The Apple Discussion Thread

[otc]

I thought this was the year I upgrade, but after seeing the 13 I'm not sure it's worth it.

I haven't followed closely, but it almost seems like 13 is right where I'd want to upgrade. Take a proven model (rather than a "lets make sweeping changes" year), stretch out the battery life, bump the camera...that's exactly where I'd want to buy.

I'm still on the fence about jumping to Apple. Need to see how the Pixel 6 really turns out and need to get the Mini and the regular sized pro model in my hand.

I ordered a 13. I dont know why they hype the pro... or even make it part of their presentation. Unless I'm some instagrammer or movie producer I'm not buying that. (which is probably like .005% of their audience).

I like the sound of a zoom lens actually. I think wide is what I would want first and foremost--on my Pixel 3 which has a normal and a wide front facing camera, I actually find myself turning the phone backwards and trying to take pictures videos without seeing the screen fairly often. Landscape shots, shooting video and trying to get everything in the frame, etc.--but a true telephoto would be nice in some circumstances and could really be the end of 95% of my desire to carry a real camera.

The pro somehow also supposedly has better battery life despite being the same size and having more features.

I'd love to have a mini-sized phone, but I get a work subsidy on my phone bill so if I were to go with the regular size, it is only a marginal cost difference.

 

[mhip]

I have an 11, so I was 50/50 on the 13 being the time to upgrade.
Most obvious would be the jump to 5G.
But they didn't do the under the screen Touch ID yet, and there's other stuff that's supposedly coming with the 14, so I'll wait...

 

[UnFacconable]

Really bummed about the lack of Touch ID but we are making the move to the 13. We've been holding off on the notch phones for so long in hopes they would figure out under screen touch ID and can't wait any longer. The camera on the 13 pro seems phenomenal. Someone with a 13 pro took a picture of Unf Jr. at a party this weekend and it caused my wife to instantly decide she needed the pro and not just the regular 13. I was planning on getting the pro or pro max and having her get the regular 13 but perhaps we will just flip it. Now that we both work from home, it seems like phones are less important than in the past but whatever.

The most annoying thing is that we probably need to upgrade from our relatively affordable legacy shared data plan to one of the AT&T unlimited plans. Had been planning to go to Verizon which is offering the best phone deals but their pricing is so high that it doesn't make it worth it. Maybe we just pay full freight and keep our old plans, idk at this point.

 

[mhip]

Really bummed about the lack of Touch ID but we are making the move to the 13. We've been holding off on the notch phones for so long in hopes they would figure out under screen touch ID and can't wait any longer. The camera on the 13 pro seems phenomenal. Someone with a 13 pro took a picture of Unf Jr. at a party this weekend and it caused my wife to instantly decide she needed the pro and not just the regular 13. I was planning on getting the pro or pro max and having her get the regular 13 but perhaps we will just flip it. Now that we both work from home, it seems like phones are less important than in the past but whatever.

The most annoying thing is that we probably need to upgrade from our relatively affordable legacy shared data plan to one of the AT&T unlimited plans. Had been planning to go to Verizon which is offering the best phone deals but their pricing is so high that it doesn't make it worth it. Maybe we just pay full freight and keep our old plans, idk at this point.

I had Verizon since before they were Verizon.
I recently made the switch to Spectrum Mobile. They use all of Verizon's towers, and connection/service hasn't missed a beat.
I have two unlimited lines for a flat $90 a month.

 

[otc]

Someone with a 13 pro took a picture of Unf Jr. at a party this weekend and it caused my wife to instantly decide she needed the pro and not just the regular 13. I was planning on getting the pro or pro max and having her get the regular 13 but perhaps we will just flip it.

Serious question: how different can the photos really be? Primary difference in my eye would only be the inclusion of a telephoto lens. Maybe slightly better low-light performance (when conditions are just right where the really good 13 camera can't handle it, but there's still enough light that the 13 pro can capture it with help from the LIDAR and whatever).

ProRAW is a nice feature, but 99% of people won't be using it (and you can easily process a photo from RAW that looks worse than Apple's pretty-solid JPG colors).

For a typical snapshot and normal focal length, I can't see the 13 pro being leaps and bounds different from the non-pro, but I've not shot with either.

 

[Omega Male]

The one small indulgence I do allow myself is to trade up to the new Pro Max model every year. With the credit for the older phone, I figure the cost works out to about $1.50 per day — which doesn’t seem too crazy for the device I use more than any other?

OK, OK. Among the few small indulgences …

 

[UnFacconable]

I had Verizon since before they were Verizon.
I recently made the switch to Spectrum Mobile. They use all of Verizon's towers, and connection/service hasn't missed a beat.
I have two unlimited lines for a flat $90 a month.

Great tip. I'm on xfinity at home and their mobile plan is similar to spectrum. Can get 3 gb for $30 a month which might actually be enough for 2 WFH full timers, if not we can get 6 gb for $60 or unlimited for $80. Also, they're offering $300 off the new iPhones even with one of the cheaper shared data plans. They don't even charge per line prices like most of the other players.

Serious question: how different can the photos really be? Primary difference in my eye would only be the inclusion of a telephoto lens. Maybe slightly better low-light performance (when conditions are just right where the really good 13 camera can't handle it, but there's still enough light that the 13 pro can capture it with help from the LIDAR and whatever).

ProRAW is a nice feature, but 99% of people won't be using it (and you can easily process a photo from RAW that looks worse than Apple's pretty-solid JPG colors).

For a typical snapshot and normal focal length, I can't see the 13 pro being leaps and bounds different from the non-pro, but I've not shot with either.

I didn't do a comprehensive test so my info is based on one amazing portrait mode photo (of my kid moving) and discussions with a (different) apple employee. I think for normal photos the delta won't be meaningful.

The pro does have faster lenses and a meaningfully larger sensor (especially compared to older iphones) so it will produce better stills at the margins. But the pro also has an extra graphics core and 50% more ram. One of the employees told me that the increase in processing power has made a big difference in camera speed (especially for certain features). He normally doesn't trade up every year but is moving from the 12 pro to the 13 pro.

Coming from a newer flagship android phone it may not make much, if any, difference, but trading up from our older iPhones will be quite noticeable. Still wish it had touchID somewhere though.

 

[Van Veen]

Apple Music’s quality is streets ahead of Spotify. I regret waiting until Spotify gave a ton of money to a giant douche to switch.

 

[CWV]

^I should have mentioned that I pretty much never let it go below 50% too. I used to think you needed to drain them completely before recharging but later found out that that kills the battery.

Thinking of getting an Apple watch 7. I like the new features, and my work now requires that you use your phone or a smartwatch to open pretty much every door (all external doors are locked due to reduced numbers of people on campus due to covid). Plus I have some Costco gift cards from when we switched carriers there last year.

I'm wondering what color to get to be the most unobtrusive. I'm guessing black or the new midnight with a black silicone band. But I've heard the solid silicone isn't very breathable. Anyone have any favorite bands or bracelets?

Hi again. Are you quite sure your model is the 12 mini? I only ask because completely all other opinions say they can’t get throu a day with it v

 

[emptym]

Yep. A quick google search shows it lasts more than a day for those w/ heavier use than mine:

Apple iPhone 12 Mini battery life test: how much worse?

The iPhone 12 Mini comes with the smallest battery size of all four new iPhones, but what is the real-world battery life? We test the 12 Mini's battery to find out...

www.phonearena.com

Overall, if we are to overlook the overheating issues with some games, the iPhone 12 Mini actually did quite well. It's definitely not a top-level battery performer, not even close, but it holds its ground quite well in daily use and if you don't push it too hard, you should be able to get through even those longer days without sweating it out over your phone dying before you come back from work.

But the 13 is supposed to be better. I'd get the 13 mini if I was in the market.

 

[CWV]

Yep. A quick google search shows it lasts more than a day for those w/ heavier use than mine:

Apple iPhone 12 Mini battery life test: how much worse?

The iPhone 12 Mini comes with the smallest battery size of all four new iPhones, but what is the real-world battery life? We test the 12 Mini's battery to find out...

www.phonearena.com

But the 13 is supposed to be better. I'd get the 13 mini if I was in the market.

Me too. The problem is that my friend who is in the USA now on vacations comes back the 8 of October and I don’t know if the phone will be available on stores.

 

[Omega Male]

13 Pro Max is very snappy. And reassuringly heavy, along with reassuringly expensive of course.

 

[otc]

Couldn't the EU have forced apple to go usb-C like a week earlier?

Europe will require USB-C chargers. Apple isn't happy

The European Union proposed new rules on Thursday that will make USB-C ports standard on smartphones, tablets, cameras, phones, portable speakers and handheld video game systems.

www.google.com

 

[Jr Mouse]

Couldn't the EU have forced apple to go usb-C like a week earlier?

Europe will require USB-C chargers. Apple isn't happy

The European Union proposed new rules on Thursday that will make USB-C ports standard on smartphones, tablets, cameras, phones, portable speakers and handheld video game systems.

www.google.com

It's not going into effect for a few years. As much as I hate the idea, Apple will be selling portless iPhones by then.

My understanding is devices without ports won't have to add a port to comply with the rules.

 

[ter1413]

Probably looking to pick up a 13mini tomorrow.