jdw

I appreciated this article.  Thank you, Mike. However, I always seem to have questions regarding accessories, and none of those articles allow comments, for reasons I've never been able to understand.  For example...

https://appleinsider.com/inside/iphone-15/best/best-iphone-15-accessories

That article recommends a very expensive Thunderbolt 4 cable even though the iPhone 15 Pro series cannot transfer at those speeds.  Sure, if somebody wants to pay all that money for a universal cable, it might be great, but even then, one needs to point out the fact that 240W cables have thicker wires that make them more stiff than even a 100W capable cable (which is probably more than enough for most people).

Another big issue I have when choosing a USB-C cable is the fact that you never know what it is after you've bought it!  Most are marked so poorly!  There needs to be a strict standard that demands all USB-C cables print the basic specs somewhere on the cable!  So frustrating!

That's why I think something like this cable (just something I spotted while browsing) is smart because it prints everything you need to know on the cable itself...

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0BZ3L7KWK/

(Amazon Japan because I live in Japan.)

Consider the price is only about $10 equivalent, yet you get 100W charging AND USB 3.1 gen2 speeds AND all the specification info you need is printed at each connector end!  This is the kind of detail I'd love to see in future AppleInsider articles that present the best accessories.  USB-C cables that don't clearly show the end user the specs are insane!

Also, I want to know more about the Apple cable included with all the iPhone 15's.  Yes, yes...  I know its foolishly slow at USB2 speeds, as many silly charging cables are.  But the cable I just linked above proves that doesn't have to be so.  You CAN have high wattage charging AND fast data transfer speeds in a single cable. Nevertheless, I want to know the MAXIMUM WATTAGE the iPhone 15 supplied Apple cable offers.  Is it 60W rated?  100W rated?  Only 30W rated?  Where is the specification info on that cable?

Next...

We need better info about MagSafe CHARGING STANDS.  Amber's article only mentions a very expensive Nomad Stand One while leaving out the much more affordable TwelveSouth Forte:

https://www.twelvesouth.com/products/forte-for-iphone

Sure the Forte needs the Apple MagSafe puck.  Sure it is a super simple stand that isn't new.  But some people, including myself, want simple-yet-good, and with a  low price.  Many of us already have chargers.  So we don't need to keep buying stuff we already have.  And not all of us have AirPods or an Apple Watch and therefore don't need expensive 3-in-1 MagSafe stands.

Honestly, the only thing better than that Forte that I have found is this 2-in-1 stand with a built-in FAN!

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B09YH8HWXL/?coliid=I1YN7X9QPWGOAS&colid=3N7RYCMEW2ZCK&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

I've read a lot about MagSafe being bad versus a charging cable because apparently MagSafe can overheat without a fan and reduce charging to basically zero.  We need more info from AppleInsider about this. But again, based on what I have read elsewhere, it seems only logical that every MagSafe charging stand should have a fan.  It's common sense in light of the fact that heat can and does reducing MagSafe charging speeds!

Next...

I've heard that Apple's MagSafe puck will only charge at the full 15W when matched with an Apple 20W adapter, but is that really true?  If I have a 3rd party 45W charging adapter, will it not allow the Apple puck to charge an iPhone 15 Pro at the full 15W?  Again, we need an article from AppleInsider that tells us what is what.  So much bad info out there, and a lot is on YouTube.

Next...

We need to hear more about iPhone protective cases that offer full device protection, yet in a slim form factor.  Maybe I am just old at 52, but I've never understood all this OPEN FRONT madness.  Even with protective glass, when you have a case only on the back, your front is complete exposed.  That remains true even if the back case has a "lip" that is raised above the front glass all around.  One little rock on the ground can crack that glass if it falls UNLESS you have a case like this which protects the entire phone, including the ports:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0BC7HZ6DP/

Here's another full body case...

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0CGRZYFQN/

Again, these are Amazon Japan only because I live in Japan.  But knowing the Amazon US equivalents would be best for most AppleInsider readers.

Lastly, we need AppleInsider to recommend the top protective glass options.  Here in Japan, it seems this brand is offering just about the best in terms of specifications that I can see....

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0CBBW9QVQ/

Black edges are important.  I know because I have glass on my iPhone 7 right now with clear edges and light hits those edges and can be distracting.  

Also, knowing more about HARDNESS claims is important.  Some glass makers even mention 10H hardness, but I wonder if those are truth or lies.  And what is really the best THICKNESS for protective glass?  Moreover, having an easy way for anyone to apply the glass without bubbles (such as the one I just linked) is important too.  If it's the best glass in the world but you can't apply it without trouble, it's almost useless.

These are the kind of things and level of detail I want to see AppleInsider show us.  

And please allow comments under your recommended accessories articles so that people who actually have owned and used those items can chime in with their experiences.  

Most often when I come here to AppleInsider, I come for both the article and comments.  When there are no comments, my interest in the article is severely reduced.  It really irks me, to be honest.  AppleInsider may have its reasons for doing what it has always done, but I strongly ask that you please THINK DIFFERENT and give comments a try under those accessories articles.  That would certainly be helpful to me.  Yes, yes...  There are the complainers and haters who will speak badly no matter what.  But such is true of Amazon comments too.  You know that.  It's our job, as an educated reader to see past a few oddball comments and see what the majority has to say.  That's why I want to see comments allowed under your future articles where you recommend various accessories.

THANK YOU!

"The future is still the future" is the story of SIRI's life.  When SIRI first came out, it was new, so people such as myself gave it some slack.  And at the time, we all recognized its limitations but hoped and prayed for a better future.  Fast forward 12 years to today.  SIRI is hardly better today than it was originally back in 2011!  I ask it on my iPhone to do the most basic things, but in almost every case, it tells me it can't do that.  I'm talking about turning on or off super basic functions of my phone.  Sorry... Can't do that.  And then when it comes to getting information, SIRI is pretty much brain dead.  In some ways, Apple has deliberately hobbled it, perhaps for "security" reasons, which to me as a user is really stupid. SIRI is stupid.

So when I read all this talk about AI and Bing, I can only yawn when it comes to the part that shows it to be seriously flawed in certain areas and then the story turns "to the future" and how much better IT COULD BE.  Yeah right.  SIRI "COULD BE" so much better too, but it isn't.  "Yes, but ChatGPT is quite different from SIRI!" you say?  Ha!  Let's travel in our time machine to a decade from now and see who's right.  A version of the flawed functionality we have today is probably all we will get.

Disagree with me and work for Apple?  Great!  PROVE ME WRONG by making SIRI vastly better.  I dare you!

It's sad but unsurprising to see people squabble about how legalized theft (i.e., taxation) is distributed.  When somebody lifts your wallet and steals something from it, it's considered theft that is prohibited by law.  But when the government says it will do the same for the greater good, somehow that's A-OK.  Pro-tax people will come out of the woodwork citing roads, bridges, schools and all manner of glorious things legalized theft has funded and is continuing to fund.  But all those things, however good, still are paid for with stolen money.  "Stolen" in that it was taken without giving the tax payer a choice not to pay it.

Regardless of the arguable need for taxation, it's still legalized theft.  No matter how much good it does, theft is theft.  As such, everybody in the business of redistributing the stolen loot is "a little shady." That remains true even when you consider that some theft via taxation is deemed necessary for our current lawless and loveless society to survive.  Despite the need, taxation is still "theft."  I repeat this refrain only because most people refuse to call it what it actually is.

So let's get off the high horses and admit taxation is theft so that "shady" and "criminal" and "embezzle" terms can be thrown in the garbage where they belong.  

Money doesn't typically solve problems.  It more often creates them.  That's yet another thing most people still haven't figured out.  

Real change begins in the human heart, doing things for the good of one's fellow man without being compelled by force.  Only then will you see meaningful change in society.  For now, society fights fire with fire, calls one type of theft bad and another type of theft good.  It's a highly imperfect system we have, but most people brush it off by saying, "no society is perfect."  Of course, that's just a cover to maintain the status quo.  And so the infighting over stolen loot continues.

Deep breath.

Now we move on to the next news story.

auxio said:

jdw said:

Sorry, but all the defenses of Apple on this are total poppycock.  I'm a huge defender of Apple, and have been since 1984.  People who go around doing nothing but trashing Apple are trash themselves.  But let's face it, folks, RAM is one area Apple has ALWAYS failed the consumer on.  Apple Silicon and RAM efficiency talk is garbage.  What matters is PRACTICAL USABILITY.  Does somebody online talking about efficiency magically make 8GB good enough for YOU?  No.  No, it does not.

...hey, stick with the "magical" thinking because you can't comprehend the actual engineering details.

The big problem is that every application you use is web, web, web these days. ...it leads to all the bloat and overhead which requires more memory and CPU power.

I guarantee that if you can stick to native applications outside of a web browser, you'll find you'll rarely (if ever) hit the limits of the average computer...

You, sir, are the very type of person my previous post addresses.  You (1) trashed me by saying I cannot comprehend engineering details, (2) you somewhat admit the problem is not me but rather software requiring something beyond my control which is amusing because you just trashed me, and (3) you then give me a totally worthless guarantee.

Folks, as I said in my previous post, people like "auxio" are spewing poppycock.  My understanding of engineering details or lack thereof does NOT magically make my daughter stop calling me for support of her 8GB RAM M1 MBP because "magically' after reading the magical post by auxio, she now has a usable machine.  No, it's not a matter of "she's holding it wrong!"  It's only after talking to me and hearing my advice about running only a single app at a time, like we did in 1984, does she have a usable machine.  And no, she's not running Chome or "web, web, web" either.  She DOES indeed "hit the limits of the average BASELINE RAM computer from Apple because that RAM is only 8GB."  ENGINEERING DETAILS matter nothing.  What matters is PRACTICAL USABILITY FOR THE USER!  If you are satisfied with 8GB of RAM, great for YOU!  But your great experience doesn't magically translate into a great experience for others.  And to suggest we "hold it like you're holding it" (a throwback to the iPhone 4 days), is ridiculous.

We should all be able to buy the baseline RAM and STORAGE and get practical usability out of the machine for at least a year without running up against out of memory errors, serious slowdowns or the inability to run apps.  And to say the consumer is the one in the wrong because they didn't pay extra (above their budget) for overpriced extra RAM and overpriced extra STORAGE is, as I said in my earlier post, nothing more than a Cupertino-worshipper talking, not your friend.

A Cupertino-worshipper is a largely mindless person who loves Apple and who preaches whatever Cupertino preaches at any given time.  To the worshipper, it's Gospel.  So if Apple is preaching butterfly keyboards, a Cupertino-worshipper defends that choice and bashes anyone who doesn't love butterfly key switches, playing down all problems associated with the tech.  When Apple removed the SD card slot, those same worshippers ran in droves to this very forum to defended that stupid choice.  Then when Apple changed out the keyboard and restored the slot, those worshippers fell silent on those issues, but they now have come roaring back defending 8GB of baseline RAM.  

Cupertino-worshippers are crazy, and sadly, they are perpetually founding in forums like this one.  So just be on your guard when you come across them.  They are in greater numbers than you think.   And even though they are "crazy ones," they do not change the world, as the Apple slogan goes.  If anything, they fight against change, and that's the very problem that keeps 8GB as the baseline RAM in current Macs, even now in 2024.

Who is behind this lawsuit?  The average app user?  Developers?  And minority of people who really don't care about apps at all but who only want money?

Apps are not expensive and most people really aren't complaining that "app prices from Apple are so high!"  All I hear about are developers who want more profits and governments who capitulate to their demands, trying to attack Apple only because Apple is a successful company.  Basically, if you are successful, you ultimately will be charged for having experienced too much success.

VictorMortimer said:

She's not wrong.

Apple has gotten too big.  It's not the only company that needs to be broken up, of course, but it's time.

Comments like the above are as disturbing as the words from that senator and the questionable voting habits of the people who put her into power.

Ah, America.  What hath become of thee?
Land of the Free?  Perhaps not when a growing majority of citizens seek to take freedom away from any individual or corporate entity which they deem a threat.
Home of the Brave?  Meaning, those "brave" citizens who FEAR America's home-grown success stories when they become exceedingly successful.

Anyone who agrees with the senator and Victor Mortimer would be wise to do the following:
1. Stop using all Apple products and services, to fall in line with your sentiment that Apple is too large and needs to be broken up.
2. Sell all your AAPL stock, including all mutual funds which have AAPL in them. Never buy any stake in AAPL again.
3. Stop reading AppleInsider and posting in its forums. 
4. Start an organization to make your own dent in the universe, showing the world that your ideas are as great as you think they are.

Perhaps then you will have a position that people can appreciate.

paisleydisco said:

LOLOLOLOLOL 

the rich guy looking for a handout 

Sorry but Canstorm's reply to you was spot on.  No doubt you have refused to purchase any AAPL stock too.  I first bought AAPL in 1999 when Steve Jobs was back, the stock was rising a little, because I believed in the company since 1984, and because I said to myself, "why the heck not?"  I've never sold a single share.  I was not wealthy, nor did I come from a wealthy family.  Ever dollar in my possession at the time mattered to me.  Yet I chose to invest a little anyway.  Glad I did.

It never ceases to shock and amaze me how people who deliberately refuse to become financially savvy are the first to chastise anyone and everyone they deem rich, who in reality is anyone a tiny bit wealthier than themselves.

Here's some great advice...

Stop criticizing everyone, even truly bad people.  Take charge of your own life.  Follow the lead of those who have become a success even if you don't know them personally.  Don't let failure stop you because you will fail.  Keep going.  One day, you will be pleasantly surprised with your nest egg, and your kindness in not criticizing others will be a shining beacon to all around you.

TikTok annoys the heck out of me, not because I use it (I've seen it and dislike like it, so of course I don't use it), but because it has influenced the creation of stupid Reels on FaceBook (which show nothing but skinny Chinese girls doing who knows what) and Shorts on YouTube (more varied than Reels, but still annoying).  It's like a plague.  Creates more mindless young people than we ever had before.  You sit, and scroll through video clips so short they are utterly worthless.  I can't help but think the same mindset applies to people who are addicted to drugs.  Meaning, it all mindlessness.  No thought involved.  It's all in how it makes you FEEL.  I fail to see why any educated mind would care for any of that.  (Full Disclosure: I don't smoke, drink alcohol of any kind, and I detest coffee; and no, I'm not Mormon.)

So what is "mindful" and the inverse opposite of all that?  Why, ready AppleInsider articles, of course!  What else?!

And there you have it.

Although some would disagree with the rainbow flag waving of Apple, which is highly political, it can be argued that is different than war.  War, of course, being much more "life & death" in a daily basis for a long period of time.  People supporting either side of a given conflict can get more riled than people would over sexual preferences.  So I disagree with Godofbiscuitssf that this is "rank hypocrisy."  It's not.  Apple sees sexual preferences as somewhat culturally acceptable in 2024 USA, while opinions about war are not.

Was Apple right in firing this employee in light of the fact the employee had been given permission in the recent past?  In order to determine that, we need more facts.  For example, if the employee had been told by managers at the store they could wear certain things, but later upper management in Cupertino decided otherwise regarding a policy for all stores, then it would boil down to how Apple spoke to this employee.  Personally, I would have treated it very delicately, apologizing to the employee for conflicting information, but letting them know that rules handed down by Cupertino are the final word.  If the employee heard and understood that but continued to wear the symbols anyway, they should be given a formal warning, but no further action.  If the employee continued to disobey, they should be given a second warning and asked to go home for one work day.  If they returned to work and continued to ignore the rules, then and only then should they be fired.  That is how I personally would have handled it.

But I am surprised anyone gets fired anymore with the crazy USA being as litigious as it is.  But I guess Apple employee's have to sign a lot of legal documents to become an employee that prevents many lawsuits against Apple in the event that employee is ultimately fired.

Everybody should recuse themselves, and nobody should take over.  The US Gov. is yet again throwing tax payer dollars away, in the name of defending those very taxpayers. Utter insanity. 

Leave American business success stories like Apple alone.  Consumers must decide if they are around 100 years hence, not Uncle Sam.