jamesthelesser

Following the drop testing, the same units including charging case were run through a full 32-minute wash cycle with detergent and clothing, following a run through the dryer alongside a regular pair of Apple Lightning earbuds.

The Lightning earbuds emerged relatively intact, with the audio being only slightly more fuzzy than normal, but pretty close to the original sound. The AirPods and charging case survived entirely intact, minus some battering to the case.

Accidentally leaving the Airpods in my pocket and having them go through the washer/dryer has been my number 1 concern since Tim introduced them in September...glad to see someone actually tested for this!

So far, my Airpods have been worth the price. I miss the easy controls for pause/play/volume but the trade-off has been worth it.

Pro-tip: to change volume, simply invoke Siri and either say "louder" or "lower" (no need to say "turn volume up/down") and Siri will know to change the volume accordingly. For some reason "softer" doesn't work.

hallmansm said:

Am I the only one who thinks the effects look terrible? If they look bad in a slick commercial, I can’t imagine the real thing with my non-model friends and family, and my non-perfectly-controlled situational lighting getting any better results. 

I just upgraded from a 6+ to an 8+,  and I’ve been incredibly impressed with the iPhone camera. I’ve become of really big fan of portrait mode… the photos often look spectacular!

With that said, the studio lighting modes are about as close to a gimmick as I’ve ever seen Apple approach. I haven’t been able to get a single picture using studio lighting to look anything short of horrendous. Yes, I know it’s supposed to be beta software, but it really feels undercooked....  Samsung levels of bad. I frankly find it hard to believe that they’re advertising this as a feature at this point. 

Since I’ve just crapped all over studio lighting, let me just reiterate how good portrait mode is.  I received the iPhone 8+ before I left on a family trip to Disney World, and I couldn’t put the camera down, I was so impressed with the results.

It should be pointed out that since removing the app doesn’t affect the law, removing it will almost assuredly make traveling harder for women (since the app now presumably makes it way easier for men to approve travel compared to the old method). 

I’d hope that Apple would actually talk with Saudi women and get their take on it, to determine what course of action has the least impact on human rights. 

sog35 said:

can you use a Watch to lower volume?

You can, but you have to switch to the Now Playing app and use the digital crown to do it.

It would be great if you could just adjust volume from the Watch Face though.

urahara said:

jamesthelesser said:

It should be pointed out that since removing the app doesn’t affect the law, removing it will almost assuredly make traveling harder for women (since the app now presumably makes it way easier for men to approve travel compared to the old method). 

I’d hope that Apple would actually talk with Saudi women and get their take on it, to determine what course of action has the least impact on human rights. 

So it doesnt't restrict the movement. It gives the abality to allow easily for woman to travel. Nice! Actually, it's a good app.

Friend,

There is no need for the snark. 

The law is wrong and a human rights violation. I’m suggesting that Apple consult with Saudi women (you know, the people actually affected by this unjust law) to figure out the best course of action, since removing it may cause them inconvenience while having no discernible change on the law. Keeping the app and removing it both have consequences, particularly since it sounds like the functionality is available on the Saudi government website. I’m just thinking that if I’m a woman in Saudia Arabia, I might want to work to have the law repealed altogether, rather than make it even more difficult to travel in the short term.

If Saudi women’s rights groups think it causes disproportionate harm, then remove it...hell, block the site/page on Safari too.