Gaby

I’d be interested to know that if when you manually lock the phone down with a long press on sleep/wake + volume - which locks biometrics and necessitates password Re entry, if this is considered BFU or AFU. Technically it is AFU, but from what I remember Apple execs discussing, that is supposed to lock down the phone. In which case it is still feasible to lock people out without a power down. Hmmm.... 

georgie01 said:

Doesn’t everyone know that Facebook is entitled to harvest user data that doesn’t belong to them? It’s for the users’ benefit of course. Just like censoring content is for the users’ benefit. Facebook is like a god and should be worshipped and obeyed. Gods like Facebook are entitled to dictate what millions and millions of people should be doing and hearing, and they are entitled to know everything about their users (and anyone connected to them) in order to continue their pursuit of power.

Exactly. The proletariat should be honoured to service the needs and whims of the Elite.

CheeseFreeze said:

I like Apple’s initiatives, as long as they apply the same rules for themselves.

However, this is an interesting situation. Forget Facebook an how evil many people think that company is for a moment. 

Facebook has a business model. Which is around advertising. 

If Apple dictates to other companies how they should run their business, this can be perceived as blocking competition, or at least abusing platform power, blocking free market principles.

I would propose a system where this can be turned on/off by the end-user (off by default) on an app to app basis, and the ability for app developers to deny access to users who turned it off. 

Excuse me but have you been stranded on a desert island or do you just not bother to read? Point one - Apple is not dictating a business model to anybody. Facebook and the like can advertise all they wish, without invading users privacy - which they seem to think they have an inalienable right to..
second of all Apple fully intends to allow them to continue in the same vain, as long as a user explicitly tells them that they allow this on an app by app basis. It will be off by default, and upon opening, the user will be presented with a splash screen asking if they give their permission to be tracked. It isn’t even really about advertising per se, it’s about creating detailed profiles of individuals  and harvesting a worrying amount of data from them. And look, whether or not people allow access to the IDFA, users are still being monetised so it’s a moot point.  Apple aren’t simply banning advertising, they’re helping to protect users privacy. I for one am grateful. Facebook has very slowly but surely over the years become more and more invasive, deceitful and bold with its tactics as they have slowly eradicated competition. I think Facebook and it’s employees are morally corrupt. They are a menace and a threat to society.   I personally hope they go bankrupt. The sooner, the better for everyone. 

Perhaps Facebook needs reminding that people have been advertising since the late 1400’s, and indeed British newspapers were selling ads successfully back in the 17th century, and it’s only flourished since then. Given that advertisers have done very well for centuries at this point, and were doing great prior to the invasive tracking technology (that’s barely a decade old) was introduced, I think they’ll survive. And they still have Android users to exploit too so.....
If not they’ll simply have to adapt.

Well mine arrived early this morning. I have to say that I’ve been awaiting them with a mix of giddy excitement and dread. Dread mainly because I was thinking that the price is largely unjustifiable for a product in this sort of category, but that if the sound and of course the ANC/features and build truly caught my attention that I’d likely keep them no matter what. For anyone interested in my thoughts on them....
I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile, and have owned and currently own several pairs of headphones and high end speakers. I recently bought the XM4 to compare with B&W’s PX7 so my first thought is that I’ll absolutely return those and quite possibly sell my PX7 if I keep them.  Up to now I can say undoubtedly these are superior in sound to the Sony, and are at the very least on par with the ANC. The XM4’s have some nifty tricks up their sleeves however which add to their allure - the adaptive ANC/transparency and EQ that can be customised based on ones current activity or movement, and if you don’t mind the potential privacy implications they can even change based on very specific locations and GPS coordinates. Now the AirPods max could theoretically be updated to provide some of that functionality depending on how well patented it is and if Apple can and indeed does wish to get around it. The AirPods possess a few tricks also which almost put them in a category all of their own in terms of integration with iOS - which most of you will be familiar with. On top of that I can say that the spatial audio implementation here is a cut above that on the AirPods Pro and quite engaging - likely helped by their being over ears coupled with the high quality custom transducers. They’re by no means light headphones, which whilst adding to the sense of luxury, is potentially problematic for some with smaller noggins, though they fit remarkably well and stay in place once seated correctly. Moreover they almost give the impression of floating on the crown of your head thanks to the mesh canopy. Once you find what suits they stay put quite nicely, and they have just the right amount of grip. Coming back to price, yes without a doubt for many they are eye-wateringly expensive, perhaps prohibitively so, and though they sound excellent, the law of diminishing returns surely applies here. But I do think there’s a market for them, and in my limited testing so far they definitely have something about them! For Apple’s first attempt at a proper set of over ear cans, I give them credit where it’s due! And in typical Apple fashion they are something to behold as well. For anyone into quality cans, they absolutely deserve an audition. I’ll keep testing and make my mind up in a couple of weeks but they certainly get a thumbs up so far.... even if I may have to live in a tent in order to keep them 😂