Apple |OT|

Massa said:

Eh, it was a great product. I work with people who only got into Mac/iOS because there was a $500 option to get started. A $900 Mac mini already exists, and it comes with a screen built in.

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It really never was at $499. Besides the 2014 model, which had an ultrabook processor along with soldered 4GB RAM and a 5400 RPM drive, the last time the Mac mini was $499 before that was when it was a G4 back in 2005, and was arguably a pretty underpowered product back then too.

Most people aren't going to tinker and take their machines apart, especially if it's difficult. Having a decent base product is important, and I'd argue with all the nonsense about how Tim Cook is killing apple, the argument that there are now products you just shouldn't buy is the most salient one.

GAMEPROFF said:

Man, fuck, I noticed that copying the photos from one device to the PC and syncing it from there to the new iPhone destroys their metadate, I have now about 2000 pictures shot last tuesday... is there any way to solve this with a PC? Also, the new folder function is really a pain in the ass, I have now 20 folders labeled in the way iOS created in on the last phone...

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Solution:
-Import all your photos to your PC
-Download a Batch Exif Editor
-Set the option to make the data creation date = Exif Data for when the picture was captured
-Transfer them to the new phone

Any news on Mojave.1 coming out?

probably around the same time as the event. Before the end of oct no doubt.

Still no news/leaks for the new rMBA?

Haselbacher said:

Still no news/leaks for the new rMBA?

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Supposedly...

The new laptop will look similar to the current MacBook Air, but will include thinner bezels around the screen. The display, which will remain about 13-inches, will be a higher-resolution "Retina" version that Apple uses on other products, the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing products still in development.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...plan-revamped-low-cost-macs-to-reignite-sales

I need specs leaks next week.

So what is the best cable to get if you want to charge a phone and listen to something at the same time? The Belkin one seems to be trashed by user reviews on Apple's own site, so is there some fake/unsupported one that does better?

firehawk12 said:

So what is the best cable to get if you want to charge a phone and listen to something at the same time? The Belkin one seems to be trashed by user reviews on Apple's own site, so is there some fake/unsupported one that does better?

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Is this the kind of thing you're looking for? It's worked perfectly for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072FS6SRM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Kordelle said:

I need specs leaks next week.

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Lol what's the point of getting specs a week before an event, and before you can actually buy or even price it out?

Coriander said:

Is this the kind of thing you're looking for? It's worked perfectly for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072FS6SRM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Weird, Amazon doesn't even sell it anymore... did that weird Apple 3rd party ban thing kill it?

Any 3rd party AppleTV remotes with Siri? The official remote is kind of meh, but I really love the Siri feature. I just haven't been able to find any 3rd party remotes with it. I know Siri was opened up to 3rd parties recently. Hoping someone on here knows anything.

firehawk12 said:

Weird, Amazon doesn't even sell it anymore... did that weird Apple 3rd party ban thing kill it?

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I apologize. I could've sworn the purchasing link was active when I visited the page to get the link.

Coriander said:

I apologize. I could've sworn the purchasing link was active when I visited the page to get the link.

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I guess there's no standard "good cable" to use then?

XR reviews are staring to come out for anyone who is interested.

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/apple-iphone-xr-review/

EDIT:
Gruber — https://daringfireball.net/2018/10/the_iphone_xr
The Verge — https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/23/18011306/apple-iphone-xr-review-camera-screen-battery-price
Mashable — https://mashable.com/feature/iphone-xr-review/

All Mashable's images & video (including product "hero" shots) for the XR were shot on another XR.

formasymphonic said:

XR reviews are staring to come out for anyone who is interested.

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/apple-iphone-xr-review/

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Portrait photos look rather decent, I'm impressed.

I was interested in the Xr but having recently just discovered Logic Remote I don't think I want a phone without 3D Touch. I hope Apple doesn't remove the feature in future devices (or finds a way to add it to the iPad).

Mike D said:

I was interested in the Xr but having recently just discovered Logic Remote I don't think I want a phone without 3D Touch. I hope Apple doesn't remove the feature in future devices (or finds a way to add it to the iPad).

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3D Touch is the fastest way to open a private browsing tab.
And I sometimes need that. for ... reasons.

I hope they give us the option to choose the camera for portrait mode on the Xs2 next year, because that would make my decision much easier :/

Kordelle said:

I hope they give us the option to choose the camera for portrait mode on the Xs2 next year, because that would make my decision much easier :/

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They should just let you zoom out and make it automatically switch tbh. Portrait mode was never advertised for anything but people so it's not even an issue tbh.

Fliesen said:

Portrait photos look rather decent, I'm impressed.

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Personally, I actually preferred it being wide than with the telephoto lens. It's a shame that Apple won't offer it as an option on the XS models.

Kordelle said:

I hope they give us the option to choose the camera for portrait mode on the Xs2 next year, because that would make my decision much easier :/

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Really... the only thing stopping them from doing it now, is that they don't have a UI implementation to switch between the wide & tele that you could use without causing confusion on why one camera can seemingly do portrait on anything, while the other will only do it for people.

But tbh, I think they should take the chance on people and just use the (1x) / (2x) option they use for the zoom now. I'd be shocked if the A12 wasn't beefy enough to switch ML models on the fly.

Any rumors of a new Apple TV?

Fliesen said:

3D Touch is the fastest way to open a private browsing tab.
And I sometimes need that. for ... reasons.

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Gotta go fast.

formasymphonic said:

XR reviews are staring to come out for anyone who is interested.

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/apple-iphone-xr-review/

EDIT:
Gruber — https://daringfireball.net/2018/10/the_iphone_xr
The Verge — https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/23/18011306/apple-iphone-xr-review-camera-screen-battery-price
Mashable — https://mashable.com/feature/iphone-xr-review/

All Mashable's images & video (including product "hero" shots) for the XR were shot on another XR.

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I'd love to see some extended in-depth battery tests of this thing.

MicroLED (and its power savings) can't reach maturity soon enough IMO - I don't think we'll get an all-day-battery-life high-end iPhone until then.

iOS dark mode would help, of course.

Interesting that you get a 'better' portrait mode on the XR through the single lens.

To me the ultimate problem is that I just don't want a Plus or near-Plus-sized phone, and that's enough to push me to the XS. Not going to wait indefinitely hoping they bring back the SE in some form.

Also:

That is a horrifying number of app pages. I've only got two, and I leave the bottom row free because I don't like the crammed look on my 6.

badcrumble said:

I'd love to see some extended in-depth battery tests of this thing.

MicroLED (and its power savings) can't reach maturity soon enough IMO - I don't think we'll get an all-day-battery-life high-end iPhone until then.

iOS dark mode would help, of course.

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Realistically a new battery technology is what's needed. Changing display types is a bit like what Intel are doing with their 14nm chips, trying to wringe more performance out of a hard ceiling. Emitting light is always going to have a significant energy cost.

It's not like there isn't a lot of money in a new, stable and long lasting battery so it's pretty clear it's a hard problem to solve given how long Li-Ion has been around.

Stolen Sheep said:

Realistically a new battery technology is what's needed. Changing display types is a bit like what Intel are doing with their 14nm chips, trying to wringe more performance out of a hard ceiling. Emitting light is always going to have a significant energy cost.

It's not like there isn't a lot of money in a new, stable and long lasting battery so it's pretty clear it's a hard problem to solve given how long Li-Ion has been around.

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Yeah, a generational leap in battery tech would basically transform everything overnight - I just try to rule it out beforehand in these discussions because at this point it feels like saying "what's needed here is for a magical fairy to come along and grant our wishes."

But yeah, I really hope someone makes such a breakthrough soon. What has been achieved *without* a generational leap in battery tech is pretty fucking incredible, of course, but when such a leap comes, we'll basically see all portable devices instantly go to "never really think about your battery again as long as you charge it overnight."

badcrumble said:

Yeah, a generational leap in battery tech would basically transform everything overnight - I just try to rule it out beforehand in these discussions because at this point it feels like saying "what's needed here is for a magical fairy to come along and grant our wishes."

But yeah, I really hope someone makes such a breakthrough soon. What has been achieved *without* a generational leap in battery tech is pretty fucking incredible, of course, but when such a leap comes, we'll basically see all portable devices instantly go to "never really think about your battery again as long as you charge it overnight."

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Yep a big step forward in battery tech would be huge for so many reasons, from making renewable energy power more reliable to making actual multi-day mobile devices. I haven't seen anything on that front even in patents, etc., though so feels like it's 5+ years away at least. Definitely going to be a nice freeing breath though the same way it was leaving behind lead acid batteries.

wow maybe even an iPad mini at the event next week

Kuo says that Apple will launch a new version of the iPad mini, which has not seen an update in several years. Kuo says the device will feature an upgraded processor and a lower-cost panel.

Kuo does not know, however, if Apple will announce it during the media event or launch it sometime later in the year/early next year, but if an updated model is in the works, it makes sense for it to launch alongside the iPad Pro .

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https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/23/kuo-october-event-ipad-mini-refresh/

I'd go back to a Mini with no bezels.

Eh - if they're launching a mini with a lower cost panel, it makes more sense to launch next spring with any refresh of the lower cost iPad - doesn't fit well alongside iPad pros really

Yeah I also think new Pros and Macs should be more than enough for this event

Kordelle said:

wow maybe even an iPad mini at the event next week



https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/23/kuo-october-event-ipad-mini-refresh/

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I wouldn't be surprised if there's an iPad mini refresh in the works, but yeah I can't see it coming at an iPad Pro-focused event.

The iPad Pros may have just been sitting in warehouses for a while now anyway. That Apple may be starting production of a refreshed iPad mini model doesn't necessarily mean those are going to be for sale in the near future.

Wow if there's actually a new mini coming then I'm going to return my 2018 iPad.

I feel like a new iPad mini would be the same as a new Mac mini (I'll hopefully be proven wrong)—something that ultimately is more of a support hassle to keep lying around but still sells "enough" to justify hanging on. It's running an A8 from 2015—with the iPhone 5S (presumably) on its last hurrah the 6/A8 is next on the chopping block.

I kind of wish they'd just axe these products they aren't interested in supporting well, but that's where I think Cook's accounting philosophies start causing problems.

fuchsdh said:

I feel like a new iPad mini would be the same as a new Mac mini (I'll hopefully be proven wrong)—something that ultimately is more of a support hassle to keep lying around but still sells "enough" to justify hanging on. It's running an A8 from 2015—with the iPhone 5S (presumably) on its last hurrah the 6/A8 is next on the chopping block.

I kind of wish they'd just axe these products they aren't interested in supporting well, but that's where I think Cook's accounting philosophies start causing problems.

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Doesnt the ipod touch also use the A8? I wonder if it sells enough to design a new one. Id guess probably not.

turbobrick said:

Doesnt the ipod touch also use the A8? I wonder if it sells enough to design a new one. Id guess probably not.

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Yep. They're the last A8 devices left. I'm not sure what it sells anymore. Definitely feels like dedicated music players, even app-store-connected ones, are mostly irrelevant (and you can get a used iPhone that's more capable for roughly the same price now.)

More to the point if you're in the market for a music player, you wouldn't be picking an iPod touch.

There are actually four A8 devices Apple is still shipping at the moment - iPad mini 4, iPod touch, Apple TV 4th gen, and HomePod.

That thing got around.

fuchsdh said:

Yep. They're the last A8 devices left. I'm not sure what it sells anymore. Definitely feels like dedicated music players, even app-store-connected ones, are mostly irrelevant (and you can get a used iPhone that's more capable for roughly the same price now.)

More to the point if you're in the market for a music player, you wouldn't be picking an iPod touch.

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well to be fair I bought the current gen ipod touch when it came out because I wanted a dedicated music/podcast player. Though theres also the issue of why would I buy a new one when it works just fine.

I did look at used iphones at the time, but the new ipod was a good deal, as I would have gotten a 5 or 5S for about the same price.

Kordelle said:

wow maybe even an iPad mini at the event next week



https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/23/kuo-october-event-ipad-mini-refresh/

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If there's a new mini and it's cheap, I'll pick one up in addition to the 12.9" as a dedicated e-reader. Unlikely, but bonus points if it comes with True Tone

I wonder if the plan for Apple is to wait for the video service and then finally kill off iTunes on the Mac and split up all the sections into their own apps. Music, Video, Podcasts etc. It's long overdue.

Oh man, new iPad Mini? I'm still using an old Nexus 7. Apple plz.

So I have this weird problem with my MacBook Air, where sometimes when I plug my monitor with a thunderbolt to HDMI adapter, the network connection drops. It doesn't happen consistently though, it just comes and goes.

I found an old thread about this on Macrumors saying it was the Thunderbolt ethernet/Display ethernet causing the problem, but I've switched off all thunderbolt networking stuff in network preferences and it still happens.

This is with a non-apple Dell monitor and a 'Victsing' thunderbolt to HDMI adapter from Amazon.

Is there some display ethernet setting I'm missing? Will buying an apple thunderbolt to HDMI adapter fix it?

pronk said:

So I have this weird problem with my MacBook Air, where sometimes when I plug my monitor with a thunderbolt to HDMI adapter, the network connection drops. It doesn't happen consistently though, it just comes and goes.

I found an old thread about this on Macrumors saying it was the Thunderbolt ethernet/Display ethernet causing the problem, but I've switched off all thunderbolt networking stuff in network preferences and it still happens.

This is with a non-apple Dell monitor and a 'Victsing' thunderbolt to HDMI adapter from Amazon.

Is there some display ethernet setting I'm missing? Will buying an apple thunderbolt to HDMI adapter fix it?

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This sounds a lot like the USB3 interference problem, where the USB3 data transfer actually interferes with WiFi signals if everything is not shielded properly. It's possible switching adapters would fix it, but of course you want the cheapest guaranteed answer, so I would test with another TV or monitor first, if you can?

Wonder if Apple will have their video service ready for this holiday? No real rumors about it. But it has been waiting a long time...

DekuBleep said:

Wonder if Apple will have their video service ready for this holiday? No real rumors about it. But it has been waiting a long time...

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I dunno. I can see their "free to Apple hardware owners" strategy making sense except that Apple Music is a thing and video is way more expensive. Maybe they'll launch selected shows on Apple Music to start until they break it out as its own thing when they have enough content?

Also, happy birthday iPod:

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9qtcdr/happy_17th_birthday_to_apples_original_ipod/

Come for the reminiscing, stay for the quotes from MacRumors posters making fools of themselves.

fuchsdh said:

I dunno. I can see their "free to Apple hardware owners" strategy making sense except that Apple Music is a thing and video is way more expensive.

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Apple Music has to provide a payout to artists and record labels, making original video content doesn't.

Everything I've read about Apple's video service make it sound like it's a garbage fire - trying to make everything milquetoast and PG13 with an adversion to sex and violence and labouring under the mistaken imprsssion that allowing creators more freedom would damage Apple's image. A reputation for shitty arms-tied series would damage its brand more than producing adult dramas.

They've never understood TV - Jobs was proclaiming they'd 'solved' it to Walter Issacson before his death but cable providers and channels proved an impossible nut to crack and the rumoured TV/TV service never materialised.

Reportedly Tim Cook came out of a screening of the Dr. Dre autobiographical series shocked at depictions of cocaine usage and demanding the graphic nature and curse words in it toned down! You couldn't write that sort of comedy. They finance a biopic about an employee whose street cred and industry contacts they essentially paid $3 billion to acquire and are then surprised a rap biopic is graphic. Like, come the hell on.

The video service would need to be free to me because I'm not going to be paying for Apple's bizarro world PG version of Netflix.

Crazymoogle said:

This sounds a lot like the USB3 interference problem, where the USB3 data transfer actually interferes with WiFi signals if everything is not shielded properly. It's possible switching adapters would fix it, but of course you want the cheapest guaranteed answer, so I would test with another TV or monitor first, if you can?

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Thanks, unfortunately I don't have another HDMI display to test it on. Interference would explain why it only happens sporadically, I might just order an Apple adapter. The one I have was very cheap on Amazon.

Stolen Sheep said:

They've never understood TV - Jobs was proclaiming they'd 'solved' it to Walter Issacson before his death but cable providers and channels proved an impossible nut to crack and the rumoured TV/TV service never materialised.

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I'm not a big fan of tvOS, the Siri Remote, or of whatever Apple's TV service is shaping up to be, but:

For what it's worth, everything I've heard is that the current AppleTV experience is *not* what Jobs was talking about (and they had some sort of HomePod-esque voice-only interface going on behind closed doors and/or a camera-equipped gesture-based interface). Seems like the kind of thing that (1) would require Apple to sell you the full TV/sound/receiver setup and that (2) Tim Cook might kill because there's so little margin in the TV market anyway.