Sanctum1972

AppleZulu said:

Sanctum1972 said:

davgreg said:

rcfa said:

firelock said:

If Apple offers this it will be essentially a “desktop” iPad aimed at artist studios, designers, architects, etc.

Yeah, at which point it simply should run macOS.
If you want to run iPad apps, there’s Catalyst and full-screen-mode.
The whole point of the restrictive touchUI is gone once screen sizes go up.

No, there is a niche that it would fill nicely.
The Surface Studio from MS is there. 

I would love an iPad OS desktop device that can tilt down for pencil use or be upright with all the proper connectivity and a regular power supply.

I would not mind that if that were to happen. I would rather they remove the camera from the iPad Pro, block all games, and make it 'creator' edition only for visual art/design, photography, etc. That would be a nice counter to the Surface Studio. If one wants to shoot images or videos, use the iPhone or actual camera and transfer the images to it. Not that hard. 

Why would Apple look to a competitor's product that isn't remotely as successful as their own iPads and MacBooks and come to the conclusion that they'd like to ditch their approach in favor of that? It seems pretty clear that Apple doesn't see a need to "counter" a less successful product.

Also, you don't have to use the camera or install any games on your iPad if you don't want to. What purpose would it serve for Apple to remove features from their pro model that are available on their less expensive devices? I can only imagine the mocking internet chatter if Apple released a "creator" edition iPad Pro while claiming that removing the camera from it is a special feature for artists and photographers. That makes a lot of sense.

The idea is that a larger iPad Pro that's 17 inches works better for creatives due to large screen estate while the Surface Studio is about 25 inches ( screen size ) because one can view an entire document all at once and with better multi-tasking. An iPad mini wouldn't cut it, not even a 9.7 iPad. 11 inches or 12.9 is close but needs to go bigger. And the reason I suggest removing the camera is to keep the cost down and make the iPad more 'focused' and less distracting in terms of workflow. It doesn't make sense to shoot videos or images from an iPad camera when in most cases the iPhone lens appear to be better. So why bother? The only very few people I've seen who dared use an iPad to shoot videos are parents at the local fencing tournaments, based on my experience. The others used their phones or actual camera gear, even a GoPro. 

There's nothing 'less successful' about the competitor's products because they're already out in the market and I know a professional artist who uses an XP-Pen has a 16 inch screen ( Wacom competitor ) which is cheaper and does get the job done. It doesn't make it 'less successful'. It just has its specialized use which works for him. Have you ever seen comic book artists in conventions? I have and they draw from 11 x 17 illustration boards which is the industry standard. It's old school but they still use them. And yes, I'm aware some are already working with digital tools between Wacom, Apple, XP-Pen, Huion, etc. I used the same board myself and even worked on Clip Studio Paint app on the desktop and iOS platform with custom page settings. 

cg27 said:

StrangeDays said:

cg27 said:

And while Apple Watch now can alert you to noisy high decibel surroundings, I hope this is merely a baby step towards Apple offering...

full fledged AirPod hearing aids,

which I’ll call AirPodEars.

Only Apple has the cachet to overnight rid the perceived stigma of wearing hearing aids (which prevents many folks from even considering them, let alone the high cost of purchase and battery replacements).

Not only that, by virtue of Apple designing them they could actually be fashionable, just as eye glasses are.

And coupled with AppleWatch and/or iPhone control, the AirPodEars would be far simpler, superior and cheaper to purchase and operate.

Come on Apple, I’m sure this must be in development.

A friend has an iPhone app-controlled hearing aid. It is so small I didn’t even notice it until he pointed it out. That being said, I have zero expectation for Apple to build this first-party. Just like how they don’t build printers, scanners, or many other specialty accessories. 

I don’t disagree that Apple hearing aids might seem too niche, however:

+ On average 10,000 Americans turn 65 EVERY day, and this baby boom generation will need plenty of hearing help

+ It bears repeating: Only Apple has the cachet to make hearing aids acceptable to the vast majority with no stigma, so much so that they wouldn’t need to be hidden or tiny but rather obvious like AirPods, thus allowing better and rechargeable battery life without the need for expensive battery replacements

+ Replacing $300 AirPodEars would be a lot cheaper than the $2000 or more aids cost now (each for the better ones)

+ In fact, if they look identical to AirPods or AirPod Pros, no one would know if they were regular AirPods or hearing enhancers.

- The only negatives I can see for Apple is that the demographic tends to be older (thus generally less hip) and having lead the way with iPods and everyone blasting music in their ears Apple might be overly sensitive to being associated with helping cause the hearing loss in the first place

+ Apple could offer these readily.  Medical device approvals shouldn’t be that difficult with Apple’s R&D capability 

+ Apple would be admired for turning a major stigma inside out (from scourge to fashion statement, if one so chooses)

I'm born deaf myself with severe hearing loss on the left and profound on the right, wearing only one digital hearing aid on the left side. I've literally grown up with the HA with a box in a shirt pocket with wires  ( think headphones ) from the late 70s all the way to BTE ( behind the ear ) design and can say that digital hearing aids are now the standard. I loved the analog aids due to their bass and volume sound quality, not to mention that they were a lot cheaper in the range of $500-800, sometimes $1,200 for a pair at the most. However, they've been phased out mostly in favor of digital which has to be programmed by the audiologist. My current digital hearing aid is from Phonak and cost about $1,200. Just for one. Fortunately, insurance coverage was available and I have a very good audiologist. 

Also, hearing aids are considered 'medical' devices that can be covered by insurance, or if one can afford to pay in cash/credit. An Apple designed hearing aid would require approval to be covered by insurance as a medical device. My problem is with the actual design of AirPods that go right into your ear canal in contrast to the BTE design which is a lot more stable and more powerful ( think Beats Pro headphones with ear hooks ).

And you literally have to have a earmold cast for the hearing aid to fit into your ear properly. Also digital hearing aids that are controlled by an iPhone concerns me in that if you lose the phone, how do you control the HA? 

Most importantly, for a hearing aid to work for the person with hearing loss, a hearing test must be done by an audiologist to determine the level of loss and which type of HA works best. Therefore, Apple's 'one size fits all' solution won't work. Consider this. Analog hearing aids are like amplifiers but they're designed to work with someone's specific hearing loss or deafness as they all differ for each person. Trust me, I've tried the 'in your ear' hearing aid years ago and it didn't sound good to me and that was because it wasn't powerful enough to provide 'oomph' and didn't match my hearing loss. This is why I cannot use the regular EarPods that came with the iPhone as they don't fit in my ear at all and have to rely on a HATIS headset that uses telecoil to block out the background noise entirely and only focuses on the audio ( shaped like a hook a wire straight to the headphone jack  or adapter ) or use a bluetooth receiver with an 8 hour battery with a neck loop that can stream music or audio ( ie. movies, video calls, etc ) straight from any iOS device or PC. I got the receiver from the audiologist which usually costs over $100. 

Cochlear implants, OTOH, are a huge issue right now with the deaf community as an ongoing debate ( which has been viewed for years as a method of identity eugenics of sorts ) and mega expensive which I've heard horror stories about. I've seen the effects of it from a very old classmate I grew up with years ago and felt bad for him when he couldn't hear for two weeks post surgery, waiting to get proper activation. 

So in short, if you have vision needs ( ie. astigmatism or such ) with glasses, you go to an eye care professional for this. Same thing goes for hearing loss/deafness. I don't see Apple having the ability to design a hearing aid in an AirPod style design. 

And lastly, I do NOT see a practical use for AR goggles to replace the phone for the deaf or hard of hearing. Not one bit. Consider the fact that every deaf person I've known relies completely on texting or video calls to communicate. With AR goggles, it would not solve a long distance phone call as they cannot see each other. You need a camera so that they can see each other's sign language 'face to face'. Even if they're in public, I've heard stories how some have used special iOS live transcription apps to capture conversations in public to communicate. I use app such as Sign or Cardzilla where one types in large text and flashes the message across the room as you hold up the phone, especially handy in noisy environments like nightclubs or such. It works every time.

Plus, they have certain criteria when you use sign language on screen by wearing dark clothing so that the hands can be seen by contrast, especially if they're using a VRS ( video relay service ) who have call operators on screen to follow strict ASL protocol. I don't sign much as I was originally taught to speak orally in an audist program as ASL wasn't allowed at the time but these days, I'm still learning some of them to catch up and use in case of an emergency. 

But I would love Apple to build a small bluetooth device that clips on a shirt or stays tucked in clothing as a method to stream iOS music/audio to your hearing aid. There was a outdoor company ( this is the firm: https://www.outdoortechnology.com/ ) that made a rechargeable dongle with a clip and had an iPod like wheel with audio controls but with a headphone jack. Because where I live in New England, products like these are popular for outdoor activities. All you had to do was clip it to your belt or shirt and jack the old school headphones to it and walk around the house listening to music. This product came around around 2011-2012 ( I think) long before AirPods were a thing. And even if I'm driving, wind noise from the car door ( usually with closed windows ) usually masks my voice and I can't always raise Siri to access the map and I've wished there was a small bluetooth microphone to clip to my jacket so I don't have to scream for Siri.

NOTE: by the way, there are some hearing aids that are rechargeable but aren't cheap and most commonly require a battery which you can buy online or at a store, or audiologist. I use a size 675 for this and get huge packs from Amazon from a German company which is cheaper than what you get in the store. 

2nd NOTE: I want to mention that a local AR player on Ingress for iOS crossed my path a few times and once I met him in person, he had an in the ear headset for his phone to make calls. I noticed that he kept it in his ear the whole time and he mentioned that he uses it to 'pick up' the conversation with his phone that's set on the table or in front of people. I suggested he talk to an audiologist due to his hearing loss and see if he can get insurance to get a new hearing aid without relying on the headset but I haven't seen him in over a year or so. The point is that headsets such as AirPods are NOT a replacement for hearing aids. 

franklinjackcon said:

It may not have been obvious too all but Microsoft aren't actually trying to sell Windows 1.0 so a review of it probably isn't necessary

Exactly. This article or review blog was almost off the point because this was about M$ turning it into a game mentioned at Bleeding Cool. See here:

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/07/09/microsofts-stranger-things-3-inspired-windows-1-11-app-chock-full-of-games-galore/

That's what this is about. Windows did exist in '85 but in a different way. It was designed to be used at the store online via Windows 10. So I think whoever wrote this subjective piece didn't get the memo nor dug in further to get the actual truth in why this campaign by M$ was created. 

AppleExposed said:

Sanctum1972 said:

rogifan_new said:

Well Apple does know how to keep secrets. I still think all these hot takes of [insert Apple product I don’t like here] is because of Ive is a little too simplistic. John Gruber was pretty scathing in his blog post. But if you read the New Yorker profile it’s clear Ive never wanted the role of “THE product guy” at Apple. It’s everyone else crowned him that person.

He is now one of the two most powerful people in the world’s most valuable company. He sometimes listens to CNBC Radio on his hour-long commute from San Francisco to Apple’s offices, in Silicon Valley, but he’s uncomfortable knowing that a hundred thousand Apple employees rely on his decision-making—his taste—and that a sudden announcement of his retirement would ambush Apple shareholders. (To take a number: a ten-percent drop in Apple’s valuation represents seventy-one billion dollars.) According to Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’s widow, who is close to Ive and his family, “Jony’s an artist with an artist’s temperament, and he’d be the first to tell you artists aren’t supposed to be responsible for this kind of thing.” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/23/shape-things-come

It seems pretty clear with his working on Apple Campus and Apple Stores that he was getting bored designing computers. Which makes me wonder just how much he was involved in things like the butterfly keyboard. I doubt he spent much time at all on software design. I do wonder what will happen now. Surely Jeff Williams overseeing his teams is temporary. But I wonder if they’ll put the human interface team under software engineering and the industrial designers under hardware engineering and get rid of the CDO position for good.

 I expect that position to be phased out for good. After all, the Chief Design Officer position is not very common so in that sense, he had one foot inside Apple and the other foot outside of it. And yes, boredom does happen when creative burnout occurs. I'm sure he'll do some contractual work for Apple time to time but when it comes to some of the work, I suspect the internal design team will keep it in-house for NDA purposes. The allure of going independent as a designer or creative is very strong even though he claimed that his work with Apple is not done even though with some limits so that he can juggle between clients. The signs of him wanting to get the F out were there.

I'm curious, what were the signs? I never saw any.

I think it goes way back some time after Jobs passed away and Jony didn't have much of a sounding board from someone who speaks on his wavelength. And when Apple apparently brought Marc Newson on board, it was for that reason and to deal with the Apple Watch design and probably a few other things just so that Ive's creative juices continue to flow. So I get that and know what it's like to create without having some critique or feedback. 

Fast forward to the iPhone 6 and then on with the same design language, along with the MacBooks. Even iMacs. They seemed to not have changed much but only to a small degree. It's as if Joy was sitting there content with the design and focused on side projects outside of Apple such as the Christmas Tree, Holga(?) camera redesign for auctioning, a chair ( if I recall ), and several other things that seemed to take up his time along with the Apple Park planning. It was as if he was twiddling his thumbs, itching to do things outside of Apple's scope. 

And then the next signs were Angela Arendts exit and the industrial design team members which was a big hit. It was right there is when I smelled a big exit is in the making. If I were Jony and I see a bunch of my close design colleagues leaving Apple Park, life would get very lonely and seeing all new faces there would probably make things worse. It's that sense of creative isolation that probably drove him to decide that and also he did mention wanting to go back to England/UK. It would make sense for Jony to follow them that way.

AppleExposed said:

I've feared this day and it's finally come.

I saw it coming and was bound to happen. Going independent is the most natural thing to do rather than be 'ball and chain' ed to Apple for life.