rattlhed

GeorgeBMac said:

So, what does 120Hz refresh do for you?   Is it only for gaming?

Likewise:

What is "10 bit color depth" and what does that do for you?   (actually, sounds suspiciously like "a two-bit frill").

Should I be excited about either of these?  Do they justify the 2/3's markup over the base iPhone 12?   (Yeh, I know there are other sifferences, but they don't interest me)

Faster refresh rate means less screen blur when scrolling, display is sharper.  I have witnessed this when upgrading to a 144hz gaming monitor from my old standard 60hz. Even in Windows when moving windows around the screen and scrolling web pages the display is so much easier on the eyes.  Motion blur is almost non-existent and it's more like reading a page in a book vs. a digital screen.  You have to see it to understand but it's a big upgrade.  How this translates to a smaller form factor like a phone I can't say, but it sure sounds promising.
Faster refresh also means better registering of physical input.  Taps, pinch to zoom, etc. all respond better since the screen is taking faster inputs.  Should create a better interface feeling with the phone.  
As for whether the price increase is justified we'll just have to wait until we get our hands on it.  I have an 11 Pro and I'm still not sure I'll be upgrading this year or waiting until next year.  A lot depends on what Lydar has to offer and if the camera upgrades are significant enough.  My 11 Pro is still a workhorse, battery is going strong after 9 months and it's snappier as always, so it's going to have to impress a lot to get me to pay for the next version.

Soli said:

I hope AI also does a comparative review of the AirPods Pro against the Powerbeats Pro since both are in-ear and at the same MSRP.

I would love to see this.  I purchased a pair of Powerbeats Pro when they came out in hopes that the improved seal over airpods would help to eliminate outside noise when running, but honestly I don't find them to be any quieter than airpods, especially when it's windy they allow way too much noise in and it's almost impossible to hear them.  Also, the charging is very fidgety and many times I'll pull them out of the case only to find them down to 5-10% because even though they were snug in the case they were not maintaining the connection with the charging points.  Yes, they do stay very snug on the ear, but I've never had a problem with airpods falling out and have jogged with them with no issues. In hindsight wish I would not have purchased the Powerbeats Pro, but I did.  First Apple product I've been dissatisfied with.

javacowboy said:

Honest question:  Have any of you actually tried Surfaces, for work or otherwise?

What are you impressions?  What are the distinct pros and cons?

I've been using the Surface Pro 4 at work for about 2 years now.  It's not a good machine.  It's buggy, even using Microsoft Office, Excel crashes at least a couple times a week.  Using an external monitor is hit and miss.  Sometimes upon boot it won't recognize the monitor without multiple restarts.  Mapping network drives is a constant struggle as it fails to remember which drives I have mapped.  It's slow and heats up quite often.  Our company was pretty excited about the potential of these machines, but has already started phasing them out in favor of HP laptops which are performing much better.  I have not experience the product after the 4th generation so I don't know if they have improved, but based on my experience I would not recommend them.

applguy said:

In the App Store where do I go to see what apps need to be updated? (Auto update is off)

The update button seems to have been replaced with Arcade. 

Click on your user icon in the very top right corner of the app store screen and that will take you to a list of all your apps, and you can update from there.

The AW4 is an absolute marvel of technology.  I upgraded from a Series 2, and this thing is night and day better.  Everything responds instantly, zero lag...I mean zero!  Having cellular is so damn nice, and even having Siri speak back questions and commands makes it so much more useful.  And that new screen on the 44mm, holy crap, so big and roomy.  I'm sure the watch will continue to improve each year, but right now it feels like this watch has finally become what was envisioned when they first introduced the idea a few years ago.  Reminds me of the leap to retina display on the iPhone and how much of a game changer that was.