Musing on Apple September 2013

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Today, Apple will issue the following statement to my iPod touch 4:

"you're dead to me"

I remember when my iPhone 2G got that.

To be fair though, I was the only one in my group to still have one, everyone had the 3G/S.

I'm watching Twit.tv for coverage.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Today, Apple will issue the following statement to my iPod touch 4:

"you're dead to me"

It will be the usual monkey retort.
"Don't swing by, don't call, don't text, and don't tweet" while flinging a bucket of old black peels.

(What kind of picture are you going to come up with on that one?)

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

I just want to know WHEN I can get my hands on that gold iPhone 5S! My debit card is ready.

Many a woman's heart does have that "yellow gold" tinge.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

I remember when my iPhone 2G got that.

To be fair though, I was the only one in my group to still have one, everyone had the 3G/S.

I'm watching Twit.tv for coverage.

My iPod touch is the first and last Apple product I'll ever own. At the time, it was the only media player with an app store. I considered the Zune HD, but gave up on it when it became apparent that Microsoft would never get an app store for it.

I then got a Galaxy Player 4 (and still have it), but it's stuck on Gingerbread. It's clear now that Samsung has given up on media players, so I've given up on Samsung.

Then came the Nexus 4 clearance sale. For the price ($249), the best media player ever. Got one and now it's goodbye Apple, goodbye Samsung.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

I might try the next Nexus phone but I really enjoy the Apple ecosystem, writing a note on my phone and seeing it later with zero effort on my iPad and MacBook Air. I use several other cloud services (Skydrive, Google Drive, and Sugarsync) but none are as slick as iCloud on Apple devices.

The general consensus is that Google do cloud much better than apple. I use multiple devices and have never had any issues with data not syncing across them, and with the latest release, we even have notifications being dismissed on other devices when you dismiss them on one.

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

Well, we will all find out in just a few hours. macrumors.com will be reporting live apparently but it doesnt look like theres going to be an Event on AppleTV, at least its not showing up yet.

Still nothing on Apple's website, so apparently no Event on AppleTV this year. Oh well, I really think today's announcements will be rather boring anyway. Probably just a few lackluster, incremental updates to iPhones/iPods. The iPhone C, if it does exist, won't interest me at all. I was hoping to hear some news on new iPads, but then I was reminded that Apple called another event last year for October wherein they announced new iPads. So based on last year and the fact that we have no iPad rumors about today, it looks like mostly an iPhone/iPod event.

[tubemonkey]

CNET is now live with their coverage:

CNET Live Blog

[holymadness]

No new sizes.

No new iPads.

Given the dearth of leaks, I would be very surprised to see a new hardware category (like a watch) announced.

The biggest surprises will be:

• As-yet unannounced iOS 7 features that are iPhone 5S exclusive.
• The redesign of Apple's own apps (iBooks, Pages, iMovie, Numbers, etc.) for iOS 7.

Originally Posted by holymadness

No new sizes.

No new iPads.

Given the dearth of leaks, I would be very surprised to see a new hardware category (like a watch) announced.

I definitely agree with that. Rumor mill unusually quiet this time around on anything other than iPhones. Maybe the rumors will pick up after today in anticipation of an October Event.

[greenasterisk]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Traditionally it has been an iPhone and iOS event, but they have introduced new iPads and iPods at it too. I doubt we will see any surprises as far as iPhone screen sizes. The leaks are usually fairly good indicators and none have indicated anything but 4" screens, which is fine with me. I will watch the event but I don't expect to see anything I just have to rush out and buy! I've got an iPhone 5 and I'm perfectly happy with it. I've got an iPad 3 and I'm perfectly happy with it too. I don't need nor want any iPods. I think smartwatches are a dumb idea and definitely don't want one. No way I'll buy a special TV if it ever comes out, especially since Apple always charges way too much for its stuff. I'll stick with my Sony Bravia TV. So I really don't expect to be excited by much, if anything, Apple releases on Tuesday. I would like to see a higher resolution of the iPad Mini, but I doubt we will.

EDIT: We have already been introduced to iOS 7 and the new Mac OS X version, so nothing new to be seen on those two.

My guess is a fingerprint scanner on the phone and that's it.

Originally Posted by greenasterisk

My guess is a fingerprint scanner on the phone and that's it.

My old Motorola Atrix 4G from nearly 3 years ago had that. They incorporated the scanner into the on/off button. I never used it. I found entering a PW was just as quick and way more reliable. Apple will probably do a better implementation than Moto, but I doubt I would ever use it. Besides, a retina scanner using the front camera would have been way more cool, but I wouldn't have used that either.

[Penforhire]

AFV, the thing is I already have other Apple devices, not other Android devices. There is now an inertia to the choice, both in terms of hardware and apps I already paid for. And Android device has to knock my socks off for me to switch systems for a phone or tablet.

Of course I said the same thing about my expensive Windows software before I bought a MacBook Air but I decided not to replicate my higher-end Windows work (Autocad, Lightwave, Photoshop, Premiere, Quark XPress, and Statgraphics) in OSX.

[holymadness]

Feels like Christmas.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by holymadness

Feels like Christmas.

...not

[holymadness]

News now trickling out:

• iOS 7 is out on September 18th.
• iWork for mobile (Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, iPhoto) are now free with any new iDevice. No word on pricing for existing customers.
• Apple is removing the iPhone 5 from its product lineup. Does this mean mine is now a collector's item? The 8GB 4S will stick around and will be sold for $0 on contract.
• iPhone 5C confirmed.
• New colours:
• It looks like it has the same internals as the iPhone 5, with some upgrades (better front camera, bigger battery, more LTE antennae).
• Subsidized cost (on 2-year contract in the US): $99 for 16GB, $199 for 32GB.
• Apple also selling new cases. Kind of fugly:
• iPhone 5S confirmed.
• Three colours: gold, slate, and silver.
• Sports a new 64-bit A7 chip. Which means that iOS 7 runs as a 64-bit operating system on the 5S. Backwards-compatible with 32-bit apps. Apple claims it's "over twice as fast" as the A6.
• Includes a new chip called the M7, a "motion coprocessor," which measures motion data (accelerometer, compass, gyroscope). It can tell if you're stationary, walking, driving, etc. Comes with new APIs for fitness app developers.
• Battery life: 250 hours standby, 10 hours of browsing, talking, or video, 40 hours of music.
• New camera lens with f/2.2 aperture and 15% larger sensor. It also has larger pixels (as opposed to more pixels).
• Dual-LED flash for better colour balance.
• New camera software: auto-image stabilization, burst mode (10 frames per second), takes multiple photos every time you press the shutter and presents the "best" one in terms of sharpness and colour. Can also do 120fps slow-motion video capture.
• Un-retouched photo:
• Fingerprint scanner confirmed, called "Touch ID". Built into the home button. Fingerprints can be read in any direction. The home button is made of sapphire to prevent scratching. "You can simply touch your home button to unlock your phone." You can also scan your fingerprint within apps to do stuff, like authenticate iTunes purchases.
• Scanner can handle multiple fingerprints (for multiple users?).
• Fingerprint security: fingerprints are encrypted and are not made available to other software on the device. Fingerprints are not uploaded to Apple's servers or backed up to iCloud.
• Subsidized cost (on 2-year contract in the US): $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB.
• Pre-orders for the 5C begin on Friday, September 13th. iPhone 5C and 5S will be in stores on September 20th in: USA, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, UK. Will be released in 100 countries by December 2013.
• New carriers in Japan: Softbank, KDDI, and NTT DoCoMo.
  
  

That's all, folks.