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Comment by rcconf | Hacker News Reader

I don't agree. Apple is definitely a cool brand because what is the alternatives in the phone space for being cool? I can guarantee you that no one thinks Android devices are "cool" amongst the younger generation.

Apple is doing a fantastic job right now and I believe they're going to do great in the next 10 years because of one really simple fact:

Apple makes great products that just work and look great. No other company has been able to do that. I was just gifted a Fitbit and it failed about 5 times to pair to my phone. I restarted both the device (5x) and phone and it finally worked. How easy do you think it was for my girlfriend to setup her Apple watch? That's when I was reminded why Apple is #1.

I think Apple should continue what they're doing, create great products that just work and look great. It doesn't matter what the next 10 years looks like if they can continue doing that and I really think they can.

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I have a Fitbit Versa 3 that's gone and bricked itself in less than seven months. But my Apple Watch's battery life is <18 hours, so, for example, it's essentially impossible to wear it during the day and use it for sleep tracking overnight. I'd love it if Apple would come up with a fitness tracker that ties in with the rest of the Apple ecosystem and-- most importantly--has a multi-day battery life like Fitbit's smart watches.

I charge mine for ~45 minutes or so between 9-10pm and it's been great.

There’s always that avoidable constant extra mile needed for Apple products and how the true fruit company followers never fail to mention it in a a way that it sounds okay.

Didn’t OP’s question clear it up that this was not an option/intention? Or did you assume OP didn’t know the watch could be charged at night?

im sure youre looking for a full on smart watch, but an alternative that works for me are garmin runner watches. i get notifications, can control music, start/end runs, time, heart rate, VO2 max and an app that aggregates this stuff. i dont really need much more then that.

Do you have an Android phone? The bluetooth stack on Android is a an atrocity.

It works as well or better than my iPhone 6's.

AFAIK Android's bluetooth stack was rewritten from scratch in rust for Android 11.

There are a bunch of options in the dev options including what enabling the Gabeldorsche stack.

Good point, updating to Android 11 took my Bluetooth connection from "spotty at best" to "nearly too aggressive". If you have multi-point Bluetooth accessories, Android 11+ devices will almost always try to steal your connection if Bluetooth is enabled. I can't tell if it's a feature or an issue, but it's certainly better than the way it used to be.

Also macOS: https://www.howtoisolve.com/fix-mac-mini-m1-bluetooth-issues...

I wonder why Bluetooth is still somewhat fragile.

Apple maybe made great products that just worked but honestly it isn’t that simple anymore. With the Apple Watch, multiple kinds of phones, iPads and Macs they definitely fragmented their lineup to a point where they seem to have trouble to maintain quality software-wise. I had so many issues with iOS and iPadOS and always thought I’d be the only idiot who doesn’t know how to use a phone. Until I’ve started googling. I don’t even say Apple is not cool or whatever but don’t give me the „it just werks“ because it simply isn’t true.

Apple is the farthest from cool and actually is a borderline embarrassment if you own their products for the majority of my friends. I know we are the minority though.

What phone are the cool kids using these days?

Apple is only king because people are lazy/stupid.

Ironically a lazy/stupid comment.

> what is the alternatives in the phone space for being cool?

Phones aren't cool anymore, and neither is the iPhone. If you think the iPhone is cool, let me introduce you to my incredibly cool 70+ year old parents who love anything that is bland.

Some things remain cool because they are fringe or have uniqueness and character. Somehow cars have managed to remain cool, but your average family sedan or SUV isn't cool, and that's where the iPhone is.

So are there cool android phones, no. Probably not. Are airpods cool, getting to be not so cool very quickly. iPads definitely aren't cool.

Having said all that, it doesn't mean that Apple needs to make the next cool thing to continue to be successful. Microsoft hasn't been cool for ages, and arguably never was, but Satya has found incredible growth opportunities.

Tesla is cool now, but it won't be in 20 years, but Musk will have an incredible business.

I guess part of the problem for Apple is that they always marketed themselves as "cool", but in my personal experience, none of the cool kids are Apple fanboys anymore, it's the ones who want to be seen as cool who are.

I don’t know if the cool kids are Apple fanboys, but affluent cool kids buy Apple. Go to any college campus and count what percentage of computers, phones, headphones, smart watches are Apple. The more affluent the college the more Apple. It is a luxury consumer brand in the way no other technology company is. They have no real competitor or equal.

Are you equating affluence with cool? Do only cool kids go to college? Apple has no competitor or equal?? I look around me, and I see lots of non-mac device, non-iPhones. So everyone around me must be incredibly uncool. But my parents, they must be the coolest, because they have iPads and iPhones, but then again, they use windows PCs, so not as cool as the affluent kids.

No, I am not.

And no, cool kids do not always go to college.

And no I am not conflating the two.

I am saying that rich cool kids buy Apple. And 18-21 year olds are the tastemakers for all the kids younger then themselves and also, sometimes, for adults older then them too.

Please note: I am not saying that you have to think 18-21 are cool, I don’t, but they are by popular definition.

And no, they have no competitor across their product categories. They have competitors for specific products, but no one really goes head to head with them across even half of their products and for most of their products they are #1 by a huge margin:

Luxury Phones Headphones Tablets Music Service Computers Smart Watches

They are a leader or top competitor in all of those spaces. Who else can say that?

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