melgross

addicted44 said:

Why does Apple insist on bullshitting its users.

The Vivo X5 Max that came out a decade ago was 4.75mm thin and not only did it have a SIM, it had a Dual Sim where the second SIM slot could also be used for a MicroSD card.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/vivo-x5max-thin-smartphone-news/

If they find that a SIM card slot is now unnecessary then all power to them. But it's really fascinating that they instead spew lies making it appear that the device is just way too thin for a SIM card, and worse, expect people to lap it up without ever realizing that Apple is just blatantly insulting their intelligence.

Phones are different today. That phone was pretty primitive by today’s specs. Today’s phones need to put much more inside the phone than they did then. There are a number of antennas around the periphery of the phone that didn’t exist then. Also bigger, flatter batteries as well as wireless charging. You’re making a comparison to something that sold very poorly when it’s came out because it really wasn’t a good phone to begin with. Anyone can cut features down to make a phone thinner. Making it good is another matter.  

It’s fine regarding mm wave as it’s almost useless for most people. Additionally, it’s almost nowhere here in the USA. And except for Japan which installed a network for the Olympics, no other country seems interested either.

Xed said:

MplsP said:

ITGUYINSD said:

macxpress said:

shamino said:

YP101 said:

I don't think user upgradeable for storage anyway. This was same for Mac Studio.
Apple coded each storage for specific unit so user can't upgrade. Unless Apple change the way.

Except that, as the hacker community discovered, if you use new (that is, never-been-written) flash chips, you can use Apple's Configurator 2 utility to initialize them and install macOS.  This will set up the cryptographic pairing.  You can't wipe used flash modules (e.g. to move storage from one Mac to another), but it does means that upgrades are possible.

So far, we've just seen some people making bare circuit boards and you need the microsoldering skills necessary to attach new flash chips to those boards, but I think it's just a matter of time before someone starts selling boards with chips pre-installed.  So even if end-user upgrades won't be practical, I think we will soon see independent repair shops that can do it.

The upgradable SSD is a moot point anyways. 99.9% of owners will never upgrade it nor care to. 

Really?  Did you take a poll to get that 99.9% figure or did you just pull that out of some dark, moist crevasse between your bum-cheeks?  YOU may never do it, but don't speak for everyone else.  You might use the PC market as an example as to how many people ARE interested in upgrading their SSD as the retail SSD market is HUGE.

Well, 99.9% of users don’t upgrade because it’s next to impossible to do so. Macxpress is using faulty logic to make a point.

1) I have no idea what the actual percentage is, but I do seem to recall back when Apple had removable HDDs and RAM that very few consumes were upgrading their specs.

2) Personally, I'd love to be able to have everything modular in my MacBook Pro (which simply isn't a realistic request), but I also want the least expensive, smallest, lightest, fastest, and overall best Mac experience possible, which means I'm overall happier with the M-series Macs today than I am with my old PowerBooks, iBooks, Performa, etc.

Back in the “good old days” I had friends who would build their own PCs, something I stopped doing about 40 years ago. They would always buy the biggest boxes, maybe 10 or even with 12 slots “for upgrades”. They would put a modem in one - and that was it! The reality is that the build it yourself market these days is maybe one percent, possibly less. The market for these who upgrade their RAM and storage is higher. But even these are just a small percentage. The truth is that modern computers offer everything you need. I find it funny that an upgradable computer used to mean lots of those pesky slots and boards to do everything. But most people buy computers and this goes for Windows as well as Mac’s, that at most allow RAM and SSD upgrades.

boy, years ago, those would be considered not upgradable at all. About the only people who build their own machines these days are extreme gamers. Making a machine upgradable also makes it more expensive. People don’t think about that. It has to be bigger. Have a bigger power supply, circuit board with slots, bypass caps, etc. so pay about 50% more out of the box for something minorly upgradable, or twice as much for something heavily upgradable.

apple’s M chips simply make upgrading difficult, but have enough advantages so that upgrading isn’t as important. Really, if you buy something and j tend to keep it for years, then upfront cost isn’t as important. Look to yearly cost. A $2,000 machine seems fairly expensive, but it’s inly $200 a year if you keep it for five years, a fair expectation with current machines. That’s not much.

I don’t care that it’s fixed. One plug and socket less to worry about breaking.

atonaldenim said:

Pretty funny how you all want to keep arguing over a hypothetical “OWC” drive, when there is in fact another company that is actually offering storage upgrades for sale right now.

For the Mac Studio currently, for the Mini in the near future. Who cares if OWC isn’t interested, as long as PolySoft is?

And the number of backers on their Kickstarter campaign is a useful metric for how much consumer interest there may or may not be. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/polysoftservices/studio-drive/posts/4247624 ;

Speaking for myself, I bought my Mac Studio in 2022 with the amount of storage that I wanted, as no other options existed then. However now that this potential solution is out there, the next Mac Mini or Studio that I buy, I personally would consider this upgrade route instead. The main drawback to me is the hassle of opening up the case and putting it back together neatly enough.

I would advise people to not put money into this until after the product is released and reviewed. I’ve invested in seven Kickstarter projects over the years. Three never had a product come out and two of the four that did weren’t very good. The other two were fine. This isn’t worth the risk.

the reality is that it’s not a big deal. Tiny, fast enough external ssds aren't expensive any more. Just get one and plug it into the rear. People are making more of this than it’s worth.