mbenz1962

I installed this update this morning on 3 of my routers. The recently updated express went from 7.8 to 7.8.1 as mentioned in the article. The gen 5 extreme (non ac) and the old express (gen 1 with wireless n) went from 7.6.9 to 7.8.1.
Apple’s documentation is a bit unclear regarding this old express. It lists two models of express which neither of which are this particular model. It lists the (now previous) firmware for the n express as 7.8 which was never released for this gen 1 model and the “original” express which didn’t have n and is left on 6.3. I thought I would highlight it since it isn’t spelled out in the article or in Apple’s own support doc and the info may be useful to folks who may still have this same model kicking around.
In my opinion this was by far the best designed express style router from Apple. It plugged into the wall with no power cable and was really compact. The status LED was big and easy to see. It is nice that a model that was originally released in 2008 is still getting updated.  Apple really tries to keep devices in service for as long as possible. Like Soli said previously, incredible!! 

bshank said:

The draw a path with finger or Apple Pencil to customize animations feature in Keynote is awesome!

True, but as a regular Pages user, I would like to see the Pencil even better supported through some form of handwriting recognition.  There are various apps out there that offer this and you can of course copy/paste from the clipboard or export text, but the majority of the apps that recognize handwriting have little to no ability to format text let alone whole documents (outline mode, etc).  Copying stuff back and forth and then reformatting the text to suit whatever pages doc you are working on is pretty tedious.  In general, the keyboard is a better input device for extended writing sessions. However, when you can't sit in front of a desk (on the bus, in car or airplane, sitting in the park, etc.) then the pencil is convenient because you hold the iPad with one hand and write with the other.  I would really like for Apple to add this feature, and they no doubt have lots of IP from as far back as the Newton era with which to build on.

Order placed (with wireless charger case)!  I hope my jogger wife likes them.

"I love a parade..."

macgui said:

Fucking idiots and crybabies on parade.

2013 — iPad Air, 64G, WiFi – $699; 128G, WiFi – $799
2014 — iPad Air 2, 64G, WiFi – $599; 128G, WiFi – $699 
2019 — iPad Air, 64G, WiFi –$499; 256G, WiFi – $649

This without even chronicling the added features with each new version.

You can spend more or less to balance screen size against features. If you're too stupid or lazy to grok the pricing and features, get a Surface, ream your rectum and pull your collective heads out of your asses.

iOS_Guy80 said:

Like the new tablet line up; new Mini, 9.7” and new 10.5”.  Then the Pro models. Why bother though with 64 gb as the entry level on any model? I know, marketing and profit margins.

There's also the fact that some people will be using iCloud and no computer, and 64G leaves a fair amount of room and keeps the price low. A LOT of people will buy the 256G and never come close to using it all. Maybe you should be asking why no 128G.

Man, you said it.  The most fall-over stupidly easy comparison is to the 10.5" Pro which was $649 just 2 days ago.  This iPad is nearly identical (minus the speakers, a lesser camera, and the 120Hz refresh) and adds a 2 generations newer processor (and co-processor) plus modem and Bluetooth spec bumps.  That is a $150 shaved off and you get a processor update in trade for a handful of features that you might not ever miss.  This update to the Air line was huge. The mini is exactly the same machine only with a smaller screen (and better ppi) for a whole $100 less.  I'm not sure why folks are looking at it vs the 9.7" as it is superior in every way only smaller.

We replaced the battery in my wife's SE at the very end December.  In early December the phone shut down unexpectedly triggering the performance throttling protocol even though the battery was only 88% (or possibly 86%, I forget exactly now) worn according to the report in settings.  So we took advantage of the reduced pricing (knowing the 2019 price would increase 20€) for the battery swap.  We were not ever considering replacing her phone this year as she really does not want a "large" iPhone and the smallest one Apple currently sells in Germany is the iPhone XS. 
So for us the reduced price for the battery swap only pulled in the exchange from 2019 to 2018; it didn't push off a phone sale from 2018 to 2019.  If Apple comes out with a smaller format phone in 2019, we will buy her a new iPhone even though we just replaced the battery in her SE.  I don't think that all (or even most) 9 million extra battery exchanges in 2018 translate to lost new phone sales. However, if we then buy a new phone in 2019 to the casual observer it would look like we did exactly that: postponed our "2018 purchase" to 2019 because we swapped the battery at a reduced cost.