john-useless

sdw2001 said:

Maybe I'm just not imaginative, but I've never understood the push for foldable smartphones or tablets.  I could see this for larger displays, for portability reasons.  I guess it would help the issue of phones being so large that they fall out of pockets, etc.  

Before buying the first of my many iPhones in 2007 or 2008, my previous phones were a Motorola StarTac and a Motorola Razr. If memory serves, both were considered premium flip phones in their days. The former was plasticky in construction but felt great to use (and I especially liked how that one easily slipped in and out of a little holster clipped to my belt at my waist), and the latter's metal construction and color screen felt space-age to use at the time (even if its software was unappealing, even when new). Snapping them shut with one hand to end a call felt incredibly satisfying! And they both hardly took up any space when folded. So I definitely see the appeal.

I have slowly progressed from the original iPhone's 3.5-inch screen to carrying around full-size iPhones (first a 7 Plus, now a Xs Max). An iPhone 12 Pro Max folded in half might end up being too bulky, but an iPhone 12 Pro folded in half might be just right. It seems inevitable that Apple will release a flip phone, and I can't wait to see what they come up with. If using it is as satisfying as my old Motorolas, I might even go back to wearing a nerdy belt holster for it.

fastasleep said:

fred1 said:

I wonder how much the Kia name will affect the whole image of the Apple car. Kia may be a fine producer of cars, I don’t know, but I believe it”s seen as producing inexpensive cars for the lower sector of the market. Even if Apple has full control of every aspect of the design and manufacture, will people be able to disassociate it from the Kia brand?

Apple doesn't build any of their products, they use manufacturing partners that also build products for many other companies — you know that right?

I think it's a fair point to wonder about partnering with Kia. Consumers spend a much higher portion of their incomes on personal transportation than on Apple products (not counting some Mac Pro configurations). If the rumor mill was saying that Apple was considering partnering with the U.S.-based manufacturing arms of BMW or Mercedes-Benz, many consumers' first reaction would be, "Well, those are expensive cars, so Apple's car will be expensive and therefore good." Or if the rumors said Apple was considering partnering with Honda's U.S.-based operations, consumers might react by thinking "Honda has been known for value and quality for decades." It's true that Kia, along with sister brands Hyundai and Genesis, have enjoyed improved quality rankings in recent years. But many of us in the USA remember that automaker's reputation as a maker of cheap, unreliable cars from the late 1980s (when they first entered the U.S. market) and 1990s, and news reports suggest company hasn't entirely escaped its quality issues in recent years.

I'm a fan of all things Apple … but I won't consider buying an Apple car until perhaps its fifth or sixth model year (after enough are on the roads to have established a reputation for reliability, hopefully), especially considering that Apple's car is more likely to have BMW pricing than Kia pricing, regardless of who builds it for them.

According to the Apple press release, "AirPods Max require Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later." Since AirPods Max availability begins Tuesday, December 15, apparently we can expect all those OS upgrades to drop on December 15 as well. Apple Fitness+ was rumored to become available with iOS 14.3, so December 15 will be another newsworthy day for Apple watchers.