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Apple's Latest Products Get Rare Mixed-Bag Reviews, Muted Reception (bloomberg.com)
Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg: Despite the strength of its brand, Apple occasionally releases a product to mediocre reviews -- remember the original Apple TV or Apple Watch? But reviewers have rarely been as grumpy as this month, when Apple unveiled its collection of new gadgets for the holidays. "I can't think of a single compelling reason to upgrade [to iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus] from an iPhone 7 [which was launched last year]," wrote Nilay Patel of The Verge. Another potential sign of trouble: the iPhone 8 models didn't sell out during pre-orders, another rare occurrence for Apple phones. [...] Reviewing the new Apple Watch Series 3 model, The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern wrote "On the AT&T-connected models, the cellular connection dropped, calls were often choppy and Siri sometimes failed to connect. On the one that ran on T-Mobile, I experienced several dropped connections." The Verge's Lauren Goode noticed a serious connection issue as well, saying the device "would appear to pick up a single bar of some random Wi-Fi signal, and hang on that, rather than switching to LTE." [...] Reviewing the Apple TV 4K, The Verge's Patel noted the device's high price, a lack of 4K support in major apps including YouTube, and a lack of support for the Dolby Atmos audio standard. Reuters reported on Friday: Hundreds of people usually gather at Apple's Sydney city store with queues winding down the town's main street, George Street, when there is a new product release. But there were fewer than 30 people lining up before the store opened on Friday, according to a Reuters witness. While the number of people queuing up outside Apple stores have dropped over the years with many opting for online purchases, the weak turnout for the latest iPhone has partly been due to poor reviews. Over at Financial Times, Tim Bradshaw reports: "I think demand is down from last year, for no other reason than you have another flagship phone," said Neil Cybart, an Apple analyst at Above Avalon. "A portion of the iPhone launch demand is not materialising quite yet." That could leave this weekend's initial sales lower than at any point since the iPhone 6 first launched in 2014, Mr Cybart added. Apple's decision to increase prices for the iPhone 8 compared with last year's model and a less aggressive launch push by mobile carriers could also affect demand.
Maybe Apple will start giving their computers some love again.
Why would they? People slurp up the 'newest' macbook before it even properly leaves the anus, Apple has no incentive.
The iPhone 8, other than a faster processo, slightly better camera and wireless charging is the exact same as the 7, which is very similar to the 6. The X has the same internals as the 8 and is much more expensive. Apple has really quit trying to be a innovative leader.
I'm fairly certain Apple wants people to buy the iPhone X. The reason people aren't flocking to the 8 is because Apple said "here's this thing, that's ok...but look over at THIS thing that's really awesome", so of course people are going to want the awesome.
I like how the Bloomberg article attributes the mediocre reviews of Apple products to "grumpy reviewers". Because of course, it's not possible that Apple's offerings could ever actually be mediocre.
You are welcome on my lawn.
It's a telephone. The first year that the Bell phone hung on the wall everyone I'm sure was excited. Now a days there's a box in my parent's basement full old crap phones...you want one? all are free!!! This is where we are with the iPhone. It's a phone. The most exciting feature of the X is an animated emoji - I hear the movie sucked ! The phone is still a rectangle. You have any idea how long it took AT&T to change the shape of the phone - wasn't until after it was deregulated.
I do need a new phone - have a discontinued iPhone 5 (no S, no C, no Plus.... plain old original stock). However, the X is too rich and thinking about the whole material things won't love me issue...I'll go for the 8. But my wife has the 7 --- and I don't see a difference.
Obviously I hold onto things until they expire. Do I save a buck and get the 7 or at least get the most current model 8?! or maybe the SE because it is smaller - and I have the watch too.
But why do I need a smartphone again?! Oh, so I can swipe through FB twice a day while pretending to care about the content !? That experience can be had for far less than a $1,000 X.
And damit -- why are the storage sizes 64 or 256. Why couldn't it have been a useful 128 vs 256? Oh - 'cause nobody would pay the premium for a 256. I guess I will be parted from my money.
Oh woes me.
.. isn't hardware. It's software. More specifically, Apple offers a complete platform where hardware, software (OS and built-in apps), web services (iCloud, App Store, iTunes music and video) and content are all fully and seamlessly integrated. Users get a consistent experience across devices, and app developers can count on relatively consistent capabilities on end-user devices (as opposed to the fairly disparate device software and hardware configurations and capabilities on Android and Windows platforms). All the attention at an Apple product launch is paid to the shiny new hardware. Relatively little attention is paid to the fundamental improvements in the platform, like the adoption of HEVC and HEIF (2x better photo and video compression), or the introduction of Augmented Reality and Machine Learning (ARkit and Core ML), multitasking, drag and drop. Why do you think Microsoft is now in the hardware business, and Google is building a hardware business? They can't compete with Apple if they can't offer a seamless experience.
Why should there be some kind of surprise that the market for iPhones eventually becomes saturated? The iPhone 6s was the same as iPhone 6 with better specs, and the 7 was a 6s with better specs but without the headphone jack. The 8 is basically an improved 8, and they all look the same. They all run an identical OS. I don't want to blame Apple for the lack of innovation. The technology has now matured and Apple has found a formula that works for them, and they're sticking with it.
However, this incredible bubble has to eventually pop. When more and more people realize that their three year old iPhone looks and works the same as the new one, less and less of them will be willing to spend 700-1000USD for a new one each cycle. I can imagine upgrading from the 6, because it has only 1GB of RAM, but 6S is where I would stop upgrading iPhone because the 6s still can use wired headphones.
A faster processor or The best cellphone camera Dx0mark has ever reviewed?
It's a telephone.
No it is not a telephone. It's a handheld computer that happens to be able to make calls. HUGE difference.
A faster processor or The best cellphone camera Dx0mark has ever reviewed?
Well, I'm the world's worst photographer, so it doesn't really make much of a difference to me.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
Oh - I forgot to mention: my Dell came with ports.
Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
Great, carry around another dongle and 54 peripherals. Elegance!
We have a winner folks. People, especially the non-apple fan press, have always been underwhelmed or skeptical of Apple's releases. Heck, in the past few years, we've been hearing continuously about how Apple is surely doomed because they haven't released a completely new product in the last 5 years like the iPod or the iPhone. Think about how ridiculous that actually sounds, we're calling a company doomed because they haven't completely reshaped the commercial landscape for a third time in 20 years. Hell, it's even a joke that you should buy apple stock AFTER a product announcement because that's when all the disappointed investors sell. Wake me when an apple release isn't met with skepticism.
Exactly!
EVERY other Tech Company is only expected to update their products in some minor way, year-over-year. Apple, OTOH, is somehow expected to create products that include Faster-Than-Light Travel, Cold Fusion Power, Infinite Speed and Display Size, and a cure for Cancer.
And when they don't, SOMEHOW, "Wall Street" and "The Press" are "underwhelmed".