5 ms·

Apple are at the “the technology isn’t quite there yet” phase. When they enter the market you’ll know you’ll probably get something semi reliable.

rchaud 3y ago
I'm typing this on a foldable phone right now, which is plenty reliable. One of the enduring myths about Apple's late entry into product sectors is the idea that they're waiting to "get it right". The first iPhone was a joke, it took them until the 3GS to get it right.
- haswell 3y ago
  > One of the enduring myths about Apple's late entry into product sectors is the idea that they're waiting to "get it right". The first iPhone was a joke, it took them until the 3GS to get it right. I don't agree that this is a myth. If you look at the first generation iPhone in a vacuum, it was limited, perhaps (but I think there are plenty of arguments that the first gen iPhone was pushing envelopes - name one other phone that had a fully functioning web browser at the time, and pinch/zoom felt magical), but nitpicks about functionality aside, I don't think this framing makes sense for other reasons. A product line is not just its initial release. It is a process, an organizational discipline, a manufacturing and logistics pipeline, an ongoing upgrade cycle, an ongoing engagement with customers, an understanding of the market, etc. When the first generation phone was released, plans for the 3GS were already well under way. The 1st gen phone was a necessary step to get you that 3GS. When operating at Apple's scale, at least a decade of roadmap if not more was already planned in depth. The 3GS was not a reaction to the success of the 1, it is the real product Apple envisioned and planned to ship before we even knew the iPhone would exist. If the 3GS got it right, so did the gen 1, in a certain sense. And as an aside, I have to say I really liked my 1st gen iPhone compared to everything else I'd had up to that point, and I was a gadget junkie who had owned quite a few of the other "hot" phones at the time.
  - ffgjgf1 3y ago
    > When operating at Apple's scale, at least a decade of roadmap if not more was already planned in depth. I highly doubt that considering that web app / native app store debacle. Also was there any real reason to not support 3g from the beginning? A lot of “dumber” phones had it so it seems more likely that they just made a mistake.
    - haswell 3y ago
      I'm referring primarily to the hardware side of this from a roadmap perspective. I don't think early politics about how apps get shipped plays too much into the core planning for the device, e.g. form factor, manufacturing, user interactions, structure of built-in apps, etc. are all pretty much orthogonal to the app distribution model. But even then, there were clearly two camps, which means there was a disagreement about a specific path, but not a lack of forward thinking. And then they course corrected. Something that many companies simply do not do.
      - ffgjgf1 3y ago
        Yeah absolutely. I just don’t think that consumer tech companies which make 10 year plans (instead of a broad high level vision) and try to stick to them tend to be that successful. > are all pretty much orthogonal to the app distribution model. I’m not sure it’s only the distribution but the entire existence of native third party apps that they weren’t sure about.
        haswell 3y ago
        I was including 1st party vs. 3rd party in my mind when I mentioned distribution. Admittedly that word is doing some heavy lifting.
    - fzzzy 3y ago
      I'm pretty sure the whole web app thing was just a smoke screen (aka lie) because the app store wasn't ready yet.
    - 3y ago
- ffgjgf1 3y ago
  It’s not like there was anything that similar to the first iPhone. But yeah it was arguably closer to a tech demo and a toy than a real device. Apple and Jobs himself weren’t even exactly sure which way they wanted to go with it.
- thebruce87m 3y ago
  Not sure what happened to the original reply I typed. The recent pixel foldable shows the way to totally screw up a foldable screen. I’m sure you’re totally happy with yours, but all the foldables I’ve seen have distortion at the fold and it’s definitely a week point that will eventually degrade. Not for me. I was actually around when the first iPhone came about. As a tech enthusiast it was incredibly disruptive. Everyone was still shipping devices with stylus and this device with a capacitive screen came and blew everyone’s socks off. I don’t think anyone can rewrite that history.

rchaud 3y ago

I'm typing this on a foldable phone right now, which is plenty reliable. One of the enduring myths about Apple's late entry into product sectors is the idea that they're waiting to "get it right". The first iPhone was a joke, it took them until the 3GS to get it right.

haswell 3y ago
> One of the enduring myths about Apple's late entry into product sectors is the idea that they're waiting to "get it right". The first iPhone was a joke, it took them until the 3GS to get it right. I don't agree that this is a myth. If you look at the first generation iPhone in a vacuum, it was limited, perhaps (but I think there are plenty of arguments that the first gen iPhone was pushing envelopes - name one other phone that had a fully functioning web browser at the time, and pinch/zoom felt magical), but nitpicks about functionality aside, I don't think this framing makes sense for other reasons. A product line is not just its initial release. It is a process, an organizational discipline, a manufacturing and logistics pipeline, an ongoing upgrade cycle, an ongoing engagement with customers, an understanding of the market, etc. When the first generation phone was released, plans for the 3GS were already well under way. The 1st gen phone was a necessary step to get you that 3GS. When operating at Apple's scale, at least a decade of roadmap if not more was already planned in depth. The 3GS was not a reaction to the success of the 1, it is the real product Apple envisioned and planned to ship before we even knew the iPhone would exist. If the 3GS got it right, so did the gen 1, in a certain sense. And as an aside, I have to say I really liked my 1st gen iPhone compared to everything else I'd had up to that point, and I was a gadget junkie who had owned quite a few of the other "hot" phones at the time.
- ffgjgf1 3y ago
  > When operating at Apple's scale, at least a decade of roadmap if not more was already planned in depth. I highly doubt that considering that web app / native app store debacle. Also was there any real reason to not support 3g from the beginning? A lot of “dumber” phones had it so it seems more likely that they just made a mistake.
  - haswell 3y ago
    I'm referring primarily to the hardware side of this from a roadmap perspective. I don't think early politics about how apps get shipped plays too much into the core planning for the device, e.g. form factor, manufacturing, user interactions, structure of built-in apps, etc. are all pretty much orthogonal to the app distribution model. But even then, there were clearly two camps, which means there was a disagreement about a specific path, but not a lack of forward thinking. And then they course corrected. Something that many companies simply do not do.
    - ffgjgf1 3y ago
      Yeah absolutely. I just don’t think that consumer tech companies which make 10 year plans (instead of a broad high level vision) and try to stick to them tend to be that successful. > are all pretty much orthogonal to the app distribution model. I’m not sure it’s only the distribution but the entire existence of native third party apps that they weren’t sure about.
      - haswell 3y ago
        I was including 1st party vs. 3rd party in my mind when I mentioned distribution. Admittedly that word is doing some heavy lifting.
  - fzzzy 3y ago
    I'm pretty sure the whole web app thing was just a smoke screen (aka lie) because the app store wasn't ready yet.
  - 3y ago
ffgjgf1 3y ago
It’s not like there was anything that similar to the first iPhone. But yeah it was arguably closer to a tech demo and a toy than a real device. Apple and Jobs himself weren’t even exactly sure which way they wanted to go with it.
thebruce87m 3y ago
Not sure what happened to the original reply I typed. The recent pixel foldable shows the way to totally screw up a foldable screen. I’m sure you’re totally happy with yours, but all the foldables I’ve seen have distortion at the fold and it’s definitely a week point that will eventually degrade. Not for me. I was actually around when the first iPhone came about. As a tech enthusiast it was incredibly disruptive. Everyone was still shipping devices with stylus and this device with a capacitive screen came and blew everyone’s socks off. I don’t think anyone can rewrite that history.