The 9/9/2014 Apple Launch Event Thread

[Ravynmagi]

. . . so why don't they just sell the 32GB for 200 on contract? The additional 16GB costs, what? An extra dime when bought in these quantities.

Rumor is that Apple didn't want to sell a $200 iPhone anymore on contract. But the carriers were against that idea and wanted to keep a $200 option in the line up.

My speculation is Apple has intentionally made the $200 entry level option look as unappealing as possible, by sticking it with still only 16GB of RAM and bumping the next tier up to 64GB.

I don't think Apple could be more blantant other than lableing it the iPhone 6 16GB-Please-Dont-Buy-This-POS-Model-Buy-The-64GB-Instead-You-Stupid-Idiot!

 

[isekii]

. . . so why don't they just sell the 32GB for 200 on contract? The additional 16GB costs, what? An extra dime when bought in these quantities.

I think they really want to push the 64gb.
Everyone knows 16gb is pretty small in terms of storage especially with photos being several megs each.
Do you want to pay $200 for a 16 or pay an extra 100 to get 4 x the storage ?
They could've easily made the 32gb for $50 more.

 

[Red Storm]

Do you really think so? It's 2014, they just released a new iPhone, and it only has USB 2.0 for transferring photos & videos. Can you imagine transferring 128 gigs worth of multimedia over that connection??

Wait what does wireless charging have to do with file transfers?

 

[Bateluer]

Rumor is that Apple didn't want to sell a $200 iPhone anymore on contract. But the carriers were against that idea and wanted to keep a $200 option in the line up.

So you believe Apple intentionally wanted to up their entry level price to ~300 on contract and its the US carriers that told them no?

If thats the case, the average IQ of an iPhone owner must be dropping or Apple has burned too much of its cash reserves in frivolous lawsuits. Moto X 2014 starts at 99 on contract, and offers quite a bit that the iPhone 6 doesn't.

 

[Eug]

Good to hear that more stores are into nfc. I will be looking for them now.

Around here (Toronto) it's like all of them. Well, not all of them, but something like 80% these days. It's the norm, and we've been using this for years. Tap the credit card against the gas pump and you're done. For some strange reason the US has always been way, way behind the rest of the world on this.

Interestingly though, Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is taking a cut off of EVERY transaction made with an iPhone using Apple Pay. That's potentially some serious coin, if Apple can get good buy-in with this, and with that you can bet Apple is going to really push this.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...ap-fees-from-banks-in-new-payment-system.html

 

[Kaido]

yes because I do it all the time

FWIW the Note 4 is only USB 2.0

my phone supports UBS 3 but I never use it, front ports on my comp are 2.0, there are some on the back that are 3.0 but there are all occupied. unless someone is running a pretty new comp they are goanna be in a similar situation

also the thing supports wireless AC can you simply transfer stuff over the wifi to a network connected HDD? I'm asking I honestly don't know. that would be a lot faster vs the cord

I know I'm in the minority, but I use my iPhone primarily as a camera & record a ton of photos & video footage. I think I broke 100k photos on my 4S in the years that I had it. Lately I've been doing a ton of video; I have 45 gigs to dump this evening. I'd like to start editing it right away, but it's going to take forever to transfer, so I'll just do it overnight or something.

 

[Kaido]

Wait what does wireless charging have to do with file transfers?

Derp, I quoted the wrong post, sorry

 

[Anubis]

yea I was slightly confused but just answered the post anyway

 

[Muadib]

I own & have owned 3 generations of iphones

the new phone is indescribably meh

I'm with you. I had the 3G, 3GS, 4S, then moved over to Android. This won't pull me back.

 

[purbeast0]

The butthurt is strong here.

And the 5S camera is better to me* than the following competitors i have used (S4,G2,Note 3, Note4).

I see that no matter what, apple can please everyone. First the screen is too small, apple offers a bigger screen. Yet still people look for something to fail it. You all sound like government inspectors, no matter what something will be found to be out of reqs.

would you expect anything less though? that is just how this forum is.

 

[Herr Kutz]

I'm pretty disappointed in the phone announcements.

It seems like the only "upgrade" was the physical size of the phones which I'm not a fan of. I know a lot of people are going gaga over the new payments system, but I do not see how apple getting a cut from all of my payments is a feature for the customer...it seems like more of a feature for them.

About the only thing positive I got out of this was the bump to 64gb/128gb capacities. I was hoping for a bump in image resolution while maintaining image quality of the 5s and as well as a sizeable bump in battery life for the somewhat more normal size phone. Maybe if OIS was included in the 4.7" version I would be more agreeable to this update. I'll probably wind up buying a used 5s 64gb or wait for the sony z3 compact reviews to come out.

 

[ponyo]

Around here (Toronto) it's like all of them. Well, not all of them, but something like 80% these days. It's the norm, and we've been using this for years. Tap the credit card against the gas pump and you're done. For some strange reason the US has always been way, way behind the rest of the world on this.

Interestingly though, Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is taking a cut off of EVERY transaction made with an iPhone using Apple Pay. That's potentially some serious coin, if Apple can get good buy-in with this, and with that you can bet Apple is going to really push this.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...ap-fees-from-banks-in-new-payment-system.html

That's what caught my eye yesterday as I read the headlines. I knew Apple wouldn't do Apple Pay for free. If Apple Pay catches on, that's another revenue stream for Apple.

 

[Kaido]

yea I was slightly confused but just answered the post anyway

Speaking of wireless, maybe like an 802.11ac wireless transfer or something would work better than USB 2.0, but I've tried doing wireless sync & it takes even longer than doing it over USB 2.0.

Then again, I'm in a very niche field - there's not too many people who shoot video heavily on their iPhone for short movies & stuff, haha.

 

[Anubis]

which side is apple gonna pull that money from, the consumer or the CC company, because either way I cant see anyone being happy about paying more or making less

 

[Kaido]

That's what caught my eye yesterday as I read the headlines. I knew Apple wouldn't do Apple Pay for free. If Apple Pay catches on, that's another revenue stream for Apple.

Even the local farms around here are using stuff like iPad-driven Square kiosks - just need a wifi connection & they can take credit cards! I'm sure v2.0 will add RFID, if they don't have it already.

 

[Anubis]

Speaking of wireless, maybe like an 802.11ac wireless transfer or something would work better than USB 2.0, but I've tried doing wireless sync & it takes even longer than doing it over USB 2.0.

Then again, I'm in a very niche field - there's not too many people who shoot video heavily on their iPhone for short movies & stuff, haha.

in theory it should as its a lot faster, I just have no idea how it actually works

 

[Kaido]

which side is apple gonna pull that money from, the consumer or the CC company, because either way I cant see anyone being happy about paying more or making less

CC for sure, will probably just be a higher fee. The thing is, businesses don't have to do anything extra - all of the fast food joints already have the NFC readers outside the drive-through windows. VISA is using a token system:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/10/visa-token-service/

So I'd imagine they'll take a cut of their cut.

 

[Rakehellion]

Do you really think so? It's 2014, they just released a new iPhone, and it only has USB 2.0 for transferring photos & videos. Can you imagine transferring 128 gigs worth of multimedia over that connection??

Or you can use gigabit wifi.

I think there's about one phone on the market that has USB 3.0 and it's disabled most of the time because of performance issues.

 

[openwheel]

which side is apple gonna pull that money from, the consumer or the CC company, because either way I cant see anyone being happy about paying more or making less

I would bet the money comes from consumers. A combination of the following:

1. less cash back/miles/points
2. less customer service related perks (rental car insurance, trip interruption insurance....etc)
3. higher fees

In any case, I just don't know how paying with a cellphone is pro-consumer. The current credit card system works perfectly fine. Introducing NFC creates too much fragmentation.

 

[Kaido]

The only real driving thing for me for Apple Pay is that we've had a huge problem in my area with skimmers & PIN cameras. But beyond that, meh - can I put my driver's license on it? Do I still have to carry my wallet?

I know Speck makes a wallet case for the iPhone, but I have a Qi wireless charging case for my iPhone 5S that I refuse to give up, so they'll have to add wireless charging to the next iPhone for me to change to something else.

 

[Kaido]

Or you can use gigabit wifi.

I think there's about one phone on the market that has USB 3.0 and it's disabled most of the time because of performance issues.

Yeah, I'm curious to see how 802.11ac handles on the 6 - if it's as good as the reviews I've read have been, then that should (in theory) replace USB for data transfers. I use DiskAid right now for archiving images, so that would be great since it already supports wireless transfers.

I am a bit bummed that only the 5.5" has optical image stabilization - if you want the smaller phone but better camera features, you're stuck with the jumbotron. I don't use OIS when filming because it screws up my steadicam shots, but it's nice for photos. I'll be curious to read reviews on it once people start getting out & shooting with it.

 

[rh71]

any digital watch will be a fail. Takes way too much effort to use. Not to mention you look like a retard doing it.

Probably not as bad as when people hold up their ipads to record video.

I am disappointed in the RAM choice. That really should have been bigger IMHO.

Yup, this, and the 16GB model for stupid money (same as our ipad mini retina) make it obvious it's a business move. When the next generation comes out, iUsers will feel the need to buy it to upgrade. My original ipad is still in use, but it crashes to the homescreen all the time because of the 256mb ram and many times I don't even have more than 2 apps going.

Apple doesn't care about innovation or giving customers what they really want anymore. They give what they'll tolerate for now and have a carrot hanging for next time. Talk about taking advantage of a fanbase.

 

[Ravynmagi]

So you believe Apple intentionally wanted to up their entry level price to ~300 on contract and its the US carriers that told them no?

If thats the case, the average IQ of an iPhone owner must be dropping or Apple has burned too much of its cash reserves in frivolous lawsuits. Moto X 2014 starts at 99 on contract, and offers quite a bit that the iPhone 6 doesn't.

I'm just repeating what multiple rumors have been mentioning for months. Seems Apple wanted to raise the price to $300 and carriers balked. I can't validate it, but there seems to be enough smoke that it seems very likely.

 

[Kaido]

I think ultimately, this is all going to boil down to system preference: do you want a BMW or a Mercedes? There's not much more that Apple can add to the iPhone...they made the screen bigger & added a few tweaks (NFC, better camera sensor, etc.), but it's not like there's a huge amount of stuff missing outside of like a holographic screen or Leap Motion interface.

I read one article that explained the different pretty well, something like Apple is for people who want an appliance, a tool that they don't tinker with, and Android is for people who want the power & tinkerability of a desktop computer in their mobile device - latest hardware, customize everything, etc. It's almost like consoles vs. gaming computers - you can have a tailored experience that "just works" with a console, or get bigger, badder hardware in your gaming PC & customize it to your liking.

Outside of the interface & general user experience, I think future upgrades will mostly be incremental - a bit faster, a bit better battery life, a bit of a better camera, etc. I mean, they have 802.11ac Wifi, Bluetooth, proximity sensors, barometers, GPS, all sorts of crap in there. If Apple doesn't make you happy, then Android is there to manufacture every other variation you can think of - like with smartwatches, you can get a full 3G smartwatch, a round smartwatch, a jumbo-screen smartwatch, whatever you like.

 

[rh71]

Unrelated - what's the real-world-use battery life of an iPhone 5/5s/5c? Just curious if they are still better than Android there. Is it about a day or is it 2+?