danox

avon b7 said:

" Many of the first foldable devices were plagued by reliability issues"

I'm unaware of any foldable phone being plagued with reliability issues. Quite the opposite is true.

AFAIK, all folding phones that have come to market have had great reliability so far. 

For the Samsung Fold, many review units were damaged by reviewers trying to remove a screen coating that should not have been removed.

Once that was corrected, along with some further design enhancements, the units that were released performed well.

Apple foldgate coming up…..

AppleZulu said:

danox said:

The HomePod is worthless without wired connections at any price it flunk’s the basic function of operating as SPEAKER in any system without Apple holding it’s hand thru software. Siri is or should be a secondary function at that price the sound quality of music playback should be first and foremost.

Two steps forward one step back…..

Sonos, Amazon and Google smart speakers also don’t use wired connections. 

Interestingly, some things are designed for specific purposes, but not others. The fact that many car stereos don’t include cassette players doesn’t mean they “flunk” basic operations. 

You might look into JBL, Harman/Kardon, Kipsch, Sony, Bose or some other brand for what you want. 

The shortsighted always say the thing but at the price Apple sold the HomePod speakers, no wired connection means you are screwed if they (Apple) decide not to make those speakers and discontinue software support thru upgrades, middle to upper end speakers last for decades with care (Apple HI Fi coincidentally) not the Apple two year
upgrade cycle.

Still usable dependence on Apple nil just works.  https://www.soundandvision.com/content/apple-ipod-hi-fi

And if you were a long term thinker and had matched the price at the time with a equivalent purchase of Apple shares at same time and held on to them, you would have 32,000 dollars on a mere 349.00 dollar investment, shortsighted thinking doesn’t always pay.

The HomePod is worthless without wired connections at any price it flunk’s the basic function of operating as SPEAKER in any system without Apple holding it’s hand thru software. Siri is or should be a secondary function at that price the sound quality of music playback should be first and foremost.

Two steps forward one step back…..

The only holdup is marketing (slotting it into the so-called Mac range), a half size tower or a rack type enclosure is well within Apples tech capabilities, such a machine would sell many more times the number Apple currently sells in the current tower singular (sad only one) configuration.

And despite what Apple has done in the last 12 years there is a market for truck Mac’s and standalone Apple curated monitors of multiple sizes 24”, 27” 32”, Apple curation lead to better monitors than the LG or Samsung monitors. Not having a standalone Apple 24” monitor to match the 24” iMac is criminal.

That 32” XDR monitor enclosure is perfect for a new SOC/GPU iMac/Mac computer inside. Note Google, Samsung, Amazon and Microsoft will try to follow up with a me too cheap version soon after.

After all if you are going to dabble in TV/Movies make something that uses all of your in house OS/SOC chip tech with it, in a way that leaves competition scrambling.

JP234 said:

These are the two best-managed companies in America, probably the world. Nadella has successfully transitioned MS from a software company to a leader in cloud-based business services. Cook has turned Apple from a niche hardware/design firm into a global behemoth that Jobs never would have achieved. Both have relegated the stalwarts of the tech industry such as IBM, who have failed to see emerging trends, and are late out of the gate, to the dust of history.

The synergies afforded by cooperation are obvious. And both have made legions of smart investors billions.

Tim Cook has been a great CEO but isn’t Apple still coasting on what Steve Jobs (started) green lighted? Aside from the Apple Watch?