My particular pain point here is Apple music. I've got gigabytes of music that I've curated over the years, and had on iPods, then on my iPad. But Music has gone from a library first approach to a store first approach, it is getting pretty difficult to keep a set of tunes physically on your device. That makes me sad.
Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
171–180 of 381 posts
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#172What's the point here? - There were mp3 files and player long before the first iPod - Before the iPhone there were other smartphones - Before the iPad there were other tablets - Don't get me started on the Watch... Apple was never an Inventor. Everything they've ever created was built around a technology or even products that existed before. Apple "just" gets the user experience right and and builds products that mos…
I'll give you the watch but the iPod isn't an mp3 player, the iPhone isn't a smartphone, and the iPad isn't a tablet. The iPod is THE mp3 player, the iPhone is THE smartphone, and to a lesser extent the iPad is THE tablet. No, Apple didn't invent the concepts but they created the definitive product using those concepts.
Could not agree more!
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#173Two months ago, Apple announced an ECG sensor for your wrist. A year before that, they announced face detection for the purposes of identity with enough accuracy that it can be used for financial transactions. Also, AirPods are incredible. I'm not saying Apple has a monopoly on invention, but to say they 'used to be an inventor'? That's weird.
Personally, I find FaceID to be vastly inferior to TouchID for many of my regular use cases. Perhaps the worst one is that you cannot easily unlock your phone while it lays on a conference room table to see the contents of a message. You need to picking it up and point it at your face. Likewise when using the phone while it is in a stand/holder. The one and only benefit I found is during the winter, it is easier to u…
I have an old iPhone, so I can't compare the two. But what I will say is that I REGULARLY have trouble with TouchID. Hands not dry enough, or just failing to recognize fingerprint for other reasons. If FaceID does better than work, say, 2/3 of the time then I'll have a better experience than TouchID.
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
Part of the problem with the Mac is that Intel has been slow to make progress. Particularly when it comes to faster low-power chips, Moore's Law has been failing us for some time now. How long till Apple start putting their A-series chips in Macs?
The new iPad Pro already benchmarks as high as some of their recent laptops (Yes, I know the thermals are different, etc but bear with me here) My bet is that over the years iPad Pro will expand to do more and more of the jobs that people traditionally use MacBooks (or laptops in general) to do. We'll eventually see a world where most people have iPads, not laptops - thereby relying on A-series chips, not Intel, to g…
I really don't think so.
Whether or not the iPad pro has good hardwear is irrelevant.
What matters is that it is missing and extremely important feature, which is a mouse and keyboard.
I don't care how powerful a keyboard is if I can't use a physical keyboard and mouse for it.
Power can't beat UX, and boy is the keyboard good UX when you compare it to tablets or phones.
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#175May be people are disappointed with innovation in iPhones compared to previous years' or for the last few years, but every time I use my AirPods, I can't but feel good about the innovation it took to make it as easy to use and comfortable. * If I open the case near my phone, it automatically pairs and shoes battery levels. * They sound decent for earbuds (not in-ear plugs which I hate) * Lasts reasonable amount of ti…
Unless we see some major innovations in battery or display technology, I don't even know what new territory we expect Apple to pioneer at right now in smartphones.
The tech press cares a whole lot about having a steady stream of new and shiny things. But I think most people want to live in a world where their relationship to technology involves just buying the best one you can afford at the time and use it until it either stops working or is no longer adequate to your needs. Then you repeat.
Banking on loyalty isn't a bad thing. It means people think your product is reliable and served them well the last time they made the purchase.
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tight OS integration is their advantage. Airpods can do things in ways other manufacturers cannot. The OS has special case Airpod code. How would another manufacturer replicate this? I don't think they could without Apple's ecosystem. Try Airpods on Windows. They aren't as simple to setup.
While the pairing process with non-Apple devices is the slightly more cumbersome standard Bluetooth pairing process, they still switch between multiple devices much more easily than other wireless headphones I own. I just tell windows to connect to my AirPods and they connect. I tell my android phone to connect my AirPods and it connects to those instead. Often with other wireless headphones I have to fiddle with the…
I'll second this. Using the same Bluetooth headphones with three computers and a phone would be a nightmare with any other brand, but with the Airpods you just connect and it... works. No mucking around with pairing and for any Apple device you don't even need to open the Bluetooth menu.
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wired earplugs on a phone are a usability nightmare as soon as you stand up. No thanks.
Huh? Are you 8 feet tall?
where as just standing up may be a bit exaggerated(though forgetting and it unplugging and possibly breakage from a forcible unplug) wired headphone are a nightmare they are always in the way and even if you line them through your clothes they have issues.
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#178[deleted]
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
100% agreed. People are complaining online about how the new Mac Mini is priced, but they're not just selling a computer. It's a whole ecosystem of things of mostly reliable stuff that works well with each other. They can put a price premium for the quality of their software ecosystem, which keeps getting better. Being able to use your phone as a camera to take a photo directly into a document in Pages on your comput…
All of that stuff is great, and does not explain why the Mac Mini, an entry-level Apple computer, is somehow proportionally worth $300 more than it used to be.
It's worth more because people are voluntarily paying more. If it wasn't worth $300 more, then people would by paying less for the alternative, but there isn't one. The amount of hours I've wasted on Windows and lost productivity makes me not even think about price when buying something from Apple.
Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally, I find FaceID to be vastly inferior to TouchID for many of my regular use cases. Perhaps the worst one is that you cannot easily unlock your phone while it lays on a conference room table to see the contents of a message. You need to picking it up and point it at your face. Likewise when using the phone while it is in a stand/holder. The one and only benefit I found is during the winter, it is easier to u…
Both of them are terrible for security. Please stop propagating this falsehood, or at least accept that it comes with caveats. Biometric ID on Apple devices is likely to be a significant improvement for many users.
It _always_ depends on your threat model. Most people need protection from snooping family members, or people who find your phone if you lose it. For these use cases Face/Touch ID both work great. If you are trying to secure your data from the NSA, well you have probably already lost, but by all means, turn off Face ID.