4 ms·

Probably none, they were both massive hits immediately, nobody was calling them failed products months after release. edit: That said I'm reading now that the

Probably none, they were both massive hits immediately, nobody was calling them failed products months after release. edit: That said I'm reading now that the early reports that Apple downgraded their expectations for year 1 from 800k units to 400k units after launch were wrong, and instead they were always projecting 400k units.

buck746 2y ago
I had an original iPhone the day it was released. Lots of people viewed it as too expensive and "why would I need that". When iPad came out plenty of people had the notion that "no one really needs that, it's just a toy". This is a pattern with apple products going back to the original Macintosh.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- throw46365 2y ago
  When the iPad came out, people actually mostly said it was just a big iPhone. It is, in fact, pretty much still just a big iPhone. It turns out that's enough for a lot of people.
  - gattilorenz 2y ago
    True! I remember a quite funny meme where the iPad being held by Jobs during WWDC was photoshopped and replaced with 4 iPhones taped together: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ipad-spoofing https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ipad-spoofing I still chuckle at that one.
- Ancapistani 2y ago
  > When iPad came out plenty of people had the notion that "no one really needs that, it's just a toy". Remember the iPad Mini? People were calling full-size the "Maxi iPad". That's the phase that we're in right now. The utility isn't quite there, but the promise is. These days I use my iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard as my primary web interface. That wasn't possible at first, but if you looked at the product with the future in mind, it was forseeable.
Ancapistani 2y ago
Not even close to how I remember it. The iPod was nice because of the storage, but competitors (like Zune) had more storage and were cheaper. It took a while for iPod to get "good" and gain adoption. The iPhone was closer to the Vision Pro. It was obviously a revolutionary product, but it was extremely limited, and it took several OS versions before it got to the point where it was really ready for mass adoption. The iPhone 3G or 3GS was probably the first one that really got traction. I use my Vision Pro every day. It's far from perfect, but it's been valuable for me. There are some things that are just significantly better on visionOS. There are tons of rough edges, limitations, and missing features still - it's getting better each release, but it's got a ways to go yet. I recommend the Vision Pro only if you really know what you're getting into, or actually need it for a business purpose. If you're writing apps for visionOS, you need one. If you're an enthusiast and have the disposable income for it, go for it. Bottom line: it's not going to replace any other single device for you at the moment. It's more of an "early access to the future" kind of thing than anything else - but it's a future I really do believe will come in a couple of years at most, and in five years I think we'll look back at this period the same way we look back at the original iPhone. In other words, the criticisms we're seeing here are valid, but they're not the full story. You can't judge the success of a platform based on the first iteration. As visionOS and "spatial computing" mature, these comments will seem silly unless you can put yourself in the context they're being made today.
- tibbydudeza 2y ago
  Also iTunes with its 99 cents per track way back when we still paid for music downloads.
- hollandheese 2y ago
  >The iPod was nice because of the storage, but competitors (like Zune) had more storage and were cheaper. It took a while for iPod to get "good" and gain adoption. You aren't remembering the iPod years very well at all. The Zune came out 5 years after the iPod. The iPod was already dominant by the time it came out (had at least 70% market share and was selling millions of units). The early competitors were MP3 CD players and the Creative Nomad. The iPod outclassed every single one of them. What was suppressing early sales of the iPod was the size, the lack of Windows compatibility, and the ability of common people to buy music for it. It was quite chonky in Gens 1 and 2 and even Gen 3 was a bit too large for most people. So when the iPod mini came out sales absolutely took off. Second, was the lack of Windows syncing. That came in 2002 with Musicmatch, and then was made vastly better in 2003 with the release of iTunes for Windows. And with the release of iTunes for Windows people also had a way of buying songs for the device.

buck746 2y ago

I had an original iPhone the day it was released. Lots of people viewed it as too expensive and "why would I need that". When iPad came out plenty of people had the notion that "no one really needs that, it's just a toy". This is a pattern with apple products going back to the original Macintosh.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
throw46365 2y ago
When the iPad came out, people actually mostly said it was just a big iPhone. It is, in fact, pretty much still just a big iPhone. It turns out that's enough for a lot of people.
- gattilorenz 2y ago
  True! I remember a quite funny meme where the iPad being held by Jobs during WWDC was photoshopped and replaced with 4 iPhones taped together: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ipad-spoofing https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ipad-spoofing I still chuckle at that one.
Ancapistani 2y ago
> When iPad came out plenty of people had the notion that "no one really needs that, it's just a toy". Remember the iPad Mini? People were calling full-size the "Maxi iPad". That's the phase that we're in right now. The utility isn't quite there, but the promise is. These days I use my iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard as my primary web interface. That wasn't possible at first, but if you looked at the product with the future in mind, it was forseeable.

Ancapistani 2y ago

Not even close to how I remember it. The iPod was nice because of the storage, but competitors (like Zune) had more storage and were cheaper. It took a while for iPod to get "good" and gain adoption. The iPhone was closer to the Vision Pro. It was obviously a revolutionary product, but it was extremely limited, and it took several OS versions before it got to the point where it was really ready for mass adoption. The iPhone 3G or 3GS was probably the first one that really got traction. I use my Vision Pro every day. It's far from perfect, but it's been valuable for me. There are some things that are just significantly better on visionOS. There are tons of rough edges, limitations, and missing features still - it's getting better each release, but it's got a ways to go yet. I recommend the Vision Pro only if you really know what you're getting into, or actually need it for a business purpose. If you're writing apps for visionOS, you need one. If you're an enthusiast and have the disposable income for it, go for it. Bottom line: it's not going to replace any other single device for you at the moment. It's more of an "early access to the future" kind of thing than anything else - but it's a future I really do believe will come in a couple of years at most, and in five years I think we'll look back at this period the same way we look back at the original iPhone. In other words, the criticisms we're seeing here are valid, but they're not the full story. You can't judge the success of a platform based on the first iteration. As visionOS and "spatial computing" mature, these comments will seem silly unless you can put yourself in the context they're being made today.

tibbydudeza 2y ago
Also iTunes with its 99 cents per track way back when we still paid for music downloads.
hollandheese 2y ago
>The iPod was nice because of the storage, but competitors (like Zune) had more storage and were cheaper. It took a while for iPod to get "good" and gain adoption. You aren't remembering the iPod years very well at all. The Zune came out 5 years after the iPod. The iPod was already dominant by the time it came out (had at least 70% market share and was selling millions of units). The early competitors were MP3 CD players and the Creative Nomad. The iPod outclassed every single one of them. What was suppressing early sales of the iPod was the size, the lack of Windows compatibility, and the ability of common people to buy music for it. It was quite chonky in Gens 1 and 2 and even Gen 3 was a bit too large for most people. So when the iPod mini came out sales absolutely took off. Second, was the lack of Windows syncing. That came in 2002 with Musicmatch, and then was made vastly better in 2003 with the release of iTunes for Windows. And with the release of iTunes for Windows people also had a way of buying songs for the device.