[Albion] Apple - the world's first trillion dollar company

[TWOCHOICEStom]

I'm wondering if I'll bother upgrading when the new iPhone comes out in a couple of months or so. Right now, I can't see why I will.

Ok let me help you out there.You see, you seem to be forgetting about the ability to turn a video of yourself into a TALKING POO.




So, get yourself back down that Apple Store eh.

 

[Bozza]

Sadly that is complete bollocks and the reason that so many are still in thrall to the cult of Apple. The best Android phones piss all over the iPhone for battery life, speed and of course cost. I've tried using an iPhone and it was clunky, awkward and restrictive in comparison to a top of the range Android phone.

It's personal preference of course. The iPhone X is a great phone if you like the Apple experience. However the One Plus 5t is a better phone spec wise and costs half as much.

To say Apple are "streets ahead" regarding ease of use is just plain wrong though and makes you sound about as up to date on tech as BG. You may prefer to spend more to use Apple products but that's a choice based on brand loyalty and what you're used to using rather than because the products or "ease of use" are in any way superior.

A brilliant response to "you can't just compare specs though" by largely waffling on about specs. Who really gives a shit about specs?

i buy Apple because...

1. Well, everything in the house is Apple. At a rough count: 1 * MacBook Pro, 2 * MacBook Airs, 1 * Mac mini, 1 * iPad Air, 1 * iPad mini, 2 * iPhones (X and 7 Plus) and 1 * AppleTV, and they all work wonderfully together. It's just easy.

2. Customer service. I've never had a bad experience with Apple. This includes my daughter dropping her iPod Touch onto a concrete floor and shattering the screen. Apple just swapped it over for another one, free of charge. Me dropping my iPhone on a bar floor in NYC late one evening and being able to get it repaired at the Apple Store in Grand Central Station before 8am the next morning. I'm happy to pay more, if I actually am, to know that I'll be looked after if something goes wrong.

iOS was streets ahead of Android some years back but that's simply not the case any more, but I'm familiar with iOS and when I have to use an Android phone for work, as I do from time to time, it makes me feel like a 95-year old presented with some technology for the first time. I have no ****ing clue what is going on. That's familiarity for you though.

Where iOS is still streets ahead, and this is an area I'm working on at the moment, is app development. Despite the significantly larger user base, iOS nearly always comes first. And that's because IOS is easier to develop for (not a zillion different devices running a zillion different versions of Android) but also because iOS customers will spend money on apps and IAPs. Android users are tight. Or poor. Maybe both.

 

[Bozza]

Cult of Apple? We're the outsiders and in the minority.

The real cult is Android, surely. They've sucked up nearly everyone.

 

[schmunk]

I must admit this advert tempted me towards the dark side...

 

[Audax]

The reporting going on currently isn't accurate, as it turns out.

Apple is the first US company to hit $1 trillion valuation. They are not the first in the world, however: Petrochina achieved it (briefly) back in 2007. Their valuation collapsed soon after.

 

[LlcoolJ]

I must admit this advert tempted me towards the dark side...

Yep. £1100 to make your face into a cat. Amazing.

 

[LlcoolJ]

A brilliant response to "you can't just compare specs though" by largely waffling on about specs. Who really gives a shit about specs?

i buy Apple because...

1. Well, everything in the house is Apple. At a rough count: 1 * MacBook Pro, 2 * MacBook Airs, 1 * Mac mini, 1 * iPad Air, 1 * iPad mini, 2 * iPhones (X and 7 Plus) and 1 * AppleTV, and they all work wonderfully together. It's just easy.

2. Customer service. I've never had a bad experience with Apple. This includes my daughter dropping her iPod Touch onto a concrete floor and shattering the screen. Apple just swapped it over for another one, free of charge. Me dropping my iPhone on a bar floor in NYC late one evening and being able to get it repaired at the Apple Store in Grand Central Station before 8am the next morning. I'm happy to pay more, if I actually am, to know that I'll be looked after if something goes wrong.

iOS was streets ahead of Android some years back but that's simply not the case any more, but I'm familiar with iOS and when I have to use an Android phone for work, as I do from time to time, it makes me feel like a 95-year old presented with some technology for the first time. I have no ****ing clue what is going on. That's familiarity for you though.

Where iOS is still streets ahead, and this is an area I'm working on at the moment, is app development. Despite the significantly larger user base, iOS nearly always comes first. And that's because IOS is easier to develop for (not a zillion different devices running a zillion different versions of Android) but also because iOS customers will spend money on apps and IAPs. Android users are tight. Or poor. Maybe both.

You've basically agreed with me. Personal preference, nothing to do with ease of use. It's just what your used to and that's fair enough.

 

[schmunk]

Yep. £1100 to make your face into a cat. Amazing.

I wasn't talking about that side of the picture...

 

[Bozza]

You've basically agreed with me. Personal preference, nothing to do with ease of use. It's just what your used to and that's fair enough.

Don't under-estimate the value of best-in-class customer service too. I've seen friends who have had issues with Android phones and whether they bought outright or are on a contract from one of the high street chains, it always seems like a massive faff to get sorted out, often involving sending the phone away for some period of time and either being without a phone completely or some crappy 50th-hand loaner phone to get by with.

When i dropped my phone in NYC, I could open the Apple Store app on my phone there and then, make an appointment for early the next morning and I knew that despite the fact I was abroad, that by the time I'd had breakfast I'd have as as-new phone again.

I still think the laptops are without parallel, even though the price is now eye-watering. It's not just coincidence that nearly everyone in tech uses MacBooks.

 

[BadFish]

Fair enough. I have a client PC for work but all my home/personal computer stuff is Apple. I feel I’m in a good position to compare ease of use and I find Apple much easier and much more intuitive not to mention more stable.

I must admit that I have never really compared apples and apples because I haven't owned a decent pc. However I love my mac book pro and will be getting another when it finally gives up the ghost.

My wife has gone through three cheap PC's since I have had my mac book so I think it is worth the money.

Using a Samsung phone at the moment and don't mind it but I would like to go back to an iPhone next time.

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[seagulls4ever]

I do think Apple rely the most on trend relative to other manufacturers, which allows them to overcharge for their devices. Fair play to them - they know how to make money. Whether they can sustain this may depend on whether they can keep up with the competition, which has now surpassed Apple in some areas.

What does annoy me though is this current 'notch' trend. The Essential phone was the first to have a notch, and then it came the iPhone, and now other manufacturers are following suit. I will never buy a phone with a notch. It looks terrible. They can bin the rounded corners and curved screens as well.

Be interesting to see which way development goes. Apparently some firms will be releasing foldable phones next year. Interesting concept - I wouldn't mind a phone that I can increase the size of to essentially turn it into a tablet when watching videos or whatever. Perhaps a small keyboard could also attach so that people could more easily use it for work when on the move. I've never felt the need for a tablet before, but I could get behind that. It would have to fold both ways though, so that I could still use the phone with one hand when I wanted to. Virtual reality is being pushed by phone makers at the moment as well, and I would imagine the size of a fully extended foldable phone wouldn't be small enough to fit into a headset.

 

[Johnny RoastBeef]

Apple's iPhone sales have been flat for a few years now, what they have been successful in doing is making more money per customer, whether through supply chain efficiencies, higher priced devices (iPhone X) or through additional services (iCloud storage, Apple Music etc).

But, yes, all phone innovation has largely stalled across the board. I bought an iPhone X, got it home, thought "why have I spent over £1,000 on a phone I don't need" and took it back again. My nearly two-year old iPhone 7 Plus is still more than adequate for my needs so I'm wondering if I'll bother upgrading when the new iPhone comes out in a couple of months or so. Right now, I can't see why I will.

I'm team android, but feel the same way about my Samsung S7 edge. It's going to take something greater than the proposed folding screen to make me upgrade anytime soon.

 

[schmunk]

I still think the laptops are without parallel, even though the price is now eye-watering. It's not just coincidence that nearly everyone in tech uses MacBooks.

I'm typing this on a MS Surface Laptop. Other than for integration into a pre-existing Apple ecosystem, I can't see how a MacBook would be better.

That said - they're pretty much the same price, when specced equivalently...

 

[BadFish]

I'm typing this on a MS Surface Laptop. Other than for integration into a pre-existing Apple ecosystem, I can't see how a MacBook would be better.

That said - they're pretty much the same price, when specced equivalently...

When equally specced, surely it is just about personal preference. We can argue till we are blue in the face that one is better than the other but we will never come to a conclusion.

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[Johnny RoastBeef]

Cult of Apple? We're the outsiders and in the minority.

The real cult is Android, surely. They've sucked up nearly everyone.

You're probably correct, I just find Apple users more Evangelical.

I should declare that I use an iPad, but I'm finding more and more apps fail to work on it as the iOS required has superseded my iPads capability. This built in lifespan really annoys me about Apple as the hardware isn't cheap, and it seems a ploy to get you to upgrade even though the device would be good for many more years, but for the software.

 

[seagulls4ever]

When equally specced, surely it is just about personal preference.

Not necessarily. Apple's latest MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9 processor has had some problems due to its design, which has meant overheating and throttling, thereby reducing performance relative to what the i9 should be achieving, although Apple have said they will roll out a software patch to try and fix it. Even so, the design will apparently make it difficult for the i9 to achieve the speeds it's supposed to.

 

[BadFish]

Not necessarily. Apple's latest MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9 processor has had some problems due to its design, which has meant overheating and throttling, thereby reducing performance relative to what the i9 should be achieving, although Apple have said they will roll out a software patch to try and fix it. Even so, the design will apparently make it difficult for the i9 to achieve the speeds it's supposed it.

I am sure if you looked into both sides of the discussion you could find plenty of these kinds of deficiencies. My point was a little more general than this.

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[marcos3263]

I have the Galaxy S8+ after upgrading from the S7 edge. it is a thing of beauty, fast and powerful. It is little different though to my friends S9+ as the tech is generally just so good how can you better it. Im hoping that I dont drop it and in 18 months go to a sim only deal to save money each month as I cant see what functions would make me want to upgrade anymore. (although the planned obsolescence may kill that idea)

I think many others are of the same opinion and so the need for the latest model are less than previous years/generations of phones. I have had my ipad for 4 years and thats going strong. I have no desire to have these devises talking to each other so don't worry about different operating systems. I find Android better for day to day but the ipad is a stable platform for videos and games.

 

[Bozza]

When equally specced, surely it is just about personal preference. We can argue till we are blue in the face that one is better than the other but we will never come to a conclusion.

Absolutely.

And you'll still look around almost any tech conference or an app development shop and see 90%+ MacBooks.

 

[Beach Hut]

The reporting going on currently isn't accurate, as it turns out.

Apple is the first US company to hit $1 trillion valuation. They are not the first in the world, however: Petrochina achieved it (briefly) back in 2007. Their valuation collapsed soon after.

The majority of Petrochina shares were owned by the the government of China so not really a fair comparison