CNNMoney has hit out at Apple by saying that it should momentarily forget about its position as an acclaimed product manufacturer and instead “focus on its mediocre software.”
While acknowledging that Apple builds some of the most coveted laptops, tablets, and smartphones around, writer Adrian Covert nevertheless singled out the company’s suite of software applications as the “one dark cloud” which looms over Apple. Although apps like iPhoto, Pages, iCal and Mail are functional enough, Covert claims, better alternatives exist, while iTunes and defunct social network Ping are varying degrees of broken.
“But the biggest disappointment of the iPhone era is iCloud,” Covert writes.
No it wasn’t the outright disaster that Apple Maps was, but it should be the most important Apple service — and instead, it’s caught in a constant state of WTF. In an attempt to simplify the experience of interacting with the cloud, Apple has stripped away many important functions, making iCloud less user friendly than its competitors.
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iCloud has no real central hub for maintaining the files you store there. Navigating the labyrinth of menus is a pain. And tying to decide which iTunes Match service files are matched with Apple’s own files,and which ones are taking up your own cloud space requires a heavy lift.”
Adrian Covert is hardly the only writer to criticize Apple of late. Coming off a disappointing financial quarter, and amidst claims that Tim Cook is acting too conservatively as CEO, an increasing number of pundits have thrown their hats into the ring by suggesting that Apple is being overtaken by its rivals in various aspects of business. Recently Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Communications Frank Shaw implied that Apple’s “struggling, lightweight productivity apps” were being given away for free in part because they are not of sufficient quality to sell. Since Apple’s past success as a company hinges on its reputation for taking nascent technologies and executing them better than anyone else, this accusation is one that strikes at the core of Apple’s identity.
Do you agree that Apple’s software is mediocre? If so, which apps in particular? Drop us a line below with your comments.
Source: CNNMoney
