Nick Heer:
I’ve been trying to book some time at my local Apple Store to get my iPhone’s battery swapped, and it has not been easy — at least, not compared to the way it used to be. Previously, I’d open the Apple Store app on my phone, open up my store’s page, and tap the button to get support. I could easily make a Genius Bar appointment from there with just a few taps.
When I worked for Apple retail from 2003-2006 we were instructed to help everyone. This was before concierge, before appointments, and before the iPhone. It was just me, the bar, and hundreds of Apple customers looking for help every day.
Needless to say this approach did not scale after the introduction of the iPhone. But even now — ten years after the iPhone was introduced — I would still rather wait 3 days to see someone in person, then send my device off in the mail and hope for the best.
Mark Gurman writing for Bloomberg:
Apple Inc. has disbanded its division that develops wireless routers, another move to try to sharpen the company’s focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue, according to people familiar with the matter.
If the rumors are true, and Apple is out of the standalone display business, this report makes sense.
In a world where the most popular computers have a always-on cellular connection, and every ISP gives you a free wireless router on contract, it makes sense for Apple to get out of wireless router business.
If Apple replaces the Airport Base Stations in their retail stores with a third-party product, Eero seems to make the most sense. Eero has dedicated apps like Airport, and is innovating in a direction that Airport has not moved in years.
Workouts is a new app for your Apple Watch from David Smith.nIt allows you to customize your workouts and view them in new ways on your iPhone.nI am a long distance runner so I won’t be writing about how Workouts works with a bicycle, on a rowboat, or in a Yoga class.nInstead I can tell you how Workouts++ has helped me target my training for this year’s Boston Marathon.
Workouts++ is three apps in one.nThe first is a factory for building workouts on iPhone.nThe second is a monitor for tracking workouts on Apple Watch.nAnd the third is a database for comparing workouts on the iPhone.
Workouts starts on the iPhone.nPick an activity &emdash; indoors or out &emdash; and Workouts lets you select what information you see on your Apple Watch while you workout.nUp to six different metrics can be shown on Apple Watch at a given time, with options for size, style, and color.nYou can’t switch metrics mid-workout, but you can name and save as many customized workout as you like.nI named my first watch face ‘Marathon,’ and chose metrics I want to see while running on Patriots Day.nSpeed is displayed above distance and duration, because I am targeting a three hour marathon and need a constant speed of 8.8 MPH to meet my goal.nWorkouts++ lets me display my speed in red if I slow down or go to fast.nThis alert can be further enhanced with haptic feedback.
After my run is complete, Workouts logs my workout in its database.nWorkouts can be filtered by activity and duration, and sorted by date, duration, distance, or active calories.nThis makes comparing runs of the same distance easy, even for workouts performed outside the Workouts app.nDavid promises swimming workouts and location mapping in a future release, but I would appreciate improved performance from Workouts++.
Unlike the built-in workouts app, Workouts takes a few seconds to calculate my speed each time I raise my wrist while running.nThis two second delay often leads to false alerts and unnecessary haptic feedback during the race.nI want Workouts to succeed because it makes important metrics easier to target, but as an app it is useless if I can’t trust the information on the display.nMy guess is that David is doing the best he can with the design constraints of Apple Watch.nThe metrics Workouts presents at the end of each workout are accurate, but Apple is restricting what kind of calculations can be performed while Workouts is running in the background.nI hope Apple works with David to give Workouts better real-time performance in time for my race, but in the meantime I will still be using Workouts for training.nThe open app ecosystem is what makes the promise of Apple Watch so great, and fitness apps like Workouts++ are playing to the platform’s sweetspot.
Last weekend I had the chance to visit my local Apple Store and check out the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I was not impressed.
The Touch Bar could have been the greatest user interface advancement to hit the Mac since the Multitouch Trackpad. Instead it is a Gimmick Strip used to quickly tap commonly used keyboard shortcuts and emoji. Complex tasks, like those used in Final Cut Pro X, are possible. But instead of keeping your hands on the keyboard and your eyes on the screen, the Touch Bar forces users to waste time hunting for hidden commands.
Designing the Touch Bar took development time away from the Mac. Apple only released four new Mac models this year. One was a speed bump, and only two have the Touch Bar. How many more Macs could have been updated this year if Apple hadn’t wasted time on Touch Bar? If Apple thinks the Touch Bar is such a big deal, why not include it on every new Mac?
Like the Multitouch Trackpad on Mac OS X and 3D Touch on iOS, adoption of the Touch Bar requires new hardware. New hardware comes at a cost. The increased price of new MacBook Pros will delay the adoption of Apple’s newest user interface. How many Mac users will benefit from a feature that is only on the most expensive Macs? Will developers embrace a feature only wealthy Mac owners can afford?
Even if the Touch Bar is adopted by the few, we will all be stuck with its cost for a long time. Raising the price and complexity of every Mac model that includes it.
The Touch Bar is a distraction. A bone thrown to the Macintosh Community while Apple continues to prioritize iOS. It might be a shiny bone, the best distractions are, but given its limited functionality the cost is too high. Until we all get more time with the new MacBook Pros, adding the Touch Bar asks more questions than it answers.
Take a moment to look over Apple’s product line. Pay special attention to the Macintosh. On the desktop side we have the Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro. On the notebook side we have the MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, Several models come in more than one screen size. The larger models usually offer better performance. Some models don’t come with a screen. Most models are over a year old. Now imagine for a minute the word ‘Pro’ disappeared from the Macintosh product line. And let’s assume the Mac Pro and the MacBook Air aren’t long for this world. That leaves us with three desktop form factors the mac mini, the 21.5-inch iMac, and the 27-inch iMac, and three notebook form factors, the 12-inch MacBook, the 13-inch MacBook, and the 15 inch MacBook. Instead of the two by two product square Steve Jobs introduced in the late 90’s, we now have a two by three product rectangle Tim Cook could unveil as early as next year. The two by three rectangle works for three reasons: First, the rectangle removes clutter from the Macintosh product line. Eliminating redundant models like the MacBook Air, and last year’s MacBook Pro which are only still around to meet a price point. If these models are really big sellers worthy of protection, Apple should rethink it strategy for developing new products. Second, the rectangle removes ‘Pro’ from customer expectations. Apple has not made a new professional computer since 2012. Sure, there are plenty of Pros are still using and buying Macs, but not the kind of computers you usually attribute to the high-end professional; people who buy computers where performance, expandability, and durability count above all else. Why make professionals upset when you don’t have too? Remove the ‘Pro’ and call the notebooks MacBook. Third, if you apply the rectangle to the iPhone and iPad product lines it works well. On the iPhone side you have three models, the 4-inch iPhone SE, the 4.7-inch iPhone 7, and the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus. On the iPad side you have three models, the 7.9-inch iPad mini 4, the 9.7-inch iPad (formally iPad Pro), and the 12.9-inch iPad. Things get even simpler if Apple removes the version numbers from the product names. If Apple is abandoning the development of the wireless routers and is out of the external display business, they might further simplify their product line. A product rectangle with Good, Better, Best, makes a lot of sense if Apple would stop selling last year’s products.