I don't have a 'real account' to post from, or any desire to associate any comments I might make about working at Apple with anything else I might choose to say.
In general, the company prefers to set the message itself, rather than trust to the vagaries of personal eloquence and interpretation. For myself, I'm not sharing anything here that you wouldn't expect to hear in an interview if you asked the sort of questions that are being raised here.
To *_95129 above; I have a slightly hard time accepting that you really had no idea when (or if) your project was going to ship. If there's one thing that every software team knows, it's what train(s) they're shipping in.
To be honest, if you're the sort of person that expects people to tell you things you don't need to know, you're likely to be the sort of person that wants to pass on all those things to other people that don't need to know. That may work elsewhere, but it's not a good attitude fit for Apple.
As for the bigger picture; obviously there isn't a simple answer there. Many pieces of various big pictures are completely out in the open. Others are kept under closer wraps until they're ready for the usual reasons. But it's really not the simple, bleak story that you're telling.
In general, the company prefers to set the message itself, rather than trust to the vagaries of personal eloquence and interpretation. For myself, I'm not sharing anything here that you wouldn't expect to hear in an interview if you asked the sort of questions that are being raised here.
Congratulations on your offer and acceptance. Honestly, don't put too much stock in anything you read about working at Apple - your experience is going to be unique, and the worst thing that can possibly happen is that you'll decide it's not for you and move on with an excellent first slot on your resumé.
To *_95129 above; I have a slightly hard time accepting that you really had no idea when (or if) your project was going to ship. If there's one thing that every software team knows, it's what train(s) they're shipping in.
To be honest, if you're the sort of person that expects people to tell you things you don't need to know, you're likely to be the sort of person that wants to pass on all those things to other people that don't need to know. That may work elsewhere, but it's not a good attitude fit for Apple.
As for the bigger picture; obviously there isn't a simple answer there. Many pieces of various big pictures are completely out in the open. Others are kept under closer wraps until they're ready for the usual reasons. But it's really not the simple, bleak story that you're telling.