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Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

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Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#281

Post by porknubbins »

rkagerer wrote: post #256
duped wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every adult in the developed world needs a smart phone. They replace these devices about every 2-3 years. Apple makes one of the best in class of these devices, and has successfully designed one such that it's hard to switch to a competitor (rather it's easier to stay in the ecosystem). They've convinced about a billion people on the planet that the iPhone is the best device for them, so if you split that into…

They replace these devices about every 2-3 years As someone who buys a good smartphone then hangs onto it for 5 years, can someone help me understand the need for this?

How long have you been doing this? There was a point (I would argue at least up to iPhone 6s) when every iphone was a massive upgrade.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#282

Post by smoldesu »

andsoitis wrote: post #273
smoldesu wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So the solution is to let another big tech be the gatekeeper? No, the solution is explicitly stopping big tech from being a gatekeeper. Apple can continue to sell their "premium" App Store with amazing security benefits and brilliant moderation, while advanced users can toggle the "freedom mode" setting or whatever and go get IPA files off Github. It's not some pie-in-the-sky concept, it's how software distribution…

What do you think should be the parameters / conditions / requirements Apple should establish for such 3rd party app stores? For instance, any requirements on them for a baseline of security checks? Or would you want Apple out of that loop too? As a side question, are there stats on which are the most popular Android app stores (e.g. top 10 ranked by usage or something like that). I ask because I wonder, in practice,…

> What do you think should be the parameters / conditions / requirements Apple should establish for such 3rd party app stores?

None. Apple doesn't deserve authority over what other people publish on their platform, just as they don't deserve to be liable for the ways people abuse iDevices. In my opinion, they should use this as an opportunity to strengthen app sandboxing and the overall iOS security model. If their current sandboxing system is as good as they say, it should do a great job at isolating third-party apps.

> As a side question, are there stats on which are the most popular Android app stores

Not really, there's no centralized way to collect those stats. Individual projects will give download stats sometimes though.

> I ask because I wonder, in practice, how many app stores are really used at any scale on Android.

Honestly? Not that much. I use both the Play Store and F-Droid alongside one another, and they do a good job complimenting each other. F-Droid fills in the gap of Open Source apps that don't make sense to distribute on a traditional app store, while Google Play offers a nice place to get my other apps.

The goal is for the App Store to live in harmony with developers. Right now though, iOS developers have literally zero bartering power with Apple besides leaving their ecosystem or screaming at some poor call-center worker. Offering sideloading gives them (rightful) leverage against Apple, while also letting me install my cool nerd porn like QEMU and emulators.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#283

Post by andsoitis »

rcpt wrote: post #147
spaceman_2020 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their numbers seem utterly unreal to me. How on earth do you sell $205 billion worth of just a single product (iPhone) every year? This is simply the greatest business to have ever been created. I can't imagine anything else ever topping it. The margins AND the volume are both insane.

I feel like oil companies are somehow hiding it. Oil is absolutely everywhere from transportation to shipping to energy to packaging to building materials. I simply can't believe that Apples revenue is larger than some of the biggest oil companies

> I simply can't believe that Apples revenue is larger than some of the biggest oil companies

Then this might blow your mind even more: In 2017, at a market cap of more than $2.1 trillion, Apple's market capitalization is larger than 96% of country GDPs, a list that includes Italy, Brazil, Canada, and Russia. In fact, only seven countries in the world have a higher GDP than Apple's market cap.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#284

Post by alpaca128 »

Gigachad wrote: post #272
junofan wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even Linus Torvalds uses a MacBook now. I just can’t find nicer machines out there.

This fact amused me when I found out. He did part of the work to port fedora to the M series. He also has stated a few times that he can’t stand fan noise. His home office has a threadripper desktop designed to be silent.

The absence of fan noise is definitely noticeable. Going back to a PC with fans feels a bit like going back to CRT screens.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#285

Post by tshaddox »

ethbr0 wrote: post #257
scarface74 wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then you will get at most three upgrades!

At the 6+, it looks like it's at 5 years (or more). https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en

What I’m seeing on that page seems to indicate that the Pixel 6 will receive Android version updates for 3 years after its release, and security updates for 5 years.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#286

Post by smoldesu »

andsoitis wrote: post #268
smoldesu wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's great, I support that option for you. Personally, I just want to use the Open Source apps that Apple won't let me install. If I can have that, then there's no reason we can't both live in perfect harmony. That system works perfectly fine on Android and Google even manages to make a handsome bundle off the Play Store to boot.

What are some of the open source apps you use on your Android phone?

Glad you asked!

Florisboard is a nice minimalist alternative to GBoard. Offers decent theming and lots of settings for haptics/layout, makes a very quick/easy replacement on new devices.

NewPipe is a minimalist frontend to YouTube that lets you download videos and use PiP/background playing without paying for Premium (or logging into YouTube, for that matter)

Bromite offers a de-Googled Chromium experience for mobile users, pretty barebones and basic.

Glider is an awesome FOSS Hacker News client that I use for checking headlines on the go. Hugely recommended if you're an Android user!

The last big one I use is KeePassDX, which is a password manager integrated with the open KeePass standard. All my passwords get locked up in a nice encrypted, portable file I sync across my devices.

Now, I also use the Play Store for stuff like Discord and Spotify, and iOS users probably would still use the App Store if Cydia became officially supported overnight. That being said, having FOSS replacements for shitty defaults saves the modern Google-based Android experience for me. If they removed sideloading, I'd probably jump ship to a more minimalist fork.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#287

Post by e12e »

alpaca128 wrote: post #279
gigel82 wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know why developers are so infatuated with laptops (and at this point I'm too afraid to ask? :)). But seriously, I need a full-sized keyboard, a mouse, and at least 2 monitors to feel productive. Yes, I realize you can probably hook those up to a laptop with a bunch of adapters and hubs too, but I also use my machines to game, so...

If I need a mouse and multiple screens I can't feel productive, that usually means the software doesn't have enough support for keyboard shortcuts and window management has too much friction. > I don't know why developers are so infatuated with laptops I need a laptop now and then either way, and having two computers means double the cost and more work to keep everything between them in sync. And I switched to a cons…

> ... and window management has too much friction.

So, you don't use macos?

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#288

Post by andsoitis »

skybrian wrote: post #113
samatman wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember when I got my first Retina laptop screen, it was nice but I quickly just got used to it. Then, I found myself using the earlier machine, without the high DPI. That learned me. It was hard to imagine all the work I'd done staring through a screen door at those pixels. Similarly, I've been using the M1 MPB since I got it. I only remember that it never makes noise when I'm reminded of it, such as in this conv…

So, basically the Retina display didn't do anything except spoil you for tech that was okay before. That's good for the manufacturer, but this sort of hedonic treadmill seems like something to avoid?

Pen and paper used to suffice. I think reducing it to hedonism is lacking nuance.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#290

Post by macintux »

paulpauper wrote: post #103

The iPhone is the greatest cash machine ever. Some people are probably on their 10th iPhone . Some people probably spent thousands of dollars on app store.

I think I've owned more iPads than iPhones, but it's a close race. 8:7 if I'm calculating correctly.

Buying into the Apple ecosystem is a great way to stop spending countless hours researching your buying options.

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