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There was no "One more thing..." or anything more surprising than them making all of their consumer software free. But that was a huge one more thing, yet some

There was no "One more thing..." or anything more surprising than them making all of their consumer software free. But that was a huge one more thing, yet somehow they managed to deflate giving an enormous quantity of top quality software away for free. I completely agree that in the end it was very ho hum, but I still can't even place why that is. Similarly, the Mini announcement had a real potential of being huge...everyone expected a new screen, but few expected the new processor. To have pinnacle gear in a minuscule, big-pocketable, relatively inexpensive device...killer....or ho hum blah. The MBP updates are fantastic. Maybe expected, but geez that's a killer bit of kit in an amazing form factor at a remarkable price. They really did have amazing things to announce. Somehow the presentation (and perhaps the endless leaks) managed to suck the life out of it. As Marco mentioned the scripted commentary (and complete inability to adlib on a mistake, making it just painful to watch) and the already-seen videos were just really bad decisions. This could have been a soft web release. And they've played the Mac Pro for too long already. They've spent too much time on it. And really, of all of Apple's recent products that one is by far the most dubious of them all. The value proposition isn't there, and the potential base is tiny compared to the other products.

roc 13y ago
Apple customers are a self-selected bunch who, almost by definition, are more interested in "new stuff to do" than "$100 cheaper". So whereas the pricing may have been big news, the audience that watched that presentation is nearly orthogonal to one that would care about it.
- corresation 13y ago
  Apple is one of the largest consumer electronics company in the world. iPads and Macs and iPhones and iPods are owned by every strata of the consumer ecosystem, from McDonalds employees to CEOs. The old "Apple customers are like BMW owners" (you didn't say this, but that is the general idea of such sentiments) theory does not correspond with reality. People "self-select" as Apple customers because they like the product, not because they are foolish about money. And, it should be mentioned, the news was cared about by just about everyone (Mavericks being free was #1 here on HN). It just didn't have any magic to it.
  - jmduke 13y ago
    I think the more apt comparison is that Apple customers are like Honda owners. Apple is one of the largest consumer electronics company in the world. iPads and Macs and iPhones and iPods are owned by every strata of the consumer ecosystem, from McDonalds employees to CEOs. From what I understand (and I don't have any of the data handy), this is only true for the American consumer ecosystem.
    - grecy 13y ago
      It's true for the entire developed world.
  - roc 13y ago
    I was specifically talking about the crowd who watches those events and that 'magic' reaction. I probably should have been more clear. I didn't mean to suggest that they wouldn't care at all, just that they wouldn't react to a price cut and updated internals like they would, say, 4k displays, an app store on the apple tv, a watch, etc.
phaus 13y ago
So what part about the rMBP upgrade was fantastic? The part where they reduced the amount of RAM, or the part where they used Iris/Iris Pro graphics like every other PC manufacturer is going to be doing pretty soon? When Intel releases new CPUs, everyone starts using them soon after, how is that in any way remarkable? If a person's in the market for a super high-res laptop, the new rMBP is still one of the best options, but personally I found this upgrade underwhelming. So far Tim Cook is to Apple as Bobby Kotick was to Blizzard. He may be increasing profit margins, but he is clearly doing so to the detriment of the company's reputation, and to the detriment of the customers that made them what they are.
- corresation 13y ago
  Thinner. Lighter. Cheaper. Faster. 9 hour+ battery life. I am reminded of that Louis C.K. bit where he talks about everything being amazing and no one being happy. I'm not sure what else Apple could have done, but to me the new MBPs are absolutely spot on.
- fredsted 13y ago
  >The part where they reduced the amount of RAM, or the part where they used Iris/Iris Pro graphics like every other PC manufacturer is going to be doing pretty soon? 1) It seems like they introduced a "cheap" model with only 4gb ram and 128gb SSD. 2) However, the previous version with 8 GB ram and 256gb SSD is _costs less as well_. 3) Iris Pro graphics aren't bad - it's certainly better than Intel HD 4000. 4) Apple did not remove any dedicated graphics card on the 13" retina. For the 15", a dedicated card (nvidia 750m) is still there. New prices: http://mu.ms/f/qc.png http://mu.ms/f/qc.png Old prices: http://mu.ms/f/rc.png http://mu.ms/f/rc.png Basically, if you want a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, there's a new model that's now a whopping $200 less, the previous low-end model is $100 less, but with brand new cpu, graphics and battery life. There's even more money to save when buying the 15" models. I don't understand what you people want from Apple
  - phaus 13y ago
    I'm just saying that its not really a "fantastic" upgrade. Apple can price their products however they want, but I would have been impressed if they reduced the price by $200 without removing $30 worth of RAM from the machine. It just seems kind of petty to do it, that's all. It gives the impression that they are nickel and diming their customers, just like it did when they spent a bunch of money developing the overpriced 5C, when all their customers really wanted or expected was an iPhone 5 at a cheaper price. We are used to Apple charging a premium for their products. That's fine, because they have historically made some really nice stuff. What we aren't used to is watching them take obvious, public actions to reduce manufacturing costs. If we ignore the RAM reduction for a moment, its not a bad upgrade, its just not "fantastic." The 5S was a fantastic upgrade (even if most people won't use the extra horsepower), the iPad Air is a fantastic upgrade, the original rMBP was a spectacular upgrade, but this is just ordinary. 3. The GPUs are amazing for integrated graphics, but that's Intel's accomplishment, and soon everyone will be using them. 4. I didn't say that Apple removed a GPU from anything.
Touche 13y ago
Just to be accurate, iWork is not free. It's free with the purchase of a new computer. I can't get it for free on my current laptop. So it's built into the cost of computers, which is nice, but different than free.
stock_toaster 13y ago
> But that was a huge one more thing, yet somehow they managed to deflate giving an enormous quantity of top quality software away for free. I completely agree that in the end it was very ho hum, but I still can't even place why that is. I think it had to do with timing. In many cases, the timing of the presentation seemed...somehow "off" -- aside from Federighi whose parts of the presentation I enjoyed. Lots of "ok now watch this video we made", untucked shirts that seemed "forced" somehow, the feeling of "forced" humor (Cue especially), etc. It almost seemed like the whole thing felt somehow rushed and/or unpracticed. Weird.
sirkneeland 13y ago
How is putting an A7 inside a "tiny" iPad Mini considered to be impressive when they already put it inside the much tinier iPhone?

roc 13y ago

Apple customers are a self-selected bunch who, almost by definition, are more interested in "new stuff to do" than "$100 cheaper". So whereas the pricing may have been big news, the audience that watched that presentation is nearly orthogonal to one that would care about it.

corresation 13y ago
Apple is one of the largest consumer electronics company in the world. iPads and Macs and iPhones and iPods are owned by every strata of the consumer ecosystem, from McDonalds employees to CEOs. The old "Apple customers are like BMW owners" (you didn't say this, but that is the general idea of such sentiments) theory does not correspond with reality. People "self-select" as Apple customers because they like the product, not because they are foolish about money. And, it should be mentioned, the news was cared about by just about everyone (Mavericks being free was #1 here on HN). It just didn't have any magic to it.
- jmduke 13y ago
  I think the more apt comparison is that Apple customers are like Honda owners. Apple is one of the largest consumer electronics company in the world. iPads and Macs and iPhones and iPods are owned by every strata of the consumer ecosystem, from McDonalds employees to CEOs. From what I understand (and I don't have any of the data handy), this is only true for the American consumer ecosystem.
  - grecy 13y ago
    It's true for the entire developed world.
- roc 13y ago
  I was specifically talking about the crowd who watches those events and that 'magic' reaction. I probably should have been more clear. I didn't mean to suggest that they wouldn't care at all, just that they wouldn't react to a price cut and updated internals like they would, say, 4k displays, an app store on the apple tv, a watch, etc.

phaus 13y ago

So what part about the rMBP upgrade was fantastic? The part where they reduced the amount of RAM, or the part where they used Iris/Iris Pro graphics like every other PC manufacturer is going to be doing pretty soon? When Intel releases new CPUs, everyone starts using them soon after, how is that in any way remarkable? If a person's in the market for a super high-res laptop, the new rMBP is still one of the best options, but personally I found this upgrade underwhelming. So far Tim Cook is to Apple as Bobby Kotick was to Blizzard. He may be increasing profit margins, but he is clearly doing so to the detriment of the company's reputation, and to the detriment of the customers that made them what they are.

corresation 13y ago
Thinner. Lighter. Cheaper. Faster. 9 hour+ battery life. I am reminded of that Louis C.K. bit where he talks about everything being amazing and no one being happy. I'm not sure what else Apple could have done, but to me the new MBPs are absolutely spot on.
fredsted 13y ago
>The part where they reduced the amount of RAM, or the part where they used Iris/Iris Pro graphics like every other PC manufacturer is going to be doing pretty soon? 1) It seems like they introduced a "cheap" model with only 4gb ram and 128gb SSD. 2) However, the previous version with 8 GB ram and 256gb SSD is _costs less as well_. 3) Iris Pro graphics aren't bad - it's certainly better than Intel HD 4000. 4) Apple did not remove any dedicated graphics card on the 13" retina. For the 15", a dedicated card (nvidia 750m) is still there. New prices: http://mu.ms/f/qc.png http://mu.ms/f/qc.png Old prices: http://mu.ms/f/rc.png http://mu.ms/f/rc.png Basically, if you want a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, there's a new model that's now a whopping $200 less, the previous low-end model is $100 less, but with brand new cpu, graphics and battery life. There's even more money to save when buying the 15" models. I don't understand what you people want from Apple
- phaus 13y ago
  I'm just saying that its not really a "fantastic" upgrade. Apple can price their products however they want, but I would have been impressed if they reduced the price by $200 without removing $30 worth of RAM from the machine. It just seems kind of petty to do it, that's all. It gives the impression that they are nickel and diming their customers, just like it did when they spent a bunch of money developing the overpriced 5C, when all their customers really wanted or expected was an iPhone 5 at a cheaper price. We are used to Apple charging a premium for their products. That's fine, because they have historically made some really nice stuff. What we aren't used to is watching them take obvious, public actions to reduce manufacturing costs. If we ignore the RAM reduction for a moment, its not a bad upgrade, its just not "fantastic." The 5S was a fantastic upgrade (even if most people won't use the extra horsepower), the iPad Air is a fantastic upgrade, the original rMBP was a spectacular upgrade, but this is just ordinary. 3. The GPUs are amazing for integrated graphics, but that's Intel's accomplishment, and soon everyone will be using them. 4. I didn't say that Apple removed a GPU from anything.

Touche 13y ago

Just to be accurate, iWork is not free. It's free with the purchase of a new computer. I can't get it for free on my current laptop. So it's built into the cost of computers, which is nice, but different than free.

stock_toaster 13y ago

> But that was a huge one more thing, yet somehow they managed to deflate giving an enormous quantity of top quality software away for free. I completely agree that in the end it was very ho hum, but I still can't even place why that is. I think it had to do with timing. In many cases, the timing of the presentation seemed...somehow "off" -- aside from Federighi whose parts of the presentation I enjoyed. Lots of "ok now watch this video we made", untucked shirts that seemed "forced" somehow, the feeling of "forced" humor (Cue especially), etc. It almost seemed like the whole thing felt somehow rushed and/or unpracticed. Weird.

sirkneeland 13y ago

How is putting an A7 inside a "tiny" iPad Mini considered to be impressive when they already put it inside the much tinier iPhone?