5 ms·

Are you saying they should make a huge breadth of products because supply chain?

Aloha 11y ago
The problem with the old Apple was it was in every single product category, as well as every single product class within the category. Apple at one point made (developed or rebranded), PDA's, printers, CTI Hardware (computer telephony integration), networking hardware, Modems, Microphones, Speakers, Monitors, a Confusing array of computers, and other stuff. The problem with this strategy, is in very few cases they were market leaders - many of their non-computer products (and arguably even in their computer products) they were an also-ran. Instead Apple is targeting a much narrower breadth of products and going instead after deep category penetration: Need an Phone? we've got three sizes and price points. Need an Tablet? we've got 3 sizes, and four price points. Need a Laptop? we've got 3 sizes, and four price points. Need a Desktop? we've got 3 form factors, and eight price points. Each of these things is just a computer however, not a whole new category like CTI and printers. Apple still sells mostly computers (counted by SKU). So while they sell networking hardware, and infotainment hardware, IMO, they exist because specifically they offer compelling features not available elsewhere to work with their computers, not like the days of yore where an Apple Printer was often just a rebranded HP or Cannon Inkjet with a Mac serial port on it.
- alistairSH 11y ago
  Too many options for me. Analysis paralysis. When it was one new phone model, plus the discounted previous version, it was easy. Go to store, hand VISA to guy in red shirt, walk out with new phone. Now, I stare at the internet for hours, worry about which one will work best for me. Go to store, worry more, walk out without buying. And with the 5S being fast enough for most things, the main reason to upgrade is camera (but I have a Canon S100). And with carriers going to up-front retail pricing, what used to look and feel like a $99 purchase (pocket-change, even if it wasn't) is now a $700 purchase (def. not pocket-change - I can take a short vacation for that). Same with the iPads. It doesn't help that my iPad Mini Retina still works fine for it's primary use (reading), so no compelling reason to upgrade.
  - Aloha 11y ago
    How do you make decisions at the grocery store, or for that matter, car shopping? I'm being serious, because of apples return policy, there is no great loss in choosing wrong.
    - alistairSH 11y ago
      I was only being slightly hyperbolic. Buying cars is awful. I will literally spend a year researching. And if a new model is released in that period, it really screw up the process. And regardless of what I buy, I second guess myself for months afterwards. No joke. I'm currently shopping for a compact system camera (micro 4/3 or similar). Same thing. Hours upon hours of research, can't decide. Grocery store, not a big deal. Cost is low and I'm not stuck with the items for years. Admittedly, this is a personal problem, and not one of Apple's creation.
      - Aloha 11y ago
        I'll spend hours researching, discussing the choice with friends, etc, usually at the end of that process, one of the two things stands out as better, easier to use, etc - in the end if they don't I just pick one and move on. Life is short.
      - username223 11y ago
        (Slightly off-topic...) Buying computers used to be awful, back when hard drives cost $1/MB, sound cards were a thing (Gravis UltraSound or SoundBlaster?), and Moore's Law was going full speed (even CD-ROM drives regularly became twice as fast). I spent months agonizing over when to pull the trigger and buy that Pentium 133. Nowadays almost any computer is fast enough to make you happy: buy an SSD, max out the RAM, and you'll be set for years. Unless you're doing high-end gaming or HPC, performance mostly doesn't matter. I'd argue that cameras are at that point now, too. Even a high-end smartphone takes pretty good pictures, and the compact system cameras are well into the realm of diminishing returns unless you're making your living off of wall-sized prints. Seriously, just flip a coin whether you want to go APS-C or micro 4/3 (lenses still matter), and buy whatever's on sale.

Aloha 11y ago

The problem with the old Apple was it was in every single product category, as well as every single product class within the category. Apple at one point made (developed or rebranded), PDA's, printers, CTI Hardware (computer telephony integration), networking hardware, Modems, Microphones, Speakers, Monitors, a Confusing array of computers, and other stuff. The problem with this strategy, is in very few cases they were market leaders - many of their non-computer products (and arguably even in their computer products) they were an also-ran. Instead Apple is targeting a much narrower breadth of products and going instead after deep category penetration: Need an Phone? we've got three sizes and price points. Need an Tablet? we've got 3 sizes, and four price points. Need a Laptop? we've got 3 sizes, and four price points. Need a Desktop? we've got 3 form factors, and eight price points. Each of these things is just a computer however, not a whole new category like CTI and printers. Apple still sells mostly computers (counted by SKU). So while they sell networking hardware, and infotainment hardware, IMO, they exist because specifically they offer compelling features not available elsewhere to work with their computers, not like the days of yore where an Apple Printer was often just a rebranded HP or Cannon Inkjet with a Mac serial port on it.

alistairSH 11y ago
Too many options for me. Analysis paralysis. When it was one new phone model, plus the discounted previous version, it was easy. Go to store, hand VISA to guy in red shirt, walk out with new phone. Now, I stare at the internet for hours, worry about which one will work best for me. Go to store, worry more, walk out without buying. And with the 5S being fast enough for most things, the main reason to upgrade is camera (but I have a Canon S100). And with carriers going to up-front retail pricing, what used to look and feel like a $99 purchase (pocket-change, even if it wasn't) is now a $700 purchase (def. not pocket-change - I can take a short vacation for that). Same with the iPads. It doesn't help that my iPad Mini Retina still works fine for it's primary use (reading), so no compelling reason to upgrade.
- Aloha 11y ago
  How do you make decisions at the grocery store, or for that matter, car shopping? I'm being serious, because of apples return policy, there is no great loss in choosing wrong.
  - alistairSH 11y ago
    I was only being slightly hyperbolic. Buying cars is awful. I will literally spend a year researching. And if a new model is released in that period, it really screw up the process. And regardless of what I buy, I second guess myself for months afterwards. No joke. I'm currently shopping for a compact system camera (micro 4/3 or similar). Same thing. Hours upon hours of research, can't decide. Grocery store, not a big deal. Cost is low and I'm not stuck with the items for years. Admittedly, this is a personal problem, and not one of Apple's creation.
    - Aloha 11y ago
      I'll spend hours researching, discussing the choice with friends, etc, usually at the end of that process, one of the two things stands out as better, easier to use, etc - in the end if they don't I just pick one and move on. Life is short.
    - username223 11y ago
      (Slightly off-topic...) Buying computers used to be awful, back when hard drives cost $1/MB, sound cards were a thing (Gravis UltraSound or SoundBlaster?), and Moore's Law was going full speed (even CD-ROM drives regularly became twice as fast). I spent months agonizing over when to pull the trigger and buy that Pentium 133. Nowadays almost any computer is fast enough to make you happy: buy an SSD, max out the RAM, and you'll be set for years. Unless you're doing high-end gaming or HPC, performance mostly doesn't matter. I'd argue that cameras are at that point now, too. Even a high-end smartphone takes pretty good pictures, and the compact system cameras are well into the realm of diminishing returns unless you're making your living off of wall-sized prints. Seriously, just flip a coin whether you want to go APS-C or micro 4/3 (lenses still matter), and buy whatever's on sale.