iOS 13 features revealed at Apple's WWDC13

[AggieMike88]

Some of the upcoming features of iOS 13 are presented in this summary video of Apple's WWDC19 keynote address.

Push forward to 3:50 if you don't want to see the introduction of the mew MacPro or display.

 

[flhrci]

Looks interesting. Most of it I won't use, again.

 

[cowman]

I like dark mode, also a big fan of them shrinking the app and update download sizes. The enhancements to the notes app look interesting. I don't get the whole emoji thing, apparently other people are into it. I'm happy with the old school ascii stuff.

 

[RJM62]

So... They've finally abandoned the upgrade-proof philosophy by going back to modular design?

It still seems absurdly overpriced compared to a comparable PC. For $6K I could build a PC that could run the first manned mission to Mars.

Rich

 

[asicer]

That giant box grater looks like it could shred a lot of cheese.

 

[FastEddieB]

I started to watch the keynote yesterday, but got interrupted. I’ll catch it later.

Impressions so far...

1) The new Mac Pro is exactly what Pros have been asking for. It’s not for the unwashed masses, but for a real pro $6k is not out of line and the modular design and speed will be welcome. A base model iMac or Mac Mini has all the performance most normal humans will ever need.

2) Dark Mode may be aesthetically pleasing, but hardly revolutionary. Gushing over it is embarrassing.

3) Increased functionality for the Apple Watch is always welcome.

4) Delivering a monitor, even a “Pro” monitor, without a stand, and then charging $1k for a stand is obscene, and plays right into detractor’s hands.

I’ll have more once I’ve watched the whole thing and digested it free of the “Reality Distortion Field”.

 

[RJM62]

I started to watch the keynote yesterday, but got interrupted. I’ll catch it later.

Impressions so far...

1) The new Mac Pro is exactly what Pros have been asking for. It’s not for the unwashed masses, but for a real pro $6k is not out of line and the modular design and speed will be welcome. A base model iMac or Mac Mini has all the performance most normal humans will ever need.

2) Dark Mode may be aesthetically pleasing, but hardly revolutionary. Gushing over it is embarrassing.

3) Increased functionality for the Apple Watch is always welcome.

4) Delivering a monitor, even a “Pro” monitor, without a stand, and then charging $1k for a stand is obscene, and plays right into detractor’s hands.

I’ll have more once I’ve watched the whole thing and digested it free of the “Reality Distortion Field”.

$6K is the "starting at" price. Historically, I've found that fully pimped-out Macs cost about five to six times what it would cost to build a hardware-comparable PC, purchasing all the parts at Micro Center retail prices. I don't know the specs of the new "starting at" Mac Pro, but also based on historical experience, I'd be surprised if I couldn't build or purchase a hardware-comparable PC for less than half the cost. The price differential seems to increase the higher up the line one goes.

I do give them credit for (apparently) abandoning forced obsolescence in favor of modular design, but only if they don't have some other tricks to prevent users from installing their own add-on hardware. I wouldn't be surprised if only certain, "approved" components will be recognized by the system, or if they have some other proprietary means of preventing people from buying the cheapest Mac Pro they can and then upgrading it themselves.

That being said, I might still buy one. I'm getting pretty sick of Microsoft's ********. They finally came out with an OS that I'd rate as excellent, but they ruined it by infesting it with spyware, forcing updates, and forcibly reinstalling unwanted and unneeded bloatware every time the system updates. But I want to make sure I don't get caught in some proprietary Apple trap whereby I have to pay through the nose for "official" hardware every time I want to upgrade something -- the software equivalent of soldering the RAM to the mobo, as it were.

The other option, Linux, is a pain in the ass at the moment for any sort of graphics work because X, which is admittedly a mess, is being replaced by Wayland, which simply isn't ready for prime time. Last I checked, it lacked support for even simple, essential functions like gamma adjustments, which the devs say should be be handled by the application compositors, which just pushes the bugs, kludges, and incompatibilities downstream, as far as I'm concerned.

Rich

 

[Rgbeard]

I have an Apple 6 Plus phone, and see it won't take IOS 13.

The 6 Plus is still doing fine. I replaced the battery a couple of years ago.

Normally, I'd upgrade, just to stay in-step. But as of now, I'm tempted to milk it another year, and wait for the next turn of the crank.

The cost of these damn phones isn't trivial.

 

[FastEddieB]

It almost always makes sense to nurse another year or so from an iPhone. But eventually there will be some “must have” feature that prompts you to take the leap.

And your 6+ will still bring something on Gazelle or eBay. We finance our phones through AT&T. I have an X and Karen an XR. Certainly not cheap, but amortized at around $40/month they seem like a good value for the amount of use they get.

 

[RJM62]

I have an Apple 6 Plus phone, and see it won't take IOS 13.

The 6 Plus is still doing fine. I replaced the battery a couple of years ago.

Normally, I'd upgrade, just to stay in-step. But as of now, I'm tempted to milk it another year, and wait for the next turn of the crank.

The cost of these damn phones isn't trivial.

I think they're absurd, especially with non-removable batteries that you have to pay someone to replace.

I was shopping for a phone for a young relative of mine yesterday. I told her she could have my spare, never-used LG V20 (an eminently competent phone with a removable battery), or any of the current Motorola G7 models (also very capable, albeit without removable batteries; but available for < ~$200.00).

She said no. She wanted an iPhone or some crazy expensive Samsung model that cost about a grand. Apparently she never heard the proverb about not looking gift horses in the mouth.

I told her to start saving her money, and when she got within the $200.00 I was willing to plunk down on the Motorola, I'd chip that much into her purchase of whatever phone she wanted. There's only so much I'm willing to spend on something that's designed to be disposable because the one part that wears out can't be easily replaced.

Rich

 

[Rgbeard]

^ I agree with most all of that except that - while the battery isn't snap-in/snap-out, just about anyone with a little mechanical competence, and a $5 screwdriver kit, can replace their own battery for not many $$$.

It's one of the things I'm doing to get more life from my investment. I'd encourage anyone with a short-life iPhone to consider changing the battery themselves.

 

[RJM62]

^ I agree with most all of that except that - while the battery isn't snap-in/snap-out, just about anyone with a little mechanical competence, and a $5 screwdriver kit, can replace their own battery for not many $$$.

It's one of the things I'm doing to get more life from my investment. I'd encourage anyone with a short-life iPhone to consider changing the battery themselves.

On an iPhone, I'm told that that's true. Getting them professionally replaced isn't all that expensive, either.

On a lot of the newer Androids, however, even beyond having to melt the glue, they seem to be making the batteries increasingly difficult to get to. Watch some of the teardown videos. It's ridiculous what you have to go through to get at the batteries, and it seems obvious that they're doing it intentionally. I simply won't support that kind of deliberate screwing of consumers. You can make something waterproof without making it impossible to open to replace a battery (witness a GoPro, for example).

Rich

 

[Bill]

I think they're absurd, especially with non-removable batteries that you have to pay someone to replace.

I was shopping for a phone for a young relative of mine yesterday. I told her she could have my spare, never-used LG V20 (an eminently competent phone with a removable battery), or any of the current Motorola G7 models (also very capable, albeit without removable batteries; but available for < ~$200.00).

She said no. She wanted an iPhone or some crazy expensive Samsung model that cost about a grand. Apparently she never heard the proverb about not looking gift horses in the mouth.

I told her to start saving her money, and when she got within the $200.00 I was willing to plunk down on the Motorola, I'd chip that much into her purchase of whatever phone she wanted. There's only so much I'm willing to spend on something that's designed to be disposable because the one part that wears out can't be easily replaced.

Rich

^ I agree with most all of that except that - while the battery isn't snap-in/snap-out, just about anyone with a little mechanical competence, and a $5 screwdriver kit, can replace their own battery for not many $$$.

It's one of the things I'm doing to get more life from my investment. I'd encourage anyone with a short-life iPhone to consider changing the battery themselves.

I bought a kit that was $19.95 all up, battery and tools for my 6s. Took maybe a half hour to replace working very slowly.

 

[Lowflynjack]

$6K is the "starting at" price. Historically, I've found that fully pimped-out Macs cost about five to six times what it would cost to build a hardware-comparable PC, purchasing all the parts at Micro Center retail prices. I don't know the specs of the new "starting at" Mac Pro, but also based on historical experience, I'd be surprised if I couldn't build or purchase a hardware-comparable PC for less than half the cost. The price differential seems to increase the higher up the line one goes.

Rich

We configured one yesterday that will be almost $50K!!

My company builds the current generation Mac Pro in Austin, TX. It's the only place it's built and it has been a great experience for us. Unfortunately, it looks like Apple abandoned the "Built in America" model, so we'll be moving on. I use a Mac Pro at home for my photography and I've never even close to maxing it out.