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The problem is nobody is saying the product is good. I remember when the iPhone was launched. Many people hated it but there were also millions who loved it. I

The problem is nobody is saying the product is good. I remember when the iPhone was launched. Many people hated it but there were also millions who loved it. If your product has only haters, then ya, your product sucks. The CEO also has a strange, what comes off as egotistical "I worked at Apple" vibe which is very off-putting. Maybe he didn't listen to feedback etc to make the product better? Also who funds these things. 240 million dollars in funding. This should have been a Kickstarter.

sangeeth96 3y ago
Agree. I don't get what's driving folks comparing this to the iPhone launch. Apples and oranges.
- zarzavat 3y ago
  The iPhone launch had people screaming and cheering in a room. People were also begging Apple to make an iPhone for years before it was even announced. There were fan mockups. Apple only made it when the engineering had caught up with the vision.
- Gigachad 3y ago
  I read some old reviews of the iPhone recently and they seemed mostly positive but with some minor gripes about the software and bits that were not as good as existing smartphones. All small stuff that could be fixed up. The problem with this AI pin is that the entire concept seems bad and unfixable. Their whole product is just “your phone, but the only interface is Siri”. For one, you can already do exactly that with a smart watch or phone.
  - SllX 3y ago
    > All small stuff that could be fixed up. That this could happen is one of the most underrated aspects of the original iPhone. In June 2007, the iPhone launched without a way to buy music on the phone and download it yourself, without copy and paste, and without a way to install any Apps. The app story was this little shit sandwich that Steve Jobs sold as a sweet solution called web apps announced earlier in the month (Web 2.0 and AJAX! No SDK!). By the end of the first model’s life, it had the full iTunes Store, it had the App Store full of native apps, and it had cut, copy and paste. Any other phone that launched in 2007 did not see this level of improvement just through software updates in 2008 or 2009.
colmmacc 3y ago
I'm probably breaking HN etiquette here because this is only barely related but your comment reminded me of the time that Gayle King asked Ron Johnson, who had taken over as CEO at JCPenney after building the Apple retail store network, if he was wearing JCPenney clothes. He was not. https://youtu.be/VfZKntQZSbo?t=426 https://youtu.be/VfZKntQZSbo?t=426 It really made an impression on me how mundane and basic so much of leadership is, and on how a thing like that could quickly undermine so experienced a leader. If you lead a store selling clothes ... you should really wear those clothes. I'm sure at Apple he used an iPhone, but it didn't carry over. Anyway, here I am 12 years later dunking on the guy, but he did build one of the most profitable retail businesses ever.

sangeeth96 3y ago

Agree. I don't get what's driving folks comparing this to the iPhone launch. Apples and oranges.

zarzavat 3y ago
The iPhone launch had people screaming and cheering in a room. People were also begging Apple to make an iPhone for years before it was even announced. There were fan mockups. Apple only made it when the engineering had caught up with the vision.
Gigachad 3y ago
I read some old reviews of the iPhone recently and they seemed mostly positive but with some minor gripes about the software and bits that were not as good as existing smartphones. All small stuff that could be fixed up. The problem with this AI pin is that the entire concept seems bad and unfixable. Their whole product is just “your phone, but the only interface is Siri”. For one, you can already do exactly that with a smart watch or phone.
- SllX 3y ago
  > All small stuff that could be fixed up. That this could happen is one of the most underrated aspects of the original iPhone. In June 2007, the iPhone launched without a way to buy music on the phone and download it yourself, without copy and paste, and without a way to install any Apps. The app story was this little shit sandwich that Steve Jobs sold as a sweet solution called web apps announced earlier in the month (Web 2.0 and AJAX! No SDK!). By the end of the first model’s life, it had the full iTunes Store, it had the App Store full of native apps, and it had cut, copy and paste. Any other phone that launched in 2007 did not see this level of improvement just through software updates in 2008 or 2009.

colmmacc 3y ago

I'm probably breaking HN etiquette here because this is only barely related but your comment reminded me of the time that Gayle King asked Ron Johnson, who had taken over as CEO at JCPenney after building the Apple retail store network, if he was wearing JCPenney clothes. He was not. https://youtu.be/VfZKntQZSbo?t=426 https://youtu.be/VfZKntQZSbo?t=426 It really made an impression on me how mundane and basic so much of leadership is, and on how a thing like that could quickly undermine so experienced a leader. If you lead a store selling clothes ... you should really wear those clothes. I'm sure at Apple he used an iPhone, but it didn't carry over. Anyway, here I am 12 years later dunking on the guy, but he did build one of the most profitable retail businesses ever.