Macs before iMac tended to be boring, sandboxed and under-specced machines when compared to the same priced IBM compatible.
The iMac (and later the iPhone) turned it into a fashion statement, but Apple devices have never been cheap or “value for money” when compared to competitors, it has always been an expensive “luxury” brand.
The combination of Jony Ive and a returned Steve Jobs managed to spin it up into a fashionable brand to own.
What everyone forgets is that Nokia basically ruled the international cellphone market before that.
That is, until Microsoft was able to buy enough shares and then fifth-column it with their man Stephen Elop, who forced its engineers to adopt Windows Mobile in preference to their own Symbian OS.
That turned out very badly, basically crashing Nokia in a few short years.
3 Likes
