Apple events are dead?

[cronos]

What other smartwatch has 50m water resistance and cellular connection? I've never heard of one.... to say nothing of all the crazy health features and the bespoke HR monitor. Apple watch has completely outclassed the competition for years... and it's reflected in their sales numbers. They absolutely demolish android wear.

The LG Urbane 2 LTE has IP67. Not quite 50m, but you said surf, not diving.

I don't disagree with everything else you said. The updates to the Apple Watch looks amazing, both the new hardware and the OS/software. Android Wear 2.0 hasn't really been praised by its own users (probably about 50% kept bitching about it and some even flashed back to 1.6), so something really needs to happen to get AW back on the right track.

I was really hoping that Apple would surprise us all by releasing a round watch though. That would be fantastic.

 

[FIVR]

The LG Urbane 2 LTE has IP67. Not quite 50m, but you said surf, not diving.

I don't disagree with everything else you said. The updates to the Apple Watch looks amazing, both the new hardware and the OS/software. Android Wear 2.0 hasn't really been praised by its own users (probably about 50% kept bitching about it and some even flashed back to 1.6), so something really needs to happen to get AW back on the right track.

I was really hoping that Apple would surprise us all by releasing a round watch though. That would be fantastic.

I think you quoted the wrong guy somehow with text that I typed tho.

Unfortunately IP67 isn't good enough to surf with (at least not in adverse conditions) and that watch is not warrantieed against water damage if you go deeper than a couple feet. The Series 0 Apple watch (released in 2015) was already IP67 and it is not recommended to surf with.

I have never used android wear, perhaps it is as good as watchOS. TBH I think the apple watch hardware (sapphire coated screens, stainless steel and ceramic materials, bespoke infrared HR monitor) is in another class compared to the competition from Samsung and LG. WatchOS and the software on the apple watch I feel are its weakest points though. They could do SO much with it... just look at that baseball team that was using them to cheat.


I don't really understand the need for a round face watch other than to look more like a tradition rolex. There are many watches with square faces, and I think the Apple watch is rather attractive compared to the Motorola or Samsung or LG watches. A round face is not good for displaying text, or really anything except a round watch face.

I think you can forget about Apple ever trying to turn the apple watch (now the most popular watch in the world) into a traditional watch. It will never happen.

 

[Red Storm]

Um... that IS apple's notch design. You can tell by the battery indicator on the right of the notch, and the signal indicator on the left. The only thing that's different is the app doesn't go full screen and actually show the notch, it's only displaying the signal and battery info at the notch level and treating everything below the notch as the actual screen. You can't see the notch because it's black, and so is the screen around it. This is IMO the best way to handle the notch, and something I thought they would do. Showing full screen videos that included the notch was very odd, because it wouldn't be hard to utilize the notch level as just a notification area (like the picture). Since that's only a software update, I truly hope in the future Apple makes that change... or at least an option to toggle "full screen" which includes the notch and a non full screen which doesn't. That's how samsung handles their odd screen ratio of their new phones and IMO it works well. It's almost like Apple shied away from implementing something similar just to not walk in their footsteps. I don't know what the reason is, but I would bet that full screen video that has a notch taken out will be either fixed or at least can be toggled in the near future.

edit: load the pic up in a photo editor and crank the brightness, and even the contrast a bit. The notch is there it just blends in with the black of the screen.

Yes I know, I am talking about software design. If you're going to have a notch, you best hide it with good software design, instead Apple seems to really dig the bunny ear style, which just looks bad, especially with full screen video.

 

[FIVR]

It looks great. I mean come on, you guys complain for years about bezels then they give you no bezels and you complain that the stupid phone has to have a front-facing camera, microphone, infrared camera, IR laser. Where are they supposed to put that stuff if not on the front of the phone?


It would be physically impossible to not have a notch at the top while also having all the features of a normal smartphone. Hence why no other smartphone has less bezel than the iPhone X. You are looking for something to complain about and oddly enough you've focused on the one thing they fixed that you complained for years about them not fixing...


If you want to complain about something, complain about the lack of TouchID. That's a huge disappointment and this FaceID thing has not been proven at all to be equivalent. That is your golden flaw to exploit and you've ignored it in search of a phone with no front camera or bezels.

 

[cronos]

I think you quoted the wrong guy somehow with text that I typed tho.

Whoops, yeah my error in editing the quotes there.

Unfortunately IP67 isn't good enough to surf with (at least not in adverse conditions) and that watch is not warrantieed against water damage if you go deeper than a couple feet. The Series 0 Apple watch (released in 2015) was already IP67 and it is not recommended to surf with.

I have never used android wear, perhaps it is as good as watchOS. TBH I think the apple watch hardware (sapphire coated screens, stainless steel and ceramic materials, bespoke infrared HR monitor) is in another class compared to the competition from Samsung and LG. WatchOS and the software on the apple watch I feel are its weakest points though. They could do SO much with it... just look at that baseball team that was using them to cheat.

There is no question that Apple Watch hardware is much more premium (and displayed especially to show that premium-ness). No argument from me about that.

I don't really understand the need for a round face watch other than to look more like a tradition rolex. There are many watches with square faces, and I think the Apple watch is rather attractive compared to the Motorola or Samsung or LG watches. A round face is not good for displaying text, or really anything except a round watch face.

I think you can forget about Apple ever trying to turn the apple watch (now the most popular watch in the world) into a traditional watch. It will never happen.

I get it. This particular part is just about my personal preference. I don't think I can ever wear a square thing on my wrist. It took me a while to get used to a round watch after so many years without anything on my wrist. Square watch, probably never. I already hated the direction most AW manufacturers in making more 'sporty' watches. I simply wanted what look like a regular watch but smart. The first Huawei Watch looks perfect for me. But then Huawei messed it up with the 2nd generation (at least that's how I feel).

 

[gorcorps]

Yes I know, I am talking about software design. If you're going to have a notch, you best hide it with good software design, instead Apple seems to really dig the bunny ear style, which just looks bad, especially with full screen video.

Gotcha, I agree. It looks odd

It looks great. I mean come on, you guys complain for years about bezels then they give you no bezels and you complain that the stupid phone has to have a front-facing camera, microphone, infrared camera, IR laser. Where are they supposed to put that stuff if not on the front of the phone?


It would be physically impossible to not have a notch at the top while also having all the features of a normal smartphone. Hence why no other smartphone has less bezel than the iPhone X. You are looking for something to complain about and oddly enough you've focused on the one thing they fixed that you complained for years about them not fixing...


If you want to complain about something, complain about the lack of TouchID. That's a huge disappointment and this FaceID thing has not been proven at all to be equivalent. That is your golden flaw to exploit and you've ignored it in search of a phone with no front camera or bezels.

Nope, it looks weird (right now). Samsung did it right by eliminating the side bezel as much as physically possible (which is the most important part to me as the sides are where my hands wrap around). Then they kept just enough top bezel to house the speakers and sensors. I'll give Apple credit for doing what they did, but the way they used the screen space to either side of the notch is just odd. I expected that area to be fully dedicated to displaying info, and not used during video playback. Again, that's merely a software issue and I think it'll get fixed... But as of right now it's a big WTF decision

 

[FIVR]

Gotcha, I agree. It looks odd

Nope, it looks weird (right now). Samsung did it right by eliminating the side bezel as much as physically possible (which is the most important part to me as the sides are where my hands wrap around). Then they kept just enough top bezel to house the speakers and sensors. I'll give Apple credit for doing what they did, but the way they used the screen space to either side of the notch is just odd. I expected that area to be fully dedicated to displaying info, and not used during video playback. Again, that's merely a software issue and I think it'll get fixed... But as of right now it's a big WTF decision

"Apple has too much bezel. Such an old design. Samsung is now the best smartphone because Samsung has a way higher screen to bezel ratio. Why do you like bezels so much? Do they charge you by the amount of bezel it has; The more bezel, the higher the price?"

- Literally every samsung fan for the past 4 years


"OMG there isn't enough bezels! I NEED bezels! This is terrible, too much screen!"

- Samsung fans this morning

 

[JimKiler]

Whoops, yeah my error in editing the quotes there.



There is no question that Apple Watch hardware is much more premium (and displayed especially to show that premium-ness). No argument from me about that.



I get it. This particular part is just about my personal preference. I don't think I can ever wear a square thing on my wrist. It took me a while to get used to a round watch after so many years without anything on my wrist. Square watch, probably never. I already hated the direction most AW manufacturers in making more 'sporty' watches. I simply wanted what look like a regular watch but smart. The first Huawei Watch looks perfect for me. But then Huawei messed it up with the 2nd generation (at least that's how I feel).

Easy enough to do!

 

[darkswordsman17]

This is the year of the selfie. They've talked about selfies for the past 5 minutes. Cell phone tech is now dead to me in its current form.

Its been the "year of the selfie" for like 5 years (remember those phones that put the good camera on the front?). So, you're giving up on cell phones?

I'm baffled at the people expecting some huge world-shattering thing in a market that has been defined by iterative updates for almost its entire existence. I'm also not sure why nerds always act surprised when they market to the mainstream when that's where the mindshare (money) is.

I am positive the last iphone was the biggest change to iphones in history, at that time. Is it that interesting that tech other companies have used for a while, wireless charging and AMOLED displays finally on iPhones?

We saw quite a bit of half-baked wireless charging setups. And fact is, if its not something Apple is pushing, then its not something that companies making accessories (you need stuff to wireless charge on) will put a lot of effort into. We'll likely start to see a lot of wireless charging stuff (including cars adding it as features). Also, we saw quite a few companies ditch AMOLED (I think Nokia's new phones are LCD, Moto switched to LCD, heck, seemed like Samsung and Google were the only Android flagships last year going OLED, and I think LG is the only other one this year; ZTE made a bit of a splash but I haven't heard pretty much anything about them this year, and most of the other Chinese brands are LCD I think).

I'm actually interested in finding out what Apple is doing for OLED, as they say they're doing something different, and Apple has consistently put a strong emphasis on display quality. Even if its just RGB instead of Pentile (or going with white OLEDs with filters layers over them), that would be something, and would move the industry to adopt similar if they want to compete.

Apple is also pushing AR, which means they're likely seriously moving forward to offering glasses/headsets, which will make a huge shift, honestly it'll be a bigger deal than tablets.

Yes I know, I am talking about software design. If you're going to have a notch, you best hide it with good software design, instead Apple seems to really dig the bunny ear style, which just looks bad, especially with full screen video.

I agree, the standard way just looks wonky to me. I think the likely reason Apple is doing that is that putting a black background with static text/graphics like the notification bar, would lead to noticeable burn-in. And I think pixel shifting would be noticeable against the black backdrop (would look a bit like flicker).

 

[Ichinisan]

I guess when you release a flagship phone for $1k in late 2017 with only a laughable 2GB of ram no one cares.

I expect the X will have at least 3GB RAM, as last year's 7 Plus did.

 

[Ichinisan]

I am positive the last iphone was the biggest change to iphones in history, at that time. Is it that interesting that tech other companies have used for a while, wireless charging and AMOLED displays finally on iPhones?

The 4 introduced Retina display, Facetime/selfie camera, and front+back glass.

 

[Ns1]

I was pretty underwhelmed and would consider an S8 due to price, but live photos is pretty priceless for my use cases.

iPhoneX is too baller though, I'll settle for an 8 or a 7.

 

[FIVR]

I was pretty underwhelmed and would consider an S8 due to price, but live photos is pretty priceless for my use cases.

iPhoneX is too baller though, I'll settle for an 8 or a 7.

Just make sure you don't get an AT&T 7.


The X looks awesome except for the lack of touchID. I don't know what I'll do if I'm no longer able to unlock my phone one-handed while looking the opposite direction of the phone. I'm sure I'll eventually get over it...

 

[Fingolfin269]

Hi all, just wanted to follow up real quick. Didn't want everyone to think I started this thread and abandoned again (I know everyone was really hoping i'd follow up! hah)

High level, don't feel like quoting...

First, in regards to this being an Android forum... We used to have massive discussions on the Apple events, both here and All Things Apple (and in Off Topic if I recall correctly). I realize like another poster mentioned it's likely more to do with the fact that we basically no everything already that makes the discussion less needed. I tend to think it's more of a combination of that and lack of new concepts (across the industry) as well as a general slowing of overall discussion.

Second, do I still care about cell phone technology? Honestly no. The space has become boring. Nothing new happens anymore. It's just incremental improvements (better resolution, better camera, "wireless" charging, blah blah). I saw another thread on a foldable Samsung phone I haven't had a chance to read yet. Now that would be cool and I think something a lot of us have been waiting on.

Third, I do think this is the biggest change in the iPhone's history. They have so many open skus now it's ridiculous. They've released a flagship that doesn't have a home button. A screen design that likely has Jobs rolling in his grave (I can only imagine he would hate it not being uniform). Etc. Yeah I realize the 4 was massive and when they started deviating from the original 3.5" it was a big change. But the removal of the home button is huge imo.

Anyway, with all of that said I'll probably trade in my 7+ for an X.
(provided FaceID doesn't suck)

 

[Fire&Blood]

It looks great. I mean come on, you guys complain for years about bezels then they give you no bezels and you complain that the stupid phone has to have a front-facing camera, microphone, infrared camera, IR laser. Where are they supposed to put that stuff if not on the front of the phone?

Matter of preference and tech limitations. If OEM's didn't chase thinness and consumers didn't want a selfie cam, bezel-less phones are doable today (no way around a slim frame though)

For me, ideal bezel solution is 3 reduced bezels to a minimal frame around the display, minimal bottom bezel to house capacitive buttons (on screen buttons defeat the bezel reduction) and optionally, selfie cam within the bezel.

A year ago, a phone did just that, moved the selfie cam down to the bottom bezel and utilized a piezoelectric cantilever acoustic transducer to free up the top bezel. Personally I don't like their solution but AMOLED screen in combo with a black theme/background can hide it effectively.

Apple has it's following almost everywhere but this (dying) forum's community is made up mostly of a tinkering crowd that doesn't buy into Apple's form over function philosophy.

During their presentation, Xiaomi got the nomenclature wrong but used this image to get their point across:

 

[purbeast0]

Those complaining about the full screen video and the notch, check out this video and start around the 2:20 mark

It basically does exactly what the current iPhone does. It either will fill out the full screen real estate, or it will scale to fit the actual aspect ratio and it includes the notch so it doesn't go behind it. That was pretty much my only concern and now that I see how it works I'll probably end up getting one.

My only concern is my 6 battery is pretty f'd up right now and I don't know if I can deal with it until November.

 

[gorcorps]

Those complaining about the full screen video and the notch, check out this video and start around the 2:20 mark

It basically does exactly what the current iPhone does. It either will fill out the full screen real estate, or it will scale to fit the actual aspect ratio and it includes the notch so it doesn't go behind it. That was pretty much my only concern and now that I see how it works I'll probably end up getting one.

My only concern is my 6 battery is pretty f'd up right now and I don't know if I can deal with it until November.

Ok good, that's how I was hoping it was handled but hadn't seen evidence yet.

 

[JimKiler]

Hi all, just wanted to follow up real quick. Didn't want everyone to think I started this thread and abandoned again (I know everyone was really hoping i'd follow up! hah)

High level, don't feel like quoting...

First, in regards to this being an Android forum... We used to have massive discussions on the Apple events, both here and All Things Apple (and in Off Topic if I recall correctly). I realize like another poster mentioned it's likely more to do with the fact that we basically no everything already that makes the discussion less needed. I tend to think it's more of a combination of that and lack of new concepts (across the industry) as well as a general slowing of overall discussion.

Second, do I still care about cell phone technology? Honestly no. The space has become boring. Nothing new happens anymore. It's just incremental improvements (better resolution, better camera, "wireless" charging, blah blah). I saw another thread on a foldable Samsung phone I haven't had a chance to read yet. Now that would be cool and I think something a lot of us have been waiting on.

Third, I do think this is the biggest change in the iPhone's history. They have so many open skus now it's ridiculous. They've released a flagship that doesn't have a home button. A screen design that likely has Jobs rolling in his grave (I can only imagine he would hate it not being uniform). Etc. Yeah I realize the 4 was massive and when they started deviating from the original 3.5" it was a big change. But the removal of the home button is huge imo.

Anyway, with all of that said I'll probably trade in my 7+ for an X.
(provided FaceID doesn't suck)

Are you for or against the home button becoming virtual? I have a Moto X Pure Edition without any physical buttons on the front and i have no issues. in my two years maybe twice my phone was unresponsive and I had to reboot using the physical power button. But there is no proof that would have been different had my phone had a physical home button. The iphone home button has always been way too huge so this is a positive and i bet most people who get the $999 iPhone will not have a complaint about the new home button.

 

[purbeast0]

Are you for or against the home button becoming virtual? I have a Moto X Pure Edition without any physical buttons on the front and i have no issues. in my two years maybe twice my phone was unresponsive and I had to reboot using the physical power button. But there is no proof that would have been different had my phone had a physical home button. The iphone home button has always been way too huge so this is a positive and i bet most people who get the $999 iPhone will not have a complaint about the new home button.

There is no "new" home button. It's been completely removed.

 

[Anubis]

There is no "new" home button. It's been completely removed.

its now "swipe up"

 

[purbeast0]

its now "swipe up"

That's only if you want to go back to the home screen from in an app. The button is used for more than that.

 

[pcslookout]

Or this forum is dying. I don't know which. Came to look at the commentary on the Apple event. No commentary. Here, All Things Apple, Off Topic.

What has happened?

Biggest change to the iPhone in its history and no one is even discussing. Crazy times we live in. Apple is surely doomed.

Forum is dying. I moved on to better forums!

 

[utahraptor]

I am sitting this year out. The X is poorly executed and too expensive and the 8plus not having optical stabilization for the zoom lens kills it for me.

 

[Red Storm]

Those complaining about the full screen video and the notch, check out this video and start around the 2:20 mark

It basically does exactly what the current iPhone does. It either will fill out the full screen real estate, or it will scale to fit the actual aspect ratio and it includes the notch so it doesn't go behind it. That was pretty much my only concern and now that I see how it works I'll probably end up getting one.

My only concern is my 6 battery is pretty f'd up right now and I don't know if I can deal with it until November.

So in that example, the video either has to be minimized on all sides to avoid the notch, or you can go full screen and have the notch be in the way. Both of those are bad.

It won't be a problem for videos that aren't wide enough, those will avoid the notch simply because the vertical space will keep it from reaching the notch.

Also after looking at the X some more, the side bezels look strangely thick, is it the same thickness as the iPhone 8? Before the X, iPhones had bad top and bottom bezels, but also the side bezels were noticeably big too. It looks like they took the same side bezel as before and wrapped it around the whole phone, so it looks like there's a bumper around the screen. On my S8+ it feels like there are no side bezels at all, and the symmetrical top and bottom bezels just look so much better.

After all the hype, I am surprised at how bad the iPhone X looks compared to what it could have looked like. Add in the Touch ID omission and it's puzzling why Apple went with the choices they did. If the X had used the Note 8 design (with a fingerprint sensor underneath the Apple logo on the back), it would be the best looking phone ever.

 

[purbeast0]

So in that example, the video either has to be minimized on all sides to avoid the notch, or you can go full screen and have the notch be in the way. Both of those are bad.

No matter what Apple does it's going to be "bad" to people who simply don't like Apple or want to find a flaw.

Had they not scaled it on the bottom of the phone to have no black bar there, then people would say it is bad because there is too much black empty space on the top of the phone.

I personally think had it not scaled on the bottom and added that black bar on the bottom but it did have to add the "bar" to the top so that it doesn't go behind the notch, that it being "off centered" would play tricks on my eyes and be distracting when watching videos on it. It's basically doing an aspect fit vs. aspect fill, but in aspect fit mode making sure the borders on the top/bottom of the phone are of the same size. I have no problem with it.