Apple Press Conference Thoughts

[TheForce]

I suspect down the road the iPad Pro will support some apps that current iOS devices won't or can't.

Any that support the Apple Pencil would come to mind. Adobe art design software looked interesting. The medical applications looked great. I felt the autocad was not really compelling because most real cad work requires a much larger screen.

When I travel, I carry my ipad ( v3) and a Surface Pro with keyboard and mouse. Takes less room than my old laptop when stacking them in my carry on bag.


The Apple TV was most impressive with the siri voice search for programming but you're right, they should have made it 4K and 3D capable. It does support 7.1 audio. But currently there aren't many 7.1 and 4K programs out yet so I guess when the 4K internet content arrives, they will upgrade it. Netflix and You Tube are the only places I know you can get 4K. Vudu offers 7.1 audio. I wonder if the Netflix App is the one that supports 3D? For now Apple TV is all about the user interface.

iphone 6s was not compelling enough for me to want to upgrade from my 3 month old iphone 6+ 128GB. I really like that and it has cut my ipad use in half. 6+ was a smart move for me. Next summer, my wife will be ready for her 2 years upgrade on her 5 so we may get one in June. 3D touch seemed not so compelling on the iphone, however using that to draw on the ipad Pro was interesting.


I was real excited they are coming out with more options for the Apple watch. The new anodized Gold and pink and other colors for the Aluminum sport will sell. However, there are very high quality 3rd party accessories now that I really like.
I now have an 18K (color) Gold, and Polished Black SS case cover that snaps on and you can't tell it from the original SS case. These cost under $10. from HOCO. I just got my wife a Rose Gold one for her Sport watch. AS for bands, Apple is coming out with a whole collection of sport plastic in more colors which look nice, but I don't like the rubber against my skin. I sweat under it. But the 3rd Party Apple bands are really high quality and cost mostly about $40. I now have the 18K Gold Plated stainless, the 2 tone SS/10K, and the Black SS band. Apple's bands are high quality but they are very expensive. Best to buy a rubber band model and order a nice metal band 3rd Party. My wife just got the Rose Gold plated SS band with magnetic loop. In June there were only available from China, but this past month Amazon stocks most of these models for next day delivery.

I look forward to wOS2 and look forward to some new apps now with direct access. While what I have now is perfectly fun and functional, I still look forward to have something new with the update.


On the iphone 6s camera, the new color and exposure balance was impressive as was the front camera flash. But I was disappointed in the lack of image stabilizer. I use a GoPro for my 4K shooting and two of them for 3D 4K now. I mount them on a LanParte Gyro stabilizer to get more stable shots while running or walking. I noticed the ultra smooth look the show had in some of those videos but in one scene I saw they were also using the Gyro stabilizer mount. I'm sure they are working on it but probably is difficult to get good OIS in a camera so thin. As I shoot now with the GoPro, I was real excited to see the new app running on the Apple watch, especially for the GoPro 4 Black. There are times when you mount a GoPro where you can't see the screen for framing and having the image on the watch is just exciting. I'm wondering if they will have an app for the iphone camera as well.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the pricing schemes in this new world. Do the traditional Verizon upgrade, it cost $399 for the 64gb model, plus the $40 annoyance verizon fee. PLUS you continue to pay $40/mo for the smartphone fee rather than the $20/month. Purchase on "install plan" from Verizon drops the smartphone fee to $20, but then you end up paying at least as much for the phone if not more. Do the Apple store only install plan, you pay for 2 years (so you pay about $800), but get two devices in that time, and get the Apple Care + coverage. But unclear whether VZW would reduce the smart phone monthly fee. It makes my head spin. In the end, I am pretty sure one thing is true... we get screwed regardless.

 

[klang]

Besides, many now and most 4K TVs going forward will directly stream from the services that offer 4K currently. The only compelling reason for Apple to include it right away is if they were planning on offering 4K content themselves.

This is why I was hoping for 4K, another content provider.

 

[king3pj]

iPad pro seems to be very much targeting the professional. I work with someone who travels all the time. He swears by his iPad and keyboard case. The pro would be perfect for him from a productivity perspective. I like to sketch, so I've been using third party styli with my iPad for years now. I'll be very interested to see if apple can improve on the best Adonits.

Even then it's only ideal for professionals in certain fields. I am a professional who sometimes has to get work done out of the office. I love my iPad and I always have it with me when I travel but the software I need for work just isn't available on iOS. Some of my most important stuff isn't even available on Mac. If I need to get work done on the road I need to have a laptop running Windows with me.

If you are in a field that requires drawing on a screen or using it for medical charts or something like that an iPad Pro might get the job done but even then I would think there are probably other tools better suited for that purpose.

If all you need is word processing, spreadsheets, and email I'm sure and iPad with keyboard case would be fine.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Still confused...

You have a device that can record 4K, but you have no device that can playback that video in the full resolution it was shot in.

With that said I am heading down to the Apple Store now to swap my Black Sports Watch to a new Gold Sports Watch.

 

[harshness]

The only way people get 4k is streaming.

But there isn't that much of it going on yet and much of it is hardwired. When UHD starts coming to (or perhaps more likely from) devices far too small to take advantage of it, the Wi-fi bandwidth is going to be jammed.

 

[harshness]

You have a device that can record 4K, but you have no device that can playback that video in the full resolution it was shot in.

The bigger question is where are you going to record it to. Even at 24-30fps, it will swamp all but the most RAM endowed devices.

 

[king3pj]

But there isn't that much of it going on yet and much of it is hardwired. When UHD starts coming to (or perhaps more likely from) devices far too small to take advantage of it, the Wi-fi bandwidth is going to be jammed.

I recently bought a new wireless AC router that claims it can handle 1200Mbps over the wireless signal and the more expensive model claims 1900Mbps. Now, these probably aren't real world speeds but that second one claims to be almost twice as fast as gigabit ethernet.

That being said, I haven't believed those claims enough to move my gaming consoles and PC off my gigabit ethernet and over to WiFi.

I think wireless AC will be able to handle 4K bandwidth just fine. Even wireless N at 300Mbps should be more than enough unless you are trying to stream a bunch of stuff over wifi at the same time.

 

[harshness]

I recently bought a new wireless AC router that claims it can handle 1200Mbps over the wireless signal and the more expensive model claims 1900Mbps. Now, these probably aren't real world speeds but that second one claims to be almost twice as fast as gigabit ethernet.

Unlike wired Ethernet, wireless, MoCA and HomePlug must be shared.

Remember that the advertising claims are talking about bandwidth, not speed. The AC routers are using both bands to get those speeds and obviously that isn't practical for a single device to take advantage of (I would imagine most don't support it). For those with neighbors within 300 feet, the story is much different.

 

[king3pj]

Unlike wired Ethernet, wireless, MoCA and HomePlug must be shared.

Remember that the advertising claims are talking about bandwidth, not speed. The AC routers are using both bands to get those speeds and obviously that isn't practical for a single device to take advantage of (I would imagine most don't support it). For those with neighbors within 300 feet, the story is much different.

Right but the 5GHz band claims 900Mbps on it's own. The more expensive model claims 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band. Even with lower real world speeds than that you should be able to squeeze in a few simultaneous 4K streams.

Netflix 4K only asks for 15Mbps. I realize that this might not be representative of a 4K video recorded on your phone when 1080p blu rays average around 30Mbps for video and another 5Mbps or so for the lossless audio but even streaming full blu-ray files over wireless AC shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Ilya]

Still confused...
You have a device that can record 4K, but you have no device that can playback that video in the full resolution it was shot in.

Well, most of us have cameras with 12-14 megapixels or even higher resolutions and with amazing color accuracy and color depth and almost none of us have monitors capable of displaying that!
I think it's more about preserving our memories in the highest possible quality. I am just glad that I will be able to capture video at 4K from my phone! I'll figure out how to display it later!

 

[klang]

Still confused...

You have a device that can record 4K, but you have no device that can playback that video in the full resolution it was shot in.

Pretty sure you could copy it somehow to a USB drive and plug that into a 4K capable TV.

 

[tigerfan33]

But there isn't that much of it going on yet and much of it is hardwired. When UHD starts coming to (or perhaps more likely from) devices far too small to take advantage of it, the Wi-fi bandwidth is going to be jammed.

Most smart tv's are wireless.
Unless you are in the same room as your modem, wifi is the only streaming option.
I have no problem from Charter getting 60 mps down.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Ok back from the Apple Store, I am told I am the first that have gotten a Gold Sports Edition watch from their store. It looks great!

For some reason they couldn't activate Apple Care on the watch so they gave me a gift card for the Apple Care. I will have to add it later.

They asked me what I thought about the announcements yesterday and I told them I would be more excited about it if the Apple TV supported 4K. They asked me why would I need 4K. I said well if I buy a new iPhone 6S that shoots 4K show do I show it in full resolution on my TV?

They said use Air Drop to the new Apple TV. I told them the new AppleTV does not support 4K. They couldn't believe it so they had the store lead come over who was trained on these products and she had to go in back and check the material she got with her training and came out and she said she was shocked the new AppleTV does not support 4K. She even made a call to Apple to verify this and then told me I tought her something and let her know if I ever needed a job.

 

[harshness]

Pretty sure you could copy it somehow to a USB drive and plug that into a 4K capable TV.

That's part of the magic of the Apple ecosystem. USB and expansion cards are discouraged.

 

[king3pj]

Pretty sure you could copy it somehow to a USB drive and plug that into a 4K capable TV.

That's part of the magic of the Apple ecosystem. USB and expansion cards are discouraged.

Yeah, you would probably have to sync your phone to a computer first and get the file from there. I haven't synced my phone to a computer in years and I don't plan to start that outdated process again.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yeah unfortunately you just cant plug in the phone and copy the file from the phone to USB, instead you have to let it sync then go into the photos app, then drag and drop the file from photos to the desktop.

Thats something Android has over the iPhone, just plug it in and its like an external hard drive.

 

[harshness]

Most smart tv's are wireless.

Many have a wireless feature but it isn't intended for high-bandwidth video streaming. DIRECTV's RVU setup requires some manner of hardwired connection be present to set it up and both company's wireless client solutions use an entirely separate Wi-fi network (more airwave clutter). Wi-fi (and other single-path protocols) will never be the answer to the question of how to get more bandwidth.

 

[klang]

Yeah, you would probably have to sync your phone to a computer first and get the file from there. I haven't synced my phone to a computer in years and I don't plan to start that outdated process again.

I was assuming moving it to a PC or Mac first.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I just am so ambivalent about 4k video, it is a non-issue. And what's the odds you are going to shoot 4k video on a phone that you want to watch on tv, for more than a few minutes? I just don't get it.

Still trying to sort out the upgrade route.. I will be in Chicago on the 25th, so I could make a reservation for the Michigan Avenue store for that morning. What I have figured out is if you do the apple upgrade, and get a new phone, the two year plan starts over, and I'm assuming it means no more passing off phones to family members, since you'll have to return the phone, when you get a new one. and it then becomes a forever 2 year install plan, have it for a year, start a new contract... repeat... repeat...