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Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

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Re: Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

#341

I can't watch any of the video (using Chrome) so I'm just watching the live updates on the website instead with bullet points...which is apparently a lot more useful than the video feed. 200 comments and nobody is discussing the technology, what a shame after all that build-up. Anyway the new iPhone looks more like a Samsung in terms of size, screen resolution etc. but presumably with a significant Apple technical ed…

The hardware decisions of the iPhone 6 (and especially 6 plus) closely follow what Android manufacturers have been doing for years.

Mostly but not quite. The iPhone 6 is still low res (720p-ish) compared to top tier Android phones (Galaxy S4 from last year is 1080p). The only HD iPhone is the iPhone 6 Plus, but that starts at $750.

Re: Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

#342

Summary: 2 new iPhone models: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. iPhone 6 is 4.7", iPhone 6 Plus is 5.5". Power button on right side. A8 chip - 13% smaller chip, 25% faster CPU, 50% faster GPU, 50% more energy efficient than A7. Battery a little better on the iPhone 6; iPhone 6 Plus has amazing battery life. VoLTE (Voice over LTE) - make calls over LTE internet instead of using minutes. Camera is still 8MP... YouTube video…

> VoLTE (Voice over LTE) - make calls over LTE internet instead of using minutes. That's would have been a killer feature if it had occurred when smartphones were new enough that providers were selling plans with limited call minutes and unlimited data, but now that virtually every carrier has smartphone plans that are unlimited phone minutes/unlimited text and limited data with surcharges for data overages, who is l…

who is looking to move from using voice minutes to using data?

The carriers. VoLTE is the way to do Voice+Data with a single connection saving power and finally unifying the GSM and CDMA worlds[1]. This could be the first iPhone that can be used in both AT&T/TMobile and Verizon/Sprint in LTE enabled areas. It could also allow mainstream use of Wifi for voice calls like Republic Wireless does[2]. Add something like Multipath TCP[3] and you could even do seamless switching between Wifi and LTE depending on availability/performance.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_(telecommunication)#Voice_...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Wireless

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multipath_TCP

Re: Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

#344
post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> VoLTE (Voice over LTE) - make calls over LTE internet instead of using minutes. That's would have been a killer feature if it had occurred when smartphones were new enough that providers were selling plans with limited call minutes and unlimited data, but now that virtually every carrier has smartphone plans that are unlimited phone minutes/unlimited text and limited data with surcharges for data overages, who is l…

Also ironic as 4G (ala LTE) standard has VOIP routing for calls you make unlike 3G which uses a separate voice channel. So if you can not make a call upon LTE normally out of your call minutes then you won't be able to make a call over VoLTE as they call it as it will just route from your device to the telco provder in the same way as currently and maybe less QoS tagging, so be supprised if there was any situation we…

T-Mobile has been including WiFi calling with a ton of their Android phones for years. I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if any of the other US carriers actually use this on the iPhone 6.

Re: Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

#345

ApplePay: I do this every day and have been doing this every day for the last year with my Android phone in Australia! edit Admittedly the integration of all different types of cards with Passbook is good stuff!

Exactly. I do it in the US with Google Wallet + NFC chip in my phone. It's very surreal to see all the fanboys lose their shit in the audience as if this is a brand new technology. Edit: Would have been nice if you could pay with the Watch instead of pulling out the phone

> It's very surreal to see all the fanboys lose their shit in the audience as if this is a brand new technology.

That's pretty disingenuous. Everyone knows NFC exists, they're probably just happy it's finally coming to their platform of choice.

> Edit: Would have been nice if you could pay with the Watch instead of pulling out the phone

You can!

Re: Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

#346
post #284

Is it just me or the iWatch "looks" really ugly, at least when compared with Moto 360 which looks beautiful. iWatch may win out on functionality and user experience etc., but it just looks funky.

The crazy part is the Gold 'Edition' Version. It's not like a Swiss watch, which is sold to be passed on to new generations, since your children won't be happy to get such outdated tech. What will they do with old Gold versions? Smelt them?

Regarding the watch to be 'passed on to new generations', this is well worth reading:

http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/11/luxury_branding_the_f...

Re: Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

#347
post #284

Is it just me or the iWatch "looks" really ugly, at least when compared with Moto 360 which looks beautiful. iWatch may win out on functionality and user experience etc., but it just looks funky.

There is something really weird to me about Apple arriving at almost the same overall design as Samsung after Samsung:

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--L8XBEzVA...

http://cdn4.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/Watches/Samsung...

Especially with the Moto 360 already out there and the LG G Watch R coming later this year:

http://mashable.com/2014/09/08/lg-g-watch-r-hands-on/

Also very conspicuous that Apple made no mention of battery life, which is the achilles heel of all the current Android Wear devices.

Re: Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

#348

ApplePay: I do this every day and have been doing this every day for the last year with my Android phone in Australia! edit Admittedly the integration of all different types of cards with Passbook is good stuff!

Exactly. I do it in the US with Google Wallet + NFC chip in my phone. It's very surreal to see all the fanboys lose their shit in the audience as if this is a brand new technology. Edit: Would have been nice if you could pay with the Watch instead of pulling out the phone

> Would have been nice if you could pay with the Watch instead of pulling out the phone

You can.

Re: Apple – Live – September 2014 Special Event

#350
post #274

ApplePay: I do this every day and have been doing this every day for the last year with my Android phone in Australia! edit Admittedly the integration of all different types of cards with Passbook is good stuff!

I have as well in the US. It's almost disingenuous for apple to make it sound like this is such new technology... But I'm not going to complain, now that apple has nfc payments retailer adoption is going to go up so that's a good thing for everyone.

When a technology is implemented in a way that adheres to a certain standard of quality that leads to widespread adoption, to consumers it might as well be new technology.
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