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I think Apple obsesses too much about secrecy and attributes too much of it to its success. Except for the iPhone launch, almost nothing they've launched hasn't

I think Apple obsesses too much about secrecy and attributes too much of it to its success. Except for the iPhone launch, almost nothing they've launched hasn't been leaked ahead of time, and yet, it is still the most valuable company in the world and their sales are through the roof. It seems they are still pining for that "shock-and-awe" of Steve Jobs original 2007 iPhone introduction, but don't realize that's no why people buy Apple products these days. Think of the negative repercussions of this. Creating a hermit kingdom, with chilling effects where people worry about collaboration with the outside world. It has certainly had some effect on the ability to recruit AI researchers.

saagarjha 9y ago
> It has certainly had some effect on the ability to recruit AI researchers. Well, Apple had to backtrack there and allow its researchers to publish because otherwise nobody would work there.
stouset 9y ago
There's a huge advantage in your competitors not knowing what your focus is, particularly if you're working on something out of left fields. The more you can hide from them, the more of a head start you can have over them.
- cromwellian 9y ago
  Does Apple have a head start on most things they do? Most observers acknowledge they aren't usually the first to do something, rather, they're good at execution and polish. They were beaten to market on pretty much everything: watches, bezelless displays with notch (e.g. Essential Phone), smart/speakers (Amazon, Google, Sonos), Streaming/TV (Roku, Amazon, Chromecast), etc. Really, I think the world would be better if they published more openly and were more open, and I don't think it would really hurt their ability to outsell their competitors at all. Let's say they're working on AR glasses (which they probably are) and Samsung catches wind of this and rushes to market with Samsung AR glasses. How many Apple fans actually think this will make a difference to people in the Apple ecosystem buying Apple AR glasses? At this point I think the secrecy does more harm than good.
  - IBM 9y ago
    Maybe there's zero business value in keeping secrets (I don't believe that at all), but even if that were the case and Apple were just overly obsessed with "the prestige" [1][2], why would that change anything? They should be free to operate the company in anyway they want. Apple's a 40 year old business and everyone knows their culture. Employees know what they're signing up for (and I think their first day is an orientation about this topic specifically). [1] https://youtu.be/gZY1mB9m9b0?t=19s https://youtu.be/gZY1mB9m9b0?t=19s [2] https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/13/the-iphone-5-event/ https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/13/the-iphone-5-event/
  - millstone 9y ago
    TouchID and FaceID come to mind.
    - lawnchair_larry 9y ago
      Both of those were on other phones before Apple did it.
      - fastball 9y ago
        Which phone had actually usable/secure fingerprint auth before the iPhone?
        cromwellian 9y ago
        The fingerprint sensor made by Authentec, was the centerpiece of a Motorola Moto X1 and slated to be in Google's Nexus 6 before Apple bought their supplier, effectively preventing the release. That's why those devices were released with a dimple where the fingerprint sensor was going to be, even though there was nothing in that spot where the finger rests. That is to say, TouchID capacitive fingerprint scanning was going to be shipped in Android first and Apple delayed the market introduction with a strategic acquisition. Prior devices like the Motorola Atrix and Toshiba G500 also had fingerprint biometrics.
make3 9y ago
everyone copies apple's designs (not the rest, thankfully). they would rather people copy products that are already out at least
- cromwellian 9y ago
  No, everyone is accused of copying Apple, and Apple gets a pass when they come out with something that other companies already did. But the least similarity to anything Apple does is often labeled a copy, sometimes even requiring time-travel as the supposed copy was released first. Take for example the idea that other companies copied Apple's thin bezels. The predecessors for that were the Sharp Aquous, Xiaomi Mix, Samsung Galaxy S8, and Essential Phone. Samsung even had "True Tone" long before Apple started marketing it, but were accused of copying it. I favor Kirby Ferguson's take on this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq5D43qAsVg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq5D43qAsVg), and we are better served by companies taking designs from others and improving on them, and open publishing and sharing, and the incessant cry of "Redmond Start Your Copiers" is really wearing thin.
  - power78 9y ago
    Great video, thanks! Interesting how people are ok with copying others but hate to be copied (in part 4 of the video series). I never really thought about this issue the way that author presented it.
remir 9y ago
To be fair, Google and Microsoft are also quite secretive about their products.

saagarjha 9y ago

> It has certainly had some effect on the ability to recruit AI researchers. Well, Apple had to backtrack there and allow its researchers to publish because otherwise nobody would work there.

stouset 9y ago

There's a huge advantage in your competitors not knowing what your focus is, particularly if you're working on something out of left fields. The more you can hide from them, the more of a head start you can have over them.

cromwellian 9y ago
Does Apple have a head start on most things they do? Most observers acknowledge they aren't usually the first to do something, rather, they're good at execution and polish. They were beaten to market on pretty much everything: watches, bezelless displays with notch (e.g. Essential Phone), smart/speakers (Amazon, Google, Sonos), Streaming/TV (Roku, Amazon, Chromecast), etc. Really, I think the world would be better if they published more openly and were more open, and I don't think it would really hurt their ability to outsell their competitors at all. Let's say they're working on AR glasses (which they probably are) and Samsung catches wind of this and rushes to market with Samsung AR glasses. How many Apple fans actually think this will make a difference to people in the Apple ecosystem buying Apple AR glasses? At this point I think the secrecy does more harm than good.
- IBM 9y ago
  Maybe there's zero business value in keeping secrets (I don't believe that at all), but even if that were the case and Apple were just overly obsessed with "the prestige" [1][2], why would that change anything? They should be free to operate the company in anyway they want. Apple's a 40 year old business and everyone knows their culture. Employees know what they're signing up for (and I think their first day is an orientation about this topic specifically). [1] https://youtu.be/gZY1mB9m9b0?t=19s https://youtu.be/gZY1mB9m9b0?t=19s [2] https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/13/the-iphone-5-event/ https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/13/the-iphone-5-event/
- millstone 9y ago
  TouchID and FaceID come to mind.
  - lawnchair_larry 9y ago
    Both of those were on other phones before Apple did it.
    - fastball 9y ago
      Which phone had actually usable/secure fingerprint auth before the iPhone?
      - cromwellian 9y ago
        The fingerprint sensor made by Authentec, was the centerpiece of a Motorola Moto X1 and slated to be in Google's Nexus 6 before Apple bought their supplier, effectively preventing the release. That's why those devices were released with a dimple where the fingerprint sensor was going to be, even though there was nothing in that spot where the finger rests. That is to say, TouchID capacitive fingerprint scanning was going to be shipped in Android first and Apple delayed the market introduction with a strategic acquisition. Prior devices like the Motorola Atrix and Toshiba G500 also had fingerprint biometrics.

make3 9y ago

everyone copies apple's designs (not the rest, thankfully). they would rather people copy products that are already out at least

cromwellian 9y ago
No, everyone is accused of copying Apple, and Apple gets a pass when they come out with something that other companies already did. But the least similarity to anything Apple does is often labeled a copy, sometimes even requiring time-travel as the supposed copy was released first. Take for example the idea that other companies copied Apple's thin bezels. The predecessors for that were the Sharp Aquous, Xiaomi Mix, Samsung Galaxy S8, and Essential Phone. Samsung even had "True Tone" long before Apple started marketing it, but were accused of copying it. I favor Kirby Ferguson's take on this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq5D43qAsVg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq5D43qAsVg), and we are better served by companies taking designs from others and improving on them, and open publishing and sharing, and the incessant cry of "Redmond Start Your Copiers" is really wearing thin.
- power78 9y ago
  Great video, thanks! Interesting how people are ok with copying others but hate to be copied (in part 4 of the video series). I never really thought about this issue the way that author presented it.

remir 9y ago

To be fair, Google and Microsoft are also quite secretive about their products.