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The computers Apple sells have lost their luster for me. Despite the new Mac Pro and Apple fixing their laptop keyboards, I have a lot of criticism for modern Mac hardware. However, the real fall from grace is their software: Mac OS X. (I suppose technically OS X is dead, replaced by macOS 11, but I will refer to it as OS X.) The operating system running on Macs has gone from something enjoyable to many classes of users to something ignored by most and disliked by many former fans. What happened? Mac OS X was killed. Who’s the culprit?
My best friend is not going to upgrade his MacBook to the latest Apple offering. That gives me pause. I’m pleased he isn’t thoughtlessly accepting whatever Apple puts in front of him. Yet neither is he switching (back) to Windows. (Nor is Google gaining a Chromebook customer.) He is going to manage his digital life entirely on his iPad Pro.
The limitations of tablets are glaringly obvious to me. The iPad is not a general purpose computer. The old label of “content consumption device” is not accurate, but it is suggestive. There are dozens of scenarios, important to my everyday computing, that are convoluted or impossible on such a device.
On the other hand, not everyone shares those needs. Also, improvements to iPadOS have made the tablet better for multitasking and complicated workflows. There have been people doing real work on the iPad since 2010 and those improvements let my friend join their growing ranks.
These Post-PC devices (a term Steve Jobs did NOT invent) suffice for plenty of customers. Sales of the iPad don’t have the blockbuster growth of the iPhone, but the iPad business alone still makes big bucks. That fact hasn’t escaped Apple’s attention, especially with Tim Cook at the helm.
Perhaps it’s due to my age, but I generally think of Apple as having two businesses: the Macs and their software, alongside the iOS devices and their software. The Apple I grew up with just had the one main business: Macs and their software. That fact was reflected by the company name: Apple Computer, Incorporated. Almost all of their money was made from the Mac. (Although this wasn’t enough money to keep them afloat during the bad old days of the mid 90s.)
In the 21st century Apple dropped the Computer from their name, but they still make Macs. Macs are still an important part of the business, right? Wrong. According to the balance sheet, Macs rarely account for more than 10-15% of revenue!
Apple Computer truly is a thing of the past. The customer base for their computers has grown over the years, but it’s dwarfed by the customer base that’s attracted to iOS devices. Apple Inc naturally aligns their priorities with their profits. The engineers working on iOS are paying the bills. Those working on OS X (comparatively) are not.
Can you blame Apple for following the money? It doesn’t make sense to put resources into OS X when the public wants to buy stuff running iOS. Then can you blame those customers? Their buying habits disincentivize Apple from prioritizing OS X, true. Yet you can’t blame them for choosing a device & OS that’s convenient for them and easy to use. Acrimony towards these customers is misplaced. They’re not guilty of killing OS X.
20 August 2020 by Sardonyx
Updated 24 August 2020
File under: technology
File under: apple