You’re talking from an R&D and manufacturing standpoint while I was talking from a user’s experience standpoint. Steve Jobs said he made his decisions based on what would give users the best experience possible and I believe that’s how Apple got to where it is today.
I’m not denying you’re right about the R&D and tooling/manufacturing costs being a major factor in their decisions but I think Apple has been focusing too much on that rather than the user experience for the past 5 years and that is why I feel Apple is losing focus.
If the MacBook was going to have to cost $1,299 then maybe they should have waited and just gave the MacBook Air spec bumps until the MacBook could completely replace it in the lineup spec- and price-wise. As it stands now, the Mac line is very confusing to a user’s buying experience and I hear more often that ever people saying they don’t know which one to buy.
Is the MacBook Air the lightweight laptop or is it the MacBook? Why is one called the Air and the other just MacBook? Is USB-C the going to be the new power connector moving forward on new laptops? Does the mag-safe have no future? The MacBook Air doesn’t have a retina screen option? These are just a few things I hear at Apple Stores these days.
It’s not like Apple has to stop selling older models completely either. My suggestion is to remove them from the spotlight and simplify the main lineup they showcase on their store. They could still sell older models but have a specific section on the website for those models similar to how they sell refurbished models. That way people looking for a cheaper Apple product or schools to looking to buy in bulk would still have those options.
Apple needs to focus on the user first and everything else should come after. Otherwise they will continue to evolve (some would say devolve) into a company with too many products and continue to confuse the user. They can survive this now because the brand is so powerful but over time the brand will slowly tarnish.
To me, an Apple product was something that took an aspect of daily life and made it easier or fun or both. It was more expensive than the competition but it was worth it because you felt like you got what you paid for. You paid for a better user experience the competing brands couldn’t match. I’ve been a die-hard Apple fan for a while now and the current Apple user experience has worn me down to where for the first time since the iPhone came out I’m not upgrading my iPhone to the new model. I’m skipping the iPhone 7 because I don’t see the value and my user experience is suffering with all of my Apple products.
MacOS Sierra has more bugs than ever, iOS 10's messaging app update is ridiculously confusing, my Apple Watch is barely used because apps take too long to open, and I have buyer’s remorse for my 12" iPad Pro (to complicated to explain in this comment since it’s already longer than I expected to write). This is all my opinion and I only wonder if anyone else agrees or if it’s just me that feels this way about Apple.
