Here’s to Apple’s little ones

Sometimes it feels like the big tech companies have lost the script about how to make things that people really want.

Take Apple Intelligence. Apple Intelligence may very well end up being a boon for Apple’s platforms. Certainly, anything that improves Siri is going to be a welcome addition. Still, there’s a fair amount of evidence that no one wants this stuff.

For example, CNN reports that, “brands should avoid this popular term. It’s turning off customers” That “term” is not what I thought of, which was “mouth feel.” Turns out it’s “AI.” If you don’t believe me, then maybe you’ll believe the Taco Bell Distinguished Professor of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University:

“We looked at vacuum cleaners, TVs, consumer services, health services,” said Dogan Gursoy, one of the study’s authors and the Taco Bell Distinguished Professor of hospitality business management at Washington State University, in an interview with CNN.

And you thought I made that up.

“In every single case, the intention to buy or use the product or service was significantly lower whenever we mentioned AI in the product description.”

Surveys of buying intentions are often not really a good indicator of what people end up buying, but it does seem like few real humans are clamoring for AI. In fact, a lot of today’s tech moonshots seem to be missing the mark.

The Vision Pro moonshot has so far been more of a moonwalk, if you will. (Can you? I can kinda of do it a little depending on what shoes I’m wearing but… sorry, that’s not the point.) While a remarkable feat of engineering, its price makes it not an option for most people and even among those who can afford one, integrating it into your life currently is a bit of a crapshoot. Some swear by it, others largely leave it in the box. The Vision Pro is certainly going to evolve as Apple still reportedly has plans for a cheaper version that will spur more adoption and, consequently, more experiences on the device. But it’s not there yet.

An Apple moonshot that never was is the long-rumored Apple car. After years of development and reorganizations, the company finally canceled the project earlier this year.

Even the top-of-the-line iPhones don’t excite the way they used to. That’s more the natural evolution of products, though. They’re still great phones, but every year the cameras get better, the widgets get more widgety, and the Pro phones get the dullest possible colors imaginable. (The rumored iPhone Air, however, could bring some excitement back to the lineup.)

For my money, Apple’s real heroes aren’t the big, splashy ones that get all the headlines. They’re the little ones. And, possibly to Tim Cook’s chagrin, the cheap ones.

The Mac mini

Remember when the Mac mini was the device for switchers? I hate to tell you, but that was almost 20 years ago. They make the Mac mini for everyone now.

After initial success, Apple almost forgot it made a Mac mini, neglecting to update it for four years in the mid-2010s (to be fair, Apple was neglecting most of the Mac lineup at the time). Now the company appears about to refresh the design of the little Mac that could, making it even smaller and, dare I say, the most powerful Mac mini ever. True story.

The current Mac mini starts at $599, $100 more than the original version Steve Jobs introduced in 2005, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that inch up with a new smaller and even more adorable form factor. But, it’ll still be the cheapest Mac money can buy, and it gets the job done.

The 10th-gen iPad

The 10th generation iPad starts at just $349, a price so low it’ll make you forget it comes from the company whose products famously “cost too much.” This is a remarkable amount of device for the price.

While other computer manufacturers make cheap laptops in this price range, they are…how do I put this politely?…the hottest of all the garbage. Plastic frames with slow processors and loaded with junkware. Apple’s not going to ship something like that, so it offers a device that can do email, web browsing, play some games and let you watch your stories, all in the same easy-to-use way as your phone. (Just…try not to multitask.)

The iPhone SE

The high end of the iPhone line sells incredibly well these days considering the outrage that ensued seven years ago when Apple was rumored to be introducing a thousand-dollar phone. Now people drop $999 and up on an iPhone without even thinking about it.

But Apple also sells an iPhone that starts at less than half that. Sure, the current SE is a bit long in the tooth, but a rumored refresh is coming in the spring and will reported even be able to handle Apple Intelligence (assuming anyone wants that). The iPhone SE line isn’t refreshed often enough for my tastes but when it is you can’t get better bang for your iPhone buck.

AirPods

AirPods are in that category of product that are both great for users and great for Apple. Remember wearables? That was going to be the big new thing 10 years ago when Apple was widely chastised for being behind on it (if Apple had a nickel for every time it was behind on something it’d finally be a rich company). Between AirPods and the Watch, Apple now owns the wearables category, which is why no one talks about it anymore.

If I were to pick one device that transformed my personal computing experience over the last 10 years, it would probably be AirPods. They’re always in my pocket (I finally have a use for that little coin pocket on my jeans) and, sure, sometimes we disagree on which device I should be listening to, but with a cordless audio experience like AirPods, who misses the headphone jack? (I know, I know. The Verge.)

Apple Watch

A flop. That’s what they called it. Before it even came out and then after it came out. There’s probably someone still out there calling it a flop, but now they’re everywhere. Starting at just $249, the Watch has evolved into an amazing fitness and health device, as well as a great way for adults and kids to leave the smartphone at home.

(If this is starting to seem like an ad, remember that I started by talking about Apple products I felt weren’t delivering. Also, Tim Cook would probably rather you didn’t buy Apple’s cheapest products.)

Sometimes you need a moonshot to make a splash (that might seem like mixing metaphors but they have found water on the Moon). So Apple can’t just stop trying to make big things. But sometimes it’s the little things that do a better job of getting you where you need to go.