In China, Apple is far from perfect as you might imagine

2021-09-27 10:46

　　At recent dinners, I've noticed an interesting phenomenon: 80% of people use iPhones, while the remaining 20% use various other brands of phones.

　　Although Apple still carries negative impressions like "showing off wealth" and "pretentiousness," its massive market share tells us that it couldn't have so many users simply by selling appearance and brand. For a long time, "Apple fans" have spontaneously told everyone how user-friendly Apple's user experience is, achieving a religious-like marketing...Here should be a huge "BUT." However, several issues have made me feel compelled to speak out; Apple is still some distance from the excellent experience its fans claim. Yes, perhaps Apple fans could say Apple focuses more on a macro experience, using terms like "ecosystem" and "one-stop shop" to overwhelm you. Here should be another "BUT." However, the devil is in the details. Some counter-intuitive details in Apple products are enough to turn a seemingly perfect product into a failure. Ironically, these poor details often only appear in the Chinese market. Let's list a few:

1. How can your terrible keyboard be a productivity tool?

Apple isn't as perfect as officially claimed. iPads and iPhones are often good work companions. However, the iPad Pro and "productivity tool" are still several notebooks apart.

　　On Singles' Day, Apple's iPad Pro officially launched, injecting new life into the otherwise stagnant tablet market. In fact, Apple emphasized one message at the launch—the iPad Pro is positioned as a "productivity tool." This means it can be used by professionals as a tool to earn money. For editors like us who travel between offices and exhibitions, a good productivity tool must be thin, powerful, and easy to use.

　　Although Apple solemnly launched a keyboard specifically for the iPad Pro, those familiar with peripherals know that many third-party manufacturers had already produced similar products for the iPad soon after its launch. And since these accessories are also MFI certified, there's almost no difference in layout. Taking the keyboard for my iPad Air 2 as an example, the layout is the same as the iPad Pro's Smart Keyboard; the only difference in appearance is the keycaps and spacing.

　　Apple peripherals have always been notoriously bad, with the Magic Mouse being the best example. Now, Apple has added another useless peripheral to this official luxury package—the current Apple iOS system API still doesn't allow Bluetooth physical keyboards to use third-party input methods. This means we still have to use Apple's native input method for text input. Everyone knows how bad the native input method is. At least, the input experience on the iPad is significantly different from that of the OS X system, especially in terms of word selection speed. So this "closed ecosystem" that Apple fans talk about doesn't actually bring a better experience.

　　The iPad Pro, at launch, still used iOS 9.1. At least in this version, iOS is still not friendly to third-party input methods. Also, after iOS 9, Apple adjusted some shortcut functions, changing the input switching Ctrl+Space to switching task windows, effectively disabling a shortcut key on the physical keyboard. This "self-contradictory" approach has become commonplace for Apple fans.

　　Therefore, for writers, text input efficiency means production efficiency. Something with a price close to a Macbook Air but with far inferior text input capabilities has no ability to talk about productivity. What? Do you really think designers will draw on it instead of directly buying a new Cintiq?

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