New iToys released. Thoughts?

Pooh

As a admitted fanbear of Apple, I watched today's keynote with interest. Apple Arcade for me was a midly interested meh, Apple TV+ sounds better at $4.99 a month rather that the $9.99 folk suspected it would be (I wonder if Disney's monthly price forced Apple to reduce the amount). However given that I also have concerns how much else it'll have in the back-catalog, I'm reserving judgement for now.

New iPad? Looks good, but not enough yet to force me to replace my aging 9.7 iPad Pro.

New iPhones? Hey, at least they stopped harping on about all that augmented reality nonsense. This bear has enough issues with real reality, without augmenting it! Nice cameras, decent battery, very nice sound. But Meh again. I may have to hold out one more year before replacing my 7+.

Now, the Series 5 watch? I wanna, I wanna! I can definitely see myself upgrading my Series 3 LTE for one of these new "timepieces". Between the always-on feature and the increased screen real-estate (compared to mine) I'm exceptionally interested.

So, what say any of you other Fingish folk out there who also use Apple devices? What are your thoughts on today's presentation?

VioletChepil

Let's see what others are saying on this one. @kltaylor @marc @MDavide @Hronos @nexusnet @RickT49 @Mirekmal feel free to chime in with thoughts too. 

Marc

The watch of all things also interested me. The always on display my main draw. I have a series 3 which has been my go to for a couple years. Now I have to figure out if it’s worth upgrading for that one feature.

Ipad is ok and nice entry point. The keyboard is a plus and I use one on my current pro. With mouse support coming in iPad OS, this could be a game changer.

I bought an XR when it came out to replace my aging 6s plus. Great phone and nothing compelling enough on the new ones except the camera to make an upgrade worth the cost. Plus, over 1k for a new phone? Dang that’s a lot...

Good to see apple iterating it’s products and services, just kind of a shame there are no true game changers or innovations being introduced. I guess at this stage in their corporate lives they don’t have to, but I do miss the days when they could pull a laptop out of a Manila envelope and just wow their audiences.

Pooh

@Marc - I suspect (as many do) that 2020 is going to be the big one . for the iPhone: I myself am more likely to keep a phone for 3-4 years so I'd rather be in a position of having a 3 year old phone with 5G, than not. Not that I think 5G's going to be big next year, but by 2021? Perhaps so...

nexusnet

Is love to have an easy way to create my own network monitor and control applets for a smart watch

Gidster

I like the idea of an always on watch but battery life is still just 18h - not even a full day. I've seen so many people give up on the Watch because they can't get into the habit of charging it.  My good old original Pebble (a company sadly bought by Fitbit) is always on and lasts a week on one charge thanks to it's e-ink display
Other than being more powerful, the main focus for the new iPhones seems to be the camera - which was already good enough.
Big fail, as far as I'm concerned, is not yet dropping the Lightening connector for USB-C. I know there's outcry when users existing accessories  won't work with their new phones but I believe the Lightening connector is the worst connector ever invented. I'm an Android man but my family goes through cables - even Apple ones - as the connector is so flaky

Pooh

18 hours is rather usage dependant. I've had my Series 3 LTE last over 24 continuous hours before now, @Gidster...

That said I have 2 watches - a Series 1 I wear at night for Sleep tracking and the Series 3 that I wear during the day, so I'm never without a usable watch.

Marc

The watch battery is definitely usage dependent. My 3 gets around 2 days on a charge but I’m not listening to music through it. But I do use it to track my road bike rides and that does not take a huge hit battery wise.

@Gidster I had a pebble too. Miss it but saw the writing on the wall when the Apple Watch came out. As for the c cable, Apple will get to it eventually like they did with the iPad. It’s just going to have to trickle down from the high end first.

Hronos

I can't say to much of this topic, I am not an Apple kind of guy, some people say I'm a hater.
I really am not, but it look like that because I'm critical of their products and their "innovation" (you see xD).
Nothing they present yesterday have catch my eye; they really loose their track of been, as once were, innovative.
The media says than next year will be the real change... I only can hope it will.
BTW, I have no user needs (mine first hand nor families) to use apple products so that's why I can be so apart of them, I am sure this wasn't the case I have a complete different point of view.

MDavide

Well, I am currently running a XR + watch series 4

I love the XR mainly for its battery life and fluidity

The screen is not OLED? I don't mind, I don't watch videos or play games. I preferred to spend some bucks for a OLED 55" TV...

It is only too heavy to keep in my pockets.

The watch series 4 is a nice piece of technology, I can read notifications even without glasses, which is what convinced me to go with it.

My battery life is about 1.5 days.

Would I upgrade? Maybe.

IPhone 11 weighs about 20 grams less then my XR and watch 5's always on could be interesting.

I wait to taste them in the nearest Apple store ...

Mirekmal

Well, I am sort of Apple guy... Sort of. I really like the products they make, but since these are so expensive I need to make very concious purchase choices (guess what is price to income ratio for Apple products here, in Poland). So my wife is currently working on my old, 2011 mac Mini. I'm running 2013 Mac Pro. I have iPhone 6S Plus (my 3rd iPhone after 3G and 4S). My wife have company iPhone 7 Plus (upgrade from 5S). I bought her Apple Watch 3 and recently bough myself Series 4... So for each and every product I'm very late to the bandwagon and very carefully judging pros and cons for buying it. Each upgrade is done only when I believe previous item paid off or upgrade will bring significant benefits to me, so it worth to spend extra money. Said that:
- Apple TV+ maybe $5 per month is nothing for Tim Cook. Maybe it is really price of single cheap movie in iTunes... but you need to pay it month by month, by motnh. For ONE show at start, that I'm not even sure if I'll like it. Crap.
- Apple Arcade. Well I'm not really game guy... I like to play ocassionally, but if I decide to spend my money on game then it goes to AAA title like whole Tomb Raider series... I played each and every one of these, some few times and enjoyed it. Spending $5 per month to play Frogger... Thank you Tim. I'm much more adult than that.
- Apple Watch 5... I sort of regret buying Series 4 last year. To me Always On display is BIG thing, I was hoping it arrived last year... Is it enough to upgrade? No... I'll wait wait another 2~3 year, until my Serier 4 depreciates and then I'll get Always On display and many, many more features that are even not yet defined.
- iPad 7... I wish I could have one. Fully featured device with reasonable price. But since most of work I do with any sort of computer requires high level of interaction with keyboard/pointing device I just can't imagine having iPad as my working device. When I'm at home I use my Mac Pro. When traveling I use my old laptop, that is sufficient to browse. Sure iPad with external keyboard (and now it even possible to use mouse) would do the similar job... but would it be ergonomic enough? Sorry, I'm not watching movies on iPad or iPhone, I'm using proper TV for this.
- iPhone.... well, my aging 6s Plus battery is screaming for replacement. Same for storage... I will buy 11 Pro Max... but not because I'm overhelmed by features, I just need the replacement and I need a decent phone. Even if after 4 years, since 6S was originally released there are tons of features that were added to iPhone, I do not see any od these as real must have. Frankly speaking only new camera system sounds really appealing to me... finally I could get rid of my old DSLR. I hope, it soooo heavy :-)
Bottom line; I really enjoyed the show. I really like the products and I strongly believe that people will make use of these... I like that Apple is making progress deveoping new features and developing theit OSes. It is just hard to sell all of this to guy like me, who stands hard on the ground and always asks a question; if I buy it, even if my heart say I LOVE THESE FEATURES, will I really use it?
P.S. I really, really miseed 'and one more thing' that would be really standing out :-(

ThinkFing

iPhone - I'll wait awhile I think, at least until last year's model is available at a slightly less eyewatering cost (But see the Tile entry below). Also, don't forget that for various reasons, probably including the B word, UK purchasers of the new iPhones will have to pay a premium over the normal fiscal exchange rate, even though the USD is not at parity with the GBP. This will reduce sales to some extent.

Watch - I'm interested that people find their Apple Watches don't last a full day. Perhaps because i'm not doing long workouts in the gym, constantly checking the time, using it to make voice calls etc, my watch is at 28% close to the end of my day today after being fully charged last night. Often it can be eked out to 2 days with care.  I don't mind not having "Always On" with my Series 4, so long as I can convince it to display when I want to know the time. Maybe I don't use it to the same extent that others do but its a damn good piece of kit nevertheless.

Apple Tile - This is what i'd really like to see and it probably means I'll have to get an iPhone 11 because of the Ultra Wide Band technology. I hope it'll be coming soon, as other technology offering similar functionality doesn't do it for me for various reasons. 

Alberto_S

I worked for a well know camera company for several years and I’d say this new step forward Apple has made with iPhone cameras is amazing. There were still 2 main reasons someone non pro would really buy a camera for: taking pictures in low light and wide angle. They made it.

Pooh

Just as an observation, @Gidster , I put my fully charged 18 month old Series 3 LTE on my wrist when I woke up at 3:30am this morning. In that time I've used it for Apple Maps twice, taken 2 calls on it, read multiple iMessage and Slack messages in it along side all the other daily usages (checking weather, calendar and even the time!). It's now 8:30pm at night, 17 hours later and I've just put it back on to charge - 63% battery left

Gidster

ThinkFing said:

Apple Tile - This is what i'd really like to see and it probably means I'll have to get an iPhone 11 because of the Ultra Wide Band technology. I hope it'll be coming soon, as other technology offering similar functionality doesn't do it for me for various reasons. 

I agree that the U1 chip and the UWB tech holds a lot of promise

kltaylor

My apologies for the delay in response, I've been exposed to a wonderful flu bug and it's really kicking my butt.

When it comes to iOS, it's really a short discussion for me:

I've never been a big fan.  The only iOS device that I've owned was an iPod Touch 3.  Right around that time, the iPad was being introduced, and all I could think of was 'it's an oversized iPod Touch'.

There was a time when you could count on companies like Apple to be innovative, but I really haven't seen much in that view either.  I like having control over my mobile devices and not shoe-horned into relying on their team to secure my device.

Just my fevered two cents worth.  Sorry if I've rambled a bit ...

Pooh

@kltaylor -

I started off with a Droid Incredible & a Motorola Xoom, then a Samsung S3, Nexus 7, HTC M8 & finally a Nexus 6.

Learning from my mistakes, I evolved into iOS wielding fanbear

(Pooh runs for the door before the flu ridden KLTaylor can catch up and kick the bears butt)

kltaylor

Pooh said:

@kltaylor -

I started off with a Droid Incredible & a Motorola Xoom, then a Samsung S3, Nexus 7, HTC M8 & finally a Nexus 6.

Learning from my mistakes, I evolved into iOS wielding fanbear

(Pooh runs for the door before the flu ridden KLTaylor can catch up and kick the bears butt)

I hear ya and I completely understand.  You're going to have a similar story no matter who you talk with.

iOS folks are adamant about their vendor and products, same with Android.  Heck, I was actually excited to see the end product of an Ubuntu phone. 

The best phone that I've ever owned was one of the Google phones, and if I could ever afford another one (under $200 and unlocked) I would.  Right now I have a Motorola G6.

Pooh

Joking aside, 'twas the Nexus 6 that did it for me. It was barely a year old and the battery was so bad that the phone would power down every time I'd use Maps or something else high powered even though it would report I had something like 80% battery.

Had my iPhone 7 for coming up to three years now, my iPad Pro for 4 and both are going strong (my Xoom lasted 2 years).

iOS has it's faults and I do miss the customization; but I find the devices, as expensive as they are, to be a lot more reliable than any of my 'droid devices ever hoped to be.

kltaylor

Pooh said:

Joking aside, 'twas the Nexus 6 that did it for me. It was barely a year old and the battery was so bad that the phone would power down every time I'd use Maps or something else high powered even though it would report I had something like 80% battery.

Had my iPhone 7 for coming up to three years now, my iPad Pro for 4 and both are going strong (my Xoom lasted 2 years).

iOS has it's faults and I do miss the customization; but I find the devices, as expensive as they are, to be a lot more reliable than any of my 'droid devices ever hoped to be.

Ugh ... I'd feel the same way if that happened to me, too. 

I own an ASUS tablet that's provided many years of reliable service, I love it.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with loving a brand if that brand has set the standard bar for you.

What I think is more awesome?

You with iOS, me with Windows/Android.  Now that's the team to have!

Hronos

@kltaylor Motorola's are, in my point of view, the cleanest experience, aside the pixels, with Android today.  I am using a Moto G7 plus and it performs quite well.
As per the iOS "evolved" bear (  ), I know the less we "have" to do with something to make it work is a powerful aspect of live, and as @kltaylor say that store repeats and repeats.
I think the tinkerers just love complicated things.

kltaylor

Hronos said:

@kltaylor Motorola's are, in my point of view, the cleanest experience, aside the pixels, with Android today.  I am using a Moto G7 plus and it performs quite well.
As per the iOS "evolved" bear (  ), I know the less we "have" to do with something to make it work is a powerful aspect of live, and as @kltaylor say that store repeats and repeats.
I think the tinkerers just love complicated things.

Motorola has been a great experience so far.  My only complaint is that it randomly powers down when I remove the USB charger, other than that it's a great piece of machinery.

Marc

For me, Apple’s been a solid investment.  I tend to upgrade my phones every 2 years and until quite recently the old ones would live on with various family members.  The only thing that would knock them out was end user damage.  Rarely did I have one break from a defect.  The only other product that found as reliable were corporate issued Blackberry's back in the day.  I mentioned recently because now I just trade them in as the kids are older and pretty much buy what they want themselves.  

Hronos

Marc said:

The only other product that found as reliable were corporate issued Blackberry's back in the day.

My skip a bit hehehe
Joke apart, the durability of a device is related to the company than make them, Apple is not the only one, but, is one of the best on making hardware reliable.

Marc

Hronos said:

Marc said:

The only other product that found as reliable were corporate issued Blackberry's back in the day.

My skip a bit hehehe
Joke apart, the durability of a device is related to the company than make them, Apple is not the only one, but, is one of the best on making hardware reliable.

 I remember a company I was working for bringing in Windows phones to evaluate as a hedge against BB.  These were some seriously high end HP and HTC phones (top of the line for those vendors at the time).  The POC ended up being non starter which I partially attribute to the OS and partially to their design (bulky clamshells, low res displays, short battery times).  We ended up sticking with Blackberrys for a few more years but when Apple came out with their first corporate friendly version of the iPhone and iOS, that pretty much spelled the end for Blackberry.

Hronos

@Marc in an old job, I also get my way around the BB's, the integration was one of the best feature, the durability the best! it doesn't care if mistreat, it just work. Sadly, at that time RIM, didn't see the wave of innovation that hit them in their faces... that almost kill them as a business.
Today, just a shadow of what they ware, are at least continuing their security driven approach and doesn't go bad...

Marc

Their purchase of Good was probably the piece that's kept them alive.  We use it to collaborate on our idevices and for email and internal app access, its good (pardon the pun)..