The 9/9/2014 Apple Launch Event Thread

[openwheel]

As I said yesterday, the one thing I think Apple got right is the two-size watch. Wear devices are still clearly targeted towards (only) guys.

These days, it is fashionable for women to wear men's watch. Around 40-43mm is about right. Larger watch makes women's arm/wrist look smaller. Sometimes my wife insists on wearing one of my watches but it makes me uneasy due to scratches/dents.

Although, the the iWatch wears bigger due to its design.

 

[JimmiG]

The iPhone 6+ is OK, I guess, but the iPhone 6? It's like a Nexus 4 with a faster CPU. They should have kept the same 1080 resolution as the 6+. That would also have left developers with fewer resolutions to worry about.

 

[openwheel]

I have to ask: What happens to those who insist 4" was the perfect size? $h%^ out of luck? Forced to buy older phone?

 

[zerogear]

I have to ask: What happens to those who insist 4" was the perfect size? $h%^ out of luck? Forced to buy older phone?

To be honest, now that Apple is removing the grip on 3.5/5" sized devices, Android (probably lower end) will fill that gap. I personally think that this is a losing maneuver for Apple.

 

[Anubis]

To be honest, now that Apple is removing the grip on 3.5/5" sized devices, Android (probably lower end) will fill that gap. I personally think that this is a losing maneuver for Apple.

I agree, I had assumed that if anyone was going to continue to make a smaller top end phone it would have been apple

 

[HumblePie]

Here is my take,

The iPhone 6 is a usable phone. Most of those that are going to buy the new iPhone are those that are already heavily invested with iTunes and other Apple cloud services.

The 6 is a incremental step up, and nothing revolutionary at all. What I think most people that are either disappointed with or poking fun at, is the price versus hardware specs of the device. It's a device at a flagship cost without the current flagship device specs that pretty much every other company is offering. It's a bit behind on camera, battery, cpu, gpu, memory, pixel density, bezel size, and storage specs compared with any of the latest android offerings.

Still, that isn't much of a surprise because hardware-wise, Mac have forever been behind PC's in term of hardware specs, yet cost far more on average than any similar PC.

What was the difference in price for Macs was their "style" difference between a PC and a Mac. Sure the hardware was behind, but the software was decent, in some cases a little better, and the designs of the devices looked nice or hard slightly better user friendly functionality.

The new iPhone just really doesn't do anything right. It's not exceptionally stylish (not with those huge bezels), not exceptionally user friendly (again massive bezels and weight), and the hardware is pretty far behind compared to the normal slightly behind in terms of the competition. The software isn't any sleeker, nicer, or user friendly compared to the latest incarnations of Android. It just doesn't do anything that shines at all compared to any of the flagship competition. The only thing it has that most other phones don't is a finger print reader. Finger print readers have been around on tiny devices for a long time. They are nothing new.

If the new iPhone 6 had a better pricing scheme, I wouldn't be poking as much fun at it. The current asking price IMHO is silly though for the device as it currently stands.

 

[ponyo]

Just have her do both on Hangouts instead. It's a great app even on iOS (arguably better! - native voice call initiation). You can do that switch even before/without switching devices.

The problem I have with Google Hangout on iOS is the Google+ requirement. Mandatory Google+ sign up in order to use Hangout app is a deal killer for me. I know that's not a problem for most people but I'm weird that way.

 

[s44]

The problem I have with Google Hangout on iOS is the Google+ requirement. Mandatory Google+ sign up in order to use Hangout app is a deal killer for me. I know that's not a problem for most people but I'm weird that way.

I thought they'd dropped that. Maybe not on iOS?

I can definitely hang out on Android from accounts I've never activated G+ on.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

It's very hard to give an answer because it really depends on your own usage. For me I have felt that my Android phones gave me better battery life, but someone else could have the opposite experience as me.

From 8am to 6pm it will take me down to about 35-50% from moderate to slightly heavy usage on a 5s

 

[ChronoReverse]

From 8am to 6pm it will take me down to about 35-50% from moderate to slightly heavy usage on a 5s

Sounds similar to my GS4's performance (web-browsing, some games during the lunch hour, some GPS use along with Bluetooth music in the car).

 

[pm]

I have to ask: What happens to those who insist 4" was the perfect size? $h%^ out of luck? Forced to buy older phone?

As one of those people who said that... I'm honestly not sure what I'll do. For all that I said 4" was the perfect size, I will admit that the Moto X (at 4.7") somehow made the bigger screen into a phone that I could deal with.

But I don't know what I'll do. I continue to be dismayed at the sizes of all the new phones. I'm a tech nerd who doesn't want to carry a big phone... I don't know what I'm going to do but I doubt that I'll buy an iPhone 6... but who knows maybe when I see it it will be like the Moto X and I'll think "ok, this isn't so big".

But the real problem that I have with the new Apple phones is that I'm on a prepaid plan nowadays and I'm not paying $700 for a new phone.

 

[Imported]

4.7" is just about right for me. The allure of the larger screen is always nice though. I may just end up going with the Xperia Z3 if I don't want to wait another 6 months.

 

[paperwastage]

The iPhone 6+ is OK, I guess, but the iPhone 6? It's like a Nexus 4 with a faster CPU. They should have kept the same 1080 resolution as the 6+. That would also have left developers with fewer resolutions to worry about.

if Apple does it right (like how Google/android with DPI/layouts), you shouldn't have to worry (much) about resolution

 

[sze5003]

I doubt anyone who wants an iPhone is going to want the 16gb version unless they are just desperate. I'm going to say that most people purchasing one will be on contract too. Still, they should have a 32gb version. Nexus 6 will be stock 24gb according to rumors. But they also play the same trick. The off contract prices for the 6+ is ridiculous.

 

[purbeast0]

I doubt anyone who wants an iPhone is going to want the 16gb version unless they are just desperate. I'm going to say that most people purchasing one will be on contract too. Still, they should have a 32gb version. Nexus 6 will be stock 24gb according to rumors. But they also play the same trick. The off contract prices for the 6+ is ridiculous.

i plan on getting the 16gb version. i have the 32gb version of the 4 and wish i didn't spend the extra money to get it, wish i had the 16gb instead.

 

[Anubis]

I doubt anyone who wants an iPhone is going to want the 16gb version unless they are just desperate. I'm going to say that most people purchasing one will be on contract too. Still, they should have a 32gb version. Nexus 6 will be stock 24gb according to rumors. But they also play the same trick. The off contract prices for the 6+ is ridiculous.

24GB seems a very odd choice is that rumor is true

 

[Red Storm]

i plan on getting the 16gb version. i have the 32gb version of the 4 and wish i didn't spend the extra money to get it, wish i had the 16gb instead.

For what it's worth, when I had the 4 there were a lot of things I wasn't downloading or doing (taking lots of pics for instance) so I didn't use the storage much. My 5 is only my work phone and I still use a lot more storage on it than I did the 4.

 

[sze5003]

i plan on getting the 16gb version. i have the 32gb version of the 4 and wish i didn't spend the extra money to get it, wish i had the 16gb instead.

When I had an iPhone I had the 16gb version and the only reason I think it was enough was because I hated iTunes and would rarely ever connect the phone to sync stuff except for updates.

I mean I could do with 16gb it's just that when I went to android I always put a lot more stuff on my phone for some reason.

24GB seems a very odd choice is that rumor is true

Yea I have been reading around trying to see what it will have. One article stated it's out in India so it should be here by Oct 31.

 

[SlitheryDee]

i plan on getting the 16gb version. i have the 32gb version of the 4 and wish i didn't spend the extra money to get it, wish i had the 16gb instead.

I have no problem with the 16gb version either. I have the 16gb 5s and I have never run into my storage limit. So much of what I use it for is either cloud, streaming, or browser based that I just don't use a lot of the internal memory. I made the same discovery with my first ipad, which I got in the 32gb version because I expected to use a lot of storage. Turns out I used about 10-15gb for the stuff I wanted to use it for and just filled up the extra space with music and movies I never listened to or watched so I'd feel like I didn't completely waste my money.

I'm not really sure what I would do with the extra space if I had it. I could fill it up with apps that I probably would never use, but what does that do except clutter up my home screen? I stream music from amazon. I stream video from netflix and amazon. Pictures are uploaded to icloud so I can delete them from my phone at will without fear of losing them for good. The way smartphones work now there's much less need for me to have a lot of storage than there was in the past. I wouldn't call myself any kind of "power user" when it comes to smartphones though. My usage model is probably typical of the vast majority of people who will buy a smartphone, so I can see a lot of people going with the 16gb.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I'm fine with 16gb. All my music is through GoogleMusic and I don't keep movies on my phone. The only thing I would use the space for is pictures and I definitely do not take 16gb worth of photos.

 

[Mopetar]

Agree with that, though the prices are extortionate.

Apple has always charged more than other manufacturers for their devices so I don't think the prices should surprise anyone.

They should have kept the same 1080 resolution as the 6+. That would also have left developers with fewer resolutions to worry about.

That wouldn't actually work though. If you have a 4.7" 1080p display and 5.5" 1080p display, the density will be different and if you design your touch targets for a 5.5" display, they might be too small for a 4.7" display or just more difficult to use.

Even when using a points system for layout, there's enough of a difference between a 4.7" and a 5.5" display that it's probably necessary to create two individual designs to ensure that everything works well.

I have to ask: What happens to those who insist 4" was the perfect size? $h%^ out of luck? Forced to buy older phone?

Either they move up to use something bigger and accept something less than ideal in that regard or they jump platforms and find an Android or Windows phone that's in that size range.

I wonder if Apple will release a 6C next year so there's something in the 4" range. That would give them a pretty good array of sizes and prices. It may well turn out that most existing customers are happy to go with a 4.7" device or that the number of new customers they can attract with a larger display means it doesn't matter if a few jump ship, but I do think they would be foolish to completely neglect the 4" phone market. Personally, I'd much prefer a 4" iPhone with an A8 and all the latest bells and whistles over a larger model, simple because it's easy to pocket and is the most comfortable size for me.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The iPhone 6+ is OK, I guess, but the iPhone 6? It's like a Nexus 4 with a faster CPU. They should have kept the same 1080 resolution as the 6+. That would also have left developers with fewer resolutions to worry about.

Is it really just like a Nexus 4? Didn't the 5s already do really well in CPU performance?

 

[ponyo]

As one of those people who said that... I'm honestly not sure what I'll do. For all that I said 4" was the perfect size, I will admit that the Moto X (at 4.7") somehow made the bigger screen into a phone that I could deal with.

But I don't know what I'll do. I continue to be dismayed at the sizes of all the new phones. I'm a tech nerd who doesn't want to carry a big phone... I don't know what I'm going to do but I doubt that I'll buy an iPhone 6... but who knows maybe when I see it it will be like the Moto X and I'll think "ok, this isn't so big".

But the real problem that I have with the new Apple phones is that I'm on a prepaid plan nowadays and I'm not paying $700 for a new phone.

I'm with you. I prefer smaller phones. 5"+ is harder for me to carry since I wear John Stockton like short shorts in the summer and shorts and long sweat pants in the winter. That's what I wear to work everyday. Large phones are extremely uncomfortable for me to carry in the shorts pocket. Galaxy Nexus was pushing it. I could live with 4.7" iPhone. I just can't do 5.5" iPhone for the same size reason as the Note 4 no matter how nice I think the big phones are.

But even without the size, I can't imagine paying $500 for iPhone 6+ 64gb with 2yr subsidy. That to me is insane and I wouldn't even dream of paying $900+ for off contract phone. Not with all the cheap phone choices we have today.

 

[Aikouka]

i plan on getting the 16gb version. i have the 32gb version of the 4 and wish i didn't spend the extra money to get it, wish i had the 16gb instead.

I'm probably going to go for the 64GB or 128GB model. I don't want none of that new fangled music streaming, so I keep around 22GB of music on my phone. I believe that I'm using around 45GB at the moment overall, and I can imagine it would be worse with a bigger screen as I'd be more willing to put apps on the phone that weren't originally that great on a smaller screen (note: current plan is probably the 6+).

Ultimately, it depends on what's available. If the 64GB Space Gray iPhone 6 Plus (Verizon) sells out, I'll just go with the 128GB. At worst I'll settle with the Silver one, which looks alright. I just prefer a black front on the phone as I like it blending in with the screen.

 

[Commodus]

The iPhone 6+ is OK, I guess, but the iPhone 6? It's like a Nexus 4 with a faster CPU. They should have kept the same 1080 resolution as the 6+. That would also have left developers with fewer resolutions to worry about.

Y'know what the iPhone had in 2012 that the Nexus 4 didn't? LTE, a good camera and decent battery life.

That's the problem with these overly simplistic comparisons: they often hide the full story and fuel that irrational, shrieking fanboyism that prevents people from seeing tech as a complex beast where companies take turns leapfrogging each other.

Besides, as much as some Android fans will try to disparage this catch-up, the fact is that these phones (combined with iOS 8) eliminate a lot of those "I would get an iPhone, but..." arguments. And let's face it: as much as us techies like to pretend that buyers are obsessed with software features and hardware specs, it's really the overall presentation that matters. Apple is very likely going to sell tons of new iPhones, and a lot of those buyers will be sincerely happy.