@manton @danielpunkass re the latest episode of Core Intuition (583), I think people need to start thinking “enshitification” when talking about Apple. I think Daniel’s increasing pessimism is totally fair based on the last 5-10 years of behaviour from Apple. I haven’t thought too hard about how enshitification applies to all the areas Apple works in, but it totally applies to hardware. Yes, they make fantastic laptops, but the cost to upgrade RAM or SSD from the (embarrassing) base spec was a form of enshitification, as is the inability (of the last few years) to update anything at all once you’ve purchased a laptop, taking away the option to save some money and still use a great computer.
Yes, they’re made of highly recycled/recyclable components, but the way things are locked down makes it difficult to give them a second life (unless your lucky enough that someone reset them fully. I saw a video the other day where recyclers were just snapping of the part of the motherboard with the SSD because they didn’t have the time/resources to met the SSD clearing laws), and there is essentially zero flexibility in a machine that cannot be upgraded/modified after purchase. If they were serious about improving things for the environment then they would be making it easier to have the laptops they produce work for as long as possible before recycling. But they have spent most of the last decade making it harder to extend the life of a laptop, and have now reached the point where it is essentially impossible.
I used a Mac, and enjoyed it, for about 15 years, but given the above, and so many other reasons, I can’t buy computers from them any more. I still use an iPhone, which might seem hypocritical, but it’s about being honest. I still think Apple is better than Google for privacy, and I’m in and prefer the app ecosystem on Apple. It’s just a pity they are going so hard on squeezing every dollar they can out of people (see enshitification argument).
Anyway, sorry for what became a bit of a rant, but as you might be getting a feel for, it’s something that bothers me. And I think most people would become unhappy when a company that used to pretty consistently provide delight to users switches to pretty consistently sticking it to their users.