Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#211

Post by tialaramex » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:34 PM UTC

matthewmacleod wrote: post #147

iscrewyou wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love the fact that I can keep them in my ear and just go on my Macbook and select the output from the volume icon. I’m always amazed by that.

You know the truly damning thing is that we’re all surprised by this feature working. This is exactly the sort of thing that should be completely painless.

I bought the cheapest possible Bluetooth dongle (says "Griffin" on it, whoever they are) and paired it to my Android phone.

One day I wondered what happens if it can see two paired devices - does it forget one? Is there some unusably awful UX? Does it brick them altogether?

So I paired the Linux laptop. The dongle (which says "Connected" when I turn it on normally near the phone) now says "Second. Device. Connected" when it can also see the laptop. It appeared as one of the output options in the laptop's audio settings. If you play music on the phone, or receive a call, the music on the laptop stops, and you can take the call (or listen to music) instead.

Essentially, with the cheapest available product it appears to be as you say "completely painless". What exactly are Airpods / Apple doing here that makes it worth the extra? Maybe the voice telling you what's going on is nicer?

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#212

Post by sithadmin » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:35 PM UTC

geerlingguy wrote: post #138

sithadmin wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moving AirPod pairing from iOS -> Mac works well, but going the other way is always a struggle for me. I nearly always have to go into my iOS device's Bluetooth settings to reconnect. It's tolerable, but an annoyance.

Not that in control center, you can tap and hold or force touch the music widget, then tap the “output” button at top right, then tap on your AirPods to quickly switch them to iOS device if they’re not currently paired.

Yeah, and in theory you can do so in-call as well. I've found both methods to be unreliable.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#213

Post by sangnoir » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:36 PM UTC

elsonrodriguez wrote: post #159

adpirz wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few quick thoughts: >What the F is an iPhone XR? Is the XS "better" than the X or not? Somewhat agree about the XR, though I guess the idea is it's one less than an S, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say their "S" naming scheme has been consistent since it was introduced after the iPhone 4. > Why are there 2 iPad Pros? Steve once said netbooks were dead, then released a laptop in exactly that form f…

> Steve once said netbooks were dead, then released a laptop in exactly that form factor (11 in MBA). Clearly there was market demand for it, and I assume their must be demand for both sizes here as well. Just a point of clarification on netbooks. Netbooks were a flop because they were bulky, slow, hard to type on, had terrible screens, and came with minuscule trackpads. The air was none of those things, and was the…

Another example was when Steve said 7-inch tablets were "too small" and you'd need to file-down your fingers to use them (not sure what you'd need to operate 3.5-inch iPhones then). He said this while Apple had the 8-inch iPad mini in development.

SJ was a salesman - he'd say untrue things to make his product look good, like trash-talking 5.5-inch phones(!) and saying "no-one wants 'Hummer' phones" while - you guessed it - Apple had larger phones in the pipeline, because the demand was there.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#214

Post by natch » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:36 PM UTC

drb91 wrote: post #197

Wavelets wrote: post #130

What a silly article. How someone could look at Apple's chip developments (A, T, S, W, etc. series of processors) and think they aren't innovative is mind-boggling. Apple developing key silicon in their devices is a major security benefit for their users and I consider that an innovative model. The Apple ecosystem itself is innovative and I don't think there's a single company that does it better. They still lead in…

Putting conditions on the use of the hardware is distinctly harmful to consumers in a way that otherwise good design cannot ameliorate.

Conditions like "must log in to a Google account to use this" and "must agree that Google can harvest your private data for financial gain so we can pay off those executives" yes that is harmful.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#215

Post by gruez » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:37 PM UTC

pat2man wrote: post #137

Twirrim wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a reminder, that under US law, the 5th amendment only applies to passwords (what you know), and not biometrics (what you are). If you choose to use FaceID, thumbprints etc, the government can force you to unlock your device.

Another reminder, you can temporarily disable Face/Touch ID by holding the volume up and power buttons for two seconds, something you could probably do while your phone is in your pocket without anyone noticing.

>something you could probably do while your phone is in your pocket without anyone noticing

that's easy to do if you're driving a car and you get pulled over, but what if a cop stops you on the street? reaching into your pocket is asking to get shot.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#216

Post by mywittyname » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:37 PM UTC

robbiet480 wrote: post #53

Just like McDonalds... http://blog.wallstreetsurvivor.com/2015/10/08/mcdonalds-beyo...

The article didn't mean landlord in the older, literal sense of making money off of leasing land, but in the more modern, figurative sense of taking a cut of products and services provided through their platforms.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#217

Post by natch » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:38 PM UTC

Skunkleton wrote: post #180

matthewmacleod wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

"for many users"

I think the OP is signaling they were already aware of the threat model point before your comment.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#218

Post by amiga-workbench » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:39 PM UTC

philwelch wrote: post #136

amelius wrote: post #117

Why don't we all steer towards the IBM PC clone model, but for smartphones? Why do we have free/open Linux on PCs and not on phones? By the way, ironically, with its single user OS, an iPhone is more a "Personal Computer" than most PCs.

> Why don't we all steer towards the IBM PC clone model, but for smartphones? Isn't that Android?

Sadly not, IBM PC clones are software compatible from the BIOS up, Android phones are not. It is an absolute nightmare to install a newer version of the OS or to get another OS ported onto an Android phone. There is no common device architecture, OEM's violate the GPL constantly and do not release kernel sources.

Smartphones are not PC's, they're just hobbled embedded devices.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#219

Post by TheOtherHobbes » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:39 PM UTC

matthewmacleod wrote: post #121

reacharavindh wrote: post #33

May 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…

There are lots of similar features which are just really nice from a UX perspective. The whole WiFi password sharing thing is basically perfect - and underlying a lot of these features are relatively complex technologies. I agree it doesn’t excuse the lack of attention to Mac hardware though. That’s something I find absolutely baffling; I don’t understand the reason why they’re not periodically releasing newer Macs i…

TBH Cook seems rather miserly. There seems to be a "Bare minimum with the odd cool extra thrown in to give us a USP and maximum margins" approach, and not so much of the "How OMG wow can we make everything we do?" of the Jobs days. (Hit and miss as it was - more hits than misses, IMO.)

It's a fine big pile of beans financially, but ambitions for the future UX and brand image - including support - seem to be shrinking rather than expanding.

Re: Apple Used to Be an Inventor. Now It’s Mainly a Landlord

#220

Post by Reason077 » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 7:39 PM UTC

threatofrain wrote: post #185

Reason077 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find Face ID to be a vast improvement over Touch ID. It's much faster and less fiddly to unlock the phone than with the old Touch ID. I love that you can activate and unlock the phone just by looking at it. Apple Pay is much faster. And I like that it's smart enough to not dim the screen when you're looking at it, even if you haven't interacted with the device for a while.

I find that Face ID is only a mild win over Touch ID in situations where it's better, such as when you're taking the phone out of your pocket in one motion, or when the phone is propped upright and you get more details on a notification. But in situations where it fails I find that it fails harder and repeatedly, which makes you want to choose a simple password (perhaps that's why Apple tucks away the alphanumeric op…

"I'm surprised that you prefer to double press while looking at your phone"

The double-press for Apple Pay? In many situations you don't actually have to do this. Just place the phone up against the store's reader, then look directly at the phone and Apple Pay will activate without further interaction.

On London Underground and Buses, though, that's awkward and might hold up the queue, so I do double-tap to activate Apple Pay in advance before getting to the reader. But that's certainly no more difficult than with Touch ID, when you had to double-tap the home button.

(Also, you don't have to double-press and look simultaneously. The double-press will activate Apple Pay, then a quick glance at the phone will unlock it for payment. You then have a minute or so to actually touch it on the card reader).