While I agree that Apple's software quality has declined in recent years, I fear that their hardware and other advantages (even with superior hardware and software I don't trust a Google-or-Amazon-based phone for a second to be anything but a data mine for them), I fear Apple's existing lead in general quality will allow them to become (remain?) complacent and allow things to slide.
I don't even know if Apple owns the hardware quality title anymore. The Surface line from Microsoft is astounding in quality, and it's only a few generations old. This latest line did have some bugs (mostly due to Intel,) but overall when I walk into a Best Buy, and I feel a Surface Book and look over at a MacBook, one feels like the future, while one feels like it's hugging the past.
The problem with Apple, and I've said this for ages, is that Apple is fashion. It's a status symbol, Sony used to be that same way, and look at it now. It had similar business verticals, pushed the same proprietary nonsense instead of adopting what the rest of the industry is doing and they were drowned as they began to expand their portfolio of devices.
Apple makes great quality devices, but Apple also enjoys massive hardware margins. Hardware margins diminish with time, no company has successfully escaped it. So the question is, at what point does Apple go out of style?
> The problem with Apple, and I've said this for ages, is that Apple is fashion. It's a status symbol, Sony used to be that same way, and look at it now. It had similar business verticals, pushed the same proprietary nonsense instead of adopting what the rest of the industry is doing and they were drowned as they began to expand their portfolio of devices.
Apple already did this when Microsoft released Windows and NEC made "clones" that worked really well for a lot less price.
I think Apple will remain in style for this broad generation of consumer computing (mobile devices physically separate from our bodies). No other company has quite the holistic philosophy and approach that Apple commands, even if their dominance lacks perfection. Google and Amazon are ok, and Microsoft has a while to go, even if it is clear that they are trying very, very hard.
Once the nanomachines are here, there is no guarantee that Apple will remain relevant.
The Pro line is rarely upgraded, you can get a Razer laptop with better specs, for a similar price, but you'll have to trade out the silver for black and a stupid logo. Otherwise...eh, the Pro line is less than impressive these days. I honestly think the iPad Mini and iPhone are their only superior devices now. Of course all they need is the iPhone, that's basically their only real money maker.
I agree with your concerns about a Google or Amazon phone being a datamine in your pocket, but I think that, for most people, it's not an issue: they simply want a phone that works for them and don't give much thought to how much information about them is being squirrelled away.
A huge factor in Apple's sliding software quality is lock-in: once you're on iOS using an iPhone, it's so much easier to simply stay on iOS than it is to move platform. Most people, myself included, will look at the effort required to move and decide that, really, the grass probably isn't greener enough to make climbing the fence worth it. Once you add in some other Apple devices --- say a laptop or an iPad --- staying becomes even easier.
The reverse is also true - once you decide to leave Apple, the lock-in becomes something you don't go back to. I used to be entirely Apple devices, MacBooks & iPods & iPhones & AirPlay everywhere. But I was fed up enough with my iPhone 4 that I got a Nexus 5 instead - which led me to a Chromecast, a Galaxy Tab A with S-Pen, which led me to a Samsung TV. The grass has definitely been greener for me. I still have my new MacBook Pro, but I don't "love" it like I used to love Apple products.
Then you decide to pull the trigger and move. I did and I am happy that I did. I still have a mac for my primary machine, but literally everything else is Android and Windows. I consciously make sure my data is portable. No lock in and it's not that hard.
I'm happy going Apple with my tablet and Android for my phone (actually I changed again and went Windows Phone). So I still can access all those old games I had on my previous iPhone through my iPad, but I can enjoy new things and try out other phones and operating systems, and spend less money doing so.
