jmgregory1

It’s nice to read about situations like this and how the Apple Watch has been helpful in people better managing their health, or even being alerted to potential issues that likely would have gone unnoticed had it not been for the Watch.  I’ve had my series 5 now for a couple of years and between it and my desire to work on my health during the pandemic, I’ve watched my resting heart rate drop from the upper 50’s to low 60’s to now in the upper 40’s to low 50’s.  

I get the low heart rate warning on my Watch at least once a week.  It generally happens just before dawn when my heart rate slips down from the low 40’s to the mid to upper 30’s.  But in my case, it’s a reflection of just how improved my cardio health is now.  I do cardio workouts 6 days a week and I can get my heart rate up to the 160’s and have it drop back down to a normal 50-ish rate within minutes of stopping a workout, which is crazy considering I used to feel wiped out after even a semi-strenuous workout.

The Watch isn’t making me healthier, but it does give me the tools to better recognize my own health, and has helped keep me motivated to continue my self improvement.

Remember when Apple used to refuse to pay dividends?  Wall Street constantly worked to punish Apple for that.  And now they purposely set revenue estimates as a way to control stock price, and make money on the shorts, mostly because Apple is now such a big target and even small swings in either direction can make people millions.  Thankfully Apple does the bare minimum to appease investors who have become used to companies trying to make their numbers look good month by month, or quarter by quarter.

It will be interesting to see if Apple uses the flat backed design of the iPad Pros with the updated MBP’s.  It would be a natural evolution in design, but Apple doesn’t always act the way we expect them to, because they’re doing all sorts of iterations and they figure out what works and doesn’t work for any design they’re launching.  I certainly can’t see them going backwards and adding in SD card support or HDMI at this point.  

Even MagSafe, or whatever they’d call it, doesn’t make the same sense it once did, especially with the M series products providing huge increases in battery life.  I remember back when I was traveling a ton with my 15” rMBP (2013 - 17), I would always have to find a place to plug in half way through a day, which is why with people plugged in at Starbucks, it was critical to have a quick-release plug for the inevitable tripped upon cord.  But today’s M1 MBA and MBP’s can literally last an entire day of use without needing to be charged, so why make a MagSafe-like charging option?

Got my M1 iPad Pro 12.9” last Friday, replacing my 2018 model, and the only thing I can complain about, is the Magic Keyboard.  I had been using the keyboard folio with my 2018 iPP, because I didn’t want to get the MK last year assuming Apple would be doing a much bigger iPad Pro update this year.  And boy does the MK really add a lot of weight and thickness to the iPP.  It works great, no complaints there, but it definitely feels more like a desktop stand/keyboard dock that is not really meant to be carried around.  I’ll likely get a folio for the times I don’t use the keyboard, or maybe I’ll just wrap the sides and back with a dBrand skin for some added protection.

It will definitely be interesting to see what Apple does with iPadOS going forward.  These new M1 iPads provide a great platform for serious work and play, not that they weren’t already great devices with the previous iterations.

I ordered one, which should arrive with the first wave.  I figured I would see how it sounds and works, before ordering a second, as I really want to have stereo sound using two of them in my kitchen / dining room.  And as others have noted, these could be great Christmas presents for those living in the Apple ecosystem.