The Apple Thread

[The Bman]

Same thing. Different number. Crazy sales.

Isn't the iPhone 5 good enough?

 

[Korza]

For a little extra people can get a full mac OSX that can run pretty much any mac program.
Unless this 12" ipad will be like a surface and have a intel chip in it and be a tablet based OSX computer.

The problem with that is they would have to pretty much rewrite iOS to work with x86 processors instead of the usual ARM possessors used in iPad's and iPhone's.

 

[Grayfox]

The problem with that is they would have to pretty much rewrite iOS to work with x86 processors instead of the usual ARM possessors used in iPad's and iPhone's.

They can use OSX.

No need to use iOS.

Just trim down the OSX a bit a boom and it should work fine.

 

[Korza]

They can use OSX.

No need to use iOS.

Just trim down the OSX a bit a boom and it should work fine.

Then you have the problem where OSX isn't designed to work with touchscreen input and would require rewriting to work properly. And it wouldn't be an iPad any more, adding yet another product to the model range.

 

[phillgt2002]

Same thing. Different number. Crazy sales.

Isn't the iPhone 5 good enough?

The iPhone 5/5s are still great phones. People don't exactly care about the new specs in the iPhone. The general person hears 'new iPhone' and they look to see if they can upgrade. It's basically staying up to date with the latest technology that some have no ****ing clue about.

 

[TB]

The iPhone 5/5s are still great phones. People don't exactly care about the new specs in the iPhone. The general person hears 'new iPhone' and they look to see if they can upgrade. It's basically staying up to date with the latest technology that some have no ****ing clue about.

So because I googled "best smartphone" and then went out and bought the Galaxy S5, does that make me a "general person" with "no ****ing clue", or simply someone that needed a new phone anyway, isn't up on all the latest and greatest (never mind what's coming down the pipe), saw commercials for said phone and figured if last years models, which would be perfectly acceptable are $50 and this years are $80 that I might as well spend the extra even though I almost assuredly will never use half of the new stuff?*

Sometimes you buy something because you need it, sometimes you buy something just because you can, sometimes you buy something because someone else has it. Not a single iPhone owner I know (and there's a lot) does it but for some reason, Apple owners get thrown into the "sheep" category like the rule applies to all of them and never to anyone else.

*really long sentence is really long

 

[Tornado]

Not a single iPhone owner I know (and there's a lot) does it but for some reason, Apple owners get thrown into the "sheep" category like the rule applies to all of them and never to anyone else.

That might have something to do with it. If people camp out en masse for the next HTC One or Samsung Galaxy, it sure as hell isn't covered like it is every ~12 months when the crazy people who happen to like Apple products do.

 

[phillgt2002]

Sometimes you buy something because you need it, sometimes you buy something just because you can, sometimes you buy something because someone else has it. Not a single iPhone owner I know (and there's a lot) does it but for some reason, Apple owners get thrown into the "sheep" category like the rule applies to all of them and never to anyone else.

*really long sentence is really long

I guess this is just from things I've experienced among friends and other acquaintances but I wouldn't be surprised if it fit for many other Apple consumers. I spend a decent time researching the stuff in these phones, and I noticed that some of these people would just go out and purchase a new phone through contract or not just for a few new features. People generally come around and ask me for advice on what to buy and I usually tell them to stay away from useless upgrades. Why? Because the differences between these phones is getting really slim. If I asked some people what PPI mean't on the streets, I'd probably get blank stares and a drawn out 'noooo'. Seriously, if the screen isn't bigger, or the phone isn't significantly slimmer, it won't have a spotlight. Yes, there is a major difference between a Droid X which is probably running Android 2 and a Galaxy Note 3/4 running 4.4.2 or soon to come Android L, but that's if you really choose to stick with what you have kind-of like me. (Same with iPhone 4 owners using iOS 4) I have an old HTC Titan Windows Phone 7 which is extremely limited and it's sort of educated me after experiencing some phones out there. I don't get instagram, vine or any major social media apps besides Facebook and Twitter because it's so outdated, there also hasn't been an update for Windows Phone 7 on my phone because HTC restricted updates on their phone... anyways.. My problem is that people don't look pass the screen size or the thinness of the phone and ignore the major differences like processor speed or ram amounts (many people don't even know the general meaning of RAM in cellphones.) which with many iPhones hasn't changed. Either people are just going to read the specs and see bigger numbers, bigger screen, slimmer design and purchase it... or they're going to see that the phone is new and decide to get it. Another problem that I'll only mention lightly is that some consumers don't understand that what they really need is software updates instead of mainly hardware upgrades. The iPhone 4/4s were crippled by iOS 7 for many people; causing battery life to be cut in half. The iPhone 4/4s can't go past iOS 7 because of Apple wanting people to generally upgrade which there isn't anything wrong with that, but they should actually tell the people what they're getting out of upgrading instead of sending them into the endless cycles of upgrading to things that they don't need. Sadly having a specific kind of phone is a type of culture now. My HTC Titan that hasn't been updated at all can still out perform a iPhone 5/5s doing every day tasks because it's operating system is light, that's why I brought up the software stuff.

 

[Danoff]

http://www.tuaw.com/2013/12/05/why-the-morgan-freeman-finger-painting-is-probably-not-fake/

I don't understand how this proves that the image is real. All it proves to me is that the image has been altered. Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[Sprite]

Well haters gunna hate, Apple fans gunna buy Apple products.

Btw Mark Newton just joined the illustrious industrial design team. Two of the worlds best under one roof. Can't wait to see the Apple product results.

 

[sesselpupser]

My problem is that people don't look pass the screen size or the thinness of the phone and ignore the major differences like processor speed or ram amounts (many people don't even know the general meaning of RAM in cellphones.) which with many iPhones hasn't changed. Either people are just going to read the specs and see bigger numbers, bigger screen, slimmer design and purchase it... or they're going to see that the phone is new and decide to get it.

What's wrong with that? These are the questions the average person asks themselves when buying a new phone:
- Can I afford this phone?
- Have I had a bad experience with this brand?
- Will this phone do what I want?
- Do I like its appearance, size and ergonomics?
- Does it fit in my pocket/handbag/whatever?
- Will I need to go and replace all my existing docks, computer software, headphones (there are rumours that the iPhone 6 will use a proprietary headphone connector, but I think this is absolute rubbish) and other peripherals?

Questions they don't ask themselves:
- Is it physically capable of running the latest OS and apps? (Yes, of course it can)
- Will it be obsolete in two years? (Yes, of course it will, and most people are well aware of that by now)

It seems like the people who decry Apple's customers think all technology must be enthusiast level, or you must know a certain amount about computers and use that to inform your decision. So what if people who don't have much knowledge and don't care enough or have the time to gain that knowledge use what's popular to inform their decision? Not everyone actually gives a damn. In fact relatively few people do, and quite rightly so; if you buy a brand new iPhone you know it'll be supported for at least two years, if not more, and that software made in that time will work with it, no effort required beyond the odd OS update or power cycle. You know that if you have any trouble with it you can just take it to Apple and they'll help you, they won't say "well, we only sell the contracts, if you want help with the phone itself I'm afraid you'll have to call the manufacturer" like I've had in the past when I took a Nokia to a BT Cellnet (now O2) shop to get them to help me with a problem I had. I could go on but I think I've made my point.

TL, DR: Phones are consumer devices, consumers often use what's popular to make decisions on products they have no knowledge of. Does it make them stupid or ignorant? No, it means they just aren't enthusiasts.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

But it is a crapple, so the ignorant will get it just to look "cool"

Apple make great balanced hardware but with huge markups. At least for iPhone 5s and their tablets such as iPad Air, they managed an amazing achievement by beating the likes of Nvidia, AMD, Samsung, Qualcomm and even in a way beating / competing against Intel regarding their CPU and GPU efficiency and performance.

The leap from iPhone 4s to iPhone 5 was huge but also was the jump to iPhone 5s regarding processor terms. It will be hard to make such advantage again as other big players catch up and even may exceed performance so will be interesting to see what they have up their sleeve this time around. It will be interesting to see if the A8 processor can be lower node than Intel products for a short time until Broadwell comes out, will be another great achievement to beat others again.

Same thing. Different number. Crazy sales.

Isn't the iPhone 5 good enough?

Not really, there is considerable performance improvements.

I guess this is just from things I've experienced among friends and other acquaintances but I wouldn't be surprised if it fit for many other Apple consumers. I spend a decent time researching the stuff in these phones, and I noticed that some of these people would just go out and purchase a new phone through contract or not just for a few new features. People generally come around and ask me for advice on what to buy and I usually tell them to stay away from useless upgrades. Why? Because the differences between these phones is getting really slim. If I asked some people what PPI mean't on the streets, I'd probably get blank stares and a drawn out 'noooo'. Seriously, if the screen isn't bigger, or the phone isn't significantly slimmer, it won't have a spotlight. Yes, there is a major difference between a Droid X which is probably running Android 2 and a Galaxy Note 3/4 running 4.4.2 or soon to come Android L, but that's if you really choose to stick with what you have kind-of like me. (Same with iPhone 4 owners using iOS 4) I have an old HTC Titan Windows Phone 7 which is extremely limited and it's sort of educated me after experiencing some phones out there. I don't get instagram, vine or any major social media apps besides Facebook and Twitter because it's so outdated, there also hasn't been an update for Windows Phone 7 on my phone because HTC restricted updates on their phone... anyways.. My problem is that people don't look pass the screen size or the thinness of the phone and ignore the major differences like processor speed or ram amounts (many people don't even know the general meaning of RAM in cellphones.) which with many iPhones hasn't changed. Either people are just going to read the specs and see bigger numbers, bigger screen, slimmer design and purchase it... or they're going to see that the phone is new and decide to get it. Another problem that I'll only mention lightly is that some consumers don't understand that what they really need is software updates instead of mainly hardware upgrades. The iPhone 4/4s were crippled by iOS 7 for many people; causing battery life to be cut in half. The iPhone 4/4s can't go past iOS 7 because of Apple wanting people to generally upgrade which there isn't anything wrong with that, but they should actually tell the people what they're getting out of upgrading instead of sending them into the endless cycles of upgrading to things that they don't need. Sadly having a specific kind of phone is a type of culture now. My HTC Titan that hasn't been updated at all can still out perform a iPhone 5/5s doing every day tasks because it's operating system is light, that's why I brought up the software stuff.

Given that HTC One M8 I imagine will struggle against an iPhone 5S doing every day tasks, I would be surprised if the old HTC Titan could outperform it. Also phones end of this year potentially or start of next year will be getting a big leap of performance, might be more noticable for phone manufacturers that rely on Qualcomm for main SoC.

 

[phillgt2002]

Phones are consumer devices, consumers often use what's popular to make decisions on products they have no knowledge of. Does it make them stupid or ignorant? No, it means they just aren't enthusiasts.

I read it.. I'm not really an enthusiast myself, I just look into things more before making purchases. That is what I'm saying phone buyers (specifically iPhone) should do. Once you look into phone stats, it really becomes common knowledge.

 

[phillgt2002]

Given that HTC One M8 I imagine will struggle against an iPhone 5S doing every day tasks, I would be surprised if the old HTC Titan could outperform it. Also phones end of this year potentially or start of next year will be getting a big leap of performance, might be more noticable for phone manufacturers that rely on Qualcomm for main SoC.

Browsing and practicality with price to performance ratio, the HTC Titan is perfectly fine. The only reason why the iPhones are so fast, is because of the software. In theory, the HTC One M8 should be able to do everything and more compared to the 5S, but then again, it is somewhat newer than it. Utilization of the software is all you really need to keep a phone up and running.

Double post : /

And yeah, the things coming out this year should show some change in internal hardware, externally though, we should only see either thinness or bigger screens since phones have stagnated on design.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Browsing and practicality with price to performance ratio, the HTC Titan is perfectly fine. The only reason why the iPhones are so fast, is because of the software. In theory, the HTC One M8 should be able to do everything and more compared to the 5S, but then again, it is somewhat newer than it. Utilization of the software is all you really need to keep a phone up and running.

Double post : /

And yeah, the things coming out this year should show some change in internal hardware, externally though, we should only see either thinness or bigger screens since phones have stagnated on design.

The hardware in the iPhone 5S is exceptionally fast especially at time it came out and even now compared to current phone market. Hardware speed is also very important and I'm quite excited the kind of leap other phones will experience, something like, twice the graphics performance, and 4 times the CPU performance while also extending battery life compared to current flagship devices, it is not often such potential leap happens. It will be like having a decent laptop performance in your phone and having great battery life too.

 

[sesselpupser]

I read it.. I'm not really an enthusiast myself, I just look into things more before making purchases. That is what I'm saying phone buyers (specifically iPhone) should do. Once you look into phone stats, it really becomes common knowledge.

Yeah, but what does it matter? If they want an iPhone do you think they'll be put off if it has less RAM than an Android device, when it's still 100% guaranteed to run everything in the iOS app store? Conversely, do you think an Apple hater would change their mind if the iPhone 6 was suddenly far better - spec wise - than anything that runs Android? I'm willing to bet not.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Yeah, but what does it matter? If they want an iPhone do you think they'll be put off if it has less RAM than an Android device, when it's still 100% guaranteed to run everything in the iOS app store? Conversely, do you think an Apple hater would change their mind if the iPhone 6 was suddenly far better - spec wise - than anything that runs Android? I'm willing to bet not.

iPhone 5S already did that spec wise but I doubt many Apple haters would change their mind, look at following benchmark that should favour Android phones at time of 5S release:

Now newer version of benchmark on some of the current top phones:

 

[Crash]

The iPhone 5/5s are still great phones. People don't exactly care about the new specs in the iPhone. The general person hears 'new iPhone' and they look to see if they can upgrade. It's basically staying up to date with the latest technology that some have no ****ing clue about.

I see the same thing with some of my Android-using friends as well. Not limited to just Apple users.

My problem is that people don't look pass the screen size or the thinness of the phone and ignore the major differences like processor speed or ram amounts (many people don't even know the general meaning of RAM in cellphones.) which with many iPhones hasn't changed.

Screen size and thinness of the phone are actual hard constraint usability factors that drive the complete experience of the phone. RAM and processor speed impacts it but aren't necessarily hard constraints. What if phone A has 10% less RAM/processor speed than phone B but its software is also 10% more efficient than phone B, therefore, phone A and phone B software-wise does everything with the same quickness and both have the same ability to run software? Why does it matter that phone A has 10% less RAM/processor speed then?

The iPhone 4/4s can't go past iOS 7 because of Apple wanting people to generally upgrade which there isn't anything wrong with that, but they should actually tell the people what they're getting out of upgrading instead of sending them into the endless cycles of upgrading to things that they don't need.

No, it's because mobile technology improves so quickly that Apple doesn't feel their older phones can properly run all the features of the new phone while still providing a good experience. It's not like it's an artificial limit that Apple set because they want people to upgrade even if the old phone is perfectly capable.

The analogy is like complaining that Microsoft doesn't allow Windows 8 to be run on a Intel Pentium III machine.

I read it.. I'm not really an enthusiast myself, I just look into things more before making purchases. That is what I'm saying phone buyers (specifically iPhone) should do. Once you look into phone stats, it really becomes common knowledge.

Raw numbers give an indication, but is not everything. Remember when the AMD Athlons were more efficient than Intel Pentium 4s, and how the Athlon chips had similar performance to Pentium 4 chips but with a lower clock speed?

But it's not all about just the numbers anyways. It's about the experience of the complete package, and if iOS can provide a fantastic experience that's comparable with the best of Android machines with slightly less raw numbers, then so what? It's like in a car, focusing on just horsepower and choosing a car with 1000 hp car that is unreliable, ugly, terrible to drive, uncomfortable, floppy chassis over a 600 hp car that does everything well. Will some people still choose the 1000 hp car over the 600 hp car because the former has more raw power? Sure, but I guarantee you most people won't make that same choice if it was only between those two.

Not saying the difference between Android and iOS is that big, just trying to illustrate that raw numbers is only a part of the equation, and not everything.

 

[phillgt2002]

The analogy is like complaining that Microsoft doesn't allow Windows 8 to be run on a Intel Pentium III machine.

That is a little bit extreme compared to what I'm talking about don't you think?

I wasn't exactly comparing the iOS to Android, that was branching off something else. Many people upgrade guessing that they'll get massive improvements, yet they're just somewhat minuscule. The iPhone 5/5s shouldn't be claimed as obsolete because the iPhone 6 is coming out. The thing is, mobile tech will only evolve when the companies making the phones/chips feel as if it should, and that's in a mainly hardware and sort of a software sense.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

That is a little bit extreme compared to what I'm talking about don't you think?

I wasn't exactly comparing the iOS to Android, that was branching off something else. Many people upgrade guessing that they'll get massive improvements, yet they're just somewhat minuscule. The iPhone 5/5s shouldn't be claimed as obsolete because the iPhone 6 is coming out. The thing is, mobile tech will only evolve when the companies making the phones/chips feel as if it should, and that's in a mainly hardware and sort of a software sense.

The upgrades between iPhones in recent years are not somewhat minuscule but massive improvements, here is for example how much more powerful the GPU has become:

If the A8 is 20nm and screen size of iPhone 6 is bigger than older phones, we will likely see a big leap in performance again and improvement in battery life.

 

[Robin]

The conference starts in 2 minutes.... hilarious that the official live stream requires a mac to watch it!

No mac.... no new Apple for you! Surely it should be the other way round if you want to get new converts.

Edit - Wow the back totally looks like a HTC One, Apple has kinda dropped the ball there!

 

[E28]

The conference starts in 2 minutes.... hilarious that the official live stream requires a mac to watch it!

Only Apple can get away with having a live stream that only works on their devices.

New iPhone looks pretty good. 'One more thing' just flashed up, presumably the iWatch is about to be announced.

EDIT: Video now playing, and it is indeed a Watch, called (rather creatively) the Apple Watch.

EDIT 2: Features a 'super accurate' timepiece, customisable watch face. The 'digital crown' on the side is used to zoom in and out, or scroll up and down, and when pressed acts as a home screen button.

 

[Robin]

It looks very retro, 60's ish. Apple calling it the Apple Watch not the iWatch says one thing.... We are reinventing TIME... that's right! Telling the time, brought to you by Apple

It's funny, loads of Smart watches have come out over the past few years and have made literally no impact... this comes out and you already feel it's going to dominate.

 

[Robin]

I wondered what that thing was on the bottom...

.... or a mind control device which injects Apple instructions directly into your bloodstream.

Having IR lights on your skin at close range permanently is not exactly a good thing. Should only really be used in hospital.

 

[SniperRed3]

Excuse me is this the place I can have a rant about the Iphone 6?

 

[Swagger897]

I wondered what that thing was on the bottom...

View attachment 221469

.... or a mind control device which injects Apple instructions directly into your bloodstream.

Having IR lights on your skin at close range permanently is not exactly a good thing. Should only really be used in hospital.

We will see what mr. cook's words will stand for after the health/safety speech they delivered..

But I do like the watch. It's much better than the Samsung version IMO, and I don't even like Apple.. I foresee it to be something I would use long term, as the current watch I have could rival Big Ben..

 

[SniperRed3]

I use the sony smartwatch 2 and I love it. I'm very, very forgetful makes my life alot easier and the leather strap I have for it looks great and feels great. I use my contactless pay alot too have been for a while now. I just feel that apple have gone stale. I've had a play with ios8. I know someone who tests it and I'm not impressed my mid tier smart as could produce exactly the same functionallity for only 20 quid a month. Innovation means somthing different to apple nowadays.

 

[MoLiEG]

Still prefer one of these:

 

[F1GTR]

The watch with the stainless steel bracelet looks fantastic. I am in the market for a new watch, but I think I'll pass on this for now (will see what the 2nd gen is like).

 

[SniperRed3]

The only reason I have a smart watch is because I was given it when a family member got it free in a contract.
It's useful because of alarms and music control. I'd prefer a normal watch but I've never worn one.