A five-year-old dead-end design fiasco is what Apple’s selling as their flagship “professional” Mac today.
On September 12, 2017, Apple gave a sneak peek of AirPower, an Apple-designed wireless charging accessory they claimed was “coming in 2018.” It’s 2019. No AirPower.
Apple’s latest iPhones were named as idiotically as they are, because Apple SVP Phil Schiller says, “I love cars and things that go fast, and R and S are both letters used to denote sports cars that are really extra special.” Unbelievably, that’s the rationale for naming the most important product of, at the time, the most valuable company in the world? No, that’s the rationale of a six-year-old child. Maybe five. The stupidity is sharp enough to hurt. The level of compensation awarded for such idiocy is criminal.
Today Apple cut its Q1 guidance in a warning letter to investors. Apple shares, already soundly beaten down, got kicked in the face for over 7% more in after hours trading.
These are but four recent examples out of a list of screwups, missed deadlines, laziness, mistakes, and general mediocrity from Apple under Tim Cook (see article list below for more). Yes, there have been flashes of brilliance (see: AirPods (shipped late, of course, by the way), Apple Watch (nearly zero stock at initial launch), iPhone X, HomePod (also shipped late, missing Christmas 2017), the 12-inch MacBook, the new iPad Pros, and more), but too many other mistakes dull their shine.
Tim Cook seemed nervous as he stammered his way through an interview with CNBC after market close today. He’s right to be nervous. (Well, as nervous as someone can be with a net worth of $625 million. Unlike some retirement age AAPL bag-holders right now, financing his retirement will not be a concern.)
We are on record. Back in April 2017, we wrote, “Half a decade after Steve Jobs’ death, people are beginning to see the results of the lack of a charismatic, focused leader. You cannot go from Steve Jobs to someone who ‘doesn’t like people arguing’ and not effect a profound culture change.” Four long years ago, we wrote an open letter to Tim Cook, stating flatly that “Apple needs to do better.”
Has Tim Cook’s Apple done enough?
If he retired today, Tim Cook’s Apple would be known for coasting along on Steve Jobs’ innovations, rolling up tremendous profits that any halfway competent CEO would have accrued (or more), and devolving into being lazy, sloppy and routinely late. That’s a great legacy, Tim. — MacDailyNews, April 10, 2018
Does Apple need new leadership?
SEE ALSO:
CEO Tim Cook on why Apple lowered first-quarter revenue forecasts – January 2, 2019
Apple’s newest Mac Pro turns five years old today – December 19, 2018
Apple’s 2013 Mac Pro, five years later – May 31, 2018
3 things to expect from Apple’s 2019 Mac Pro – April 11, 2018
Why can’t Apple keep their products up-to-date? – April 10, 2018
Why is it taking Apple so long to update the Mac Pro? – April 10, 2018
Apple’s latest announcements about the modular Mac Pro really ramp up expectations – April 6, 2018
Apple needs to stop promising new products and start delivering them – April 6, 2018
Apple: No new Mac Pro until 2019 – April 5, 2018
Apple reiterates they’re working on an all-new modular, upgradeable Mac Pro and a high-end pro display – December 14, 2017
The culture at Apple changed when Tim Cook took over as CEO – April 10, 2017
Why Apple’s promise of a new ‘modular’ Mac Pro matters so much – April 6, 2017
Apple’s cheese grater Mac Pro was flexible, expandable, and powerful – imagine that – April 6, 2017
More about Apple’s Mac Pro – April 6, 2017
Apple’s desperate Mac Pro damage control message hints at a confused, divided company – April 6, 2017
Who has taken over at Apple? – April 5, 2017
Apple’s embarrassing Mac Pro mea culpa – April 4, 2017
Who’s going to buy a Mac Pro now? – April 4, 2017
Mac Pro: Why did it take Apple so long to wake up? – April 4, 2017
Apple sorry for what happened with the Mac Pro over the last 3+ years – namely, nothing – April 4, 2017
Apple to unveil ‘iMac Pro’ later this year; rethought, modular Mac Pro and Apple pro displays in the pipeline – April 4, 2017
Apple’s apparent antipathy towards the Mac prompts calls for macOS licensing – March 27, 2017
Why Apple’s new Mac Pro might never arrive – March 10, 2017
Dare we hold out hope for the Mac Pro? – March 1, 2017
Apple CEO Cook pledges support to pro users, says ‘we don’t like politics’ at Apple’s annual shareholders meeting – February 28, 2017
Yes, I just bought a ‘new’ Mac Pro (released on December 19, 2013 and never updated) – January 4, 2017
Attention, Tim Cook! Apple isn’t firing on all cylinders and you need to fix it – January 4, 2017
No, Apple, do not simplify, get better – December 23, 2016
Rare video shows Steve Jobs warning Apple to focus less on profits and more on great products – December 23, 2016
Marco Arment: Apple’s Mac Pro is ‘very likely dead’ – December 20, 2016
How Tim Cook’s Apple alienated Mac loyalists – December 20, 2016
Apple’s not very good, really quite poor 2016 – December 19, 2016
Apple’s software has been anything but ‘magical’ lately – December 19, 2016
Lazy Apple. It’s not hard to imagine Steve Jobs asking, ‘What have you been doing for the last four years?’ – December 9, 2016
Rush Limbaugh: Is Apple losing their edge? – December 9, 2016
AirPods: MIA for the holidays; delayed product damages Apple’s credibility, stokes customer frustration – December 9, 2016
Apple may have finally gotten too big for its unusual corporate structure – November 28, 2016
Apple has no idea what they’re doing in the TV space, and it’s embarrassing – November 3, 2016
Apple’s disgracefully outdated, utterly mismanaged Mac lineup is killing sales – October 13, 2016
Apple takes its eye off the ball: Why users are complaining about Apple’s software – February 9, 2016
Open letter to Tim Cook: Apple needs to do better – January 5, 2015
This clip is an interview with Steve Jobs in 1995 when he was still with NeXT that I picked up from another site. This is long but around 38min., he started talking about how greed and arrogance ruin the biz. He also explains about the infamous episode on how he was inspired by the GUI approach he witnessed at Xerox PARC project. If you continue to watch it, you will be firmly convinced that Steve was indeed one of a kind, totally different from Tim.
It also became apparent to me that there was no way Steve intended Tim to continue more than and longer than a caretaker assignment, and was looking at someone like Scott Forstall as the ultimate successor. Steve’s thought process is very clear. He also had a “passion” and “drive” to lead Apple.
If he is one of a kind is is different than everyone, not just Tim. However, Apple is also a very different company than when Steve was there, if only because of its size. In all my interactions with fortune 500 companies, I have yet to find one that is not royally f**ked up and staffed at the operating level by short-sighted morons that don’t gave a damn about the long term success of their actual business. People only care about their next bonus.
Idiots.
There are five reasons why Apple missed the target:
1) T
2) R
3) U
4) M
5) P
You lack understanding of the situation. China is about to crack – they are under tremendous economic pressure thanks to President Trump – and the US (and Apple) will benefit greatly from President Trump’s actions on China that no establishment politician would ever attempt. No more selling out America by feckless, ballless politicians like Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc.!
Tell that to the 40% of my staff that I’ve had to let go over the past 6 months, as well as many employees at my customers. For those I can account for, those jobs are not coming here, they have gone to India, Vietnam, Korea, Mexico, and Canada.
Amen, brother. Never expect an honest answer from the left…
Tim Cook is a brilliant operations guy. And he is supported by much of the same players that worked with Steve Jobs. But Apple has succumbed to arrogance; and it is going the way of Sony, BlackBerry, or IBM — market leaders that have stumbled. I’ve supported Apple since it began through times good and bad. Why? Because I got it. It’s not that Apple was perfect, but rather that its user interface was the best money could buy. It’s hardware was solid, and the user experience made it worth paying the Apple tax. Today, it’s a different story. The value proposition no longer exists. Apple has forgotten why it rose to stardom after Steve Jobs returned to the fold. Sure, Jobs had an uncanny ability to hit the puck where the market was heading, but his real strength was understanding that delivering the very best possible user experience at a reasonable (but premium) price would result in greater shareholder returns. Team Cook does not get that. Rather, they create products to produce greater shareholder returns. This might seem like the same strategy at first glance, but it is not. The devil is in the details, and Apple does not execute today. Apple believes it can sell (luxury) products that provide only a marginally better user experience at sky high prices. And it can. To some. For a while. Those who are relatively new to the Apple experience don’t understand how far Apple has fallen, how its obsession with thinness and cost cutting have undermined its products; how its lack of attention to detail has made its software less discoverable, less elegant, and more buggy; and how its riches have made it arrogant and boring. For decades, I was passionate for (most) everything Apple, particularly the Mac. Today, I tolerate Apple; barely. And I am not alone. Those who got it, knew the scrappy underdog that flew a pirate flag over its campus, expect more from Apple. Much more. And hopefully Apple will wake up before its too late. The ball is in their court. I want to believe. I want to be passionate, champing at the bits to update my OS with each revision, pining for shiny, new powerful hardware; instead of what I do now — patiently waiting for a change of guard hoping for a return to excellence. Before I’m too old to care, or dead. And, what’s really frightening, is how even its new customers are starting to feel jaded as well. Fads and brands come and go. Excellence endures.
2 words. Jony. Ive.
It’s his decision making and quest for looks (thinness) over utility that’s caused most of Apples problems.
He’s untouchable and if you add on top of that Tims management style of “don’t bring me problems” you get a one two punch.
An arrogant artist that can’t be touched and a leader that’s out of touch with his company.
Both are completely out of touch with their users wants and needs.
Apples got tons of cash but are going nowhere.
Until they reduce prices and increase usability it’s not going to improve.
Apple, as well as most American companies, need new leadership in the White House.
Very incite-full MDN except it hasn’t been that long since you were expressing sentiments like ‘people underestimate Cook at their peril’. If only you had i-caled it all you could have reminded us of it all.
If he spent more time focusing on the company and less time trying to be a social justice warrior in the gaystapo they wouldn’t have these problems.
Please sign this petition to remove Tim Cook as CEO –
https://www.change.org/p/apple-board-of-directors-remove-tim-cook-as-ceo-of-apple
Because… internet petitions are how CEO’s get removed? Or they just make whiners feel better that they’ve actually “DONE SOMETHING ABOUT IT”?
It’s time to purge Apple of all the bumbling idiots in management, and engineering departments, alike. The hardware has became a total joke (MacBook Pro – prime example), the software, iOS, Mac OS, application incompatibility is outright mind-boggling; I mean, how stupid are these people? Where did they come from? Are they just part of some gay click, or what? There is still time to turn things around; just get rid of that inapt CEO.
If Apple are looking at services to improve growth – that’s a non starter.
Microsoft can do this because anyone can make hardware that Windows (and the services) run on.
They make the hardware as cheap as possible to increase the number of users that can buy those services.
Apple can’t do this – no one makes Apple’s hardware except Apple.
Their hardware is too expensive to garner enough users to buy the services in great numbers.
The only solution Apple (if you’re going after services) – LOWER THE HARDWARE PRICES to get that hardware into as many hands as possible, and also make those services just work (cos currently they don’t).
With CES in the Rear View mirror, it could be said that Samsung, Vizio, Sony, and LG all make hardware for Apple. SPECIFICALLY to consume Apple’s Services. That will increase the potential number of users that can buy the services.
To be fair I made that comment prior to the CES announcement. So Apple, instead of lowering hardware prices to increase market share and therefore getting that content into more users hands, is simply going to undercut their own hardware by releasing their content on their competitors hardware. It’s a short term solution to satisfy Wall Street.
Apple cannot do both. You can’t create bespoke hardware for your exclusive services and then simply sell those exclusive services to competitors and not expect a something to give. Apple is in danger of eating itself.
If Apple is going to rely on services for growth tne additional hurdle they need to get over is that content better be worth watching. If Apple’s track record is anything to go by it will be safe, committee driven garbage.
It’s not something I would bet future growth on. Tim had better have some amazing hardware in his pipeline.
No, I completely understand that you posted that before CES. I was quite surprised to see those announcements occur. Then, seeing your post, my first thought was YOU CALLED IT, just in a way that I’d never expected.
I also think you’re calling it absolutely right about their hardware future. As far as hardware, they will have cheap devices made by others that will be for consumption of their services, and Apple will make the expensive devices that will be for consumption of their services. That leaves the devices required to CREATE the content… which I guess ONLY to be macOS devices if you’re creating iOS apps. Will they release Xcode for other OS’s?