I'm neither an Apple fanboy nor a hater. I have an iPhone5, but I use a Windows 7 desktop PC. (I am, however, an Apple Maps hater after using it for a few days.)
The annoying thing about articles like this is that it's basically the professional journalist's version of trolling... making an outrageous statement in order to garner attention/clicks. He can come in and shit all over Apple, and suffer no consequences if he's wrong.
I would be infinitely more interested in his opinion if he actually shorted the stock and put his money where his mouth is, journalistic rules against trading aside.
While the headline is inflammatory, the article itself is not so bad. He makes some valid observation about how the market and Apple's position in it have changed, making it harder for them to be the new and innovative player as they have more and more to lose by taking risky moves.
>While the headline is inflammatory, the article itself is not so bad. He makes some valid observation about how the market and Apple's position in it have changed, making it harder for them to be the new and innovative player as they have more and more to lose by taking risky moves.
They have made the EXACT same arguments since after the iPod.
The Zune was to kill it, cheap alternatives were going to kill it. Didn't happen.
Then they put out the iPhone.
It was doomed, they said at first, then Android was going to kill it, then the Antennagate, then the 4S was not impressive enough, etc.
Then the iPad came out, and at first it was "just a large iPhone" and it will fail, then it was gonna be killed by Windows tablets, then by Android tablets, then the Kindle Fire.
They never stop in the same bloody vein. How about instead of BS predictions they do some REPORTING?
I.e tell how Apple does based on numbers, and report it when they --inevitable at some point-- start losing out? Why do they feel they have to play prophets?
Your argument is spurious at best. It's akin to saying the "big one" didn't hit San Francisco in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, so therefore it won't hit in what's remaining of 2012.
Just because something hasn't happened in the past doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.
No, it's more akin to somebody arguing that the "big one" will hit in what's remaining of 2012, and somebody else responding to that argument by noting that the same conditions used in the argument prevailed in past years when the "big one" did not hit.
In other words, it's not an argument that this can't happen, merely an argument that the original argument is baseless.
It'like responding to some guy saying that it will hit "in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011", to "shut up, stop playing the Oracle, since you suck at it, and just inform us WHEN it hits".
The part of the iPhone 5 presentation that made me think was when they emphasised how big headphone manufacturer they are. I remember similar boasting from Nokia (the biggest camera manufacturer at the time) around 2008. We know what happened next...
Numbers can be manipulated as easily as opinions. Note the recurring statistic in which Apple's (continuously dropping) market share is compared to that of 15 handset manufacturers who run Android as though that is a reasonable comparison.
>Numbers can be manipulated as easily as opinions.
Not Quarterly results and SEC fillings.
>Note the recurring statistic in which Apple's (continuously dropping) market share is compared to that of 15 handset manufacturers who run Android as though that is a reasonable comparison.
"Continuously dropping"? They sell more units with each new device up to now (and the 5's preorders see that trend continuing). So, if their "market share" also drops, then that just means the market is expanding at a faster rate.
>Note the recurring statistic in which Apple's (continuously dropping) market share is compared to that of 15 handset manufacturers who run Android as though that is a reasonable comparison.
What you're saying is true and yet at some level the current iPod/iPhone/iPad basically are all the same thing just with or without a cellular radio and/or with a different sized screen. Other than making AppleTV more than a "hobby", it is difficult to see what other "big" permutations of this theme are available for Apple to exploit (this would have been true with or without Jobs).
Meanwhile we have tablet/laptop hybrids, which Microsoft has been taking the lead on (facing a similar reaction to the early iPod, which history may or may not prove to be similarly ill-directed) and then virtually-deviceless-devices, which Google has been pushing into with their Glass project.
You can't count Apple out because of its infamous development secrecy (who knows what they might do next?), but visibly a lot of the cool potential Next Big Things in the gadget/device space seem to be forming at non-Apple companies.
Good point, I should have mentioned Asus. I own and love an original Transformer (TF101), but I still believe it is Microsoft who is likely to push the concept into the mainstream.
Having control of the OS gives Microsoft a lot of power Asus doesn't have with their Android hybrids. Also, as cool as the Transformer is, it still doesn't feel quite like a true hybrid device because ultimately you're still running mostly software that was designed with touch-only in mind, at least assuming you're using it to run Android and haven't installed Ubuntu/ARM or something.
One thing he correctly points out is how much better Apple Maps would have been if Mr. Jobs were around. Apple Maps is too big of a blunder for Apple to contain its criticism.
How, exactly, would Jobs have made it better? Would he have somehow made the Maps team overcome the inherently intractable obstacles they faced given their position? Would he have jumped in and single-handedly crafted excellent data? Would he have extended the use of Google Maps, despite the indications that this transition was forced on Apple?
I keep seeing people say this, but I never hear anyone say exactly what he would have done to make it happen. People basically treat Jobs as magical fairy pixie dust that could be sprinkled on a project to make it awesome. As if Jobs never oversaw the production of anything bad.
If every journalist/blogger who has been bearish on Apple (versus trolling for pagehits) actually shorted the stock, there would be no naysayers at this point :)
I agree - the article was basically a cheap trolling shot at Apple. It ignored a lot of history (remember the initial release of OS X?) and overplayed the map problems. FWIW, iOS6 Maps work great for me, and I live on a private rural road. Apple has always incrementally improved its products, and Maps will be no exception.
Apple Maps works great for me because in terms of quality of data it matches Google. Remember that there are lots of cities in this world and not all of them will be missing lots of data.
So it /matches/ the quality of Google's data in select few countries? Does it ever exceed Google's quality? Because it sure is worse than Google's quality in most other countries. Pardon me for expressing my disappointment.
Well, at least it is in the "Opinion" section, and not filed under "News". I think the literature category is similar to say Paul Graham's essays. Which is not to say that the quality is comparable though.
Now that (shorting the stock) from a journalist covering the subject. Or, for that matter, investing in stock of a company that you cover as a journalist is just about the worst journalistic blunder you can pull off.
Unfortunately, that law doesn't stand up to scrutiny. I've read several stories today alone where the question in the headline cannot be answered accurately with a simple "no", not that this headline is one of them.
The canonization of Steve Jobs as some sort of saint auteur is just freaking ridiculous.
Apple has made missteps in the past, while Steve Jobs was alive. That Jobs was not around for this particular misstep isn't particularly interesting or relevant. The disappearance of Google Maps is a consequence of the breakdown of relations between Google and Apple, and that is not about Steve Jobs.
Making it about him is just stupid. Google has power over Apple in this case, and Apple is bearing the heat for it, Steve Jobs or no.
It's baffling. The G4 cube, Motorola ROKR, retroactively downclocked Power Mac G4s, Mac OS X pinstripes... the man was behind some amazing stuff, but it's not like he was somehow immune to screwups.
Your argument is a gigantic strawman. Nobody has ever claimed that Steve Jobs was perfect and never made mistakes. People admire him because he was an amazing visionary whose product ideas revolutionized several industries.
People have been saying repeatedly that this maps problem would not have happened with Jobs at the helm. I can only conclude that they think he never screwed anything up, because why else would you say that? Do you know?
If I live in Manhattan and extensively use Maps for public transport info, is it true that feature no longer exists?
If so, I'm going to wait before upgrading to iOS 6. Widespread blunder like this does so much to hurt the Apple brand especially in light of an ambitious competitor like Samsung. Apple should realize that even its biggest fan boys will begin rethinking if you cripple basic parts of their product repeatedly. There will come an unforced blunder that couldn't be fixed by an update or use of a cover.
I've been an iPhone user for years but am seriously considering a move to S3 after coming across a few use cases that make me hate Apple.
Basically the trend I am beginning to see is that if you are making enterprise specific apps, sooner or later you come across a basic and intentional iOS limitation that makes you hit your head against the wall.
Yup, no more public transport info. Until Google releases their iOS Maps app (assuming they do), the best solution seems to be loading up maps.google.com in Safari instead.
I was planning on buying the new iphone but after upgrading my iPhone 4 to iOS I'm having second thoughts. I might just go and get the S3 or wait for Note2 to come out.
I think Apple's position for iOS 6 is that they want third party developers to build the transit apps for wherever there's a need rather than trying to build in-house centrally managed support for the entire world. The new maps app will actually find an appropriate transit app for the requested destination installed or in the app store to hand you off to. For example here's one for NYC:
What this means is that for the next month or two coverage is going to be poor but getting towards mid next year they'll probably have better transit capability than Google. For example what I'd like to see is support for routing in my area using the real-time arrival data (our buses are frequently late), correct fare calculations, and balance info for my transit card. Google is unlikely to do any of this stuff but now someone who cares can go solve it. I think Apple pretty much botched the launch but in the not very long term it'll work out fine.
Myself? I'm holding off upgrading until a point release :)
I also live in Manhattan. The new Maps app integrates pretty well with Embark NYC (free), and possibly other transit apps that repackage the MTA's info.
I'll give it a shot but from a user's perspective, I took for granted the ease with which I could find directions from one app using various modes(walk/drive/public transport).
Changing a basic habit for no good reason is hard--if anyone, Apple should know.
You still use one app (Maps.app), and it gives you directions inside the app when you use drive/walk mode, but it takes you to the 3rd party app when you select public transport. So you don't have to open this app ever. (Just wanted to clear that put in case you didn't know)
Seconded. I really like the forgiving and smart inputs of Google maps. Some of the apps take me much longer to input where I need to go while google maps knows exactly what I mean in vast majority of cases.
Apple will never be able to match Google in Maps. Here's why:
Apple does not have any technical depth.
I am a former Apple employee. Apple can't do technically hard problems that require a multi-person effort. Yes, Apple can and has done good Hardware. But hardware is not technically hard - its an art. Apple is good at Art. Google is good at science.
Wow - did you work at the Apple Store, because that comment is very short sighted. In terms of technical problems that require multi-person effort, OSX is a testament to that, as is Motion, Logic Pro and Compressor. All those are highly technical pieces of software that lead their respective markets. To say Apple can't "do" technically hard problems is extremely short sighted.
Motion's a joke - to say it leads its respective market is ridiculous - After Effects leads the motion graphics segment, and Nuke leads the compositing segment.
The only highly technical app Apple has had that lead the market was Shake, and they completely fucked that one up (due to their secrecy and not telling their customers plans for future releases) and ended up killing the product after the majority of the Nothing Real team left and all their high-end customers had moved to Nuke.
To the contrary, Apple can deal fine with technical problems. Doing good hardware + software is extremely technical. You can't build an entire platform like iOS + OS X without massive technical expertise.
The problem with maps is its irregularity and irreducible complexity. You can't reduce maps to their essence and create a great MVP—if you want Google-caliber maps you need tens of thousands of people on the ground and the bureaucracy to support them. Apple can get there (Apple Stores), but it's not an overnight thing.
Though I agree with your sentiment, I don't think the apple stores is anywhere near the footprint they need on the ground . There aren't that many stores, and they are significantly focused on the US.
When you regress to an extremely short list of recent supported hardware and abandon features like package dependency management and high-performing remote display, shipping a BSD fork is no longer that hard.
Part of this is the same old rehashed-to-death "would Jobs allow a misstep" revisionism, but the question about protecting the current success is a more interesting one I haven't seen elsewhere. Apple, from '97 until now, hasn't been afraid to cannibalize their old mainstay products -- and that's where I think the absence of Jobs (and just the sheer size of the iOS success) might change things.
I have a Powerbook G3 Wallstreet that's still running (and the battery still holds a charge) after almost 15 years and I have an iPad I use extensively for reading. Until last month, I used Ubuntu on everything and now that I have a MacBook, I'm not sure why there has been such a fuss over OSX. I'm probably moving back to Ubuntu. I also have an Android phone that I wouldn't trade for an iPhone.
I don't love or hate Apple (or Microsoft for that matter) but I think if Apple is indeed on the down-slope it has nothing to do with the maps application. My beef with both Apple and Microsoft (locking the hardware so I can't use it for other purposes is pretty shady) is that devices I used to be able to peer into layer-by-layer (if I so choose) are now completely opaque. You've essentially reduced an advanced user to the same state of novice-hood as the general population. No thanks!
EDIT - But it just works! I hear that from so many people and it just isn't true. The suite of tools I generally use have the same issues on all three platforms so the only distinguishing characteristic is whether I can actually fix it.
This iOS6 Maps controversy smacks of Antenna-gate. Picking on one shortcoming and heralding the downfall of Apple/iPhone.
Yeah, it sucks that iOS6 maps aren't as good as iOS5 maps.
Does taking a step backward on (important) iOS app mean Apple has peaked? Probably not.
Will the general consumer be happy enough with the iPhone5/iOS6 as a whole that they will tolerate (and then forget about) Maps's reduction in quality? Probably.
Will Apple improve Maps so that in 6-12 months where the iOS6 maps quality is on par with iOS5 maps? Probably.
Time will tell - but my money is this is a classic case of the media/blogs trolling for page views, the general consumer not noticing (ala antenna-gate), and all this will be forgotten in a month.
...and Job's reign had missteps as well - from imac disc mouse to iphone cellular performance on at&t to mobileme to iphone4 antenna. Apple's great power is they make the entire package so enchanting that consumers tolerate issues until they can be resolved.
I can tell you that I never encountered a real user who cared about antennagate, but my Apple-using friends are talking nonstop about how awful the new maps are. Antennagate was something that affected essentially nobody, but got picked up as a great story by the media. These maps deficiencies are affecting a lot of real people, and making some of them pretty angry. Most people became aware of antennagate from the media, but everybody I've talked to has learned about iOS 6 maps either from using it and finding it to be sub-par (which is how it happened for me) or talking to people who did that.
There were plenty of disasters while Jobs was present... anyone remember the iPhone4 antenna disaster? Apple will reiterate and fix and all will be well again. I doubt they will ultimately lose many customers over this.
It is nearly impossible to stay "the best" for a long time. Apple is going to be great and very profitable for many years to come. But the amazing run they've been on for the past decade will slowly start to fade as entrepreneurs around the world all try to take a piece of their billion dollar business.
What a bunch of baloney. The author is just rewriting history to be sensationalist. The maps have some problems, we all know it already (need one of those batman slapping robin pictures).
Apple has mis-steps just like any company. FCPX was very recent and was a total disaster at launch and Steve Jobs was very much there. Have we already forgotten "antenna-gate" with the iPhone 4? There's an expectation for Apple to be so perfect that if any problem happens the ship is going down. No company can break new ground year after year and not have some rough starts.
If Steve Jobs were still alive, would the new map application on the iPhone 5 be such an unmitigated disaster? Interesting question, isn’t it?
No, it's not interesting. It shows a simplistic view of Apple and how companies function. There were missteps while Jobs was alive, and obviously Apple's recent announcements were plans that Jobs was somewhat involved in (he worked almost up until his death).
In a month or two this Maps debacle will be stale news, and the bloggers will onto the next shiny toy or minor misstep.
When a company has had the run of success that Apple has, there is almost nowhere else to go but down. This article is just capitalizing on the statistical probability that Apple has no way of creating another breakaway product that would catapult them into a hitherto unknown league of corporate success.
Fortunately, Steve Jobs had the idea for Apple TV (a real TV not the little box) that could give Apple another runaway success. With their designer Ive's and the UI designers still around, I see no reason why Apple TV won't propel Apple for many years to come.
I do not think AppleTV is the same as that TV you are talking about. AppleTV turns that large screen in your living room that used to only get data from a cable into a large Internet-connected display that shows on-demand photos and video (soemtimes from those phones and tablets). In a sense, the TV just is the largest display in the house, in a place where it is convenient for multiple people to look at it from comfortable chairs.
Can you source that last claim? It's a rather large claim, and one I'm not willing to take on face value. I can believe that TV is fading, but that the under 30 crowd "mostly" watch video on those mediums is a bit of a stretch to me.
"Apple TV" is a 5.5 year old product, currently in its third generation. If this was something that could be won by an "idea" then it would have succeeded by now. The current product looks good, basically "almost as nice as cable for less money" for most users. But I wouldn't pin any long term hopes on a set top box.
I don't think apple has peaked but growth could be slowing. Like Google and Microsoft, there are many places where they can improve.
It looks like they rushed a few things. They are clearly under pressure from other competitors and they are sweating bullets trying to maintain an edge.
I think the worse positioned companies are the OEMs. Samsung, HTC, and Nokia do not control the software stack. Microsoft and Google are moving towards making their own hardware.
I think Samsung, HTC, and Nokia have peaked. Plain and simple.
The problem is not that apples new products aren't improving, but that they are no longer miles ahead of their smartphone competitors. Android is now a compelling alternative. Apple will eventually release a iPhone nano, but Samsung will release a galaxy micro before or soon after.
Has any company in history been so large and yet so reliant on a single product? Because of this I am fat to nervous to invest in apple, despite loving their products.
Uh, all the oil companies come to mind. As for tech; Microsoft? Actually, lots of companies are reliant on one of their products. Though I'm not sure Apple is. The iPad is selling at a pace higher than the iPhone did, for example.
Really? Imagine a tiny phone with around a week of battery life, camera, mp3 player & maps, using the rotary dial for contact selection etc..
As far as I'm concerned that would get you 95% of the value a full iPhone provides; and it would've made for a great one more thing during the last iPhone reveal...
While the maps might not be up to Google's in quality, especially in regard to public transportation, turn by turn navigation is a huge upgrade that wasn't available in Google Maps for iPhone users.
The title/article comes off as mostly click-bait journalism.
No, it hasn't peaked. iPhone peaked, just like iPod peaked. But make no mistake, Apple is in a favorable position to be the 'american Sony' for decades to come.
Apple TV? Apple watch? Apple console?
Who knows, but whatever comes next, Apple will deliver.
It's a silly article. What's really being exposed is just how far ahead Google is with map data aggregation. It's suddenly very apparent that after Search, Google's got great map data.
If it reshifted to data science from hardware, it has the most cash of any tech company and could grow even larger. Steve Wozniak recently talked about smartphones having AI so this might be already in the works (focus on improving siri rather than stylishness).
I hope Apple understands that when it comes to a physical computing device, people (including me) care about look and feel (stylishness) a lot more than voice recognition.
The annoying thing about articles like this is that it's basically the professional journalist's version of trolling... making an outrageous statement in order to garner attention/clicks. He can come in and shit all over Apple, and suffer no consequences if he's wrong.
I would be infinitely more interested in his opinion if he actually shorted the stock and put his money where his mouth is, journalistic rules against trading aside.