Have Apple turned a corner and are making desirable products again?

[Hades]

I've not been Apples greatest fan for a number of years. In fact I've been highly critical of them. I found their phones to be unreliable, their trashcan Mac Pro was anything but the expandable professional machine that many would want, and their unreliable butterfly keyboard made the Macbook Pro simply not an option when I have been looking at laptops.

But with their recent move back to the scissor keyboard on the MBP 16 and the fantastic new cheesegrater Mac Pro I think they are getting back to making actually desirable products again. The Mac Pro is simply too expensive for me but I can see how a professional creator or a design studio would consider one. If they can bring out a new MBP 13 or 14 with the butterfly keyboard then I can see me getting one either for myself or my daughter who needs one soon.

I think they have started to get back on track and it will be an interesting next few product releases.

 

[mrochester]

The iPhone X was one of the best phones Apple released (2 years in and it's still going strong) and I love the sound and feel of the keyboard on my 2017 MBP. I remember how squishy and wobbly my 2014 model felt in comparison.

 

[Broken Hope]

They have never stopped making desirable products, Air Pods alone are making them billions.

 

[random_matt]

Think the power and flexibility you get with the mac mini is great, buying one after Xmas.

 

[random_matt]

They have never stopped making desirable products, Air Pods alone are making them billions.

Peripherals etc bring the most money for just about every company, in terms of sale numbers at least.

 

[Rroff]

Apple seem to go through cycles of pushing things on the consumer and listening/working more with the consumer - it is really quite odd sometimes how they seem to get things that other companies don't and at other times/ways closed off and dictating an approach.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

I wish Intel would pull the finger out and get some new CPUs out there. Or Apple would shoehorn a better AMD GPU into the Mac Mini.
I couldn't buy anything with that current Intel relic in it.

 

[MacRS4]

The i7 8700B isn't that much of a relic is it? I've a couple of i7/64Gb units that run my VM estates - small, and fast enough, and don't cost a fortune to run.

I get what you're saying about 'making cool products', but tbh they tend to be my go to actual-do-some-work machines. I may flirt with other stuff, like the Dell XPS etc, but if I'm in a work rush it's my Apple gear I turn to.

My iMac Pro(s) are the best bits of computing kit I've owned in a long, long time. I never really had an issue with butterfly keyboard either, although of course understand lots of others did.

The current 16" (I'm using right now) is probably the best unit I've used in a while - if it had a/couple of A ports and an SDCard reader it would be arguably perfect.

I think I treat my iMac Pro/Mini units like fridges - I.e. like an appliance.

I guess that's not cool (ehehe) as such, but it's certainly productive.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

If you look at the product line from the very first Apple product one the iPhone was released all of their products have been fantastic.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

The i7 8700B isn't that much of a relic is it?

The CPU part is fine, the integrated GPU not so much. It was anemic at Skylake launch and it's mildly embarrassing now.
I know it's not a gaming machine, but a little more GPU grunt would make it a perfect machine for me (price aside).

 

[chanjy]

Jony Ive leaving is the best thing that's happened tbh

Thicker iPhone, Macbook Pro bigger battery and going back to a decent keyboard... these would never have happened with him still around where it was looks over absolutely everything!

 

[b0rn2sk8]

You realise these things would have been in train long before he left right?

It takes years to bring these things from concept to market in the sorts of volumes Apple make. Hence all the supple chains leaks 6+ months before release.

 

[TonTom]

The iPhone X was one of the best phones Apple released (2 years in and it's still going strong)

Wholeheartedly agree with this. It’s a quality piece of kit.

 

[thecremeegg]

If you look at the product line from the very first Apple product one the iPhone was released all of their products have been fantastic.

Really? Do you work for Apple or something?

 

[glenimp617]

Really? Do you work for Apple or something?

List the ones which haven't been fantastic

 

[b0rn2sk8]

HomePod, sounds great but smart features are lack lustre especially at launch compared to google/amazon. Siri in general just isn’t great compared to the competition.

The last series of laptops were/are deeply flawed, in particular keyboards and flex cables to name a couple. In fact the only one that now isn’t is the new 16” Pro.

Trash Can Mac Pro - I really don’t need to explain this one.

 

[The_Abyss]

List the ones which haven't been fantastic

I think it is right that one can admire the products but still remain critical. Apple do still innovate in some product lines, but in others they have been behind the leading edge of development.

They lacked a credible product in the MacBook Air segment for years, with an underpowered device with a woeful screen.

There was no update to the enterprise Mac Pro product range for years, leading to professionals leaving the Apple ecosystem. Similarly with the software, as FCPX has fallen behind and Aperture has not been a credible alternative for professionals for years.

iPad OS has only just introduced a file system and user profiles are still absent compared to competitors.

The flagship desktop, iMac, hasn’t seen a design update for 6 years, and despite a great display it retains enormous bezels that do not exist elsewhere in the Mac range.

There are many more examples. Apple do make some great products, especially in isolation, but that does not mean that there are features which lag behind the competition and which we can be critical of.

 

[chanjy]

To be fair you can have fantastic without being flawless!

 

[Deleted member 77746]

Their software is what makes it great. Their products and features work with very little problems given how complex they are.

 

[Deleted member 209350]

Definitely agree with you. I would say that the XS/Max phones getting released and Apple's stock tanking hard afterwards was a key factor. I would say that 2019 has actually been a VERY good year for Apple.

As an apple fan, I have been very critical of them in the past few years, but the fact they are listening to customers in 2019 and giving us the things we want (better keyboard for MBP, better battery for phones, dark mode in ios 13 etc etc) They're doing a really good job.

Getting rid of that moron jonny ives was also a key decision, dude was seriously stupid. He didnt give a **** about the performance of the product or how it was used - the clown just wanted to make something that looked nice and didnt give a **** about the hardware. Couldn't be happier that hes left, and is probably one of the main reasons why Apple have been so good lately.

Just really hope this pattern continues into 2020 and the future and give the customers what they want instead of trying to make everything really thin and **** to use.