The argument is a bit asinine. If the customer has half dozen bricks from previous iPhones (and by association half a dozen USB-A to lightning cables), they will all work with the new iPhones.
A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
161–170 of 385 posts
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#162I really hate arguments about how much electricity wireless phone charging wastes because it makes people feel like they’re doing something when in fact they aren’t. Charging a cell phone every day for a year consumes about 1-2 kWh per phone. The average American household consumes 10,399 kWh per year, meaning that a typical smart phone consumes one 5000th, (0.02%) of a typical home’s electricity (excl. natural gas)…
I do notice a certain glee we have when we can frame other people wasting energy in ways we don't happen to waste ourselves. As if wireless phone charging or bitcoin mining or X are the last unturned stones in the pursuit of zero waste. Some condescension we can share on HN before we drive to Walmart for a single gallon of milk. It's weird how tempting it is. I had a roommate that used our clothes dryer daily. I have…
Well put. I’ve noticed a definite condescension towards those “wasteful” people in climates that virtually require air conditioning in the summer (e.g. almost anywhere in the Southern US). Yet they conveniently forget that heating in cold climates is usually more energy intensive than A/C is in warm climates.
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm guessing a big part of it is the MASSIVE accessory ecosystem that's built around the iPhone. People have docks, cases, chargers, cables, etc. that all work with Lightning. I think also that USB-C is a more complicated protocol. Not all USB-C cables and ports are created equal and it could be a massive headache for them to deal with all the incompatibilities that might arise.
They dropped the 30pin connector, which had a lot more accessories. Same for the jack.
They did, but they used it for 11 years.
The lightning connector, while still kinda old, isn't that old yet.
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
Gahaha, this has to be a joke. Man, Apple doesn't even need a marketing department when they got fans willing to die on a hill for them. I refuse to believe that you are so obtuse to think that your device cost went down. Apple keeps increasing the price each year regardless of circumstances, their cost went down, not yours. What we should congratulate them for is to be able to skimp out on users, sell them a story a…
The value for money you get with each device keeps going up. The update support lifetime keeps going up to the point where devices are getting 6+ years of updates while the SoC gets further ahead of the snapdragon range every year. I have both android tablets and an iPad from 2014 and the ipad still feels like a modern device with the latest OS version while the android tablets are stuck on a 2015 build of android an…
I won't dispute the state of Android tablets. You are right there, android tablets suck, iPad is a way better product, and it has a really good value for money ($350 ftw).
Yes, the SoC gets improved each year, but so does their ability to manufacture, i.e. the manufacturing costs should go down, and they keep spending the same amount on R&D to innovate. Economies of scale also play its part.
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#165I really hate arguments about how much electricity wireless phone charging wastes because it makes people feel like they’re doing something when in fact they aren’t. Charging a cell phone every day for a year consumes about 1-2 kWh per phone. The average American household consumes 10,399 kWh per year, meaning that a typical smart phone consumes one 5000th, (0.02%) of a typical home’s electricity (excl. natural gas)…
Is it just one person who is charging their phone wirelessly, or does it have the potential to be a large societal trend?
Assuming everybody were doing it, the percentage of residential power wasted on it would still be miniscule. And residential is only about a third of all power consumption. You may as well try to empty an ocean with a thimble.
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm indifferent. On the one hand, yeah, USB-C works great, and everything else I own takes it. On the other hand, Lightning also works great, USB-C isn't an improvement on the merits, and iPhone users have a bunch of accessories for it. Like in my car, I have a 12v charger with one USB-A port and a built-in Lightning cable, and I'd have to either junk it or just ignore the built in cable if they went USB-C. I'm prett…
My concern with them removing the port is what what would happen to everyone whose car's entertainment unit supports CarPlay but not wireless CarPlay?
Does anyone other than BMW have wireless CarPlay?
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do notice a certain glee we have when we can frame other people wasting energy in ways we don't happen to waste ourselves. As if wireless phone charging or bitcoin mining or X are the last unturned stones in the pursuit of zero waste. Some condescension we can share on HN before we drive to Walmart for a single gallon of milk. It's weird how tempting it is. I had a roommate that used our clothes dryer daily. I have…
Well put. I’ve noticed a definite condescension towards those “wasteful” people in climates that virtually require air conditioning in the summer (e.g. almost anywhere in the Southern US). Yet they conveniently forget that heating in cold climates is usually more energy intensive than A/C is in warm climates.
Or you can just get a sweatter and let the house get cold. So long as the pipes don't freeze, a furnace can easily be run less without a substantial reduction in comfort. On the other hand when it's hot, there is only so nude you can get.
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#168I really hate arguments about how much electricity wireless phone charging wastes because it makes people feel like they’re doing something when in fact they aren’t. Charging a cell phone every day for a year consumes about 1-2 kWh per phone. The average American household consumes 10,399 kWh per year, meaning that a typical smart phone consumes one 5000th, (0.02%) of a typical home’s electricity (excl. natural gas)…
I do notice a certain glee we have when we can frame other people wasting energy in ways we don't happen to waste ourselves. As if wireless phone charging or bitcoin mining or X are the last unturned stones in the pursuit of zero waste. Some condescension we can share on HN before we drive to Walmart for a single gallon of milk. It's weird how tempting it is. I had a roommate that used our clothes dryer daily. I have…
[deleted]
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
Odds are no one reading HN is going to find this "difficult", but there is no question that this is a noticeable diversion from earlier eras and that the sheer number of options can be confusing for some people. Take a look at this graphic [1]. There was a point early on in which there was zero choice and Apple sold only one iPhone. There were several years in which they usually offered somewhere in the neighborhood…
I feel like there's precedence for this at Apple, even during Jobs' tenure. During the mid-'00s there was a sudden rush of new iPod types- iPod with Photo, iPod with color displays, iPod with Video, different form factor iPod Mini and iPod Nano iterations all within a few years. I remember being confused even then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iPod_models#Timeline_o...
Don't the product segments seem much more natural with the iPod?
Shuffle - Small with no screen
Mini/Nano - Small with a screen
Classic - Classic form factor with occasionally offshoots with new features like photos or video
Touch - iPhone form factor
There seems to be clear lines of delineation between all those products. Those lines are much less clear when looking at the iPhone XR, 11, and 12.
Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store
#170Enjoyed that read. You really do paint a picture.