Originally published at: Apple in 2024: The Six Colors Report Card - TidBITS
Jason Snell of Six Colors has released his annual Apple Report Card, which compiles rankings from scores submitted by 59 Apple-focused writers, editors, developers, podcasters, and other professionals. I participated again, as did longtime TidBITS contributors Glenn Fleishman, Michael Cohen, Jeff Carlson, Kirk McElhearn, and Rich Mogull.
This year, Hardware Reliability and the Mac once again topped the list. The Vision Pro and Developer Relations tied for last place, taking over the bottom spot from the iPad, which was revitalized by new releases in 2024.
Of the eleven categories for which Snell calculated changes from the previous year, Apple improved in five, worsened in four, and remained the same in one—the top-rated Mac category (which was also unchanged last year; see “Apple in 2023: The Six Colors Report Card,” 19 February 2024).
The big winner for the 2024 report card was the iPad, which rebounded by 1.1 points, ending its slide since 2017. The Watch category also showed notable improvement, recovering 0.3 points after last year’s 0.8-point drop. However, the iPhone, Developer Relations, and World Impact ratings fell sharply. The decline in iPhone ratings may suggest that experts are concerned that Apple might struggle to maintain excitement around its flagship product, while the decreases in the other two ratings indicate that the perception of Apple as a positive force and valued partner is waning.
For insights into why these rankings shifted in 2024, check out the full report, complete with pithy quotes from your favorite Apple pundits.