You want a headphone jack? Tough cheese – it’s gone. Maybe you want better pro features on your favorite phone or tablet? Well, you can only make yourself heard, and hope someone eventually listens, because it’s not up to us – the consumers – to make the big decisions.
And there are certain companies that are notorious for seemingly not listening to their users, with the prime suspect being, of course – Apple. The company that many people love to hate, and many hate to love, but undeniably knows how to make a nice thing and present it to you in such a way that you can’t wait to buy it. It’s not one of the most high-valued companies in the world because it makes bad business decisions, right?But does that mean that it shouldn’t listen to what its consumers are saying? It shouldn’t learn from its mistakes and maybe roll back on its own choices for what’s right? Well, even Apple is capable of changing its opinion or introducing new things that were apparently inspired by what the fanbase wants. And has requested for a while. Let’s take a look at some examples and be surprised, or (and yes, it’s legal) – happy that it happened…
The iPad is finally getting desktop-like multitasking
Almost looks like it’s running MacOS now, but nope, this is iPadOS 16!
Nobody on the outside really knows what’s happening in the big, top secret hivemind of Apple Inc., but my personal assumption is that the Cupertino company has always been so eager to nerf the iPad’s capabilities in fears that it might start dipping into MacBook Air sales.
The iPad was just a basic tablet not too long ago. Even a simple multitasking functionality like running two apps at a time in split view was only introduced a couple of years back. Let alone anything even close to resembling desktop-grade multitasking, with a fixed dock, several windowed apps, and so on.
Well, finally, with iPadOS 16 getting released this fall, all that is actually on its way to your iPad, but there’s a caveat – only if it’s a modern M1 iPad Pro or M1 iPad Air. That’s a limitation I was certain Apple would set anyway, but it’s still pretty unfortunate that if you have even the highest-specced iPad Pro from just a generation behind – you won’t get that sweet, new multitasking.
So did Apple finally cave because many of us iPad fans and reviewers were constantly complaining? You know, about the iPad not having “real” multitasking, not living to its full potential, despite all that horsepower, thanks to its M1 chip. The same chip that’s also powering full-blown MacBook laptops?
It sure took a while until our words were heard, and whether or not my theory about Apple not wanting the iPad to rival a MacBook was true or not – the important thing is, the company finally listened. Hallelujah.
The iPad got mouse support after years of none, while Android tablets had it forever ago
A couple of years back nobody who knew Apple would’ve even jokingly said that the iPad is going to have mouse support, ever. It really seemed like adding a cursor and support for trackpads or Bluetooth mice was not something the company was interested in doing, at all. The few persistent people who really wanted to use their iPads like laptops had to go and buy weird made-for-iPad third party mice that kind of worked, kind of not.
But lo and behold – a seemingly hidden accessibility feature showed up in 2019’s iPadOS 13.4, that since then has evolved into a full-blown mouse support feature. Not only that, but Apple started selling iPad keyboards with trackpads since then! That’s a major 180 from the Apple of 5 years ago, with its seemingly “Thou shalt not use an iPad with a mouse” philosophy. Apple of 5 years ago wanted us to know that this was a tablet, and just a tablet, not a laptop. Apple of today, though, really wants us to know that this is a laptop-replacement that looks and feels, and kind of works like one now.
And while we could still argue that all this is just an accessibility feature the Cupertino giant decided to embrace and expand, the mere fact that Apple is now constantly advertising its iPads together with a keyboard and a trackpad makes it pretty obvious what it’s full vision for the iPad is – it’s pretty much a laptop now, and as such, there’s a mouse cursor involved. Of course, you don’t have to use it like a laptop, but… you finally have the option – and it looks and works pretty great.
MacBooks actually got thicker, and previously-removed ports are back
Old vs. new MacBook Pro design (right); the chonk factor has gone up, and frankly, for the better
Apparently it’s raining in hell, because yes, this last generation of M1 MacBooks actually got thicker and have ports returning that were long gone. You mean to tell me Apple doesn’t still focus on pretty and minimalist designs over user convenience and basic functionality expectations?
Let’s create a small imaginary stepladder, starting with the 2016 MacBook Pro. Seemingly designed to be very, very light and slim, it only featured two USB Type-C ports and a headphone jack. USB Type-A was still going strong, though, and people wanted it, and for a Pro laptop, you’d expect HDMI out and an SD Card reader too, right?
A lot of people did. So now even if you bought an expensive “pro” laptop you had to get into dongle territory, at least if you were an actual pro who needed basic things like those last two ports we mentioned. Photographers, video editors, anyone who likes using two displays – they all do.
Skip ahead to the 2020 MacBook Pro and things hadn’t changed much. Still just two USB Type-C ports and a headphone jack. Users still complaining. Apple still being stubborn about it.
But then, the 2021 M1 MacBook Pro comes out. Against anyone’s expectations, it’s not designed to be thin and portless this time – it’s actually gotten thicker, and what’s that on the sides?
Three USB Type-C ports, a headphone jack, an SD Card reader, HDMI out! More surprisingly, even MagSafe returns – Apple’s proprietary magnetic charging plug that everyone loves and also missed!
Is all this Apple admitting that striving for thinness and lightness, and taking ports away from professional users may have been a bad move? We won’t rub it in, just keep listening to the users, Apple.
Big iPhones? Who’d want that? Oh, wait…
Good old iPhone 4; 12 years old now
Back in 2010 the late Steve Jobs, Apple’s iconic then-CEO took the stage to talk about the iPhone 4. Something he famously said was that no one was going to buy a big phone.
While the iPhone 4 had a now-ridiculous-sounding 3.5-inch display, Android phones at the time, like the HTC Evo 4G and Motorola Droid X were starting to get 4.3-inch screens and beyond.
Skip ahead to the 2012 iPhone 5 and its 4-inch screen. Android phones at that time, like the Galaxy S3 were nearing 5 inches and beyond, while yeah, the iPhone hadn’t even caught up to those 2010 phone sizes. Apple was clearly bent on keeping phones small and comfortable for single-hand use, while the rest of the industry plowed ahead, pushing larger and larger displays.
The 2014 iPhone 6 was 4.7-inches, the 6 Plus was 5.5. Yes, the iPhone 6 was the first to get a Plus model with a larger display, and since then it’s been a tradition.
In fact, now we’re used to Pro and Pro Max models, and by all accounts soon the iPhone 14 series will bring Max and Pro Max! With the latter presumed to sport a 6.7-inch display – nearly 7 inches! Oh how Apple’s philosophy has changed since that 3.5-inch iPhone 4.
To be fair, this whole thing dates so far back, that it’s pretty understandable Apple didn’t know what to expect. Nobody knew what phones would become 12 years later, and beyond. Nobody knows what they’ll be 12 years from now either. Maybe gone? Replaced with AR glasses or something? Like Apple’s AR glasses, that we know are in development, and have been for a while?
But let’s not derail the subject. We have more than enough time to talk about the future. Let’s talk about the past and the present for a bit…
What are your favorite company takebacks?
Even the big tech companies roll back on their earlier choices from time to time; it happens a lot, as it should. Do you have any fun examples that you’ve noticed, of your favorite phone maker or some other company listening to its fans and giving them what they want? Particularly if it was against its own philosophy?
Alternatively, do you have any examples of companies that still won’t listen to their customers? We all know about the headphone jack – that’s probably gone on flagship phones for good now, but what else? Share your observations with us in the comments section below!
