Apple Event October 18, 2021

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Didn’t they raise the AirPods 3 price about $40 over that of the AirPods 2 when they were released? Seems like $200 is rather steep for the non-pro model. I paid about half that for my Echo Buds 2 that are at least as good as the AirPods 3.

Nah. It was $159 for the AirPods 2 and $199 for the AirPods 2 with wireless charging case.

This year, Apple dropped the price of the AirPods 2 to $129 and introduced just one configuration of the AirPods 3 (with wireless charging case) at $179.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Voice-control only Apple Music sounds like a nightmare to me, or at least very limiting. Siri does pretty well with playlist requests, or Artist ‘radio stations’, but let’s say you want a particular performance of classical music and cannot supply the right words to request it. In practice I just like to dial it up in the Music app, which apparently you won’t be able to do with the $5 subscription.

If it is voice control only, and I think it is, then yes very problematic. I can’t say much about Siri since I rarely use it, but trying to request music via Alexa by voice is certainly an exercise in frustration! Most likely you will get a lame live recording version, or the wrong artist singing the song. I do like Apples Music app though, but I’m not sure if having the app is worth twice the cost, especially on my limited budget. Probably worth it for most people though.

[OtinG]

Oh, and one more thing, I wonder why Apple doesn’t release these pre-recorded events in HDR? Seems like that would be the thing to do. After all most of their devices can now display HDR. It would certainly look more professional, assuming they didn’t use an iPhone to record it. Actually, they might have used iPhones for recording some portions because some were rather dark IMO, which is indicative of a very small apertured camera and/or poor lighting. At any rate, the colors looked rather muted, and seeing that on a Sony Bravia 4K HDR TV via my ATV 4K made me wonder, WTH? Why not dazzle us with stunning colors and high dynamic range?

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

The iPad mini 5 is the best indoor ereader I’ve ever had, but of course sucks outdoors in the daylight. Personally I think the latest iPad mini 6 will be terrible at reading due to the greatly decreased bezel. I have an iPad Air 2020 with the same kind of small bezel, and it is really tough to keep my thumb from touching the screen and causing unwanted actions to occur. If they would have left a bigger bezel at the bottom of the iPad mini 6 along with the Start button, and just decreased the other three bezel sides, then that would have been nice. But as is, I’m not tempted to get the new iPad mini 6, especially since my iPad mini 5 is still in great shape with a good battery. An ereader without a thumb rest is a deal breaker for me.

I’m planning to get one, I don’t think the smaller bezels will bother me for reading. I want to do some music/audio things and the USB-C is better for that (faster and better interface options than USB-over-Lightning).

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I’m planning to get one, I don’t think the smaller bezels will bother me for reading. I want to do some music/audio things and the USB-C is better for that (faster and better interface options than USB-over-Lightning).

I suspect the USB-C will be at USB 3.0 speeds, just like on my iPad Air 2020. That is a lot faster than the old lightning port, but below the speeds capable on the iPad Pro latest models.

Lack of large bezels is a “me” thing and probably won’t be a problem for others. I tend to hold my mini in landscape mode with my thumb near the Power button. I also like the Power button better than the iPad Air 2020 side button, but again, just a personal preference. I do activate my iPad Air 2020 screen a lot with accidental thumb presses due to the tiny bezels.

[tomsem]

Yes, that makes sense. I almost never read in landscape.

There does seem to be some ‘touch rejection’ (on the mini anyway) as long as the touch region extends from the edge of the screen but it will not always be 100% effective.

[tomsem]

One thing more to like about the new AirPods: the charging case is like AirPods Pro, with stems to the outside. You don’t have to twirl them around when taking them out and putting them back, as with the previous generations. The charging case also supports MagSafe charging.

BTW, AirPods Pro case also MagSafe charging in new shipments.

But unlike Beats Studio Buds case, they both retain a Lightning charging port. Between these and iPhones and Magic keyboard/mouse/trackpad, looks like Lightning will be with us for years to come.

[OtinG]

And a lot depends on the case you use, if you use one. The Otterbox Defender cases holds my thumb up about 3/32” above the mini 5 screen, and that helps a lot. But my Logitech Combo Touch Keyboard Case on my iPad Air 2020 is nearly flush with the screen. As a matter of fact, it actually slopes downward toward the screen making it more difficult not to make contact with my thumb. I rarely use the keyboard with my iPad Air 2020, so I’m thinking about getting an Otterbox Defender case for it if I find a good Black Friday deal.

On another topic, Apple has now stopped selling MacBook Pro models with Intel chips. The only Macs with Intel on board are the Mac Pro, mini, and iMac, but expect those to go away before too long. Except the Mac Pro. I’m not sure if they will keep that line going or not, but if so they will eventually switch over to the new Apple chip designs.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by OtinG

If it is voice control only, and I think it is, then yes very problematic. I can’t say much about Siri since I rarely use it, but trying to request music via Alexa by voice is certainly an exercise in frustration! Most likely you will get a lame live recording version, or the wrong artist singing the song. I do like Apples Music app though, but I’m not sure if having the app is worth twice the cost, especially on my limited budget. Probably worth it for most people though.

What music source are you using on your Echo? Amazon Music? I have it set to use Apple Music and it's fine at picking songs for the most part. You can even be pretty vague for example asking to "play that sandwich song from Frozen" will correctly get Love is an Open Door. A lot of my music listening is via. Echo so if I had a bunch of Homepods instead I could see switching although I already pay less since I'm on the student plan.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

What music source are you using on your Echo? Amazon Music? I have it set to use Apple Music and it's fine at picking songs for the most part. You can even be pretty vague for example asking to "play that sandwich song from Frozen" will correctly get Love is an Open Door. A lot of my music listening is via. Echo so if I had a bunch of Homepods instead I could see switching although I already pay less since I'm on the student plan.

No I use Alexa with the stripped down free version of Amazon Music which comes with my Prime subscription. I'm not a huge music listener so I don't use the full subscription packages, although I’ve had both Apple and Amazon trial runs in the past. I do like Apple Music better. But as far as asking Alexa to play specific song editions via Amazon Music, well it is not a pleasant experience. Nor is asking Alexa to do much of anything. If you know/remember the precise wording needed and you set up the scenes, routines, etc. perfectly, then she works fine. But the average person is not going to get all that correct very often. Siri is probably better with AI as far as figuring out what you want done, but Alexa requires more of a specific formulaic approach. For Alexa, AI means Artificial Ignorance. Add to that the fact that the Alexa programmers are constantly messing about with the code, and quite often that makes her even worse.

I recently had a free 3-month with Apple Music and using the app on my iPhone or iPad was easy and terrific. Very easy to browse through the various options available for a song and visually select the one I wanted rather than playing the "life is like a box of chocolates" game with Alexa.

[John F]

... If you know/remember the precise wording needed and you set up the scenes, routines, etc. perfectly, then she works fine...

In case other Alexa users are reading this, and they weren't aware, you can now use multiple trigger phrases in a routine (at least it is relatively new to me.)

[tomsem]

One other thing about the new AirPods: they use ‘skin-detect sensors’ rather than optical sensors to figure out if the pods are in your ears (and pause playback when one is taken out). Rumors are that these can potentially also detect body temperature, O2 sat, and heart rate (with future firmware/software updates). Potentially lipid, glucose, and alcohol levels, though these seem more far-fetched.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by tomsem

One other thing about the new AirPods: they use ‘skin-detect sensors’ rather than optical sensors to figure out if the pods are in your ears (and pause playback when one is taken out). Rumors are that these can potentially also detect body temperature, O2 sat, and heart rate (with future firmware/software updates). Potentially lipid, glucose, and alcohol levels, though these seem more far-fetched.

Glucose is very, very, very unlikely. Current estimates are it will be years still before that feature can make it to the Apple Watch ($399 minimum for latest model). I doubt a firmware update could add it to $179 AirPods.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Glucose is very, very, very unlikely. Current estimates are it will be years still before that feature can make it to the Apple Watch ($399 minimum for latest model). I doubt a firmware update could add it to $179 AirPods.

Agree. But it would be nice not to have to prick myself several times each week. I'm only pre-diabetic, mostly because of a cholesterol drug they make me take, but I still have to monitor the blood sugar levels.

I get really upset that all the companies with smart watches seem to focus almost exclusively on fitness and fashion. They need to put more emphasis on health. Apple seems more into the health than most, but the Apple Watch is still primarily marketed to fitness freaks and people who want the latest, fashionable technology. I wish they would branch off the Apple Watch line with a version that was specific to health and one that would be affordable to retired people.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Agree. But it would be nice not to have to prick myself several times each week. I'm only pre-diabetic, mostly because of a cholesterol drug they make me take, but I still have to monitor the blood sugar levels.

I'm Type 2 Diabetic (non-insulin) and my insurance provider doesn't cover CGM so I hear you about the finger pricks.

That's why I'm keeping abreast of non-invasive glucose monitoring. That would be a day 1 purchase for my entire family even at $1600 ($400 * 4) if it does get released. Unfortunately, current rumors are seems it seems to be years away from happening on the Apple Watch.

Mind, I expect buyers who are fitness nuts are greatly subsidizing the research on health-related functions on the Apple Watch so it's likely better to just have universal models.