I still don’t get why apple chooses to devalue their brand so much for so little additional revenue. They’re a luxury goods brand, their whole revenue model is based on the appearance of quality.
Dell, HP, etc. all have premium products as well as their economy ones. Apple just doesn't do cheap and economy products.
When that gold plated Apple Watch came out, you could feel the discomfort. That's luxury brand territory.
Even the most expensive Apple Watch isn't in that "luxury" category anymore.
* junk hearing aids that appear to produce a strange glow in the users ear * lead generation ads with clickbait statements (looking right now at "Senior Drivers in Your State With No DUI Should Read This") * "Motley fool issues first-ever 9x buy alert" (wow first ever!) * "Little-known Roth conversion strategy allowed by IRS"
I've never intentionally clicked on an ad in Apple News.
This is a service I pay for and these ads are insulting.
How much revenue are they producing relative to my subscription fees? Why can't I pay an extra $1/month to turn them off completely.
Becasue they are making much more than $1 per month on selling targetted ads using your highly personalised and accurate ad profile.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iphf60a6a256/io...
Apple, I'd much prefer to just pay to have no ads.
None. Those ads are additional revenue for the "publishers". Apple doesn't restrict ads in all content.
If an article has those ads, I just block the source in News. There's got to be some other source that both covers the topic and has self respect.
I've been wondering when the Google-ification of Apple will start.
The iPhone boom really let them have the luxury of not behaving like complete assholes for a long time. Now, in order to hit ever higher quarterly targets, they're probably going to start enshittifying like everyone else.
Consider a Ferrari or a Rolex. It's not as much value for money as a cheap car or watch. There's some workmanship sure but most of the increased cost is just perceived value. People buy them because they are expensive, so they can show they have money. That only works if everyone knows it is expensive and the product has a good name.
Cheap stuff sells anyway because people need it and it is the best value for money.
It’s sad but true. Grandma has dementia. The lights are on but nobody’s home.
The Apple we loved is gone. Jobs died at the release of the iPhone 4S and even Tim Cook has aged out now.
Last one out, turn off the lights. (After declining the Apple Lighting subscription ad.)
Are they devaluing their brand?
Their sales are up.
Brand Finance Global 500 holds that at #1.
Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies places them at #1.
I cannot think of a single metric supporting their brand has been devalued.
Well, aside from a single poster on HN who doesn't seem to realize they're out of sync with the rest of society.
How so? Just about any major manufacturer has hardware in the same price range.
Everyone has a high-end but Apple doesn't even bother with the low-end.
Why they do it? Probably whoever is leading the creator studio team has convinced their boss that they could pump up their numbers by putting this ad in...
Or maybe they aren't. They make great devices. I use them. I don't think of them as a luxury though.
> They make great devices
They make great hardware. They used to make great devices - but a great device needs the whole user experience to be great. Ad-ridden UI does not make for a great device. Doesn’t matter if it’s first or 3rd party ads.
It’s a great shame. Apple used to be the design standard to aspire to. Now it seems to have embraced enshitification. All because the market needs that share price to keep growing. And lacking leadership good enough to find another way.
The days of leaving revenue opportunities unexploited for some high-minded set of principles or intangibles are over. Line must go up, and population growth in many major markets is flat. When you can't sell to more customers, you have to squeeze the revenue out of the opportunities you do have.
Linux doesn't have the same support in a lot of critical areas. It's better than it was, but it's still not close enough to be a real alternative.