Tag Archives: Apple

AirPods 2

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Walked into the living room a couple of days ago and discovered Riley chewing on something. One of my AirPods. Just crunched it a little but that was enough so I had my excuse to order the new AirPods 2 (not sure what they call this second generation). I’d read and heard the sound was even better. From a Reddit  user:

First of all, the new AirPods are loud. When comparing the new and old AirPods at the same volume, the new AirPods clearly sound louder. Along with an increase in power, there is an improvement in the overall sound space.

Try listening to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The old AirPods provide a familiar well-balanced sound, but with the new AirPods, you can feel in an instant the rich chorus work and expressive power of the music. Freddie Mercury’s vocals have a high resolution such that you can feel the breath that remains after he speaks. After listening to this, the sound of the old AirPods seems flat.

I listened to the song this morning and have to say it sounded damned good. And I can now summon Siri without tapping one of the pods. (Siri responds with “Uh huh?”)

What Apple knows about its customers

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A week ago Apple started allowing U.S. users to download all of their data from the company, following a GDPR-mandated feature for EU citizens that launched in May. A friend and long-time Apple user took them up on the offer and after almost a week he got it.

They have a lot of info on me.  Every item I purchased from Apple since 2003.  Every time I called Support.  Every time I had something repaired.  Every survey I replied to and how I answered.  Every app or song I downloaded and the IP address I downloaded it from.  Every time they sent me marketing email and if I opened it and what device I looked at it on.

Honestly, I’m not sure I want to know. Same for Amazon.

Face ID

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From day-one I was happy with the iPhone’s Touch ID. So I was skeptical when Apple eliminated the home button (and Touch ID) and replaced it with Face ID. But works as advertised. It works so well I forget it’s working. And I guess I don’t care that much how it works. From iMore.com:

Face ID uses multiple neural networks that are built into the dual-core A11 bionic neural engine to process the facial recognition data. It takes a mathematical model of your face and checks it against the original scan of your face that you first registered.

The information is stored on the A11 chip on your iPhone X and not sent to Apple’s servers, so your facial identity is kept private.

It uses a Require Attention feature in order to work. That means you have to be looking at your iPhone for it to scan, You can’t be asleep or looking away for it to unlock your iPhone. […] It doesn’t work with photographs. It doesn’t work while you’re asleep. It doesn’t even work with detailed silicon masks that look just like you.

I tried to think of a way to make some sort of screencast to show how well this feature works but… there’s almost nothing to show. When my phone ‘sees’ my face — and only my face — it unlocks.

Screen Time

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I’m fascinated by this new iPhone feature. Here are some of my stats for last 7 days:

  • 1 hr 14 min per day ‘on’ phone
  • Messages – 48 min/day
  • Gmail – 39 min/day
  • Google – 20 min/day
  • Phone – 20 min/day
  • YouTube – 19 min/day
  • Picked up my phone 268 times (avg 38 per day)

I think I’m probably a very light user. I’ll bet a lot of people would be shocked to see how much time they spend.

iPhone XS

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Broke down and bought a new iPhone yesterday. My 6SE was two years old and the battery was fading noticebly. I loved the smaller form-factor of the SE and was hoping Apple would keep it around but, alas, the smaller phone is no more. The clincher was the camera on the new models (Barb’s photos from her Yellowstone trip were breathtaking).

Took a couple of photos this morning of Terry Bledsoe, a coffee shop regular. The portrait modes is impressive.

Apple TV Screensavers

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I’ve got some issues with Apple TV but it works so well with my iPhone and MacBook so I put up with them. And the gizmo is worth the money just for the screensavers. They’re gorgeous. Last night I fired up the Apple Music app while I was ironing shirts. In a few seconds the first screensaver came up on the big screen. If you’ve never seen these it’s hard to understand what I’m gushing about. Fortunately someone has collected them but you won’t get the full effect on a small screen.