Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#461

Post by andz » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 11:17 AM UTC

adrianmsmith wrote: post #441

mleonhard wrote: post #379

> The Pro lineup is built to last, combining the strength of titanium with the toughest back glass in a smartphone and the industry-leading Ceramic Shield on the front. The back panel is made of glass. This is a user-hostile design choice. Apple tries to gas-light us, claiming that it's a "Durable Design". This is deception. I hope FTC sues them for false advertising. A real durable design would have a durable back (…

> The Pro lineup is built to last, [bunch of physical attributes] Having hardware which lasts is good, but they also need to make sure the software lasts. A phone is hardware + software, both need to last for the phone to last. I know Apple is much better at this than Android, but still, they could be even better. My iPhone X does everything I need, physically it's still in pristine condition (so well done to Apple f…

It's a shame that the 8/X isn't getting a proper feature update, but you should still be fine in terms of security updates. Apple released 12.5.7 earlier this year which is compatible with the 5S — a phone that's now ten years old. Apple has consistently provided security updates for it each year since its release.

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#462

Post by adrianmsmith » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 11:23 AM UTC

andz wrote: post #461

adrianmsmith wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Pro lineup is built to last, [bunch of physical attributes] Having hardware which lasts is good, but they also need to make sure the software lasts. A phone is hardware + software, both need to last for the phone to last. I know Apple is much better at this than Android, but still, they could be even better. My iPhone X does everything I need, physically it's still in pristine condition (so well done to Apple f…

It's a shame that the 8/X isn't getting a proper feature update, but you should still be fine in terms of security updates. Apple released 12.5.7 earlier this year which is compatible with the 5S — a phone that's now ten years old. Apple has consistently provided security updates for it each year since its release.

Ah I see, I didn't realise they went back that far. That's good to know, thanks!

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#463

Post by vladvasiliu » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 11:37 AM UTC

ChristianGeek wrote: post #330

llbeansandrice wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the damn point of having the base line and the "Pro" line if some features are still going to be locked behind a larger (more expensive) device? I'm considering upgrading but I don't want to carry around a Max sized device. I doubt it will fit in my pockets even.

I have a 13 Pro Max and carry it in my jeans back pocket.

Depending on where you live, that may not be a great idea. In my parts, you could pretty much bet that it would get stolen if you carried it like that.

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#464

Post by quitit » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 11:40 AM UTC

highwaylights wrote: post #3

The most interesting part of this to me isn't the titanium or the camera (impressive as it looks), it's the GPU. They made a point of saying that the GPU had been completely ground-up re-designed, and I assume they're intending to keep scaling that up over the next few iterations. They didn't talk about it for very long, but that the phone is able to convincingly run AAA games, even at playable if not great frame-rat…

Also interesting was the large number of Neutral engine cores.

These two together seem to be very much about enhancing AI and Siri to be mostly on-device (something which they already started on).

A frequent complaint I read on HN is "why aren't there LLM based assistants as yet from any vendor" - but the answer to this is straightforward, it's not realistic to deploy cloud-based LLM at Siri-size user bases. Most queries also don't need LLM-style responses. (Also the rapid development of the field means that processing requirements are rapidly decreasing.)

In a prior keynote Apple noted that Siri was the most used assistant in the world. I don't have 3rd party data to support that, but it's a big enough claim that we could take their word on it just for conjecture purposes about the processing power needed to deploy LLM-based Siri.

So if we're going to see LLM-based usability enhancements to Siri, both in the types of data it's allowed to work with and enabling natural, context-driven interactions. That will have to be fully on device, and ultimately that will be a better experience for users as internet connectivity is an unreasonable barrier for such interactions (especially as it can stutter natural-language conversations).

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On the gaming topic: Look at the newly released Hello Kitty Island Adventure on Apple Arcade. It is an exclusive and playable across iPad/iPhone/Mac/AppleTV. The quality of this game is unusual, it delivers an experience that equals/exceeds Nintendo's wildly popular Animal Crossing. This signals that Apple are refocusing on gaming in a new way: bringing popular game paradigms to Arcade in a compelling, exclusive way, and this perhaps forms an extension of Arcade bringing ad-free versions of the App Store's most popular titles. So while I think we're far off Apple's hardware being a destination for gaming enthusiasts, we're now definitely past the point of Apple pushing people with an itch for gaming onto other platforms.

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#465

Post by bythckr » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 12:05 PM UTC

I don't get the logic of removing the mute toggle switch. It is very convenient to put the phone in silent. Didn't have to open the phone. Plus it was easy to check if the phone was silent by just looking for the orange marker.

They should have first turned the volume buttons to action button. I dont use the volume button.

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#466

Post by Gareth321 » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 12:59 PM UTC

earthnail wrote: post #431

mdavidn wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Early mobile games were such a delight. I have fond memories of Angry Birds, Plants vs Zombies, Cut the Rope, Flight Control, Threes, Monument Valley, Bad Piggies... But then predatory freemium games like Clash of Clans and newer replacements for Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies burned me out. They eliminated any desire I had to invest time or money or attention into mobile games. Popular freemium games in the App S…

IMO this has so much to do with how Apple advertises the App Store. They were able to get people to spend some money on apps, which was a HUGE improvement over no money at all. But then, instead of managing to get people to pay higher upfront prices, they heavily supported a race to the bottom and micro transactions, which inevitably resulted in freemium games that felt like casinos. Unfortunately that isn't just tru…

They've been actively fostering the enshitiffication of the App Store. Practises like preventing paid upgrades forces developers to use micro-transactions to survive. They also aggressively change and deprecate APIs without adequate notice or documentation. This means apps require constant maintenance. So one-time purchases are much less viable for developers.

Soon we'll be able to install whichever apps we like in the EU thanks to the DMA. I think there is a hunger for alternative app stores.

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#467

Post by kantord » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 12:59 PM UTC

xhruso00 wrote: post #424

kalleboo wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1 is going to hand the web over to Google and kill the open web 2 is going to happen eventually thanks to the EU 3 never going to happen

You underestimate the power of "defaults". Also one should question Apple why they don't ship Safari on Windows/Linux. They have all the resources available if they care. EU regulates and Apple is here to blame. Protecting their revenues (WebKit). It's only surprising it took this long to regulate. On the other hand US government is laughable at not doing any pro-consumer choices and getting bribes/sudden turns etc.…

#1, not if the EU does some action also against Google's monopoly, similar to how in the US Microsoft was almost split to 2 companies for the same reason

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#468

Post by kantord » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 1:00 PM UTC

alberth wrote: post #286

kantord wrote: post #229

Great that they finally include USB-C. I am waiting for - Any browser engine allowed - 3rd party "app stores" allowed - Allowed to simulate iPhone without owning or having to use a Mac before switching from Android

You're asking for software updates, not hardware updates. Today is a hardware day. WWDC (June) is their software day.

true, I will consider switching if the same things are solved for this model in the future

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#469

Post by Gareth321 » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 1:16 PM UTC

NeoTar wrote: post #344

absoluteunit1 wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wish micro transactions were made illegal in applications on the app stores…and video games in general. It encourages additive behaviour and lowers the quality of games as the purpose becomes to make the additive micro transaction aspect as addictive as possible. If some new policy changed this, I think we’d see a whole new wave of higher quality games

How would you define a micro-transaction? Maybe we need a pornography-like definition ("I know it when I see it") but I think there is certainly a continuum from high-quality DLC / expansions to existing games (which can be basically a new game) down to crystals which allow you to instantly buy something which you'd have got anyway if you had waited. So, consider a basic, Mario-kart like racing game - which of these…

I think all of those are micro-transactions. A nice blanket rule would be no additional payments past the initial purchase. Of course it doesn't stop a developer releasing v2/v3 etc., but it would ensure that the original application is maintained as per the promised features and service standards. Perhaps most importantly, it would reduce the incentive to build dark patterns into applications to encourage micro-transactions.

I don't see governments doing this, but I think we'll see something like this soon in the EU when we can install competing app stores.

Re: Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

#470

Post by Gareth321 » Wed, Sep 13, 2023, 1:19 PM UTC

Hammershaft wrote: post #451

paxys wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it though? The promise of gaming on iPhone (and mobile gaming in general) has been taken over and destroyed by freemium games whose only goal is to push microtransactions. What is a marginally better GPU going to accomplish? Help games sell me their "bundle of gems" faster? Developers simply do not have the incentive to build any other kinds of games when the current crop of addictive shovelware is so damn profita…

Between terrible incentives created by Apple's cut structure, and Apple's disregard for backwards compatibility, mobile indie devs never stood a chance. Rami from Vlambeer said it well. “You earn $3 and then you update it for the next 10 years. If you’re making free-to-play games, if you keep earning money with a game, yeah, that’s a great model because you can make more money by updating.” Ismail pointed to Vlambeer…

Well said. Apple has no incentive to improve backwards compatibility because they make more money keeping the transactions flowing. People being apple to use their applications for a long time is bad for business. Unfortunately the market hasn't punished them for this behaviour, so they keep doing it.