Visualize this: You’re sitting in a restaurant, browsing over the wine list. You can’t decide between the Merlot and the Shiraz. The couple in the booth behind you are talking. You aren’t actively listening in on their conversation, but you catch the man at the booth assertively say the word “Apple” to his girlfriend. What is the first thing that flashes through your mind? Is he talking about a piece of fruit? Or is he talking about the multibillion dollar tech company? As you can imagine, the typical answer to this question varies depending on the demographic, but I would expect that most people reading this article would have answered the latter.
Many of you are already well aware that I am not a big fan of Apple. I have owned an iPod and an iPhone 3G (2nd generation iPhone), and I admit there was a time when the iPhone was the best phone for my needs. But in the tech world, things change faster than our underwear, and for me the iPhone is no longer even a consideration as my next phone. The purpose of this article is to explore the reasons that I am not a fan of what Apple has become, and explain why I cannot bring myself to recommend a current generation Apple product to the majority of the people who ask for my advice. I know there are strong beliefs on either side of this debate, so before getting started I must declare that, all things equal I am brand insensitive. I will buy any brand electronic if the facts show that it is the best choice for my needs at that time. And yes, if Apple released a new product that is superior to other offerings on the market, I would not be reluctant to buy from them again.
Apple, or more specifically Steve Jobs, is a brilliant marketer. Probably the most brilliant marketing genius to walk the face of the earth. You turn on your TV, and everyone on your favourite show is using an iPhone, or a Macbook, or an iPod. Restaurants and other businesses are starting to hand their customers iPads, which hold menus and other services designed to help streamline the ordering experience. They have selected to use iPads not because they are the superior device, but because of the perceived passion they bring with them. People who have an iPhone refer to it as an “iPhone”, whereas people with Blackberries, Samsungs, Nokias, HTCs, Motorolas, or any other type of phone simply call theirs a “phone”. Why is an Apple phone referred to as an “iPhone”, whereas every other phone on the planet is simply called a “phone”? I cannot think of any other example that even comes close to what Steve Jobs has accomplished.
Here’s a bit of Apple history. Steve Jobs is the only reason Apple exists today. Literally. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, Jobs was responsible, at least in part, for the launch of the Apple I, Apple II, (Apple III but we won’t talk about that), and the Macintosh. However, as the result of a power struggle, Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985. He did not return to Apple until 1997. The 12 years Jobs was absent was the darkest period in Apple’s past. In fact, they nearly went bankrupt in 1996. They say that Apple was within hours of accepting an offer from Sun Microsystems to buy them out, which they rejected at the last moment. If this had happened, there would have been no iPod. There would have been no iPhone, there would have been no iPad. None of this would have existed. And arguably, Blackberry would still be the dominant Smartphone company. Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, eventually becoming their permanent CEO, and beginning their long recovery from bankruptcy. Also in 1997, Apple announced that they were entering into a partnership with Microsoft. At the Macworld Expo in 1997, Bill Gates said that he was very excited to help Apple return to success. That’s right, we’ve all seen the “I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” commercials, yet Microsoft is among the reasons that Mac exists today.
In 2001, Apple started opening retail stores. This was around the same time that other Computer companies like Gateway were closing their failed retail stores, yet Apple felt they could succeed where others failed. But what did they sell? Palm Pilots. Other company’s MP3 players. Pretty much everything that Apple has now pushed out of business, they used to sell in their own stores. Apple, and Steve Jobs, then went on to release the hugely successful iPod, then later the iPhone and iPad.
So let’s recap. Apple I, Apple II, Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, iPad. Steve Jobs has, hands down, been responsible for the launch of the six most influential technology related products in history. History has also shown that without him, Apple would not exist.
Enough of this history lesson. Despite these huge successes, why do I not like Apple products?
First off, the cult following. A study sponsored and released by the BBC this past week showed that neuroscientists performed an MRI on “Apple Fanboys” and compared the results to similar MRIs performed on people who were very religious. The results showed that the same parts of the brain in the Apple cult specimens were stimulated by the thought of Apple products, as were stimulated in the religious group by the thought of that person’s deity. (Citation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43126515/ns/business-consumer_news/t/dont-call-them-fanboys-now-call-them-acolytes/) Think about this for a minute. A tech company has the same overall impact on a person as a religion. “Trade in your inadequate iPad 1 for the new and improved iPad 2 and our soul will be saved!” I won’t discuss this point any further to avoid crossing a line, but before moving on I’d like to offer my personal thanks for those of you who traded in your iPad 1 for the new and improved iPad 2. You are likely the reason that we were able to prevent the rapture from occurring this past weekend.
Apple, or more specifically Steve Jobs, is a brilliant marketer. Probably the most brilliant marketing genius to walk the face of the earth. You turn on your TV, and everyone on your favourite show is using an iPhone, or a Macbook, or an iPod. Restaurants and other businesses are starting to hand their customers iPads, which hold menus and other services designed to help streamline the ordering experience. They have selected to use iPads not because they are the superior device, but because of the perceived passion they bring with them. People who have an iPhone refer to it as an “iPhone”, whereas people with Blackberries, Samsungs, Nokias, HTCs, Motorolas, or any other type of phone simply call theirs a “phone”. Why is an Apple phone referred to as an “iPhone”, whereas every other phone on the planet is simply called a “phone”? I cannot think of any other example that even comes close to what Steve Jobs has accomplished.
Here’s a bit of Apple history. Steve Jobs is the only reason Apple exists today. Literally. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, Jobs was responsible, at least in part, for the launch of the Apple I, Apple II, (Apple III but we won’t talk about that), and the Macintosh. However, as the result of a power struggle, Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985. He did not return to Apple until 1997. The 12 years Jobs was absent was the darkest period in Apple’s past. In fact, they nearly went bankrupt in 1996. They say that Apple was within hours of accepting an offer from Sun Microsystems to buy them out, which they rejected at the last moment. If this had happened, there would have been no iPod. There would have been no iPhone, there would have been no iPad. None of this would have existed. And arguably, Blackberry would still be the dominant Smartphone company. Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, eventually becoming their permanent CEO, and beginning their long recovery from bankruptcy. Also in 1997, Apple announced that they were entering into a partnership with Microsoft. At the Macworld Expo in 1997, Bill Gates said that he was very excited to help Apple return to success. That’s right, we’ve all seen the “I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” commercials, yet Microsoft is among the reasons that Mac exists today.
In 2001, Apple started opening retail stores. This was around the same time that other Computer companies like Gateway were closing their failed retail stores, yet Apple felt they could succeed where others failed. But what did they sell? Palm Pilots. Other company’s MP3 players. Pretty much everything that Apple has now pushed out of business, they used to sell in their own stores. Apple, and Steve Jobs, then went on to release the hugely successful iPod, then later the iPhone and iPad.
So let’s recap. Apple I, Apple II, Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, iPad. Steve Jobs has, hands down, been responsible for the launch of the six most influential technology related products in history. History has also shown that without him, Apple would not exist.
Enough of this history lesson. Despite these huge successes, why do I not like Apple products?
First off, the cult following. A study sponsored and released by the BBC this past week showed that neuroscientists performed an MRI on “Apple Fanboys” and compared the results to similar MRIs performed on people who were very religious. The results showed that the same parts of the brain in the Apple cult specimens were stimulated by the thought of Apple products, as were stimulated in the religious group by the thought of that person’s deity. (Citation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43126515/ns/business-consumer_news/t/dont-call-them-fanboys-now-call-them-acolytes/) Think about this for a minute. A tech company has the same overall impact on a person as a religion. “Trade in your inadequate iPad 1 for the new and improved iPad 2 and our soul will be saved!” I won’t discuss this point any further to avoid crossing a line, but before moving on I’d like to offer my personal thanks for those of you who traded in your iPad 1 for the new and improved iPad 2. You are likely the reason that we were able to prevent the rapture from occurring this past weekend.
Second, the restrictions. Apple’s iOS is the most locked down mainstream operating system to date. For example, you can’t run Flash. Jobs claims that they don’t want to support Adobe Flash simply because it is a “poorly developed program responsible for crashing Apple computers.” Really? Flash runs fine on my Android phone, Flash runs fine on my laptop ... why does it crash Apple products? Regardless of whether or not Flash is poorly written (of which I will not share opinions in this article), if it causes the Apple product to crash, then couldn’t it possibly be a problem with the Apple product and not Flash? A well written operating system should be able to detect and manage issues leading to a crash. If the user wants to view a website written in Flash, let them. If there is a problem with the content delivery, it is the content provider’s responsibility to ensure the optimal usability of their site; it is not Apple’s place to prevent a user from viewing the content on that site.
Third, the developer experience in the Apple “App Store”. The App Store is the most convoluted dictatorship I have ever seen. I know of one app that was put on the App Store by a photographer named Lisa Bettany that was wildly successful, selling half a million dollars worth in its first month. However, Apple pulled the app from the App Store. After looking into it, she discovered that it was pulled because she used the volume buttons on the side of the phone to act as the shutter release. Now I understand that there is some need for consistency in UI interaction, but there are extremes. What is the problem with using the volume buttons as a shutter release while in an app? It does not take away from the user experience, and it does not interfere with the usability or functionality of the phone. And it was obviously profitable, including for Apple.
I also disagree with the details of how Apple forces pricing in their app store to be no more the same content from any other source. For example, magazine subscriptions must be less than or equal to any other source for magazine subscriptions. The problem here is that 30% of the profit goes to Apple, only 70% goes to the publisher. So any sales that are made in the App Store, when the buyer could just have easily gone to the publisher’s website to get the same content, causes the publisher to immediately lose 30%, without any way of recovering those costs, or “suggesting” to the buyer that they should go to their website, instead of buying the subscription in the App Store, where the publisher could get their entire commission. In other app stores, the store itself does not take a cut of the profits.
Fourth, the hardware and lack of innovation. Let’s talk about the iPhone. The iPhone is released once per year. Apple orders the parts needed to build the phones months in advance for reasons explained by simple economics. So by the time the new iPhone is ready for market, it is already about 6 months behind the curve. By the time the next version is available, the current version is already about 18 months behind the curve. Whereas most other phones are cutting edge when they are released. Granted, Canada sometimes needs to wait a few extra months before the new phones are available to us, but the competition between non-Apple manufacturers is still fierce. We already have dual core processors in phones (iPhone is NOT one of them), we have video chat that is available over a cellular network (iPhone only allows video chat over WiFi), and we have ridiculously bright and vibrant super AMOLED screens (arguably superior to the iPhone’s Retina display). The iPhone 4 is inferior to several Android and Windows Phone 7 handsets that are on the market now, they just don’t have the same level of marketing that the iPhone has.
Now let’s talk about the iPad. The iPad is not innovative. Tablets have existed for a decade. In fact, tablets with the same general specs (on paper at least) have existed for nearly a decade as well. Apple is a company that largely waits until another company has proven a technology, and then takes that same technology, gives it their own special sugar, and suddenly it turns to gold. There are definitely things about the iPad that are appealing, but I don’t have a place for it in my quiver of gadgets. There is at least one Android tablet that, for my purposes, is far more appealing than the iPad is, is more powerful, is nowhere near as restricted, fully supports Flash, and doesn’t have the same price tag that the iPad has.
Fifth, the increasing arrogance within the company. At the iPad 2 announcement back in March, there were several lies/inaccuracies that were told. For example:
They said that the iPad 2 was the first tablet to ship with dual cores. This was not correct. At the time, both the Motorola Xoom and the Dell Streak were shipping with dual cores.
They misquoted Samsung’s vice president, saying that Samsung declared their sales to be “quite small” and that they were upgrading their “inadequate” hardware to compete with Apple’s iPad. However, this is not what the vice president said. The correct quote from the Japanese vice president, who was fighting with his poor English, was “our sales are quite smooth” and that they believed their tablets were selling “quite well.” This was a direct shot at Samsung, something that up to now I did not expect Apple to do at such a public event.
There were other incorrect statements made during the announcement, but these are simply a couple of examples. The arrogance that is building within apple is disappointing.
And sixth, the inability for the average consumer to see through the marketing and the hype, and see that there are other devices for less money, that are often superior in virtually every way. Much like choosing that glass of wine, I want to look past all the marketing and the hype, and choose the right device for me. Apple does not provide the best products for my purposes, nor do they make the best products for many of the people who think Apple is the golden egg and refuse to look at anything else. We have been brainwashed.
Am I just making a stand by not recommending Apple to all but a select group of people who ask me what is the best gadget for them to buy? Is this a protest? Possibly. But I predict that within the next 3 years, Apple will no longer be the powerhouse it is today. For all you Apple fanboys reading this article, mark your calendars. June 2014. You may have prevented the rapture from occurring with your iPad 2 purchases, but be warned ... “appture” will be upon us.
- Mark Bass
Third, the developer experience in the Apple “App Store”. The App Store is the most convoluted dictatorship I have ever seen. I know of one app that was put on the App Store by a photographer named Lisa Bettany that was wildly successful, selling half a million dollars worth in its first month. However, Apple pulled the app from the App Store. After looking into it, she discovered that it was pulled because she used the volume buttons on the side of the phone to act as the shutter release. Now I understand that there is some need for consistency in UI interaction, but there are extremes. What is the problem with using the volume buttons as a shutter release while in an app? It does not take away from the user experience, and it does not interfere with the usability or functionality of the phone. And it was obviously profitable, including for Apple.
I also disagree with the details of how Apple forces pricing in their app store to be no more the same content from any other source. For example, magazine subscriptions must be less than or equal to any other source for magazine subscriptions. The problem here is that 30% of the profit goes to Apple, only 70% goes to the publisher. So any sales that are made in the App Store, when the buyer could just have easily gone to the publisher’s website to get the same content, causes the publisher to immediately lose 30%, without any way of recovering those costs, or “suggesting” to the buyer that they should go to their website, instead of buying the subscription in the App Store, where the publisher could get their entire commission. In other app stores, the store itself does not take a cut of the profits.
Fourth, the hardware and lack of innovation. Let’s talk about the iPhone. The iPhone is released once per year. Apple orders the parts needed to build the phones months in advance for reasons explained by simple economics. So by the time the new iPhone is ready for market, it is already about 6 months behind the curve. By the time the next version is available, the current version is already about 18 months behind the curve. Whereas most other phones are cutting edge when they are released. Granted, Canada sometimes needs to wait a few extra months before the new phones are available to us, but the competition between non-Apple manufacturers is still fierce. We already have dual core processors in phones (iPhone is NOT one of them), we have video chat that is available over a cellular network (iPhone only allows video chat over WiFi), and we have ridiculously bright and vibrant super AMOLED screens (arguably superior to the iPhone’s Retina display). The iPhone 4 is inferior to several Android and Windows Phone 7 handsets that are on the market now, they just don’t have the same level of marketing that the iPhone has.
Now let’s talk about the iPad. The iPad is not innovative. Tablets have existed for a decade. In fact, tablets with the same general specs (on paper at least) have existed for nearly a decade as well. Apple is a company that largely waits until another company has proven a technology, and then takes that same technology, gives it their own special sugar, and suddenly it turns to gold. There are definitely things about the iPad that are appealing, but I don’t have a place for it in my quiver of gadgets. There is at least one Android tablet that, for my purposes, is far more appealing than the iPad is, is more powerful, is nowhere near as restricted, fully supports Flash, and doesn’t have the same price tag that the iPad has.
Fifth, the increasing arrogance within the company. At the iPad 2 announcement back in March, there were several lies/inaccuracies that were told. For example:
They said that the iPad 2 was the first tablet to ship with dual cores. This was not correct. At the time, both the Motorola Xoom and the Dell Streak were shipping with dual cores.
They misquoted Samsung’s vice president, saying that Samsung declared their sales to be “quite small” and that they were upgrading their “inadequate” hardware to compete with Apple’s iPad. However, this is not what the vice president said. The correct quote from the Japanese vice president, who was fighting with his poor English, was “our sales are quite smooth” and that they believed their tablets were selling “quite well.” This was a direct shot at Samsung, something that up to now I did not expect Apple to do at such a public event.
There were other incorrect statements made during the announcement, but these are simply a couple of examples. The arrogance that is building within apple is disappointing.
And sixth, the inability for the average consumer to see through the marketing and the hype, and see that there are other devices for less money, that are often superior in virtually every way. Much like choosing that glass of wine, I want to look past all the marketing and the hype, and choose the right device for me. Apple does not provide the best products for my purposes, nor do they make the best products for many of the people who think Apple is the golden egg and refuse to look at anything else. We have been brainwashed.
Am I just making a stand by not recommending Apple to all but a select group of people who ask me what is the best gadget for them to buy? Is this a protest? Possibly. But I predict that within the next 3 years, Apple will no longer be the powerhouse it is today. For all you Apple fanboys reading this article, mark your calendars. June 2014. You may have prevented the rapture from occurring with your iPad 2 purchases, but be warned ... “appture” will be upon us.
- Mark Bass
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