TECH AND DESIGN

APPLE FAILURES

the brilliant mistakes

By Brian Bohan Yu 

A Meeting of Minds

Apple is one the most successful design technology companies in the world. They have had so many successes and breakthroughs in the past decades that we tend to simply just list their accomplishments. Their ability to merge high level electronic products and cool design is unparallelled. Their Industrial and User Experience Design make their competitors seem like children. After all these years, the company is still the overall leader in technology today. But what I’m interested in is not Apple’s great successes, which are many and incredible, but Apple’s failures. Because it is precisely in those failures that we can see the true genius of the company.

Part 1: Power Mac G4 Cube

Nice job, maybe

After Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he promoted Jonathan Ive to chief designer, and the two of them led the company into a Golden Age of design. After the huge success of the iMac and iBook in the late '90s, Jobs realized that the computer of the future could be smaller and scale back a lot of unnecessary components, such as fans and eventually most ports. So in the early 2,000’s they decided to take a gamble, and introduced the Power Mac G4 Cube.

As an industrial designer, I appreciate the design of the G4 Cube. It squeezes the power of the Power Mac G4 into a translucent 8-foot compact body that is small and exquisite with an all-touch button surface. Compared to the full-size Power Mac G4, it has the same PowerPC G4 processor, the same graphics card, and gigabit and wireless networking capabilities; but at the same time, it eliminates the fan and minimizes the need for internal space. In addition, its internal design is also uniform, and its innovative disassembly method also affects subsequent Apple full-size computers. Whether it was then or now, the G4 Cube was revolutionary at the time people commented that only Apple dared to imagine and realize the computer of the future. Jobs might have been right, but he wasn’t completely right.

Instead of designing for the G4, Apple copied most of the internal mechanisms of the full-size Power Mac, which resulted in a system that didn’t match the design. Also, its fanless and internally stacked design actually hampers its performance and limits its ability to upgrade. Because the interior design is too compact, the clearance of internal components is not conducive to heat dissipation. This caused overheating issues that seriously affected performance.

We cannot ignore the fact that the G4 Cube’s industrial design was unique and forward-looking, but the complicated craftsmanship, its compact internal design and weak cooling system undermined its amazing advances.

Part 2: Mac Pro 2nd Generation

Keep on working

Apple's second-generation Mac Pro, launched in WWDC 2013, was Apple's second attempt in the field of mini professional computers. Like its predecessor G4 Cube, it is also famous for its stunning design. Unlike the G4 Cube, which was designed to be a workstation computer far below the capabilities of the full-size Power Mac, this second-generation Mac Pro is built to replace the full-size previous-generation model. Through the ingenious triangular column structure, Apple concentrated the core hardware such as CPU, graphics card, hard disk, memory, etc. in a cylindrical body with a diameter of 16.7cm and a height of 25.1cm. Mac Pro uses this triangular column structure to ensure that the component arrangement can achieve the cylindrical size body and heat dissipation requirements. This kind of design is relatively rare in other brands, because most of the electronic components are square, and placing square components in a circle creates space problems. Apple's design cleverly avoids this problem, and ensures that the machine is Lightweight.

Yet the best part of the second-generation Mac Pro's design is the one that constrains it. Because as a professional computer, it is basically impossible to expand! In order to reduce the size, its core parts are basically customized, which is incompatible with the hardware of general desktop computers. Its graphics card simply can't match the performance of PCs of the same price. Moreover, during the six years from the birth of the Mac Pro in 2013 to the replacement in 2019, it has not been updated, not only at the industrial design level, but also at the hardware interface level. Even if the optional official hardware of this "Trash Can" is good enough, for desktops, users need the possibility of expansion.

Looking at it today, the second-generation Mac Pro is actually an awkward product, although brilliantly imagined. Its external cylindrical metal shell is particularly adept at heavy grinding, and Apple even has made a special video to show how the shell is made. But just like its nickname "The Trash Can", it was a great idea whose genius ran straight into a brick wall of not quite.

Part 3: iPhone 5C

Shiny Colors

In the same year of the Mac Pro 2nd generation, Apple launched the iPhone 5S in September. The success of the iPhone 5S not only brought a blockbuster to the entire smartphone market, but also made the iPhone 5C, which was launched with it, an afterthought.

The 5C was born to replace the iPhone 5 launched in 2012 and continues to be sold as a "cheap" iPhone, so its core hardware is basically the same as the iPhone 5. But at the same time, Apple also wanted to reach younger users. Unlike the boxy design of iPhone 5S, the 5C came with a more curved frame body with polycarbonate, which gave consumers the option of five different shiny colors. Also in Apple’s commercial of 5C, we can see that the target users are mostly young people interested in fashion and being “different”.

But what allowed for these displays of consumer individuality was also the product’s downfall. On the one hand, the warm polycarbonate material was shiny and energetic. And the body is curved and feels very well in my hands. But on the other hand, the reason why most people don’t like polycarbonate is that it is less hard than metal and less anti-scratch than glasses, which makes this material seem cheap.

Another defect is that when the iPhone 5S got its latest technology, such as 64-bit Apple A7 processor and the innovative fingerprint Touch ID, the 5C still used the same 32-bit processor and had no fingerprint capability. When other factories also released their 64-bit processors, the performance of 5C just could not hold much more needs from users, and became out of date quickly. In subsequent system updates, the iPhone 5S has new system upgrade support until 2019, while the 5C was eliminated earlier than it should have given how forward-thinking it was.

From a business standpoint, the iPhone 5C is without a doubt one of the biggest flops in the iPhone lineup, and indeed the entire Apple product lineup. However, Apple has also learned from this failure and learned what consumers need most when it comes to a mid-to-low-end product. In 2018 & 2019, Apple launched the iPhone XR and iPhone 11 with sales success. While they inherit the colorful appearance of the 5C, the core hardware is basically the same as high-end versions such as the XS and 11 Pro.

Part 4: 12-inch Macbook

Too far ahead?

Similar to the second-generation Mac Pro, the 12-inch MacBook is another awkward Apple product. As launched in Spring 2015 to replace its most successful laptop, the MacBook Air, the 12-inch Macbook tried to test the limits of thin and light notebooks. So, what follows is an interesting failure borne out of a desire to recreate the buzz and to perfect a previous design.

In order to surpass the successful Macbook Air, Apple put a lot of effort into the industrial design of the Macbook 12-inch. First of all, the all-metal Unibody is small and light, with a thickness of only 13.1 mm and a weight of only 920 grams, which successfully surpassed the Air in size. In terms of hardware, the Retina screen is also thin. In order to achieve this, Apple canceled the luminous logo on previous Macbooks. The MacBook 12-inch is also Apple's first Apple computer with a USB-C interface.

To be honest, when I first saw this Macbook, I really liked it. It feels like an iPad, and it blends in quickly with its surroundings when put aside. And for the college students who have to carry computers from home to school and from school to home every day, it is convenient. But as much as I love this Macbook, its flaws are striking.

First of all, Apple's butterfly keyboard designed for compactness and thinness has become the hardware that most users complain about the most. Although conceptually the butterfly keyboard has certain advantages over traditional keyboards, the short key travel makes users' typing experience plummet, and its durability is not as good as that of traditional keyboards, which also causes some quality problems.

Besides the butterfly keyboard, Apple shrank the computer's motherboard to such a small size that no other competitors would like to do at that time. However, the customized Intel Core chips that this MacBook used is indeed only suitable for light use, and even far less than the iPad Pro with a similar price. And just like the G4 Cube, the lack of a cooling system not only limited performance, but also indirectly led to some cases of logic board damage.

To sum up, on the 12-inch Macbook, on the one hand, I think it is like a K-Car in a computer. In order to be as small and thin as possible, a lot of high process costs are paid, which reduces the cost performance. But Apple's new design on the Macbook also provides a reference for the subsequent replacement of the Pro (and has both advantages and disadvantages). On the other hand, I saw Apple's vision of the future portable notebook computer and the future office environment. But that fantasy is still too long ago, because we can't realize that fantasy today in 2022, nor we were 7 years ago. But precisely because of its advanced design concept, I felt a little regretful when Apple stopped production of the 12-inch Macbook. If this innovative laptop is launched in 2021 and uses Apple's M1 chip, then will the fate be different?

Part 5: Macbook Pro 2016

The author's favorite

I’m writing this article on my 2013 Macbook Pro. Besides the 2021 new Macbook pro, this is my favorite MacBook. This is the first Macbook Pro with a beautiful Retina display. Its keyboard works smoothly and comfortably and has enough input ports for using. Most importantly, this is the last Macbook Pro that has the luminous logo. The luminous logo has left a deep impression on the hearts of many Apple users and there is no wonder why people complained about the cold non-luminous stainless steel logo on the 2016 Macbook Pro.

Well, when I first saw the 2016 Macbook Pro, my first impression was of course the overall industrial design. Yeah, compared to my 2013 pro, this 2016 one is smaller, thinner, lighter, and cleaner. And the biggest innovation in the design of this generation of MacBooks is the Touch Bar, which replaces the function keys with an entire tiny touchscreen. Apple claims that users can use the Touch Bar to control some functions of all applications. In addition, the 2016 Pro also uses the butterfly keyboard that improved from the Macbook 12 inch, which guarantees the pro's thinness and lightness. If the Macbook 12 inch is Apple's fantasy for future office laptops, then the 2016 Macbook Pro is Apple's attempt to use its own innovative technology to redefine the expectations of professional laptops. It's an adventure with stakes. However, although the new design and technology convinced a lot of users to switch, the changes were not wholly successful.

The biggest problem with this Macbook Pro is, again, the butterfly keyboard. In addition to the poor feel and the tendency to make more noise when tapping, the damage rate of the butterfly keyboard is so high that Apple has had to repeatedly recall it. As for the Touch Bar, although it is cool and innovative to use, using it is still a challenge for many users, including many professionals. Also, the whole machine only retains the USB-C interface, which is also a big trouble for users who use various interfaces. To do so, they have to add an extra docking station to the computer bag to increase the burden, which is obviously contrary to the design's commitment to lightness and thinness.

Also in this generation, behind its innovative appearance is actually more of a helpless act of outdated hardware. In recent years, Intel's stagnation in the field of computer chips has also dragged down Apple to a certain extent. Especially in the 2016 MacBook Pro, the high power consumption and high heat of Intel chips have affected its performance. Ultimately, there is no wonder why the setbacks of the 2016 MacBook Pro made Apple determined to build its own chips for the Mac.

Conclusion

The Butterfly problem

In November 2019, Apple did away with the controversial butterfly keyboard in the newly launched 16-inch Macbook Pro, reusing the optimized scissor keyboard. In October 2021, with the blessing of Apple's new self-developed chips, M1 PRO & MAX, the Macbook Pro ushered in another generation. On the new generation Macbook Pro, the SD card slot and HDMI port, as well as Magsafe, are back. The overall design no longer blindly pursues thin and light, but pays more attention to user experience and performance. The previous generation of Touch Bar was also canceled and replaced with comeback function keys. Compared with the 2016 Macbook Pro, the 2021 Pro is no longer blindly pursuing a sense of the future, but more closely follows the opinions and needs of professional users, bringing users a more powerful processor, more stable and easy-to-use hardware.

Today, there is always a voice that says "Apple doesn't innovate anymore". Especially in 2019, when Jonathan Ive, the legendary Apple chief industrial designer, has left the company. I believe that many people, including me, miss Apple as a leader in technological progress in that era. The company is still the overall leader in technological progress today, but in those people’s opinion, it is just not as much as before anymore. And it seems that Apple is putting much more design focus on the hard & soft packaging, software entertainment, and retail experience.

But actually, Apple has hundreds of millions of users around the world today. That means Apple needs to be extra careful in every aspect of product design and development. On the one hand, they don't want to repeat the mistakes they've made over the past 20 years. But on the other hand, unlike those competitors who "innovate every year", when Apple has come up with its real "nirvana" after several years of precipitation, the influence it brings will always shock the entire industry for a while, such as the new M1 series computer processor chip launched in October 2020. With the launch of the M1 series, Apple made the iMac much thinner, made the Macbook Pro much stronger, and even launched a new mini professional computer, the Mac Studio. Judging from these new products, I think Apple is still the Apple of the past, but they have learned a lot from their previous failures.

©Brian Bohan and the CCA Arts Review