[andi*pandi]

Did no one watch this? Is no one excited to double tap from their Apple Watch? Or see how environmentally conscious Apple is being?

I must be bored being at home because I'm watching this... Even though there is no new iMac announced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiP1..._channel=Apple

[Brien]

It was a bit underwhelming, but I’m due for a new Watch, so…

[reader50]

I've had less interest in Apple events for the last decade. I prioritize expandability and upgradeability. That means Macs with slots.

2009-2012 Mac Pro - full options. Can upgrade CPUs, RAM, storage, GPUs.
2013 Mac Pro - price went up. Limited CPU options (Intel moved to a newer socket). No storage upgrades, no slots, no GPU upgrades. The suckers who bought one were stuck for 6 years. They only had the original CPUs to choose from (you could upgrade a base config) and 3rd party storage upgrades. For the single proprietary storage bay. Near the end, the original GPUs were on par with economy mainstream graphics cards.
2019 Mac Pro - criminal prices, no entry-level model. Limited CPU options (Intel moved to a newer socket). Limited standard storage options (2 SATA, 1 USB) requiring mounting bays from a 3rd party.
2023 Mac Pro - criminal prices, no entry-level model. Proprietary CPUs that Apple almost certainly won't offer upgrades for. Limited standard storage options. No support for graphics cards. I'm sure the integrated graphics will still impress in 5+ years.

In the meantime, I'm still upgrading my 2009 -> 2012 Mac Pro. But installing later OSes has become a lot harder, requiring lots of hacking. Dependent on updates from the OpenCore people. So I can't install the latest OS until months after release.

Maybe it's just me. But I have little reason for excitement when Apple intros a new Mac or macOS. Don't own an iPhone (yet?), so what's left. At one point, Steve Jobs introduced new games and graphics cards coming to Mac (Halo, nVidia GeForce 3). Today's Apple lost interest in games again, and lags on GPU support.

I'd really like to be excited by a MacWorld presentation. But Apple drifted away from me.

[Waragainstsleep]

Its getting harder and harder for them to introduce things that are genuinely revolutionary.
I think Apple Vision (Pro) could go either way. People are put off by the high cost, but I can see some spectacularly good business use cases that hopefully will drive adoption sufficiently for it to last long enough to take off.

[OAW]

I have an iPhone 14 Pro so I see no compelling reason to upgrade to the iPhone 15 Pro. Unless I can convince my wife to come over from the dark side of Android phones. I have a Space Gray Series 4 Apple Watch that’s getting long in the tooth so I’m tempted to upgrade. But disappointed that neither the Series 9 aluminum lineup nor the Ultra 2 are offered in a neutral dark gray or black color. I’m presently annoyed at the prospect of having to spend over $300 extra for a stainless steel Series 9 just to get a dark gray case. So I haven’t pulled the trigger on it.

OAW

[Brien]

Having used both iOS(iPadOS) 17 and watchOS 10 for a few days now, outside of some genuinely useful features such as offline maps, most of the updates felt like Apple messing with the UI just for the sake of change. Case in point, swapping the speakerphone/mute buttons on the call screen, or swapping control center and app launcher on the Watch.

I think the platform is matured to a point that Apple and its users would be better served if they backed off the lock-step yearly updates of all the OS’s and just updated them ad hoc. Apps shouldn’t be locked into full releases either. Safari, Maps, etc. should be updated through the App Store outside of the major OS releases, but for some reason, they aren’t (except Safari on Mac).

[ghporter]

I have an iPhone 13 mini. Which they killed. (The product, not my phone!) The size of the mini is effective for me to type with either one or two hands, I can reach just about the whole screen without having to adjust my grip much, and the thing fits in my pocket. For the record, I have “large” hands, with a thumb-tip to pinkie-tip span of just about exactly 10 inches (250mm).

So without a “small” phone option, when I have to replace this phone, I’ll have to figure out how to do just about everything differently. Not a fan.

The USB-C charging port is something that tells me Apple has finally decided that “universal” should mean something like, um…”universal.” I mean, we have two laptops that depend on USB-C for charging, and USB-C has been the standard for charging their new devices for several years, so why the heck not?

I’m hoping they get cracking on “Apple Certified” or “MiFi Certified” cables, so I won’t have to wonder whether I’ll be able to use this cable for charging but not data, or this other one for both, etc.

[Spheric Harlot]

I hate hate HATE that they killed the mini.

I was soooooo happy to have a pocket-sized phone again.

[subego]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

So without a “small” phone option, when I have to replace this phone, I’ll have to figure out how to do just about everything differently. Not a fan.

The way it worked for me is I use my fingers as kind of an “easel”. My pinky hooks underneath to keep it from sliding down, and the rest of my fingers are splayed across the back to keep it from doing a forward flip out of my hand, which it very much wants to do. The tip of my index finger is centered about 80-90% up the back, and I get side grip with my ring finger.

My fingers are pretty stubby, so you should acclimate just fine.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

I hate hate HATE that they killed the mini.

I was soooooo happy to have a pocket-sized phone again.

I was so set on getting a Mini except they kept the good camera for the Pro, so that's what I ended up with.

[christ]

Snoopy watch face is fun.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

Did no one watch this? Is no one excited to double tap from their Apple Watch? Or see how environmentally conscious Apple is being?

I thought the double tap was a great addition to an otherwise very mature product. And its environmental initiatives are great. It underlines how serious Apple is. Even if you quibble with carbon neutral vs. net carbon neutral, I think it is great that Apple is exposing itself to this criticism and does better than most other companies.

Originally Posted by reader50 

2019 Mac Pro - criminal prices, no entry-level model. Limited CPU options (Intel moved to a newer socket). Limited standard storage options (2 SATA, 1 USB) requiring mounting bays from a 3rd party.

Criminal prices? If memory serves, the prices were in line with other workstations. I agree that Apple should have included more drive bays for spinning platter harddrives, 2 was always very tight.

Originally Posted by reader50 

2023 Mac Pro - criminal prices, no entry-level model. Proprietary CPUs that Apple almost certainly won't offer upgrades for. Limited standard storage options. No support for graphics cards. I'm sure the integrated graphics will still impress in 5+ years.

I don't think that's the most important criticism, what matters more in my book is that the Mac Pro just exactly as fast as the top-end Mac Studio and offers no expansion beyond that. The Mac Pro should be the answer to the question “What is the fastest Mac currently on sale by a wide margin?”

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

I hate hate HATE that they killed the mini.

I was soooooo happy to have a pocket-sized phone again.

Yes. I love the size of my 12 mini, and fortunately, it is still flawless with the exception of the battery and two small nicks.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

I was so set on getting a Mini except they kept the good camera for the Pro, so that's what I ended up with.

The camera is literally the single point of contention I have with the iPhone 13 mini.