News from Apple this week

[TheForce]

The difference from the AW5 to the 6 is pretty substantial to me. It’s not as big as the 4 from the 3 but pretty big.
I was only able to test both the 5 and the 6 with only three workouts and really thought they were the same. The key differences I see now but unfortunately can’t see true head to head but are obvious to me now. Optical heart is new and improved. It does lock on your heart rate early (unlike previous models and doesn’t let go). Battery life is very much improved even with always on enabled. I did a 2.5 hour bike ride Sunday and after 13 hours still had 52% battery left. Yesterday did 190 minutes of exercise (no gps) and after 14 hours had 57% left. Very similar numbers with battery as I remembered my 3 and 4 series had. Definitely better than the 5. I would had been 20-30% left with the 5. The display is definitely brighter. Especially outdoors. You can turn brightness down half way and get the same with the 5. I was able to test this before shipping off the 5. The GPS seems improved though it has never been annoyance of mine with the watch as others. A few trusted you tubers have tested this and have confirmed this is indeed improved.

Exercise observation-
My fist 3 Apple watches were inconsistent in recording minutes of exercise. The AW4 was very accurate for recording minutes where my heart rate was above 100. At that time my doctor had my pacemaker set so it wouldn't allow my heart rate to exceed 110. After my Nuclear stress test he allowed my exercise to push to 130 for brief periods of time.

Now I upgrade from the AW4 to the AW6. I agree with your other observations, however I have never seen my green ring register even though my other two rings can circle 1.5 times. Yesterday I monitored my heart rate above 110 for 2 hours. The green ring nothing. This morning, same thing. Yet my wife joined me for about 15 minutes and wearing my old AW4 gets credit for 8 minutes. Me, nothing! Any ideas what is different with the AW6 exercise green ring?

The wash my hands app is also way off on time. Not sure what it's doing to sense the timing but sometimes I can wash for a minute and the timer stops at 8 seconds for 15 seconds then restarts again. The advisory to wash hands when returning home works well. Nice reminder!

 

[tigerfan33]

Now I upgrade from the AW4 to the AW6. I agree with your other observations, however I have never seen my green ring register even though my other two rings can circle 1.5 times. Yesterday I monitored my heart rate above 110 for 2 hours. The green ring nothing. This morning, same thing. Yet my wife joined me for about 15 minutes and wearing my old AW4 gets credit for 8 minutes. Me, nothing! Any ideas what is different with the AW6 exercise green

I have a friend that has the same issue with his AW3.
Outdoor walk and indoor walk will not give him exercise minute credit in his health or fitness app but will still get credit for active calories burned.
Others have reported this back to the AW3. My friend tried unpair/repair his watch but did not solve.
His solution was to use “other” in the workout option even though gps was not used. He wanted credit for exercise minutes instead of walk accuracy.

 

[TheForce]

The only thing I saw on the iphone is single or multiple metric. Under "Other" it does show heart rate as a way to measure exercise minutes.

On the Apple watch it is possible now to change the full circle of minutes from 30 to other increments.

Note- not that important to me as I am not into exercising as a hobby but was curious why the AW6 is not registering anything but the AW4 and earlier does register.

 

[tigerfan33]

Gotcha Don.
The “other “ I’m talking about is the type of workout such as walking or running.
I think what you are saying is your not choosing a workout type but your AW will not record exercise when it should. Like a casual walk.
Next time choose Outdoor Walk and see if it will count as exercise minutes.
If it doesn’t, then you have the same issue as my friend with the AW3.

 

[frank c.]

My watch S4 just updated to WatchOS 7.0.2, let’s see what happens with this update.


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys mobile app

 

[Foxbat]

The October event is today, of course I have all these Teams meetings at work while it’s going on…

 

[klang]

The October event is today, of course I have all these Teams meetings at work while it’s going on…

I just need a chart laying out the specs of the new models so I can decide which to order.
I'm especially interested in the small one but I wonder what is given up for the size reduction. We shall see.....

 

[TheForce]

I just need a chart laying out the specs of the new models so I can decide which to order.
I'm especially interested in the small one but I wonder what is given up for the size reduction. We shall see.....

The Apple web site is up where you can compare side by side all old and new iphones, even Gen 1 SE which my wife has.

I will probably upgrade because I can save $24 a month from my New Every 2 lease. I've been on this lease / payment plan now for a few years and I like it. There is an incentive for Verizon new customers and existing customers. So, in November, I will order the 12 Pro Max with 256GB. My 11 Pro Max with 512GB only cost me $316 when In I trade it in. There is an account qualifier for the program. I wasn't planning to upgrade as I really don't need the 5G but with a lower monthly payment and new features in the camera, hard to resist. I don't think it would apply if I has Sprint, T-Mobile, or AT&T.

 

[harshness]

I just need a chart laying out the specs of the new models so I can decide which to order.
I'm especially interested in the small one but I wonder what is given up for the size reduction. We shall see.....

If you were hoping for something other than a 5G iPhone or a Homepod Mini, you don't need to waste your time.

They didn't speak much about specifications other than as percentages versus a previous model (a common Apple practice). They did outright declare the A14 Bionic the fastest wireless phone CPU and GPU but all the iPhone 12 models include that chip. There shouldn't be many differences other than battery life at the low end. The Pro cameras add a new raw picture format, Dolby Vision HDR and LiDAR (6x faster dark room focus) and an upgraded standard forward camera with f1.6 optics.

The MagSafe feature would have been exciting if Apple had gone there six years ago. Also in the better-late-than-never category they finally have a Qi single and dual charger to offer!

The Homepod Mini is arguably what the Homepod should have been (especially the $99 price and automatic stereo configuration feature) and it seems to depend a more than a little on help from a earby iPhone the way they talked about it.

A survey from Piper Sandler suggested that only 10% of the iPhone user base intended to upgrade in the next six months so we'll see if the announcement changed any minds. The stock is headed down a bit since the announcement so that's a so-so sign that viewers were engaged in my model that puts stock value direction in direct opposition to excitement about what was announced.

 

[TheForce]

The stock is headed down a bit since the announcement so that's a so-so sign that viewers were engaged in my model that puts stock value direction in direct opposition to excitement about what was announced.

I was watching the market movement throughout but realized by lack of any significant movement that it took place the day before with all the leaks, we didn't really learn anything new. As I watched many YT video leaks over the weekend, the only exciting thing I learned was the discounts I mentioned earlier. That by itself simply shifted me from wait to upgrade now and save with a lower monthly payment. As they say, it's a no brainer.

On technology only, I can't justify the upgrade. I don't have 5G and I really don't do professional video anymore. I'm quite comfortable with my 11ProMax. I never exceeded 200GB so having the 512GB model was a waste of money thus, I will go for the 256GB model which did lower the price a couple bucks per month too.

For me, the big tech upgrade was my Apple Watch 6 vs. my AW4 I'm doing twice as much now, including using the AW6 to control my Tesla and my Nissan Leaf.


So, next step is to go to the Apple Store and get a hands on comparison.


The home spy thing doesn't excite me and I won't have one here. Bad enough my watch listens in.

 

[harshness]

The home spy thing doesn't excite me and I won't have one here.

Apple stressed at least three times during the 10 minute presentation that their system was free of spy technology. I congratulate you in not buying into the poppycock.

 

[Foxbat]

What disappointed me listening in on the brief 25 minutes I was able to hear between calls and meetings was when they were presenting their environmental impact reduction. “Good News, everyone! No more wasteful Power Adapters or Lightning Headsets in the iPhone 12 box! That means a 30% smaller box, which means more iPhone 12 boxes on a pallet, which means less energy needed to jet one million iPhone 12 users their new iPhone!”

They then announced that the price of the iPhone 12 mini is $699 for the 64 GB model. Huh? They just said how they are saving money and energy by shrinking the packages’ footprint, and instead of passing that savings on to their customers, they’re charging the same price as last year’s iPhone 11. Or are they?

This just in, the $699 for the iPhone 12 mini and $799 for the iPhone 12 is only for an iPhone 12 bought with AT&T or Verizon activation. Otherwise, the price is $30 more!!! So, get your iPhone from T-Mobile or unlocked, that will be $729 or $829, please.
(This price disparity doesn’t affect the iPhone 12 Max, though)

So, am I wrong to compare the iPhone 11 to the iPhone 12 and see that Apple is charging $100 for “the same phone” in the line-up? Like I said, I haven’t been able to see the whole event, maybe the iPhone 12 is worth the extra $100 because each new iPhone 12 includes free Amazon Prime for a year…

 

[navychop]

Let me know if the iPhone 15 supports T-Mobile 5G, and Holosuites.

 

[harshness]

They then announced that the price of the iPhone 12 mini is $699 for the 64 GB model. Huh? They just said how they are saving money and energy by shrinking the packages’ footprint, and instead of passing that savings on to their customers, they’re charging the same price as last year’s iPhone 11. Or are they?

With the upgraded chip and the OLED display, there is a fairly significant performance difference. We have yet to see how the actual performance metrics (battery life, charge time, etc) came out in terms of practical numbers but those should be improved as well.

The difference between iPhone 12 models appears as narrow as it has ever been.

 

[Foxbat]

Finally watched the event. I’m still not sold on the HomePod, and since my Apple Store is still shuttered during the Pandemic, it will be hard to demo how a 3” driver can produce room-filling sound.

Okay, back to the main event, the starting iPhone 12 models now have OLED screens, so I guess that explains most of the $130 price increase. I saw on the disclaimer on the bottom of the iPhone 12 page that the 12 mini has not received FCC approval yet, nor has the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

The uplift to the iPhone 12 Pro includes sensor shift image stabilization and LiDAR. Bigger sensors, better light gathering, HDR video capabilities, increase in base storage capacity, same starting prices as last year’s iPhone 11 Pro.

Someone pointed out the $120 price delta for an unlocked iPhone 12 w/128 GB at $879 to $999 for the same configuration of iPhone 12 Pro may be low enough to entice some buyers to move up. Better cameras, telephoto lens, stainless steel, HDR video, LiDAR focusing, that could be enough to justify the extra money.

 

[TheForce]

The only way I have found to benefit from the price increases is to own Apple stock. This way, in a small but adequate way, Apple stock growth can pay for my addiction to owning the latest technology.
In addition to having Apple stock pay for the upgrades, you can also take advantage of the deals as long as those deals comply with your other goals. One deal is rather than pay cash for the iphone, "lease" it on a monthly payment plan. It isn't really a lease but the monthly payment plan is at 0% interest plus it is paid for on your Apple Card account and each payment is discounted by 3% in their cash back.
So, as an example last November, I bought the top of the line iphone 11 Pro Max with 512GB. I was billed $68 a month. and received a 3% cash back. $65 / month. So I paid $780 for the 12 months and now qualified for the trade-in on an iphone 12 Pro Max. They will give me $500 trade-in. That means I paid $280 for my iphone 11 Pro Max with 512GB storage for the year. If I decide to keep the 11 it will actually cost me more because I will have to continue paying the monthly charge and the trade-in will diminish.
The advantage of keeping the iphone 11 Pro Max for 2 years + is that I will own a 2 year old technology that has very little value in trade.
In addition, I see the new price of the iphone 12 Pro Max is $10 lower per month than the iphone 11 Pro Max. The monthly was $68 and the 12 is $58.

OK, Apple now has me hooked into "leasing" my iphone. If they take away the deals, and I am happy with the current iphone at that future time, I can always just pay it off in another 12 months and own the phone outright.

 

[TheForce]

Digging through the fine print that has been added to the Apple web site to look for gotchas that would negate my plans stated above and saw this which only explains the release dates:

• iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max have not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max are not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

I wonder why the FCC is dragging their feet on these two phones.

 

[mackie99]

Has anyone noticed that if you want a iPhone 12 Pro Max (or mini) that you can't preorder until 11/6.

Edit...I see Don has seen this.

 

[harshness]

Has anyone noticed that if you want a iPhone 12 Pro Max (or mini) that you can't preorder until 11/6. Edit...I see Don has seen this.

They are both pending FCC approval as has been pointed out twice in this thread.

 

[mackie99]

They are both pending FCC approval as has been pointed out twice in this thread.

Obviously that's why I made the edit.