Apple Has Lost It's Ability To Give A S***

This week Apple released its brand new chipset called the M1, replacing the long-established Intel chips, along with two new Macbook laptops and a little mac-mini that promises more battery life and more power. At the same time, it released its brand new operating system called Big Sur, which gives you a lovely new wallpaper background and a nice little button to make changing the brightness easier. That's if you're able to install it considering Apple's servers collapsed when it launched yesterday and if you actually cared.

You see, there was a time when hard-core fans and amateur Apple fans would unite around these kinds of events and feel the palpable rise of excitement and trepidation. We'd all buy the latest devices right after the launch event, install all the software, and try and convince friends and family to do the same. 

But now, I'm not so sure this is a good idea because the Apple of today has seemingly lost its ability to care; that last final piece of work that truly makes an amazing product and delights customers for years later. 

You see, that new operating system "Big Sur" has had the longest testing phase ever seen in a mac operating system and there are constant new bugs that need to be fixed every few days. The new laptops that were launched, despite Apple acknowledging we're all working from home more, have refused to upgrade the low-res webcams and still give us grainy VHS quality footage from the laptop lid. It's not as if you know how to make amazing 4k cameras now is it Apple...{cough cough iPhones}. 

Their high-end Airpod Pro's now have a recall program because many customers (although Apple uses PR language to call them "a small fraction of customers") have rattling noises coming from them after a few months. Even the earlier Airpod's had batteries that died after a year or so. 

The Apple TV remote control still feels like it was designed by someone who makes big blocks of clotted ice cream and is just about as responsive as if you are sliding your finger through a giant slab of cookies and cream.  

They've launched Apple Arcade for ￡5 a month to entice you to take Apple more seriously as a gaming eco-system, and yet appear to have forgotten to release any new games in anything less than a 2-month window. Oh, and then refuse to support any decent graphics cards in their MacBook laptops so that you can't play anything more than something that was made in 2001. 

If you're lucky enough to have an Apple Watch, how many times has it prompted you to say "I believe you're on an outdoor walk, and would you like me to start tracking you?" only to do so 30 minutes later after you've already got home and made a cup of tea.

Apple News is supposed to be a premium service offering you the very best curated news and content, yet even after paying ￡10 a month - they still fill it with those cheap ads for "people like you won't believe what they got in their letterbox". Has no one at Apple spotted how bad it is to pay for a premium service and then thrust spammy ads onto people...

Don't get me started on the disaster that was the Macbook keyboard - a flaccid metallic slab where the keys got stuck and your fingers felt like you were pushing down against the crust of an under-cooked meat pie. Did Apple own up to this design mistake - did they diddly. They eventually tried to get us to forget about it by releasing "an even better" Magic Keyboard. It didn't fix their error.. no.. it was just a refined update. 

And this to me is the whole point. I think Apple has lost that final push towards ultimate product excellence in only releasing something when it's as perfect as it can be - through both hardware, software, and services. You can't argue against how successful they are as a money-making machine and I'm not saying they aren’t still immensely creative. But I do feel they just don't care enough anymore and are very happy just realising half backed products so they can keep raking in the dough. “It'll do!” they cry.

Not that they'll ever admit it. Apple support won't help you unless you've ponied up hundreds of pounds on "Apple Care" insurance, and they'll make it as hard as possible for you by re-routing you through multiple layers of support staff before kindly offering to take your device off your hands for a month or so while they decide if you're lying or not and if they want to bother and fix the issue. The latest staff member I spoke to refused to acknowledge that the Macbook Air camera was as grainy as a bag of Basmati rice and suggested I only used it outside in bright daylight conditions. 

I was reminded that the alternatives aren't much better and so I should be grateful for what we do have. That's fair, but it's not the point. Yes, it's hard to make these things. Yes, it's hard when you've got so many devices and software to manage. Yes, everyone will find something to complain about. BUT...

Isn't that why we all pay Apple the big bucks and have made them into one of the world's most valuable companies. Because we believed in them and their ability to push forward and focus on that last 10% and make something truly awesome. If they're not short of money, talent, and time, then what is it that they're lacking... I can only think it's that they just don't care anymore and that's pretty sad.

What do you think?