> Stringer found the HomePod dissatisfying because Apple treated it as a hobby, depriving it of the cross-division focus it lavished on core products, such as the iPhone and iPad.

I mean...yeah? iPod, iPhone and iPad are Apple's whole 21st century legacy. And most recently, arguably Apple Watch and EarPods.

They all have the same thing in common - they're wearables that you see on the person on the street.

Apple is a trillion dollar company (and not a skeleton in a graveyard of companies crushed by Microsoft in the 1990's that it almost was) because of iPhone and iPad.

Every other Apple product is a "hobby" by comparison, and that includes iMacs, and Macbook Pros.

You have to have your eyes open about the product you work on, and where it sits in the company hierarchy. Not everything is a core product, but that doesn't mean it's not important.