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I’d love to know what Tim Cook thinks about Apple’s performance in 2022. Not in monetary terms – we all know that record revenue and profits continue to be smashed; I’m far more interested in how he thinks the company performed for its loyal customers.
I’m pretty sure the term ‘fanboy’ was levied first at Apple’s legion of die-hard fans. They are, after all, easier to poke fun at than the tribes that can be found supporting other brands and products.
I class myself as an Apple ‘fanboy’. I’ve spent far too much money on its products (and not just for this business). I’ve also defended Apple a little too vociferously at times, and haven’t always given competing brands the attention they deserve.
However, like so many Apple fans, I have high expectations – I want to be wowed by something every year. My loyalty, therefore, isn’t infinite or unbreakable. Too many slip-ups, forgotten promises, and price hikes, and I’m likely to head elsewhere.
Here are five things I’ve learned about Apple in 2022.
1. It can still have some fun
Let’s start with the good news.
The Apple Watch Ultra is proof that Apple knows how to have fun. Sure, it’s a super-serious piece of kit with an advertising campaign aimed at ultra sportspeople, but Apple knows that most owners will never take the Apple Watch Ultra beyond a marginally tricky hike.
Most people who buy the Apple Watch Ultra will do so because it looks cool and because it’s the ultimate version of Apple’s wearable. They’ll never go scuba diving with it, and they’ll never use the 86-decibel siren for anything other to than to hear how loud it is.
That’s ok, though. This is Apple pushing boundaries, and attaching as many silly acronyms, marketing names, and industry standards to one ultimately flawed product as possible. It’s a lot of fun and I hope they don’t lose this sense of adventure.
2. The iPhone competition is fierce
I’ve used more Android phones than ever this year and the experience has been rather enlightening.
Before starting this business, my experience of Android had been fleeting. I had enjoyed a brief flirtation with the second-generation Moto G, and marvelled at the value offered by my mate’s OnePlus SomethingOrOther many moons ago.
In 2022, I’ve had proper hands-on time with a bunch of absolutely brilliant Android phones and they have all felt like strong iPhone competitors.
I’ve noted previously that the stickiest thing for me when it comes to Apple is the ability to copy and paste text between devices via the super-useful Hand Off feature. Throw in my beloved Apple Watch Ultra, and tearing me away from the iPhone really is a tricky task.
But that’s the problem – it isn’t the iPhone that’s keeping me welded to the iPhone; it’s a couple of brilliantly considered Apple-only things that rely on it.
I made the superb Google Pixel 7 Pro my phone of the year, but I could quite easily have picked the Nothing Phone (1) for its sheer bang-for-buck, or the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 simply because you can fold it in half.
The iPhone, on the other hand, has reached peak dependability status. Which is a safe but incredibly dull place to be.
3. I leap to its defence too often
I made a big mistake with the base-model M2 MacBook Air this year. Rather than conduct more vigorous testing to see if there really was an issue with its multitasking capabilities under heavy load, I suggested that everyone had twisted their knickers into a knot for no good reason.
I argued with people over it relentlessly. If anyone suggested that Apple was pulling the wool over the eyes of its customers with the advertised performance of the base model M2 MacBooks, I effectively told them they were wrong.
That’s a pet hate of mine; I’m forever telling knuckle-dragging trolls on YouTube that they need to learn how to respect the opinions of others. Alas, I fell short of that standard myself when the M2 chip was launched simply because I didn’t conduct a thorough enough review of the laptop into which it was soldered.
Apple did let us down with that base model M2 MacBook and I really should have taken the side of the consumer.
4. Apple pricing is getting out of control
Spec up a regular iPhone 14 and it’ll cost you £1,179. If you’d rather grab the top-end iPhone 14 Pro Max, you’ll need to find £1,749 of your hard-earned cash.
That’s nearly two grand for a device which remains an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator.
There are two products in Apple’s lineup that shine brightly when it comes to pricing. The first is the 9th generation iPad, which can be purchased brand-new for just £369. The second is the Apple Watch SE, which is a snip at £259.
The iPhone SE is excluded because of the aforementioned Android competition, I’m afraid.
MacBooks, iPhones, and mid-to-upper range iPads remain incredibly expensive devices, and in the UK at least, we’ve endured some seriously trouser-wetting price hikes this year.
I have no doubt that this is down to the rising cost of individual components, the chip shortage, and the utter state of the world economy and its supply chains at the moment. But the sheer scale of Apple’s profit margins reveals there is definitely some wriggle room that isn’t being explored.
Apple has always been an expensive brand, but many of its products are fast becoming nothing more than aspirational for most people.
5. It needs a ‘next big thing’
I know that’s an unpopular phrase. I know it harks back to the Jobs era when the ‘next big thing’ was easier to come by (relatively) due to the pace of technological change and that visionary mind of his, but I do think we’re reaching a tipping point.
The rumour mill is no longer filled with what the next iPhone might look like or what it might be capable of. That’s because no one really cares; we’ve reached peak smartphone innovation for the foreseeable future and Apple is never going to make a phone that you can fold in half.
What we need is something else to yearn for, talk about, and poke fun at, and for which we can devise new use cases. It appears that such a device might arrive next year in the form of a VR headset. While I still need convincing about its utility and usefulness for normal people like yours truly, a brand-new product of this kind from Apple is what we need.
Beyond the brilliant Apple Watch Ultra, I’m getting rather bored with everything else. Are you?
Wrapping up
I have high hopes for Apple in 2023. Their marketing machine appears to have gone rather quiet of late, and the absence of the long-awaited Apple silicon-powered Mac Pro suggests that they may have their attention focused elsewhere.
We’ll put 2022 down to experience, Tim. I’m sure the shareholders are pleased with the voluminous profits that are still being generated, but product-wise, it really was a bit of a damp squib, bar two unexpected highlights (the second-generation AirPods Pro were only beaten to the post marginally by the Apple Watch Ultra).
Oddly, Apple’s year-in-review has taught me far more about myself this time around!
