There was nothing inevitable about Apple’s dilemma. A lot of this boils down to the choices they made and their own vision in the company. Definitely the bigge

There was nothing inevitable about Apple’s dilemma. A lot of this boils down to the choices they made and their own vision in the company. Definitely the biggest most recent disappointment was the HomePod which has the technical potential to be a pillar of their home and business market. It’s a nice speaker. It’s a nice speakerphone. It has most of the hardware necessary to serve as a WiFi router. It could replace Apple TV, or serve as a higher end version of the Apple TV. What it is lacking is good I/O options and the ability to integrate into, even become the centerpiece of peoples’ existing A.V. systems. Not to mention there’s entire classes of Apps that don’t entirely need a GUI front end to be operated and used (podcasts, music, VoIP, meditation, metronomes, et cetera). With just a bit more vision and a voice lock, you could have a nice speaker/mesh router/home automation hub/conference speaker/personal assistant and hell, game console. If they played their cards right, you’re potentially talking several HomePod products (higher end and lower end models) per customer. The Apple TV, which has all the requisite hardware and software to be an excellent game console, and upgrade path, but a blindingly stupid set of policies which inhibit its appeal as a game console to both developers and gamers. This is a big market of potential customers that Apple could get a nice slice of, but intentionally choose not to target. They don’t bundle a game controller, they don’t have a SKU which bundles a game controller, they don’t market it towards gamers, they actually require developers to support the Siri remote which is anemic even by remote standards, let alone game controller standards. There’s no Apple Game Studio, there’s no attempt to build relationships with large game studios and publishers beyond just being appealing enough of a platform to have a few games ported to iOS, and maybe a few free to play spinoffs of some IP. In short, the only reason the Apple TV isn’t a powerhouse gaming platform is because Apple has no interest in owning a segment of a lucrative market. The whole deal with their desktop Mac lineup, and their professional Mac lineup has been a shit sandwich. The fact they eventually had something to show isn’t an excuse for the years of not communicating to a set of customers willing to pay a lot of money for professional Apple hardware and professional Apple software. Now we know a Mac Pro is coming. Now we have the iMac Pro. Now we have an updated Mac Mini. Now, where is the roadmap? The sign of commitment to maintaining an up to date lineup so professionals, the ones that didn’t leave for greener pastures, might have a sense that there is some commitment from Apple to keep their Pro line going?