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A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

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Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#181

Post by TeMPOraL »

samatman wrote: post #38

Literally every one of the existing options still works. Ok with charging at 5w? Plug your lightning-to-A cable into the little tiny cube charger they've been selling since forever. Already have a faster USB charger? It works. Ok with Qi at 7W? Works Oh, you want the new shiny MagSafe puck system? Great. Buy it. This analysis completely ignores that the new shiny system is supposed to be a better experience . It's co…

> This analysis completely ignores that the new shiny system is supposed to be a better experience.

It doesn't ignore it, it's explicitly about it.

What the article is saying is that Apple is sending out conflicting marketing messages. On the one hand, they advertise the lack of charger in an iPhone box by their environmental consciousness. On the other hand, they advertise the "full experience", in order to get which you need to buy a new charger and a new cable. The author isn't asking Apple to change their packaging strategy; the author wants Apple to make the marketing consistent.

(Personally, I think the two messages only lend credence to the cynical view: that Apple's environmental concern is bullshit, and it's all a way to hide a price increase behind "optional" dongles, hoping the buyers are too dumb or too committed to the brand to notice.)

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#182

Post by dexterdog »

throwanem wrote: post #75
Zak wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm disappointed Apple hasn't dropped Lightning and just made all their devices use standard USB-C. I could see their motivation for developing their own connector when everyone else was using micro-B, which has a number of disadvantages, but now USB-C is used to power virtually every other phone and tablet, and many laptops including Apple's own.

I'd take the power brick out of the box and introduce the new wireless charging stuff first, too. Let people finish yelling about that first, then set off the inevitable rehash of the "but none of my dock connector accessories will work with my new phone! Apple just wants more money argh argh argh" fussing.

Not to mention the problem with wireless charging you find with thick cases, pop sockets and ring stand thingies.

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#183

Post by diebeforei485 »

The only criticism I have is that Apple stuck with USB-A far too long.

If people are happy with slow charging, they can just buy new cables to replace their fraying old cables.

Apple's PVC-free cables tend to fray if they are bent or stretched a lot, but there are plenty of cables with a PVC outer jacket (eg. AmazonBasics or Monoprice) that last longer in those scenarios.

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#184

Post by diebeforei485 »

ashtonkem wrote: post #143

I 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)…

Do we have a % efficiency figure for MagSafe specififally? How does it compare vs wireless charging in general?

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#185

Post by TeMPOraL »

chrisseaton wrote: post #56
saagarjha wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is any of this your business? Because I am the person paying for the thing?

But why do you care what their costs are? What will you do with that information? Either the product is worth it for what you need or it isn’t.

It will impact my assessment of product worthiness and feelings about the company in general.

If you lived in a small town with only a single bakery in it, would it not matter to you whether the bakery is selling you bread for a bit over their production costs, or 2x, or 5x those costs?

The word that's used to refer to mass market goods sold with large profit margins is "overpriced".

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#186

Post by samatman »

Shivetya wrote: post #158
Zak wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm disappointed Apple hasn't dropped Lightning and just made all their devices use standard USB-C. I could see their motivation for developing their own connector when everyone else was using micro-B, which has a number of disadvantages, but now USB-C is used to power virtually every other phone and tablet, and many laptops including Apple's own.

USB-C would have been the true environmentally friendly move

Throwing away a billion devices worth of accessories isn't the environmentally friendly move.

I'm always confused how people talk themselves into believing this. It is obviously not the case.

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#187

Post by diebeforei485 »

allenu wrote: post #177
ashtonkem wrote: post #143

I 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)…

Thanks for doing the math. I always found it funny that Apple was advertising how they were doing such a great service to the environment by not packing in a charger. If they really cared about the environment, they'd avoid updating their product every year and encourage users to keep using the same device for longer, but of course they would never do that.

You can encourage users to use the same device for longer and also make a new phone every year to advance technology and to serve new entrants to the market.

I mean, look at iOS 14 -- it supports phones that are five years old. There is no prompting to upgrade to a new device. There is advertising on billboards and on TV, but not on the phone itself.

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#188

Post by beervirus »

turtlebits wrote: post #161

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.

But not with the cable that does come with the new phone.

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#189

Post by dheera »

californical wrote: post #172
ashtonkem wrote: post #143

I 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)…

2-3kWh seemed impossibly low to me, so I checked, and yup, that’s amazing. A phone battery at 5V and 2500mAh (probably about the average) is approximately 12.5Wh of energy storage. Even if you used the entire battery every day, we’re talking 4kW per year, costing ~60¢ in the US. Your phone battery could only power a standard 60W incandescent lightbulb for 12 minutes, but powers your phone for hours. That’s amazing!

> standard 60W incandescent lightbulb

Which is why nobody uses incandescent bulbs anymore.

You can get the same amount of light for 1/5 of that power with LEDs, i.e. your phone could power that amount of light for an hour.

Re: A Guy Walks into an Apple Store

#190

Post by diebeforei485 »

oarsinsync wrote: post #28
Bud wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's an optimal experience: my device cost went down, I get to choose what I spend that money on (such as superior 3rd-party chargers with multiple ports), and I get the satisfaction of knowing that Apple didn't waste planetary resources making inflexible single-port chargers and $5 wired earbuds that I will never, ever use. I do admit that it's not optimal for every single user, but I do think it's a net impr…

> my device cost went down This seems to be a common narrative, that the savings have been passed onto the consumer. Is it really true? It's difficult to be sure, as there's no iPhone 12 that comes with the plug + earbuds bundled. However, there is one data point that most people don't bother to consider. The iPhone SE (2020) base model launched at $399 in April. It still retails for $399 today. In April, the iPhone…

I would argue that a USB-C cable is equal or higher value then a (USB-A cable plus USB-A brick).

Edit: Oh, they also removed the earpods. Yeah, for the 2020 SE this is a clear move to increase margins. To be fair, it was already lower margin and is still a great value phone.

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