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> their expertise seems orthogonal to running large, diverse content business. They also have Jimmy Iovine and a bunch of former Hollywood execs running the bu

> their expertise seems orthogonal to running large, diverse content business. They also have Jimmy Iovine and a bunch of former Hollywood execs running the business side of things. I was just trying to point out that of the major tech companies, Apple probably has the best “cultural” bona fides by a wide margin. > also has an interesting parallel with Apple starting to obsess about odd things customers don't really care about Can you give some examples of what you see fitting into this category?

ethbro 8y ago
> Can you give some examples of what you see fitting into this category? Most of the standard HN gripes. Design prioritized over regular hardware updates for existing product lines. Mobile emphasis to the detriment of desktop and developer. Touch Bar. Keyboard changes to an already loved design. Pursuit of thinness / lightness past the point of utility. iPhone stiffness issues. iPhone antenna issues. Severe macOS functionality regressions / bugs in updates. Apple makes a great product, so I'm not bashing. But their priorities seem increasingly myopic, and they're losing the forest for the trees.
- mywittyname 8y ago
  You're kind of undermining your own point. Many of these are examples where Apple is obsessing over things their customers do care about. Like it or not, you're not the type of consumer Apple values highly. They need customers like you, but they're only willing to put forth the minimum effort to hang on to you.
  - ethbro 8y ago
    I'd assume devices being able to stand up to normal use and function is something customers care about. We can quibble over whether or not the Touch Bar is an improvement or a regression, but dust jamming keyboards that can't be decapped? That's someone taking their eye off the ball of customer experience. Not just for power users, but for all users.
    - 1123581321 8y ago
      The new keyboard is great. I expect they’ll figure out the defect issue, but the design is a classic example of Apple changing tastes (as seen in keyboard and trackpad preferences in higher end PCs now.) Their TV push will be analogous and it doesn’t make sense to read so much into the existence of a repair program. I would agree that producing TV isn’t a Steve Jobs “bicycle” move, though, and that’s the same with the non-swappable-parts strategy they employ in hardware, even though the software is liberating and creative. I think they are pursuing the right strategy, but wouldn’t it be great if Apple’s content push could come more directly from users’ copies of Final Cut Pro? (I’m a power user and Marco Arment doesn’t speak for me.)

ethbro 8y ago

> Can you give some examples of what you see fitting into this category? Most of the standard HN gripes. Design prioritized over regular hardware updates for existing product lines. Mobile emphasis to the detriment of desktop and developer. Touch Bar. Keyboard changes to an already loved design. Pursuit of thinness / lightness past the point of utility. iPhone stiffness issues. iPhone antenna issues. Severe macOS functionality regressions / bugs in updates. Apple makes a great product, so I'm not bashing. But their priorities seem increasingly myopic, and they're losing the forest for the trees.

mywittyname 8y ago
You're kind of undermining your own point. Many of these are examples where Apple is obsessing over things their customers do care about. Like it or not, you're not the type of consumer Apple values highly. They need customers like you, but they're only willing to put forth the minimum effort to hang on to you.
- ethbro 8y ago
  I'd assume devices being able to stand up to normal use and function is something customers care about. We can quibble over whether or not the Touch Bar is an improvement or a regression, but dust jamming keyboards that can't be decapped? That's someone taking their eye off the ball of customer experience. Not just for power users, but for all users.
  - 1123581321 8y ago
    The new keyboard is great. I expect they’ll figure out the defect issue, but the design is a classic example of Apple changing tastes (as seen in keyboard and trackpad preferences in higher end PCs now.) Their TV push will be analogous and it doesn’t make sense to read so much into the existence of a repair program. I would agree that producing TV isn’t a Steve Jobs “bicycle” move, though, and that’s the same with the non-swappable-parts strategy they employ in hardware, even though the software is liberating and creative. I think they are pursuing the right strategy, but wouldn’t it be great if Apple’s content push could come more directly from users’ copies of Final Cut Pro? (I’m a power user and Marco Arment doesn’t speak for me.)