guys.” They capably covered all sorts of computing topics, but were clearly long-time Apple dudes. And they spent weeks complaining about what a disaster OS X was. The Dock was useless and violated Apple’s HIG. The Finder made…

It's not just about emotion or loyalty. It's about built-up knowledge and the difficulty of switching. When you're a long time user, you know how to do everything with what you're using - whether that's an operating system, a programming language, or something else. The latest product isn't good and your suggestion is "don't buy it." OK, what do I do instead? Buy a Windows or Linux laptop where I have to re-learn a d…

Yes and that's the big issue with Apple business model. Ultimately it only ends bad for the consumer, Apple has unbounded control/power.

In the hardware side they can set price how they see fit because you are literally trapped. They only optimise what they think is their revenue maximizing position. For this reason, they keep coming up with software that impacts hardware in a big way and forces you to spend more than you would elsewhere. And often they don't even bother supporting or making the hardware that you may want/need.

On the software side they have a rather short obsolescence window for OSs that is very much compounded by the requirement of much of their software (and often 3rd party too, via libraries/frameworks churn) to only be backward compatible a few versions at best.

This creates an environment where you are extremely dependent on whatever Apple decides to do. Not only does this create anxiety it also instills a sensation of powerlessness where whatever you want really doesn't matter at all. It's not surprising to me because I believe Apple is the personification of an abusive authoritarian narcistic asshole.

As long as Apple keeps doing stuff that seems aligned with your needs, the requirements/constraints don't feel that bad but the moment they drift off too far it becomes a major and constant annoyance. In order to make more money Apple has increased its potential target consumer to be almost anyone. This creates tension because they can't focus on a particular set of needs/users.

Which is why I believe Apple stuff is becoming increasingly pointless. They don't focus enough on particular use cases (or type of person or lifestyle) which makes their stuff just another option among others, just more expensive and way more locked down.

This is what those people feel. After having invested so much more money than would have been necessary elsewhere, spent so much time learning the stuff, often spent as much time evangelizing the stuff for free and many other compromises; Apple gives zero shit and just keep chasing increasing amounts of money without delivering a whole lot of value in return. Of course, it was previsible, but it's not something that you can necessarily understand/intuit when you are younger and once you have made your choice/investment you are kind of trapped for reasons mentioned before.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#589

Post by seec »

riebalas wrote: post #459
freetime2 wrote: post #76

Regarding the iPhone 17 Pro: > People who have no use for all these pro video recording features shouldn’t waste their money on it. Unless they want a big chunky iPhone with the best camera array and/or have money to burn. I feel like people who “want the best camera array and have money to burn” probably describes a significant percentage of HN readers. I’m honestly pretty excited that they’ve finally put the larger…

Except it’s 24-100 mm. They’re scamming with the 8x “optical quality” claims. Every year the scams (aka marketing) get deeper, Apple wasn’t as bad in the past. The “Air” one is probably a test if they could stop those camera scams and simplify the phone maybe focusing on some other things. It barely even matters, one lens is enough, if you need more you’ll want a proper camera anyway. This year I’d say the phone itse…

I agree very much.

People arguing about photo quality on phones (and particularly iPhones who always have smaller sensors to begin with) is just proper nonsense. No matter what garbage AI processing they come up for the picture, they still take pretty bad photos that only look good when they are viewed on device with their small size and embellishing displays.

But there are always a bunch of idiots who want to show off instead of shutting up and actually taking worthwhile photos with proper hardware.

To me they are like the housewives who can't stop arguing about their trashy cooking robot that are supposed to do everything but can't do a single thing right. If they could just shut up and just learn the skills, their cooking would be infinitely better.

Re: I feel Apple has lost its alignment with me and other long-time customers

#590

Post by bigyabai »

fredsted wrote: post #576
bigyabai wrote: post #564

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> AirPods are a technology marvel I get that not everyone is an audiophile, but this is just a completely insane thing to say. Bluetooth headphones aren't a technology marvel. Nor are true-wireless headphones, open-back earbuds, the AAC codec or wireless charging cases. Apple's greatest claim-to-fame is the pairing mechanism, but they refuse to let competitors even use that. You're right: there is a reason they're so…

You can't see the forest for the trees.

You're right. I also think Vision Pro is wholly unimpressive, I must be some technically-inane kook.
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