Apple new product rumours and general news

[mwgdrwg]

You'll probably get people acting like twats for 3 seconds every time they take a photo from now on.

 

[editor]

Live Photos sounds a bit like Google's Auto Awesome thing to me. Is there something different?

Because all photos always look better when they've been pointlessly animated for a few seconds.

Listen to this fucking idiot:

As my colleague Sam Byford mused today in The Verge Slack room, "what’s the point of Cartier-Bresson capturing ‘the decisive moment’ if you can just scroll through a few seconds on either side and change the composition? The power of a photo is in what isn’t shown."

 

[editor]

For in-store product launches, i'm sure that's true. I'm thinking more about all of the bloggers, especially business and tech bloggers who, instead of turning a thoughtful and critical eye on a corporate advertising show, basically turn into cheerleaders for the stuff they're supposed to be evaluating.

This idiot is a prime example.



This is a guy who's not only a blogger, but writes articles on the tech industry for outlets like Slate and the New York Times.

He's just another pointless Apple fanboy churning out uncritical shit in return for the benefits of being a favoured reporter by Apple.

 

[editor]

I liked this guy's take on the new products: A Layman's Guide To The New iPhones, And Apple's Other New Crap

 

[Kid_Eternity]

So that was a long keynote...

> IPhone 6S - well hardly a surprise, Apple have made right click for a touch enabled mobile device sound like a thing. Personally I can't see much value in it, I don't have my camera app accessible and take photos by swiping up in lock view...
> Apple Watch - as expected and mostly welcome for those who have one and like it I guess? I'm not a watch wearer but those Hermes straps actually looked quite cool.
> Big iPad and Apple Pencil - um ok. Pencil is nice and simple with cool tech and I'll lay money the other iPads will get use of it next year. The big iPad is BIG and great for those who er want a big iPad. That keyboard looks cheap.
> Apple TV - well now this was the most interesting part of the show. Streamlining services with some very cool Siri integration is pretty nice but the gaming and Apps is where I think it gets interesting. Apple now have a console to eat up all those casual iPhone gamers' eyeball time with. If they get quality IP like Bomberman on to it they're on to a winner (Transistor is EXCELLENT btw). Think this could be a bit play for the future of home gaming too; the next gen are likely to be no physical media, Netflix style delivery model using cloud computing for the gfx power. Apple are now positioned to take that on in a few years.

 

[mhendo]

I don't know if anyone's posted this in the thread yet, but i love this comic from 2012. Talk about prescient, down to the correct year:

 

[adidaswoody]

Apple games console coming I heard! I think they should make a super console, sell it for a grand but make it with a super laser that can ready any disk, any game from any co sole already made! They would make a killing

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Because all photos always look better when they've been pointlessly animated for a few seconds.

Listen to this fucking idiot:

The ability to move the composition on a photo back in time if you slightly mistimed it would be fantastic. I'm not sure that is what's possible with this new Apple thingy.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Apple games console coming I heard! I think they should make a super console, sell it for a grand but make it with a super laser that can ready any disk, any game from any co sole already made! They would make a killing

Never going to happen

 

[UnderOpenSky]

>
> Apple TV - well now this was the most interesting part of the show. Streamlining services with some very cool Siri integration is pretty nice but the gaming and Apps is where I think it gets interesting. Apple now have a console to eat up all those casual iPhone gamers' eyeball time with. If they get quality IP like Bomberman on to it they're on to a winner (Transistor is EXCELLENT btw). Think this could be a bit play for the future of home gaming too; the next gen are likely to be no physical media, Netflix style delivery model using cloud computing for the gfx power. Apple are now positioned to take that on in a few years.

Yup, cheap set top boxes may be an important part of the gaming market with everything streamed. We need far better fast broadband provision outside big cities for that to happen though.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Also - I do wish everyone would stop rolling out that Jobs "if you see a stylus..." quote. He was talking about a small (3.5" screen) handheld device that was going up against the shitty resistive touch screen PDA's and smartphones available at the time. To use that quote years later against a device that is quite clearly designed for completely different tasks and situations is idiotic at best.

 

[mwgdrwg]

The Apple TV is going for the casual gamers...those that bought a Wii as a first console, and haven't bought another since.

 

[editor]

Also - I do wish everyone would stop rolling out that Jobs "if you see a stylus..." quote. He was talking about a small (3.5" screen) handheld device that was going up against the shitty resistive touch screen PDA's and smartphones available at the time. To use that quote years later against a device that is quite clearly designed for completely different tasks and situations is idiotic at best.

No, that's not true.,

He was clearly talking about the concept of a stylus as a means of interacting with a device.

"Who wants a stylus?" Jobs said while introducing the iPhone. "You have to get 'em, put 'em away, you lose 'em. Yuck! Nobody wants a stylus. So let's not use a stylus."

He got that totally wrong, just like he completely failed to understand the appeal of larger screen phones (which Apple eventually copied after Samsung had led the field) and smaller, sub 10" screen tablets (which Apple eventually copied too).

Small tablets

Another epic Jobs rant came in October 2010, when he discussed his disdain for a new wave of smaller tablets coming to market.

On the company's earnings call with analysts, Jobs said the iPad's 10-inch screen was "the minimum size required to create great tablet apps."

He said even making images appear sharper on the screen wouldn't help smaller tablets become usable "unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to around one quarter of the present size."

"There are clear limits of how close you can physically place elements on a touch screen before users cannot reliably tap, flick or pinch them," he said.

A year after Jobs died, Apple introduced the iPad mini -- by far the best-selling iPad in the company's lineup.

Big phones

During Apple's iPhone 4 "Antennagate" kerfuffle in 2010, Steve Jobs derided big phones.

When a reporter asked him whether Apple would consider making a bigger iPhone to improve antenna reliability, Jobs scoffed. He called Samsung's Galaxy S phones "Hummers."

"You can't get your hand around it," Jobs said. "No one's going to buy that."

Apple finally debuted a taller iPhone 5 a year after Jobs died, and a much larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last year.
Steve Jobs on stylus: 'Over my dead body.' The Apple Pencil and four other things he would hate

And here's why he remains an utter cunt in my book:

Philanthropy
Among the first things Jobs did in his 1997 return to Apple (after he banished all styluses) was to end Apple's philanthropic giving programs. He said he wanted to bring Apple back to profitability, but he never reinstated the programs even after Apple posted some of the biggest profits ever recorded by a public company.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

A cunt he may have been, but no, in that instance he was quite clearly talking about the phone. Because, you know, he was introducing the phone.

The small tablet thing he was obviously wrong about. On "phablet" sized phones though I still agree with him. They're horrible.

 

[editor]

A cunt he may have been, but no, in that instance he was quite clearly talking about the phone. Because, you know, he was introducing the phone.

The small tablet thing he was obviously wrong about. On "phablet" sized phones though I still agree with him. They're horrible.

So the new Apple Stylus/pencil doesn't have to be be got out, never has to be put away and never gets lost? Glad you cleared that one up.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

So the new Apple Stylus/pencil doesn't have to be be got out, never has to be put away and never gets lost? Glad you cleared that one up.

It's not really news to say that he got things wrong. Not on this forum at least

Needing a stylus is slightly different to having the option of being able to use a stylus. Which is relevant when at the time the stylus was needed for interfaces on some devices. Context softens the statement but yeah, still a bit wrong now.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

So the new Apple Stylus/pencil doesn't have to be be got out, never has to be put away and never gets lost? Glad you cleared that one up.

Look at what it will be used for - graphics work etc. almost inevitably at a desk. It is by no means essential to have it to use the Pro. He was quite clearly referring to the old style of PDA or Windows mobile phones that required you to use as stylus for the basic operation of them. For what he was talking about at the time he was 100% right.

But, as ever, anything to bash Apple gets lept upon, even if it's so wide of the mark as to be laughable. Just concentrate on the myriad of genuine criticisms that can be levelled at them, there's plenty...

 

[editor]

Look at what it will be used for - graphics work etc. almost inevitably at a desk.

Blimey. The whole point of the iPad Pro is that it's portable, but it's great to see Apple have apparently fixed the problem of losing styluses and that Jobs was right all along.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Blimey. The whole point of the iPad Pro is that it's portable, but it's great to see Apple have apparently fixed the problem of losing styluses and that Jobs was right all along.

*the slow steady sound of a head being banged against a brick wall*

 

[editor]

*the slow steady sound of a head being banged against a brick wall*

No, it's you that's being ridiculously stubborn here with your blind Apple love. It's a stylus. They get lost. And that was one of the very reasons that Jobs derided them, and that remains the same whether you're using one on a teensy weensy phone or a five foot tablet. He was wrong, end of.

Back to the products, there's a fair New Apple TV vs Chromecast vs Roku 3 vs Amazon Fire TV review here.

The new Apple TV is by far the most advanced smart TV box of the lot and you'd expect that - it's far more ambitious than the others, it's so brand new it's not out for another month, and it's also a great deal more expensive.

You could buy a Chromecast for yourself and one each for four mates for the same price as the bottom-end new Apple TV and that's a big deal.

On the early evidence though it looks like it could be worth it if you're an 'Apple person'. If you're not an iTunes user though, and you don't have an iPhone, this thing is going to be a hard sell.

Do you really want to use Siri to control your TV though? We have our doubts - we certainly don't want to.

And do you want to use this as a games console instead of a PS4? Again, that's up for debate.

For us they look like features no one will ever use but ultimately you can't deny that the new Apple TV is a very impressive new product with some truly advanced new features that go way beyond what the other devices are capable of.

Winner: the new Apple TV is the king of the living room but we'd still choose the Chromecast

New Apple TV vs Chromecast vs Roku 3 vs Amazon Fire TV | TechRadar

 

[mwgdrwg]

The one thing that pricked my ears about the iPad Pro was the apparent 4x loudness. We have an iPad Air, and it's surprisingly loud already. I can imagine that 4x that volume will sound pretty damn good!

 

[editor]

The one thing that pricked my ears about the iPad Pro was the apparent 4x loudness. We have an iPad Air, and it's surprisingly loud already. I can imagine that 4x that volume will sound pretty damn good!

It's going to be pretty tinny though, no?

 

[sim667]

One thing that stylus's have never done well is coped with pressure, and being used at an angle.

It will be interesting to see if they've improved on say for example, wacom stylus's which are pretty dire, despite being a market leader in stylus input for design.

 

[editor]

One thing that stylus's have never done well is coped with pressure, and being used at an angle.

It will be interesting to see if they've improved on say for example, wacom stylus's which are pretty dire, despite being a market leader in stylus input for design.

I bought a high end Wacom A4 tablet in the hope it would be good for sketching, but I still find it easier to draw with a pen and paper and scan it in. It's good for retouching work though.

Although I'm sure the pen will be buttery smooth on the iPad Pro, if it won't run Photoshop, I imagine it'll be pretty useless to most designers.

 

[mwgdrwg]

It's going to be pretty tinny though, no?

The iPad Air sounds perfectly good enough for the odd bit of music and a film, impressive even. So if this is an improvement then I can't wait to hear it in action.

(Obviously I am not comparing it to a decent set of speakers or anything)

 

[editor]

The iPad Air sounds perfectly good enough for the odd bit of music and a film, impressive even. So if this is an improvement then I can't wait to hear it in action.

(Obviously I am not comparing it to a decent set of speakers or anything)

Yeah, that big screen will be ruddy great for watching a film in bed (notwithstanding the annoyance of getting a table to stand up in exactly the right position when you're chilling horizontally!).

 

[sim667]

I bought a high end Wacom A4 tablet in the hope it would be good for sketching, but I still find it easier to draw with a pen and paper and scan it in. It's good for retouching work though.

Although I'm sure the pen will be buttery smooth on the iPad Pro, if it won't run Photoshop, I imagine it'll be pretty useless to most designers.

I always found them good for retouching, but i knew illustrators who hated using them.

Didn't they demo a version of photoshop on the iPad pro too?

 

[editor]

I always found them good for retouching, but i knew illustrators who hated using them.

Didn't they demo a version of photoshop on the iPad pro too?

It's a stripped down version.

 

[sim667]

It's a stripped down version.

There's a lot of stuff in the full version that is rarely used.

I guess it depends on what they've stripped out

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

There's a lot of stuff in the full version that is rarely used.

I guess it depends on what they've stripped out

Yeah. I often use my iPad with the stripped down AutoCAD on site visits, it's OK to get basic bits down on site, then back at home it all gets moved onto the full version on a laptop for completion.

I think, in spite of what Apple may try and tell you, the Pro won't replace a laptop, it will just be yet another addition/tool to the Apple ecosystem. Their kit works so well together, you just pick whatever works best for the task there and then, seamlessly moving to another later on if need be. It's a fantastic way to work IMHO, but bloody expensive.