Yet it wasn’t all roses for Apple this past year. The company had some big failures, which frustrated general consumers and the longtime Apple faithful alike. Here are Apple’s biggest misses of 2023.
#5 A laughably confusing Apple Pencil Lineup
Many have complained that Apple’s lineup of devices has become increasingly convoluted in recent years, and this becomes very evident when looking at the 2023 Apple Pencil line of styli for the iPad. In October, Apple introduced the third-generation Apple Pencil, dubbed the “Apple Pencil (USB-C).” However, it kept the first- and second-generation Apple Pencils on sale, too, which led to widespread customer confusion.
Apple now sells three pencils: the newest Apple Pencil (USB-C), the most powerful Apple Pencil (2nd generation), and the oldest Apple Pencil (1st generation).
Which should you get? Who knows. The pricing structure is all over the map. The newest USB-C Pencil costs $79, while the oldest Pencil costs $99. So price doesn’t work as a guide to judge which is the latest and greatest. Things get more confounding: The best model, the Apple Pencil (2nd generation), which costs $129, isn’t compatible with some iPads. Meanwhile, the oldest Pencil actually has better features than the newest USB-C Pencil, such as pressure sensitivity.
Worse, if you buy the wrong Apple Pencil for the iPad you have, some of its features won’t work. 9to5Mac took a deep dive into the befuddling mess here. No wonder they titled their article “The Apple Pencil lineup is finally as confusing as the iPad lineup.”
#4 An iPad that was MIA
Speaking of iPads, there were no new ones in 2023 at all. Apple’s iPad and iPad Pro lineup hasn’t been updated since October 2022. Its iPad Air hasn’t been updated since March 2022. And its iPad mini hasn’t been updated since September 2021.
In other words, it’s been as long as two years since some iPads received any love from Apple. But can iPad fans really be too surprised that a new iPad was a no-show in 2023? In recent years, the iPad has felt like an afterthought—a product with no clear purpose—especially as Macs have gotten thinner and lighter and iPhones have gotten larger.
I think my colleague Harry McCracken summed it up best in his article “Why the iPad remains a beautiful disappointment.” Apple just doesn’t seem to know what it wants the iPad to be anymore. Here’s hoping that the company figures it out in 2024.
#3 A frustrating USB-C rollout
One of Apple’s biggest hits in 2023 was finally adding USB-C to the iPhone. If only its USB-C rollout for its other products had been as smooth. Alongside the USB-C iPhone 15 series rollout in September, Apple also upgraded the second-generation AirPods Pro to ship with a USB-C charging case…and that’s it.
The AirPods 2nd generation and the AirPods 3rd generation still ship with a Lightning port on their charging case, meaning people who plunk down $129 or $169 ($179 for the MagSafe Lightning case), respectively, for those earbuds this holiday season are going to be stuck with outdated tech. And the $549 AirPods Max was also denied USB-C, too. Plus, Apple’s computer peripherals, including its Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard, have so far been denied USB-C charging as well, meaning that going into 2024, many Apple products are still using a decades-old charging technology even though its iPhones have finally moved on.
#2 A lack of AI vision
If there was one overarching trend in tech this year it was artificial intelligence, popularized by AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and generative AI platforms like Midjourney and Dall-e 2. But it wasn’t just these relatively small companies that were pushing AI innovation ahead this year. Tech giants from Microsoft to Adobe to Amazon to Google also jumped onto the AI train. One that didn’t, at least publicly? Apple.
To be clear, Apple’s hardware and software have been using AI processes for years, thanks to several machine learning features built into its chips and operating systems. But when it comes to generative AI technology being revealed in 2023, one can’t help but imagine that Apple was broadsided. I mean, ChatGPT makes Siri look absolutely archaic now, and all the major AI innovation seems to be happening outside the confines of Cupertino.
A report from Bloomberg says that Apple was indeed “caught flat-footed” by the ChaptGPT-led AI boom and is quickly trying to rectify that by working on an AI chatbot internally dubbed “AppleGPT.” Still, if Apple is playing catch-up, it risks losing the advantage of looking like a tech leader in the public’s eyes.
#1 A disgraceful 8GB of RAM in “pro” laptops
Apple’s biggest miss of 2023 was the one that enraged customers who were shelling out up to $1,800 for an Apple laptop. In October, Apple revealed the new 14” and 16” MacBook Pros with the powerful new M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips. As the “Pro” in the name suggests, these machines contain the latest tech and are built for professionals. But some of them also lack one of the most basic things laptops—pro or not—require in 2023: sufficient RAM.
The 14” MacBook Pro with the M3 chip, which starts at either $1,599 or $1,799, comes with a paltry 8GB of RAM. And RAM upgrade costs start at a staggering $200.
In 2023, no laptop that costs $1,000 or more should come with anything less than 16GB of RAM. Yet some of Apple’s pro laptops and all of its consumer laptops come with just 8GB of RAM as standard. Such low amounts of RAM in laptops that sell at this price in 2023 is ridiculous, and even generally Apple-friendly publications like Macworld, were nothing but scathing in their condemnation of it, writing, “This is pure corporate greed from the world’s biggest and richest technology company, and as Apple customers, we shouldn’t stand for it.”
Let’s hope Apple gives their RAM offerings a major upgrade in the new year.
Yet it wasn’t all roses for Apple this past year. The company had some big failures, which frustrated general consumers and the longtime Apple faithful alike. Here are Apple’s biggest misses of 2023.
#5 A laughably confusing Apple Pencil Lineup
Many have complained that Apple’s lineup of devices has become increasingly convoluted in recent years, and this becomes very evident when looking at the 2023 Apple Pencil line of styli for the iPad. In October, Apple introduced the third-generation Apple Pencil, dubbed the “Apple Pencil (USB-C).” However, it kept the first- and second-generation Apple Pencils on sale, too, which led to widespread customer confusion.
Apple now sells three pencils: the newest Apple Pencil (USB-C), the most powerful Apple Pencil (2nd generation), and the oldest Apple Pencil (1st generation).
Which should you get? Who knows. The pricing structure is all over the map. The newest USB-C Pencil costs $79, while the oldest Pencil costs $99. So price doesn’t work as a guide to judge which is the latest and greatest. Things get more confounding: The best model, the Apple Pencil (2nd generation), which costs $129, isn’t compatible with some iPads. Meanwhile, the oldest Pencil actually has better features than the newest USB-C Pencil, such as pressure sensitivity.
Worse, if you buy the wrong Apple Pencil for the iPad you have, some of its features won’t work. 9to5Mac took a deep dive into the befuddling mess here. No wonder they titled their article “The Apple Pencil lineup is finally as confusing as the iPad lineup.”
#4 An iPad that was MIA
Speaking of iPads, there were no new ones in 2023 at all. Apple’s iPad and iPad Pro lineup hasn’t been updated since October 2022. Its iPad Air hasn’t been updated since March 2022. And its iPad mini hasn’t been updated since September 2021.
In other words, it’s been as long as two years since some iPads received any love from Apple. But can iPad fans really be too surprised that a new iPad was a no-show in 2023? In recent years, the iPad has felt like an afterthought—a product with no clear purpose—especially as Macs have gotten thinner and lighter and iPhones have gotten larger.
I think my colleague Harry McCracken summed it up best in his article “Why the iPad remains a beautiful disappointment.” Apple just doesn’t seem to know what it wants the iPad to be anymore. Here’s hoping that the company figures it out in 2024.
#3 A frustrating USB-C rollout
One of Apple’s biggest hits in 2023 was finally adding USB-C to the iPhone. If only its USB-C rollout for its other products had been as smooth. Alongside the USB-C iPhone 15 series rollout in September, Apple also upgraded the second-generation AirPods Pro to ship with a USB-C charging case…and that’s it.
The AirPods 2nd generation and the AirPods 3rd generation still ship with a Lightning port on their charging case, meaning people who plunk down $129 or $169 ($179 for the MagSafe Lightning case), respectively, for those earbuds this holiday season are going to be stuck with outdated tech. And the $549 AirPods Max was also denied USB-C, too. Plus, Apple’s computer peripherals, including its Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard, have so far been denied USB-C charging as well, meaning that going into 2024, many Apple products are still using a decades-old charging technology even though its iPhones have finally moved on.
#2 A lack of AI vision
If there was one overarching trend in tech this year it was artificial intelligence, popularized by AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and generative AI platforms like Midjourney and Dall-e 2. But it wasn’t just these relatively small companies that were pushing AI innovation ahead this year. Tech giants from Microsoft to Adobe to Amazon to Google also jumped onto the AI train. One that didn’t, at least publicly? Apple.
To be clear, Apple’s hardware and software have been using AI processes for years, thanks to several machine learning features built into its chips and operating systems. But when it comes to generative AI technology being revealed in 2023, one can’t help but imagine that Apple was broadsided. I mean, ChatGPT makes Siri look absolutely archaic now, and all the major AI innovation seems to be happening outside the confines of Cupertino.
A report from Bloomberg says that Apple was indeed “caught flat-footed” by the ChaptGPT-led AI boom and is quickly trying to rectify that by working on an AI chatbot internally dubbed “AppleGPT.” Still, if Apple is playing catch-up, it risks losing the advantage of looking like a tech leader in the public’s eyes.
#1 A disgraceful 8GB of RAM in “pro” laptops
Apple’s biggest miss of 2023 was the one that enraged customers who were shelling out up to $1,800 for an Apple laptop. In October, Apple revealed the new 14” and 16” MacBook Pros with the powerful new M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips. As the “Pro” in the name suggests, these machines contain the latest tech and are built for professionals. But some of them also lack one of the most basic things laptops—pro or not—require in 2023: sufficient RAM.
The 14” MacBook Pro with the M3 chip, which starts at either $1,599 or $1,799, comes with a paltry 8GB of RAM. And RAM upgrade costs start at a staggering $200.
In 2023, no laptop that costs $1,000 or more should come with anything less than 16GB of RAM. Yet some of Apple’s pro laptops and all of its consumer laptops come with just 8GB of RAM as standard. Such low amounts of RAM in laptops that sell at this price in 2023 is ridiculous, and even generally Apple-friendly publications like Macworld, were nothing but scathing in their condemnation of it, writing, “This is pure corporate greed from the world’s biggest and richest technology company, and as Apple customers, we shouldn’t stand for it.”
Let’s hope Apple gives their RAM offerings a major upgrade in the new year.