Tag: apple

How a MacBook Neo bought for a high school student is worth $50k to Apple

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From 9to5Mac:

Way back in the 1980s, In Search of Excellence author Tom Peters wrote about the concept of the lifetime value of a customer. Lifetime Value (LV) or Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a way of thinking about the total profit a company will make during the entire life of a loyal customer if they can keep them happy. That’s a very different mindset to thinking only about a present-day sale.

I think the specific numbers are overly optimistic, but the idea does hold true. Getting new users into the Apple ecosystem can have a huge impact in their subsequent tech purchase decisions. I don’t think Chromebooks always guarantee someone will end up buying an Android phone either, but getting in on the ground floor certainly increases either company’s odds of a lifelong customer.

The most brilliant move in corporate history?

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From Asymco:

But that all changed with AI. Amazon is spending $200 billion this year on AI data centers. Google, $185 billion. Microsoft, $114 billion. Meta, $135 billion. Combined: $650 billion. [Not including OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX/XAI.] That is like buying the US Navy every year. And yet Apple’s capital budget is still a modest $14 billion, oscillating with new hardware tooling cycles.

This logic is akin to Hanlon’s Razor: “Don’t attribute to malice that which can be attributed to incompetence”.

This was not a strategic move by Apple, but one that does appear to be lining up decently for Apple. If AI is being commoditized by OpenAI, Google and Anthropic amongst others, renting one of the best models for 1B/year is a steal.

Apple’s Ground Floor

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Macbook Neo

The “Apple tax” isn’t gone. The XDR display exists, after all. But the ground floor has moved considerably, and Apple has managed to do it without reaching for cheap materials or cutting corners on what actually matters to everyday use.

Continue reading →

Apple Should Rethink Face ID Settings for our Current Era

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From Phillip Michaels at Six Colors:

The central role that phones play in our lives coupled with uncertain times at home and abroad have people rethinking how they should approach Face ID. Apple needs to be doing the same.

One thing I’ve always appreciated about Android is how many automation apps exist that let you configure settings much closer to the metal than iOS Shortcuts allows. Tasker was my go-to for this back in the day. It could set DND based on calendar events, change deep settings based on location or WiFi network amongst other things. This allowed me to me keep my phone unlocked at home while requiring fingerprint authentication everywhere else.

I love Shortcuts and have a ridiculous number of automations set up myself, but there’s a handful of things I genuinely need to automate that Apple simply won’t let me touch. The most glaring one? Location-based security policies. You could imagine a world where users choose between no barriers at home, biometrics when out and about, and a long password at protests or border crossings. It’s not a wild ask. It’s just basic threat modeling.

Apple could open up APIs to make this possible via Shortcuts automations. In addition, they could create sensible defaults and ask users about their preferences when upgrading to a new OS. I know there are complexity costs and geolocation is only so reliable so there are risks involved. But the risks of imperfect geolocation seem a lot more acceptable than the alternative: leaving users vulnerable to compelled unlocking at protests, airports, or anywhere else someone with a badge decides your face is the key to your entire digital life.

Apple has built its recent brand on privacy. They run TV spots about keeping your browsing data safe. They’ve position themselves as the antidote to Big Tech surveillance. And yet, when it comes to giving users the tools to actually protect themselves from state-level threats, Apple’s response is basically “hold down some buttons and hope for the best.” They could do better. If Apple genuinely believes privacy is a human right, exposing more control here could go a long way to walking that walk.

Dot: The Menu Bar Calendar That’s Become My Main Calendar

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From John Vorhees at MacStories:

So if you use a calendar app that doesn’t have a great menu bar app or live in your menu bar calendar more than your main calendar app like I do, give Dot a try. There’s a 14-day free trial, and at the moment, the app is just $9.99 during its launch window when you use the code LAUNCH, with an eventual planned price of $14.99.

I’ve used Dato for a while and am generally happy with it, but I really like the little UX wins Dot offers along with the insane amount of customization. I love apps like Fantastical but can’t see myself subscribing to a calendar app given my needs. Paying one-time for this type of thing is more my speed.

The Fallen Apple

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From Matt Gemmell:

Whatever the nuance, Apple’s old and hard-won reputation just doesn’t ring true now. The company feels like a performance of itself, diverging farther and farther from the original, shuddering with escalating dysfunction, and held together by the sheer, grotesque extent of its indentured income.

Brutal, but fair takedown of what it is like to be an Apple “fan” right now. The hardware is great, the software is generally getting worse, the “services” are getting more entrenched in the ecosystem, and the general cozying up to the government is a huge turn off.

For me, the following things need to happen to help rebuild my hope that I don’t need to reboot my “should I ditch Apple stuff?” blog subgenre:

  • Show small but meaningful progress towards design that is usable. Bring back some whimsy into your brand identity.
  • Find a way to make the developer community happy by making changes that are EU regulator-friendly & dev friendly. This could be commission simplification and reduction, opening up key parts of their OSes, and allowing categories of apps that are currently impossible to build on their platforms.
  • Finding a way to humanize the company better. I know it sounds silly to say “live keynotes will fix everything” but the Apple leadership slinking away to their ivory tower over the past few years has been unfortunate timing.
  • Don’t make it so easy to identify yourself as part of the Oligarchy. I don’t expect a public break from the Trump admin but maybe don’t go to the Meliana movie premiere on the same night that ICE murders someone. Find ways to tactfully distance yourself while still doing right by your shareholders. I get that it’s tough, but what’s happening right now is sleazy.

I want to be optimistic about Apple and feel confident that my investment of time, money, and attention is still worthwhile. But the trend line isn’t encouraging.

Apple announces changes to iOS, Safari, and the App Store in the European Union – Apple

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From The Apple Newsroom:

Apple today announced changes to iOS, Safari, and the App Store impacting developers’ apps in the European Union (EU) to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The changes include more than 600 new APIs, expanded app analytics, functionality for alternative browser engines, and options for processing app payments and distributing iOS apps. Across every change, Apple is introducing new safeguards that reduce — but don’t eliminate — new risks the DMA poses to EU users. With these steps, Apple will continue to deliver the best, most secure experience possible for EU users.

I love how Apple frames these changes as introducing risks to users. A few other items of note: