I think this video sums up exactly what bores me to death about Apple's hardware design; it's that laziness that sets in once they know they've "got it right". The only thing that follows the original visual wow is a series of marginal tweaks to the design and they *know* they don't have to challenge themselves because their current reputation as electronics design trendsetters allows them the luxury of not bothering to compete on visuals.
Even when they release an entirely new product, It's become entirely too predictable to guess what it'll look like because they have a house style that they'll never deviate from until a competitor takes a huge chunk out of their market share. The counter argument is that it's pointless wasting money on R&D to change up a notch if you're raking in cash, but as time goes on, it's that creeping complacency that's making Apple as unimaginative and bloated as they claim their competitors are.
They do change up style, it just takes awhile. The powerbooks had the aluminum enclosure for years (2002 - 2008? something like that) before going unibody. The imacs had the half-dome body/neck/floating screen for awhile. Their products go through design iterations, but you don't fix what still works.
"Even when they release an entirely new product, It's become entirely too predictable to guess what it'll look like because they have a house style that they'll never deviate from until a competitor takes a huge chunk out of their market share."
Isn't exactly that what all companies are aiming for? Remove all the Apple logos and you still can say if it's an Apple product. They are unique. I'm pretty sure that they've already got plans for the next design evolution which is coming in a couple of years - but they use it just in time when it's needed. And that's when the competition starts getting good at copying.
Have a look at the new models of Mercedes. They look way more "Mercedes like" now. They had wonderful cars a few years ago, but they just looked like BMWs. Or watch how the design of Audi evolved during the last years. Not to speak of companies like Band & Olufsen.
Why change what works? The current iMac is really just an evolved version of the first Mac. While there have been large changes, they have been few and far between. The PowerMac line had some machines that were like larger versions of the first Mac. The first iMac got rid of some boxiness and the floppy. The G4 iMac was a fluke. The G5 iMac was a return to the old design with an LCD in place of the CRT. Conceptually, except for the disc drive being on the side, the current iMac is very similar in design to every computer Apple has ever made with a built in screen going back to 1984 except for the G4 iMac and the Lisa 2.
I have to say, and I'm not trying to poke fun at Microsoft just for the sake of it, what you mentioned sounds just like IE. They led the browser market, then just didn't bother with it until Firefox started gnawing at their ankles.. to appropriate what you said:
"it's that laziness that sets in once they know they've 'got the market'. The only thing that follows the original feature extravaganza is a series of marginal fixes to the bugs and they *know* they don't have to challenge themselves because their current position as market share leader allows them the luxury of not bothering to compete on features."
The only difference is their motivation. Apple (or maybe just Jony) is focussed on bringing the best products—as they see it—to the market. The majority of Microsoft just seem to follow the path of least work—which does make business sense, if nothing else. And to placate the fanpeople, I'm not too hot on some of Apple's design decisions the last few years; they feel like they're losing their touch with the userbase (replace the EC slot with an SD card reader 'cos no one uses it? wth?); on the other hand, Microsoft labs have some amazing things in development!
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I think this video sums up exactly what bores me to death about Apple's hardware design; it's that laziness that sets in once they know they've "got it right". The only thing that follows the original visual wow is a series of marginal tweaks to the design and they *know* they don't have to challenge themselves because their current reputation as electronics design trendsetters allows them the luxury of not bothering to compete on visuals.
Even when they release an entirely new product, It's become entirely too predictable to guess what it'll look like because they have a house style that they'll never deviate from until a competitor takes a huge chunk out of their market share. The counter argument is that it's pointless wasting money on R&D to change up a notch if you're raking in cash, but as time goes on, it's that creeping complacency that's making Apple as unimaginative and bloated as they claim their competitors are.
I think that Apple are pretty good with evolving products, think of this compared to the original iMac with the CRT and plexiglass casing...
They do change up style, it just takes awhile. The powerbooks had the aluminum enclosure for years (2002 - 2008? something like that) before going unibody. The imacs had the half-dome body/neck/floating screen for awhile. Their products go through design iterations, but you don't fix what still works.
"Even when they release an entirely new product, It's become entirely too predictable to guess what it'll look like because they have a house style that they'll never deviate from until a competitor takes a huge chunk out of their market share."
Isn't exactly that what all companies are aiming for? Remove all the Apple logos and you still can say if it's an Apple product. They are unique. I'm pretty sure that they've already got plans for the next design evolution which is coming in a couple of years - but they use it just in time when it's needed. And that's when the competition starts getting good at copying.
Have a look at the new models of Mercedes. They look way more "Mercedes like" now. They had wonderful cars a few years ago, but they just looked like BMWs. Or watch how the design of Audi evolved during the last years. Not to speak of companies like Band & Olufsen.
Why change what works? The current iMac is really just an evolved version of the first Mac. While there have been large changes, they have been few and far between. The PowerMac line had some machines that were like larger versions of the first Mac. The first iMac got rid of some boxiness and the floppy. The G4 iMac was a fluke. The G5 iMac was a return to the old design with an LCD in place of the CRT. Conceptually, except for the disc drive being on the side, the current iMac is very similar in design to every computer Apple has ever made with a built in screen going back to 1984 except for the G4 iMac and the Lisa 2.
So you think they should change things just for the sake of it? That's silly. No need to mess with a good design.
@orinjz
I have to say, and I'm not trying to poke fun at Microsoft just for the sake of it, what you mentioned sounds just like IE. They led the browser market, then just didn't bother with it until Firefox started gnawing at their ankles.. to appropriate what you said:
"it's that laziness that sets in once they know they've 'got the market'. The only thing that follows the original feature extravaganza is a series of marginal fixes to the bugs and they *know* they don't have to challenge themselves because their current position as market share leader allows them the luxury of not bothering to compete on features."
The only difference is their motivation. Apple (or maybe just Jony) is focussed on bringing the best products—as they see it—to the market. The majority of Microsoft just seem to follow the path of least work—which does make business sense, if nothing else.
And to placate the fanpeople, I'm not too hot on some of Apple's design decisions the last few years; they feel like they're losing their touch with the userbase (replace the EC slot with an SD card reader 'cos no one uses it? wth?); on the other hand, Microsoft labs have some amazing things in development!