
Milking the iPhone - greedo
https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2016/12/6/milking-the-iphone
======
rsp1984
_When it comes to catching the next big wave, an Apple Watch with cellular
connectivity may end up representing the single biggest game-changing device
Apple has shipped since the original iPhone. It would be that big of a deal._

I don't think so. For that to happen there would have to be a quantum leap in
user interfaces and right now I don't see any technology on the horizon that
could provide that leap. Watch screens are too small for anything but
displaying simplistic stuff, let alone letting the user meaningfully and
fluidly _control_ the device.

Voice interfaces have been tried for decades. They mostly failed. People are
comfortable with them in very private environments (e.g. cars) but not when
others are around (for good reason).

I think the author is right to conclude that Apple thinks we're still firmly
in the smartphone era.

~~~
aetherson
The idea that cell connectivity on a watch is a good idea is just insane, for
this reason:

You're going to carry your phone with you anyway.

Even if the phone did have a cell antenna and did have a battery good enough
for it, and even if it had human-level natural language processing, you'll
want a phone-sized screen for, you know, all the stuff that you use your phone
for today, for examples including but certainly not limited to: reading
anything longer than an SMS. Looking at a web page. Looking at a map. Playing
games. Taking a photo. Showing pictures/video to other people.

The idea that we'll give up on having screens big enough to actually look at
things is just crazy. We _love_ our phone screens. The one thing that people
demonstrably want their phone screens to be is _bigger_.

If you're going to be carrying a phone-sized screen with you 95%+ of the time
anyway, why on earth would you make the expensive, difficult decision to jam a
cell antenna into your watch. Much less all the valid points that people make
about voice interfaces and battery and so forth.

~~~
new299
Devil's advocate:

The idea that a personal computer is a good idea is just insane, for this
reason:

You're going to be connected to a mainframe anyway.

Even if your personal computer did have enough storage and power you're still
going to want connect to the mainframe to access reports and data.

So if you're going to have a connection to a mainframe anyway, why bother with
all that local computing power?

\---

I'm not saying it's a good idea in the current ecosystem but there are
advantages to the watch having it's own network connectivity, and in fact I
believe the current watch does connect directly to your wifi access point
using credentials shared by the phone when possible.

The main issue with watch cellular access at the moment, is cost of paying for
a phone contract for a watch, when at least at the moment, you will probably
want a phone too.

~~~
Sophistifunk
I believe that misses the point entirely. Forgetting the fact that I never
even _saw_ a mainframe until the late 90s, back in the PC day you were still
using the same keyboard + monitor for both.

------
kps
Not explicitly mentioned but presumably intended is the reference to Steve
Jobs' 1996 statement: “If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for
all it's worth — and get busy on the next great thing.”

~~~
charlesism
I'd say Apple Watch is less "next great thing" and more "Apple Newton." One of
the first things Steve did upon his return to Apple was kill the Newton.

------
snowwrestler
The new MacBook Pro was greeted with the usual amount of bitching that
accompanies any new edition of that product. But by all reports it is selling
very well.

And Apple exited displays and WiFi routers because they are shrinking
commodity markets. Neither Apple nor their customers would benefit from Apple
continuing to chase that.

Apple pioneered the laser printer in the U.S. market and made a lot of money
selling them. Nevertheless, they got out of the printer business when it
became clear that printers were a commodity. No one today complains that Apple
doesn't make printers. In fact if Apple started to, everyone would say they
lost their minds.

Thus it will soon be with displays and WiFi routers.

So I'm having trouble buying the premise of the article.

~~~
jmnicolas
I think the bitching is more general : why no 17" laptop, where are the new
iMacs, the new minis, the new MacPros ?

I really would like to enter the Apple ecosystem but 1- they're not making the
computer I want and 2- prices are just ridiculous.

~~~
simonh
Apple gave up on trying to be a complete duplicate of the Windows PC market a
long time ago. Yes they want to build a compelling ecosystem that will draw in
and retain a broad audience, but they don't want or need to be a complete
solution for everybody. So I think they're perfectly fine with leaving the 17"
laptop market, and other niche categories, to other manufacturers.

------
noir-york
What a terrible "analysis". Not worth the paper its written on.

The series of questionable statements include:

A phone in a watch is a game changer? Really?!

Apple is the only one focusing on smartphones? "Android" is mentioned only
twice and only in the context of Android users moving to an iWatch Phone.

The claim that Apple Watch and TV are moats, but then arguing that WiFi
routers don't really matter. Eh?

~~~
charlesism
Apple's reputation has been sliding every year since Tim took over. At this
point Apple can no longer rely on:

\- the press painting them in a good light.

\- customers evangelizing its products.

\- hiring, and retaining, the very best talent in the valley.

Some of the changes have also boosted sales. If you're sacrificing your
ability to compete in the future, short-term profit is just "operation was a
success, but the patient is dead"

~~~
noir-york
Spot on. Apple is not, say, your local car dealer where increasing sales is
the goal.

Sure, Apple needs to increase sales but how it increases sales and how it
positions itself strategically to keep growing _shareholder value_ is the key
thing.

------
djyaz1200
Apple needs to do one thing to reassert their dominance for the next decade...
allow users to easily connect iphones to displays and keyboards. Iphones
easily have enough CPU to run a simple desktop for the average
email/websurfing/video consuming public. Why even buy a desktop or laptop if
you could just plug in your phone and have all your documents/programs right
there along with high speed internet. No brainer.

~~~
Malic
Oh, you mean like this? (Only with an iPhone vs. a MacBook)
[http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-
apple/2008/01/timely-a...](http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-
apple/2008/01/timely-apple-patent-introduces-imac-like-docking-station.html)

Apple has been thinking about something like this for a long time.

~~~
oakesm9
Sounds like the Motorola Atrix 4G from way back:
[http://img-3.newatlas.com/motorola-
atrix-4g.jpg?auto=format%...](http://img-3.newatlas.com/motorola-
atrix-4g.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ch=Width%2CDPR&crop=entropy&fit=crop&h=347&q=60&w=616&s=bed165e744704e53c08dc73850f3896f)

------
coldtea
> _It feels like cracks are forming at Apple 's edges. The company is
> straining to push out hardware updates. Supply issues are getting worse.
> Apple is reportedly moving away from selling beloved products like stand-
> alone displays and wireless routers. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Amazon, and Snap
> are gaining buzz with new niche hardware while Apple appears to be hanging
> back and resting on its laurels._

So, business as usual? As I've been hearing the exact same things, only with
more fanfare ("iPod Killer", "iPhone killer", "Macbook Air killer" etc.) for
15 years now...

~~~
mrmondo
My thoughts exactly, same old story since the start. Doesn't mean people
shouldn't try though - competition and questioning your purchases are both
very wise things to do, but to make hugely over generalised statements based
on essentially no scientific or statistical proof is another.

------
notadoc
Apple is the iPhone company.

Everything else is somewhere distant down their priority list, or not on any
list at all, and unfortunately it shows.

~~~
victorvation
I wouldn't say it's unfortunate. The majority of my (and many peoples')
personal computing is done entirely on an iPhone and therefore improvement
upon it, either incremental or innovative or otherwise, is always welcome.

~~~
tensor
The masses rarely use professional grade equipment because they don't need
them. That's not a reason to stop producing or improving tools for
professionals. Sure, the market size smaller, but with these tools the world
stops working.

For many of us, Apple computers represent the best tool for our jobs. Sure, we
can use Linux or even Windows if forced to, but it will mean a less efficient
and enjoyable working experience.

------
mortenjorck
For the Apple Watch to actually start to steal more use cases from the iPhone,
a huge change in user interfaces has to happen. Since touch input is really
only useful for yes/no choices on a watch, voice becomes the primary channel –
and Siri will have to become _vastly_ more context-aware and able to carry out
complex, multi-step tasks before that can happen.

If Apple's new AI push succeeds, this will happen, but the company has a long
path ahead.

------
bitmapbrother
What a terrible analysis. It's as if this blogger is oblivious to the world
outside of Apple in which he lives in. And his prediction that the Apple Watch
is their next big thing is ridiculous given the years of public disregard for
these devices. The Apple Watch will always be a mediocre product with
lackluster sales. Accept it for what it is and stop trying to make it into
something it'll never be.

~~~
coldtea
> _The Apple Watch will always be a mediocre product with lackluster sales.
> Accept it for what it is and stop trying to make it into something it 'll
> never be._

Lackluster compared to what? Because in its field, watches in general, it's
the #2 best selling watch. And in its niche, smartwatches, it's outselling the
competition (Samsung, etc) by an order of magnitude or so.

It also became a multi-billion dollar business just as it came out -- and it's
only in it's 2nd release (it took more time for the iPod to sell the same
amount of units). And of course, compared to the profits coming in, there's
probably not even a comparison, as Apple is unique in having high profit
margins whereas many else are selling commodity hardware on thinner margins.

The main issue is people having unrealistic expectatations of what the sales
of the Apple Watch should be. Obviously everybody has a smartphone (whether
Apple or not), but very few will have a watch (whether Apple Watch or anything
else). Heck, most people don't even wear an ordinary watch anymore.

So, given that, and given that Apple never said "the Apple Watch will surpass
iPhone / iPad etc in sales", they just released it as another product they do,
it's incredibly successful. In fact it just sold more units this quarter than
it did last year, so it keeps improving too.

~~~
nicky0
What's the #1 selling watch?

~~~
coldtea
1\. Rolex 2\. Apple Watch 3\. Fossil 4\. Omega 5\. Cartier

~~~
dagw
Where did you get these numbers? Because numbers I've seen put Fossil ahead of
Apple and Swatch Group ahead of everybody (but I'll accept that Swatch group
isn't really a brand)

~~~
coldtea
> _Where did you get these numbers?_

Apple themselves posted them. It's based on sales though, not units.

------
Jenya_
_Five years later, Apple has expanded the iPhone line to include five models,
two of which are last year 's flagship versions._

Here in Moscow (at Apple Premium Reseller site) it has eight models, down to
iPhone 5s (which I resently purchased as a gift for a paltry price of about
$344). [http://www.re-store.ru/apple-iphone/](http://www.re-store.ru/apple-
iphone/)

If someone don't know what an Apple Premium Reseller is, here is some info:
[http://www.apple.com/in/buy/apr/](http://www.apple.com/in/buy/apr/)

~~~
tastybberries
I think the author is referring to Apple's currently active lineup. On Apple's
Russian-language website
([http://www.apple.com/ru/iphone/](http://www.apple.com/ru/iphone/)), there
are indeed five models listed.

~~~
Jenya_
The iPhone 5s is still active model, the only difference is that it is sold in
retail stores, here is a news piece about this from India:
[http://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/Apple-denies-it-is-
disco...](http://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/Apple-denies-it-is-
discontinuing-iPhone-5s-6-and-6-Plus-in-India/articleshow/54176034.cms)

------
mark_l_watson
I have a difficult time imagining the apple watch becoming a hit product until
it can shine a holographic images like R2D2 in Star Wars could. Even then I
have my doubts.

Every article predicting hard times for Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Facebook
has the same flaw: not considering how many decades of runway these companies
have if their business hits a rough patch.

The thing I am most excited about is integration of all a user's devices, and
Apple has a good start on that.

Apple could end up adding iCar and iHome to their product line.

~~~
IgorPartola
Heh. Rim's BlackBerry was nowhere as good as the iPhone is today (yes I know
physical keyboards are the best; nevertheless), and they lasted for what, two
decades after their product was clearly not as good as all the competition.
Apple is doing way better at this point. Yes I think they dropped the ball on
iPhone 7: it introduced very little new stuff, and this is their innovation
year. But they are not screwing up, just innovating very slowly. I am not
happy with the 7, but my feelings aside, it won't kill the brand.

~~~
coldtea
> _yes I know physical keyboards are the best; nevertheless_

Citation needed, especially when it comes to mobile use.

The tactility might be good, but touch keyboards are much more flexible and
let you free up tons of real estate for more screen in apps that don't need a
keyboard.

Shouldn't that tradeoff be considered before one declares what's best?

------
intransigent
Watch, and TV aren't defensive "moat like" structures intended to reinforce or
barracade.

Defense, in an industry like this, is vertical integration, so more like tools
such as Xcode.

The Apple watch is a luxury item and fashion statement. An advertisement and
status symbol. It does not insulate or protect the appeal or practicality of
other products.

As an accessory, the watch promotes deeper investment, but it's adoption is
niche.

The walled garden and business partnerships of the app store to provide
desirable mobile media and content that motivates actually using an iPhone for
anything at all is the true moat and fortification surrounding the iPhone.

As for attacking itself as an evolutionary leap forward, Apple would need to
obviate its current product line with something better that reduces dependency
on said products. Phone service and phone numbers may eventually become
anachronistic. At which point, phones cease to be phones, really, but the name
and the digital broadband connection will still be there.

Maybe personal orbital satellites and sub-orbital high altitude personal
drones will obviate today's concept of a handset? Does that sound silly,
because I can't tell anymore.

------
newscracker
> Consumers can pick and choose a range of Apple products that best fit their
> lifestyles. This is why Apple is very vocal about continuing to invest in
> the Mac.

I laughed when I read these two sentences. Speaking of the Mac, there are
hardly any Apple products that fit best for many consumers. Apple and the
people who write about Apple may chant that "Apple is very vocal about
continuing to invest in the Mac", but what's seen in retail and online stores
says a lot about the "investment" not being helpful or useful for customers
who have been with Apple for long.

> …

> However, Apple's handling of the Mac line has been increasingly
> questionable.

Seriously, was "questionable" the best adjective that the author could come up
with in this context? In my opinion, the right wording, based on facts as
observed by consumers, should be, _" However, Apple's abandoning of the Mac
line and its usual tightlippedness has been mind numbingly incomprehensible
and exasperatingly frustrating."_

------
norea-armozel
I think the more worrisome aspect of post-Jobs Apple is the fact that the
software has taken a major nosedive on quality. Whenever I see someone break
down the latest update of OSX or iOS it always seems like QA at Apple forgot
to check something or didn't care. My own personal experience with iOS is from
being a late comer after replacing my Galaxy S3 (yeah I'm not a fan of smart
phones). What's funny is how clunky iOS felt and still feels even when
compared to Jelly Bean Android. It's not like Android was great either but
it's weird how the competition doesn't seem to care to beat them at least on
responsiveness and intuitive workflow for navigating between apps and core
functionality. It's just sad to see good hardware get bogged down by bad
decisions on software.

------
MicroBerto
One big sign of dysfunction at Apple is that their main competitor released
phones that literally _explode_ , and Apple was still unable recapture any
foothold, while said competitor is successfully reloading as we speak.

~~~
coldtea
> _and Apple was still unable recapture any foothold_

According to whom? The results for this quarter (after Samsung took back the
Galaxy) will be published early next year...

~~~
coldtea
case in point: [http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/12/07/new-research-
data-...](http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/12/07/new-research-data-shows-
iphone-at-top-of-sales-charts-by-vendor-across-most-of-the-world)

------
3stripe
The article mentions two industries that Apple might pivot into: wearables and
transportation.

But I don't think Apple's industry focus will ever shift.

Rather their/our definition of what 'personal computing' means will continue
to evolve as the technology does.

An iPhone is a personal computer. An Apple Watch wants to be a personal
computer. Apple won't ever stop being a personal computer company.

It's just that some day, a personal computer will be precisely that: a
computer inside a person, integrated as software and hardware. A human iOS.

Surely that is the ultimate endgoal, and not an aluminum car (with a charge
point under its chasis) that can talk.

~~~
Animats
Apple is going nowhere in automotive. Nor should they try. The profit margins
are much, much lower than Apple is used to.

~~~
toasterlovin
Mobile phones have negative margins. Unless you're Apple.

------
fnordsensei
It'll be interesting to see what they come up with. A phone and a watch
doesn't make for much of an ecosystem, and they do seem to be leaving much of
the rest by the roadside at the moment.

For every piece of the puzzle that they drop they become potentially easier to
replace.

------
tammer
This article is been written dozens of times, over three decades. It hasn't
proven true yet.

~~~
macintux
I think you're reading a different article. For three decades Apple has done
what he's describing.

------
mctx
> More importantly, transportation is the gateway to the grand prize: housing.
> When contemplating a smart home, there is nowhere better to start than
> developing smart rooms on wheels.

Is the author suggesting autonomous smart caravans?

------
zappo2938
"It feels like cracks are forming at Apple's edges. " \-- That literal
describes my iPhone right now. The screen is popping out because the adhesive
isn't holding so it is cracked all along the edge.

------
B1FF_PSUVM
Microsoft - alas - is not competing anymore with Apple and Google on consumer
devices.

Huge vacuum there, something's bound to happen.

------
dpiz
So tired of hearing about the iPhone and Apple products. Any chance they'll
soon jump on the open-source train?

~~~
coldtea
There's a great chance, given that the earth spins back in time to 1999.

------
amelius
By the way, what will happen to the Apple Watch? Is this going to be developed
further or will it become abandonware?

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
Apple can't afford to drop it yet. It will be refined for another iteration or
two. It may or may not be dropped quietly a few years from now - possibly with
Tim Cook.

Watch has been a huge and very expensive misstep. IMO Apple should have tried
to own the home automation market, with secure, high-margin, high-quality
products linked into the Apple ecosystem and built with some measure of AI and
smart collective decision making - the kind of thing Nest tried to do, but
never quite got right, and which the other players in that market (Belkin,
etc) don't have the smarts to try.

Watch is a mistake because it's not _useful_ in the way that classic Apple
products are. It can do some mildly interesting things, but the whole point of
an Apple product is that you're supposed to dream about owning it because you
can do more with it than without it.

Watch doesn't do that. It's a fashion accessory, not a powerful tool that
happens to be beautifully designed. So even if it's refined physically -
thinner, etc - it's never going to be a huge success unless someone in
Cupertino works out how to change that.

~~~
toasterlovin
How was the Watch a "huge and very expensive misstep"? The analyst estimates
I've seen point to them having sold over ten million units at > $250 each.
That would make it a multi billion dollar business.

~~~
quicklyfrozen
Perhaps opportunity cost. Apple has limited design and engineering resources
(seemly at least partially by intent) so they've had to sacrifice in other
areas to develop the watch, and so far only seen modest returns.

~~~
DarthMader
Modest returns by whose estimates, IDC? And under their functional structure,
theoretically Apple is able to shift resources to projects and collaborate
better where they need to. If they needed to shift resources from other teams
to launch a multibillion dollar Smartwatch business, that's great, you won't
hear shareholders complaining. Keep in mind in the last 9 years Apple has
launched/revived 3 multibillion dollar hardware industries - Smartphones,
Smartwatches & Tablets. Google meanwhile, is struggling to launch a billion
dollar business with $1B+ revenue potential like they have in their cashcow in
search advertising. Heck how long have they been at it with their "other bets"
now and its still a big money loser?

~~~
quicklyfrozen
Modest compared to $160B in iPhone revenue. I'm not sure I agree with parent,
but on the other hand as a Mac user, the quality of the last couple OS
releases does lead me to believe they are stretched a bit thin.

------
rebootthesystem
The next step is, in my humble opinion, obvious but not trivial in execution.
It is also a perfect "Innovators Dilemma" scenario.

The next iPhone needs to be a Mac computer in your pocket and have the full
functionality of a Mac.

One thing that is painfully missing from iOS is multiuser support.

It is unbelievable that, so many years later, I can't hand my iPhone or iPad
to a friend, co-worker, my kids or someone at a meeting and have them be in
"guest" mode or some mode where I can exercise complete access control to
information and apps. Today, if you hand your unlocked iOS device to someone
they have full access to anything that isn't locked out specifically by an
app. And, even at that, your entire device is exposed.

The other improvement would be more granularity in selecting what lives
outside and inside the lock screen. I work in an ITAR environment, which means
my phone needs to have a password in order to prevent access to my ITAR email
and calendar. NOTHING ELSE ON MY PHONE requires that lockout. I can't even
hang-up the damn thing while on a call without entering a password because the
damn lock screen locks out everything. This is ridiculous.

If I had the aforementioned multi-user mode I could setup a "work" user to
deal with my ITAR stuff and a "me" user to expose what I want and how I want
it.

There is no good reason I can come up with to have my friggin calculator live
behind a password. I should be able to define what I want on each side of that
wall.

Finally, and this would be the killer app, the new your-iphone-is-a-mac device
should have the technology necessary to bring up the MacOS interface on any
computer any time. In other words, when I go to work, I should be able to
connect to my Mac-in-my-pocket device and bring-up MacOS on a window on my
Windows 10 machine.

It should be painless and seamless. If it requires a little USB device, that's
fine. The phone should have a slot for this device to be stored so it can go
with you anywhere. Pop it out, plug it in and you are in business. This should
also work on traditional Macs.

Now your phone is your real personal computer, everywhere.

It could even use the touchscreen as the trackpad if necessary.

The other huge evolutionary step if they took this path would be to allow full
file system access. Maybe there's a distinction between MacOS and iOS apps.
The iOS stuff can remain sandboxed while the MacOS apps enjoy full file system
access.

Finally, the phone's physical UI needs to evolve. This business of overloading
a precious few buttons is nonsense. Double click, triple click, the volume
button is this and that...etc. Insane. Most people have no clue because most
people don't operate that way. What the iPhone desperately needs is something
like an edge mounted wheel or, even better, a two dimensional sensor (like the
mice that image an amplified version of the table to determine how far you
moved, only this one would image your thumb).

Something like scrolling through your address book or apps could be a single
handed, single finger operation. Many years ago I had a Motorola flip phone
with a piggy back accessory (forgot the name) that included a rotary wheel
with a push-to-select function. It was incredibly useful and fast.

The iPhone also needs a few buttons the user can define. I want a real edge-
mounted button to, for example, launch my RPN calculator. Maybe another button
to launch the weather app, stocks or whatever. Physical buttons are good.

Now, I understand the minimalist design thing. Fine. Provide an unencumbered
interface and protocol entrepreneurs can use to interface with the phone and
build such add-on products. By unencumbered I mean something like a simple
high speed serial port with power, no licensing, no walled garden, no buying
proprietary chips. The range of innovation this would spur would be massive.

There's a lot they can do with the device and form factor. They need to get
off this thinner, thinner, thinner bullshit. I don't want it thinner. I'd
gladly have a device twice as thick as the current crop of iphones if it did a
good portion of what I described above. People don't buy these things because
they are thin. I am still on an iPhone 4S because there's nothing whatsoever
in the new phones that is compelling or useful enough to spend the money on an
upgrade.

If Apple doesn't wake up they are going to find themselves up against new
contenders that will eat them for lunch. I still have hopes for a fully
desktop integrated Windows phone. Microsoft won't do it but that doesn't mean
companies like HP won't pull it off and knock it out of the park. If someone
shows-up with powerful fully integrated Windows PC in my pocket that can
connect to the desktop (and more) I am launching this 4S into orbit and
switching. I want Solidworks in my pocket and usable anywhere I go. I want
computing that isn't tied to and locked to my desk. I want to own my data and
not have it exposed on someone's cloud.

I want the next evolutionary step in computing. It's about time. Who's going
to do it?

~~~
HappyTypist
Nitpick: Some apps can be accessed without unlocking. The control centre lets
you access Clock, Calculator, and Camera.

More functionality like Reminders can be accessed via Siri.

~~~
rebootthesystem
Fair point, yet, for example, I don't use the standard calculator. I use an
RPN calculator app that emulates the HP41 calculator. I have to unlock the
phone to use it. Same with the clock. I use a different clock app.

Anyhow, the point I think remains: The user ought to be able to choose what's
on each side of that wall.

------
cdevs
You can milk a cat ? You can milk anything with nipples...

------
mrmondo
I'm not sure I really agree with the principle of the idea that apples
products are getting worse in general. There's always some products that work,
some that don't and some that don't at first - but do after refinement.

For example, 2-3 years ago I thought OS X (now macOS) was really going down
hill, far less stability, performance stagnation and no clear direction. Turn
to 2016 and I think Sierra is the most stable and reliable macOS yet, also we
now have much 'better' standboxing, protected core system storage, better
battery life and an interesting file system on its way. Now, look at the
iPhone 7+ - it's a great phone, it's in my opinion the best phone they've ever
made, it's not perfect, the camera is good but it's still a phone camera and
thus requires a lot of light and a nice clean lens to take a decent shot, its
battery life is excellent compared to most other phones - you can quite
happily go two days between charges unless you have something setup poorly
(like a polling email account etc), iOS is more responsive and stable than
ever, we have public and developer betas and finally Apple actually respond to
bug reports from the feedback tool (not every time, but when it's something
worth investigating).

The retina MacBook is a lovely replacement for the MacBook Air, yes it doesn't
have enough RAM and could do with a bit faster CPU, but it is a truly
portable, usable machine.

Since the introduction of the 5k iMac, there's been no turning back for me, I
have an early 2015 model at work and late 2015 at home and they are simply a
joy to work on, not just the wonderful screen but the CPUs are rarely maxed
out, the upgraded GPU in my home machine easily plays any game I want to play.

The bad is that the MacBook Pro is undeniably over priced if you want to spec
it out, the Mac Pro is long overdue an update and they in my opinion should
have retired the Air and offered a higher spec MacBook.

On the software side of things, we have a larger than ever open source
software community contributing software usable on OS X and the range and
diversity of games available of macOS has grown at an amazing rate over the
past few years, look at the titles on steam, gogs and the App Store - it was
only 2-3 years ago you really had to use wine and friends to play such games.
iTunes still kind of sucks, it's UI/UX is a lot better than when Apple Music
first launched but the app is still very slow and heavy when you have a large
library, but Apple Music itself has very quickly gone from being a wtf is this
product to replacing Spotify for me thanks to its integration across devices,
better streaming quality (or so it seems) and it's better range of full
albums.

Tldr; some things work, some things don't, I think things are better than ever
regardless of failed experiments or some product lines that are outdated.

------
rcarmo
I read this as far as the "apple watch with mobile connectivity" pipe dream
and moved on.

Yes, some day that will be feasible. At current power ratios, not soon, and
believing otherwise betrays utter cluelessness.

~~~
EddieSpeaks
Trouble with the iPhone users is that they don't know about other brands. Even
the main competition.

The Gear S3 Frontier manages mobile connectivity and superior UX with a
supposed 4. Day battery life

~~~
r00fus
Trouble with other brands? Or are people just not interested because it runs
Tizen and has mediocre ratings?

The real crux is I'm simply not going to pay my carrier another $5-20
subscription for another client device.

------
boznz
As the number of MBA's increase I'm thinking their next big product will be
the iBank :-)

------
rezashirazian
There is still room for improvement on the iPhone. Everything from battery
life, camera to storage and other usability improvements. I would love to see
an iPhone with 1TB of space. It would make it more likely for me to purchase
all the app/movies/digital services Apple wants to push instead of dealing
with iCloud or endless "Phone is full" messages.

------
hobarrera
Reading the article reminded me that I don't really get the fuzz around
iMessage.

It's an iOS-only messaging system (meaning that the majority of the people out
there can't use it), and it limited to only certain carriers (it works on only
3 our of 6 in my country, AFAIK), narrowing the audience even more.

Yet, even though it's double-niche, Apple seems to be putting effort, and
features into an app, that, apparently, very few people out there can use (I
don't personally know anybody how has both and iPhone _and_ a carrier that
supports iMessages, me having only the former).

~~~
zippergz
Obviously it depends heavily on where you live and who you are friends with.
Here in a major city in the US, virtually all of the people I exchange
messages with are on iMessage. For the tiny minority who aren't (I just
skimmed my message list and I found exactly three), it pretty gracefully
degrades to SMS.

~~~
hobarrera
> Here in a major city in the US

That's my point. If you're a global company targeting major US cities, you're
missing out about 80% (might be more, might be less) of the world.

Of course there are people for whom this is useful, but that doesn't mean it's
useful for most (or even a large percentage!) of the people out there.

------
127001brewer
_It feels like cracks are forming at Apple 's edges. The company is straining
to push out hardware updates. Supply issues are getting worse. Apple is
reportedly moving away from selling beloved products like stand-alone displays
and wireless routers. ..._

I stopped reading at this point since this will be another "Pile on the Bad
News for Apple" type of hyperbole.

~~~
notadoc
Quite the contrary, Above Avalon is a relentless Apple bull and one of their
many apologists.

Good analysis overall, but it's typically with some variation of "this is
greatest" with some hint at a greater big idea just around the corner.

~~~
toasterlovin
Genuinely curious: what does an Apple apologist apologize for?

~~~
notadoc
Are you unfamiliar with the term 'apologist?

"apologist: a person who offers an argument in defense of something
controversial."

~~~
toasterlovin
I had encountered the term, but didn't know it's precise meaning. Hence my
intuitive interpretation of its meaning.

But now I know, thanks!

