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Remember the days when Apple was breaking new ground, pushing the limits? The iPod was fundamentally a game changer in the music space. The iPhone caught Blackb

by mabbo 6y ago

Remember the days when Apple was breaking new ground, pushing the limits? The iPod was fundamentally a game changer in the music space. The iPhone caught Blackberry with their pants down and they never recovered. Macbooks were a level up in so many ways to their competitors. It was worth paying extra for the device Apple was selling because everyone else was years behind them. Now it's wireless headphones with technologies that have all been done before, for more than $500. Or the same iPhone as last year, with a slightly better processor. Why pay more for that? I mean, sure, they seem high quality enough- but $549 level high quality? Come on Apple, surprise me. Make me feel like the iPod announcement again.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago
And (at least in my recollection), Apple's devices - like the ipod mini / nano - weren't THAT expensive, compared to the rest of the market and what they offered in terms of storage space and the like. The new generation of Macs are also err... reasonably priced for the performance? I think? I mean if they really do beat high end Macbook Pros on the same (real life) workload, they're offering a ton of value for money.
jaimex2 6y ago
Why? They know people will buy whatever they make regardless.
stetrain 6y ago
Man it's been a whole 3 weeks since the M1 Macs shipped and now we're back to "Remember when Apple did exciting things?"
- meragrin_ 6y ago
  What's exciting about the M1 Macs? Personally, I've never been excited about anything from Apple. Everything always seems to be about locking you into their stuff. If it excites you, good for you. It is not for me and it is not for a lot of people.
  - stetrain 6y ago
    A significant change in PC processor architecture, with seamless translation of legacy apps and huge gains in both performance and battery life seems pretty cool. Airpods are a pretty big deal. The Apple Watch and iPad continue to be basically uncontested in their markets as well. It's difficult to have an iPod or iPhone moment these days. Some of those products I mentioned sell more than the iPod did in its day, they just seem small in the face of Apple's $2T business, and the much larger selection of products in the consumer electronics space. I guess my point is that it's not binary. Apple can do exciting things and also release overpriced niche headphones. The latter doesn't mean nothing they do can be interesting or have a big market impact.
- mabbo 6y ago
  Actually, you know what? You're right. That is exciting. I'm letting my pessimism get the better of me (and am rightfully being downvoted for it).
dijit 6y ago
For... the very little that it’s worth, these must have been in development for a long time given that I remember reading a patent 4 years ago from Apple that was for over-ear transparency mode. As much as it’s an evolution of the AirPods Pro and doesn’t do anything completely new, you can’t say that innovation wasn’t driven here. The price point is pretty dire though.
mirthflat83 6y ago
They literally just released M1 macbooks a couple weeks ago lmao
saagarjha 6y ago
> with technologies that have all been done before Done before because they put it in their AirPods?
bserge 6y ago
The AirPods seemed pretty ground breaking. Afaik, Apple was the first to release such earphones. And people buy their stuff, so they're doing something right (mostly marketing heh). I've been looking at the Magic Trackpad, which is pretty niche and doesn't get much attention.

by mabbo 6y ago

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

And (at least in my recollection), Apple's devices - like the ipod mini / nano - weren't THAT expensive, compared to the rest of the market and what they offered in terms of storage space and the like. The new generation of Macs are also err... reasonably priced for the performance? I think? I mean if they really do beat high end Macbook Pros on the same (real life) workload, they're offering a ton of value for money.

jaimex2 6y ago

Why? They know people will buy whatever they make regardless.

stetrain 6y ago

Man it's been a whole 3 weeks since the M1 Macs shipped and now we're back to "Remember when Apple did exciting things?"

meragrin_ 6y ago
What's exciting about the M1 Macs? Personally, I've never been excited about anything from Apple. Everything always seems to be about locking you into their stuff. If it excites you, good for you. It is not for me and it is not for a lot of people.
- stetrain 6y ago
  A significant change in PC processor architecture, with seamless translation of legacy apps and huge gains in both performance and battery life seems pretty cool. Airpods are a pretty big deal. The Apple Watch and iPad continue to be basically uncontested in their markets as well. It's difficult to have an iPod or iPhone moment these days. Some of those products I mentioned sell more than the iPod did in its day, they just seem small in the face of Apple's $2T business, and the much larger selection of products in the consumer electronics space. I guess my point is that it's not binary. Apple can do exciting things and also release overpriced niche headphones. The latter doesn't mean nothing they do can be interesting or have a big market impact.
mabbo 6y ago
Actually, you know what? You're right. That is exciting. I'm letting my pessimism get the better of me (and am rightfully being downvoted for it).

dijit 6y ago

For... the very little that it’s worth, these must have been in development for a long time given that I remember reading a patent 4 years ago from Apple that was for over-ear transparency mode. As much as it’s an evolution of the AirPods Pro and doesn’t do anything completely new, you can’t say that innovation wasn’t driven here. The price point is pretty dire though.

mirthflat83 6y ago

They literally just released M1 macbooks a couple weeks ago lmao

saagarjha 6y ago

> with technologies that have all been done before Done before because they put it in their AirPods?

bserge 6y ago

The AirPods seemed pretty ground breaking. Afaik, Apple was the first to release such earphones. And people buy their stuff, so they're doing something right (mostly marketing heh). I've been looking at the Magic Trackpad, which is pretty niche and doesn't get much attention.