View Full Version : Bye Bye IPhone ... 🤓
I have been a Mac head since early 90s, and have never owned anything but Mac computers in all that time. Typing this from a Mac Pro lap top. I have had Iphones since the first Iphone, so that should confirm my Mac head bonafides. I have had enough of paying more for less and less it seems. I refuse to pay over 1k for a phone that does not even have a memory card slot, no dual SIM, etc. Much of what the Iphone did so well, such as photos, and quality DAC for music, exists in other phones, perhaps even exceeding the Iphones. I stayed with Apple mostly for the OS, but again, Android based phones have caught up, and are just as easy to use apparently. My searching around found a brand not common (yet) in the US, but popular in other parts of the world, OnePlus. T Mobile started selling them, and they're a good $300 or so less than top of the line Iphone or Samsung, and my hands on experience with them was really impressive.
Speed, screen quality, 90hz refresh rate, specs, etc top of the line. I'm mostly worried about having to learn a new OS being a Mac head for so damn long, but I just can't justify Iphone prices anymore and the blatant intentional built-in obsolescence. This may also be my last Mac computer as there's virtually nothing inside a Mac other than the OS that's proprietary and worth spending so much extra $ for. PS, went to T Mobile just see the phone, purchased directly from the company unlocked for the same price and will use with AT&T. If I don't like my first Android based phone, at least now I will know the difference. I will review it once I have some time to get used to the new OS and such with a verdict.
So far, a few days, I'm impressed with it, but learning the new OS is a PITA.
Review:
https://www.zdnet.com/product/oneplus-7-pro/
Welcome outside the bubble.
I have been a Mac head since early 90s, and have never owned anything but Mac computers in all that time. Typing this from a Mac Pro lap top. I have had Iphones since the first Iphone, so that should confirm my Mac head bonafides. I have had enough of paying more for less and less it seems. I refuse to pay over 1k for a phone that does not even have a memory card slot, no dual SIM, etc. Much of what the Iphone did so well, such as photos, and quality DAC for music, exists in other phones, perhaps even exceeding the Iphones. I stayed with Apple mostly for the OS, but again, Android based phones have caught up, and are just as easy to use apparently. My searching around found a brand not common (yet) in the US, but popular in other parts of the world, OnePlus. T Mobile started selling them, and they're a good $300 or so less than top of the line Iphone or Samsung, and my hands on experience with them was really impressive.
Speed, screen quality, specs, etc top of the line. I'm mostly worried about having to learn a new OS being a Mac head for so damn long, but I just can't justify Iphone prices anymore and the blatant intentional built-in obsolescence. This may also be my last Mac computer as there's virtually nothing inside a Mac other than the OS that's proprietary and worth spending so much extra $ for. PS, went to T Mobile just see the phone, purchased directly from the company unlocked for the same price and will use with AT&T. If I don't like my first Android based phone, at least now I will know the difference. I will review it once I have some time to get used to the new OS and such with a verdict.
So far, a few days, I'm impressed with it, but learning the new OS is a PITA.
Review:
https://www.zdnet.com/product/oneplus-7-pro/
Build a Hackintosh... It's a revelation running MacOS on high-end PC hardware with proper cooling.
Build a Hackintosh... It's a revelation running MacOS on high-end PC hardware with proper cooling.
If we're talking comps vs phones, macs run on PC PC hardware already and other than the OS, nothing really propitiatory in them at all anymore. One of many reasons It's hard to justify the substantial $$ differences. I like Mac OS, I like how they all play nice with each other so well, but they've lost the edge on all that it seems.
Learning the new system is easy.
If we're talking comps vs phones, macs run on PC PC hardware already and other than the OS, nothing really propitiatory in them at all anymore. One of many reasons It's hard to justify the substantial $$ differences. I like Mac OS, I like how they all play nice with each other so well, but they've lost the edge on all that it seems.
All true, but you can run MacOS as fast as on a $5000 iMac Pro on a $1500 PC build - and you can update the processor, graphics card, etc, as needed. For example, all it takes is a BIOS update to allow my Hackintosh to jump from an i7-8700 to an i9-9900K if I want ('course I have to buy the new processor). Also M.2 SSDs, inexpensive fast dual channel RAM, and so on. You can even jump to virtualization and run both MacOS and Windows 10 on the same computer with per-thread OS assignment for the processor, access to graphics cards @ native speeds, quick snapshots of OS states so you can very quickly fix problems/roll back updates, and a bunch of other cool stuff.
Will:
I've never heard of One Plus until your post. It appears that the phone is Chinese. Aren't you concern that it could suffer the same fate as Huawei? I haven't shopped for a phone in 3 years. No I'm not an iphoid.
Ned Christiansen
06-03-19, 21:10
Without going into a crazy sounding rant, I cannot adequately express how much I despise Apple the company, everything they are and do. And I have an iPhone. And it is a daily frustration. Since day one I have wanted to take an axe to it, but as you all know there are certain things it does that my EDC flip phone just can't. I dropped it for a Samsung thinking ANYTHING was better and it probably is but I don't have the GD time to relearn all the non-intuitive quirks and to overcome the non-user-friendly aspect.... reluctantly I ditched it and went back to the devil I know. And the devil they are.... Apple is like an invasive species and virus all in one. I predict and hope they fall hard in the next five years.
No reason paying for anything else my bushmaster is as good as your noveske they use the same parts
Great hardware is great hardware though but it’s the OS we interact with
So buy a high end workstation or build your own or buy a Mac for top quality parts
The rest are poor/garbage meaning pre made or cheap pc based on spec
A GPU same model one is more so why ?
same reason some bolts are more even though both are for the AR platform
So parts are not parts alone way more to it
Same goes for phones !
privacy issues on Android no thanks for me
Apple is not what it was but still a great company
Take the MacBook Pro only screens that can compare are the dell xps15 (not the 2n1) when you pay for the nicer screen same as the Lenovo x1 and get the better and HP dreamcolor all others are not as good delta E numbers suck etc...
apple is usually the best then dream color the dell is good but inconsistent then the Lenovo
Might not matter to you and you might not see it but it’s there just like a high end AR vs a cheap junk one
Same goes for the parts inside
ASUS makes great motherboards and cheap ones and can spec build to manufactures so getting a ASUS does not make it great
Ford makes some great exotic insane cars and some junk econo boxes Dell makes a few nice machines most are not though the good ones are as much or more then apple even in the Xeon workstations so pricing is based on quality of parts just like nice ARs would be
for security etc... OS X various flavors of *nix
Windows and google suck compared to those two
If I was to buy a PC laptop would be the dell XP’s 15 latest model 4K screen update the memory and WiFi and storage on my own or the Lenovo
Another great daily driver for most is the hp 360 forgot exact model about $1500 really nice 2n1 with great specs and very good screen but not great but will be plenty for most folks
Phones nothing but apple for security reasons why update all the time ? Save the money every 3-4 generations is fine these days
Resale on iPhones is way better then any android though just like resale on Mac computers is so far above any windows device
Need like button
Our studio has 3 Mac pros a new Mac mini with a egpu and custom built intel 7820 with a 1080 GPU storage nVME etc...proper quality PSU etc...... we use it just for tethered captured and off work gaming but plan on hackintoshing that thing plan on vanilla method see how it goes before I go Tonymac way Hahahahaha
Timely thread with the new Mac pros today insane nice but for most nobody needs Xeon anymore and proprietary GPU again yuk
But the hackintosh thing is fun good to have both and feel folks who like tech should be using both win and OS X to keep toes in both but master one of them
Build a Hackintosh... It's a revelation running MacOS on high-end PC hardware with proper cooling.
Meh I like my iphone most days
Yeah, I don’t know.
New iPhones don’t offer a huge improvement? Sounds like you don’t actually need a new phone?
My first iPhone was a 5 right when they came out. The 6 came out and it seemed a reasonable upgrade to me. ATT charged me 200$ for an upgrade.
7 came out. I saw no improvement over my 6 that would make me want a new one. My 6 continued to be great.
X came out. I bought one. It was an improvement over my 6 I’d owned for 4 years.
I think you screwed up. You saved 300$ for what? You lost iOS, and seemed to not even need a new phone. Smart choice would have been keep your iPhone another year to get the 300$ value that way. Who knows maybe in a year they’ll have a new iPhone that is an improvement over your current one.
I'm sympathetic Will, but my iPhone, expensive as it is, works great. I have zero incentive to switch, but I hope your conversion goes well. Likewise my Mac computers. I have a buddy who stridently kept trying to convince me how great his Hackintosh. That thing causes him more headaches than I could ever bring myself to face. I realize some people love that kind of tinkering. I used to love that kind of tinkering, but my days of tinkering and troubleshooting home-brew kludged computers are long behind me. Frankly, I don't care what it costs...I need my computer and my phone to WORK. Every time I turn it on.
I had the same issue with PC stuff years ago. Once I switched to apple I stopped paying attention to my machines and more on my work. Productivity trumps tech, so find what works for you.
Apple continues rolling out their privacy policies which I appreciate. They just announced a string of new privacy features. While I don’t trust apple anymore than the others, at least they are working at minimizing users’ exposure.
Hackintosh are only if ya like to play around I would say
Agree with ya buy what ya need and use enjoy is best for most
I'm sympathetic Will, but my iPhone, expensive as it is, works great. I have zero incentive to switch, but I hope your conversion goes well. Likewise my Mac computers. I have a buddy who stridently kept trying to convince me how great his Hackintosh. That thing causes him more headaches than I could ever bring myself to face. I realize some people love that kind of tinkering. I used to love that kind of tinkering, but my days of tinkering and troubleshooting home-brew kludged computers are long behind me. Frankly, I don't care what it costs...I need my computer and my phone to WORK. Every time I turn it on.
I've had my OnePlus 5T since January last year, and it's till going strong. No desire to "upgrade".
You guys can say what you want but,
Iphonemasterrace
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Try wearing hearing aids and using an gayPhone.
That's right....only certain hearing aids are compatible with iPhone.
Only certain hearing aid makers will pay iPhone an extortion so their hearing aids is SPECIAL and can be used on crapple.
Samsung doesn't do that and as long as a hearing maker has bluetooth on it, it will work on their phones.
Yeah...iPhone master race..
I see what you did there.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
I've had my iphone 6 for years now and its still running fine. I just can't see paying $1K for a phone. I'll keep running this one until it's no longer supported or it dies.
Try wearing hearing aids and using an gayPhone.
That's right....only certain hearing aids are compatible with iPhone.
Only certain hearing aid makers will pay iPhone an extortion so their hearing aids is SPECIAL and can be used on crapple.
Samsung doesn't do that and as long as a hearing maker has bluetooth on it, it will work on their phones.
Yeah...iPhone master race..
I see what you did there.
I have hearing aids (I love my wife) and selected them without regard to compatibility with any particular phone...the audiologist said that all quality phones and quality hearing aids are compatible...no issues. I can hold the phone up to my ear and use the phone just fine. The hearing aids I bought do have Bluetooth, however, so I can answer and talk on the phone with my iPhone in my pocket. I can also change hearing aid settings from the iPhone app, adjusting volume and/or changing between different frequency response curves. That's kind of cool...to be able to adjust the response of the hearing aids according to environment (noisy room, one-on-one, music, etc).
I contend that there's no substantive difference between iPhone and any other quality cell phone out there relative to hearing aid compatibility. Buy a cheap phone or cheap hearing aids...yeah...I can see that phone issues might be a problem. As to Bluetooth...bluetooth is bluetooth.
.
Adrenaline_6
06-04-19, 07:37
Iphone was king in it's day but that day has long passed. They do have a niche though. Older people that don't really like options and those that don't like the ability to tinker with them and customize. Also, those already totally invested in Apple and have all their products that integrate with each other.
Kind of like the Glock people that have all the mags, holster options and accessories - it works well and they are invested - why change if they really don't need to unless they are looking for a a change for whatever reason?
If you like tinkering, the Android world is so much bigger and open. Just like Windows vs iOS.
You mean like selected HIGH quality ones like widex, Siemens, the high quality German and Swiss...
Not the Starkey American made earing aids like the VA gives me?
Nope...
Not compatible....and it is compatible when you buy their special program and lay their app fee.
Not so for Samsung...and it never was for crapple until their later series...
iPhone master race..... for regular hearing folks only.
That right there..
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
This is funny. The iPhone CPU/GPU/SOC is far superior to anything on the Android side, and the security of the phone, and the software efficiency, is much higher. Honu had it right. Hope you like your Bushmasters. :) :) ;)
Not that I really care what anyone uses for a phone. If you like Android -- use Android. If you like iPhone, use an iPhone.
Keep your phones as long as they are useful. No need to regularly update them just because new models are out. Our family uses the iPhone. The wife got an X to replace her 6 when the X came out. She'll keep it for around 4 years or so. Maybe longer. I got the XS Max Plus to replace my 7 Plus -- mainly because my side gigs (programming iPhones) required I had one of the newer form factor phones to work with, otherwise I would have kept the 7 Plus a lot longer. I was regularly upgrading, mainly because of my job/side jobs, but I'll probably keep this XS Max Plus a min of 4 years, as my side jobs are getting thinner [due to my day job time commitment] and my day job (also programming the iPhone) supplies me with the phones. Today's phones, at least the higher end ones, from any manufacturer, can easily last for 3, 4, or even 5 or so years with ease, as long as the manufacturers keep up the OS updates (more an Android issue than an Apple issue).
ETA: As I replace a phone, the replaced phone goes into my pile used for Development or it gets passed on to my kids. My 7 Plus is used daily for development at the day job (in addition to the 3 phones they sent me).
This is funny. The iPhone CPU/GPU/SOC is far superior to anything on the Android side, and the security of the phone, and the software efficiency, is much higher. Honu had it right. Hope you like your Bushmasters. :) :) ;)
This was true a few years back, no longer. Benchmark results will always be better with ios as its an integrated system and the hardware can be calibrated to the result.
The only thing left that is superior is imessage.
If you love your iPhone, have at it and be happy. But the days of rickety Android is over. The bubble that I mentioned above is a real thing. iPhone users dont see the world for what it is because they live in a bubble of one phone with a massive PR machine spinning everything around them. Kind of reminds me of communism ;).
Here you go, new changes from the rotten apple:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ios-13-apple-maps-gets-125748947.html
Will:
I've never heard of One Plus until your post. It appears that the phone is Chinese. Aren't you concern that it could suffer the same fate as Huawei? I haven't shopped for a phone in 3 years. No I'm not an iphoid.
Aren't they all Chinese at the end of the day? :cool: But seriously, brands has been sold in the US for a while. Don't think it's going anywhere. If you want more details:
https://www.oneplus.com/7pro#/
Without going into a crazy sounding rant, I cannot adequately express how much I despise Apple the company, everything they are and do. And I have an iPhone. And it is a daily frustration. Since day one I have wanted to take an axe to it, but as you all know there are certain things it does that my EDC flip phone just can't. I dropped it for a Samsung thinking ANYTHING was better and it probably is but I don't have the GD time to relearn all the non-intuitive quirks and to overcome the non-user-friendly aspect.... reluctantly I ditched it and went back to the devil I know. And the devil they are.... Apple is like an invasive species and virus all in one. I predict and hope they fall hard in the next five years.
I'm not not find the new phone non-intuitive per se, but yes, time sucker to learn a new OS for sure.
Yeah, I don’t know.
New iPhones don’t offer a huge improvement? Sounds like you don’t actually need a new phone?
My first iPhone was a 5 right when they came out. The 6 came out and it seemed a reasonable upgrade to me. ATT charged me 200$ for an upgrade.
7 came out. I saw no improvement over my 6 that would make me want a new one. My 6 continued to be great.
X came out. I bought one. It was an improvement over my 6 I’d owned for 4 years.
I think you screwed up. You saved 300$ for what? You lost iOS, and seemed to not even need a new phone. Smart choice would have been keep your iPhone another year to get the 300$ value that way. Who knows maybe in a year they’ll have a new iPhone that is an improvement over your current one.
I wanted a dual SIM phone, the 64gb storage on the 6S+ maxed out and apps crashing, etc, and it has no memory card slots and I aint paying for cloud storage, etc. I needed a new phone.
I've had my OnePlus 5T since January last year, and it's till going strong. No desire to "upgrade".
Everyone I spoke to has one is happy with it. I'd never heard of it until a tech head friend of mine recommended it.
I've had my iphone 6 for years now and its still running fine. I just can't see paying $1K for a phone. I'll keep running this one until it's no longer supported or it dies.
I had a 6s+. Battery really sucked among other issues I had with it.
This is funny. The iPhone CPU/GPU/SOC is far superior to anything on the Android side, and the security of the phone, and the software efficiency, is much higher. Honu had it right. Hope you like your Bushmasters. :) :) ;)
Not that I really care what anyone uses for a phone. If you like Android -- use Android. If you like iPhone, use an iPhone.
Keep your phones as long as they are useful. No need to regularly update them just because new models are out. Our family uses the iPhone. The wife got an X to replace her 6 when the X came out. She'll keep it for around 4 years or so. Maybe longer. I got the XS Max Plus to replace my 7 Plus -- mainly because my side gigs (programming iPhones) required I had one of the newer form factor phones to work with, otherwise I would have kept the 7 Plus a lot longer. I was regularly upgrading, mainly because of my job/side jobs, but I'll probably keep this XS Max Plus a min of 4 years, as my side jobs are getting thinner [due to my day job time commitment] and my day job (also programming the iPhone) supplies me with the phones. Today's phones, at least the higher end ones, from any manufacturer, can easily last for 3, 4, or even 5 or so years with ease, as long as the manufacturers keep up the OS updates (more an Android issue than an Apple issue).
ETA: As I replace a phone, the replaced phone goes into my pile used for Development or it gets passed on to my kids. My 7 Plus is used daily for development at the day job (in addition to the 3 phones they sent me).
I'm not a tech head, but I can say it's way faster than the 6S+ I had, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 gets high ratings, and what I like about the brand is they're very open with that they use in their phones for hardware. Only time will tell if I can jump ship from the Apple cult or it drags me back in. Specs, etc:
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/oneplus-7-pro,review-6472.html
This was true a few years back, no longer. Benchmark results will always be better with ios as its an integrated system and the hardware can be calibrated to the result.
The only thing left that is superior is imessage.
If you love your iPhone, have at it and be happy. But the days of rickety Android is over. The bubble that I mentioned above is a real thing. iPhone users dont see the world for what it is because they live in a bubble of one phone with a massive PR machine spinning everything around them. Kind of reminds me of communism ;).
It is still true. The Apple SOC (CPU/GPU/AI/etc chipset) is still ahead 6-12 months in tech and performance compared to what the equivalent Android phones use. And most Android apps still run in a VM: that is not very efficient. It is just to the point that they've thrown enough HW against Android that most of your obvious problems aren't noticeable any longer. The iPhone will still get more work done in a given time than an Android will. Whether that matters to you depends on the apps you run. You may or may not notice any performance differences because your app usage may or may not be impacted by the differences.
I'm not a tech head, but I can say it's way faster than the 6S+ I had, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 gets high ratings, and what I like about the brand is they're very open with that they use in their phones for hardware. Only time will tell if I can jump ship from the Apple cult or it drags me back in. Specs, etc:
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/oneplus-7-pro,review-6472.html
That is probably true. The iPhone 6S is from 2015. I assume your One Plus is a current model using the latest.
Use what works best for you, or what makes you happiest. I get along well with both iPhone and Android users, and don't hold it against anyone what phone they choose.
Aren't they all Chinese at the end of the day? :cool: But seriously, brands has been sold in the US for a while. Don't think it's going anywhere. If you want more details:
https://www.oneplus.com/7pro#/
I'm not not find the new phone non-intuitive per se, but yes, time sucker to learn a new OS for sure.
I wanted a dual SIM phone, the 64gb storage on the 6S+ maxed out and apps crashing, etc, and it has no memory card slots and I aint paying for cloud storage, etc. I needed a new phone.
Everyone I spoke to has one is happy with it. I'd never heard of it until a tech head friend of mine recommended it.
I had a 6s+. Battery really sucked among other issues I had with it.
I'm not a tech head, but I can say it's way faster than the 6S+ I had, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 gets high ratings, and what I like about the brand is they're very open with that they use in their phones for hardware. Only time will tell if I can jump ship from the Apple cult or it drags me back in. Specs, etc:
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/oneplus-7-pro,review-6472.html
Surprisingly I have not had any battery issues. Only time it drains quickly is if I'm in the woods hunting without wifi service and I'm playing games to keep myself occupied in my deer stand. I usually keep a spare charging device in those cases and I'm fine. Other than that it's been a great phone. I do know others that have battery issues so i count myself as being lucky.
Not to mention the fact you make a call to a friend about "Knives" or "jumper cables" and all of sudden you see ads for Knives and jumper cables on Facebook and amazon. Freaky
Not to mention the fact you make a call to a friend about "Knives" or "jumper cables" and all of sudden you see ads for Knives and jumper cables on Facebook and amazon. Freaky
How about this. I was talking to a client about making an appointment to meet and when we finished I went to set it up on my calendar and it was already there!
I love my Bushmaster. I upgrade when the current one dies so basically every 5+ years. I had Motorola Droid X and loved how durable it was. Switched to Samsung Galaxy S4 when it first came out. Hated all the bloat ware and how fragile it was. Broke one on day 3. Went back to Motorola with the Droid Maxx Z about 5 years ago and love it. This Bushmaster is indestructible. I've dropped it on concrete, tile, and pavement, kicked down the parking lots, dropped tools on it. No phone protector, no screen protector and no cracks, breaks or any serious damage. The aluminum bezel is scratched a little which is fine.
The camera isn't the greatest but it's perfectly fine. Works fast even after 5 years. Almost no bloat ware. And while iPhones have better security I have nothing on this phone that I'm concerned about security. Have like 5 apps, one of which is a calculator and Waze, taptalk, curiosity stream and weather. Never had tweeter, FB, Instagram. Only social media is a few forums. So while I'm I do value my security what's on the phone is a low priority for me.
I had the same issue with PC stuff years ago. Once I switched to apple I stopped paying attention to my machines and more on my work. Productivity trumps tech, so find what works for you.
Apple continues rolling out their privacy policies which I appreciate. They just announced a string of new privacy features. While I don’t trust apple anymore than the others, at least they are working at minimizing users’ exposure.
THAT. I’m not in the least impressed with any new hardware that come out of Apple in the last five years, but the software is rocksolid.
<—- ALL of the tech companies spy on you. Apple seems to just spy on you less than anyone else.
I have an EIGHT year old MacBook Air that still runs as good as it did the day it was brand new. I’ve never had a Windows notebook make it past two years.
No fanboy here. I Stick with Apple because it does what I need it to do, and I’ve yet to find a better alternative... For ME. Your mileage may vary.
I could switch at some point, but it would have to be an overwhelming improvement. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
That is probably true. The iPhone 6S is from 2015. I assume your One Plus is a current model using the latest.
Use what works best for you, or what makes you happiest. I get along well with both iPhone and Android users, and don't hold it against anyone what phone they choose.
The OnePlus pro 7 just out is miles better than the 10XR it appears. I'm not up on what's top of the line 10 series these days, but again, to get notably better performance you'll have to spend more than it's worth at this point. The camera in this phone as good as any one the market, the DAC is top quality, 90hx refresh rates and the screen far better than at least the 10XR, which I know is not the top of the line for the 10 series. Finally, Iphone has no dual SIM models far as I know, and carrying two phones when I travel to Panama is a PITA. A good comparison vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSCfDNbxlw4
Performance, options, processing speeds, which 10 is comparable? I have 2 weeks to see if I like this new phone, so if I do send it back because I hate the OS, which 10 should I be looking at? I usually get last model vs latest greatest, so was looking at 8+ before I got this new phone, and this nee phone superior to the 8+ in every way.
....Also, those already totally invested in Apple and have all their products that integrate with each other.
Kind of like the Glock people that have all the mags, holster options and accessories - it works well and they are invested - why change if they really don't need to unless they are looking for a a change for whatever reason?
If you like tinkering, the Android world is so much bigger and open. Just like Windows vs iOS.
Awww....for a minute there, I didn't think you really understood. I stand corrected.
sundance435
06-04-19, 14:34
For the first time in 8 years, I'm seriously considering ditching iPhone when it's time for a new phone. I have a Samsung Android for work that I can't warm up to, though. I really like iOS, but I can't justify $1000 for a new iPhone that does nothing better than a Samsung, except iOS v. Android. The camera alone on my Galaxy 8 or 9 (no idea which one it is) is miles better than my iPhone X.
Anyone have some $$$ in iTunes that made the switch to Android? That's really my main concern at this point. Also, how about photos/file transfer in general between the two?
Adrenaline_6
06-04-19, 14:37
For the first time in 8 years, I'm seriously considering ditching iPhone when it's time for a new phone. I have a Samsung Android for work that I can't warm up to, though. I really like iOS, but I can't justify $1000 for a new iPhone that does nothing better than a Samsung, except iOS v. Android. The camera alone on my Galaxy 8 or 9 (no idea which one it is) is miles better than my iPhone X.
Anyone have some $$$ in iTunes that made the switch to Android? That's really my main concern at this point. Also, how about photos/file transfer in general between the two?
The fact that Apple is going towards streaming music since iTunes is no longer really a money maker for them should help. They will have iMusic instead. If you have Amazon Prime - you already have Amazon music for free. Win.
edit: Apple Music, TV and Podcasts will be 3 separate apps.
For the first time in 8 years, I'm seriously considering ditching iPhone when it's time for a new phone. I have a Samsung Android for work that I can't warm up to, though. I really like iOS, but I can't justify $1000 for a new iPhone that does nothing better than a Samsung, except iOS v. Android. The camera alone on my Galaxy 8 or 9 (no idea which one it is) is miles better than my iPhone X.
Anyone have some $$$ in iTunes that made the switch to Android? That's really my main concern at this point. Also, how about photos/file transfer in general between the two?
Itunes is going bye bye:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/apple-finally-going-put-itunes-182605328.html
My transfer has been a mixed, but transfer app I used made most of it pretty straight forward, but switching phones, especially one OS to another, is time consuming and a PITA at times.
Not sure what you mean by $ in Itunes. I have purchased music and movies from it in the past, and google, Amazon, all have the same stuff now, much less clunky than Itunes. Like most mac heads, I just defaulted to Itunes because they'd done such a good job of integrating their services, but others have caught up if not exceeded that now too.
What's really been the PITA transfer wise oddly, has been stuff like IG app, and Uber and such which should have been simpler.
Itunes is going bye bye:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/apple-finally-going-put-itunes-182605328.html
My transfer has been a mixed, but transfer app I used made most of it pretty straight forward, but switching phones, especially one OS to another, is time consuming and a PITA at times.
Not sure what you mean by $ in Itunes. I have purchased music and movies from it in the past, and google, Amazon, all have the same stuff now, much less clunky than Itunes. Like most mac heads, I just defaulted to Itunes because they'd done such a good job of integrating their services, but others have caught up if not exceeded that now too.
What's really been the PITA transfer wise oddly, has been stuff like IG app, and Uber and such which should have been simpler.
I buy movies and TV shows, mostly from iTunes but also from Amazon, HBO, Showtime, SyFy, etc., or directly from my cable provider, Spectrum. I subscribe to them either directly or access them through Spectrum and watch either on my computer or TV through AppleTV. I am totally indifferent to music, so what Apple does with music is of llittle interest to me. Thus far, any music that I've wanted to listen to comes up simply by asking Alexa to play it. Sometimes, she makes me buy it...I'm OK with that. Apple's grim determination that we will all be interested in their music offering is annoying to me, but that's me. There must be a buck in it, or lots of bucks, or Apple wouldn't be so focused on it. I conclude that there are people out their who really take music seriously. I get by fine with Pandora and satellite radio.
I have no idea what Apple is up to with their scrapping iTunes. Sounds like it's part of their ongoing desperate search for relevance in a concept they invented and then lost the handle on.
Finally, Iphone has no dual SIM models far as I know, and carrying two phones when I travel to Panama is a PITA. A good comparison vid:
The iPhone XS family has dual SIM. The "gotcha" is it has one physical SIM slot (unless you get a China market phone) and one SIM soft slot -- configurable by SW. SIM soft slots or eSIMs are the future, but the support is not universal at the moment.
I don't have personal experience with it. I need to see if T-Mobile supports the eSIM as your MAIN account SIM yet as it would be nice to get a SIM in Japan when we go later this year and not need 2 phones. (Yes, I know T-Mobile offers international data "for free", but unless you happen to be international in a country with a special promo deal, it is not very fast)
I buy movies and TV shows, mostly from iTunes but also from Amazon, HBO, Showtime, SyFy, etc., or directly from my cable provider, Spectrum. I subscribe to them either directly or access them through Spectrum and watch either on my computer or TV through AppleTV. I am totally indifferent to music, so what Apple does with music is of llittle interest to me. Thus far, any music that I've wanted to listen to comes up simply by asking Alexa to play it. Sometimes, she makes me buy it...I'm OK with that. Apple's grim determination that we will all be interested in their music offering is annoying to me, but that's me. There must be a buck in it, or lots of bucks, or Apple wouldn't be so focused on it. I conclude that there are people out their who really take music seriously. I get by fine with Pandora and satellite radio.
I have no idea what Apple is up to with their scrapping iTunes. Sounds like it's part of their ongoing desperate search for relevance in a concept they invented and then lost the handle on.
Apple is not scrapping iTunes, as in music store, etc. What they are scrapping, is the unified iTunes App that is the be-all, end-all, do-all, all-in-1 app. They are dividing it out into a Music app, a TV (video) app, and a Podcast app. iTunes the service is not going away. (The name probably will but the actual service is not). Any music you have bought will still be there and available and you will continue to be able to buy music, or subscribe to their streaming service if you want, etc. Your videos, podcasts, etc are going no where. They will just be accessed through a different app on your Mac. (I don't know what is happening with the Windows version version of iTunes).
Also, at least in the US, Apple got rid of DRM on their music long ago, so if you have music you bought on iTunes, you should be able to find it on the disk (in the "Music" folder for now), and copy it anywhere you want and continue to use it. If you don't want AAC files you can export them as MP3. If you have older DRM protected iTunes music files still, you can at a minimum write them to a CD and rip that CD. There are probably easier ways to export them now -- I have not tried in years.
So if you feel inclined to move to Windows or Android or Linux or whatever, your "investment" in iTunes music should be safe. The non-protected files end in .M4a and are MPEG-4 audio files. .M4p are protected like you get with Apple Music subscription when you download them.
Non-US iTunes music files may still have DRM protection, as required by those markets governing authorities so what I said above may not apply. But even in those cases, you should be able to burn them to a CD and re-rip them.
The OnePlus pro 7 just out is miles better than the 10XR it appears.
Counter point of a sort: https://www.androidcentral.com/oneplus-7-pro-vs-iphone-xr
The Geekbench benchmarks for the XR are faster than the OnePlus 7 pro, despite having half the RAM as well. (That efficiency thing I was talking about earlier).
Honestly, use the one you are happiest with. For me it comes down to the software -- better app ecosystem and I trust Apple more than Google. Apple sells me a phone. Google sells me "free stuff" in exchange for my soul. And vendors tend to drop support for "old" phones on the Android side much quicker than Apple does. And iOS is a far superior system to Android on the inside in terms of efficiency and how it is organized. Android lets you "customize" more, which to me is a big whoop-de-do who cares. But if that is your thing. In today's world, both function well and both will do their jobs. Use the one that makes you the most happy.
I don't know anything about Iphones, Macs or Apple. My wife got me a new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 fancy computer phone a few months back. I just wanted something to send a text and maybe do something crazy like have a conversation on it every once in a while. I guess it'll do those things.
NYH1.
Apple is not scrapping iTunes, as in music store, etc. What they are scrapping, is the unified iTunes App that is the be-all, end-all, do-all, all-in-1 app. They are dividing it out into a Music app, a TV (video) app, and a Podcast app. iTunes the service is not going away. (The name probably will but the actual service is not). Any music you have bought will still be there and available and you will continue to be able to buy music, or subscribe to their streaming service if you want, etc. Your videos, podcasts, etc are going no where. They will just be accessed through a different app on your Mac. (I don't know what is happening with the Windows version version of iTunes).
Also, at least in the US, Apple got rid of DRM on their music long ago, so if you have music you bought on iTunes, you should be able to find it on the disk (in the "Music" folder for now), and copy it anywhere you want and continue to use it. If you don't want AAC files you can export them as MP3. If you have older DRM protected iTunes music files still, you can at a minimum write them to a CD and rip that CD. There are probably easier ways to export them now -- I have not tried in years.
So if you feel inclined to move to Windows or Android or Linux or whatever, your "investment" in iTunes music should be safe. The non-protected files end in .M4a and are MPEG-4 audio files. .M4p are protected like you get with Apple Music subscription when you download them.
Non-US iTunes music files may still have DRM protection, as required by those markets governing authorities so what I said above may not apply. But even in those cases, you should be able to burn them to a CD and re-rip them.
I have no interest in “moving to Windows or Android”. The Apple infrastructure suits my needs perfectly. My phone is a communication device and a handheld way of addressing the various data functions I need or want in my daily life. It has nothing to do with listening to music. They can do whatever they want with iTunes. I have zero doubt that any of the various entertainment functions that I want will continue to be available to me somewhere that I can access with my iPhone, iPad, or iMac Pro. I don’t care where.
The iPhone XS family has dual SIM. The "gotcha" is it has one physical SIM slot (unless you get a China market phone) and one SIM soft slot -- configurable by SW. SIM soft slots or eSIMs are the future, but the support is not universal at the moment.
I don't have personal experience with it. I need to see if T-Mobile supports the eSIM as your MAIN account SIM yet as it would be nice to get a SIM in Japan when we go later this year and not need 2 phones. (Yes, I know T-Mobile offers international data "for free", but unless you happen to be international in a country with a special promo deal, it is not very fast)
Not sure what a SIM soft slot is, unless it cats like a legit dual SIM phone where you can simply toggle between SIMs as needed, does not sound great. The dual SIM was not a deal breaker, but will be nice to have as currently I have to carry two phone when in Panama.
Counter point of a sort: https://www.androidcentral.com/oneplus-7-pro-vs-iphone-xr
The Geekbench benchmarks for the XR are faster than the OnePlus 7 pro, despite having half the RAM as well. (That efficiency thing I was talking about earlier).
Honestly, use the one you are happiest with. For me it comes down to the software -- better app ecosystem and I trust Apple more than Google. Apple sells me a phone. Google sells me "free stuff" in exchange for my soul. And vendors tend to drop support for "old" phones on the Android side much quicker than Apple does. And iOS is a far superior system to Android on the inside in terms of efficiency and how it is organized. Android lets you "customize" more, which to me is a big whoop-de-do who cares. But if that is your thing. In today's world, both function well and both will do their jobs. Use the one that makes you the most happy.
Good read. They still seem to favor the OnePlus but make good points in favor of the Iphone. This will be my experiment away from Iphones/Mac. I have 2 weeks to see if i wanna keep it, and so far, It's doing well. Learning new OS is PITA but pretty straight forward.
Not sure what a SIM soft slot is, unless it cats like a legit dual SIM phone where you can simply toggle between SIMs as needed, does not sound great. The dual SIM was not a deal breaker, but will be nice to have as currently I have to carry two phone when in Panama.
That is basically it. You have two active SIMs, but one is not a physical card, but rather a soft SIM or eSIM (the same circuitry on the card is built into the phone instead and can be configured at will). You can toggle between them. I have not used it so I don't know how the experience is.
iPhone XS made for the China market take 2 physical SIMs in some way (I think stacked or something) due to requirements of that local market.
That is basically it. You have two active SIMs, but one is not a physical card, but rather a soft SIM or eSIM (the same circuitry on the card is built into the phone instead and can be configured at will). You can toggle between them. I have not used it so I don't know how the experience is.
iPhone XS made for the China market take 2 physical SIMs in some way (I think stacked or something) due to requirements of that local market.
So as long as whatever local carrier you are trying to use supports it, adding in a second carrier (on an unlocked phone) seems to be pretty straight forward. And you can store multiple eSIMs on the phone and switch between them. Up to some limit I don't know. Unfortunately, T-Mobile US does not yet support the eSIM for post paid plans, either primary or secondary. I tweeted Mr Legere and asked him to get this fixed already.
Really don't understand the concern over sim issues.
I regularly cut over to Euro sims, and use some tricks to make calls/texts forward from my US number.
Dual sim might would be handy, but largely when I'm traveling outside of the US for more than a week I don't want my US SIM active.
I guess exceptions would be when you had to have outgoing calls from overseas originate from your US cell number. Note I said your cell number, having your outbound original from a US number is trivial.
Having both active would be the worst of both worlds: US carrier international surcharge/fees/rates + my local country SIM. (Normally very cheap).
When you can get a vodafon sim for $20 Euro with 5-20GB of data good for a month good in all EU countries, really not worth fooling with US carriers while overseas. Even if I had T-mobile or Fi (which I did), I still want 4G speeds/coverage rather than throttled stuff from t-mobile or the MVNO's.
That is basically it. You have two active SIMs, but one is not a physical card, but rather a soft SIM or eSIM (the same circuitry on the card is built into the phone instead and can be configured at will). You can toggle between them. I have not used it so I don't know how the experience is.
iPhone XS made for the China market take 2 physical SIMs in some way (I think stacked or something) due to requirements of that local market.
I'm looking forward to the dual SIM capability. Good review here more tech/spec oriented. The oneplus 7 pro sets the standard in value for $, while the top end Iphones and maybe Samsungs have an edge in some areas, but the screen of the oneplus 7 pro is a new standard. Specs and performance are top end so far it appears:
https://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_7_pro-review-1930p3.php
Really don't understand the concern over sim issues.
I regularly cut over to Euro sims, and use some tricks to make calls/texts forward from my US number.
Dual sim might would be handy, but largely when I'm traveling outside of the US for more than a week I don't want my US SIM active.
I guess exceptions would be when you had to have outgoing calls from overseas originate from your US cell number. Note I said your cell number, having your outbound original from a US number is trivial.
Having both active would be the worst of both worlds: US carrier international surcharge/fees/rates + my local country SIM. (Normally very cheap).
When you can get a vodafon sim for $20 Euro with 5-20GB of data good for a month good in all EU countries, really not worth fooling with US carriers while overseas. Even if I had T-mobile or Fi (which I did), I still want 4G speeds/coverage rather than throttled stuff from t-mobile or the MVNO's.
There's various ways to approach the dual SIM thing, some will set their home SIM to wi fi only when traveling, and their local # to take calls and so forth. If you spend regular time in one country outside the US as I do, and have a local number, I end up carrying two phones around, which is a PITA for obvious reasons. I tend to turn off roaming on the US number, or pay the $10 per day international calling fee At&T has to get/make calls. I can't speak to Euro options, only SA/CA.
There's various ways to approach the dual SIM thing, some will set their home SIM to wi fi only when traveling, and their local # to take calls and so forth. If you spend regular time in one country outside the US as I do, and have a local number, I end up carrying two phones around, which is a PITA for obvious reasons. I tend to turn off roaming on the US number, or pay the $10 per day international calling fee At&T has to get/make calls. I can't speak to Euro options, only SA/CA.
EU calling is not cheap/free no matter how you do it. (0.1 Euro / minute is typical) So most cut over to a mix of whatsap / hangouts/google voice.
I use google voice as my VM on my US line. So ring no answer goes to that number automatically. It also rings hangouts (handy), and texts come in via hangout texts.
I can also activate an EU number on google voice/talk to be ringed in parallel, but it really does not buy much. Data quality is good and cheap, so most folks just use VOIP via whatsap, hangouts, or skype. I don't care for whatsap, but it's dominant in Europe and India, most folks don't call regular lines except for businesses, etc.
ATT & Verizon are typically ~$10/day any time you have international activity, but use your current plan data. So my approach is 1-3 days, I'll just use the per day charge. Beyond that I just put some money on my Euro Sim and am in business again.
But for longer, I cut over to a local SIM and my US number calls & texts essentially forwards.
Build a Hackintosh... It's a revelation running MacOS on high-end PC hardware with proper cooling.
I sure do not understand the Mac desktop thing lately.
I've run multiple hackintoshes. Works amazingly well. But all being equal I'd rather have a mac mini.
The high end mac desktops? I don't get it, even for high end processing (which few need).
Especially with $1k monitor stands. (and $5k monitors)
I have macbooks that have lasted amazingly well. But will probably will not ever own another as they have stopped allowing ram/disk/battery changes/upgrades. I refuse to accept that.
I'm OK with not making it easy.
EU calling is not cheap/free no matter how you do it. (0.1 Euro / minute is typical) So most cut over to a mix of whatsap / hangouts/google voice.
I use google voice as my VM on my US line. So ring no answer goes to that number automatically. It also rings hangouts (handy), and texts come in via hangout texts.
I can also activate an EU number on google voice/talk to be ringed in parallel, but it really does not buy much. Data quality is good and cheap, so most folks just use VOIP via whatsap, hangouts, or skype. I don't care for whatsap, but it's dominant in Europe and India, most folks don't call regular lines except for businesses, etc.
ATT & Verizon are typically ~$10/day any time you have international activity, but use your current plan data. So my approach is 1-3 days, I'll just use the per day charge. Beyond that I just put some money on my Euro Sim and am in business again.
But for longer, I cut over to a local SIM and my US number calls & texts essentially forwards.
But do you have a standard EU number you have used for years everyone there has as your contact? It's on my biz cards too. I have such a number in Panama and have to carry two phones due to that. I also do the $10 per day thing for my US number for a few days, then turn off roaming so it only works when there's wi fi available, which is most of the time. Dual SIM, I can have one phone to run both numbers in what ever combo I want. I will likely turn US number to wi fi only once in Panama, and leave Panama number as voice/text only, saving me $ on the local plan. Google numbers, etc I don't see saving anything time or $ wise in my situation, but I'm far from HSLD on this topic and trying to figure it all out! Tech is changing like crazy :neo:
I was just checking, and luckily there are a bunch of eSIM providers that cover Japan at reasonable prices, so I will be able to leave my T-Mobile SIM in the phone and activate the second line in Japan. T-Mobile has their "free" international data but t is dog slow. But I can leave both active so I can get emergency calls from the US on my T-Mobile number and use the eSIM for local use...
Dual SIM capability is a good idea if you travel, as it makes it more flexible. You may not always need it, but there are times you will be glad you have it. I am glad that Apple finally started to offer this. They've been pushing the eSIM standard for a long time now (been in the iPad for several years) and finally they are getting traction with eSIM providers around the world.
I ditched the iPhone last year and got the Pixel3. Took me a little while to convert but now I love it. I will not go back to an iPhone. I still have iPads and Macs but lately I've been thinking about getting a new PC instead of replacing my MacBook Air with another Mac. My only issue is I have 4 network drives at home that are all journaled and not NTFS. And I have a mac mini running as my server for everything. I'm almost pot committed on the computer. I hate that the new ones you can't upgrade... Mac is losing people, especially with the 1k monitor stands. That's ridiculous!
I hate that the new ones you can't upgrade... Mac is losing people, especially with the 1k monitor stands. That's ridiculous!
The market stats say otherwise. Apple regularly bucks trends in the PC sales category. The new Mac mini is actually very compelling with 4 thunderbolt ports, which makes it very upgradeable. (And the internal RAM is DIMM mounted and should be upgradeable).
The $1k monitor stand is a specialty stand, very highly engineered and precision manufactured, for a specialty monitor. It is not a regular customer item, but made for broadcast video and similar shops who normally spend much more on monitors than the new Apple monitor made for the new Mac Pro, which is also (currently) a specialty computer for a very niche group, not your average Mac user. Apple will sell a (relative) ton of both the monitor and the Mac Pro. Those people that need it, need it, and will gladly fork out the money. And BTW, I just priced an approximately equivalent HP workstation with the same approximate specs as the $5999 entry level Mac Pro and it was about $9k.
Buy what works best for you, but remember your needs are not the needs of everyone else.
They lost me on the phone and potentially on a computer. Lost a couple friends too. They may still have a big piece of the pie but from my circle they are losing out. And I was referring to the new laptops, they've soldered everything to the board now. The few friends I have that are staying with Mac is only because the cost to convert everything would be too great. They aren't happy about it. YMMV
They lost me on the phone and potentially on a computer. Lost a couple friends too. They may still have a big piece of the pie but from my circle they are losing out. And I was referring to the new laptops, they've soldered everything to the board now. The few friends I have that are staying with Mac is only because the cost to convert everything would be too great. They aren't happy about it. YMMV
I am glad you have found solutions for your problems.
I should note, that most people do not care about expandability of their laptops, and equivalent PC laptops (meaning light weight, slim, handy -- namebrand) are also all soldered in. Soldered in components are more reliable, and provide for lighter, slimmer/thinner, more handy laptops. That is why most name brand PC ones are soldered as well. Some PC ones have replaceable RAM but nothing else, but again that is a tradeoff. Even amongst those who say that such "upgradability" is important to them, those people hardly ever actually do any upgrades.
I hate that the new ones you can't upgrade... Mac is losing people, especially with the 1k monitor stands. That's ridiculous!
Both of those assertions have been made about Macs since about 1984, while Apple was on its way to being one of the most valuable companies in the world. I think these kinds of statements about Apple are more about wishful thinking than they are about reality.
They lost me on the phone and potentially on a computer. Lost a couple friends too. They may still have a big piece of the pie but from my circle they are losing out. And I was referring to the new laptops, they've soldered everything to the board now. The few friends I have that are staying with Mac is only because the cost to convert everything would be too great. They aren't happy about it. YMMV
The thing that annoys me about the new laptops is the fact that they, for some reason, decided that a few USB-C ports with adapter dongles was a better idea that using industry-standard ports. That's a PITA for sure. My computing is probably evenly divided between Windows and MacOS. Dropbox ameliorates the situation but still a PITA.
The narrative is strong in this thread.
https://i.imgur.com/DJa9VGRb.jpg
Both of those assertions have been made about Macs since about 1984, while Apple was on its way to being one of the most valuable companies in the world. I think these kinds of statements about Apple are more about wishful thinking than they are about reality.
Personally, I feel that without Jobs at the creative helm, Apple will continue to lose market share and $ unless they purchase/diversify their way out of it. Apple tried to purchase Tesla apparently:
https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/apple-tried-to-buy-tesla-it-all-fell-apart-for-a-truly-stunning-reason-according-to-a-new-report.html
They have been more reactive than proactive in recent years and i felt that way well before jumping ship. It's part Apple and part other companies catching up:
Apple lost around $64 billion in market capitalization after warning that sales have slowed.
Apple's stock has been falling for the past two months after they announced they would no longer report iPhone sales numbers.
iPhone XR and XS demand has slowed according to some analysts. Apple's CEO Tim Cook attributed slowing sales partly to Donald Trump's trade war with China.
Business Insider's Kif Leswing breaks down what's going on with Apple.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-sales-slowed-stock-plunge-2019-1
Personally, I feel that without Jobs at the creative helm, Apple will continue to lose market share and $ unless they purchase/diversify their way out of it. Apple tried to purchase Tesla apparently:
https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/apple-tried-to-buy-tesla-it-all-fell-apart-for-a-truly-stunning-reason-according-to-a-new-report.html
They have been more reactive than proactive in recent years and i felt that way well before jumping ship. It's part Apple and part other companies catching up:
Apple lost around $64 billion in market capitalization after warning that sales have slowed.
Apple's stock has been falling for the past two months after they announced they would no longer report iPhone sales numbers.
iPhone XR and XS demand has slowed according to some analysts. Apple's CEO Tim Cook attributed slowing sales partly to Donald Trump's trade war with China.
Business Insider's Kif Leswing breaks down what's going on with Apple.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-sales-slowed-stock-plunge-2019-1
I'm always amused that people very often will seize on market fluctuations as evidence that Apple is going to die soon.
I do agree that Apple's success has been built on Steve Jobs' vision, and Tim Cook just doesn't have that at all. However, in the past, Apple was innovating in a desert of stagnation. Their only real competition for all those years was Microsoft and innovation was not part of Microsoft's ethos. Now, the field is littered with smart people and exponentially increasing technology and Apple is having a harder time doing what it has done best...standing out from the crowd. Amazon, for example, is kicking their ass.
I'm always amused that people very often will seize on market fluctuations as evidence that Apple is going to die soon.
I do agree that Apple's success has been built on Steve Jobs' vision, and Tim Cook just doesn't have that at all. However, in the past, Apple was innovating in a desert of stagnation. Their only real competition for all those years was Microsoft and innovation was not part of Microsoft's ethos. Now, the field is littered with smart people and exponentially increasing technology and Apple is having a harder time doing what it has done best...standing out from the crowd. Amazon, for example, is kicking their ass.
Agreed, good thing that's not really what I'm doing here..."soon" never left my lips here. I actually sold most Apple stock after Jobs died as that was my conclusion then, as it is now, and that's been the trend ever since with peaks and dips to be sure, but that's the trend I see unless they pull another rabbit from their hat, which I don't see happening. No doubt they will be a big force for a while as they have more $ than god at the moment, so I'm interested to see where they go. Like many companies before them that lost market share they dominated, they will either purchase/diversify their way out of it or they will slowly slide into "remember when Apple was so freakin' huge?" territory.
Amazon, for example, is kicking their ass.
Hardly. I think you are referring to Alexa (and associated HW)? Yes, they can basically give away low end HW to lock people into their system to buy stuff. Different market. Apple is not playing in that market. Apple markets a "home assistant for those who want smooth integration with HomeKit, Siri, etc and wants their privacy protected.
Amazon Fire phone? Failure. Amazon tablets? Cheap throw away HW (that often don't get used more than a short while after purchase) whose whole purpose is to get you to buy stuff.
The thing that annoys me about the new laptops is the fact that they, for some reason, decided that a few USB-C ports with adapter dongles was a better idea that using industry-standard ports. That's a PITA for sure. My computing is probably evenly divided between Windows and MacOS. Dropbox ameliorates the situation but still a PITA.
USB-C is not industry standard?
The rest of the market is catching up and now most types of things you want to plug in are available in USB-C models. The need for "dongles" has gone down greatly.
Hardly. I think you are referring to Alexa (and associated HW)? Yes, they can basically give away low end HW to lock people into their system to buy stuff. Different market. Apple is not playing in that market. Apple markets a "home assistant for those who want smooth integration with HomeKit, Siri, etc and wants their privacy protected.
Amazon Fire phone? Failure. Amazon tablets? Cheap throw away HW (that often don't get used more than a short while after purchase) whose whole purpose is to get you to buy stuff.
Apple does integration of their products better than anyone, and a major reason many stay, including me. Again, others catching up/caught up, rapidly including doing so with Apple stuff. By in large, Apple usually has a focus on ease of functionality and quality. The Apple speaker gets really low marks as a "smart" speaker, but sounds better than any comparable product by miles. As an audiophile type (reformed) who had systems in the high end territory and such, the sounds from that little speaker is impressive.
I had the same issue with PC stuff years ago. Once I switched to apple I stopped paying attention to my machines and more on my work. Productivity trumps tech, so find what works for you.
Apple continues rolling out their privacy policies which I appreciate. They just announced a string of new privacy features. While I don’t trust apple anymore than the others, at least they are working at minimizing users’ exposure.
My issue is, Apple services are supposed to be secure. Assume they are. None of the third party apps are, and harvest telemetry in addition to user input. Further, the app financial model requires this. The tighter a squeeze Apple puts on them for data, the more will go through services or one-time purchases, of which apple takes a cut. Apple hopes to cut off third party sign on. Privacy is good. But there's a financial motive as well. And it isn't sell more iPhones. It's to capitalize on the install base. There will be changes in how the app store monetizes developers, and maybe price structure changes for users. Quicker if Apple can cut off as much data as possible, and insert itself as a middle man for all user data.
Put it another way, they want the user to be their customer, not the third party service. Which is OK. As a user I can see the merit in that from a privacy standpoint. But the price will increase once they're in the middle. Whether it's on hardware premiums, service plans, or revenue takes.My issue with Apple is the premium, even before the privacy campaign, was for services that were substandard. Productivity tools that were incompatible with industry standard. cloud drives that couldn't do basic collaboration. Maps that, despite promises for years, were woefully unequal to the competition, and could not be exchanged as a default. a web browser that used an engine different than chromium - very good - but was consistently years behind in development, and would not work with enterprise web apps. Oh, and couldn't be changed as a default. A web portal for services that was high on visual polish, but very basic in its implementation. Hardware design decisions that sacrifice utility for aesthetic. Hardware design decisions based on furthering the purchase of other apple products, rather than user experience as an end in itself (ie dongles, earpods).
Now, on the other hand, their SCM is absolutely amazing. their customer support is fantastic. But that doesn't really make up - to me - for the price premium. If I'm buying services from Google, Microsoft, and AWS, why am I paying the premium for Apple's value adds that I don't use? If those services can track me, and other third-party apps can still track me, even though apple locks its own data down, what am I protecting, using an apple device?
My issue is, Apple services are supposed to be secure. Assume they are. None of the third party apps are, and harvest telemetry in addition to user input. Further, the app financial model requires this. The tighter a squeeze Apple puts on them for data, the more will go through services or one-time purchases, of which apple takes a cut. Apple hopes to cut off third party sign on. Privacy is good. But there's a financial motive as well. And it isn't sell more iPhones. It's to capitalize on the install base. There will be changes in how the app store monetizes developers, and maybe price structure changes for users. Quicker if Apple can cut off as much data as possible, and insert itself as a middle man for all user data.
Put it another way, they want the user to be their customer, not the third party service. Which is OK. As a user I can see the merit in that from a privacy standpoint. But the price will increase once they're in the middle. Whether it's on hardware premiums, service plans, or revenue takes.My issue with Apple is the premium, even before the privacy campaign, was for services that were substandard. Productivity tools that were incompatible with industry standard. cloud drives that couldn't do basic collaboration. Maps that, despite promises for years, were woefully unequal to the competition, and could not be exchanged as a default. a web browser that used an engine different than chromium - very good - but was consistently years behind in development, and would not work with enterprise web apps. Oh, and couldn't be changed as a default. A web portal for services that was high on visual polish, but very basic in its implementation. Hardware design decisions that sacrifice utility for aesthetic. Hardware design decisions based on furthering the purchase of other apple products, rather than user experience as an end in itself (ie dongles, earpods).
Now, on the other hand, their SCM is absolutely amazing. their customer support is fantastic. But that doesn't really make up - to me - for the price premium. If I'm buying services from Google, Microsoft, and AWS, why am I paying the premium for Apple's value adds that I don't use? If those services can track me, and other third-party apps can still track me, even though apple locks its own data down, what am I protecting, using an apple device?
For myself only, I have never assumed any of them are secure and never will. For myself, I think anyone who thinks their phones are secure is fooling themselves. For me, all those years of using Apple, the premium price was worth it. Now, it's debatable, and the juice not worth the squeeze any more for many. For me, that may stop with phones, but I'm now more open to the idea of jumping ship totally as my experience so far with this new OnePlus 7 pro, while early, has been quite good. Now that I'm getting used the new OS, I'm liking it a lot.
Will see if that impression lasts beyond the honeymoon phase.
I have no problem with the USB-C but one thing I loved about all my older mac's was the magnetic power cable. I rarely use my personal computer on a desk and that magnetic power cable has been pulled off by me, the dog, the kid and just about everything else one of us has had in our hands. They make an aftermarket plug that can be used as a magnetic attachment so at least there is that.
And I have changed out hard drives and/or added more ram to every laptop I've ever owned. I always bought the most available at the time but typically advancements happen and more becomes available at a way reduced price. I'm all for thin and light but having flexibility is worth it to me. I still have a 2008 brick of a mac that still works so I'm not sure a soldered connection would be any better than that lifespan. It's rarely used but it still works on the rare occasion I power it up.
I just meant for the sake of argument. They are not for a variety of reasons. They are pretty opaque about it as well.
The individual identifying data they aquire and retain is probably less than their competitors. It appears so but they're pretty opaque on that as well.
Keep posting. I'm a week in on Android/windows, and I'm frustrated. I didn't improve my experience just substituted one set of frustrations for another.
Update: so far I'm really liking this phone. The new OS learning curve was a few frustrating days and not everything perfectly transferred, but I'm more and more impressed with it as I use it. One can really configure an Android phone in ways I never saw on Iphones, and what Iphones had over others, such as camera, etc, either no longer or just not difference enough to justify the $ at this point. Will see if this phone, and my leaving the Mac click :cool:
Adrenaline_6
06-12-19, 09:03
Update: so far I'm really liking this phone. The new OS learning curve was a few frustrating days and not everything perfectly transferred, but I'm more and more impressed with it as I use it. One can really configure an Android phone in ways I never saw on Iphones, and what Iphones had over others, such as camera, etc, either no longer or just not difference enough to justify the $ at this point. Will see if this phone, and my leaving the Mac click :cool:
Good to see it working out for you. The ones that say Apple is so much better have drowned in the kool aid. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The people who are fully invested in a bunch of devices that are integrated I fully understand the hesitation to switch. Other than that, you just like the kool aid, no different than some gun brands, knives, flashlights, motorcycle brands etc. In the end, you only limit yourself.
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