Geek Cast Live S3E10: The Apple Apocalypse

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This week the Geek Cast crew delve into the Apple Event of 2016, and are frankly underwhelmed. Without Rob, they talk some deep topics, and are joined later on with long time fan, Bret Javier.

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18 thoughts on “Geek Cast Live S3E10: The Apple Apocalypse”

  2. I agree that the Apple event was underwhelming from a tech geek’s perspective, but I think the products introduced will have a huge impact on Apple’s bottom line. The iPhone SE gives them a moderately priced phone that will likely chew into the Android market. The iPad Pro 9.7″ will attract a lot of the market who is looking to replace their computer with an easily maintained, highly portable device. And the new nylon watch bands, as ridiculous as they are, will likely foster what is surely becoming a sizable market for Apple.

    And I think the Apple device recycling machine is called Liam because it has a particular set of skills.

    Are you guys tech geeks? And, if so, where does your allegiance fall? I’m an Apple guy who often struggles with Google envy (because of the quality of their services and voice detection).

    Reply

  3. I didn’t watch the event but heard enough about it work. I’m thinking that the products introduced won’t have that huge of an impact on their bottom line. They’ll provide nicely to keep Apple a respectable company, but the days of meteoric sales increases might be behind them. I understand that that might not be exactly what you were impying, Dino, but it’s what I think is important. To keep shareholders happy and sustain the fervor of a ‘hot’ tech stock, Apple needs more innovation to bring in meteoric sales. Their run has been undeniable, regardless of the side of this fence one might be on. I happen to be on the Google side, but I’m not so deep into my tech gadgets that I can dismiss my wifes laptop, phone and tablet. Apple makes great stuff from a design and ease of use standpoint. I just can’t justify the cost of their products to myself. The iPod, iMac, iPad and all subsequent variations on those three are all pretty sweet, but it all seems a bit “been there, done that” and anything I haven’t mentioned seems just that, unmentionable. Apple needs to come out with the next big, innovative thing, whether it’s a phenomenal, major improvement on an existing product, or a new mind-blowing, futuristic product. For some reason the watch just hasn’t been that for them. And unfortunately, the amount of revenue that needs to be generated, at this point, to make that huge ‘holy crap’ splash on their PnL is way beyond what their new products have done lately. There’s a great episode of Silicon Valley where it’s explained why it’s bad for a startup to get a pile of money in the beginning rounds of funding. It inflates their valuation and ruins potential in successive rounds. And that’s what I think they’ve done to themselves (probably a terrible analogy). They’re not exactly any of these huge, stagnant companies, but Apple is close to being slotted into the category of a Microsoft or Coca-Cola. They’re in the Dow, they have a huge share of a market, they’re global and make a ton of money, and they’ll pump out new stuff here and there, but will those things knock your socks off? That could go either way. There are still areas they could lead in with dynamic innovation. They’ve got all the money in the world and theoretically, a good portion of the top talent. It’ll be interesting to hear what everyone thinks could be Apple’s next ‘it’ product. Other wearables? Actual clothing with wearables incorporated ito the fabrics? Smart home components? Whole smart homes? Automobiles? Console gaming? Some of these, if not all of them, are in development but I can only imagine are a few years off, at best. Can Apple crack the huge barriers to entry that some of those areas have to gain any material market share? Can they find a suitable replacement to the enormously, mythic behemoth that was Jobs? It does seem like that would be a key question to answer for their future. I agree with Ry, they’re not going away. I do however think that until they put out the iJetpack and no one dies from it, their growth will be anemic. I would love to see them dump some of the crazy money they have into products/services that can actually improve the state of mankind. Money can still be made off of ideas that benefit people and do real good for them. Who wouldn’t want to see the following:
    I-SaltwaterToPotableWaterConverter (that’s affordable)
    I-FluxCapacitor
    I-TownPlanningAIToHelpAlleviateGridlock
    Anyway, I’m realizing now this stream-of-consciousness mind-puke is probably unreadable and incoherent, so I’m just gonna put this down and step away before I bang out more mindless, possibly idiotic drivel. 🙂

    Ry, nice to hear you reppin’ a true Midwesterner mindset. It is, and always will be Sears Tower. 🙂

    Oh yeah, love the band name that came outta this ep. My submission: Mother Yeast (a group of OB/GYNs that play hippie-metal-folk-rock)

    Can’t wait for the BvS discussion and to see who’s side I’m on, if anyone’s. I didn’t think it was a complete waste of my time, but more on that later… 🙂

    SideQ…anyone this Fixer Upper show? This guy Chip Gaines is a riot! JoJo fine like wine and hilarious too. These two are easily the least annoying hosts for a show of this ilk. Maybe this is something for the MPW crowd.

    Anyway, another great ep, fellas. Always fun to hear the origin stories.

    RBass…get well fella. Your take on all things Apple and jocular interaction with Bret was missed, homie. 🙂

    Reply

    1. Dino…. I’m an apple homer , it’s both my curse and my superpower/lame pride point. I’m an avid early adopter . Except for the watch, fuck that thing.

      Gomey … Fixer upper right!? Chip Gaines is my spirit guide and Joanna is one of the best looking women on television. As I’m currently building a home the entire rostrum on that channel have been ever constant companions.

      Reply

      1. Word. The commercial where Chip bags on JoJo about ship lap and french doors has me peeing ever time. The formulaic-ness of the various home shows drills a hole in my head, Pi-style, but it’s cool to see different things that are possible with sledge hammer and a paint brush. You must be having a blast with contractors and sub-contractors. No amount of envy do I possess over that, but it’s worth it, in the end. Good on ya, homie.

        Reply

    2. I agree that Apple didn’t show anything innovative last week – that’s what I meant by my “underwhelming from a tech geek’s perspective” comment. However, I do still think these products will prove to be beneficial to Apple’s bottom line, and there’s something you said that speaks directly to the reason why I think this will be the case.

      You said “I just can’t justify the cost of their products to myself.” Bingo. Android currently holds 80.7 percent market share worldwide. And while I know that Android is an excellent OS and Google services are outstanding, the #1 reason why Android holds such a massive market share advantage is cost.

      Simply put, Android phones are cheaper than the iPhone; in fact, the iPhone is cost-prohibitive to most people, and I am willing to bet that a majority of that 80.7 percent Android share would use an iPhone if it wasn’t so expensive. That is why I think the SE will be a significant addition to Apple’s offerings: it’s an iPhone with advanced internals at a reasonable price point ($399 off-contract is comparable to many mid-level Android phones).

      Similarly, the iPad Pro 9.7″ had a discounting effect on the non-Pro versions of the iPad, with the price of the Air 2 starting at a more accessible $399. The tablet market is nowhere as hot as the smartphone market, though, so this will likely have a nominal effect when compared to that of the SE.

      Are any of these new products amazing technological advances? No, of course not. They’re adjustments in positioning (iPhone SE) and modest refinements (iPad Pro 9.7″) to existing, mature product segments. But for the normal, every day person who may have wanted an iPhone or an iPad but couldn’t justify the cost… well, now, this is a game-changer.

      Reply

      1. And I definitely don’t see these moves as a sign that Apple is losing their edge, are less innovative than in the past or in danger of a downward spiral in any way. The apple of 10-15 years ago was very much still the scrappy underdog, so they needed to behave differently. They needed to make bolder leaps in order to get a foothold. Now, they have that foothold, so they’re concentrating on refining their offerings to market right now. They’re still working on the moon shot projects behind the scenes, as you mentioned, but they’re no longer in a position where they have to rush to market. They can sit and wait until the product is ready.

        And, let’s not forget that they have yet to introduce a completely new product to market. Every single one of their “innovative” products have simply been refinements of existing products. The iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac… Apple wasn’t the first to market for any of these product segments.

        But that’s Apple’s true innovation: taking a good, yet flawed, product that’s already out there and doing it right.

        Reply

        1. I just wish Apple did services and voice recognition as well as Google. Then I would be less conflicted in my tech life.

          I know I can just use Google services on my Apple devices (which I do, in many cases), but I need that integration that Apple does so well.

          #FirstWorldProblems

          Reply

          1. You’re right, Apple was the scrappy underdog 10-15 years ago, and that’s when it was interesting, when it had innovation and edge. Apple’s definitely not in danger of a downward spiral, but these low-cost moves are great business decisions, not ‘wow!’ new product moves. I understand you agree that they didn’t show innovation, but that’s what I think could be indicative of something bigger. The past two years with no innovation could show their possible loss of ‘edge’. Apple’s still a great company. They’ve made fantastic business decisions. But that’s all they are, currently, a decent business. Their revenues and margins for Q4 2015 were great, and these low cost options might help keep their numbers high, but they won’t help their numbers show quarter over quarter and/or year over year stellar growth, at least, I don’t think they will. What keeps these numbers up there is that, although Apple isn’t gaining huge amounts of market share, the market share they do have, they are making a ton on, because the people that ‘need’ Apple products, will pay good money for good Apple products. Now what happens when you make low-cost options? Margins go down and you need so much extra in units sales to make up for that. It’s definitely possible that those options take a good chunk away from Android’s market share. Two other things are possible, in my opinion. The low-cost options cannibalize the existing user base that are and would be willing to shell out more dough….revenues potentially go down. Or, quality in the products goes down and the brand suffers (less likely, I think, but still a worry)….revenues potentially go down.

            I think low-cost being a game-changer is a bit strong. It will be interesting to see if a significant amount of android users rush to iPhones simply because of a new low-cost model. There’s still no variety of phones/tablets to choose from, still a small variety of carriers (albeit probably the two largest out there), and there’s still no ease of use with other items that aren’t Apple products. The amazing integration of Apple’s products with other Apple products is also a bit of a detriment to them, I believe. I just don’t see the introduction of low-cost products siphoning off a huge amount of Android users, at least, domestically. At this point, they seem tapped out in the US, as far as gaining significant new ground. Globally, on the other hand, is where Apple does have some areas where this could matter. China and Europe could help them out in the revenue game with these new low-cost options.

            All this being said, I really do believe Apple is a fantastic company, but they do need to be careful the next couple of years to not lose the amazingly fervent base they’ve built up. And honestly, I’m excited for more neato stuff to come out, but hope they do more than put out neato stuff with their power/wealth. Apple, Google….even Amazon, have sooo much potential to do sooo many cool/good things. It’s great to see geeks in power with money for change, whatever that change may be.

            I am curious to hear why you ‘need’ Apple’s innovation? And that’s not a condescending, argumentative question. Just genuine curiosity. Work? Some specific life situation? Or were the italics and the hashtag meant to imply that you really don’t need it? (I’m a bozo and would really love to have these types of discussions over gin’n’tonics, beers, wines, or fill-in-the-blank booze….so much better to get tone of the conversation from facial cues and hand movements.) 🙂

            Also, it seems as if my wife’s voice recog. is getting better, at least from where it was a year or two ago. That seems like an area that will be pretty solid soon enough. It’s amazing how even a pooey voice recog. can ‘learn’ as it’s given more samples. You probably have nothing to worry about that, down the road.

            Anyway, so so awesome you’re here now, Dino. We’ll have to drag Juan and Sal and some of the rest on over. Oh yeah, I love the idea of you guys doing an ep of MPW. You guys really should have some spin-off podcast to add to the MPNetwork. 🙂

          2. You mis-read (or mis-typed in your reply) what I said about what it is I need from Apple. It’s not their innovation; it’s the integration of software, services and hardware. Likewise, if I went full-in on Google (a thought that has crossed my mind in the past) then I would go full-in (where’s Juan’s “that’s what she said” when you need it) – Chromebook, Android phone, Android TV, movies from Google Play, etc. It’s not necessarily the smartest way to go about things because it subjects yourself to ecosystem lock-in, but there’s a lot to be gained by that level of software/service/hardware integration. Interestingly, whereas I see that as a major plus, you see it as a detriment – to be sure, a good argument could be made both ways.

            We’ll have to agree to disagree on the potential effect of the iPhone SE on the Android market. I obviously see the “new” device taking a large chunk of that market share, especially domestically. In lower-income markets like India and China, the price point is probably still a little too high to make a huge dent. Either way, only time will tell on this one.

            I also don’t think the SE will cannibalize any of their current sales. If a person is already willing to pay for an iPhone 6/6 Plus/6S/6S Plus, then they are not likely to move down to an SE (unless they really want the smaller screen, but I think that’ll only be a very small percentage).

            As for your statement of Apple not showing any innovation over the last two years, I guess it depends on how you define innovation. For example…

            — I’m willing to bet that most people who have spent significant time with the iPad Pro would see it as an innovative device.

            — 3D Touch is another example; while it has yet to be fully exploited by developers, the technology behind it will likely see pressure sensitive multitouch displays become the norm moving forward.

            — On the software development side, new technologies like the Swift programming language and Metal are hugely important advances. By giving programmers better low-level, low overhead access to the hardware, they will be better able to develop innovative apps that change how we use our devices or accomplish daily tasks.

            — Also, with Metal, granting developers direct access to the GPU fosters the advancements in graphical performance necessary to make complex graphics processing and 3D applications possible for a future VR/AR world.

            — And the Apple Watch… I know, I know. This is one of the very rare examples where I think Apple rushed to market prematurely; more specifically, the wearables market just isn’t there yet, which is why most of us (me included) have yet to jump on the smart watch bandwagon. However, the Watch does incorporate several innovative features that (yes) can be game-changers. Specifically, the heart-rate monitor is very sophisticated and has the ability to act as a pulse oximeter, so not only is it highly accurate but could also be used to measure blood oxygen levels in the future. When combined with the other internal sensors, HealthKit and ResearchKit, the potential to positively influence an individual’s health and the advancement of medical research is truly innovative.

            — One last point about the Apple Watch – watch bands. Namely, watch band lugs. Yes, it may seem ridiculous to name watch band lugs as an innovation, but they enable us to easily transform a single watch into many different styles for different occasions. Before, to change a watch band would require going to a jeweler. Now, it’s easy to just swap them out on the fly, and I suspect many traditional watch makers will be incorporating a similar design in the near future.

            Many of these examples aren’t the shiny new devices, like an iPhone or iPad; they’re more “behind the scenes.” However, these internal hardware advances like 3D Touch and the pulse oximeter, or software advancements like Metal and CarPlay, seem to be setting Apple up for exciting new things (VR/AR, new mobility, etc) in the near future.

  4. Oh yeah, how’s about Cartoon Joe jumpin all the way to the other side of the podcasting fidelity spectrum this ep? It was like he was coming thru my shitty earbuds in 4DSuperSurround!!! Awesome, CJ, awesome. 🙂

    Reply

  6. 1. Gomez is stuck on the METRA too long.
    2. I picture Dino watching Gomez stuck on the METRA in his lair, via some sort of Android powered Big Brother spy gadgetry.
    3. I want to debate sweet potatoes versus yams with both of you.

    Cheers,

    Reply

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