The Greedy Ways Apple Got to $1 Trillion

Megalith

Megalith

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Becoming a trillion-dollar company is no modest achievement, but TechCrunch doesn’t think Apple should be receiving that much celebration: one writer accuses Cupertino of being cheap and ”screwing us over” in at least five ways, which include poorly made peripherals, exploitative subscription setups, and “dongle hell”: apparently, 2018 iPhones won’t come with a Lightning to Headphone Jack Adapter.

We still turn to Apple because it makes the best core products. But the edges of the customer experience have frayed like the wires of a Lightning cable. The key to Apple’s fortune is obviously selling high margin iPhones, not these ways it nickels and dimes us. But the company has an opportunity to raise its standards after this milestone, and win back the faith that could push it to a $2 trillion market cap.
 
Funny, I just read that article not more than 5 mins ago from Flipboard. Nothing new or surprising to be honest, and Apple has done a lot more - especially working with a minimum 40% profit on every item they've ever sold, and on some items it's vastly higher. Given the iPhone Ecks is made from roughly $380 worth of components and it sells for $1,000+, yeah, that's a bit more than 40% profit and the Cult of Mac members are only too happy to hand it over for whatever temporary high they get from the purchase.

Also, Apple is *not* the first company to reach a trillion dollar valuation, they are merely the first America-based company to do it.
 
they might not have the greatest products , they for sure have the best marketeers . convincing people to buy or upgrade what they actually do not need is quite genious
 
Dadebraafsie said:
they might not have the greatest products , they for sure have the best marketeers . convincing people to buy or upgrade what they actually do not need is quite genious
Click to expand...

I wouldn't go that far.
 
I think Apple is just cashing in where they may. They no longer have Steve Jobs to dream up new cultural revolutions around their products while simultaneously gimping said products and angering people (2018 macbook pro?). They are living off of the iPhone and Macbook/OSX(aka NeXTSTEP) and the next paradigm shift may just swallow them whole. Apple may just be going down the very same path as Xerox after all :p
 
Apple hasn't released new hardware in 10 years, they've milked the sheet-of-glass about as far as it can go, and apple folks continually upgrade because you're in the ecosystem. Full disclosure, I run apple, but I only run older crappy phones, my flagship is the 6s Plus I got 3 weeks ago. But apple makes its money off I thought itunes, beats, and other non-indigenous-hardware sources, no?

This could conceivably go on forever since I don't think we're going to get a new 'phone design' anytime soon, thin sheets of glass seems to be phone's Final Form.......
 
I bet he wrote that article on his iPad/MacBook.

Stop feeding the beast if they're so terrible or admit that you enjoy their conveniences and STFU?

Apple has done some questionable things and people still fork over money. I haven't owned an Apple product since the 3GS. It's not that hard, really.
 
I'm not a fan of Apple, but I do respect their game. While I couldn't morally do what they do, I find it like religion where they convince you that your life is better with their input that it's worth the extra expense. Apple should just ask for a 10% tithe from all of their users so they could make even more money.

I've always felt that if a consumer is comfortable with lack of freedom for the promise of structure, Apple makes sense. It's like having a computer system or a phone system with an HOA.
 
Megalith said:
Becoming a trillion-dollar company is no modest achievement, but TechCrunch doesn’t think Apple should be receiving that much celebration: one writer accuses Cupertino of being cheap and ”screwing us over” in at least five ways, which include poorly made peripherals, exploitative subscription setups, and “dongle hell”: apparently, 2018 iPhones won’t come with a Lightning to Headphone Jack Adapter.
.
Click to expand...

He refers to Apple as "Cupertino" ?? It's funny though, because they (consumers) ultimately have the choice in the matter, the choice of NOT upgrading, the choice of NOT using an Apple phone, and while Samsung has "equally" high priced phones there are also low end phones too. Apple's way to a trillion was to either convince a) people needed the latest and greatest every year or two and b) convince major cell service providers to bundle the new phone in with their cost of their plan so it masks the idea that they're getting a "free" phone, but then throwing down $1200 a year for their plan.
 
HeadRusch said:
Apple hasn't released new hardware in 10 years, they've milked the sheet-of-glass about as far as it can go, and apple folks continually upgrade because you're in the ecosystem. Full disclosure, I run apple, but I only run older crappy phones, my flagship is the 6s Plus I got 3 weeks ago. But apple makes its money off I thought itunes, beats, and other non-indigenous-hardware sources, no?

This could conceivably go on forever since I don't think we're going to get a new 'phone design' anytime soon, thin sheets of glass seems to be phone's Final Form.......
Click to expand...

That ecosystem is a cult of peer pressure it seems. My younger sister in law has had the Galaxy S class phones for years. She'd get the current one and like most people she would wait till it was paid off to upgrade again. So she would lag a generation or two behind.

When her S6 had finally been paid off she sat on upgrading for a while. For years even before she got the S6 she kept talking about switching to Apple cause all her friends have one and they kept telling her how everything including the camera was better. She kept comparing the pictures of her years old phone to her friends newer iPhones.

Logic had no creep, just the peer pressure filling to the brim before she finally got the iPhone X.

Hell before she got the iPhone X she would mull over it on Facebook. A few of her FB friends who used android tried to point out more detailed information but the flood of FB friends who had iPhones with basically "it's better, don't stick with android it's disgusting lulz" had flooded in. And attacked the two poor android users who dared to open their mouth. Puny Android users! Ha! *insert deep and dark evil voice*

My wife and I enjoy our Note 8's and with Tmobiles Jump on Demand we will soon be enjoying our Note 9's. While I expect my wife's sister who literally got the iPhone X about a month ago to sit there and get buyers remorse when her friends who probably cant afford it talk about the iPhone X being yesterdays old and rusty news and crap compared to the brand spanking new iPhone X 2 which will be the most amazing lasers shooting out of your eyes godly handheld experience that puny Android users would implode if they had the pleasure of just beholding it's all mighty power.
 
Tiberian said:
Also, Apple is *not* the first company to reach a trillion dollar valuation, they are merely the first America-based company to do it.
Click to expand...

Merely? Pretty big accomplishment nonetheless. I'm not an Apple fanboy by any means, and it sounds like Jobs was a real jerk of a person, but credit where it's due eh?

The Apple hate on this forum is absolutely staggering. Gotta love how if someone prefers iOS or merely uses an Apple product, they are a sheep. I'll have to make sure and tell my dad that he's a sheep next time I see him (he has no real brand preference but ended up buying an iPhone after he retired because that's what work had issued and he was used to the interface).

Having said that, do I agree with all of their design decisions? Nope. Think their stuff is overpriced? Yep. Enjoy dealing with iTunes? Gross. Think Android phones are hot pieces of garbage? Hardly. But clearly they are making products that people enjoy using, even if they're not without fault, and some have a really hard time with that. Apple isn't the only company to face such criticism of course, but the anti-Apple cult is more annoying than the Apple users (I used to think the opposite).
 
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At least on in four Apple lightning charger cables I have suffered from fraying at the business end of the cable.
 
Derfman said:
That ecosystem is a cult of peer pressure it seems. My younger sister in law has had the Galaxy S class phones for years. She'd get the current one and like most people she would wait till it was paid off to upgrade again. So she would lag a generation or two behind.

When her S6 had finally been paid off she sat on upgrading for a while. For years even before she got the S6 she kept talking about switching to Apple cause all her friends have one and they kept telling her how everything including the camera was better. She kept comparing the pictures of her years old phone to her friends newer iPhones.

Logic had no creep, just the peer pressure filling to the brim before she finally got the iPhone X.

Hell before she got the iPhone X she would mull over it on Facebook. A few of her FB friends who used android tried to point out more detailed information but the flood of FB friends who had iPhones with basically "it's better, don't stick with android it's disgusting lulz" had flooded in. And attacked the two poor android users who dared to open their mouth. Puny Android users! Ha! *insert deep and dark evil voice*

My wife and I enjoy our Note 8's and with Tmobiles Jump on Demand we will soon be enjoying our Note 9's. While I expect my wife's sister who literally got the iPhone X about a month ago to sit there and get buyers remorse when her friends who probably cant afford it talk about the iPhone X being yesterdays old and rusty news and crap compared to the brand spanking new iPhone X 2 which will be the most amazing lasers shooting out of your eyes godly handheld experience that puny Android users would implode if they had the pleasure of just beholding it's all mighty power.
Click to expand...

Cliff notes: It’s cool when Derfman can get the phone he wants, then upgrade it for no reason just because he wants a new device. But it’s not cool when his sister does it, because she’s stupid.
 
crying.gif
 
Apple's prime was when they came out with the iphone. Since then they haven't done anything other than make sequel products.
Just glad I'm not addicted to their products
 
HeadRusch said:
Apple hasn't released new hardware in 10 years, they've milked the sheet-of-glass about as far as it can go, and apple folks continually upgrade because you're in the ecosystem. Full disclosure, I run apple, but I only run older crappy phones, my flagship is the 6s Plus I got 3 weeks ago. But apple makes its money off I thought itunes, beats, and other non-indigenous-hardware sources, no?

This could conceivably go on forever since I don't think we're going to get a new 'phone design' anytime soon, thin sheets of glass seems to be phone's Final Form.......
Click to expand...
I would have kept my 6 plus but bendgate killed it. I now have a 7 plus and I plan too keep it until it doesn't do what I need it too do anymore. AKA not work.
 
Ocellaris said:
Cliff notes: It’s cool when Derfman can get the phone he wants, then upgrade it for no reason just because he wants a new device. But it’s not cool when his sister does it, because she’s stupid.
Click to expand...

Ironically I think you read into it too much, she also has T-Mobile on my mother in laws plan, we both advised her to go with Jump on Demand for this reason, she didn't listen. With that said, we never peer pressured her to stay with android, cause people are going to do what they're going to do, but the pack mindedness of the Apple cult in regards to the smart phone side of things is quite "lulz it's better cause it's a Apple". :)
 
Dadebraafsie said:
they might not have the greatest products , they for sure have the best marketeers . convincing people to buy or upgrade what they actually do not need is quite genious
Click to expand...

That's an easy feat when your customers are zombies.
 
Tiberian said:
Yeah, it's truly astonishing just how powerful a force Human stupidity really is. ;)
Click to expand...

Don't disagree with that at all, but I think it's extremely lazy to call people stupid just because they've had a good experience with an iPhone and continue to purchase them as long as they keep doing what they want. At that point we're essentially calling people stupid because they have different preferences than us, which is...well, given how toxic everyone is these days I'd hardly be surprised.

Now, blindly buying Apple everything and anything because of the logo or some perceived symbol of status? Yeah, I'd agree that's stupid, but Apple is hardly the only offender there. They just happen to be really good at marketing, for better or for worse.
 
Tiberian said:
Yeah, it's truly astonishing just how powerful a force Human stupidity really is. ;)
Click to expand...
Without Human stupidity, where would we be? Worse yet, where would corporate CEOs be, besides on the server side of the counter at fast food joints? :arghh:
 
Thanks to those most devoted Apple shleeps' blindly faithful donations out of their wallets/purses to the Apple company's apple-shaped piggy bank,
the Apple company is frighteningly comfortable.
 
Of course a company making that kind of money does a lot of shady shit. No company on the planet gets big without being shady as all hell.

I do love all the people that shit on people that like Apple products. Hate to break it to you folks, but you're all sheep as well. You buy into bullshit just as much as every other person does. None of you are any different or better than people that buy Apple devices.
 
Actually I don't turn to Apple because their core products have been a rip-off for 30 years. They made HLS, other than that, everything they've made I haven't touched.

They made 1 trillion dollars selling someone walking down the street to a popular song and lying about being immune to malware. That's all they've sold, and the world bought it hook, line, and sinker.
 
Krenum said:
That's an easy feat when your customers are zombies.
Click to expand...

So I am a zombie because I don't like Samsung. Let's see. I had a dryer catch fire that ended on recall, the $2100 (brand new) refrigerator that came with this house seals have been replaced twice under warranty along with the ice machine replaced. Their own CEO was thrown in jail. Had nothing but problems with games and apps resetting to the start screen on my S3-S5 Galaxy's. Not to mention the crappy Android KitKat Jelly Bean Oreo Twinkie Cracker half ass safe software. Honestly, don't you think Google with all the cash it has could make a better, stable, and safer operating system? Pretty sad they don't. Specially with the latest news how easy Google Play store allows Malware on it.

Finally Apple releases the 6 plus. Haven't had 1 single issue since and now on the X. Innovation?? Let me know when Samsung gets tired of losing Patent Lawsuits to Apple. Air Pods are a great invention. Now all the knock offs are starting ot show up. Don't like the notch? Then why are 80% of phones this year have one too?

Hey if you don't like them, cool. But name calling and bashing people because they do? That is truly childish. And I for one and very happy to see a U.S. Tech company get to 1 trillion before the Japanese(who copied every car from the 60's to 80's from American companies and tech) and Koreans.

It's like telling someone on a tech forum their a moron for buying a $700+ graphics card. It only does one thing. Yet my $1000 phone does everything......(y)
Here's to 2 Trillion Apple! :cool:
 
EODetroit said:
Actually I don't turn to Apple because their core products have been a rip-off for 30 years. They made HLS, other than that, everything they've made I haven't touched.

They made 1 trillion dollars selling someone walking down the street to a popular song and lying about being immune to malware. That's all they've sold, and the world bought it hook, line, and sinker.
Click to expand...

So the Ipod didn't keep us from carrying portable CD players or Walkman's any more. And nobody copied it?? Zune fail what? Just in that 30 years they created the Ipod, Iphone, and Airpods. Just to name a few. All being copied or been. NEXT.
 
I like how Apple is only the number 3 phone maker and people in this thread act like they are some evil company that sells every phone. Guess what, they are well behind Android in most of the world, it’s not just smart people on H that figured out other phones exist.
 
SnowBeast said:
So I am a zombie because I don't like Samsung. Let's see. I had a dryer catch fire that ended on recall, the $2100 (brand new) refrigerator that came with this house seals have been replaced twice under warranty along with the ice machine replaced. Their own CEO was thrown in jail. Had nothing but problems with games and apps resetting to the start screen on my S3-S5 Galaxy's. Not to mention the crappy Android KitKat Jelly Bean Oreo Twinkie Cracker half ass safe software. Honestly, don't you think Google with all the cash it has could make a better, stable, and safer operating system? Pretty sad they don't. Specially with the latest news how easy Google Play store allows Malware on it.

Finally Apple releases the 6 plus. Haven't had 1 single issue since and now on the X. Innovation?? Let me know when Samsung gets tired of losing Patent Lawsuits to Apple. Air Pods are a great invention. Now all the knock offs are starting ot show up. Don't like the notch? Then why are 80% of phones this year have one too?

Hey if you don't like them, cool. But name calling and bashing people because they do? That is truly childish. And I for one and very happy to see a U.S. Tech company get to 1 trillion before the Japanese(who copied every car from the 60's to 80's from American companies and tech) and Koreans.

It's like telling someone on a tech forum their a moron for buying a $700+ graphics card. It only does one thing. Yet my $1000 phone does everything......(y)
Here's to 2 Trillion Apple! :cool:
Click to expand...

Yeah, U.S Tech Company, sure o_O
https://www.businessinsider.com/where-iphone-parts-come-from-2016-4

That's like saying Harley Davidson is an American motorcycle.

Also if you want phone security, use a landline. If not, than you're going to have to trade in a little bit of security for convenience.
 
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Tiberian said:
Given the iPhone Ecks is made from roughly $380 worth of components and it sells for $1,000+, yeah, that's a bit more than 40% profit and the Cult of Mac members are only too happy to hand it over for whatever temporary high they get from the purchase.
Click to expand...


Right... For Q2 2018, Apple had 38.3% GM.

https://techreport.com/news/33957/a...straight-quarter-of-revenue-growth-in-q2-2018

For Q2 2018, AMD had 37% GM. Yet you don't hear any PCMR folks complaining about that.

https://techreport.com/news/33942/amd-continued-to-enjoy-strong-growth-in-q2-2018
 
I decided to buy an iPhone 8 and an Apple watch a few months ago. Ditched the Galaxy S7 and Moto 360. Now I actually get security updates and I don't have to resync the watch every 30 days because it decided it can't find the phone anymore. I don't mind paying Apple another $400 for a phone, at least they are selling all of my data to some advertisers.
 
On one hand, it's evil genius deviousness. Design cords to break, hey guess what, you'll sell more cords. Make it so only YOUR cords work, even more profit!

On the other hand, fuck those fucking fucks.

It's like a company that sells a tasty product that gives you diarrhea. But they also sell an anti-diarrhea product as well. Isn't that called vertical integration or something like that?
 
How many orignal Ipods are around without dead batteries that didn't hit the landfill by now?
 
Comixbooks said:
How many orignal Ipods are around without dead batteries that didn't hit the landfill by now?
Click to expand...

The original iPod is 17 years old. How many 17 year old pieces of electronics have had dead batteries and ended up in the landfill? Lithion batteries degrade and die, that isn't Apple's fault.
 
To think I was this close to getting a iToy as a personal graduation gift to myself. This was in late 2010 when the iToys were an AT&T exclusive, and Verizon was only rumored to get it. I got myself a Droid X and haven't looked back.

Other things that I don't like about Apple:
  • The reality distortion field that Steve Jobs mastered during new product announcements.
  • Proprietary cables that cost more instead of standard ones.
  • Famously low iFixIt scores for product repairability.
  • Non-upgradabilty of Apple products, including not being able to use third-party upgrades unless they are blessed by Apple
  • iToy apps not being able to run in the background unless they are Apple apps
  • Apple Maps
  • Third-party apps and Carplay
 
Apple marketed the masses, what would have we expected of it. lol, I recently had a debacle with my sister in law when I was going to get ther surface pro 2017 (with pen) instead of the ipad pro with the pencil, She was really aggressive about me getting the surface pro when it comes to sketching. even though a lot of people has pointed out that the hardware in the latest iteration has drastically improved (technically the surface pen), this is how you empower your cult. Well for Apple's part, What they execute quite good is focusing on features that would interest a lot of people while leaving every other thing questionable, and that is how you get to 1 trillon dollars lol
 
gotta give props to apple. They perfected design such that other companies wanted to copy them.

If they kept making shit like this, they wouldn't be here today....

CFOO7pt.jpg
 
SnowBeast said:
So the Ipod didn't keep us from carrying portable CD players or Walkman's any more. And nobody copied it?? Zune fail what? Just in that 30 years they created the Ipod, Iphone, and Airpods. Just to name a few. All being copied or been. NEXT.
Click to expand...

LOL at comparing the ipod and iphone to airpods. You're proving the point of the people who point out the Apple Cult following when you compare genuinely novel ideas to wireless Bluetooth headphones.
 
kirbyrj said:
LOL at comparing the ipod and iphone to airpods. You're proving the point of the people who point out the Apple Cult following when you compare genuinely novel ideas to wireless Bluetooth headphones.
Click to expand...

I'd argue Airpods are better than most other Bluetooth headphones/earphones on the market right now. It was, honestly, a pretty stagnant market until recently. Airpads definitely aren't iPod-level things, but it's nice to see the big players in the market be forced to actually put effort into their new earphones.
 
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