It’s the end of 2015 and if you say “Apple” nowadays, the first word that comes to mind is iPhone (and not Mac—McDonald’s “Big Mac” is more popularly spoken than Apple’s Mac, but I digress).
The desktop Mac has been relegated to the passenger seat and has not, in fact, driven Apple’s strategy concerns for quite some time. This is not to say that is wrong. It makes business sense. I get it. The computer manufacturer market has experienced a steady decline for several years. Consolidation among dwindling manufacturers abounds and remains underway as you read this.
English: The logo for Apple Computer, now Apple Inc.. The design of the logo started in 1977 designed by Rob Janoff with the rainbow color theme used until 1999 when Apple stopped using the rainbow color theme and used a few different color themes for the same design. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
New Macs used to be exciting Apple announcements. Now, not so much. Nobody cares about new model Macs like they used to. The Chinese iPhone market is what creates buzz and will foster the greatest growth opportunity for Apple moving forward. The thrill of new Mac model releases, for all intents and purposes, is gone–sad on any number of levels.
Many long-running Apple news sites have the word “Mac” somewhere in the name, signifying how at one time Apple was about the Mac first and foremost. I understand when Apple dropped “Computer” after its name it largely represented a philosophical shift of things to come. Gadgets were what the new Apple would be all about. But, anyone at least 35 years of age remembers the Mac came first. For these Apple fanboys and girls, the Mac will always have its place of reverence (and excitement) no matter how omnipresent iPhones become.
Accordingly, what poses as excitement for Apple news readers now are headlines such as: “The Apple Watch is four times more accurate than the iPhone at timekeeping.”
Judas Priest and Holy Cow! I’m running out right now and replacing my iPhone with an Apple Watch. What was I thinking believing my iPhone’s timekeeping capabilities are actually decent?
When I complain about the lack of matte finish on newer Apple products’ screens, people often tell me that it doesn’t matter anymore because the displays are bright enough to overcome reflections. Well, this is a picture of my plain old iPod and my iPhone with a matte screen protector lying next to each other on my desk, both having the brightness cranked up to the max. The advantage of having an anti-glare coating seems obvious. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
These are some of the challenges facing Apple as it attempts to introduce another competing product to its flagship iPhone bestseller. As Tim Cook recently said on 60 Minutes, and I’m paraphrasing, “All of our products are competing with one another.” To his credit, this is how a company that hasn’t lost its mojo should think. Apple understands that eventually all products lose their luster, suffer inevitable sales declines and need usurping by other products that can captivate and hold consumer attention over the long haul.
To fully realize how disharmonious, yet comical (you have to laugh to keep from crying) the Mac to iPhone evolution for Apple has been, we need to swap the word “Mac” in all of the old Apple-related website names, with the word “iPhone.”
The iPhone is what makes Apple’s coffers overflow, so let’s have some bullet points of popular Apple news sites that would (theoretically) fit the bill:
- iPhone Surfer’s News – all the iPhone news that’s fit to print with occasional stories about the Mac that mostly crop up on the anniversary of the birth of Apple.
- Accelerate your iPhone –all about speeding up your iPhone with the occasional nod to the Mac available via the Archives section for interested visitors (to learn how old Macs were used as phones back in the day).
- Low End iPhone – how to get the most out of your iPhone with only 3G capability (a Mac section exists but only lists models that are able to sync with iPhones out of the box).
- Deal iPhone – best prices on all current and past iPhone models (site consists of only 1 page, but it is updated daily).
- iPhone World – should have been iPhone World years ago.
- iPhone Daily News – Like Deal iPhone, only 1 page, but updated daily, with links to other iPhone news not on its own page.
- iPhoneIn Touch – the iPhone is a touch device that runs on iOS so this one actually makes total sense.
- iPhone News Network – maintains archives of every day since the iPhone’s inception. Visitors frequently confuse it with iPhone Daily News.
- The iPhone Observer – mostly pictures of iPhones from site readers, but still a valuable resource for those of us visually inclined.
- iPhone Rumors — just the iPhone rumors, ma’am, nothing but the iPhone rumors.
Since I wrote this, I was considering changing the name of this website to ihittingthesweetspot by Bob Skelley or iphonehittingthesweetspot by Bob Skelley but due to lack of interest I did not. Seriously, I am glad I still own a Mac or two. While this piece has mostly featured the iPhone, if you take a look around, I’m betting on the Mac remaining an Apple favorite on hittingthesweetspot by Bob Skelley at bobskelley.com well into 2016 and beyond.
That’s -30- for 2015, kids.
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