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UNDER THE LEADERSHIP of Steve Jobs, Apple introduced industry-shaking products like the iPod, iMac, iPhone and iPad — devices that have collectively changed how we consume media today.
But Apple didn’t always get it right.
From mocking larger tablet-sized smartphones (a.k.a. “phablets”) to saying the iPad’s screen couldn’t get any smaller and still be usable, there are plenty of times where Apple has been too quick to speak in the past.
Here are some of the most notable instances.
1. Steve Jobs thought Apple and IBM would emerge as the only computer suppliers
“In terms of supplying the computer itself, it’s coming down to Apple and IBM,” said Jobs in a 1985 interview with Playboy. “And I don’t think there are going to be a lot of third- and fourth-place companies, much less sixth- or seventh-place companies. Most of the new, innovative companies are focusing on the software. I think there will be lots of innovation in the areas of software but not in hardware.”
2. Jobs thought music subscription services were “bankrupt”
In a 2003 interview with Rolling Stone, Steve Jobs was highly critical of subscription music services at the time, like Rhapsody.
“People don’t want to buy their music as a subscription … they’re going to want to buy downloads,” said Jobs. ”The subscription model of buying music is bankrupt. I think you could make available the Second Coming in a subscription model, and it might not be successful.”
Clearly, Jobs failed to anticipate the popularity of both Pandora and Spotify, an oversight which caused Apple to enter the streaming service late in the game with its iTunes Radio and eventual Beats acquisition earlier this year.
3. Steve Jobs thought iTunes would only sell music, not movies.
When Steve Jobs was asked ”Do you see an iTunes movie store?” during a 2003 Rolling Stone interview, he replied, “We don’t think that’s what people want. A movie takes forever to download – there’s no instant gratification.”
Fast-forward to 2013, when Apple announced, “iTunes users have downloaded more than one billion TV episodes and 380 million movies from iTunes to date, and they are purchasing over 800,000 TV episodes and over 350,000 movies per day.”
4. Apple didn’t think people would want to watch videos on their iPods.
“I’m not convinced people want to watch movies on a tiny little screen,” said Jobs during a 2003 interview with Walt Mossberg. “To paraphrase Bill Clinton, ‘It’s the music, stupid, it’s the music!’”
Apple apparently decided quite the opposite two years later, introducing an iPod with 2.7-inch screen that could display photos and play videos.
5. Apple thought people weren’t interested in tablets
In a 2003 interview with Walt Mossberg, Jobs said, “There are no plans to make a tablet. It turns out people want keyboards … We look at the tablet, and we think it is going to fail.”
Interestingly enough, Apple was likely already looking into tablets at this time; in fact, the company began designing the iPad before the iPhone.
6. Trying to convince people the iPhone 4 didn’t have an antenna issue
While Apple was reluctant to admit any fault in the matter, some iPhone 4 models were affected by what would later be known as “Antennagate.”
By bridging the connection between the phone’s two separate antennas — for example, how lefties would usually hold an iPhone, with their palms and thumb squeezing against the left portion of the handset — the iPhone 4 would see a dramatic loss of cell signal, leading to dropped calls.
Steve Jobs initially suggested that people “Just avoid holding it in that way.” Apple later admitted there was an issue with the antenna’s design, however, eventually giving out free bumper cases to any iPhone 4 owner.
7. Apple used to mock so-called “phablet” phones that were bigger than the iPhone.
During an Apple press conference in 2010 that focused on squashing the “Antennagate” scandal, Steve Jobs famously mocked larger phones, saying that other companies avoided connectivity issues by creating phones so big “you can’t get your hand around it.”
Jobs then went on to say, “No one is going to buy that.”
Of course, Apple eventually realized that many people wanted a larger iPhone. In 2012, it released the iPhone 5 with a 3.99-inch display — bigger than the 3.5-inch display on all previous models — and last month, the company released the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.
8. Apple thought its own Maps app would be better than Google Maps
Google Maps was the default maps and navigation application in every iPhone since the very first model in 2007. But for the release of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, Apple decided to ditch Google and create its own Maps app, having previously acquired several different mapping companies. Unfortunately, the app was filled with bugs and accuracy issues, eventually leading to the ouster of Scott Forstall, the iOS chief at the time. CEO Tim Cook also issued a public apology on the company’s website.
Apple has greatly improved its native Maps app since then, but it still has yet to catch up to Google Maps. After a few more acquisitions in 2013, we might see a much-improved Maps app in next year’s iOS 9.
9. Apple said its 10-inch iPad was “the minimum size required.”
“This size isn’t sufficient to create great tablet apps in our opinion,” Jobs said during a 2010 Apple earnings call, referring to competitors debuting 7-inch tablets.
“Well, one could increase the resolution of the display to make up for some of the difference. It is meaningless, unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to around one quarter of the present size.”
“Apple’s done extensive user-testing on touch interfaces over many years, and we really understand this stuff, ” Jobs continued. “There are clear limits of how close you can physically place elements on a touch screen before users cannot reliably tap, flick or pinch them. This is one of the key reasons we think the 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet apps.”
Two years later, Apple announced the 7.9-inch iPad Mini.
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The solution is obvious….. arm the doctors and nurses…….
@Jonny:
Too many doors.
@Jonny: Don’t forget the patients….
@iohanx: Arm the doors with semtex duh.
@Jonny: don’t forget the candy stripers.
Sounds like a bad B movie!
(Hospital volunteers, also known as candy stripers in the United States)
@Jonny: Arm the teachers and post them in hospitals. That’ll show them.
@iohanx: Which were NOT LOCKED! Insane!
@Jonny: or maybe dogs with bees in their mouth, and when they bark they shoot bees at you.
@A$AP Ragnick: Release the robotic Richard Simmons.
@Colm de Cleir: and the dogs outside
Oh but guns don’t kill people….people do right. The circus continues. What a messed up country!
@Warren kennedy: Yeeeehaw. The only thing that can git a bad guy with a gun, is good guy with a gun… yeeeeehaw… tighten those stirrups and let me take you for a ride. Yeeeehaw. Banjo music yippee dee doo.
They are absolutely p@thetic.
@Warren kennedy: I cannot believe this is after happening in America!!
The land of the free nope the land of the scared going school, work or play not sure if you or loved ones get home alive.
@Mick McGuinness: I am sorry you feel that way.
Feel free to live in Ireland. On the other hand I immigrated and never regretted it. To each his own.
@Dermot N Killian: You’re literally one in millions. Who cares if you’re happy.
It was unclear what prompted the deadly assault….. its a shame people/teenagers can’t use their assault rifles responsibly
Shoulder shrug…
America makes money on selling guns to anyone
Another mass shooting in America? Must be Thursday.
@Colin B: Could be a Tuesday, or a Saturday… Note that since the one at Uvalde, there have been over twenty mass shootings (at least four people hit by gunfire in the same incident). Their society is lost to guns now.
4…surprised it made the news…any other country this would be a tragedy…Will be for the people involved but for most of America another day another shooting, just part of life. Somebody please hold a big mirror up to America!
@Damien Leen: my guess is that it’s because it’s in a hospital and came soon after the school shooting.
It really feels like the NRA has declared war on America….
We’ve been cooking up the zeros. We’ve been doing all the sums. The outcome of this court is, we need more guns.
Another tragedy in America. At one of the recent school ones , the gun nuts were saying it wouldn’t have happened if the teachers were armed in the schools – and then called for teachers to be armed in the schools.
.
This latest mass shooting was at a medical facility. What’s next? A call to arm the doctors and nurses too? Let not discriminate? Let’s also arm the receptionist at their desk. What’s their preference? A semi-automatic or sub-machine gun? Doctors and nurses in an operating room, strapped with their weapons?
.
When does the NRA/Republican craziness end? No – wait. It’s all the open doors fault, of course! There’s a free gun for everyone in the audience. Let’s liven up the Late Late show with such madness? No. When does it all end for America? In more unnecessary deaths – that’s sadly where!
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* I make this post as NOT a fan of the Democrat party either!
@Jeff Rudd: it’s becoming like the old w6old west.. everyone armed … there will be duels next to settle disputes.
Only 4,chicken feed.not news worthy.
@Macus Mc Mahon: T’is practically good news.
The US Corporation lives on the sale of arms throughout the world and now the Irish ‘government’ and commentariat is willing to sign us up to the latest sales drive by the US’s Nato department.
@Bramley Hawthorne: any links to that?
@Jim Buckley Barrett: Only this morning “This Morning” RTE1 Radio show, was going on about NATO. Yesterday in the paper’s, Leo was advocating that he can convince us to join yet another military setup.
All this comes after two recent polls (that’s he’s deliberate ignoring) exposing quite clearly that the mass majority of Ireland people do NOT want to join further mass military setups.
Only 4? Sure that’s nothing.
The 19th mass shooting since the Uvalde.
The American public are ‘getting high on their own supply’ of guns.
It would be ok for them to use the guns to kill lesser armed people in far countries – not
The only way that gun laws will ever change in the US is when some maniac with a semi automatic gun enters a parliamentary building and shoots a number of the legislators. Only then, will the message sink in that their gun laws are so so wrong.
@Kárl: a congressman was shot dead at a baseball game for politicians a few years back. Nothing changed. Nothing will ever change until they stop letting special interest groups like the NRA buy and elect lawmakers. The people clearly don’t have the will to bring them to talk.
If only there was a way to stop the madness.
I hear the next one will be less than a week away….. how bad is it that I’m not even wrong :(
Very simple answer, machine gun turrets at the entrance to every medical facility shooting anyone dead if they get within 50ft of the facility!
Who the hell left the doors open??? They should be locked up!
@Andrew Lavelle: the person, or the doors?
have your say