Yeah, no surprise here. I’ve been an Apple Computer guy since I was like 5 years old. I read MacAddict magazine in the 90’s, during the more painful years. I spent my Junior High and High School years using a Performa 550 (later “upgraded” to a powerPC Performa 575). That was the family computer for 7 years. I enjoyed the thrilling late 90’s and early 2000’s. I used a Power Mac G4, saw the iMac dominate, and lived out the thrill of the G5. On top of that, we got the iPod, followed by the iPhone, and then the iPad!
I used the Apple //e when Jobs and Woz ran the show. I used the Macintosh before Jobs left, while he was at NeXT, and when he came back, and after his untimely departure again (boo cancer). Many things changed in that time, but the one thing that kept me around was the continued innovation. Truly, Apple was always finding a way to bring new technology to us, in a way that worked.
Lately…. Apple has made some huge advances. I will say that the Mac, and their ARM based M chips are incredible. I use an M1 Macbook Pro, have for about 4 years. It still runs smoother and faster than most any Windows laptop I’ve used at work or elsewhere. The desktop and laptop line has delivered.
The iPhone literally redefined the cell phone market at release. I personally saw outspoken Apple haters not only buy it on release day, but talk endlessly about how amazing it was. The iPhone changed everything. It defined the framework for usable portable computing.
So, in recent years, Apple’s usually much hyped keynotes showcasing their new hardware have been replaced with pre-produced marketing pieces. And the innovation and daring of yore seems to have all but vanished. Sure, we see some incremental tech boosts, a faster processor, cameras that are ever so slightly better… It’s just not the same anymore.
So then I saw this video. And while it’s specific to the Airpods Max, I’m not so sure that it kind of applies to more and more to other parts of Apple’s business.
