Walt Mossberg: Tim Cook's Apple Had a Great Decade But No New Blockbusters (theverge.com) 59
Veteran tech columnist, who retired two years ago, returns with one story to cap the end of the decade: Apple hasn't said how many Watches and AirPods it's sold, but they're widely believed to be the dominant players in each of their categories and, in the grand Apple tradition, the envy of competitors that scramble to ape them. Neither of these hardware successes has matched the impact or scale of Jobs' greatest hits. Even the iPad, despite annual unit sales that are sharply down from its heyday, generated almost as much revenue by itself in fiscal 2019 as the entire category of "wearables, home and accessories" where the Apple Watch and AirPods are slotted by Apple. [...] Cook does bear the responsibility for a series of actions that screwed up the Macintosh for years. The beloved mainstream MacBook Air was ignored for five years. At the other end of the scale, the Mac Pro, the mainstay of professional audio, graphics, and video producers, was first neglected then reissued in 2013 in a way that put form so far ahead of function that it enraged its customer base. Some insiders think Cook allowed Ive's design team far too much power and that the balance Jobs was able to strike between the designers and the engineers was gone, at least until Ive left the company earlier this year.
The design-first culture that took root under Cook struck again with the MacBook Pro, yielding new laptops so thin their keyboards were awful and featuring USB-C ports that required sleek Macs to be used with ugly dongles. Apple has only recently retreated back to decent keyboards on the latest MacBook Pro, and it issued a much more promising Mac Pro. But dongles are still a part of the Apple experience across its product lines. Cook's other success this decade was to nurture the iPhone along as smartphone sales first plateaued and then began to decline. The biggest change he made came in 2014, before the dip, when Apple introduced two new iPhone 6 models, which belatedly adopted big screens that Android phones had pioneered. Sales took off like a rocket, and there's been a big iPhone option every year since.
The design-first culture that took root under Cook struck again with the MacBook Pro, yielding new laptops so thin their keyboards were awful and featuring USB-C ports that required sleek Macs to be used with ugly dongles. Apple has only recently retreated back to decent keyboards on the latest MacBook Pro, and it issued a much more promising Mac Pro. But dongles are still a part of the Apple experience across its product lines. Cook's other success this decade was to nurture the iPhone along as smartphone sales first plateaued and then began to decline. The biggest change he made came in 2014, before the dip, when Apple introduced two new iPhone 6 models, which belatedly adopted big screens that Android phones had pioneered. Sales took off like a rocket, and there's been a big iPhone option every year since.
Generally Agree (Score:3)
I think the summary is actually a really good review of Tim Cook's Apple. I think giving Ive so much control and putting form over function is a result of having the bulk of the company's revenue being generated from devices like the iPhone and iPod. "Work life technology", like the automotive sector, needs to put function over form because, you know, we need to get shit done.
The stupid butterfly keyboard is a shining example of getting that wrong.
Re: Generally Agree (Score:3)
For anyone that have followed Louis Rossmann it's clear that Apple is no longer innovative but protective, which is an indication of stagnation.
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For anyone that have followed Louis Rossmann it's clear that Apple is no longer innovative but protective, which is an indication of stagnation.
Louis Rossman is a Liar.
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The lack of Jobs Reality Distortion field is probably in play as well.
Macintosh - It is a personal computer, except the monitor is attached to the CPU. Oh we put in a GUI OS that failed on an earlier model.
Jobs then fired from Apple.
Jobs rehired into Apple.
iMac - it is the Macintosh but in color
iPod - just a smaller MP3 Player
iMac G4 - It is an All in one Mac like the older iMac, but we used an LCD screen on an arm, and we made the CPU round.
iMac G5 - We made the computer fit in the space of a monitor. (la
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The lack of Jobs Reality Distortion field is probably in play as well.
Macintosh - It is a personal computer, except the monitor is attached to the CPU. Oh we put in a GUI OS that failed on an earlier model.
Jobs then fired from Apple.
Jobs rehired into Apple.
iMac - it is the Macintosh but in color
iPod - just a smaller MP3 Player
iMac G4 - It is an All in one Mac like the older iMac, but we used an LCD screen on an arm, and we made the CPU round.
iMac G5 - We made the computer fit in the space of a monitor. (last major iMac Design)
Intel Macs - Nearly the same as the G4/G5 models but with an intel chip.
iPhone - A smart phone with a touch screen display
Jobs Passed away
Apple has made good products, and introduced elements that became popular. However so had other companies as well which Apple has used in their designs. But Jobs was good at selling it, making a rather minor upgrade seem like the next big thing. Some have worked, some had failed. But Apple never really was more Innovative than other companies. They did get lucky a few times. But Apples products that were inovative per say.
Mac, iPod
While the iPhone is a big money maker, it was an updated iPod with a phone built in.
The RDF was a real thing, but Apple's real success wasn't innovation or the RDF, it was taking innovations and turning them into elegant well-designed products.
I have a 8 year old MacBook Air that I still prefer over the vast majority of laptops currently on the market because it's a nice piece of hardware, sure they've let the OS go in a stupid direction, but for email, web browsing, and some simple programming it's a fantastic solution.
That was the balance that Apple had, sure it didn't always have the be [slashdot.org]
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Eh, no. Not even close. In fact, the iPod was bigger than most MP3 players available at the time, apart from the CDR-based ones.
The iPod added the following:
- simplified physical controls (other MP3 players had too many buttons that, while simpler on paper, made the things more complicated to use)
- a more streamlined user interface (most people only use the first 80% of options, the last 20% complicates things too much)
- a dot matrix display (some MP3 players at the time used
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I think the summary is actually a really good review of Tim Cook's Apple. I think giving Ive so much control and putting form over function is a result of having the bulk of the company's revenue being generated from devices like the iPhone and iPod. "Work life technology", like the automotive sector, needs to put function over form because, you know, we need to get shit done.
The stupid butterfly keyboard is a shining example of getting that wrong.
Yeah, but Mossberg also lists using the USB-C/TB3 connectors (exclusively) in the MacBook Pro as a Bad Thing(tm); but that just doesn't comport with reality.
The sheer additional (and hugely customizable) I/O expansion capabilities afforded by the 4 USB-C/TB3 Connectors on the MBP undeniably place it head and shoulders above all other Laptops in that regard. Name one other Laptop that has I/O expansion up to Fifty-Two simultaneous I/O Ports. USB-C/TB3 is currently the only way to achieve that rather jaw-drop
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I think that everyone was hoping that Apple would have released a self driving electric car by now, and that business line would have dwarfed Tesla by now.
Honestly, I'd just like a reasonably priced desktop tower computer from Apple. They simply do not make them anymore. You either have to get an All-In-One system like an iMac, or an expensive workstation like the Mac Pro.
Yes they do have them (Score:2)
Honestly, I'd just like a reasonably priced desktop tower computer from Apple.
That is the MacBook Pro.
It's as powerful as most towers, you can configure it now with a lot of RAM.
You can use it docked just like a desktop, with external keyboard/displays/mice.
You can expand processing power via eGPU.
If you really need a true desktop, the base Mac Pro is actually not all that expensive and has a tone of expandability. But most people do not need that so "desktops" will continue to be pushed to the high end.
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Honestly, I'd just like a reasonably priced desktop tower computer from Apple.
That is the MacBook Pro.
It's as powerful as most towers, you can configure it now with a lot of RAM.
You can use it docked just like a desktop, with external keyboard/displays/mice.
You can expand processing power via eGPU.
And it is thermally throttled under load, so you can also buy a custom air conditioner mod that keeps your house at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. And you're paying for the internal display and battery, whether you use them or not. And so on.
Seriously, I like the MacBook Pro, except for the fact that you can't expand it with more internal storage and the fact that most of them have a keyboard that stinks on ice, but a desktop replacement, it is not.
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Sorry, not correct. Laptops all have sacrifices that the user must make in order to settle for them. The CPU will be slower than a similar desktop part due to the laws of thermodynamics... heat is a bitch. Your thermal overhead in any portable solution is much lower so you have to use lower spec CPU's and GPU's. You can't overcome this, so desktops still provide for a much more powerful experience.
Desktops also have easier component upgrades. You seem to think one would only want to upgrade the GPU during t
Re: Airpods are a Fortune 50 sized business. (Score:1)
Airpods are an environmental disaster, so are most Apple products today.
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Airpods are an environmental disaster, so are most Apple products today.
Riiiiight.
https://www.apple.com/environm... [apple.com]
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There's still the Mac mini. The specs of the latest models are pretty impressive for its size. I'd suggest going with the smallest internal SSD for the OS and programs, and use an external one for your files.
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Thank you Walt (Score:5, Insightful)
SteveJobs knew under Cook the pipeline for AAPL would run 10 years without doing a thing. Cook was the steady hand at the controls and SteveJobs admitted as much saying “ Apple was in good hands”.
Walt’s point goes to that pipeline. It won’t carry Cook et. al. much further. AAPL haven’t a third act. Walt’s implication uncovers the inconvenient truth that Apple, the brand, runs the risk its legacy is to be overshadowed by a founder’s creation myth.
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Re: Thank you Walt (Score:1, Troll)
Re: Thank you Walt (Score:2)
Re: Thank you Walt (Score:2)
AAPL havenâ(TM)t a third act
They will; the dripping douches will come out with AR that'll make the smartphone era look like the pet rock era. Coupled with the prevailing stupidity of our time, it "ain't gonna be purdy."
Many acts yet to come (Score:2)
Waltâ(TM)s point goes to that pipeline. It wonâ(TM)t carry Cook et. al. much further. AAPL havenâ(TM)t a third act.
Smartwatches are already a third act for Apple.
If more and more things become agent based with minimal input and oversight, why would that not naturally replace a phone?
Apple is way ahed of anyone there, still, years on...
Also could easily be the instant lead of AR as they have had SDKs in place for some time so when they do deliver a truly portable AR system they will have a ton
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Smart Home (Score:2)
They've got a lot of engineering talent and I wouldn't mind se
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Appliances all suck. They would have to actually innovate in order to make a name for themselves in that space, and innovation is what they aren't good at any more. Plus those are products with which they have no experience, so they would have to buy someone to get involved, and who would be for sale? The big names in those spaces known for making [relatively] hip products are Samsung and LG.
Once a generation is good enough for me (Score:4, Interesting)
Apple has had more than one blockbuster in a generation.
More than good enough for me.
How many blockbusters has GM or GE had?
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I don't think "blockbusters" is a good metric anymore.
I mean, Blockbuster itself went bankrupt.
Dongles (Score:1)
USB-to-ethernet dongles pre-date Apple's use of USB-C; I had one on a 2010-ish MacBook Air at my old job.
(And a spare, because people would always come expecting us to have WiFi in a pretty radio-quiet area.)
USB-C to USB-A dongles are... handy if you have lots of things with USB-A connectors and only want to plug in one at a time. But really, you should be buying USB-C to whatever cables. They exist now.
Mossberg, eh? (Score:2)
This is spot on... (Score:4, Insightful)
I wonder if Apple's invention train has run its course, so it is spending its trillions of dollars stashed offshore in financial ventures (Apple credit card).
If there is a recession, or consumers just decide that the latest Huawei or Samsung device is better, Apple is dead; pure and simple. This is what happened to Sony, but Sony had a lot more markets to keep it propped up, rather than just the Walkman. If Apple loses the phone market, they are just plain dead in the water... and their past few years, their devices have been lackluster at best, with other companies coming out with folding phones, phones with pop-out cameras, under-screen cameras (thus no notch needed), under-screen fingerprint scanners, and many more options. Yes, Apple has had "courage" to drop features... but unless they start catching up to even Motorola and the RAZR flip phone, the only reason people will buy iPhones is to stay within the Apple ecosystem... and every year, that becomes less and less interesting, especially as the app developers start moving away from iOS as their main development platform and to Android, just because the cool phones (and cool dudes) would move to that.
Apple starts needing to do some R&D. With the cash they have, they can buy a ton of monkeys and typewriters and let a RNG give them a blockbuster.
Or, perhaps Apple needs to go back to everyday computing, where there is pent-up demand. Perhaps an enterprise Mac division that is spun off (a la Claris/FileMaker Pro) and that focuses on desktop, laptop, and server hardware/software. It is a lot easier for a salesperson to clench one sale of 10,000 machines than to make ten thousand sales of one machine.
Apple used to be able to be used in every facet of computing, from the AP to the NAS to the printer, even to the SAN. This market isn't glamorous, but every 3-5 years, the big companies change out their machines, and most C-levels would be chomping at the bit to buy Apple server hardware because it would look good in the server room (and style beats substance). Especially if Apple could make racks with built in water cooling for the equipment, perhaps even heat exchangers or compressors so the rack of equipment would need n+1 power, but handle its own HVAC needs.
Heck, Apple could even go from there and make complete racks with UPSes, SSDs, and compute nodes, all with some fast backplane (Infiniband, or good ol' PCIe with a ton of lanes) between everything. Need to scale up? Add more CPU/RAM drawers. Need to scale out? Add more racks, and plug them in via a dual ring daisy chain. Apple could even have the VMWare suite licensed as part of the hardware, which means that if companies pay for the Apple servers, they have a solid virtualization structure without needing to buy anything else.
Apple could even get into the VDI arena, either by a price point lower than what Citrix and VMWare Horizon do, or by having something better than either product. VDI is a market waiting to be tapped, and the sole app that make breakthroughs, vWorkspace, was bought up and discontinued.
Apple could even offer scaled down servers, something like a Time Capsule, but with some CPU and GPU, which, when combined with an app that turns video commands into streaming output, could be similar to Google Stadia, except be on the LAN, where local machines can take advantage of having one machine with a lot of processing power.
Of course, Apple could go all in the cloud business and cater to DevOps from the ground up. People see Google cancel services, and get cold feet about wanting to use GCP in production. If Apple offered something on the scale of that, businesses would flock to them overnight. Same if Apple had a GSuite/O365 competitor.
There are many ways Apple can forge ahead into new territory and eke out new markets which previously were small to nonexistant... I just wish they would do so.
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What do you think the "cloud" runs on? Far from a hardwareless world, there's a metric shit-ton more hardware being leveraged every day.
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What you're looking for in the datacenter is already in development and it's called Gen-Z (https://genzconsortium.org/). It's an industry open consortium developing this next generation of datacenter hardware, and Apple is conspicuously absent from the list of members.
Yeah, the became basically Microsoft, again. (Score:3)
Just like the last time Jobs was gone, they became like Microsoft. A bunch of visionless followers that merely copy, imitate, and repeat.
And Jobs himself is at fault here.
It's what you get, when you micromanage this strictly, and hire people based on being obedient followers.
This time though, unless they find their messiah reborn somewhere, there's no coming back. Corporate culture doesn't change that easily.
Best of luck! ;)
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Sigh -- no, you don't need dongles. (Score:4, Insightful)
required sleek Macs to be used with ugly dongles
No Mac is require to use any dongles. USB-C ports are fully signal compatible with USB-A, so all you have to do is buy new cables. No ugly dongles required for the vast majority of devices.
And if that's not good enough, buy a USB-A hub, and replace the I/O cable on it to one with a USB-C end, and use that for plugging in any USB-A devices where you can't replace the cables. No you'll never need a dongle for anything.
This is /., and I used to assume people around here were smart enough to figure this sort of thing out on their own. Guess that's no longer the case.
Yaz
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A USB C to A socket cable is a dongle.
Many other brands not only give you more ports and USB A, they give you a card reader too. Gotta get that video/photos off the camera somehow.
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A USB C to A socket cable is a dongle.
A dongle is an adaptor to convert one plug type to another. A cable is not a dongle. A cable with a different end is no more or less ugly than another cable.
Yaz
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The dongle is built into the connector. Still a dongle
Wrong.
USB-C USB-A cables, like, for example, HDMI -> DVI cables, are Adapter Cables. They are 100% Passive, and only translate one connector to another. No signal or protocol translation. No signal-level translation. No Active Components. Just a multiconductor cable with one connector on one end, and a different connector on the other end.
"Dongles" (what we used to call "Adapters") have Active electronics to perform some sort of protocol and/or level conversion. If there is a cable involved, it is just
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That's what I described. USB C plug on one end, USB A socket on the other. Dongle.
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A USB C to A socket cable is a dongle.
Many other brands not only give you more ports and USB A, they give you a card reader too. Gotta get that video/photos off the camera somehow.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-A... [amazon.com]
$30. One cable hookup. 2 Second Amazon search.
2X USB 3.0
Gigabit Ethernet
4k HDMI
SD/MicroSD
60W USB-C Charging Port
That pretty much handles I/O for 90% of most people's needs. Oh, and you still have 3 more USB-C/TB3 ports left!
Whew! That was hard!
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On the page for the current MacBook Pro 13" there are adapters (dongles) for the following:
Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter
USB-C to USB Adapter
USB-C to SD Card Reader
USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter
USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
There's also a USB-C to Lighting Cable but it's not a dongle. Those are just the supported adapters made by Apple. I'm sure that there's others made by third parties that can do provide alternative functionality.
Source: https://www.apple. [apple.com]
Well is apple a business? (Score:2)
Or a rock band?