kiwimachead

No idea why anyone would want a non pro iPhone at the present time. The pro models are excellent devices, albeit way too expensive compared with other brands which offer similar or superior features for similar or less outlay than a standard iPhone. I hang on to my Apple gear for a number of years, they are paid for by my small business and have a stupid sentimental attachment to the Mac and Apple’s ecosystem, so grudgingly accept the extra cost for the time being, but there are plenty of other great personal computing device options.

Was interested in an AVP initially but have gone off the idea. It’s another Newton 2000 (I had one!); a cool idea in theory but really overpriced, clunky and of limited use. For the price of a AVP you could buy an iPhone 16, an M3 MacBook Air and an Apple Watch 10, or a stunning 77” TV!

Pro convert since the 14, waiting out for a 17 Pro max as AI features should be dialed in by then... Even though the pro models are damn expensive and the standard iPhone is getting closer in its features, running a really busy small business I find the pro res screen, camera functionality, battery life, toughness of the phone body and screen have been game changers. 

timmillea said:

I have an M1 MBA 16gb/2TB and wonder how long I will have to wait before Apple produces something that will actually excite me enough to upgrade? 

Regarding fans, once you have been fan-less, there is no going back. Like children, computers should be "seen and not heard". For studio sound recording, it means you no longer need a 'booth' and do you really want to be distracted by a change of fan speed, up or down, while writing? Silence is bliss and its value cannot be underestimated. 

My next Mac will be a fan-less, small laptop with either 8 or 16 TB internal storage. A mini would be tempting except that an MBA can do everything a mini can do plus it is also a laptop. Otherwise, I could just buy an NVMe thunderbolt-connected 8TB and make my current M1 MBA last another 10 years. 

Hear you. M series MBA’s are brilliant and anticipate keeping my new M3 for a long time. Apart from the silent operation, battery life is for me the most impressive thing in newer MacBooks. In my experience as a Mac user since the ‘90’s, the biggest increase in product lifespans came with the introduction of the SSD. A while ago now I had an MBP for work and an MBA at home (both 2011 models). The same Ram and storage but the little 11” MBA had an SSD and it massively outperformed the Pro, actually lasting until earlier this year when the NVRAM finally died, but otherwise it was still snappy chugging along with Photoshop, Office and Safari/Chrome windows open. Prior to the introduction of SSD’s, my Mac’s would become too bogged down to enjoy using after a few years.

Fingers crossed the next gen ATV comes along soon and that Apple introduce a specced up version to allow casual gaming. Our gen1 4K is feeling over the hill - not updating and out of storage with only a handful of tv apps (not enough storage for any of the Apple Arcade games).