Is Apple’s design getting tired?
I think not! But, Pete Mortensen over at the cult of mac thinks so, and here is my retort:
Blimey Pete! Whoa boy!
I’m just not with you at all on this one. The new designs are coming, I am sure, just give them a chance. It’s all about doing things brilliantly – even Apple have not got the resources to do everything at the same time (they have plenty on their plate at the moment with European iPhone launches and Leopard globally). So, manage people’s expectations and don’t over promise. They need to do each launch / new product, whether software or hardware brilliantly and not rush it.
Also, look at it from a pure £££ $$$ perspective, they are not exactly struggling for success at the mo, so why update designs which are already selling and most people have not bought yet (the general Windows public).
Yes, I want a MacBook Pro thin as much as you, it will be on the way, but I don’t think we will see it until January at MacWorld.
As to the Compaq 2710, may I politely suggest a quick trip to the opticians?
What do you all think?
Happy Monday BTW! 
Technorati Tags: apple, design
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6 Responses to “Is Apple’s design getting tired?”
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Apple’s design is fine, their build quality?! Hmm, not so sure…
I’ve had to send back for repair all but a couple of our 10-or-so Apple computers, and I hear that the displays currently installed in the new iMac’s are not the quality you’d hope or expect.
The Powerbook/MBP design is hardly new, but it’s still a lot fresher than all of its competitors and some would say has improved with age. Lets hope their build quality improves with age too…
Andy,
That is a really good point! There does seem to be a few things that go wrong in terms of build quality, but I have a theory behind this……
Perhaps it’s because the Apple fanbase are such a voracious lot and are not shy about telling people about the build problems via forums, blogs etc etc. That is why we always find out about the problems fairly quickly.
I must admit that my first gen MBP is a bit shoddy and the screen is warped (i.e. not flush to the case when shut).
I’m told that it’s down to the luck of the draw; if your computer’s made in Ireland (Mac Pro) then you’re sorted, if it’s made in China then the chances are you may encounter a quality issue at some point or another.
I put it down to Apple simply having better quality control in Ireland, lets hope they improve it in China.
This is a question of trying to compete with idiots outside of their design camp or sticking to their great minimalist designs. I like their current designs, small changes, making things better. I hate radical redesigns just for the sake of redesign. That seems stupid to me. I’d rather see energy spend on OS improvements when they have the hardware right. They have it totally right in my opinion.
The thin thing is waiting on cheap flash memory, not Ive or Jobs.
Given the numbers they released yesterday (the stock will surely pop some more today) I’d say their laptop designs are perfect and flawless. They just have the Q/A issue Andy alludes to and I’ve experienced it myself. But, so does every other manufacturer who has sells as much as Apple does. Doesn’t make it right, but doesn’t make it abnormal either.
Those numbers for Q4 were pretty awesome! It does allude to them doing something right, especially in the design department. I have no beef at all with the designs, just the quality, but only in one case (my MBP).
Keep it simple, and keep it exceptional quality = success.
“Keep it SIMPLE, and keep it exceptional quality = success.”
At least you’ve got one part sorted…
