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Because the number of people who can work up to their standards are necessarily limited, and it obviously takes a long time to engineer the things they do make

Because the number of people who can work up to their standards are necessarily limited, and it obviously takes a long time to engineer the things they do make happen. Ergo, Apple has limited engineering capacity -- for additional projects. I also wouldn't call their engineering "not the 'hard expensive stuff'" -- think about what it took to create the unibody shell. They had to create the manufacturing process for it. They pretty much never make the cheap, easy choice. The plastic for the original iMacs had never been used before in that type of application/volume, etc., etc.

ryanwaggoner 17y ago
It would be interesting to know how much of that innovation comes from Apple and how much comes from their manufacturing partners who actually make all their products.
- pchristensen 17y ago
  If it wasn't for Apple's giant check-writing machine, their manufacturing partners wouldn't be coming up with those solutions.
  - ryanwaggoner 17y ago
    True, but hiring a 3rd party firm to innovate something is distinctly different from doing it in-house.
    - ahoyhere 17y ago
      Is it really? Do you think those firms would be doing it without Apple's insistence, assistance, & guidance (not considering their money)? Did it look like anyone else was working on manufacturing processes like Apple is? If you compare Apple's computers & devices to those of every one of their competitors, you'll see that it's not just a matter of Apple's check-writing abilities. HP, Dell, Sony, Creative, Google, Microsoft, Palm, etc., are all just as capable of writing huge checks as Apple. But their hardware doesn't compare in style, design, quality & fit and finish. They have seams, chunks, feel cheap, have poor tactile experiences with the moving/sliding/closing pieces, etc., etc., etc.[1] I don't think Apple's manufacturer partners are doing it all on their own. It's gotta be more than check-writing. Or, all those other companies are still so stupid they don't realize what game they're playing. [1] (They may win in terms of specs, but that's not what I'm talking about.)

ryanwaggoner 17y ago

It would be interesting to know how much of that innovation comes from Apple and how much comes from their manufacturing partners who actually make all their products.

pchristensen 17y ago
If it wasn't for Apple's giant check-writing machine, their manufacturing partners wouldn't be coming up with those solutions.
- ryanwaggoner 17y ago
  True, but hiring a 3rd party firm to innovate something is distinctly different from doing it in-house.
  - ahoyhere 17y ago
    Is it really? Do you think those firms would be doing it without Apple's insistence, assistance, & guidance (not considering their money)? Did it look like anyone else was working on manufacturing processes like Apple is? If you compare Apple's computers & devices to those of every one of their competitors, you'll see that it's not just a matter of Apple's check-writing abilities. HP, Dell, Sony, Creative, Google, Microsoft, Palm, etc., are all just as capable of writing huge checks as Apple. But their hardware doesn't compare in style, design, quality & fit and finish. They have seams, chunks, feel cheap, have poor tactile experiences with the moving/sliding/closing pieces, etc., etc., etc.[1] I don't think Apple's manufacturer partners are doing it all on their own. It's gotta be more than check-writing. Or, all those other companies are still so stupid they don't realize what game they're playing. [1] (They may win in terms of specs, but that's not what I'm talking about.)