Today marks one year since Steve Jobs passed away. Can't believe it's been that long already, it feels like only weeks ago.
In memory of Steve, Apple has put up a short, sweet tribute video on their site, which is followed by a message from Tim Cook. Worth checking out.
People have been piling onto Apple lately over the whole Maps debacle, but I wanted to give it some more time on my own before I came to any conclusions. After taking a trip out-of-state and relying entirely on Apple Maps throughout, this is what I've come up with in terms of odd behaviors:
Overall, I think that Apple Maps is a good experience, albeit with the quirks that one might expect from a new service that absolutely depends on user input. The map data is obviously not going to be at the same level as Google Maps for a while, but with hundreds of millions of possible corrections being submitted to Apple all the time, people will eventually get over their initial hatred of the service.
I love the new vector graphics, they're much cleaner than Google's old map tiles. The turn-by-turn stuff is well-designed too, and when it works, there's no smoother experience in my opinion. Just wait until the data is there to back up the beauty on the surface, and Google will finally have a competitor in the mobile maps space to contend with. At least one worth talking about, that is.
By now, pretty much everyone knows about the new Lightning connector being used in the iPhone 5. As with any Apple announcement, reactions from most people (I wanted to use "customers" here, but apparently people who have no interest in the iPhone 5 feel the need to speak up about this too) have fallen into two extremes:
"Ah, this makes total sense. Of course Apple would do this, because it helps them create a much thinner phone, and they can do away with that lousy old thing."
and
"I CAN'T BELIEVE APPLE WOULD FUCK US LIKE THIS, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH ALL OF MY ACCESSORIES NOW?!"
The latter reaction is both amusing and fascinating. This kind of thing seems to be a repeating cycle, although the average consumer seems to forget it. They forget that, years ago, Apple gave up the Firewire connector for the iPod (more specifically, the 3rd generation) and switched over to the 30pin connector we've been using for nearly a decade now. It was only a matter of time before Apple would move on to something else.
Meanwhile, many of Apple's competitors have been using their own proprietary cables and switching them up even more often. Just look at Samsung, for example:
These cables were all released in the time frame that Apple kept the 30pin connector in use. And this image doesn't even show all of them. Making Apple out to be the bad guy here is just ridiculous.
The other thing people are forgetting is that gadget cables are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Apple's AirPlay feature bypasses the need to connect your iOS device to anything else; you just tap a button on the screen and it works wirelessly. Even without AirPlay, everyday technologies like WiFi and Bluetooth are being implemented in interesting ways:
While not universal yet, wireless charging is also becoming more and more popular. Put all of this stuff together, and you have a device that rarely needs to be plugged into anything. Never before has an iOS device been so capable of being entirely independent.
As for the old accessories that everyone keeps howling about, I think there are still few reasons to complain. For one thing, at least Apple even created a Lightning > 30pin adapter for people to use, even if it's essentially an expensive piece of plastic. They could have done nothing of the sort and left customers to dry.
Which brings me to my next point. Nobody is being forced to upgrade to the iPhone 5, or any other Lightning-compatible device Apple is sure to release in the near future. You don't HAVE to buy this thing. Keep your iPhone 4S or whatever it is you have, and be happy that it works the way you need it to. It's certainly not Apple's problem that you bought all of these accessories that require the 30pin connector anyway.
My guess is that this whole thing will blow over relatively quickly. Even the most ardent complainers will likely be on a Lightning-compatible device in the next year or two, and even then they probably won't use the cable all that much.
“Sometimes it’s just best to keep your mouth shut, or remain vague. Two things Samsung should have copied from Apple.”
I've got to agree with Ben on this one. Over the last few days, I've been reading both sides of the arguments following the Apple v. Samsung verdict. Basically, the Apple fans loved it, while everyone else thought that this would only stifle innovation in the marketplace in the years to come, because Apple's patent portfolio just got the thumbs-up from the U.S. government.
While I can see why the latter group is concerned, I don't see this as bad for the typical consumer. Samsung's problem is that they were too blatant about ripping off Apple's designs, not that Apple is too litigious for their own good. Since the verdict was handed out, Samsung has done a lot of talking about how consumers want more innovation in the marketplace, but "innovating" is hell of a lot different than "copying another company's ideas wholesale and selling them as your own."
We don't need more iPad clones on the market. Even Microsoft (of all companies) has developed a radically different UI with Windows Mobile 8, and even have some interesting new ideas like the keyboard cover. There's nothing stopping Samsung from creating something just as unique, they just need to put the actual work into it this time.
It's that time of year again. The rumor mill about the next iPhone has started spinning and theories are wildly being flung about by everyone and their grandma's dog about what features we can expect and what the new hardware will be like. The most common assumption of all? Bigger screen size.
In the last year, we've seen Android and Windows Mobile 7 phones being sold at screen sizes much larger than the iPhone's humble 3.5" display. Some of these entries into the market have been comical at best (see the photo above from The Techblock's satirical review of the Samsung Galaxy Note, which is a 5.3" behemoth) while others have been somewhat more respectable, such as the Samsung Galaxy S II's 4.3" display.
The question is, does screen size really matter? Or more specifically, would a bigger screen truly improve the iPhone that much?
The most prevalent opinion I've heard on the issue is that the "sweet spot" for smartphone screens is somewhere between 4.0" and 4.5". While I don't think these numbers are outlandish by any means, I have to wonder, why the obsession with having a big phone screen?
Some background: I've been an iPhone owner for several years now (since 2008 when the iPhone 3G was released), I currently own a 4S, and I have been extremely happy with each new iteration of the phone. It's compact, it fits my needs perfectly, and any complaints I have are minor and usually reserved for iOS itself instead of the hardware.
To me, a phone should fit these two criteria for size:
The 4S definitely meets these criteria and a nice side effect is that I don't feel like an idiot holding a near-tablet-sized device to my head when I'm taking a call.
Despite my feelings about the 4S, when I browse the web I see a growing number of derisive comments about the phone, stating that Apple is losing its edge or refusing to keep up with the market. I can't take these statements seriously, given how insanely popular the device is. Obviously there is something that keeps people coming back to the iPhone year after year despite its screen size and not because of it.
If Apple were to increase the display size, they would also need to drastically increase the number of pixels or else it would no longer be considered a Retina display. This would come with all sorts of tradeoffs, the biggest two being battery life and app-developer support. Think of how many apps would have to be redesigned for the new size when so much has already gone into making apps Retina-compatible. Battery life is already only decent at best (it's not uncommon for me to have to charge my phone a little during the day in addition to my nightly full charge) so I can't see Apple making this tradeoff until they figure out a way to make batteries last much longer than they do now.
I think Apple made the right call on screen size a long time ago when the first iPhone released, and I can see no need for it to be changed that would improve my day-to-day use. At 3.5", even the elderly can comfortably use the iPhone one-handed, while the younger hipster-types out there can easily slide it into their small jean pockets. This is what I would call the "sweet spot" since it attracts consumers from many different demographics, rather than just the tech geeks out there who think that bigger necessarily equals better.
Gruber details his views on who may succeed Steve Jobs should he ever decide to step down as CEO of Apple.
A new Apple CEO would need credibility and the ability to instantly instill confidence with two highly disparate groups: Apple’s rank-and-file employees, and Wall Street. The only candidates who could satisfy both factions, to any degree, already work at Apple. Name one outsider who’d be accepted both inside the company and on Wall Street. I can’t. Not one.
I'm actually a bit surprised by some of the suggestions for outside successors that have apparently been made by others, such as Steve Wozniak or Guy Kawasaki or Jack Dorsey. These seem like such obviously-bad choices, even to a guy like me who only follows this stuff as a hobby. Not that I have anything against those people; Jack Dorsey has certainly proven that he can create a quality product (such as Twitter and Square) but to suggest that he could just come in and take over as CEO of Apple is a bit ludicrous.
Gruber's top choice, Tim Cook, already seemed to be groomed for the position long ago in my opinion. I would have thought it readily apparent to anyone else who watches Apple affairs too, but the article that Gruber is responding to here would seem to indicate otherwise.
