Apple's Software Is In A 'Nosedive' That Is Deeply Concerning, Longtime Apple Supporter Says

Business Insider ^ | 01/05/2015 | Jay Yarow

[SeekAndFind]

Respected developer Marco Arment is worried about Apple's future.

In a blog post he writes: "Apple's hardware today is amazing — it has never been better. But the software quality has taken such a nosedive in the last few years that I'm deeply concerned for its future."

Arment was CTO at Tumblr before he left to start Instapaper, the first app that let users save stories to be read later. He also launched Overcast, an increasingly popular podcasting app. He records his own podcast, which has a devoted following in Apple and developer circles.

Arment is not an alarmist. He dislikes people who are alarmist. And he knows the reaction his posts will provoke, so he's generally careful with his words.

"Apple has completely lost the functional high ground," Arment says. "'It just works' was never completely true, but I don't think the list of qualifiers and asterisks has ever been longer."

Arment blames the prioritizing of marketing for the problems with Apple's software. Apple wants to have new software releases each year as a marketing hook, but the annual cycles of updating Apple's software are leading to too many bugs and problems, he says:

[Jim Noble]

I've got a mid-2006 23" iMac with Snow Leopard, and it crashes CONSTANTLY

I have never owned an iMac. They have a life expectancy.

Your HD probably has bad blocks.

[dennisw]

I too am outraged by this incompetence and am stomping my iPad to bits as we speak. I have had way too many hassles from those Cupertino idiots//////

Best I can tell, the ChiComs are sabotaging the software at the mega-humongous Apple assembly. They are plotting to strip all they can and put out much better phones and tablets via LENOVO

[dennisw]

I hate the Apple haters. Tim Jobs all the way!!!

[Dr. Sivana]

I’d love to give it an SSD, but opening one of those is NOT for the faint of heart.

I have a problem with tossing a good 23” screen because of the HD, which SHOULD be easily replaced. The new models (which we cannot afford) DON’T have built in DVD, a deal breaker for me.

[kjam22]

Actually.... I upgraded my wife’s ipad2 to 8.1.2 last week. It works fine. No noticeable difference in performance etc.

[kjam22]

I have a Iphone 5c. I love it. Perfect size and works great. Its running 8.1.2

[Enlightened1]

Strange... I have an iPhone and an iPad with ZERO ISSUES with the latest Apple update.

I don't know who all these people are with all these issues?

Next time you run into someone with an iPhone or iPad. Ask them if they are having any issues with the latest update.

[dennisw]

The larger screen is nice in the 6, but one handed operation is not nearly as nice. I personally can’t imagine the 6+, but like it or not the market is demanding these silly huge beasts.

Silly to you perhaps but in Asia they want large and mobile. It might be their only way (don't have much money) getting on line. They don't have a desktop at home with a 24" display/////  They get it (internet) on the run.

Now ......  A relative who is pathetic on internet is loving her new large screen Samsung note that I see her typing the alphabet w a stylus

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

I installed an SSD on a 2011 MBPro. Very easy. At first.

Cloning you HDD is a snap.

The Disk Drive cable an all 2011 MBPro’s is faulty so it must be replaced. The cable cannot handle the bandwidth needed.

Yosemite won’t allow you to use trim on aftermarket drives so I’m still on Mavericks until Windows 10 is stable or a year or two which ever comes last.

Mine runs like a bat out of hell now.

[Verbosus]

Being a longtime and strong Apple supporter, I told a friend
that eventually when Joy dies Apple will die as a strong product
line shortly thereafter.

Now that Joy is gone, it does look to me that Apple is slipping.
Just my opinion....

[Flick Lives]

The new models (which we cannot afford) DON’T have built in DVD, a deal breaker for me.

What's a DVD?

[SeekAndFind]

Who the heck is Joy?

[Verbosus]

Oops - I was thinking Steve Jobs, and wrote Joy (as in Bill Joy).

[Vinnie]

The new models (which we cannot afford) DON’T have built in DVD, a deal breaker for me.

No kidding. It's not huge inconvenience in a desktop but no DVD drive in a laptop???
Prevented me from getting a new MacBookPro.
I bought a used one 2012 model w/ everything including a DVD drive. No it's not a retina display but HD.
Seemed stupid to me to have a portable and have to carry a separate optical drive. Bad move Apple. IMO

[itsahoot]

[itsahoot]

This might be the reason Apple stock is falling today.

Now you know the real reason for these gloom and doom articles. If they were true people would dump Apple and get a Droid, fact is they are not.

The life cycle of a phone is two years why would you expect to run the latest and greatest software on outdated hardware? I have a 1st generation iPad that still works like it always did, probably because it can not be upgraded to the latest iOS 8.

[Dr. Sivana]

What's a DVD?

It's a device that my wife and children play movies and shows on.

[CodeToad]

Well, in all fairness to Apple, this is a problem of all software companies right now. Both real management skills and real technical skills are sorely lacking throughout the industry. People that work at Apple work at Google, or Yahoo, or Microsoft, or Oracle, etc. Same people, different companies. They move about quit often.

[itsahoot]

I've got a mid-2006 23" iMac with Snow Leopard, and it crashes CONSTANTLY.

I run OS X 4 on a G4 Mac Mini with Classic installed and have no problems with it.

I have used Apple for thirty years and I hate the new flat look, but I hate Windows 8 even more. Admittedly if I had been raised on the Windows environment, likely I would not like Apple.

[Dr. Sivana]

The life cycle of a phone is two years why would you expect to run the latest and greatest software on outdated hardware?

The contract term of a phone is two years. When the phone is worth about $700, I want more than two years out of it. Much of the new software (including new versions of the old, which often gets pulled) will not run on the older OSes, forcing updates.