nhughes

StrangeDays said:

nhughes said:

StrangeDays said:

Hyperbolic piece, our week after Thanksgiving was joyous and without issue on any of our devices? What are we doing wrong??

Guessed the byline by the headline. 

"Major problems did not affect me, therefore they are not major problems."

I said Apple, the company, had a week that was not joyous. By any measure it was a public relations disaster. I am genuinely glad to hear your week was joyous, though.

By the same exact token -- just because some people experienced problems doesn't mean many or most. I've been with family all thru and after Thanksgiving, all Apple devices, and none of us were in a living nightmare because none of us experienced any problems. Sure bugs exist, but the way the techie echo chamber makes it out you'd think everyone's devices were failing everywhere. They aren't. 

If you found out that your front door lock didn't work properly, even though no actually one took advantage of it and broke into your home, would you give the lock company a pass for their mistake? The root bug in macOS is an embarrassment for Apple, and they deserve to be taken to task for it.

My iPhone X was not affected by the iOS 11.1.2 bug, but my wife's was. Took multiple attempts to install the 11.2 update because the springboard kept repeatedly crashing. On any week, that would be a bad bug. On this week, it's the capstone for an unfortunate series of self-inflicted wounds.

One mildly interesting tidbit for those who care about these types of things (this is not unique to the Brooklyn store, but may not be widely known):

One of the reps was showing me their headphone testing area, and there are drawers underneath for accessing things like AirPods and PowerBeats and what have you, but the drawers are actually locked by some form of NFC/RFID. The rep used an iPhone in a case to unlock the drawer.

Since iOS 11 supposedly gives third-party developers some access to the Apple Pay NFC chip, but I haven't seen any real-life uses of this capability yet, I was curious. And certainly Apple would be able to provide their own in-store phones with access to the NFC chip. So I inquired.

The phone was encased in what appeared to be a Mophie-like battery pack. And the rep showed me that it had a unique NFC/RFID chip cutout on the back of the case. That back corner needs to be placed in a specific spot to unlock the drawer.

So no, oddly enough, they're not using the Apple Pay chip in the phone for some reason — they're relying on a case.

Kind of reminds me when Apple stores used to check out customers with Windows Mobile-based handheld terminals, even though the iPhone and iPod touch were huge at the time. An odd omission for the company, and something of a missed opportunity to showcase the technical prowess of their devices.

Anyhow, wasn't worth mentioning in the story, because those drawers are at many other stores. But figured I'd share here for those curious.

matrix077 said:

The choice for me is between this HomePod and Devialet for (undistorted sound) digital speaker system that can do AirPlay, and considers that Devialet is like 3 times more expensive I'm gladly wait.

I really love the Devialet but can't justify the expense. I also love the new Master & Dynamic concrete speaker.

My problem with both: No AirPlay 2 support. Devialet has AirPlay 1, and will hopefully be updated with AirPlay 2. M&D is just Bluetooth and Chromecast. No thanks.

I'm a longtime AirPlay user, and I'm praying that Apple updates the AirPort Express to support AirPlay 2, either with a firmware update, or (less likely) a new 802.11ac model. I also have a relatively recent Denon receiver with AirPlay support that I hope will get the AirPlay 2 update. We've contacted numerous manufacturers about AirPlay 2 support, and their response has been, at best, a collective shrug — it would seem Apple has kept manufacturers in the dark about firmware support, and so they are genuinely unsure whether their devices will be able to support the new standard. That's a shame, and might be one of the reasons the HomePod was delayed.

wood1208 said:

Is there a table showing how long it takes minutes/hours for 7.5W wireless charging pad to charge iPhone in % like 10%, 30%, 50%, 90%, 100% etc and similar for lightening port adapter (5W, USB-C) ?

This test was done before 7.5W wireless charging was available, so unfortunately you don't see a difference between the two. But, it's worth noting that 7.5W wireless charging will actually be faster than the 5W wired charger that ships with the iPhones 8 & X.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/10/02/comparing-iphone-8-charging-speeds-with-fast-charge-wireless-and-more

theothergeoff said:

nhughes said:

harry wild said:

nhughes said:

GeorgeBMac said:

Nope!  I'm not buying it:
That limits the new phones to forcing people to choose between either a high-end X upgrade or a large screen.   To many people like the 6, 7 & 8 sized phones to force them up into ultra-premium to get one.  

Plus, it's time for an SE update.  THAT should be more interesting than anything else -- there are so many ways to go there -- particularly if/when Apple propagates FaceId throughout its line up.

Another interesting thing to watch is what happens to the iPad Mini.  For many uses its the perfect size.  But, like the SE, its internals are getting further and further out of date.

SE update is expected next spring. It won't have an edge-to-edge display — it will be a budget model.

Tim Cook said that all future iPhone will have the X interface!  That means no home button. I think the current 4" to become the  future  5.2" model will have the look of the X display!  I would be willing to pay $1,000 or more if Apple made the 5.2" iPhone with the same components as the current X inside.

The home button won't disappear completely anytime soon. Apple will continue to sell devices like the SE and legacy models for people who prefer it. The same reason they still sell the 6s with headphone jack, and the MacBook Air with full-size USB ports.

you will see the current SE disappear soon, as committed demand for that form factor dissipates.   It may be a 'nice' format, but it won't be maintained.

Given that it's screen size the odd one out (320 points), I'm guessing, it will not be replaced.  The 6s will be priced at that (approx) price point, when the SE is retired. and then every year (maybe 2 depending on the bluetooth headphone adoption), they will walk up the line to the 7, 8, over the next 2 years, when the 11X( and Plus?) and 12X come out.   Effectively no new LCD phones, best case is the 8 model will get new chip upgrade when the 12x comes out to parallel the current Aseries chip

To lower developer and app package sizes, Apple can't support  every point/pixel combination.  My guess is they will standardize on 375ptx8129(/667)pt and 414pt/1080P width phones.

Hard to say. Apple had low expectations for the SE and then demand outstripped supply. It took them months to catch up to demand.

I don't think the SE size will ever get a flagship-level of redesign, no (much to my chagrin), but I think the form factor might stick around longer than you expect.

Consider: Apple continued to sell a MacBook Pro with spinning disc drive until last year. The home button, the smaller display, and the headphone jack may be headed out the door, but these things don't happen overnight. It takes time to get consumers to come around to a new way of doing things, and Apple (quietly) knows this. I suspect the 6s and the SE will be around for a bit longer. I wouldn't even be surprised if the 6s gets rebranded/renamed and updated with a newer CPU next year for those who want a home button and headphone jack.

The rumors say a new SE coming next spring. Aside from a processor bump (does it get the A10 or the A11?), a 3D Touch display would be a logical upgrade. Beyond that, and a slightly improved camera, I wouldn't expect much. They're not going to give it a redesign and make it more attractive than the iPhone 8.