New Apple Lust Objects for 2010 and onward

Time to reread http://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm

@mh, obv in tech there is no "current baseline", it progresses, as it should. But "new technology" shouldn't be instilled simply because it "can", but because it serves a purpose for the user imo. But I've no clue how Face ID to unlock a phone serves us, as users. It seems more beneficial for the maker, not for the user of the product. It's a major technological improvement of very little use to the consumer. So: why?

I should probably back away from the "New Apple" thread, but seriously..

a classic

the biggest changes in the use of technology and the realization of potential lags further behind the more we build, imo. the greatest gain is in the ability to synthesize all our failings into a few useful things, and accept all the failings.

that’s one of the greatest follies of people praising earlier societies and ways of life. they’re seeing all the successes and failures through the lens of today

on the other hand, for every dozen people skeptical about touchid or whatever is new, there’s a rabid person who reads tech blogs constantly explaining how some one-off phone did it first and better and how apple’s not pushing anything. which is fine, imo, since I don’t have the time to fuck around with broken hardware and things only working half the time and being first

sorry, that was an xpost to caek

best x-post that also worked as not an x-post imo :)

there is always a current baseline! it depends on what you need and what’s supported, but I can go to any site that reviews phones, or my employer’s group that manages business cell phones, and they’d instantly say what features are necessary for different users and what phones they’d suggest. some choices are about necessities when it comes to running software, some are about security, some are about limiting support to a mainstream

faceid seems like it could be a misstep, but it’s just a different take on biometrics as secondary authentication (a desired feature) that adds things in other feature quadrants that apple is trying to get into (augmented reality, etc)

it’s not unproven — apple bought the company that made the first microsoft kinect tech in 2010

that’s most of the wiggling, trying to fulfill new baseline requirements while adding novelty that might become more baseline in the future

it’s worth noting that passwords as a security feature, which is really old, is still constantly being refined as the landscape changes. the canonical password guidelines, which kind of congealed in the early 00s (over 8 chars, special character, upper and lower case) has been cast aside in favor of longer pass phrases

it’s a case where the technology is completely the same when it comes to storing/validating passwords (although it’s evolved independently of how people choose them), but the use case is completely new

kind of like people using a 747 to transport the space shuttle by bolting it to the top

hasn't it changed because the cracking tech has gotten better?
though most sites STILL annoying have those requirements

the ideas about how to brute force passwords got better

some of it has to do with hardware, but the thing was, people thought that was a best practice. and it turns out half the failing was that, given that set of restrictions, people would be more prone to password reuse and would use the minimally sized password, and forget/reset them more, leading to bad patterns

but it was mostly that the ideas and assumptions were wrong. many decisions end up being the equivalent of “well, lead is a great anti-knock agent in gasoline and we can also profit from selling the additive!”

le baueau ivre: face id allows unlocking when your hands are wet, for example, and it removes friction from in-app verification (e.g. for banking you can just keep looking at your screen, you don’t need to perform a physical action). there are definitely benefits for the user.

also, it’s tricky comparing a reasonably mature technology (touch id) with a brand new one. face id will improve.

whom amongst us has reached out of the shower to change the song playing only to have to type in a passcode and get water everywhere instead of just hitting two on-screen buttons to pick a song

I had devices with both first and second gen touch id and the improvement was ridiculous. Pretty much instant now

yeah, 2nd gen is crazy fast. faster than face id going by comparison videos.

I’m plotting all my tech upgrades and life decisions after at least two drinks so maybe I will have these gadgets soon if I keep choosing ridiculously

Jeff, what watch gen are you on?

The one that is before the latest. No much of a reason to upgrade until this one breaks. I wish it was faster though.

Not need for LTE, never wear it without my phone near by.

second that

hmm yeah my first gen is fine, was considering finding a deal for the lte one buuuut

first gen touchid on my six is also really fast now (almost as fast as the one on my work 7). it's the only thing that improved between ios9 and ios11

I'm still using iOS 10 on my iPhone 6 and have always been satisfied with the speed of its first-gen touchID; the only time it usually fails is when I've just finished showering, bathing, or swimming. This is one situation where i'd expect Face ID to be an improvement; i'm hoping it won't care that my hair or skin is wet; it certainly won't care that my fingers are wrinkly the way they get when you've been in the water a long time.

Given all the raves the second-gen touch id is getting here, i'm a bit disappointed to learn the SE still uses the old first-gen unit. I was under the impression the SE got pretty much the same tech as the 6+ except not having the force-sensitive 3D touch screen, but evidently it didn't get the updated touch id either. I'm still considering the SE as an upgrade path from my 6 which is a bit larger and heavier than I'd like.

The stupidity of insisting on face ID and its bevy of glitchy enabling hardware holding up production, just so they don’t have to put a button on the front. Put the touch ID sensors on the side, ffs.

that would reduce their profit margin on a us$1000 phone

Taht's otm AA, re: benefits.

apple's excellent at that stuff imo

(for a moment forgetting apple maps & apple music)

Apple maps is slowly getting better. I like the way it renders transit lines but it’s still way behind Google’s in almost every other respect.

what's next year's model gonna be named? iPhone XS obv won't fly.

iPhone iX

it's going to be the iPhone man-size edition, created just for men and their man-hands

iPhone XY

lol

iPhone Sun & Moon

So this thing is starting to bum me out. The screen is just unpleasant to look at beyond the app screen popping and photos looking great on Instagram. I'm sure games would look great too, but I haven't had time to play any. But reading black or dark gray text on a white screen is fatiguing. I even went into the accessibility options which allows you to adjust the white point and it's still not right, especially at night (also, I shouldn't have to be going into the accessibility options). I can't believe more people aren't talking about this. The off-axis color shift is bad too.

Also, I feel like Face ID, as implemented for unlocking doesn't actually improve the experience at all. I can see why they were still trying to have both Face and Touch ID even 6 months ago.

I'm leaning toward return at this point and going with a regular 8 with the inevitable deals on Black Friday as I do really appreciate the performance over my old 6.

iPhone X.1

what do you mean it doesn't look right? too blue?

Has anyone tried using the virtual home button that can be called up from the accessibility menu?

virtual button is insanely popular in certain countries even on older phones, there's some weird adoption of it across cultures but not universally

iPhone Welcome To Wherever You Are

My wife got her previous phone wet and the only thing that died was the home button, so she had to use the virtual home button for several months. A day or two to get used to it and then no probs.

what do you mean it doesn't look right? too blue?

It's just fatiguing. Almost like looking at a screen that's not refreshing fast fast enough.

I'm going to go into the Apple Store to see if it's just my phone.

or maybe because the off-axis color shift is so bad that I'm sensing it at the top and bottom even looking right at it, and my eyes are trying to compensate for it?

Doing some googling reveals something called "pulse-width modulation (PWM)" which is how the screen is dimmed. Apparently some people are very sensitive to it.

I can see why they were still trying to have both Face and Touch ID even 6 months ago

Hardware lock in on the iPhone X was very likely more than one year ago due to supply chain management.

FWIW I find Face ID way better than I expected.

It is impressive and even "magical" but I don't think it actually makes using the phone more efficient. Like, when I'm checking email when I wake up and I'm lying down, I have to tap the screen first. Maybe they'll sort it out, or maybe I'll get used to it over the next week.

On the pros side, the notch doesn't bother me at all!

i picked up a pair of beats x (with the w1 bluetooth chip) for cheap and it's been great - and i was a huge skeptic of removing the jack in the 7. sound quality is 'good enough' but taking out yr phone without cords getting in the way is great.

the big downside is battery management - having to turn them on/off and charge. i'm looking forward to when they'll have wireless charging for the beats (not just the airpods, which i know is coming).

Yeah, love my PowerBeats3.

hey I've got those

I think I charge mine about once a week? I don’t use them everyday, but the battery life is great, which is one of the most important things with BT headphones.

otm about wireless headphones. now that i'm all the way in i'm wondering why it took me so long. my new sony on-ears (which have to go back because they rattle ffs) last 30 hours – five days in and the out-of-the-box charge level is still at medium. i've not noticed the sound degradation at all.

So this thing is starting to bum me out. The screen is just unpleasant to look at beyond the app screen popping and photos looking great on Instagram. I'm sure games would look great too, but I haven't had time to play any. But reading black or dark gray text on a white screen is fatiguing.

really sorry to hear this spencer. perhaps apple can make adjustments in software updates that don't entirely fix the problem but make it easier on your eyes.

if you do decide to get an 8, keep in mind the less capable camera, the 1 gb drop in ram (which might get under your feet in a couple of years) and the smaller battery. the 8+ might be too big for your liking, but it's a phenomenal phone and worth considering.