Is this another “your holding it wrong” level argument they’re making?
I have a lot of apple kit - I appreciate their over-engineered approach to a lot of hardware, and I like their approach to privacy.
But they do make mistakes in design - the puck, the aerials, butterfly keyboards, unrepairability of design…
And one thing I really hate is their response to those errors. Its almost always to blame the user. I just wish they would be honest.
There’s nothing over-engineered in Apple products. They are the least amount of effort and maximum amount of polish to dazzle the masses so people think price is justified and give feeling of quality.
Throughout the history they have failed to fix common and known issues in generations of laptops. They chose cheaper version of aluminium which caused the bending of the phones. They reduced cost of manufacturing by removing a single drop of glue beneath a single chip which resulted in number of their plus sized phones to lose touch functionality.
Over-engineering would mean devices are robust, easy to repair and almost never need a repair. Apple is anything but that and their solution is usually to suggest buying a new device or charge you like you are buying a new device. All you need to do is see Louis’ video on repeated engineering failures from Apple. Granted it’s an old video, but if you watch the video you will see Apple doesn’t really improve quality, just reduce price.
I think their engineering is pretty good, personally. I travelled a lot with a laptop from 2000 to about 2020, and my windows laptops would always die after 2 years - hinges, cracks in the body, screen cracks and so on. Moving to apple’s laptops in about 2011 meant I got 5 years out of each (air then a pro). I’m now on a second pro, but the old pro is still trucking along.
I’m not going to defend all their decisions, there’s a lot of questionable stuff in there (keyboards, sticking to lightening, mice…). But their hardware, both laptop, mini and pro) has been solid.
You are right about repairability. I think that has never been a key feature for them hence the glue, security screws and other crap. Fortunately there are governments around the world that are pushing for repairability, consistency with usb-c, replaceable batteries and more. So I think all manufacturers will be upping their game now, which is awesome.
All manufacturers reduce cost - supply chain management and manufacturability are the processes to drive that. Apple are really good at the supply chain side, that was Tim Cook’s focus as COO. What I don’t like is that they are able to keep their incredibly high margins (far higher than any other manufacturer) thanks to their software, interoperability and walled garden.
In your case am afraid it is survivor bias. We are not talking about individual cases here. If you want to go case by case basis I have never had ThinkPad last fewer than 10 years. In fact I never had ThinkPad die on me. But they do break just like any other machine. Many of Apple’s laptops had issues when you used them too hard because they would blow hot air on glued parts or parts sensitive to heat shortening their life span. I strongly recommend watching video I’ve linked.
It could well be survivorship bias, but I did represent the examples as personal. Having said that - I did a quick google for « laptops with longest lifespan » and most of the reviews had apple at #1 or 2.
In common with you, most of my previous laptops (5 or 6) were thinkpads like yours, usually the tablet style for OneNote (which is awesome BTW). They never survived the rigours of the road. Perhaps that’s why I had a different result to yours - I used to travel 3-6 months a year.
not an apple product fan for sure ) see comment before
but if you take a look at the (of course overprized) mac pro i think the overengeneering is understandable … thats pure hardware porn, even the venting holes are drilled to reduce sound
as said i only own one apple “product” … the stock, because zhey have a crazy fanbase which will cultishly defend every messup … but the mac pro is a masterpiece of hardware
… shoud run linux thou
Apple products are opposite of hardware porn. How can you call it as such when their solution for poor choice of solder compound, which resulted in GPU desoldering, was to glue piece of rubber which pushed on the GPU? How can you call it porn, when their SATA cables are constantly failing from 2011 models, constantly? How can you call it hardware porn when Apple cheaps out on single drop of glue to hold touch driver chip not to get broken resulting in Max series of phones massively dying after couple of years of use?
What you sound like is a victim of great marketing campaign.
nah friend … the opposite of a victim of marketing campaign … i don’t touch apple devices because of the walled garden they built and the prices they do
i was mainly talking about the mac pro’s case design and the modular setup … thats extremely appealing in my personal perspective.
i do not know if they stand the challange of time, but the mac pro for sure impressed me even if i get called a apple-hater in my personal circle of friends
so don’t mistake me for a fanboy - but i do pay respect for things which imoress me.
if you check my prev comment you’ll see that i especially point oit that they ask for crazy prices (monitor stand, mac pro wheels, thunderbold cable … god even the whipes carry something like 1000% apple tax) … still the mac pro case seems pretty cool to me
Then I apologize and strongly recommend you take a look at Framework laptop. That thing is truly modular to a point that you can upgrade CPU on a laptop, chose your own ports and repair pretty much everything. And machine comes in a metal body, very thing and lightweight.
i do know them … they even get a step further and are wirking on a “box” where you can use your mainboard if someday they offer an updated one for the laptop case, so you can use the old one for a server box or sth
i do like those as well … i just wanted to make my point that even for a company where i refuse to buy something from, there are some things which impress me
I’m an old Linux-head (actually started out developing tools for 10’s of variants of unix - compilation flags providing custom versions). I would love to have my mac mini running linux though, that would be awesome. I don’t think you can yet.
mistakes in design… unrepairability
Who… Who’s gonna tell em?
I am quite sure this is a legal issue. If they admit the mistake, probably customers in many countries would be allowed a free replacement or refund. And then shareholders would sue the company because it is mandatory to work on maximising profit.
Sad, but true. If a CEO is not maximising profit, then the shareholders can sue, and the board (who represent the shareholders) can replace the CEO.
I wish this structure had a longer term view so that a CEO can also do what’s right - such as make decisions that might lose money now, but have a greater long term value (where value is not only defined by share price, but also things like goodwill, reputation etc).
No doubt. I’m not an Apple fan, but I do respect most of their engineering/designs. And it’s too bad that all companies were more honest.
I wouldn’t call their projects overengineered. They’re overdesigned.
That’s kinda the big difference between apple and everything else. Apple products are impeccablly designed with engineering and flexibility of use as an afterthought at best.
It’s why they’re often years behind on the actual tech, but have it implemented in a very clean, “pretty” manner.
Other companies get the tech out there and offer more flexibility for the power users, but they don’t have the polish off Apple products.
This is an Apple miss. Their tendency for status equaling heavy materials and lack of obvious options just makes it a no-go for me. Noise cancelling, wireless, over the ear headphones exist for airplanes. Having a headset that is heavy, that doesn’t fold and can’t be turned off (only put to sleep in a dumb bra-like case) don’t meet that mark.
I’m sure they sound great and the magnetic ear cups a good idea, but this is a miss for me. The price is the final nail in the coffin. My Sony XM4s sound nearly as good, can be worn for long flights without fatigue, fold up, and because they’re light but sturdy plastic I’m not worried about them denting or anything like that if I drop them. And I didn’t have to pay over $500 for them.
I tested them and they don’t even sound that great. For the price, there are a lot of WAY better options out there.
But that is the case with many Apple products.
Maybe I’m not the most discerning listener, but I got a $60 pair of Skullcandy wireless noise cancelling earbuds and my only problem with them is that you have to hold them down to skip a track rather than just push once (that turns off noise canceling), which is bad UI, but other than that, couldn’t be happier.
If you’re happy with them, then it’s a good pair of headphones for you! I think the best indicator is that if you can listen to them for long sessions on end, then it’s good stuff. If they pinch, itch, if the sound makes you restless or if you feel like taking them off after an album, then it’s not a good match.
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Apple has done the math and it’s cheaper to deny deny deny than to do the right thing. And that’s factoring in the inevitable class action lawsuit payouts.
I knew exactly what clip this would be. I think it’s about time for my annual fight club rewatch. Always makes me want to/wonder why no one has started some anti corporate domestic terrorist groups…
I think we might be on the brink. I just saw an article about someone getting in a shootout with the sheriff trying to evict him. It’ll start with individual acts like that and snowball.
Rooting for the demise of society is a weird place I didnt think I’d be at the first time I saw fight club. It’s funny how I’ve gotten more radicalized as I’ve aged.
The Max might have more questionable design decisions than any Apple product in history
The Magic Mouse would like a word.
Magic Mouse: charging port on bottom
AirPods Max: can’t turn off without putting in case, can’t use wired, condensation death
I’m ready for the downvotes but I still don’t understand the general hate for the Magic Mouse. Once every two weeks I let it charge for 30 minutes while I’m having a lunch break and never have to worry about it.
How many times do you happen to need to charge your mouse and use it at the same time?
In the same boat as you. When I did use a Magic Mouse I’d just plug it in when I got up to go to the bathroom or get a drink, and not every time either. Never had the battery run out.
I stopped using it because the ergonomics don’t fit my hand very well.
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It is also ergonomically horrible, to the point where I prefer to use the magic track pad over the mouse.
Can’t be used wired out of the box but do support Lightning to 3.5mm jack. Source: owner of AirPods Max who’s had them replaced 4 times now due to faults.
had them replaced 4 times now due to faults
mega ouch, soldier onward king
do support Lightning to 3.5mm jack
which, in true Apple style, aren’t included. meanwhile, the Sony equivalents I got come with a 3.5mm cable AND an adapter for airplane audio jacks
And the puck mouse.
Please - while connecting the cable to the bottom is less than ideal, it’s still var better than swapping out batteries.
It’s not like they need to be plugged in all day - if it dies on you, fill up your glass of water and you’ll be fine. Also low battery warnings appear weeks before it goes flat.
I bought my mom a 0.01$ mouse on Aliexpress which:
- come with a dongle
- is also Bluetooth (dual mode)
- works on battery
- has a charging port on the front
The battery isn’t an argument to put a port on the bottom.
• And has a free key logger.
That’s not the point. My point is just hardware conception.
Not your point, but is is one for Ali… I was just fooling around with your exaggerated example.
Different point is. It isn’t about the battery, it isn’t about the connector on the mouse. It is probably about the charging wire itself (my opinion). I think Apple deliberately choose for the standard charging wire they use for every other product they have (during the time of the launch of the mouse). It al comes down to parts supply management, where Apple is famous for. The choice is use what we have or design something new. They went for what the already got. A charging cable (and port) used for every device they shipped… a cable famous for being brittle, when connected to a device being physically in use.
Imagine this cable being used on a mouse while in use. This would be a bigger issue than a “shitty port location”. People are deliberately forced not to use the brittle cable.
… at the end of the day people who use this mouse seem not to have a problem with the charging choice made. People who don’t use the mouse seem to have more problems with this… and yes, it is a shitty mouse.
With all the engineers at Apple, the could easily design a mouse with a port on the front and which can be used wired and wireless.
I guess these engineers don’t know how to dedig this when it’s available on a cheap Chinese mouse.
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the way i misread the title…
They cost $550, but they’re certainly not worth $550
Stop buying logos people
I don’t buy logos. I buy products that solve problems in my daily life. Apple comes to be very very good at offering appropriate solutions I don’t need to deal with beforehand to become such a solution. In this case of course the product is crap, if it can’t handle the environment its supposed to work in.
Funnily enough, I don’t think there are any visible Apple logos in the AirPods Max.
Never had this issue with mine. I’ve taken them kayaking with me, they got pretty wet and i got pretty sweaty, but the insides of the cups were dry. This has been discussed on forums ever since i bought them more than two years ago. This feels like recycled news just to stir people up about apple products. Good journalism. It worked.
Just had it happen to me a few months ago
Oh must be only these people who complained about them to the article author. It couldn’t possibly be survivor bias on your part or more importantly that Apple is at fault.
perhaps don’t buy overpriced crap like that and go for the $30 pair on Amazon instead
