Apple product not making a comeback this fall #1 | Safari for Windows
Apple used to offer a Windows edition of its Safari browser to anyone interested, free of charge. Unveiled to loud fanfare in 2007, the Web browser quickly proved to be rather competent; at the very least, it was faster than Microsoft's Internet Explorer while looking better than the first few versions of Google Chrome.
For some reason, the company stopped updating the thing in 2012. You can still download it, and we experienced no issues running it on Windows 10. It's just that, with most web pages refusing to load, there is little reason to do so in 2023.
We are confident that the possibility of Apple re-launching Safari for Windows this year is so slim, one can say it does not exist. Apple's current strategy is to get its user base to sign up to as many subscription-based services as possible; very few people would agree to pay a monthly fee for using a browser. And with no subscription of any kind tied to it, this would be a product generating no direct income while requiring lots of expertise and thus money to maintain.
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Apple product not making a comeback this fall #2 |
The "trash can" Mac Pro
The Mac Pro (Late 2013) was really small and really quiet, courtesy of its single internal fan. It was also exquisite-looking and fast, and it cost a fortune, with the base configuration selling for just a hair's width short of US$3,000.
For those three thousand dollars, the user was getting speedy NVMe storage and an Intel Xeon processor mated to two AMD FirePro graphics cards. Lots of people complained that with no expansion bays and no way to upgrade the CPU, the Mac was not "Pro" enough for them to consider buying it. Shots were fired in the direction of the ports that were all located on the rear-facing side, too. Still, this was a reasonably successful product that Apple kept selling for about six years.
The "cheese grater" Mac Pro design was brought back to life in 2019. So, can Apple bring the 2013 model back, too? Well, apparently, it can't; on the contrary, Mac Pro computers might be discontinued later this year, as the rumor has it. Considering the Studio is more than large enough to house the fastest Apple silicon processors available today, there may be some truth to that rumor.
Apple product not making a comeback this fall #3 |
The AirPort Extreme
Apple made and sold routers for about 15 years, starting from 2003. Most of those were fairly good, with simple initial setup and trouble-free operation. They never offerred lots of fine-tuning options, and neither were they mind-blowingly fast, but most customers loved them regardless.
The last AirPort Extreme, sporting Wi-Fi 5 connectivity for US$199, was discontinued in 2018, and Apple has been keeping quiet on the subject ever since. Perhaps the company will one day reintroduce AirPorts; what's certain for now is that we are not getting one this September.