5 ms·

It's not a complete falsehood but it's a totally empty statement. Virtually any device you put out that's not exactly, spec-by-spec the same, you can say 'neve

It's not a complete falsehood but it's a totally empty statement. Virtually any device you put out that's not exactly, spec-by-spec the same, you can say 'never been a product like this before'. It's true and empty. They do a lot of those, they're true, hyperbolic, and totally devoid of any significance. For example they'll say 'the iPhone 6 was the most popular iPhone ... EVER'. As if it's significant. But that's completely unexpected and it's not news, either. I'll happily take a 10 trillion dollar bet that the iPhone 7 will sell even better. And that the new Galaxy S 6 sells better than the 5, and the 7 will sell better than the 6, too. Or they'll say the iPhone 6S is the most advanced iPhone ... EVER. As if, again, that's news. As if we think they built a 6S that's worse than the 6. It's a truthful, hyperbolic, totally insignificant statement. It's different from a falsehood. Calling a 3 second video, a photo, in the sense that it's a bunch of photo frames, that's more of a direct falsehood to me. We use the word photo to denote a still image, and video for multiple frames of photos. But that's a marketing gimmick that's more ridiculous than it is disingenuous. As for innovation, I mostly agree. The ability to execute extremely well and polish your work isn't innovation. It can be driven by innovations of course but it's not the kind of innovation we talk about when we refer to Apple's history. Since the iPhone 4 I've mostly felt a ton of polish but no real breakthroughs on the phone department for example, tablet wise... mostly just solid iterations like everyone else, nothing fundamentally innovative about the iPad 4 or Air or mini, really. Pro feels like more of the same, split screen we've seen before, styluses we've seen before. Again, executed well and polished. I mean of course there's innovation, but it's not what sets them apart. Look at Force Touch for example, now 3D touch. People probably missed the fact Huawei demo'd force touch last week on their android phone. And that's a feature we'd think of as their innovation. Others, like a large tablet, split screen, type covers, wireless charging, a stylus, 3-second videos (called live photos) etc are all seen before.

coldtea 11y ago
>For example they'll say 'the iPhone 6 was the most popular iPhone ... EVER'. As if it's significant. But that's completely unexpected and it's not news, either. I'll happily take a 10 trillion dollar bet that the iPhone 7 will sell even better. And that the new Galaxy S 6 sells better than the 5, and the 7 will sell better than the 6, too. You understand that sales growth can't last forever right?
- TallGuyShort 11y ago
  But as long as it lasts, they can make statements like that while ignoring any other trends that explain the popularity and make their marketing pitch sound more impressive.
  - austenallred 11y ago
    I mean, the fact that they continue to sell more iPhones than they ever have of each new model says something. A lot of companies' popularity only lasts one or two product cycles.
- hkmurakami 11y ago
  It's limited by global macroeconomics, which is still raising its ceilings.
  - bostonpete 11y ago
    Well, at some point it's limited by population...
    - conception 11y ago
      Not really unless we hit zero population growth world-wide. Otherwise, there will always be more people to buy.
      - lotu 11y ago
        We are likely to hit zero global population grown sometime between 2040 and 2070. It's not around the corner but I hoping to still be alive at that point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_growth#/media/File:World-Population-1800-2100.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_grow...
  - coldtea 11y ago
    Actually it's also limited by tons of factors: competition, fashion, etc. People have been announcing the "end" of the iPhone and iPhone killers ever since 2008 (that was BS of course, but it still can happen that some revision, e.g. 6s sells less than the previous). iPad for example has had that happening to it (later revision sold less well).
rdancer 11y ago
Their ability to churn out better and better devices, year after year, is what's remarkable. That we come to expect it, and don't consider it news, is a testament to their achievement. This is not normal; the industry -- both hardware & software -- is plagued with regressions, with many older models or releases that are preferred by the users to newer ones. Apple are truly unique in their ability to deliver improvements, introduce new technologies, and implement existing technologies in ways that are actually usable, while keeping regressions and serious problems low, much lower than the competition. What's the best Microsoft desktop OS? Which is the best Dell screen? Which is the best keyboard? Motorola phone? The current year's Apple lineup has always been better than the last year's, and that's what the "best ever" statements mean to me, and I believe that's what they mean to the target audience: "This is new, and it works at least as well as the old stuff." Which other company, which other product line of comparable complexity, introduces features without compromising usability?
- ams6110 11y ago
  Well cars get better every year, so do appliances, so does just about every consumer product if you're not talking about Walmart-type "price is all that matters" stuff. I don't think it's remarkable at all. It would be remarkable if they weren't getting better year after year.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- ux-app 11y ago
  > Apple are truly unique in their ability to deliver improvements, introduce new technologies, and implement existing technologies in ways that are actually usable, while keeping regressions and serious problems low, much lower than the competition. I like Apple products as much as the next guy, but cmon, this is some serious kool-aid drinking here. Apple doesn't produce software that is any less issue prone than any other vendor. In fact the chorus complaining about software regressions has been getting louder and louder, even from Apple fans. Yosemite was a particularly low point with regard to Apple software. http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/the-worst-bugs-in-os-x-yosemite-and-how-to-fix-them-1652690924 http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/the-worst-bugs-in-os-x-yosemit... http://www.tekrevue.com/yosemite-bugs-time-for-another-snow-leopard/ http://www.tekrevue.com/yosemite-bugs-time-for-another-snow-... Software is hard. Apple aren't special, their software has just as many issues as any other vendor's, which is actually kind of disappointing given they have full control of the hardware, MS actually does a lot better with regard to software quality given the varied HW landscape Windows is deployed to. Edit: Software quality isn't just a Yosemite issue with Apple, it's a long running joke that you should never install a X.0 OSX release due to bugs.

coldtea 11y ago

>For example they'll say 'the iPhone 6 was the most popular iPhone ... EVER'. As if it's significant. But that's completely unexpected and it's not news, either. I'll happily take a 10 trillion dollar bet that the iPhone 7 will sell even better. And that the new Galaxy S 6 sells better than the 5, and the 7 will sell better than the 6, too. You understand that sales growth can't last forever right?

TallGuyShort 11y ago
But as long as it lasts, they can make statements like that while ignoring any other trends that explain the popularity and make their marketing pitch sound more impressive.
- austenallred 11y ago
  I mean, the fact that they continue to sell more iPhones than they ever have of each new model says something. A lot of companies' popularity only lasts one or two product cycles.
hkmurakami 11y ago
It's limited by global macroeconomics, which is still raising its ceilings.
- bostonpete 11y ago
  Well, at some point it's limited by population...
  - conception 11y ago
    Not really unless we hit zero population growth world-wide. Otherwise, there will always be more people to buy.
    - lotu 11y ago
      We are likely to hit zero global population grown sometime between 2040 and 2070. It's not around the corner but I hoping to still be alive at that point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_growth#/media/File:World-Population-1800-2100.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_grow...
- coldtea 11y ago
  Actually it's also limited by tons of factors: competition, fashion, etc. People have been announcing the "end" of the iPhone and iPhone killers ever since 2008 (that was BS of course, but it still can happen that some revision, e.g. 6s sells less than the previous). iPad for example has had that happening to it (later revision sold less well).

rdancer 11y ago

Their ability to churn out better and better devices, year after year, is what's remarkable. That we come to expect it, and don't consider it news, is a testament to their achievement. This is not normal; the industry -- both hardware & software -- is plagued with regressions, with many older models or releases that are preferred by the users to newer ones. Apple are truly unique in their ability to deliver improvements, introduce new technologies, and implement existing technologies in ways that are actually usable, while keeping regressions and serious problems low, much lower than the competition. What's the best Microsoft desktop OS? Which is the best Dell screen? Which is the best keyboard? Motorola phone? The current year's Apple lineup has always been better than the last year's, and that's what the "best ever" statements mean to me, and I believe that's what they mean to the target audience: "This is new, and it works at least as well as the old stuff." Which other company, which other product line of comparable complexity, introduces features without compromising usability?

ams6110 11y ago
Well cars get better every year, so do appliances, so does just about every consumer product if you're not talking about Walmart-type "price is all that matters" stuff. I don't think it's remarkable at all. It would be remarkable if they weren't getting better year after year.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
ux-app 11y ago
> Apple are truly unique in their ability to deliver improvements, introduce new technologies, and implement existing technologies in ways that are actually usable, while keeping regressions and serious problems low, much lower than the competition. I like Apple products as much as the next guy, but cmon, this is some serious kool-aid drinking here. Apple doesn't produce software that is any less issue prone than any other vendor. In fact the chorus complaining about software regressions has been getting louder and louder, even from Apple fans. Yosemite was a particularly low point with regard to Apple software. http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/the-worst-bugs-in-os-x-yosemite-and-how-to-fix-them-1652690924 http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/the-worst-bugs-in-os-x-yosemit... http://www.tekrevue.com/yosemite-bugs-time-for-another-snow-leopard/ http://www.tekrevue.com/yosemite-bugs-time-for-another-snow-... Software is hard. Apple aren't special, their software has just as many issues as any other vendor's, which is actually kind of disappointing given they have full control of the hardware, MS actually does a lot better with regard to software quality given the varied HW landscape Windows is deployed to. Edit: Software quality isn't just a Yosemite issue with Apple, it's a long running joke that you should never install a X.0 OSX release due to bugs.