April 1st marks 50 years of Apple. From the first Apple computer to the Mac, from iPod to iPhone, iPad to Apple Watch and AirPods, as well as the services we use every day — the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV — we’ve spent five decades rethinking what’s possible and putting powerful tools into people’s hands. Through every breakthrough, one idea has guided us — that the world is moved forward by people who think different.
Fine words, and Apple also issued a separate press release that promises further celebrations and looks to the future:
As Apple celebrates this milestone, the company remains focused on the future and on continuing to think different in the years ahead. Apple will continue to innovate in groundbreaking silicon, life-enriching products, transformative software, and services that improve people’s lives, while deepening its commitments to environmental responsibility, education, and community impact around the world.
As much as I largely agree with Apple’s stated values and beliefs about changing the world through innovative technology—I’ve dedicated my entire professional life to using and explaining Apple tools—the anniversary rhetoric rings somewhat hollow when measured against the company’s actions in recent years.
The Think Different campaign honored “the round pegs in the square holes.” Today’s Apple forces those round pegs through the square holes to make squircle icons.
I raise this tension because Apple has long set standards for the tech industry in many ways. Today, at the height of the company’s power and influence, some reflection about where it’s falling short—and course correction—could help bring those report card scores back up and offer a stronger role model to other firms.
Last December I had the worst bug in 20 years of doing software. After an XProtect update some AppleScripts were blocked from running and made my app hang. I had to write on the developer forum to get the issue fixed. Of course, there was no reaction on the ticket.
After 2.5 years a security issue has been fixed in 26.4. That was my first security problem. I was told by the security team that my issue was not a security issue. I could use full disk access in apps where full disk access had been given and then reset. I didn’t bother to report the second security issue I found because my interaction with the security team was so utterly dumb.
Two obvious things stick out like a sore thumb that go against this philosophy: 1) Apple used to adhere to the KISS philosophy, ie, Keep It Simple, Stupid. That has not been the case for a number of years. 2) Their narrow minded “handling” of their Replicator software. It has caused fits for David Nanian of Shirt Pocket Software (although he has been persistent enough to “Think Different and get around those issues), and also to the “demise” of Carbon Copy Cloner no longer being able to create bootable backups. Sad state of affairs, to say the least!
Anyway. Why should the empire continue? It’s had a good run. As you say, whether through accident or design, it’s been the North Star of the industry for decades. But now it’s just a big tech company—just like the others. All empires, however great, must end. Why not Apple? There will be another along to take its place, particularly now in the age of AI.
That is unless Apple distinguishes itself again. Returns to relight the fire that it stood by, to marry tech and the humanities. If it can.
Thanks Adam, well said. I go through day after day working in my Apple-rich ecosystem, installing updates when they come out, and then working thru the issues that they cause, and I really don’t think much about it, since it feels “normal” these last 3-4 years. But now that I pause to reflect on your words, I realize that the magic that drew me to Apple products over 30 years ago has really not what it used to be.
The Apple hardware continues to be impressive and consistent. But the stable software and superior UX has become just “average” relative to competition and I’m not paying for “average.” And the absolute failure in development and implementation of an impactful, or even acceptable, Apple Intelligence integration is wholly unacceptable.
Actions do speak louder than words. The way that vendors and fellow software developers are treated is important. When I reflect on the last few years of Apple performance, I have to pause when I see the pursuit of profit by Apple in some cases appears. to override the very words they use to describe themselves!
So, yes the anniversary rhetoric does ring somewhat hollow. I can only hope that Apple takes this all in and gets their actions to match their words, by doing things that “improve people’s lives” while “deepening it’s commitments” to be a responsible company.
That elegant simplicity was part of what brought me to the Mac. When I saw my six-year old daughter sit down at one of the first Macs and start playing with it, I saw something easy for all of us to use. Now I worry that any new “upgrade” is going to break something.
Perhaps this is a sidebar for its own thread, but if we assume that this “former Apple” is gone for good, who would be the potential new 80s Apple now? And is computing for the rest of us even possible anymore?
Well stated, Jeff! I distinctly remember the very first time I used a new Apple IIE! It was a trip! Later on (around 1984), the company I was working for (a bank) got some brand new original Macs in, and I got to play with it too. But I still relished using my Apple IIE.
As for the KISS philosophy, many other companies have long since abandoned it also. And it certainly makes me long for the good old days! Now it seems like it has got to the point of “Stupid is as stupid does” (great line by Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump”).
Good questions. Sadly, there is nothing that mandates the existence of a “potential new 80s Apple now.” It’s at least as likely there is no such thing.
Just a correction: Carbon Copy Cloner can create bootable backups. (I just created one this week of my Mac Studio, on an external drive, and booted from it immediately afterwards.)
The two caveats Bombich Software make about external bootable backups are:
Apple’s support of the underlying macOS software that allows external bootable backups on Apple Silicon Macs is not guaranteed in the future (and has disappeared for a short period in the past.)
For an Apple Silicon Macs, the value of an external bootable backup is reduced, due to the increased security requirements that Apple implemented in the M-chips and Mac firmware.
From my own, very limited experience, I can see where CCC is coming from. Luckily for me, I will want to make a bootable external backup for very short-term scenarios — tests for a few days, for example — and always on the same Mac that I made the backup from.