Have you noticed the quality of Apple has gotten worse compared to years ago?

[boss.king]

This is a myth. Even during the "it just works" era, things didn't just work, Apple simply had a much smaller, often more technically savvy user base and a less complex, less interconnected product lineup. But there were always issues. That's the nature of all products.

I think people have fond memories of back when technology was simpler, but they ignore or forget the issues and frustrations that as a part of that package. There was also much less of an online community constantly hunting out and publicising issues, so if a problem didn't affect you personally and regularly, you might never notice it. Now we get six weeks of "[whatever]gate" with every new release.

 

[dallison13]

I hate posts about "How Jobs would have done it"

First off, no one knows, and everything apple put out during his tenure wasn't amazing.
Second, we are in a different time now, and Apple, love em or hate em, is the richest company in the world by some measurements. I'm guessing they are doing most things right. I would love to see what people would do running a company the size and influence of Apple in 2023
And third, there are so many more services and considerations now than then. Apple can't do right by most because if they do it right the first time, there are either Antitrust issues to overcome, or they are immediately Sherlocking the App Store ecosystem. It's the bed they made, sure, but seriously folks, get over your pettiness.

I get that this crap is expensive and Apple is peddling new stuff every year, yet here we are..... Still here complaining while typing on Apple products....

 

[QuickSilverLining]

I completely agree with the sentiments. Their software in particular just seems to be getting worse and worse with the bugs, bloat, and incompatibility (on the Mac for me). I have no plans to move away from Monterey still because I've heard even more issues with whatever their next releases are from my friend. The last rock solid version of Mac OS IMHO was... good grief I might have to say El Capitan. Mojave was good too, but it generally seemed less stable for me than El Cap (and High Sierra).

I will say, I think their Mac hardware has recovered some ground in the quality space with the switch to M1. I think the 2015-2021 range of Intel Macs were some of their worst computers they made in a long time (not just the keyboard issues on MacBooks, but screen cables getting pinched, overheating, GPU failures on the trashcans, on and on...)

 

[MBAir2010]

Nope
is producing incredible products as
if we were in 2006-07!

 

[NeonNights]

I definitely agree with OP and had similar thoughts several times over the years, what with the butterfly keyboard fiasco, the whine on some Mac Studios, ethernet issues with the new M2 Minis, and my own Mac Mini simply refusing my password one day (the same password it accepted the day before, and for years before that; no software update, just plain refused the login), and recently the iPhone 15 issues.

Quality control has noticeably slipped. However, Apple sets the bar high so some decline is still performing way above the industry average. To a degree, I am not surprised at the drop in quality control. Apple has been focused on expansion, selling in new territories, and focused on more market share and more profits. As Apple continues to get bigger it's difficult to maintain that same level of quality at scale.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

This is an insanely great popcorn thread. Kudos to OP for letting the clown out of the box!

Software has improved quite a bit since the downlow 4-5 years ago, where it was bugs everywhere. But other than that, it seems to be as it has always been. Some bugs here and there, but overall things are working. Many of you kids were not here for OSX 10.0 where all updates were in the form of “Gee, I wonder if I can finally print now, or add fonts to my system?” And not “bewhew, I can't find option XYZ i Preferences, Apple is doomed!”.

Apple has always made weird choices. Some turned out be the new standard, others were bad but still kept around for years before being replaced. Siri is not the perfect thing she should be, but I still use her 30-50 times a day, and she pretty much always works. I couldn't live without her.

 

[mectojic]

Agreed. But it goes back a long way, honestly back to around 10.7 Lion. Ever since then, software updates make me sceptical, I'm concerned I'm going to lose functionality.
Now I just try to keep all my Apple devices on their stock OS. It's honestly much more peaceful.

iPadOS is the same. I had a really nice home screen in iPadOS 14, then 15 (or 16?) killed it by "adding" widgets; it killed the semi-widget system that was honestly better, and didn't let you revert to it.

 

[thatguywill]

Never had any issue with Reminders and rely on it on a daily basis so not sure what’s going on with yours

 

[bousozoku]

iOS has been lagging for the past few versions. Still on the last 16.6.1 for 13PM as there's no other updates except 17.1 which I'll hold off as I'm still reading issues about it from other online boards.

Apple needs to spend a lot more time in quality control with its software.

...

You're not seeing 16.7.2?

 

[Tuck_]

The software has definitely stagnated. MacOS could be so much better than it is. Can't speak to the hardware but does seem like they've had some big missed over the past few years at least prior to the switch to apple silicon.

Now they are all about defining the workflow for you. You do things their way because they decided it’s cool that way, but it’s often not.



Apple has gone from “it just works” to “we have decided how it works.”

We'll said

 

[dotzero123]

Maybe I’m not the average user, but I enjoy my IPhone, IPad, Mac, Watch and IPods immensely and love the way they interact toget her. I think they are vastly superior in many ways due to the simplicity of use and lack of issues. Siri responds to me all the time and gets it nearly 100 percent right. To each his or her own, but it still ”just works” fine for me. (Disclaimer: I’ve never used HomePod but always felt it was way overpriced for its functionality)

 

[seanmcbay]

Feels like most things in general have these issues these days.

 

[LogicalApex]

It is a flaw of humanity (or some would call it a gift in some ways). We only remember the good parts and we forget the bad.

If you ask an older person how they feel the world is now compared to their youth. They’ll typically tell you their youth was amazing and we should pull the world back to then as it sucks now. Because they remember all the great things of their youthful and vibrant years. They don’t remember all of the horrible parts of that period.

The same is true in tech. People will have fond memories of how great older versions of Windows or macOS were. Meanwhile if you go back and look at the forums of those ages (or remember them) people felt they were more buggy and problem ridden than we encounter now.

 

[CrysisDeu]

The new products are so ugly and so badly designed, so yes, they’re losing the charm.

The iPhone 6 looks so futuristic with how absurdly thin it is. The macbook pros hid the thickness very well and look really sleek. IMac’s design is still unbeatable till this day, especially the hinge is hidden so well.

 

[CrysisDeu]

It is a flaw of humanity (or some would call it a gift in some ways). We only remember the good parts and we forget the bad.

If you ask an older person how they feel the world is now compared to their youth. They’ll typically tell you their youth was amazing and we should pull the world back to then as it sucks now. Because they remember all the great things of their youthful and vibrant years. They don’t remember all of the horrible parts of that period.

The same is true in tech. People will have fond memories of how great older versions of Windows or macOS were. Meanwhile if you go back and look at the forums of those ages (or remember them) people felt they were more buggy and problem ridden than we encounter now.

I feel like Apple is under going a period where the decision makers (the middle level managements) are the ones who has the older devices in their childhood, hence the designs are all going backwards.

 

[Al Rukh]

Has Apple gotten worse, or has the competition finally gotten better?

I think it’s a little bit of both if we are strictly talking about iOS versus Android. At this point, the only difference these two OSes has is preference.

 

[Al Rukh]

I hate posts about "How Jobs would have done it"

First off, no one knows, and everything apple put out during his tenure wasn't amazing.
Second, we are in a different time now, and Apple, love em or hate em, is the richest company in the world by some measurements. I'm guessing they are doing most things right. I would love to see what people would do running a company the size and influence of Apple in 2023
And third, there are so many more services and considerations now than then. Apple can't do right by most because if they do it right the first time, there are either Antitrust issues to overcome, or they are immediately Sherlocking the App Store ecosystem. It's the bed they made, sure, but seriously folks, get over your pettiness.

I get that this crap is expensive and Apple is peddling new stuff every year, yet here we are..... Still here complaining while typing on Apple products....

Absolutely. There were some questionable products that were released under Jobs’ leadership and no one wants to bring them up. I think Cook has made Apple’s products more appealing to the masses, rather than focussing on the core Apple fanbase.

 

[Al Rukh]

The new products are so ugly and so badly designed, so yes, they’re losing the charm.

The iPhone 6 looks so futuristic with how absurdly thin it is. The macbook pros hid the thickness very well and look really sleek. IMac’s design is still unbeatable till this day, especially the hinge is hidden so well.

What about the battery life on the 6?

 

[CrysisDeu]

What about the battery life on the 6?

It was good back then

 

[Al Rukh]

It was good back then

I disagree. It was poor compared to the competition. Apple remedy it and it’s a welcomed approach for the last 4 years.

 

[ZZ9pluralZalpha]

Remember years ago when Apple was thriving and couldn’t be matched? They had this unspoken slogan of “it just works.” Now, I have so many issues with just about all of my Apple devices from speed, to bugs, to reliability, to Siri. It just seems like Apple has lost quality and charm. Some examples include how the iPhone 15 pro models have basically given us no major changes than the previous model.

HomePod minis are the worst device Apple has ever released. We have switched internet providers several times and have so many issues with HomePod minis. Siri is always unreliable, gets requests and queries wrong almost every time, does random requests that we didn’t ask. I’ll never buy a HomePod mini again.

My reminders app hasn’t worked correctly since iOS 7. It’s the slowest, laggy app I’ve ever used. Yes, I constantly clear the completed reminders, it doesn’t help.

My Apple watch now displays a white stripe on the date and I have restored it several times but it still hasn’t been fixed. Apple says I have a beta installed but I’ve never installed a beta 🤷‍♂️

I have troubleshooted all of these issues with Apple for years and there hasn’t been a fix for any of them. It’s so strange that they can’t fix these issue that I haven’t caused. They’re all bugs.

So, I’m still an Apple fan but their quality has gone so downhill in recent years that it’s depressing. Their answer for a lot of things is to “reinstall” but that never works and their products should work properly without us having to reinstall and lose all non-iCloud settings just because they can’t figure out how to fix their bugs.

I’m not asking anyone to agree with me, it won’t make me feel better to know that others agree. I’m just venting about the quality of Apple. Hope they restore their old image but it’s doubtful they will. You can do it if you actually care, Apple.

 

[aries81]

It’s just amazing to see how many people tend to overly glorify stuff.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Yes.

 

[Diorama]

Been using Apple stuff since 1991, this is rose-tinted spectacles, my man.
Will my eMate be able to see the StyleWriter today? Who knows!
Oh, updating to iOS 6 has bricked my phone? Fantastic.

 

[Matam]

Been using Apple stuff since 1991, this is rose-tinted spectacles, my man.
Will my eMate be able to see the StyleWriter today? Who knows!
Oh, updating to iOS 6 has bricked my phone? Fantastic.

About the same, and, memory is definitely a funny thing. On pre-MacOS X Between extension conflict, multifinder or just the finder who was suddenly crashing down the whole thing, I don't even mention the hardware issues (had a 1st get B&W with faulty controller, also one of those MPB poised with the Nvidia plague), and/or the general instability, the trickiness of the hardware at times (on the 11th install disk displaying a "this this cannot be read" error?",... I believe it's just that systems now are insanely more complex, with much more dependencies, and that all little convenience comes at a cost in complexity. This and dealing with "we deliver an update for stability, people complain because there's nothing new, we offer an update with novelties, people complain because we didn't improve the stability".

But well. We can still try turning it off and on again.