Has Apple Lost Its Cool?

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Has Apple lost its cool? Who better to ask than the company's CEO. :rolleyes: What did they think Tim Cook was going to say?

It has been a rough year for Apple. The company has battled fierce competitors like Samsung, come under scrutiny for tax avoidance and watched in dismay as its stock price took more dips and turns than a roller coaster.
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Lost its cool?

No, it never was cool. The "hipster" or "fashion" crap that is spewed on these boards and else were is a bunch of bullshit. Apple put the best ALL AROUND smart phone on the market up until the 4S. Some just can't admit that.

Then the sales figures over inflated the stock price, which was bound to fall.

Finally (with the SII and especially the S3) Samsung started releasing some really nice phones.
 
Not to mention they still have the best all around tablet on the market.
 
Apple became too mainstream, and hipster douchebags tend to detest mainstream. It was inevitable as they marketed on that so heavily by catering to the artsy fartsy crowd making electronics into fashion statements and their "Think Different" slogan didn't help.

Others have long since figured out how to make "pretty" devices for the trendy crowd, and of course Apple has suffered some quality issues as they try to ramp up production like other big-box manufacturers.
 
Apple's phones look like a child's toy. They're not hip, they're pathetic. I don't envy their users, I pitty them.


The chrome bezel looks cool, but they are so bulky considering their specs. And their display's are like welcome to 2010. There is absolutely nothing I like about them.
 
Young kids today don't even know what "lost your cool" means.
Hint: it doesn't mean "no longer cool"
 
XvMMvX said:
Lost its cool?

No, it never was cool. The "hipster" or "fashion" crap that is spewed on these boards and else were is a bunch of bullshit. Apple put the best ALL AROUND smart phone on the market up until the 4S. Some just can't admit that.

Then the sales figures over inflated the stock price, which was bound to fall.

Finally (with the SII and especially the S3) Samsung started releasing some really nice phones.
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I dunno about best all around. My girlfriend hates her S3. It keeps locking up on her. I will say that Android has come far since a couple years ago and Apple isn't doing enough to keep their audience from flocking to Android. But Apple isn't losing people because of Android per se, they're losing people because Android has free phones with their services (AT&T, Verizon, etc).

Sure, Apple has free phones too if you want to use phones from two generations ago, but nobody's going to want that, especially if Apple or app developers discontinue supporting older models.
 
XvMMvX said:
Not to mention they still have the best all around tablet on the market.
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Not from a hardware standpoint, and this is coming from an iPad 4th gen owner, but dominating the market means they have the biggest ecosystem and apps matter.

That's also the reason though that Apple can't ever hope to compete with Microsoft unless they start licensing out OSX to people to install on their own x86 machines. They just don't have enough market share to matter, so development is an afterthought.
 
Apple has always sucked. They have been beaten out in both hardware and software in both phones, computers and tablets. Just have to wait for the masses to figure it out.

I agree with a lot of people on here that all they were going for was tech as a status symbol. Their PCs have always had generation old hardware for cutting edge prices. Twice the cost of a comparable PC for the little white glowy apple on the back.

Phones they have been sinking since the first iphone. Their tech is again always behind. They release new hardware that has specs of other phones from 6 months to a year earlier.

Tablets are beat out by Win 8 tablets in specs, power and capabilities. Now just when win 8 tabs get cheaper...

I really hope that company burns. Couldn't stand them back in the day, and still can't. They cater to the hipster crowd and add no real tech advantage.
 
Ducman69 said:
That's also the reason though that Apple can't ever hope to compete with Microsoft unless they start licensing out OSX to people to install on their own x86 machines. They just don't have enough market share to matter, so development is an afterthought.
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That isn't ever going to happen. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will ride through the countryside before that happens. Either that, or the devil starts giving free sleigh rides.

Anyways, suffice it to say, Apple won't ever let that happen. Apple's whole business model revolves around absolute and ultimate control.
 
been doing IT as a Windows guy for 15 years now, so by no means pro apple

my iPhone 3gs, 4s, 5 were all many times better than my Atrix, GSII , (and Blackberry 9900 lol) the android phones ran hot, crashed often and needed to be reset often. yes the ios is stale i hope they address that in 7, but its reliable, it works, it doesn't lock up, and gets good battery life. and the 5 looks pretty nice.

my iPad has been flawless, my Asus transfomrer was ok but again with running hot, short battery life, apps crashing, ios just seems more touch friendly , android still needs work as does many of its apps

if i sell my PC ill probably end up with a Macbook Pro retina 13 or 15, no one makes a laptop with the same finish quality and screen resolution as apple, sure ill probably run parallels or boot camp

while i don't like some of the apple politics, their products do work well, and reliable... for some that's more important than the "look" or whatever the anti apple people are going for...there is also the google is tracking everygoddamnthingyoudo factor for those it annoys

sure the guy with the apple product in Starbucks is annoying but that doesn't mean im going to buy a plastic, bloated piece of crap laptop/tablet/phone just to make sure people don't confuse me with that guy... lol, perhaps the Canadians aren't as insecure as the Americans lol...im sure if said apple user in Starbucks had a Browning logo over his Apple logo you guys would think hes the cats meow
 
trparky said:
That isn't ever going to happen. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will ride through the countryside before that happens. Either that, or the devil starts giving free sleigh rides.

Anyways, suffice it to say, Apple won't ever let that happen. Apple's whole business model revolves around absolute and ultimate control.
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they did once and the competitors made better, cheaper macs than apple would. then the MS bailout happened and Apple ended licensing and bought power computing.
 
Apple has always sucked. They have been beaten out in both hardware and software in both phones, computers and tablets. Just have to wait for the masses to figure it out.

I agree with a lot of people on here that all they were going for was tech as a status symbol. Their PCs have always had generation old hardware for cutting edge prices. Twice the cost of a comparable PC for the little white glowy apple on the back.

Phones they have been sinking since the first iphone. Their tech is again always behind. They release new hardware that has specs of other phones from 6 months to a year earlier.

Tablets are beat out by Win 8 tablets in specs, power and capabilities. Now just when win 8 tabs get cheaper...

I really hope that company burns. Couldn't stand them back in the day, and still can't. They cater to the hipster crowd and add no real tech advantage.
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You know there is more to a phone, computer, tablet, etc than just how much raw power they can cram in a cheap plastic shell right?

Your post displays the ignorance that many have of what makes a good product.

sure the guy with the apple product in Starbucks is annoying
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This guy doesn't exsist, the "starbucks" hipster who buys an apple product and approaches people to show it off is a manufactured lunacy on this forum. I have never ONCE been approached by anyone about what phone I carry.

Nor do the people I hang out with have conversations about what phone we each choose to buy, unless it is making phone of people who give a shit about things like this.

Apple's phones look like a child's toy. They're not hip, they're pathetic. I don't envy their users, I pitty them.
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Gosh, I am sure people are real concerned that you "pity" them for choosing what phone to use. /getoveryourself
 
Putz said:
been doing IT as a Windows guy for 15 years now, so by no means pro apple

my iPhone 3gs, 4s, 5 were all many times better than my Atrix, GSII , (and Blackberry 9900 lol) the android phones ran hot, crashed often and needed to be reset often. yes the ios is stale i hope they address that in 7, but its reliable, it works, it doesn't lock up, and gets good battery life. and the 5 looks pretty nice.

my iPad has been flawless, my Asus transfomrer was ok but again with running hot, short battery life, apps crashing, ios just seems more touch friendly , android still needs work as does many of its apps

if i sell my PC ill probably end up with a Macbook Pro retina 13 or 15, no one makes a laptop with the same finish quality and screen resolution as apple, sure ill probably run parallels or boot camp

while i don't like some of the apple politics, their products do work well, and reliable... for some that's more important than the "look" or whatever the anti apple people are going for...there is also the google is tracking everygoddamnthingyoudo factor for those it annoys

sure the guy with the apple product in Starbucks is annoying but that doesn't mean im going to buy a plastic, bloated piece of crap laptop/tablet/phone just to make sure people don't confuse me with that guy... lol, perhaps the Canadians aren't as insecure as the Americans lol...im sure if said apple user in Starbucks had a Browning logo over his Apple logo you guys would think hes the cats meow
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I have a Nexus 10, My wife as a Transformer TF300 and we bought my niece an ipad mini.

The ipad mini & TF300 were only about $30 difference in price & you get SO much more in the TF300. The ipad 3 seems more repsonsive however, but I really thinkg we ask more of the TF300 (multiple mail boxes updating on home screen, for example) that the ipad mini doesn't have to do.

The Nexus 10 -- speed wise blows them all away, both in 2d & 3d. The super high res is fantastic for google play magazines of which I've subscribed to a bunch ($5.99 for 12 issues of motorcyclist? Awesome!).

The Nexus 10 DOES get warm sometimes near the camera but is otherwise good. Really wish it had more than 32G though as the magazines + amazon mp3s eat up space fast.

I think we are in a great era for devices as higher quality devices keep getting lower & lower in price.
 
Tiburon1186 said:
Apple has always sucked. [...] Their tech is always behind.
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Err, what?

When Apple releases a product, it has the biggest, the best, the shiniest in it. Sometimes, it's technology that the PC market doesn't even HAVE yet. (Xeons released by Apple months before Dell/HP/etc a couple years back, high resolution screens, etc.) Their issue is that they don't update their product lines as often as the PC market does. So, for their $4,000 workstation:

Day 3 - You can't get anything better at any price.
Day 30 - They're on par, price-wise and spec-wise, with the big brands in the PC market.
Day 300 - They cost twice as much as the big brands. PC fanboys rant about how overpriced Apple is.

Apple also helps the PC market by providing R&D funds and pushing, prodding, and directing manufacturers who would otherwise be content to sit on their laurels and collect revenue. How long was 1080p the standard before Retina became a buzzword? And now 4K displays are on the brink of being released.

My mother-in-law wanted a computer for basic web surfing, emailing, and other simple tasks. I could have built her a PC, and been on-call for virus removal, component replacement, and software incompatibility issues. Instead, I recommended that she pick up a Mac. She didn't pay any more than it would have cost me to build her a box. She got a very nice machine that serves her every need. And yes, it does have a bit of the shiny factor to it.

I got a first-gen iPhone. It was wonderful. There was nothing else out there that could compete. When it came time to upgrade, I bought a 4S. It's on par with the Android phones. I saw no reason I needed to switch away from Apple. Accessories were plentiful, the OS was pleasant to use, and it did its job well. Unless Apple pulls something very nice from their rear when it comes time for my next upgrade, I'll probably get something from Samsung. Android has caught up with, and in some cases, surpassed, Apple's iOS. My current monitor is Apple. When I bought it, it was identical to the Dell version in specs, but $100 cheaper. I had a MacBook Pro for the longest time. It was a wonderful laptop with specs comparable to the PC in the same class and price range. If I needed to buy a laptop these days, I'd probably go with a MBP again. It's not because of the shiny or the "cool factor". It's because of the resale value. When I sold the MBP, I ended up getting almost 90% of what I paid for it back. You can complain about the hipsters, or you can profit off them! :)

Apple has its place. Frankly, all this hate is getting old.
 
Maybe everyone is sick of hearing that damn Siri *bing bong* sound come out of nowhere every few minutes, I know I am.
 
XvMMvX said:
Not to mention they still have the best all around tablet on the market.
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Yeah, if you like being subjugated by a corporate overlord that dictates what you can and cannot install on your own tablet.

Apple is immoral and unethical and supporting them is wrong.
 
damicatz said:
Yeah, if you like being subjugated by a corporate overlord that dictates what you can and cannot install on your own tablet.

Apple is immoral and unethical and supporting them is wrong.
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You run into similiar situations with android tablets.

But android is more flexible. But that leads to issues with applications that suck and crash a lot.
 
Imo, the Asus TF line is saddled with very poor I/O. I own a tf700, and even the default browser lagged on the stock rom. "CleanRom" is like a night and day difference though, no noticeable lag. At least Asus provides a method to unlock the boot loader.

Android tablets are just inconsistent at this point in time, and the OS is still in comparatively early stage of development.
 
TeeJayHoward said:
When Apple releases a product, it has the biggest, the best, the shiniest in it.
Click to expand...
I was LMFAO when Apple was still throwing 3 year old Core 2 Duos in their expensive Macbooks when competitors had long since upgraded to next gen chips.

Apple also generally only uses mediocre video cards, sometimes dated, and underclocked so that they don't overheat in the Apple chassis which often have poor ventilation combined with unusually thin designs that don't accomidate a properly sized heatsink.

Apple has almost always been lagging behind in releasing hardware updates as far as I can recall.
 
iOS like it or hate it it's has gone through rough testing, and is better than any other mobile app out there. but iOS lacks in future and at best it's 6 or so month old, which in reality makes their phone cheaper to make yet they charge more than others. i've used both iphone 4s and S3, and for basic use 4s is far better, but when it comes to innovation s3 takes the cake.

as far as tablets and other department goes apple just doesn't cut it, it takes ages for them to bring out the latest and when they do, it goes outdated in 6 month.
 
XvMMvX said:
You know there is more to a phone, computer, tablet, etc than just how much raw power they can cram in a cheap plastic shell right?

Your post displays the ignorance that many have of what makes a good product.
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The focus was not only the hardware power it was the price quotient that it is offered at. They offer inferior products for the price. Their products are a status symbol and a hipster brand. Much like a coach purse for women. They have a stupid C on it and charge twice as much for the same item.

A good product is one that lasts and does what it's supposed to. A well made PC fits this bill but doesn't confine you to your little fenced in Apple playground. It does not account for people that are unable to use said product because they are ignorant.

You speak of my ignorance about good products yet you pay out the ass for the exact same thing (PC) but with training wheels (MAC).

This guy doesn't exsist, the "starbucks" hipster who buys an apple product and approaches people to show it off is a manufactured lunacy on this forum. I have never ONCE been approached by anyone about what phone I carry.

Nor do the people I hang out with have conversations about what phone we each choose to buy, unless it is making phone of people who give a shit about things like this.
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A hipster doesn't approach anyone but another hipster. They aren't going to brag about their phone but they will have a "better than thou" attitude about everything they do. Just because you don't associate with the hipster douche bag type, doesn't mean they aren't nearly everywhere. This stereotype exists for a reason. Because they ARE out there, they ARE annoying and they buy only apple.
 
jordan12 said:
You run into similiar situations with android tablets.

But android is more flexible. But that leads to issues with applications that suck and crash a lot.
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This is why windows 8 tabs are better. You can do whatever the hell you want with them. They are x86 and no one is stopping you or limiting you. Just at the moment they are bit cost prohibitive.
 
One must first be "Cool" to loose one's "Cool". Actually I can't think of one tech company that I would consider cool, although I'm sure many think they are.
Also, like others said, the Apple Zealots are probably pissed because so many people own their products now and they are no longer part of an exclusive club.

Personally I think Apple makes mostly solid products, the part that gets me is the proprietary bullshit and the price on some of their stuff. I guess I don't really care for their marketing either.
 
i would say that apple is still cool, but after being raked over the coals about taxes and profits, they might have lost some of their lemmings. i see apple coming out with something new to shake things up a bit.
Flexible displays will be the next big thing. i can see apple making a commercial that shows hip young people bending their phones and wearing them like jewelery on the wrist or something.
 
Silly American companies thinking they can compete with Korean powerhouses.
 
XvMMvX said:
No, it never was cool. The "hipster" or "fashion" crap that is spewed on these boards and else were is a bunch of bullshit. Apple put the best ALL AROUND smart phone on the market up until the 4S. Some just can't admit that.
.
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I agree and disagree. The iPhone was a great smartphone, and the iPad is a great tablet (one of the best). But, a lot of their sales didn't come from people that wanted 'the best', they came from those that wanted to be 'cool' and buy what others had. It was a huge trendy thing that had nothing to do with a superior product. People wanted an iPhone or an iPad or an iPod, without really knowing the alternatives or really knowing anything specific about the device other than it was cool. It just so happened that the cool thing was also the best device on the market at the time (questionable today).
 
Lith1um said:
Apple's phones look like a child's toy. They're not hip, they're pathetic. I don't envy their users, I pitty them.


The chrome bezel looks cool, but they are so bulky considering their specs. And their display's are like welcome to 2010. There is absolutely nothing I like about them.
Click to expand...

I never get these kind of statements. The phone does not look like a toy, and that is also one of the dumbest things I hear about when someone who owns an Android phone says it. I own gs3's and my current daily driver is a GNote 2.
 
refraxion said:
I never get these kind of statements. The phone does not look like a toy, and that is also one of the dumbest things I hear about when someone who owns an Android phone says it. I own gs3's and my current daily driver is a GNote 2.
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It looks like a toy to me, too. Because I see 8 year olds running around with iPhones.... ;)

The iOS UI is dated, but sounds like it might get updated soon. I don't want to say too much, because I might sound like a Win8 fanboy and welcome change. :D
 
Grimham said:
One must first be "Cool" to loose one's "Cool". Actually I can't think of one tech company that I would consider cool, although I'm sure many think they are.
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Well, I have to give it to Steve Jobs marketing, it was certainly "cooler" than watching Balmer running around like a spaz drenched in sweat, and MS commercials have historically been pretty damn lame with only a few exceptions.
 
even the prettiest most expensive whore on the planet eventually gets used up and winds up turning tricks for 20 dollars at End of life.
 
cptnjarhead said:
Flexible displays will be the next big thing. i can see apple making a commercial that shows hip young people bending their phones and wearing them like jewelery on the wrist or something.
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That would fit right in with their products being fashion accessories.
 
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