charlesn

"The additions of things like ANC and Transparency immediately bring it in line as the sport-focused version of the AirPods Pro"

Exactly, Which is why I'm surprised the PBP2 wasn't compared directly to APP2 in areas like noise reduction and audio quality. As to how good these are in the latest USB-C version of APP2, I can only say this: I've mostly stopped using my AirPods Max completely because the AirPods Pro 2 are just THAT good. 

The addition of heart rate monitoring is really interesting, and I would think Apple will find a way to track heart rate even more accurately by analyzing signals from both the wrist and the ear if the user is wearing two devices. 

M68000 said:

SuntanIronMan said:

M68000 said:

tobian said:

I so love the convenience of TouchID on my SE3, superior to FaceID, I would say. Sad to see fingerprint sensor ditched on iPhones

Yeah,  why can’t we get an iPhone with under screen Touch ID?  Android phones have had that for years it seems.  Not everyone is keen to keep having their face scanned and hopefully there is no long term harm to the eyes.

Of the sun’s light that reaches the earth’s surface, about half of it is infrared. (With about 42% being visible light and the remaining 8% being ultraviolet.) You have been getting a face full of infrared light long before FaceID ever existed.

Yeah,  well remote controls use IR as well and they usually come with warning not to look directly at them. 

You need to post a screenshot of that warning -- I have AT LEAST a half dozen IR remotes from major manufacturers and not a single one ever came with a warning. And with good reason: do a search and learn that IR remotes are extremely low power and disperse IR over a wide area (i.e., no focused beam) and are absolutely not harmful to your eyes. They've also been in use since the 1980s, so there's a 40-year track record of safety. Of course, if you're going to put a magnifying glass over your eye and stare directly into an activated IR remote pressed against the other side of the magnifier, then yeah, maybe you shouldn't do that. 

Sounds like a fine idea but, as they say, the devil is in the details. Verbatim true story from CVS at the pharmacy counter the other night with a customer I was standing behind who was using the iPhone app:

Cust: Hi, I'm trying to find out what's happening with my prescription. I really need it, your app says you've been "working on it" for three days but it's still not ready for pickup? No one ever answers the phone when I call, so I came in. What's happening?

CVS: (checking computer screen) Oh, your insurance company didn't approve it, so now we're waiting for your doctor to call us back with more information, so we can call the insurance company and try to get approval. 

Cust: But the prescription WAS approved. 

CVS: I'm sorry, sir, no it wasn't.

Cust: (holding up phone) But look, it says it was approved. 

CVS: I'm sorry, sir, but I can't go by something you have on your phone. 

Cust: But this is YOUR app that's saying it's approved. Look--it's the CVS app and it says "Approved." 

CVS: Well we have no way of confirming that here. 

Ugh. We've all ended up in conversations like this at one time or another and it truly is a special level of hell. 

Here's my prediction which you can take to the bank: in any year following the major redesign of a product, Apple will offer no more than a speedbump spec update. Wow, I must be psychic. 

dewme said:

When you consider how much raw horsepower and optics are behind the Studio Display camera you would expect a whole lot more from it. 

Exactly. The $1599 Studio Display camera SHOULD be significantly better than what you get in the $1299 all-in-one iMac and it's not. Pre-Covid, you might have said, "Well, how often do I really use the webcam?" But now? Even with the back-to-office orders, Zoom meetings are going to remain a key part of doing business. I'm not saying that the camera is bad, it's not, but "good enough" isn't good enough when you're spending this kind of money for 27 inches of screen. You shouldn't need to use your iPhone and Continuity Camera to get the best possible image.