Any word on VR? Oculus Quest 2 being released the 13th. Odd date to pick.
If, as you say, Oculus Quest 2 is being released on the 13th that means the announcement of its release date was already made. So there's no conflict on respective product announcements. Apple's delivery dates tend to be a week or two AFTER their announcements, so once again, that's not a conflict on delivery. And lastly, there's not likely to be an announcement on Apple Glass, so once again there's no conflict.
Yea, it is a release day, but Apple and no others get press on release day??
Here’s hoping for surprise of ultrasonic under screen Touch ID. Probably not likely this year but PLEASE Apple get it for next year’s iPhones. I may hold onto my iPhone 8 Plus if it’s not coming this year but will gladly trade it in for new Touch ID when it does.
Same here (my 7+ is still great; iOS14 very fast). Although I would take the iPad’s TouchID on the power button too. Since there have been no leaks I think our chances are 0 for this year.
Help me out, why are we expecting an iPhone 12 and not an iPhone 11S?
I don't see the point of "s" models anymore. Marketing is better with sequential numbering; less confusing. We haven't seen but two years with "s" models, iPhones 6s and 7s.
I suspect that Apple will continue with replacing the current lineup each year, and push down the previous low end model as the midrange model in the lineup. So we should see an iPhone 11 as the midrange model this year, plus the speculated mini, 12, and the two 12 Pro models. That's 5 models plus the SE.
Whether there will be a old and new model of the mini in the lineup next year is a great question.
You forgot the Xs & Xs Max. That makes 3 years of "S" models, with a break with the 8 model because they took it to 10 (X)!
Er.. You both forgot the 3GS, the 4s and the 5s.
Thank you. Looks like some people have very short memories.
.... Of course, when I make predictions I'm usually wrong. Regardless, I'll reiterate my other prediction that the new Apple Silicon Macs will drop the name "Mac" and replace it with "Apple", i.e., Apple Mini, Apple Book Pro, Apple Air, etc. That's because the word "Apple" has a strong positive brand image but "Mac" has a mixed image. ...
Wut?
That would be like dropping the name "Band Aid" and calling them "Johnson & Johnson Adhesive Strips."
Yes, you are dead right, it would be like that, except that the term "Apple" is the most valuable brand name in the world, while Johnson and Johnson isn't even in the top 100. https://www.forbes.com/the-worlds-most-valuable-brands <-- So Apple's new line of computers would benefit by using the most valuable brand name in the world.
Literally no one refers to their device that runs on MacOS as their Apple.
Literally everyone would continue to refer to their device that runs on MacOS as their Mac if they changed its name to something else.
Apple is the name of the company. The products that Apple makes all have other names. Calling one of the products they make an Apple would effectively make it an Apple Apple.
That seems a little awkward.
The only problem with your idea is that Apple already goes against your advice by calling their products "Apple" like "Apple Watch", "Apple TV", "Apple Music", "Apple News+", and so on. So it's very consistent to use the word "Apple" as part of their product name. It's not awkward at all. Have you ever called those product names "awkward" before? If so, I will apologize.
But hey, I know my prediction isn't likely to come true, because it's a very specific and dramatic change. We'll find out before New Year's Day, according to Tim Cook.
Let’s try this again, but I’ll write slower this time.
“Apple Watch” is a watch, made by Apple. “Apple TV” is a TV device... made by Apple.
If you start calling the computer made by Apple the, uh, Apple, then you have the “Apple Apple.”
Awkward.
But that’s ok, because everyone would still call it a Mac.
Go back and reread my post. I said the computers should be called "Apple Mini", "Apple Pro,", "Apple Air", etc. I did not say "Apple Apple". I said the word Apple replaces the word "Mac" brand not the computer model component.
You are persistent, aren't you? I read your post; did you? The naming convention goes Manufacturer -> Device -> Device subcategory or model (if there is one). A-> B-> C. It follows a logical pattern. So, for instance, you have Apple TV 4K. Apple iPhone 11s. Apple MacBook Pro. In some cases, Apple is inferred and left off, but it's there. Everything already starts with Apple.
Your idea isn't what you think it is. You're either calling the device "Mini," "Pro," and "Air," and including the ever-present Apple manufacturer name in front of that, or you're calling them Apple Apple Mini, Apple Apple Pro, and Apple Apple Air. I suppose there's a third option, and you're eliminating the name of the device entirely, and skipping from A-> C. That's impenetrably confusing, too.
I was being polite calling that awkward. It is (still trying to be polite) completely, irrevocably nonsensical, and based on a nonexistent premise you've made up, that the name Mac is somehow problematic from a marketing standpoint. It isn't. They're not going to stop calling a Mac a Mac. The name is iconic and indelible.
You are ignoring my point that many of Apple's product names actually include the word "Apple". I gave several examples. Under your silly theory the "Apple TV 4K" is Manufacturer-=Apple, Product=TV, Subproduct=4K. That's nonsense. The actual product name is "Apple TV". It is not "TV". You can't trademark a generic word like "TV" so the Apple product trademark is actually "Apple TV."
And I admit there's only a 15% chance that Apple will rebrand Macs, but if they do, you need to get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness.
Well, that hardly seems fair. At what point when your silly idea doesn’t happen will you be getting down on your knees to beg forgiveness?
I've already admitted there's an 85% chance that you will be right. So if you end up being right, I've got no need to apologize. In fact, I'll go so far as to say there's a 98% chance you will be right. But if I'm right it's like shooting a bulls-eye from 2 miles away with a pistol. And everyone, including you, will need to acknowledge my prescience.
It's hardly prescience if you're saying yourself that there's a 98% chance that it won't happen. If I say there's a 2% chance of a horse winning then I don't claim a victory when it crosses the finish line first.
It's hardly prescience if you're saying yourself that there's a 98% chance that it won't happen. If I say there's a 2% chance of a horse winning then I don't claim a victory when it crosses the finish line first.
Enough of this nonsense please.
The difference is that picking a horse is about a 1 in 10 chance, even a monkey could do it, while picking a product name out of the air with no inside information is about 1 in 100,000.
It's hardly prescience if you're saying yourself that there's a 98% chance that it won't happen. If I say there's a 2% chance of a horse winning then I don't claim a victory when it crosses the finish line first.
Enough of this nonsense please.
The difference is that picking a horse is about a 1 in 10 chance, even a monkey could do it, while picking a product name out of the air with no inside information is about 1 in 100,000.
It's hardly prescience if you're saying yourself that there's a 98% chance that it won't happen. If I say there's a 2% chance of a horse winning then I don't claim a victory when it crosses the finish line first.
Enough of this nonsense please.
The difference is that picking a horse is about a 1 in 10 chance, even a monkey could do it, while picking a product name out of the air with no inside information is about 1 in 100,000.
Can we talk about iPhone 12 please? I'm not a tech genius, just asking a couple questions as an admittedly average consumer, in hopes that some of you better-informed types might non-judgmentally answer. I'm updating (from IP6, because I was waiting for a very good reason to spend $1,000, and bring more toxic heavy-metals into the garbage-stream, on a phone to replace one that still works perfectly well) this year first because 1) iOS 14 isn't available on the IP6, and 2) in hopes of getting a better rear-camera (couldn't care less about selfie camera), and 3) faster internet connectivity – in that order of importance. Questions: 1) 5G: I keep hearing that 5G is actually just marketing hype, and that IP12 might not even have the right hardware for "real 5G" which may come later (even next year). But more importantly, that 5G is a gimmick except for specialized applications in controlled environments (like stadiums, stores, warehouses, etc, none of which I care about). Is it worth upgrading to IP12 on the 5G basis alone, its actual implementation as it exists today, alone, or will it really not make that much of a difference? 2) I ALSO put off upgrading until now because the camera improvements in iPhones have been incrementally slow and not substantial enough. Specifically, I've been waiting for optical zoom to be comparable to the competition (it's not even close), and for the sensors to create native image files large enough to use as industry-standard for lowest-acceptable print resolution (18-20 megapixels). From what I'm hearing, even IP12 Pro won't upgrade from the current 12 megapixels, and we might get 4x zoom (on the Pros) and Lidar/"3-D camera" on the ProMax. Don't get me wrong, my IP6 photos pretty much are good enough only to look at on a phone (not printed or on large display), so updating to anything is a no-brainer, but might it be almost as good to upgrade to an XS - at half the price? What ordinary, real-world application is there going to be for this Lidar tech that might make it worthwhile to spend an extra $200-$300?
1) 5G: I keep hearing that 5G is actually just marketing hype, and that IP12 might not even have the right hardware for "real 5G" which may come later (even next year). But more importantly, that 5G is a gimmick except for specialized applications in controlled environments (like stadiums, stores, warehouses, etc, none of which I care about). Is it worth upgrading to IP12 on the 5G basis alone, its actual implementation as it exists today, alone, or will it really not make that much of a difference?
Are you in the US? Because AT&T rolled out something that they called "5G E" or "5GE" or "5G Evolution" - and that is 100% marketing fluff. It is 4G, and quite honestly, I'm astounded that the authorities let them get away with it.
"real" 5G comes in 3 "versions", the versions relating to the frequencies of the radio waves used to carry the signal:
Version 1 uses the same frequencies as existing 4G, and will be a teeny tiny bit faster than 4G. Version 2 uses 2.5 - 3.7 GHz, and can in some situations go up to 3 times faster than 4G. Version 3 (aka mmWave) uses 25 - 39 GHz, and can reach speeds of over 1 Gbps (Giga-bits per second, or 1000 Mbps - mega-bits per second)
However, there is one problem - the higher you go in frequency, the shorter the range of the signal, and the harder it is for that signal to pass through things like walls. So Version 3 is super-fast, but also super low-range. This requires a lot of base-stations to give high coverage, and it's quite likely that it will be deployed in only a small number of locations - such as sport stadia. Version 2 is likely to be deployed widely in cities.
So, 5G will give you a benefit over 4G, if you use your mobile mainly in a densely-populated area.
It is rumoured that the iPhone 12 may not have the mmWave ("Version 3" above) kind of 5G, but that's the kind you're least likely to find "in the wild" anyway.
There's also the matter of how much extra the service providers charge for a 5G service - not being in the US that's not something I can help with.
I think perhaps 5G in itself may not be reason enough to upgrade, but do bear in mind that the iPhone 6's 4G is not the fastest - so you should get much better 4G performance from an iPhone 12 vs. an iPhone 6.
2) I ALSO put off upgrading until now because the camera improvements in iPhones have been incrementally slow and not substantial enough. Specifically, I've been waiting for optical zoom to be comparable to the competition (it's not even close), and for the sensors to create native image files large enough to use as industry-standard for lowest-acceptable print resolution (18-20 megapixels)
I'm very skeptical of anything above 12 Mpixels in a mobile phone. You really need a bigger sensor to benefit from more pixels, otherwise each individual pixel is too small, and is therefore less sensitive and you just get a noisier image.
There's a reason that Apple has stuck with 12 for so long, and it's because that's the sweet spot for resolution vs. quality.
You say that the progress with iPhone photography has been slow, but I think there was a very significant improvement in the computational side of things with the iPhone 11. I think we can all agree that an iPhone 12 is guaranteed to absolutely crush an iPhone 6 in terms of picture quality for the rear camera.
As for optical zoom - there haven't been many rumours on that front in regard to the iPhone 12, so I'm not expecting any significant improvement there. That's a bit of a shame, because as you say Samsung have made some great improvements there recently. I imagine that Apple is working on it - perhaps with the iPhone 13?
If high optical zoom is really that important to you, but you really need iOS 14 sooner rather than later - perhaps look at getting a second-hand iPhone 7 to tide you over until the iPhone 13, unless the iPhone 12 surprises us with a 5 x optical zoom!
Unless of course, it is about AirTags. It would be hard to get more boring than that.
AirTags are exciting. I would spend more money on AirTags (hundreds of dollars) than on new iPhones (nothing) or iPads (nothing). The first thing I would do with an AirTag is put one into my car in some non-obvious location. Then I'd attach one to each portable valuable that I own. I'd even tape one to my Apple TV remote because that thing gets lost so easily. Then I'd attach one to each key ring that I hold, plus each key ring that I hold for other people on trust. Then I would attach one to my main flashlight because that is very hard to find when there's a power outage (my iPhone would still have power in an outage to let me find my flashlight.) I might even attach one to certain important documents like the deed to my house or my will, which I tend to misplace.
I hope the "red balloon icon" reportedly being used in the Find My app is customizable with a bunch of different icons/colours to choose from, like a car icon, a key ring icon, and so on.
I’d stitch one in my wife’s shoes. Not sure what she’s been up to.
.... Of course, when I make predictions I'm usually wrong. Regardless, I'll reiterate my other prediction that the new Apple Silicon Macs will drop the name "Mac" and replace it with "Apple", i.e., Apple Mini, Apple Book Pro, Apple Air, etc. That's because the word "Apple" has a strong positive brand image but "Mac" has a mixed image. ...
Wut?
That would be like dropping the name "Band Aid" and calling them "Johnson & Johnson Adhesive Strips."
Yes, you are dead right, it would be like that, except that the term "Apple" is the most valuable brand name in the world, while Johnson and Johnson isn't even in the top 100. https://www.forbes.com/the-worlds-most-valuable-brands <-- So Apple's new line of computers would benefit by using the most valuable brand name in the world.
Literally no one refers to their device that runs on MacOS as their Apple.
Literally everyone would continue to refer to their device that runs on MacOS as their Mac if they changed its name to something else.
Apple is the name of the company. The products that Apple makes all have other names. Calling one of the products they make an Apple would effectively make it an Apple Apple.
That seems a little awkward.
The only problem with your idea is that Apple already goes against your advice by calling their products "Apple" like "Apple Watch", "Apple TV", "Apple Music", "Apple News+", and so on. So it's very consistent to use the word "Apple" as part of their product name. It's not awkward at all. Have you ever called those product names "awkward" before? If so, I will apologize.
But hey, I know my prediction isn't likely to come true, because it's a very specific and dramatic change. We'll find out before New Year's Day, according to Tim Cook.
Let’s try this again, but I’ll write slower this time.
“Apple Watch” is a watch, made by Apple. “Apple TV” is a TV device... made by Apple.
If you start calling the computer made by Apple the, uh, Apple, then you have the “Apple Apple.”
Awkward.
But that’s ok, because everyone would still call it a Mac.
Go back and reread my post. I said the computers should be called "Apple Mini", "Apple Pro,", "Apple Air", etc. I did not say "Apple Apple". I said the word Apple replaces the word "Mac" brand not the computer model component.
You are persistent, aren't you? I read your post; did you? The naming convention goes Manufacturer -> Device -> Device subcategory or model (if there is one). A-> B-> C. It follows a logical pattern. So, for instance, you have Apple TV 4K. Apple iPhone 11s. Apple MacBook Pro. In some cases, Apple is inferred and left off, but it's there. Everything already starts with Apple.
Your idea isn't what you think it is. You're either calling the device "Mini," "Pro," and "Air," and including the ever-present Apple manufacturer name in front of that, or you're calling them Apple Apple Mini, Apple Apple Pro, and Apple Apple Air. I suppose there's a third option, and you're eliminating the name of the device entirely, and skipping from A-> C. That's impenetrably confusing, too.
I was being polite calling that awkward. It is (still trying to be polite) completely, irrevocably nonsensical, and based on a nonexistent premise you've made up, that the name Mac is somehow problematic from a marketing standpoint. It isn't. They're not going to stop calling a Mac a Mac. The name is iconic and indelible.
You are ignoring my point that many of Apple's product names actually include the word "Apple". I gave several examples. Under your silly theory the "Apple TV 4K" is Manufacturer-=Apple, Product=TV, Subproduct=4K. That's nonsense. The actual product name is "Apple TV". It is not "TV". You can't trademark a generic word like "TV" so the Apple product trademark is actually "Apple TV."
And I admit there's only a 15% chance that Apple will rebrand Macs, but if they do, you need to get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness.
Well, that hardly seems fair. At what point when your silly idea doesn’t happen will you be getting down on your knees to beg forgiveness?
I've already admitted there's an 85% chance that you will be right. So if you end up being right, I've got no need to apologize. In fact, I'll go so far as to say there's a 98% chance you will be right. But if I'm right it's like shooting a bulls-eye from 2 miles away with a pistol. And everyone, including you, will need to acknowledge my prescience.
Just thought I’d revisit this little thread after watching the announcement of the new Apple M1 silicon and related devices. I lost count of how many times Tim Cook said the word Mac before things even got started. Was that a hint? Was he trying to say the word Mac a bunch of times before never uttering it ever again?
Nope.
Then they introduced the M1 chip, followed by three devices that include it: the MacBook Air, the Mac Mini, and the MacBook Pro.
I think you underestimated be the likelihood you’d be wrong about your naming scheme. This is, of course, because your underlying premise that Mac is somehow a problematic brand name is just profoundly silly. I will not be acknowledging your prescience today.
22july2013 said: AirTags are exciting. I would spend more money on AirTags (hundreds of dollars) than on new iPhones (nothing) or iPads (nothing). ...
Yeah, not saying the concept is useless. I just don't think it would be worth a major event or the meaning of the teaser.
mr. h said: Totally disagree. There is no redundancy with the iPhone SE + 12 Mini - the 12 Mini is expected to be a little smaller than the (new) SE, but considerably more capable. I've no interest in the SE but I'm really looking forward to the 12 Mini. If anything, I'm disappointed that the 12 Mini isn't going to be even smaller (I would absolutely love something the size of an iPhone 4, but with a full-face screen).
I agree. The SE (given we're post event and have the 12 mini) and mini are now proper products aligned for their markets. The SE is a budget phone (but not an old model) which is bigger, which is probably what many in that market want. The 12 mini is a full-featured smaller-ish model in the lineup.
This pretty much what I've been asking Apple for, except for that like you, I'd rather have had it in a original-SE case (with audio jack, TouchID, etc.).
But, I've got one sitting on my desk here setting up now. I wanted to reward Apple for at least getting fairly close (and heading that direction).
Comments
See also: 2013 Mac Pro, iMac Pro, and Mac Pro.
______
"Hey, I'm off to buy an Apple Mini!"
"You're getting another iPad Mini? I thought you just bought one last year."
"No, I'm buying an Apple Mini."
"I'm pretty sure Apple makes all iPads. You're saying the iPad you bought last year isn't an Apple iPad?"
"No, I'm buying an Apple Mini. It's not an iPad. It's a computer."
"Oh, I see now. You're buying a new Mac Mini."
"No, it's just an Apple Mini."
"Here we go again. Apple makes Macs. It's kind of a thing, so you're saying you're buying an Apple Mac Mini."
"No, it's an Apple Apple Mini."
"O.K. You're not Abbott and I'm not Costello, so we're done with this ridiculous conversation."
Enough of this nonsense please.
I'm not a tech genius, just asking a couple questions as an admittedly average consumer, in hopes that some of you better-informed types might non-judgmentally answer. I'm updating (from IP6, because I was waiting for a very good reason to spend $1,000, and bring more toxic heavy-metals into the garbage-stream, on a phone to replace one that still works perfectly well) this year first because 1) iOS 14 isn't available on the IP6, and 2) in hopes of getting a better rear-camera (couldn't care less about selfie camera), and 3) faster internet connectivity – in that order of importance.
Questions:
1) 5G: I keep hearing that 5G is actually just marketing hype, and that IP12 might not even have the right hardware for "real 5G" which may come later (even next year). But more importantly, that 5G is a gimmick except for specialized applications in controlled environments (like stadiums, stores, warehouses, etc, none of which I care about). Is it worth upgrading to IP12 on the 5G basis alone, its actual implementation as it exists today, alone, or will it really not make that much of a difference?
2) I ALSO put off upgrading until now because the camera improvements in iPhones have been incrementally slow and not substantial enough. Specifically, I've been waiting for optical zoom to be comparable to the competition (it's not even close), and for the sensors to create native image files large enough to use as industry-standard for lowest-acceptable print resolution (18-20 megapixels). From what I'm hearing, even IP12 Pro won't upgrade from the current 12 megapixels, and we might get 4x zoom (on the Pros) and Lidar/"3-D camera" on the ProMax. Don't get me wrong, my IP6 photos pretty much are good enough only to look at on a phone (not printed or on large display), so updating to anything is a no-brainer, but might it be almost as good to upgrade to an XS - at half the price? What ordinary, real-world application is there going to be for this Lidar tech that might make it worthwhile to spend an extra $200-$300?
"real" 5G comes in 3 "versions", the versions relating to the frequencies of the radio waves used to carry the signal:
Version 1 uses the same frequencies as existing 4G, and will be a teeny tiny bit faster than 4G.
Version 2 uses 2.5 - 3.7 GHz, and can in some situations go up to 3 times faster than 4G.
Version 3 (aka mmWave) uses 25 - 39 GHz, and can reach speeds of over 1 Gbps (Giga-bits per second, or 1000 Mbps - mega-bits per second)
However, there is one problem - the higher you go in frequency, the shorter the range of the signal, and the harder it is for that signal to pass through things like walls. So Version 3 is super-fast, but also super low-range. This requires a lot of base-stations to give high coverage, and it's quite likely that it will be deployed in only a small number of locations - such as sport stadia.
Version 2 is likely to be deployed widely in cities. So, 5G will give you a benefit over 4G, if you use your mobile mainly in a densely-populated area. It is rumoured that the iPhone 12 may not have the mmWave ("Version 3" above) kind of 5G, but that's the kind you're least likely to find "in the wild" anyway.
There's also the matter of how much extra the service providers charge for a 5G service - not being in the US that's not something I can help with. I think perhaps 5G in itself may not be reason enough to upgrade, but do bear in mind that the iPhone 6's 4G is not the fastest - so you should get much better 4G performance from an iPhone 12 vs. an iPhone 6. I'm very skeptical of anything above 12 Mpixels in a mobile phone. You really need a bigger sensor to benefit from more pixels, otherwise each individual pixel is too small, and is therefore less sensitive and you just get a noisier image.
There's a reason that Apple has stuck with 12 for so long, and it's because that's the sweet spot for resolution vs. quality. You say that the progress with iPhone photography has been slow, but I think there was a very significant improvement in the computational side of things with the iPhone 11. I think we can all agree that an iPhone 12 is guaranteed to absolutely crush an iPhone 6 in terms of picture quality for the rear camera.
As for optical zoom - there haven't been many rumours on that front in regard to the iPhone 12, so I'm not expecting any significant improvement there. That's a bit of a shame, because as you say Samsung have made some great improvements there recently. I imagine that Apple is working on it - perhaps with the iPhone 13?
If high optical zoom is really that important to you, but you really need iOS 14 sooner rather than later - perhaps look at getting a second-hand iPhone 7 to tide you over until the iPhone 13, unless the iPhone 12 surprises us with a 5 x optical zoom!
Nope.
I agree. The SE (given we're post event and have the 12 mini) and mini are now proper products aligned for their markets. The SE is a budget phone (but not an old model) which is bigger, which is probably what many in that market want. The 12 mini is a full-featured smaller-ish model in the lineup.
This pretty much what I've been asking Apple for, except for that like you, I'd rather have had it in a original-SE case (with audio jack, TouchID, etc.).
But, I've got one sitting on my desk here setting up now. I wanted to reward Apple for at least getting fairly close (and heading that direction).
Unfortunately, nope. I'll see how I like Face ID now, but I certainly miss Touch ID.