mac_128

wood1208 said:

Plenty lightening cables around so it's all good if 2019 iPhone stays with Lightening port. But in future if Apple going to move iPhone to USB-C than sooner is better. I don't see another physical port standard on horizon unless everyone move to Wirless for charging and Data/music transfer.

I don't see any reason ever to move the iPhone to USB-C. Wireless charging is the next standard Apple will likely move to, and drop the exposed port concept from their phones entirely. They've steadily been moving to seal it up completely. For the optional need to make a physical connection for a very small portion of Apple's iPhone base, something like the SmartConnector is likely the way to go. For most customers, wireless will suffice to meet all of their needs, and encourage use of Apple's Cloud services -- which after all is a stated goal of their transition away from hardware focused profits. 

MacPro said:

dysamoria said:

What annoying sound when the Netflix app starts? I have it on my iPad Pro and I’ve never noticed a startup sound.

If you use an Apple TV there's a really cool 'K'DONG' that is ten times louder than Netflix audio tracks on shows.

That's a feature. It's also at the beginning of any Netflix Original shows as well. It's there to wake you up.

sflocal said:

An iPod touch still has relevance today.  There are plenty of reasons - and people - that want an iPhone sans the phone part.  For kids, homes, cars, etc... 

My nephews still use their iPod Touches constantly.  It's relevant.

While I like the durability of the Lightning connector, it was an interim technology and now that USBc is here, well... we either move on or stay still.

MplsP said:

rogifan_new said:

aross99 said:

iPod touch makes a great "gateway" into the Apple ecosystem for children who are too young to have an iPhone. A $200 apple device with monthly payment is the ideal Christmas/Birthday gift for kids.  It allows them get hooked on the app store, and start building their music library.  iTunes cards are a given at every gift opportunity.  When they are ready, they can transition into  a "hand me down" iPhone from Mom and Dad, and away they go...

Give someone a hand me down iPhone and don’t enable the cell service.

That's what we did with my daughter. An old iPhone with no SIM card was perfect for her.

In general I would welcome the switch to USB C. It would be nice to have a universal connector for all smart phones. When the lightning connector came out it was clearly superior to the mini/micro USB connector, USB C has erased most of the advantage. Apple is saying it's the future - they should put their money where their mouth is. Or at least their design. I find it more than a bit ironic that they eliminated the USB A port from their computers but stick with old connectors in their phones.

The main concerns I have with USB C are durability and the presence of a center tongue. The USB C ports in my MacBook Pro don't seem nearly as robust and solid as the lightning connector. Also, I periodically need to clean pocket lint out of the lightning port. I imagine the USB C port would suffer the same issue, but the presence of the tongue in the center would make cleaning it much more difficult. 

The future is wireless. USB-C was too late to the game, and now it’s the intermediary technology between lightning and wireless. Apple would be foolish to switch a mobile device to yet another port that isn’t necessary for the phone, requiring more water-proofing, along with a more delicate connector, and it’s customers to replace 100s of millions of cables and accessories. Those same cables can connect to Qi charging cases, pads, and stands, or customers can use the same cables they use with their MBs and iPads.

chelin said:

I still do not see how it is practical to lay down the iPhone. Sure the AirPod case and the watch. But for the desk I want my phone to be standing so that FaceId works.
i guess this could be to nice for the bedside but it seems a little bit steep with $200 plus for a bedside thing?

First of all, it’s not just a single device ... it’s a technology. Perhaps there will be a stand implementation for your needs. As for your needs, Face ID works lying flat on a table. Your needs may be different than others and that’s fine.

Second, price is relative. I’d rather have one mat that plugs into one charger brick that can handle all of my devices, rather than 3 cables and multiple chargers to get the job done, much less carry all of that around with me while traveling.

Third, when I get home I tend to dump all of my devices on the kitchen counter. I’d love to have a mat like this to drop them all on and forget them until morning if that’s the case. At present I have a place for each of them, and it’s far from convenient to manage all of them. Again, your mileage may vary, but just because you don’t use your stuff the way I do and vice-versa, doesn’t make either of us wrong, nor suggest there’s no market for this technology. 

Finally, you won’t find any competition for this mat at a lower price, maybe ever, as its new technology that does more than just charge your iPhone inductively. So the price is inclusive of the ability to throw any of your devices on the mat and have them charge without any further thought as to what they are. No other mats can presently do this, so there’s a cost to that. It may be too steep for you, but I see the benefit to justify it for myself.

MplsP said:

radarthekat said:

lenn said:

Why does anyone really care about this thing? It's years overdue, will be way overpriced and there are better, cheaper things out there that due the same thing. Oh yea because there are idiots that pay $1k plus for a phone that will buy this thing. lol

I imagine one reason it’s taken longer is that inductive charging is lossy compared to direct wired charging.  Apple cares about the environment and part of that means using less power to perform the same compute tasks, to the extent possible.  I think Apple achieves this in its products relative to competition, by owning the design of, and optimizing, most of the technology stack, from battery to circuitry to software (OS).  Apple won’t like want to negate those efficiency gains with a lot of loss in the charging process, so you may expect to hear in any AirPowrr announcement/marketing about charging being more efficient than the bulk of the competition.  

This is my biggest beef with inductive charging. It’s not really that much more convenient than plugging in a lightning cable, IMO, but there’s somewhere around a 30% power loss. If you multiply that by the number of iPhones out there you have a ton of energy being pointlessly wasted. Even if Apple is better than anyone else, they won’t be better than a lightning cable. 

That’s a pretty subjective opinion as well. Many times I put my phone in its car cradle, and forget to plug the Lightning cable into it, only realizing it when I get to my destination that the phone didn’t charge. I mostly charge the phone in my car while commuting, and the surplus power provided when it’s running is of course not wasted even if it’s 30% less efficient than plugging in a wire. Not having to think about plugging in a cable would be quite convenient.

At home, I drop the phone into a charging stand. But I don’t have those stands everywhere. Many a night I’ve forgotten to plug in a phone laying on my nightstand. If there had been a charging pad for me to drop it onto, I wouldn’t have had to think about it. To say nothing about being able to just drop three devices onto the same mat and have them all charge without having to worry about three separate cables. Is the convenience worth the less efficient energy transfer? Well that’s a matter of opinion, and a highly subjective one at that, and preference.