I also assumed Apple had something up their sleeves that would make sense to everyone once shown.

Meanwhile they just added a touchscreen. No new hinge. No new UI. Not even a Pen support.

WTF are they doing?

> WTF are they doing?

Presumably adding a feature that doesn't cost them very much or otherwise negatively affect the product, but which some users might like.

But there's a cost involved if you go against one of your most defended stances and offer nothing to back up that change of heart.

It's a negative on the brand because that sort of consistency is something that made Apple.

What percentage of Apple's customers remember Steve Jobs saying that thing in 2011? I think most of them are here in this thread.

And there was an answer given by John Ternus:

"The Mac is first and foremost an indirect input device, built around the trackpad and keyboard. But I think there's times when it's comfortable and handy to have touch.

We needed to get to a point where adding touch didn't make the product lesser in any way. It didn't make it heavier. It didn't make it thicker. That came together with the OLED screen, the best display we've ever put into a Mac. All of these things, and, oh yeah, it has touch as well."

Things aren't decided by customers only. There are journalists, YouTubers and whole class of influencers who can decided something is shite on a whim. If enough people do so, the tide may change faster then you'd think. It happened to companies with cult following before. It's literally happening to Nike as we speak.

Apple has had more flops than hits in recent years. The Vision Pro, the Glass interface, the Duo hinge flaw that will almost certainly end up with a recall. The Apple Watch always listening, now the bangle touch display with nothing innovative to back it up?

They don't deliver like they used to. I was their fanboy for 10 years and they did deliver the quality and innovation consistently, I just don't see it anymore. The only thing they have going is the CPU.

Similar feelings about the Duo. Very little innovation beyond what is offered by Androids. In fact, I feel like there are many foldable Android phones that offer better hardware (Motorola Razr Fold comes to mind). I say this as someone who is a huge Apple Fanboy and got a Duo on release day.

Same position: I still very much appreciate this but seriously feel something is being lost here and the brand is slowly chipping away.

Various android phones have had better specs and more innovative hardware than Apple for like 15 years. It took them years to finally turn around to big screens, but following Android on that didn't hurt Apple in the long run.