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Apple’s 2024 Was Bad, Very Bad

A rare rollercoaster of phenomenal advances and monumental mistakes…

Attila Vágó
Bricks n’ Brackets

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Photo collage of Apple products.
Photos and photo collage by author.

Where do I begin? With all the objectivity I can find in myself at the end of a technologically, politically and socially challenging year, I still can’t not look at Apple with a considerably more critical eye than in previous years. 2024 just hasn’t gone that well, and while the Cupertino giant’s harshest critics would say that has always been the case, this year — even an Apple fan like me has to admit — it has all been very hit-and-miss.

You see, Apple has been for a long time all about vertical integration. There’s the hardware, there’s the software, and then there are all the services that take advantage of all that hardware and software. It’s a good recipe. Judging by their multi-trillion dollar bank account, it’s the best recipe. Neither Google nor Microsoft can say “we own it, and we own it all”. Apple can, which makes 2024 particularly puzzling because you’d think that with such a good strategy, you get to make much better decisions. Apparently, that’s not always the case.

Hit-and-miss hardware

I will continue to give credit where credit is due. The Apple Vision Pro is a remarkable device. Worth every penny, if you’re going to use it. The hardware is impressive. It achieves a lot…

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