On Apple and Niche Products ➹

I think that out of all the reactions to the last keynote (which Michael Tsai has been putting together in a massive collection of mostly negative pushback), Chuq’s both the most balanced and the most damaging to Apple, especially when he points out the need to “think about where we stand with Apple if we’re using or depending on niche products”.

The thing is, the Mac desktop is starting to look like a niche product now. And worse, one driven purely by aesthetics rather than functionality; performance and ability to deliver have been tossed out the window in favor of gimmicks.

Update: Chuq’s follow-up post picks up on the Mac as a niche and reiterates that Apple could have avoided most of this by sending out a couple of clear messages.

It’s not just about their removing the startup chime, or expansiblity. It’s about the honest reviews, the way marketing has taken over and the realization that the Mac, the foundation of what became Apple’s empire and still the only platform people can develop on for iOS, is effectively neglected, and that whatever Apple needs to do to try to regain their Pro user base, the new MacBooks are not it — or, at least, definitely not enough.

Don’t miss Tim Bray’s take or Milen Dzhumerov’s, either.