Other Anyone else miss the iPhones released under Jobs’ leadership?

[thegerman]

Oh yes, I miss this era. All his energy on the stage fill me up when i hold his products in my hands.

 

[fatTribble]

Who wouldn’t want fewer defects in new releases? But that doesn’t make me long for the good old days.

 

[boss.king]

Not really. I have nostalgia for that period in time and in tech where smartphones were a lot less standardised and companies were experimenting with new ideas, but the one-size-fits-all approach was bad even then. I remember arguing here on MacRumors that Apple should release an option with a larger display and being told I was an idiot because no human hand could possibly reach across a display larger than the 3.5” one at the time. Now we have (mostly) sizes and specs that everyone can be happy with (bring back the Mini, Tim, you coward).

There’s no way you could par back the current iPhone line in a way that wouldn’t be objectively worse for a significant number of people.

 

[Zdigital2015]

The lineup was very compact - two to three storage options and comes in two colours. That’s it. Along with the skeumorphic design of iOS, the entire experience, for me, was enjoyable. iOS was limited but it performs at its best at what it’s designed to do. I’ve never clamoured for a software fix when iOS 6 dropped in 2012.

These days we have an ‘iPhone for everyone’ approach. It made Apple a lot of money and in my opinion, this would be Cook’s legacy - making Apple products mainstream. In contrast to Jobs’ approach of making the best products for those who are loyal to Apple and believe in their process.

However, such mass appeal comes with a price. People are hesitant to upgrade to new OSes, Apple releases some new features but also introduces tens of bugs which may take days to months to fix, a bloated product lineup that lacks focus - the blatant removal of previous Pro iPhones to ensure it doesn’t undercut the latest Pro models but they’re happy to keep last year’s or the year before’s base iPhones. The product lineup may generate a lot of revenue but from an Apple sheep, it seems very ‘out of focus’. I’m not saying we should move backwards. But I long for the day where iOS fixes all the bugs for inconsistencies from previous years and perhaps introduce a much condense product lineup that benefits the users such as - not having a 14 Plus and a 15 Plus available side by side in their official stores.

Apple 12 years after Steve Jobs death doesn’t remotely resemble the 2011 version of Apple. Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs, there was only one Steve Jobs. Lamenting and reminiscing about how things were done in the past won’t change how Apple is currently being run and Apple won’t be the same in 2035 as it is now. I miss the old Apple selling the IIc and IIgs. Well, that Apple of my childhood is dead and buried, time to move on.

I get the sense you’re more upset because Apple isn’t this scrappy little underdog with cliquey products that only a few “smart” people bought while the rest of the riff raff stayed over on the Windows side of the aisle. It’s okay…you won’t be the first or the last to feel less special now that everybody is sporting AirPod Pros and an iPhone.

Buy some stock and enjoy the ride.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Not really. I have nostalgia for that period in time and in tech where smartphones were a lot less standardised and companies were experimenting with new ideas, but the one-size-fits-all approach was bad even then. I remember arguing here on MacRumors that Apple should release an option with a larger display and being told I was an idiot because no human hand could possibly reach across a display larger than the 3.5” one at the time. Now we have (mostly) sizes and specs that everyone can be happy with (bring back the Mini, Tim, you coward).

There’s no way you could par back the current iPhone line in a way that wouldn’t be objectively worse for a significant number of people.

I guarantee that not one tech “nerd” on this forum would want a single tv manufacturer selling just two sizes of one level of HDTV and saying that your choice is to pay up or go back to standard def.

 

[AppleTO]

Well, I miss his keynotes...

 

[TokyoKiller]

The lineup was very compact - two to three storage options and comes in two colours. That’s it. Along with the skeumorphic design of iOS, the entire experience, for me, was enjoyable. iOS was limited but it performs at its best at what it’s designed to do. I’ve never clamoured for a software fix when iOS 6 dropped in 2012.

These days we have an ‘iPhone for everyone’ approach. It made Apple a lot of money and in my opinion, this would be Cook’s legacy - making Apple products mainstream. In contrast to Jobs’ approach of making the best products for those who are loyal to Apple and believe in their process.

However, such mass appeal comes with a price. People are hesitant to upgrade to new OSes, Apple releases some new features but also introduces tens of bugs which may take days to months to fix, a bloated product lineup that lacks focus - the blatant removal of previous Pro iPhones to ensure it doesn’t undercut the latest Pro models but they’re happy to keep last year’s or the year before’s base iPhones. The product lineup may generate a lot of revenue but from an Apple sheep, it seems very ‘out of focus’. I’m not saying we should move backwards. But I long for the day where iOS fixes all the bugs for inconsistencies from previous years and perhaps introduce a much condense product lineup that benefits the users such as - not having a 14 Plus and a 15 Plus available side by side in their official stores.

Errr no because if iPhone remained as it was on iOS6 it would have likely died a timely death like BlackBerry did.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Although I really liked my 5S, I much prefer my 15PM. Jobs served a purpose but I don't miss him at all

 

[Analog Kid]

The lineup was very compact - two to three storage options and comes in two colours. That’s it. Along with the skeumorphic design of iOS, the entire experience, for me, was enjoyable. iOS was limited but it performs at its best at what it’s designed to do. I’ve never clamoured for a software fix when iOS 6 dropped in 2012.

These days we have an ‘iPhone for everyone’ approach. It made Apple a lot of money and in my opinion, this would be Cook’s legacy - making Apple products mainstream. In contrast to Jobs’ approach of making the best products for those who are loyal to Apple and believe in their process.

However, such mass appeal comes with a price. People are hesitant to upgrade to new OSes, Apple releases some new features but also introduces tens of bugs which may take days to months to fix, a bloated product lineup that lacks focus - the blatant removal of previous Pro iPhones to ensure it doesn’t undercut the latest Pro models but they’re happy to keep last year’s or the year before’s base iPhones. The product lineup may generate a lot of revenue but from an Apple sheep, it seems very ‘out of focus’. I’m not saying we should move backwards. But I long for the day where iOS fixes all the bugs for inconsistencies from previous years and perhaps introduce a much condense product lineup that benefits the users such as - not having a 14 Plus and a 15 Plus available side by side in their official stores.

No. I really didn't like iPhones 5-8, but iPhone X was beautiful.

iPhone sold close to 40 million units in 2010 which would have been driving Job's thinking about the product line at the time. They sell close to 240 million a year now-- 6 times as many. More customers and more markets, require some differentiation.

Beyond that, I agree with @JPack, it's a mature product in a way it wasn't when launched. Are there product lines that Jobs kept shipping a previous generation top tier product to compete with the current lineup? Wouldn't doing that just further bloat the array of offerings?

 

[MisterSavage]

I'm actually with you on the skeumophic design. If it was an option I would turn it on and use it instead of the boring flat design we have.

Otherwise I'm happy with the state of things. I've had very few issues with iOS 17 and love my 15 Pro.

 

[257Loner]

Apple's best hardware days are behind them. That's why they're "Apple Inc." instead of "Apple Computer, Inc."

1. They don't make a phone that fits in your hand anymore. The last phone that fit in your hand was the iPhone 13 mini. Last sold on September 12, 2023, three months ago.
2. They don't make a good mouse anymore. The last mouse from Apple with good ergonomics was the Mighty Mouse. Last sold in 2017.
3. They don't make a good MacBook Pro keyboard anymore. The last good one with decent key travel depth was the Retina MacBook Pro's keyboard. Last sold in 2015.

 

[Flash1420]

I think Apple made the best products until 2015. They always found a good balance between form and function in terms of design. 2016-2021 prioritized form too much over functionality, the designs were still good-looking but many flaws. Functionality now is great but design looks stale across all devices. I think we hit peak iPhone with the 13 series, from there it was just incremental upgrades. iPad Pro design hit peak in 2018 and remained the same. I think the best iPhone has gotta be the 4S or the 5S. Best iPad would be the current iPad Pro. Best MacBook Pro series would be the ones from 2015.

 

[klasma]

I see a phone that doesn’t fit into the pocket.

 

[klasma]

For me, the current iPhone lineup is very simple: All models are too large, so the obvious choice is not to buy.

 

[TracerAnalog]

The lineup was very compact - two to three storage options and comes in two colours. That’s it. Along with the skeumorphic design of iOS, the entire experience, for me, was enjoyable. iOS was limited but it performs at its best at what it’s designed to do. I’ve never clamoured for a software fix when iOS 6 dropped in 2012.

These days we have an ‘iPhone for everyone’ approach. It made Apple a lot of money and in my opinion, this would be Cook’s legacy - making Apple products mainstream. In contrast to Jobs’ approach of making the best products for those who are loyal to Apple and believe in their process.

However, such mass appeal comes with a price. People are hesitant to upgrade to new OSes, Apple releases some new features but also introduces tens of bugs which may take days to months to fix, a bloated product lineup that lacks focus - the blatant removal of previous Pro iPhones to ensure it doesn’t undercut the latest Pro models but they’re happy to keep last year’s or the year before’s base iPhones. The product lineup may generate a lot of revenue but from an Apple sheep, it seems very ‘out of focus’. I’m not saying we should move backwards. But I long for the day where iOS fixes all the bugs for inconsistencies from previous years and perhaps introduce a much condense product lineup that benefits the users such as - not having a 14 Plus and a 15 Plus available side by side in their official stores.

I remember the early days fondly too, but that is the nature of the past. Apple has moved on, society has moved on. Even if Steve Jobs would still be around, he (especially) would have moved on as well…

 

[jwolf6589]

The lineup was very compact - two to three storage options and comes in two colours. That’s it. Along with the skeumorphic design of iOS, the entire experience, for me, was enjoyable. iOS was limited but it performs at its best at what it’s designed to do. I’ve never clamoured for a software fix when iOS 6 dropped in 2012.

These days we have an ‘iPhone for everyone’ approach. It made Apple a lot of money and in my opinion, this would be Cook’s legacy - making Apple products mainstream. In contrast to Jobs’ approach of making the best products for those who are loyal to Apple and believe in their process.

However, such mass appeal comes with a price. People are hesitant to upgrade to new OSes, Apple releases some new features but also introduces tens of bugs which may take days to months to fix, a bloated product lineup that lacks focus - the blatant removal of previous Pro iPhones to ensure it doesn’t undercut the latest Pro models but they’re happy to keep last year’s or the year before’s base iPhones. The product lineup may generate a lot of revenue but from an Apple sheep, it seems very ‘out of focus’. I’m not saying we should move backwards. But I long for the day where iOS fixes all the bugs for inconsistencies from previous years and perhaps introduce a much condense product lineup that benefits the users such as - not having a 14 Plus and a 15 Plus available side by side in their official stores.

True. Sometimes you upgrade to the latest OS and bugs from the past return.

 

[applepotato666]

Nope. They've progressed naturally. I would obviously rather have an iPhone 15 in 2024 instead of an iPhone 4. I think they've kept the qualities that make an iPhone what it is over the years. I miss the prices Europe got for iPhones back then. They are a bit overpriced now. I remember paying 500 EUR for the iPhone 6s. It's twice as expensive now.

 

[eyoungren]

I see a phone that doesn’t fit into the pocket.

There's about an inch that does not. The rest of it is in there and because the width of the pocket is just about the width of the phone it's a snug fit.

If it's raining outside (like today) I put it elsewhere

 

[BellSystem]

Only thing I miss are the keynotes.
I don’t like the overly polished pop style keynotes they produce nowadays which are supposed to appeal to younger folks. With Jobs, granted the Apple esthetics were more skeuomorphic, the presentations felt more life like and rough, relatable on a personal level, not made for young folks to make them feel like they’re part of, whatever.
Apart from that no I don’t miss much.
People complain about how Apple is (still) stubborn in some aspects but then glorify old Apple and Jobs. There are many things Jobs probably wouldn’t have liked like the Shortcuts app or, like you said, choices in screen and storage size and perhaps colors.
Things that the market obviously appreciates. So I don’t see a benefit going back to a time that we should all be happy have long passed. Good at the times, but not feasible today.

You hit the nail on the head of why Apple is kinda rubbish today. Steve made a personal connection with the customers with his keynotes (irony considering his reputation). Tim comes off as a car salesman and the rest of his tribe are ding dongs.

 

[boss.king]

Only thing I miss are the keynotes.
I don’t like the overly polished pop style keynotes they produce nowadays which are supposed to appeal to younger folks.

I promise, they don’t only appeal to younger folks. This is a classic case of “I don’t like it so it must be for kids”.

 

[MarkNewton2023]

The lineup was very compact - two to three storage options and comes in two colours. That’s it. Along with the skeumorphic design of iOS, the entire experience, for me, was enjoyable. iOS was limited but it performs at its best at what it’s designed to do. I’ve never clamoured for a software fix when iOS 6 dropped in 2012.

These days we have an ‘iPhone for everyone’ approach. It made Apple a lot of money and in my opinion, this would be Cook’s legacy - making Apple products mainstream. In contrast to Jobs’ approach of making the best products for those who are loyal to Apple and believe in their process.

However, such mass appeal comes with a price. People are hesitant to upgrade to new OSes, Apple releases some new features but also introduces tens of bugs which may take days to months to fix, a bloated product lineup that lacks focus - the blatant removal of previous Pro iPhones to ensure it doesn’t undercut the latest Pro models but they’re happy to keep last year’s or the year before’s base iPhones. The product lineup may generate a lot of revenue but from an Apple sheep, it seems very ‘out of focus’. I’m not saying we should move backwards. But I long for the day where iOS fixes all the bugs for inconsistencies from previous years and perhaps introduce a much condense product lineup that benefits the users such as - not having a 14 Plus and a 15 Plus available side by side in their official stores.

Not me 😊 Tim and his team have been doing a great job creating amazing iPhone choices and features targeting various consumer demographic iPhone type needs. I am a very satisfied iPhone user and Apple products. Keep calm and be happy with current Apple offerings. Life is too short to be unhappy with anything😊

 

[aevan]

I never had an issue when at one time, all we had was the 6 Plus, 6, 5S. If someone wants a larger screen, they also get the best camera, resolution, battery life.

Camera is more or less the same (I actually prefer 3x to 5x, and everything else is the same). Resolution is tied to the size of screen, but density is the same (I think it would be worse to have a fuzzier screen on the bigger one for the sake of some parity). And battery life is literally just physics.

Considering that some people want bigger phones and some people want smaller phones - what is Apple to do?

 

[RRC]

Jobs would have had to adapt and change as the market and technology advanced… we wouldn’t still be using small phones with Touch ID as some would have others believe!

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

Yes but it’s apples and oranges. There would be more models now, even under Jobs leadership most likely. As the technology has come to maturity, there’s a lot more than back then.

 

[redheeler]

There was a lot of mistreatment and mishandling of the Mac a few years ago before Apple Silicon, which didn't reflect as much in Apple's share prices due to the smaller market share of Mac, hence why Tim Cook didn't receive the amount of backlash he deserved. The Mac is in a better place now, but what continues to be an issue is the notorious RAM and hard drive skimping that essentially defines much of what's wrong with the Apple of the Tim Cook era, which wasn't an issue before.