There were those days when we would reschedule meetings or take leave from work just to hang on every word Steve Jobs would say on stage at the WWDC, unveiling the next big innovation in mobile computing.
When the world lost Steve, not only did this mark the loss of a great mind, it also signaled a complete halt to innovation at Apple. At that exact moment, Apple went from being a leader in mobile computing to a poor follower of trends set by others.
Steve Jobs didn’t just envision and innovate the best in consumer technology, he was the shrewd businessman who created the incredible ecosystem of personal communication with iTunes and iCloud that users, like me, enjoyed and were proud to tout to our not-so-savvy, non-Apple-using friends. Alas, iTunes the only thing keeping that company alive. I’ve been disheartened by Apple’s lack of breakthroughs with the iPhone 5 and 5s… But I still held out hope, especially because Jony Ive was still there.
” Thank you for taking away the reason I liked my iPhone 5S so much more over the Samsung monster phones: It was actually small enough to fit in my pocket.”
Well, all my hopes are dashed and I am officially disenchanted—I feel completely trapped in the ecosystem that Steve lured me into. The new Apple iPhone 6 fails my expectations in every possible way I can think of:
- Design: Rounded bezel. Really Apple? Now you’re going to try to make your phones like Samsung’s? As if following their lead in technology is not embarrassing enough?
- Thinner: Really? Big deal…I’m really going to notice the 0.02 inch of ‘thinness’ you shaved off?
- Bigger than Bigger: Wow. Thank you for taking away the one reason I liked my iPhone 5S so much: it was actually small enough to fit in my pocket. I guess hoping that Apple would use the existing surface area (top and bottom) to create a bigger screen while keeping the overall size of the phone similar was wishful thinking after all.
- Retina HD display: Another full stop to innovation. So, what am I going to say to my friend who brags about the 2,560 x 1,440-pixel resolution and envelope-pushing 538 ppi LG G3? That my Apple iPhone display is better because…? Oh, 538 DPI is too much for the human eye? Well if that was true, we wouldn’t be printing magazines and prints at 600 DPI, would we?
- Camera: Wow, I am so amazed by the ‘New 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels’ in the iPhone 6 vs the ‘8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels’ in my iPhone 5s. I should be impressed, right? After all, it says it’s ‘NEW’ and has 240 frames per second for slow motion recording. Umm… What about just giving us a 16MP camera so we could print full-size prints?
- NFC: Nice—finally caught up on this essential feature and Apple may actually make NFC payments a reality…(good!)
Now let’s talk about the Apple Watch…
There is one thing that Apple did with this watch that I actually like! As a guy with a fashion magazine in his work portfolio, I could not bring myself to think about ever buying one of the geeky digital watches that are available for the Android platform (apart from the fact that I live in the Apple ecosystem). But, the Apple Watch Edition is something that could and would make me buy one.
But wait… I need to have the iPhone with me all the time when I want to make this watch useful? Well, doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose? If I can’t go on a run with my Apple Watch without carrying the now-clunky iPhone with me, then how is it useful?
I am at a loss to understand why I would spend time accessing apps and checking messages and looking up GPS locations on the tiny Apple Watch screen when I would have my iPhone in my pocket with much larger real estate to do those exact things on.
Now, if the Apple Watch could connect to a 4G network directly to provide messaging and app services and I didn’t have to carry the iPhone with me, that would be a winner!
A truly revolutionary wearable tech device would let us detach from our phones and still stay connected to the data during social events or while working out. It would allow me to get messages and access my favorite apps when I don’t want be weighed down by my phone or take calls. Also, I did not read anywhere about how water resistant the watch is. They say you can wash your hands with the watch on… Really?! How is this watch going to be useful when one of the primary things I look for in every watch I buy is the metered water resistance?
Overall, Apple just made sure that what could’ve been really cool is now just another me-too device following in Samsung’s footsteps (albeit with a little better design). I may still buy it—but I doubt that I will ever wear it!
With 3 iMacs, 2 MacBooks, 3 iPhones, an Apple TV, and 2 iPads and 100’s of paid and free apps running my life, me and my family is part of the Apple ecosystem. And now, I have no recourse but to start thinking seriously about ways out of it. No more waiting for the next big thing from Apple.
In general, I miss Steve… And, I feel so trapped!