Everything Apple Introduced This Year Kinda Sucked

[HardOCP News]

I'm glad someone else said this. I always get accused of Apple bashing (probably because I'm a dick to Apple) but you can't blame this one on me.

In 2015, Apple made a series of flashy new introductions in both hardware and software. Several seemed amazing at first, but on closer inspection, they were disappointing. Here is the year in Apple things that sucked.

 

[pxc]

Ah, to have success evaluated by the click. All his criticisms didn't stop the products from being successful (besides Watch), but they were generally valid critiques. I think it's more a sign that Apple is now in the "ship it" business, just like the rest of the industry.

 

[gplracer]

Apple products are not bad they just costs too much for what you get. Also, Apple thinks all of their customers are idiots and not to be trusted with minding or having control of anything related to the product.

 

[Brownstone]

Well, can't say I disagree with anything on the list. But I will argue that 3D Touch has potential yet, and it will probably be adopted as a new way to interface. Initially I will agree, it was overhyped.

Even if it is not in the list, I will argue that the iPhone 6s is hardly a disappointment. Looks aside, it is a beast of a phone, that brings a couple of innovations not present in the competition.

That said, iPhone (and iPod... RIP) is the only Apple product that holds any interest for me.

PS: Apple sucks

 

[Domingo]

I like (or at least respect) Apple's attention to aesthetic and polish and I think that's eroding a bit, too.
Google's philosophy has always been to get something out the door and fix it or improve it later. Now Apple seems to be going the same route.

 

[Dekoth-E-]

I mean honestly the list is spot on. I'm a huge fan of the macbook as a tech as it is the only really high quality laptop that I can dualboot Windows and OSX on. That and designwise it has always been head and shoulders better than anything PC. A large reason for this is the aluminum body and the magnetic power adapter. However the newest version is JUST AWFUL. He nails it on the fact that it is so thin it is effectively unusable.

Other than that the iPhone 6 was good and really the first iPhone in a very long time that I consider a good form factor. I'm pretty much android only, but if my phone dies that phone absolutely feels the best in my hand. Unfortunately I cannot find an android phone at this point that meets any of my criteria and if I'm going to have to compromise then right at this moment the regular sized iPhone 6 absolutely feels the best in my hand. That said, I've no intention of upgrading anytime soon so that hopefully will change. Getting pretty tired of every new phone being a fucking phablet with stupid screen resolution.

 

[heatlesssun]

It's not so much that everything Apple did this year sucked, it's that they didn't have anything that was wowing. They did have a record launch of the iPhone 6s but it also launched in China for the first time. Smartwatches, no matter who is making them just haven't quite hit a stride yet.

The new MacBook was simply underwhelming at its price point. The iPad Pro was very much a reactive product due to plummeting iPad sales and reminded too many people of another product that's been bucking the trend of negative tablet growth.

Not even Apple can do amazing things year after year with no slow years. Indeed Apple has had slow years a number of times in their history though there's nothing to worth about in this case. Slow year in terms of innovation but tons of cash regardless

 

[w4ffles]

I'm not a fan of apple products, but I have to admit that things were way better when Steve Jobs was around.

 

[Terpfen]

"Apple didn't completely revolutionize 17 industries this year. FAILURE."

Is this shit real life?

 

[Darunion]

I do like my apple products but do have to say this year has been kinda slow in terms of my 'wow' factor. They are going to need to branch more in my opinion. Better home entertainment would be a simple one and possibly delve into home automation/smart home market. They just don't get the return customers on some things. Take ipads, how many people that have one upgrade them? I have 4th gen and am still perfectly happy with it as I was when it launched. I still use my little square ipod nano 5th gen? (the one that is a square with a clip) and for me was the best one for doing outdoor work. Phones are the only 2yr rotation device they have and the market is very competitive. Gaming I do on console or my old pc, and if Im to upgrade my pc, likely it will not be apple as I don't want a reduced library of games at my fingertips.

All companies have slow moments.

 

[Spidey329]

Well, can't say I disagree with anything on the list. But I will argue that 3D Touch has potential yet, and it will probably be adopted as a new way to interface. Initially I will agree, it was overhyped.

Even if it is not in the list, I will argue that the iPhone 6s is hardly a disappointment. Looks aside, it is a beast of a phone, that brings a couple of innovations not present in the competition.

That said, iPhone (and iPod... RIP) is the only Apple product that holds any interest for me.

PS: Apple sucks

My biggest gripe with 3d touch is that it wasn't new. It's been in other OS's for years, just in slightly different forms. Where Apple comes along with their marketing campaign and tries to brand it as the second coming of Jobs.

 

[HeadRusch]

Apple has been introducing the same product for the past 10 years.....the phone is the pad is the pod is the watch....so Apple's huge wins have all been variations on a theme for the past decade. This is fine, except, there's only so far you can take a flat sheet of glass and make it seem new and important and sell one to everyone on Earth......

2016 probably belongs to VIrtual Reality.....man it feels weird using that term legitimately and not as retro-tech speak

 

[Spidey329]

And btw, Apple and Gizmodo aren't exactly friends. Gizmodo is the ones that Apple went all agro on and had the REACT task force raid their editors house.

 

[nutzo]

Samsung also had a sucky year with the dropping of the SD slot and removable battery on the S6 line and Note 5.

I'm currently looking at upgrading my old S3, and have decided my only viable option is the Note 4.
Reasonable price, SD slot, replaceable battery, and already supports 5.1 with the 6.0 upgrade coming next year. Picked the Note 4 over the S5 because it has a better camera and double the base memory.

 

[mi7chy]

My biggest gripe with 3d touch is that it wasn't new. It's been in other OS's for years, just in slightly different forms. Where Apple comes along with their marketing campaign and tries to brand it as the second coming of Jobs.

Not a couple of years but over 7 years since the Blackberry Storm with SurePress was released in 2008.

Apple should've saved that silly gimmick for the iPad if not throw it in the trash because one-handed reachability is already challenging enough on phone before having to apply pressure on top. Also, it'll be difficult to gauge different pressure levels for different options. Technique trumps brute force any day so long press menu selection is still king.

 

[westrock2000]

This is pretty much how every Apple headline in this forum reads (between the lines).

 

[lollerwaffle]

I'm not even an Apple fan and think the 6S is decent. I can't comprehend the lack of wireless charging, but otherwise that's a fast and good device.

 

[SavageThrash]

Not a couple of years but over 7 years since the Blackberry Storm with SurePress was released in 2008.

Apple should've saved that silly gimmick for the iPad if not throw it in the trash because one-handed reachability is already challenging enough on phone before having to apply pressure on top. Also, it'll be difficult to gauge different pressure levels for different options. Technique trumps brute force any day so long press menu selection is still king.

I wonder where BB would be if they had BB10 out then with that phone instead of the abysmal java based pile of crap it came with. It worked fine on phones with a primarily physical interface but it just dumped itself when they tried to integrate it with touch devices. If they had the foresight to start working on a more adaptable OS i think BB phones would have retained more relevance.

As for the 6s... any phone with a glass screen raised ABOVE the bezel (curved screens possibly exempt) is a pile of junk in my book. As if we need more broken glass. Honestly they need to get over the whole "It's .5mm thinner" garbage. With talk of the next phone removing the 3.5mm jack I just have to think apple is finally going too far. Whether they realize it or not will be the fun part to watch pan out.

Give me a phone 30 thicker with better battery life. I carried around an early gen ipod and it wasn't more than a stopgap media device. I'd put up with a lot worse for better battery life on a phone that is infinitely more capable than an ipod. For the time being I love my passport, battery doesn't need to be charged half way though the day either

 

[BryanSTG]

I'm not even an Apple fan and think the 6S is decent. I can't comprehend the lack of wireless charging, but otherwise that's a fast and good device.

Wireless charging and aluminum smartphones/tablets generally are mutually exclusive.

 

[Uvaman]

Yah I want my next phone to be 5mm thicker , with more battery and shock proof so it doesn't need a case.

 

[daglesj]

Boring is more the term I would use for Apple these days. Their products are so predictable visually and functionality wise.

The iPhone is the Toyota Corolla of phones. Just dull.

 

[heatlesssun]

The iPhone is the Toyota Corolla of phones. Just dull.

The iPhone would be the least of Apple's worries in 2015 though.

 

[CharonPDX]

As a general fan of Apple products, I agree. This year was pretty lackluster. Yeah "3D Touch" and "Force Touch" are nice, but not revolutionary. Yeah, the new ultra-thin MacBook is a nice ultra-portable, but again, nothing revolutionary.

Hoping for a new/better Retina iMac next year. (One with Thunderbolt 3 / USB type C, and the ability to use target display mode, so I can re-use the awesome 5K display once the innards are obsolete.)

 

[Tyler-Durden]

I'm one of the biggest Apple fans on [H], but agree this year was pretty stale for their product line. This is the first year since 2010 that I didn't upgrade to the newest iPhone. In fact, I damn near switched to Android after trying the Note 5. It's a fantastic device. I just didn't like the feel of the OS compared to my jailbroken 6+.

I stuck with Android for my tablet, upgrading from a Nexus 7 to a Tab S2. And, I'll be dumping my rMBP 13 for a Dell Precision 5510, next month. It'll be my first non-Mac laptop since 2008.

 

[raz-0]

Boring is more the term I would use for Apple these days. Their products are so predictable visually and functionality wise.

The iPhone is the Toyota Corolla of phones. Just dull.

You don't go broke making corollas.

Apple's problem is that they think they are making the next corolla, and they are making ultra niche vehicles and edsels.

Only two things on their list this year were remotely good.

1) Whatever they are calling right click menus for touch. It's a fine idea, but it will depend on developers making good use of it.

2) Their stylus. I've heard nothing but good reviews of the precision and latency. The problem is that it works with tablets. Unless they make the tablet an input device for their real computers, it's useless. Even if they do, the combo is pretty damn expensive.

They also left off the new apple TV. Which as a product may be fine, but is mired in licensing issues, retailing issues, lack of dev support, etc.

 

[krotch]

I'm more interested in what Dell puts out than what Apple has been putting out the last couple of years.

 

[steakman1971]

Some valid critiques in the article. However, I think it was overly "anti-Apple". There is still a huge "mine is better" mentality on the internet - never quite understood this.

Anyway, here are my thoughts:
I've had the Macbook (It is for work, not mine personally) since it came out. Quick summary:
-Battery life is great. I get 10-12 hours out of it before charging. I occasionally run Xcode on the device even - not as fast as a Macbook Pro of course.
-Light. I love this. I have to travel sometimes. My other computer is a 17" Macbook Pro - boat anchor.
-Keyboard sucks. I hate it. I can't get used to the keys.
-Lack of USB ports sucks. WTF do I need a dongle? This is something else to carry.
-Can't hook this up to my 27" Apple screen. Words can't even define this. Seriously?

Apple Watch:
-Smart watches are toys and useless. I've tried them all. Sorry, this is a market companies are trying to create.
-That said, the Apple Watch is the best one I've used.
-Again, I consider them all to be useless gadgets.

3D Touch - I actually like this. The article seemed biased here. What's not to like? It's not a big enough feature to upgrade to, but I'm glad it is here to stay.

Haven't used the iPad Pro or Pencil yet. Valid points in the article though. Especially how you charge it.

 

[KickAssCop]

I hate apple and I have 2 iPhone 6 S, 2 iPhone 6, 1 iPhone 5, and 1 iPad Air.
Only reason is that things just work out of the box. Also because 4/5 of the phones were on contract which cost same as Samsung devices. Finally, carrying a Samsung or HTC or some other brand makes you look cheap in my country. Even the taxi drivers prefer iPhone.

lol.

 

[nutzo]

Finally, carrying a Samsung or HTC or some other brand makes you look cheap in my country. Even the taxi drivers prefer iPhone.

lol.

So, it's a status symbol, just like many of the anti-apple people have been saying.

 

[Trimlock]

Boring is more the term I would use for Apple these days. Their products are so predictable visually and functionality wise.

The iPhone is the Toyota Corolla of phones. Just dull.

Yea, if the Corolla was the fastest car in the market...

Also this article didn't make argument points, it was just a rant from some angry editor.

 

[KickAssCop]

So, it's a status symbol, just like many of the anti-apple people have been saying.

More like the feel of other phones is super cheap. Samsung still putting out fake leather backs and chrome borders? Haven't looked at a Samsung phone in a while but I remember when 5 series and Note 3 looked like utter crap to me.

 

[mi7chy]

Finally, carrying a Samsung or HTC or some other brand makes you look cheap in my country. Even the taxi drivers prefer iPhone.

That seems to be the mentality of 3rd world countries.

When I go to Germany they use Mercedes as taxis.

 

[Quix]

I fell validated, I'm not the only one that thinks the iWatch, 1-port Macbook (Seriously, 2 type-c ports at least and use real 3.1 ports please) and iPad Pro (let down by software) were all poorly designed products not up to Apple's previous standard.

 

[{NG}Fidel]

3d touch was over hyped like much all apple design choices.
Still I believe it will live on for good reasons. I do enjoy it on my 6S.