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Comment by JohnJamesRambo | Hacker News Reader

Isn't the main problem the same one that beset PC manufacturers as the computers got fast enough that no one needed to upgrade anymore? Couple that with Apple making phones that cost >$1000 and it seems like the natural end this was headed to. My iPhone SE does every single thing I need a phone to do and it costed about $99.

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I’ve had similar thoughts. I currently have an iPhone 6S, I’ve had it for 30 months, and don’t really have a need to change it. I remember when I started changing laptops only when they broke, and it’s a similar feeling

I've had my 6S Plus now for 36 months and definitely don't need a change, though I do like the screens on the newer iPhones.

One interesting thing about the my phone is I managed to crack the screen on the 3 iPhones I had before, sometimes multiple times. I've put this one through hell and back and it just keeps going. I wonder if the build quality (not just features and performance) has been a factor in slowing upgrades...

Apple can't make them much faster because they keep making them thinner and lighter. Each MacBook has been a very slight upgrade from the previous model since they went Retina. Often times the first of a new generation is actually slower than the one it replaced. Plus, Apple won't work with NVIDIA so their GPU is always going to be behind when compared with the PC market.

It's not just nvidia, a modern gpu needs a lot of power to run properly and it doesn't work with apple's idea that their laptop can't have noise/heat/be large/need a large powerbox. Even if they went nvidia they would go for what, a 1050 Ti or 1060 at best ? Compared to a "regular brand" laptop at half price it's ridiculously weak.

Personally I "solved" it for my need by having two laptops (I don't have a desktop at home anymore), one is a 15" made for mobility with tons of battery and low weight, the other is frankly more of a "transportable" 17", too heavy to hold it in one hand and lasting less that two hour on battery but with insane power for all my work and gaming need.

Interestingly enough both end up costing almost the same.

In Apple's glory years and resulting growth, their os and hardware were the epicenter of your personal computing. today thin client laptops and smartphones connect online, which is now your personal computing epicenter. It's hard to see how Apple can innovate new devices and OS's to achieve massive growth again in the era of cheap chromebooks

I'd say that his point is more that Apple refuses to work with nVidia for various reasons. AMD's chips run far hotter than nVidia ones, so this further limits their options considering the thermal constraints of their devices.

I think Apple's situation is a bit different from most PC manufacturers: because they aim for "quality/brand/recognition" they can get a crowd that is fine with replacing their computer more often even if they don't need to. "the new thingy that does mostly the same as before but new" won't work on someone who buys the $600 HP laptop. It does still work on phones, but the improvement are a lot more massive both hardware (camera especially) and software. That's why apple NEEDS to go with touchbar and new connectors magic and everything because why else would you change, already on HN you see plenty of people saying they're fine with their 4+ years old mbp.

If you rely on a "premium product at premium price" you need to make people want to have it, and for them to replace it that's either obseleting the old one, or making the new one

Downside of this of course, is that it's harder to rely on that anymore when you try to grab mass market too.

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