“2016 hasn’t been Apple’s best year by a long shot,” Luke Dormehl writes for Cult of Mac. “While the company is still making money hand over fist and has seen its Services division go from strength to strength, Apple also consistently stumbled for the first time in years.”
“Declining Apple revenue: From unpredictable global events to Wall Street’s insistence on undervaluing Apple stock, this one’s not totally Cupertino’s fault,” Dormehl writes. “With that said, a lot of other factors on this list certainly contributed, with Apple ultimately failing to generate the kind of excitement seen in previous years.”
“Tim Cook recently made a bid to convince us that exciting new Macs will arrive next year, but there’s no getting around the fact that 2016 has been a poor year for the Mac division,” Dormehl reports. “The fact that Apple is seemingly moving further and further away from the pro market (the MacBook Pro is anything but a “pro” machine, while the Mac Pro hasn’t been upgraded since 2013) means that, for the first time in years, a number of people have called for Apple to consider farming out the Mac license to third-party developers who may care more about it.”
Much, much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Unfortunately, it’s a long list.
Here’s to a more innovative 2017 with far better execution!
SEE ALSO:
Apple endured a miserable 2016. Now what? – December 28, 2016
Apple has to start addressing theses problems in 2017 – December 27, 2016
“Pro” model laptop?
I can’t plug a simple little thumb drive into a “pro” model laptop with a dongle adapter?
How ???
I enjoy to the fullest my iPhone 7
My iMac with 5k , my iPod, and my iPad Pr.
Never a problem…….
Long life to Apple
Well, Apple didn’t bring me a pony so 🙁
In the contrary. It was full of pony. (And trap) – look it up. don.firminger@gmail.com
Don’t know why don’s email address attached to my message. I’m not don.
How about more “listening execution” as far as the iMac & Mac Pro go?
Tim Cook is doing the best he can, unfortunately, it is not enough.
With the resources available to Apple, the rest of Apple management must think it’s enough, unfortunately.
I believe the Apple TV 4 was released in 2015 but that’s still the disappointment that’s been hardest for me to overcome. Seriously, having used my 3 Apple TV 3’s for a while, I could have told them the white screen, the sunrise screensavers, the breaking of the remote app while replacing with the tiny Siri remote were all AWFUL ideas. It was the first Apple product I’ve ever returned – indeed the first I was so frustrated with during the setup process. And that was when my confidence in Apple began to wane. Yeah, the original watch had a two month wait but it met my expectations when I got it. The tv actually went backwards as the gen4 was originally released. Yes, I bought an iPhone 7 plus. But that’s it. My MacBook Pro and MacBook Air sit on shelves needing keyboard repair while I use the MacBook for fun, the old, old iMac for Linux on parallels and my HP Spectre all-in-one running Win10 and its laptop companion for the vast majority of stuff I do. The biggest thing Apple has going for it to me is that I don’t need an anti-virus program for a mac. If Microsoft ever buys an anti-virus company or learns about security from an Apple defector, it could mean trouble considering Apple’s lack of commitment to their products other than the iPhone. The Home app works ok with my hue lights but horribly with the Honeywell Lyric thermostat I bought as the Home app was released. I totally agree that Apple is missing the boat with smart homes. With no hardware of their own that “just works,” Apple leaves me asking if it’s the software or the hardware. The pity is that these days I can’t convince myself that it’s the thermostat. I just don’t have the confidence as I sit waiting 3-4 weeks for my AirPods to arrive. 🤣 But I got new emojis as the Titanic had violins. 🔫🔫🔫
You know what is important now.. LOL….. Emojis
I just reinstalled Snow Leopard on a older iMac (it had El Capitan). Simple, elegant, stable, snappy. IPhoto and iTunes are much better. Seems like a step forward to me 🙂
We’ll see how well we can get along with it. The biggest challenge becomes communicating with newer accessories, but hey all my old stuff works again, like my scanner and external DVD writer.
I still use Mountain Lion on an older mac,runs like a dream…newer MBP has Sierra on it, I hate it.
I keep Snow Leopard on a Mac Pro. It is amazing how much faster it boots up, shuts down and does pretty much everything faster compared to the current version of Mac OS X.
Sadly, more and more applications not supported on the old OS X and more and more old applications are not supported on the new OS X. Apple is constantly breaking compatibility and it sucks. I can run 25-year old DOS applications on my Windows 10 machine. When in comes to maintaining compatibility (which is very important to many of us) Microsoft is head and shoulders above Apple.
While I was caught up in the RDF of Steve’s keynotes for years, actually, when I think about it, there’s really not much I can do in Yosemite (I’ve refused to risk breaking any more peripheral drivers so I quit upgrading) which I couldn’t do in Tiger that actually matters to me.
I mean I’d miss a few conveniences, but in terms of totally new functions impossible by any kludges, naww, not so much.
And some, like having to press option to access “save as” are just pointless PITAs.
I would like to see some ooooollllld things finally taken care of though….
….you know like an option to save Grabs as JPG’s so I don’t have to open the TIFFs in another program and resave a copy and delete the TIFF before I can post them on facebook and other places. Why do we need an archival save format for grabs – and ONLY an archaic archival format at that?
Stuff like, yeah, that…..
“I keep Snow Leopard on a Mac Pro.”
Ditto!
I can run legacy software like Freehand, Lightwave and many others flawlessly.
According to present day Apple obsolete policies, I’m NOW unimportant. So sorry I did not fall for the head fake to pony up more bucks to a wealthy corporation just to be fashionable and up to date.
Guess what Apple, we in the know can always dodge your bullets! 🔫😎
It was the “Mac” users that kept Apple alive in the very beginning. Before the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad, it was the diehard Mac community that kept the fire burning for Apple.
Now it seems Apple no longer has a need for us. Too little, too late hardware updates. Software updates that can no longer be trusted. Quality Assurance that’s significantly less than it used to be. What ever happened to sleek, clean, intuitive software that “just works”?
It’s kinda like going to the prom and having your date leave with someone else.
Declining Apple revenue? It is expected that YOY growth will not continue indefinately. Lack of love for the Mac? Based on what? The absense of evidence does not mean evidence of absense. Disappointing iPhone 7? Any company can add features each year – but doing it right is Apple’s goal. Be patient and it will be worth the wait. Apple Watch 2 essential? Many users will buy them, many will not. Apple TV an afterthought? See Lack of Love for the Mac. Lack of innovation? Again, see Lack of Love for the Mac. AirPod’s delay? You don’t have all the facts to criticize Apple for this “mis-hap”.
When Apple dosn’t release information, people then make it up – often making unrealistic predictions. Once again, when consumers don’t get what they want to satisfy their “instant gratification” then Apple is to blame. Time will tell whether Apple will continue on this trend of “disappintment”.
Denial is not a river in Egypt, Apple snowflake … ❄️
I have owned every iPhone since introduction. I have owned over 90 macs. I’m “that” fanboy.
However, I did not purchase the new iPhone 7 plus. Why? Not because I didn’t want it, but because the master of logistics, Tim Cook, couldn’t provide enough inventory for me to purchase in a timely manner so that I didn’t get out of my 12 month upgrade cycle. By the time they were available, I would not be able to update to iPhone 8 until 2 months later.
I have a 2009 iMac desperately in need of an update. Where the hell is that update. I can’t update now to a machine that is way overdue for an update.
Apple watches were not readily available at Christmas time.
I have never said many bad things about Apple, but their inability to ship product is becoming a big problem.
While I’m keeping my 2013 MBA, my new surface 4 pro has become my daily driver.
And that is all that I need to know about you, trondude. Enjoy your Surface 4 Pro. But don’t expect me to take you seriously on Mac issues just because you are “keeping” your 2013 MBP.
Oh, boo hoo hoo. Apple disappointed someone. Again. What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?
Hey Brainless,
Follow these three words: APPLE GET BETTER!!!
Despite all the bad stuff, Airpods are awesome. Glad I finally got them. Apple probably left a couple billion $ on the table by not having these available since the iPhone 7 launch in September.
“And that is all that I need to know about you, trondude. Enjoy your Surface 4 Pro.”
What we all know you are saying is trondude likes a non-Apple product and you have a major Apple fanboy problem with it.
I always applaud enlightened liberals when they embrace views other than their own. /s
“But don’t expect me to take you seriously on Mac issues just because you are “keeping” your 2013 MBP.”
Your condescension aside, who the hell do you think you are imposing conditions on free speech!
Our comments are open and free and certainly not always designed to please King Melvin.
Got it? Good.