radarthekat

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radarthekat
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  • Echoes of launches past: Tim Cook likens Apple Vision Pro to iPhone launch

    MplsP said:
    Xed said:
    I don't see that. I'd liken it to being more like the original Mac launch since it's very expensive with most people still wondering what they could possibly do with this bleeding edge tech. 
    agreed. The iPhone was the right product coming into a waiting hole in the market. Virtual reality and augmented. Reality is still trying to find its place and a use and such Apple has much more of an uphill climb with Vision Pro. By all accounts it’s an extraordinarily well-designed product. I just hope there’s a market for it.
    Agree, with one caveat.  The iPhone came into a nascent Apple ecosystem with tens of millions of Mac users and maybe 150-200 million iPod users.  Vision Pro is joining a world with 2.2 billion active Apple devices and a gigantic library of existing apps.  Its challenge to reach critical mass is eased a bit by this fact.  Countered, of course, by its far more narrow scope of use cases and its physical challenge of being a relatively bulky headset.  But the installed base of Apple devices and the wide variety of existing apps will help.  
    Alex_Vmuthuk_vanalingamCluntBaby92watto_cobrajony0
  • How the Apple Ring will blow all the other smart ring manufacturers out of the water

    If only it could change color to indicate my mood…
    neoncatlotoneseriamjhd_2OferMacProJaiOh81watto_cobra
  • A massive data leak that probably exposed all of your personal info is hugely worse than t...

    jetpilot said:
    So check and see if my information was compromised by submitting my personal information on some random website? Uhhhhh...no.
    It requires only your first end last name and state you were born in.  
    forgot usernamegatorguywatto_cobra
  • Apple may want to monetize advanced Apple Intelligence features in the future

    araquen said:
    I am skeptical. Apple Intelligence is not a product, and everyone gets that wrong. Apple Intelligence is functionality that is intended to enhance and improve the various platforms Apple has (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, etc). How do you monetize that without monetizing the OS? An OS Apple offers for free.

    I highly doubt Apple will start charging again for their OS, just to monetize Apple Intelligence. Rather, what Apple is more likely to do is use Apple Intelligence to enhance the user experience for services. Perhaps “Enhanced AppleTV+” or “Enhanced AppleMusic” where the AI infrastructure is used to enhance the users’ experiences on those services. And I am on the fence about charging for that extra functionality. If Apple boosts prices for their services, it would be for far more than just “look it has AI now."

    At the end of the day, it is easy to predict how Apple is going to do something once you understand that Apple is a hardware manufacturer first and foremost. Their goal is to have you buy their devices, originally the Mac. Even the iPhone was originally intended to be a supplement to the Mac, and Apple shifted gears when the iPhone proved to be as widely popular as it had become. But regardless of device - Apple wants to sell you their hardware. And they want to justify the premium consumers pay. So EVERYTHING ELSE Apple does is intended to be a value-add to make it worthwhile to have invested in Apple’s hardware. Everything. Mail. Messages. Pages. FaceTime. Numbers. Keynote. AppleMusic. Apple Arcade. iCloud. AppleOne. All the software and services are there to give your Mac, your iPad, your iPhone something to do without being dependent on the “kindness of strangers.” Because Apple hasn’t forgotten (nor have long-time Mac users), there was a time where developers were cheerfully refusing to develop for Apple offerings.

    People call it “walled garden” but that assumes an even playing field. For decades, Apple has been on the periphery of popular tech, and barely anyone was developing for the Mac. The iPhone was largely developed because prior to that, not a single cell phone manufacturer would provide interoperability between their devices and the Mac (and I loved my Motorola flip phone, but its lack of connectivity to my Mac was a royal pain in my ***). The iPhone was the first cell phone Mac users could sync with their computer. From that point, Apple’s offerings remain consistent with: how do we (Apple) provide solutions that extend the efficacy of the products our customers already own? How do we keep improving the value of our brand to our consumers?

    Apple’s goal isn’t to sell us an Apple Intelligence product. That’s Google’s world. Apple’s goal is to use Apple Intelligence as the infrastructural foundation for having Apple solutioning a “personal digital assistant” for their customers. That isn’t a product. It is core functionality of the hardware and software systems Apple provides.

    But pundits (especially those driven by the limited vision of Wall Street) can’t understand this, so keep getting it wrong.

    Trust me. Once you start looking at Apple as a hardware manufacturer first and foremost, whose business model is based on the idea of providing a boutique experience for their customers (who have paid a premium for such treatment) you’ll have a better understanding on how Apple intends to leverage its software and services solutions.

    Perhaps a good analogy would be the free Apple workout app and exercise rings versus the Apple Firness+ app.  So it’s maybe not an extra cost on top of an already paid subscription service like your Apple TV example, but rather a new paid service that goes beyond what’s available in the free Apple Intelligence capabilities.  I could see an app for medical professionals, maybe partnering with IBM Watson, or an app for sports trainers, etc. 
    9secondkox2watto_cobra
  • EU hits back at Apple withholding Apple Intelligence from the region

    avon b7 said:
    rob53 said:
    avon b7 said:
    This:

    "Specifically, we are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security," said Apple. "We are committed to collaborating with the European Commission in an attempt to find a solution that would enable us to deliver these features to our EU customers without compromising their safety."


    And then this:

    "From previous statements including ones to AppleInsider, it's known that Apple has been continually working with the EU on its responses to the DMA, so it's reasonable to assume that will continue.

    Leads to the question: Why even bother putting the subject into the public domain if communication and clarification are ongoing? 

    Far better to say as little as possible until things are clarified. All it takes is clarification and all for a roll out that isn't even planned for this year! 

    Basically FUD on Apple's part and Vestager has a valid point in her response to a question that wouldn't have been asked if it weren't for Apple. 




    Basically FUD on the part of EU-loving commenters. Apple has a right to provide whatever capabilities it wants to in whatever country/region it wants to. You're buying a product with certain features. There's nothing that says Apple has to provide the EU with everything it has the capability of including. The EU can demand Apple provide everything but that's not the way companies work. This is a brand new Apple capability and Apple has the right to provide it when they feel it's ready, not when a corrupt EU demands it. At this point, I feel Apple is well within its rights to start charging for features in countries it wants to. As far as I'm concerned, Apple should start charging for macOS, iOS, tvOS, iPadOS along with every Apple app and feature it wants to. I'd like to see the EU try and force Apple to provide everything for free. It isn't going to happen.
    No one is disputing Apple's right to bring or not bring certain features to the EU. That is up to them and is irrelevant here. 

    The point is 'making a meal out of something' and putting it down to the DMA even when Apple itself claims it's in contact with the EU on the subject and also claims not to know what is possible or not. 

    It's all completely unnecessary on Apple's part. Why not simply ask the EU and wait for a reply? 
    Maybe Apple feels a bit of obligation to both inform its EU customer base and to disclose to its investors information that might be material to its business.  
    blastdoorihatescreennamesAzzdanoxwatto_cobra
  • Apple dominates the US tablet market, and Mac sales are surging

    tmay said:
    I found it interesting that the iPad is being used in the F-15EX test program;

    https://www.twz.com/sponsored-content/f-15ex-testers-are-now-preparing-the-eagle-ii-for-rapidly-adapting-to-new-missions

    “What the F-15EX brings that other F-15s do not is what you hear being talked about as the digital backbone of the aircraft,” adds Maj. Eshkenazi. “It has ethernet wiring running throughout the airframe and it’s linked to the weapon stations. This opens up future potential in terms of integrating weapons. We might have a separate computer or a tablet that can be linked [to the jet] that allows us to connect to the weapons stations while keeping our safety of flight elements [in the mission software] isolated. So we could run apps but not have them running through our main computer, which isolates this from the safety of flight things like the flight controls, for example. This means I’m not concerned about an app coming from a vendor that might affect my ability to fly the airplane.”

    “One of the big capabilities that the F-15EX brings to the fight is the ability to rapidly put new weapons on it, because of its external carriage capacity and its ability to carry a lot of weight,” Col. Daniel Lehoski, 53rd Wing commander, further explained. “We have the independent ability to upgrade the jet’s Operational Flight Program [OFP] as well as actually working around the OFP to add some capabilities. I’ll give you an example; we have a jet that we’re using to push situational awareness and command and control [C2] capabilities to the leading edge of the fight. We’re doing that literally with an iPad hooked up to the jet in order to get information into it. That sits outside the OFP. It’s a little clunky because you have an iPad in the cockpit, but that is enabling us to add capability in conjunction with our agile OFP upgrades. The iPad is getting power from the jet and then using Link 16 datalink to communicate with the aircraft.”



    I was an F-15C avionics technician in my Air Force days (1981-1985).  It’s amazing that the plane has lived on to be a still-viable weapon in 2024 and beyond.  
    tmayBart Ywatto_cobrajony0
  • iPhone Fold rumored to launch with foldable iPad in 2026

    longfang said:
    M68000 said:
    What kind of case will these phones need?   A pouch?  If so,  first you have to take it out of pouch and then flip it open?  Who wants to be bothered with that?  lol.  Or,  will this might new form factor already have the phone with some kind of case material as part of it?   
    Caseless has always been my default. I bought the phone in part because of its appearance, why would I then cover it up in a case?
    Crystal Clear cases solve that issue. Here in The Philippines they can be found for less than $8.  They’ve saved my phone on numerous occasions.  
    Anilu_777M68000watto_cobra
  • Orange County police considering Apple Vision Pro to process surveillance data in real-tim...

    Minority Report was first to my mind.  Pair it with Palantir Technologies software and data and  you’re halfway there.  
    appleinsideruserwatto_cobra
  • Wearable weigh-in -- Apple Watch Series 10 vs Apple Watch Series 9 compared

    iOS_Guy80 said:
    Hard to differentiate sometimes what is hardware and what is iOS software update features. Eg. the sleep apnea feature is an iOS update feature not a watch update which isn’t fully explained in the article. I certainly appreciate the new features to the series 10 from the series 9 my biggest disappointment would be to lose the blood oxygen level feature if I upgraded to the series 10.
    I thought I heard in the presentation that the sleep apnea feature would come to the series 9.  Was I mistaken?  
    watto_cobra
  • Compared: Amazon Fire 7 2022 vs iPad mini & 10.2-inch iPad

    Eclairs said:
    The fire cost the same as an iPad + the Fire. It was so frustrating to use, wouldn’t run the apps my kids wanted. And then I had to buy an iPad at the end. Still pissed about buying that thing. What a waste of money. I could have spent that on a case that the kids couldn’t break the iPad with. 

    I understand the temptation based on how cheap it is but man im telling you it was a waste of money. 
    A lot of Fitbit buyers over the years have said the same thing about its price.  It’s the price of a Fitbit + an Apple Watch.

    The cost of a virus-susceptible PC comes to mind as a third example.