“Does anyone still remember the olden days when doomed Apple [AAPL] shipped products?” Jonny Evans asks for Computerworld.
“Those days appear gone, giving Foxconn a headache and turning all our predictions upside down, 205 days have passed since Apple gave us a significant product release,” Evans reports. “Take the Mac Pro: Writing in an email Apple CEO, Tim Cook, last year promised an upgraded model this year, many hoped it may make its debut at or around NAB. It didn’t. The only fresh Apples since last year have consisted of a processor upgrade for Retina Display models of MacBook Pro and a higher-capacity iPad, but that’s it.”
Evans writes, “Apple’s last big reveal took place on October 23, 2012 when the iPad mini, iPad 4, Retina Display MacBook Pro (13-inch) and new iMac took their bow. This 205 day wait since a significant Apple hardware product release is the longest gap I can recall in a decade.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Judge Bork” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Analyst: Apple to unveil upgraded MacBooks across the line at WWDC – April 29, 2013
Decoding Apple’s cryptic WWDC 2013 invitation – April 26, 2013
Apple’s Phil Schiller: New iOS and OS X versions to be unveiled at WWDC 2013 in June – April 24, 2013
RUMOR: Apple to announce replacement for Mac Pro soon – April 8, 2013
Evans makes a valid point.
Nothing valid about it. Apple isn’t like MSFT and so many other firms, where they introduce then wait for the consumer to report bugs, or have you been using Apple products so long now, that you’ve forgotten about those days?
Instead of bitching that its been 205 days since a major upgrade, keep in mind that the average consumer upgrades about every 1,095 days (3 years).
You’re doing the “bitching,” I merely mentioned Evans made a valid point. I’d suggest you visit here before your next monthly, irritable, bloated reply:
http://www.midol.com
hey Gregg, use that coupon, you can save 20%.
Relax botvinnik – do take these comments so personal
I think he was referring to the writer bitching. Not you.
Yes sir, I’m afraid he does. And we don’t know what’s coming so there’s really nothing to help the stock. The expected refresh of the iPhone 5 (5s) isn’t going to move the needle. The smaller more affordable emerging-market iPhone is probably coming but no one knows for sure. I think it will help Apple tremendously because they will gain market share. I don’t believe Apple will sacrifice too much margin but you never know how the street will react. If they can ever get on China Mobile I believe that will be a significant move for Apple. iWatch? iTv? Don’t know if they’re coming, don’t know how well they will be received if they do arrive? I believe Apple will be able to monetize all those iTunes accounts someday but I believe that’s not coming anytime soon. Once they’re able to use the fingerprint verification it will happen. That will be big, really big. Apple could make a splash by improving their services and or coming up with something new in the services area. They may make the best hardware and software in the world but they don’t do services nearly as well as you would think they would. Or nearly as well as they should with all that money and all those employees. We keep waiting for Apple to “own the living room” but nothing ever happens. That needs to happen. That’s part of the future for Apple if they can just do it. Hardware margins will come down as time goes on so Apple will have to make money in other ways. They can’t continue to make most of their money on iPhones and iPads. Google, as evil as they are, has a steady stream of money from ads. And that’s not going away, it’s only getting bigger. Especially when they are able to really monetize YouTube. YouTube will be worth billions to Google. A tremendous investment for Google. Apple’s future will lie in its ability to monetize it’s iTunes accounts and services it provides. Not in hardware. If it were any other company I would say that Apple could possibly make a large acquisition that would make a huge impact in its business and on Wall Street but Apple never does that. They simply want to buy small companies and roll them into their infrastructure. Their choice but I do believe they are missing the boat. I have to believe that they could have purchased Twitter and that would have made a huge impact on their business. Netflix has been suggested too. And right now we just don’t see anything on the horizon that will move the needle. A larger iPhone alongside the 5S would have been tremendous but I don’t believe that’s going to happen. Apple has misjudged the consumer and in particular it’s consumer by not already having a larger iPhone. And no, sales of larger Android phones are not larger iPhones. So those statistics mean nothing. Absolutely nothing. You might as well use comparisons between the Windows phone and the iPhone. When Apple makes the larger iPhone it will easily outsell the current form factor iPhone. It has been a long dry spell and Apple really could use the next big thing.
I think your analysis could use a few less words but i wholeheartily agree with you.
Sure.
Well maybe apple has been socking away all those billions for NOW. Maybe they saw the leap necessary — possibly multiple leaps — and understood the time required to stew during the transitions, and the lowering of the stock and neasaying that would come too. In fact, maybe steve planned some of the billions for stock buybacks and dividends all along, and was just waiting for the first major waiting period (205 days and counting) to spring them.
The next revolution isn’t imac, MBA/mbp, iPod or iPhone. Not osx or iOS. Those will continue to (more and more slowly) evolve. Apple’s eye is on what’s next and it’ll take time and quiet before they can open the barn on the next thing.
Doubt that they’ll do it; but I won’t.
the smoke and mirrors, secrecy and mystery, and circa 2002 ironic hipster ad campaigns are gettin’ old. Apple’s ‘prevent defense’ is allowing the Android/Samsung Juggernaut to effortless march all the way down the gridiron past field goal range to the 1 yard line.
With appropriate paragraph breaks, 90% chance I read your post.
Without, about zero. Just saying.
Sure.
Most people stopped reading after you expressed concern for the stock price. In case it hasn’t sunk in, the stock price is not a useful indicator of Apple’s actual health as a company.
You don’t know what’s coming? You never knew what was coming.
Sounds like you’ve lost a lot of money in AAPL. And yes, stock price is eventually the reflection of the health of the company. You seem so angry. Have a cocktail, put your feet up and stop acting like a fanboy for a few minutes. See what the rest of the world is like.
Sounds like you don’t know what the fuck you are talking about. Only people snookered by Wall St propaganda believe the strident idiocy that companies should be overly concerned with their stock price.
Whoa Nellie! You must have really lost a lot! Hope you don’t have any loaded weapons close.
Not to long ago everyone said apple was introducing to many products to fast. Anyway , a tsunami of new gadgets are coming soon.
So what’s the problem? Is Evans just trying to think of something to say and is MDN pandering to giving him airtime??
I mean:
In 2007 Apple introduced the (groundbreaking) iPhone
3 years later Apple introduced the (groundbreaking) iPad
So, 3 years later in 2013, we expect Apple to introduce their next groundbreaking product. Time is still on their side, until they fail, give them some space.
Why does MDN publish such crass viewpoints?
“Why does MDN publish such crass viewpoints?”
They generate hits.
And you are evidence of that. Twice so far.
lol, touché.
That’s not the point. The point is Apple has released NOTHING except minor updated internals for a couple products in well over six months. This isn’t about new product categories, it’s about new products at all.
While I don’t mind waiting, and expect Apple to hit it out of the park when they get around to releasing something, I can understand people’s frustrations. However, they also have to keep in mind that Apple refreshed their entire product lineup between June and October of last year. If products are only updated every 12 months, then we shouldn’t expect anything until next month at the earliest.
F off Evans
Flat? I’d take $33 Billion any day. That isn’t “FLAT” to me! It is sustainable year on year. IF it were only $33 million, I might be a bit concerned.
Tom Bamford is right.
Hit bait. Journalists (sic) have long since prostituted out their credibility.
Yes this is the longest gap from Apple. And I hope this only means something HUGE is coming down the pipe. If Apple only shows interface tweaks to iOS and OS X, than I am extremely worried for Apple’s future. Apple needs to keep an close eye on Google and compete vigorously with them.
I am really afraid that is all what we will get at wwdc: some minor updates to ios, osx and iclouds. Heck, apple hasn’t even been able of updating iworks in the last 4 years. What are all those 15.000 engineers doing all day? I am losing faith…
Yes.
Well, WWDC this year will certainly be a sentinel event. Will Apple show it prowess in design and technology or will we see Apple touting incremental changes and minor improvements. Certainly it is nearly impossible for any company to offer some new and fantastic product, but I certainly am getting tired of the slow progression in product development at Apple. Even if Apple doesn’t reveal a completely new device I am expecting radical advances and enhanced functionality in software, and adaptation of cutting edge technologies.
Mac : They don’t have to announce the new iTV or that they have signed all the cable companies so they can own the living room through the current Apple TV. They don’t have to announce the iWatch. Or the 5S. Or the smaller iPhone for the emerging markets. Or even that much needed larger iPhone. But they had better come up with some very positive news about something. Otherwise AAPL may see the low to mid $300 range.
205 days?!?!?! OOOOoooooooo…another row of icons for the 7 year old UI?!?!!
OH MY GOD!!! Let there be weeping and gnashing of teeth! 205 WHOLE DAYS! A little over HALF A YEAR! Life just isn’t worth living!
With only a few weeks to WWDC, there does not seem to be the same frantic rumor milling going on as in years past. I hope this means apple has doubled down on secrecy and not that there is not much to leak :-0
It is valid point, but there is evidence that suggests that had had Apple been to release new iPads this spring they would have. Technicall hurdles prevented the spring refresh, and Scott Forstall’s ouster has impacted OSX, due to the iOS team having recruited OSX employees away from 10.9 development. The bottom line- there have been delays, but there is evidence that good products are coming, and the amount will be substantial. And by the way, Tim Cook stated last year that the new Mac Pro would be released in LATE 2013. It would be nice, if tech pundits and Wall Street could pay attention to these types of facts.
What proof? What good products are coming? I’m not saying that they’re not going to happen, but we have no proof. And we can all speculate all day long. But in the end it’s just speculation. And investors need some sort of proof that they should invest in a company. 99.9% of investors are not Apple faithful. They’re just regular people.
It is speculation.
However, it is extremely logical speculation because it is based upon past success and enormous resources that would allow them to have the very best designers and engineers.
But that’s why it’s called speculation. Otherwise it would be called fact.
We’re one month away from WWDC. I’m not sweating it.
-jcr
I pity the stock holders. They are looking for gratification right now.
Me, I can wait for the next big thing and buy one as soon as Apple has made it the perfect first iteration.
I know it will happen in a year or two, maybe sooner and I can wait for perfection or damn close to it.
““Does anyone still remember the olden days when doomed Apple [AAPL] shipped products?” Jonny Evans asks…”
Does anyone remember when tech journalism was worth a pinch of coon shit?
We don’t completely know what Apple will do.
But guys, this is a leadership “problem” if you think Apple actually has problems right now. What are those problems? There’s a real lull with them, that’s the problem. And it is real.
March/April would have seen an iPad event but that didn’t happen… because the fucktard Phil Schiller and Tim Cook decided to do a mashup event last year releasing a spec bumped iPad half way through its fucking product cycle along with a host of other crap I can’t even really remember… because it was such an unfocused event.
I knew… I completely knew… it was a mistake because there would end up being a huge gap in product releases. And don’t give me that shit about they had to do it because the iPad 3 was too slow and thunderbolt and holidays crap. Steve would not have never spec bumped a product half way through its product cycle like the iPad and called it a full version more (iPad 4). Apple would have simply beefed up its marketing and the iPad 3 would have sold well during the holiday quarter.
They didn’t need to do it. But they did. And this is the result.
And the iPad Mini? No Retina. Apple does not release sales figures for it. And what does that tell you? Stop the delusional “It’s selling like hotcakes and wildly successful”. Because there is zero data to support that statement. Unless Apple releases sales figures nobody knows. I know people… friends, family, work colleagues in the tech industry, who have bought iPad Minis and taken them back because they said the screen sucks.
Please, don’t push your love for the Mini on me. I’m not going to say everyone has the suck response, but I have never, in a very long time, ever heard any of these people complain like this about a brand new Apple product. Particularly to the point where they took it back… they actually returned them… Now the original MacBook Air had its issues its heat issues… but the design and core functionality of the Air was lauded. Incredible design. People didn’t complain about the screen or the aesthetic.
The screen is today, especially on a tablet, incredibly important. It’s pretty much everything. The funny thing is, the Mini has crap hardware and it’s slow. But we can all live with that. I’m not even going to go there but it is also a major shortcoming.
What we can’t live with is a grainy low res screen when the rest of Apple’s iOS devices have been showered in Retina for years.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. This is leadership. If Apple wants its buzz back, it has to rapidly innovate and get back to basics with predictable product cycles. This latter is what people want and what gets them buying every year… buying the latest and greatest. All Apple’s doing is confusing people.
Tim Cook needs to not waste his time speaking to Congress for christ sake and pull some all nighters at Apple with the engineers for the next 3 months and actually get some shit done. And get that shit done now.
sfgh:
U make too much sense dude. I totally agree. I was also suprised that Apple made a non-Retina iPad and it does look crappy next to retina screens. And true as well bout spec bumping the larger ipad. That was just dumb.
I absolutely cannot wait for this years WWDC. This might possibly be the best one yet!
cook has already admitted that announcing the new imac in october was a huge mistake. turns out the slightly improved ipad, 4th generation was a big mistake too.
imagine the world we would live in right now if they would have announced the new gorgeous imac in february and a completely redesigned ipad 4 in april…
Exactly.
24 days to go.
To go for what? What do you think is going to happen? They’re not releasing anything. We’re months away from any of this shit hitting the market. The stock will spike right after the WWDC and maintain itself for a bit then go down again… because Apple’s just got too many gaps before they release new products now.
Overall, they’re product manage is starting to run amuck.
And you don’t even know what they’re going to release. What if the WWDC is lackluster? What if OS X 10.9 is just more of the same 200 new features of which you might use 5 of them? And what if iOS is more of the same with 200 new features… an improvement… but is this enough to propel them?
No. They need a new iPhone. They need Retina iMacs and MacBook Airs and iPad Minis. They need to focus and do what they’re doing wrong right. And do it quickly.
Stay tuned.
That’s what I am doing.