Technology Android

[Massive Bell]

Still on the original iPhone SE. lol so small and hard to type (sorry for typos!!) but it’s fine - I still get to read Jokerman on it !!

 

[dilla]

New iPhones. Real small improvements, barely. Should have been a "12S" and people would have understood that given COVID. I hope those 14 rumor are true. That notch needs to go and I hope Apple decides to bring the iPhone in to 2017 and gives the iPhone USB-C.

Not interested in upgrading from the 10.5 iPad Pro so the iPad news wasn't that big for me. Not when the Pros now have the M1 chips and are on a whole different level of power that I don't need.

So much for those new Air Pods rumors.

 

[masta247]

Yeah it feels like Apple are basically skipping a year. Barely a refresh. A 6% performance improvement (estimated by Anandtech) and a higher refresh display. Let's see if the changes to the camera system are noticeable enough. Otherwise I don't think most would notice a difference between 12 and 13.

What I'm bummed out about the most is Apple's now two years of stagnation in CPU design. I was praising them for delivering much higher gains than anyone else, and suddenly they stopped to almost zero for two years straight. The cores that they just launched with the iPhone 13 will be powering the M2 or whatever the successor to the M1 they end up calling. I expected much more from them, but this would make the M1 a one hit wonder if we're a year later and there's no improvement apart from moar cores at best.

 

[dilla]

they stopped to almost zero for two years straight.

I know COVID isn't quite two years old yet but could that have put a damper on things? I don't follow hardware news that closely but have Samsung or other chipmakers made meaningful gains in that time? If other have, then that is strange of Apple to slow down a bit on one of their highest volume sellers in the iPhone and iPad. They may have spread themselves too thin? With the M1s in the Macs and M1X in the iPad Pros and such, they've got a lot on their plates. That also during a time they're making such a drastic change from Intel to M1 on their Macs.

One thing I glossed over from the event is the cinematic mode in their video capturing. That looks really cool and while I rarely use my phone for video or photo because I'm boring as shit, it's still impressive how it works on the iPhone. I hope others follow suit although I don't know enough to know whether it's a hardware or software thing that other brands will have to develop on their own. Google could probably do it first for Android because they've been pretty good with their photo tech in their Pixel phones.

I imagine Apple has another event planned by the end of the year for the AirPods. I know the iPad Pros got a bump to M1 earlier this year but I can't remember when the M1 Macs were introduced. Probably 2020, so we might see that 14 or 16" MBP with M1 pretty soon.

I still have no intentions of upgrading anything this year. Phone, Mac, and iPad are just fine. I am looking for wireless earbuds. I have the Sony M3 headset for watching movies and stuff but for lectures and Zoom and other light duty things, I need something more portable. I bought two Samsung Level U Pros back in 2017, I think, and one already died some time last year and the second, spare one I had is having issues holding a charge after a year. So I'm ready to part with that.

Jabra has/had a sale for 40% off and I was thinking the 75t they have for $80ish was a good buy but may I'll wait until my Level Us actually die before moving on. I also have been keeping tabs on Galaxy Buds prices as well as news about new players in the game, like the Nothing Ear 1s. But those are still $100+ and I'm not trying to spend that kind of money on simply wireless buds. But I also don't want shitty ones for $20 from Best Buy either lol.

 

[masta247]

I know COVID isn't quite two years old yet but could that have put a damper on things? I don't follow hardware news that closely but have Samsung or other chipmakers made meaningful gains in that time? If other have, then that is strange of Apple to slow down a bit on one of their highest volume sellers in the iPhone and iPad. They may have spread themselves too thin? With the M1s in the Macs and M1X in the iPad Pros and such, they've got a lot on their plates. That also during a time they're making such a drastic change from Intel to M1 on their Macs.

AMD's Zen 3 was a major upgrade, as it's 20% faster per core than Zen 2. It launched in the middle of the pandemic. Intel is bringing Alder Lake next month which will also be ~19% faster than their previous core. Qualcomm also made a 20%+ bump with the 888. For Apple a 20% jump would be called small just years ago, so it's weird that they suddenly went back to just 6%. Their whole shtick was that they're going for the fastest chips out there, but this will widen the gap again once Intel and AMD launch their next generations of cores soon.

Most of CPU design isn't affected by the lockdowns. As for Apple being spread thin, the CPU design division is completely separate from their other businesses. They wouldn't be affected by an increased volume of product launches as they're on the same yearly cycle for core design.

Jabra has/had a sale for 40% off and I was thinking the 75t they have for $80ish was a good buy but may I'll wait until my Level Us actually die before moving on. I also have been keeping tabs on Galaxy Buds prices as well as news about new players in the game, like the Nothing Ear 1s. But those are still $100+ and I'm not trying to spend that kind of money on simply wireless buds. But I also don't want shitty ones for $20 from Best Buy either lol.

I'd always recommend checking the Buds+ on a sale. They are imho still one of the best wireless buds, and they can be had for some great prices since they're a bit older now.

 

[dilla]

I'd always recommend checking the Buds+ on a sale. They are imho still one of the best wireless buds, and they can be had for some great prices since they're a bit older now.

I have yet to see a simple breakdown of the differences between the Buds, Plus, Pro, and Live. Some say one sounds better but the fitment is off, which I think is the Live.

Buds+ are $100 from Samsung, so I'll give them a look. Might be some cash back offers to make it sweeter.

 

[masta247]

I have yet to see a simple breakdown of the differences between the Buds, Plus, Pro, and Live. Some say one sounds better but the fitment is off, which I think is the Live.

Buds+ are $100 from Samsung, so I'll give them a look. Might be some cash back offers to make it sweeter.

The Buds+ have a great fit, sound best and have the longest battery life. I think they're the best headphones that Samsung's ever made - the best all-around package. The only thing the others have is active noise cancellation at the expense of everything else - Buds Live are a major downgrade, while the Buds Pro are just a smaller downgrade. The Buds 2 aren't a true sequel to the original Buds and Buds+, they are more like updated Buds Pro with some upgrades and some downgrades. Still not as good as the Buds+ were imho.

The interesting thing about headphones is that they don't tend to improve over time, and this seems to be the case with wireless ones as well.

 

[dilla]

The Buds+ have a great fit, sound best and have the longest battery life. I think they're the best headphones that Samsung's ever made - the best all-around package. The only thing the others have is active noise cancellation at the expense of everything else - Buds Live are a major downgrade, while the Buds Pro are just a smaller downgrade. The Buds 2 aren't a true sequel to the original Buds and Buds+, they are more like updated Buds Pro with some upgrades and some downgrades. Still not as good as the Buds+ were imho.

The interesting thing about headphones is that they don't tend to improve over time, and this seems to be the case with wireless ones as well.

ANC isn't that important to me since I have the Sonys. Plus, I don't think ANC would be very good on earbuds anyway because of the seal they make. They may improve that but nothing compares to the seal of over ears headsets. At least that's what I think is the case and the physics behind it checks out.

Interesting that the Buds 2 is an upgraded Pro. Their MSRP is is $50 less than the Pros.

I just went ahead and got the Pluses. With an education discount (bummed my sister's account) and wireless headset trade in of my Level U Pros, it'll be $56 directly from Samsung. That's assuming they don't screw me on the trade in part, which took off $20 lol.

We'll see when it gets here.

 

[Pittsey]

I still have my Bose Q35s for noise cancelling. Only really use them when flying though.... I got some cheap ear buds. £30. They do the job. I wouldn't get anything more like earpods or anything.... I use them daily at the moment for Teams calls


Waiting for the Pixel 6.... Haven't spent money on a phone for years. But think I will this year

 

[dilla]

Buds+ should be in today some time. I'm sure they'll integrate well with my Samsung phone but I'm wondering if it'll be as seamless with my Apple products or even my TV.

Also, will Google or Samsung offer digital vaccine cards in Wallet? I know it's a new feature of iOS 15 and that'd be really helpful instead of lugging a card around.

 

[dilla]

New Surfaces released today. Surface Duo looks to make up for the original Duos shortcomings but it's still priced like a Z Fold. I'm not sure who's going to go for that over a Fold.

I do like their Surface Studio, though. I do occasionally wish I had the ability to use a touchscreen and maybe write on my laptop and I don't think Apple is going to be adding that feature ever whereas almost every major Windows OEM has a touch screen option on their popular models. But I also don't know where durability stands on 2-in-1s after a few years of usage.

The i7s do have a 3050 in them, though. At the $2100+ price tag, you'd think they'd offer the 3070, at least. Maybe those are too powerful even for content creators? But MS is also pitching the Studio as a gaming machine and a 3050 might technically make it a gaming device but still...why not the 60 or 70? I see 3080 laptops under $2K even.

 

[dilla]

Weird thing, the Buds don't charge wirelessly using the Samsung Wireless Charger. Doesn't recognize that the case has been placed on it at all. Works fine with my phone, though. The case also charges from my phone when placed on it. Just the wireless pad and the Buds don't communicate.

It's the charger from the S6 days that I got with my S7. I think they introduced another charger or two after the S7 was released but would the tech change that much?

 

[dilla]

Interesting move. This is something that can be enforced and isn't just grand-standing, right?

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/23/...r-usb-c-micro-lightning-connector-smartphones

 

[masta247]

Weird thing, the Buds don't charge wirelessly using the Samsung Wireless Charger. Doesn't recognize that the case has been placed on it at all. Works fine with my phone, though. The case also charges from my phone when placed on it. Just the wireless pad and the Buds don't communicate.

It's the charger from the S6 days that I got with my S7. I think they introduced another charger or two after the S7 was released but would the tech change that much?

This depends mainly on coil design. Perhaps the earlier wireless chargers had larger coils (or had big enough holes in the middle) that they could only charge devices with larger receiver coils (phones), as small wireless charging devices weren't a thing yet. The oldest wireless charger I have is a "fast wireless charger" from the Galaxy S7/S8 days, and it charges the buds case, but does not charge the latest Galaxy Watch, for instance. I assume the Galaxy Watch has the smallest coil.

An older charger coil may look like this, to illustrate why it may not work with your buds case, as it would land right inside of this area where there is actually nothing:

Newer designs are smaller and cover more of the "middle" allowing them to still send enough current to charge small devices, looking more like this:

Interesting move. This is something that can be enforced and isn't just grand-standing, right?

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/23/...r-usb-c-micro-lightning-connector-smartphones

Yeah they sound serious. They've accomplished unification before by mandating every charging port to be standardized USB. It's also why you can charge any phone with any other phone charger, and why chargers have detachable cables. Prior to that every OEM had a different, proprietary charger and charging port, with fixed cables. So that first EU law brought an enormous positive change at the time as everyone had to switch to USB A and Micro USB as the dominant USB ports at the time.
Apple went around it by using proprietary charging port in their iPhones but including adapters with phones sold in Europe so they could still be charged with Micro USB chargers. This enabled them to continue being the black sheep with a proprietary charging port in North America where they didn't have to include those adapters and why you guys still have two or three widespread charger standards, and why you have to ask your Uber driver if he's got "the Android charger" or "the iPhone charger".

This is a new law in this same spirit that also supposedly closes Apple's loophole too, so every common mobile device charges with the same cable type, and that they use standardized quick charging standards. Which is absolutely amazing for the consumer, solves a lot of problems, and reduces e-waste.

I somehow suspect Apple will just say "fuck it" and release a fully wireless iPhone instead though, just to be different.

 

[dilla]

This depends mainly on coil design. Perhaps the earlier wireless chargers had larger coils (or had big enough holes in the middle) that they could only charge devices with larger receiver coils (phones), as small wireless charging devices weren't a thing yet. The oldest wireless charger I have is a "fast wireless charger" from the Galaxy S7/S8 days, and it charges the buds case, but does not charge the latest Galaxy Watch, for instance. I assume the Galaxy Watch has the smallest coil.

An older charger coil may look like this, to illustrate why it may not work with your buds case, as it would land right inside of this area where there is actually nothing:

Newer designs are smaller and cover more of the "middle" allowing them to still send enough current to charge small devices, looking more like this:

Yeah they sound serious. They've accomplished unification before by mandating every charging port to be standardized USB. It's also why you can charge any phone with any other phone charger, and why chargers have detachable cables. Prior to that every OEM had a different, proprietary charger and charging port, with fixed cables. So that first EU law brought an enormous positive change at the time as everyone had to switch to USB A and Micro USB as the dominant USB ports at the time.
Apple went around it by using proprietary charging port in their iPhones but including adapters with phones sold in Europe so they could still be charged with Micro USB chargers. This enabled them to continue being the black sheep with a proprietary charging port in North America where they didn't have to include those adapters and why you guys still have two or three widespread charger standards, and why you have to ask your Uber driver if he's got "the Android charger" or "the iPhone charger".

This is a new law in this same spirit that also supposedly closes Apple's loophole too, so every common mobile device charges with the same cable type, and that they use standardized quick charging standards. Which is absolutely amazing for the consumer, solves a lot of problems, and reduces e-waste.

I somehow suspect Apple will just say "fuck it" and release a fully wireless iPhone instead though, just to be different.

That's the reason, it looks like I have the older one. I got it for free from Samsung in 2016 with my S7 and they released a newer variant soon after, so I'm guessing mine was from a 2015 or earlier design. I think I had charging issues because of that design, too, where I had to angle my phone to charge it, both the S7 and S10. It's gotten better now or I just have the muscle memory to place it properly every time now. But that seems to be the issue looking at that internal scheme.

One thing I've found irritating is the touch controls. I think I disabled them in the app but the pause/play continues to work, so taking them in or putting them out can sometimes lead to an accidental touch that starts or stops the media.

Otherwise, they're fine sound wise and they stay in my ear just fine, after using the bigger tips. I'm still trying to figure out if the wings are also the same size, or not. They look the same so I kept the ones they shipped with on, but I get the feeling they're not the same size and should be used with the same size tips.

About the EU law, I know you've said you felt that USB-C is still such a mess since its release, especially considering it was introduced to be a standard port on almost every device. But then those who adopted USB-C still didn't stick to the standards and simply just changed the plug and not so much the power transfer speed so it became confusing and didn't get picked up as quickly. Maybe this second law helps fix that by making the charging speeds, etc. standard for OEMs to comply with.

I think you've talked about it before, what the benefits of Apple going proprietary Lightning were, but despite being shitty for consumers, at least it was still standardized and users knew that getting a Lightning cable meant you got the same charging and data transfer speeds and that there weren't 10 different types to choose from. So at least in making it proprietary, they were also consistent with it.

I too heard the rumblings of Apple eventually wanting to remove ports. I think it was 2-3 years ago when MKBHD brought it up in a video and that was the first time I heard of that rumor and I thought it was quite a stretch, but it seems that is the direction we're going in. Wireless chargers are everywhere, or at least being sold everywhere. They're in cars, they're being sold incorporated in to furniture, etc. I flip between charging wired or wirelessly. I do have a weird paranoia about wearing out the port on my S10 but it has been fine so far after over 2 years. But I do still try to use wireless if I'm not in a hurry.

Speaking of charging, are you particular about maintain battery healthy by not charging beyond 80% or falling below 20-30%? I used to care but then I stopped, but now I'm starting to care again. I don't know if my battery has lasted as long through 2.5 years because or in spite of my charging habits.

 

[masta247]

I think you've talked about it before, what the benefits of Apple going proprietary Lightning were, but despite being shitty for consumers, at least it was still standardized and users knew that getting a Lightning cable meant you got the same charging and data transfer speeds and that there weren't 10 different types to choose from. So at least in making it proprietary, they were also consistent with it.

The issue with Lightning is that it's stuck with the most basic feature set and cables designed for slow charging in mind. So "you know what to expect" means slow charging speeds and low data transfer rates. While USB C expanded light years beyond that, except the implementation of that expansion was almost as far from ideal as possible. I actually look forward to Apple adopting type C or going full wireless. I just hope we'll have better standards for USB C cables and charging standards, which is starting to happen as a mix of the EU law and things like this:
USB-IF announces new certified Type-C power rating logos for cables and chargers - GSMArena.com news

I do have a weird paranoia about wearing out the port on my S10 but it has been fine so far after over 2 years. But I do still try to use wireless if I'm not in a hurry.

That's exactly what happened to my S6 back in the day. The port just stopped working and I could only charge it wirelessly. It's also what sparked me to replace most chargers I had with a wireless one, including power banks. Ever since I really appreciate that's what I did. I got spoiled and now find it annoyingly inconvenient when I have to plug my phone in to charge.

Speaking of charging, are you particular about maintain battery healthy by not charging beyond 80% or falling below 20-30%? I used to care but then I stopped, but now I'm starting to care again. I don't know if my battery has lasted as long through 2.5 years because or in spite of my charging habits.

I don't really worry about it too often, but maybe that's because there are a couple of habits I have that make me not worry.
I don't let my phone die because of a mix of battery strain and potential damage to the phone as a whole as that happens. Believe it or not, smartphones still don't even have good enough software safeguards in place to prepare for a sudden loss of power. Android introduced the soft shutdown when battery is almost dead, but even that just suddenly interrupts everything the phone was doing to shut down. There is a small but real risk that a battery dying can leave your phone bricked, or at least software processes malfunctioning if they happened to do something like rewriting files as the battery was dying, on top of it being unhealthy for the battery. This is anecdotal, but my Girlfriend's S7's battery at the time died and the phone never turned on again. Either the battery dying or charger being plugged kick-starting a dead battery managed to send a high voltage impulse that fried the mobo.
So in general I've always been strict about not letting my phone battery get to <5%. I'd just stop using it as it approaches that point.

I place my phone on the charger whenever I'm next to it but what I started doing recently is avoid doing that when I see it still has >80% battery left unless I plan to go out. It's not a big deal, but doesn't cost me anything and helps the battery a bit.
And another big one for me is using fast chargers only when the speed is really necessary, which happens to be maybe once every couple of weeks. Otherwise my main chargers are 5W wireless chargers.

All in all these are just habits, and I don't have to think about battery health anymore knowing I treat it reasonably well by default and don't do anything that would unreasonably accelerate its aging. With all of that I don't notice any battery degradation on my S10 compared to when I got it over a year ago. There has to be some, but it feels minimal as I'm quite sure I could still get two days out of it with the way I use it.

 

[dilla]

The issue with Lightning is that it's stuck with the most basic feature set and cables designed for slow charging in mind. So "you know what to expect" means slow charging speeds and low data transfer rates. While USB C expanded light years beyond that, except the implementation of that expansion was almost as far from ideal as possible. I actually look forward to Apple adopting type C or going full wireless. I just hope we'll have better standards for USB C cables and charging standards, which is starting to happen as a mix of the EU law and things like this:
USB-IF announces new certified Type-C power rating logos for cables and chargers - GSMArena.com news



That's exactly what happened to my S6 back in the day. The port just stopped working and I could only charge it wirelessly. It's also what sparked me to replace most chargers I had with a wireless one, including power banks. Ever since I really appreciate that's what I did. I got spoiled and now find it annoyingly inconvenient when I have to plug my phone in to charge.



I don't really worry about it too often, but maybe that's because there are a couple of habits I have that make me not worry.
I don't let my phone die because of a mix of battery strain and potential damage to the phone as a whole as that happens. Believe it or not, smartphones still don't even have good enough software safeguards in place to prepare for a sudden loss of power. Android introduced the soft shutdown when battery is almost dead, but even that just suddenly interrupts everything the phone was doing to shut down. There is a small but real risk that a battery dying can leave your phone bricked, or at least software processes malfunctioning if they happened to do something like rewriting files as the battery was dying, on top of it being unhealthy for the battery. This is anecdotal, but my Girlfriend's S7's battery at the time died and the phone never turned on again. Either the battery dying or charger being plugged kick-starting a dead battery managed to send a high voltage impulse that fried the mobo.
So in general I've always been strict about not letting my phone battery get to <5%. I'd just stop using it as it approaches that point.

I place my phone on the charger whenever I'm next to it but what I started doing recently is avoid doing that when I see it still has >80% battery left unless I plan to go out. It's not a big deal, but doesn't cost me anything and helps the battery a bit.
And another big one for me is using fast chargers only when the speed is really necessary, which happens to be maybe once every couple of weeks. Otherwise my main chargers are 5W wireless chargers.

All in all these are just habits, and I don't have to think about battery health anymore knowing I treat it reasonably well by default and don't do anything that would unreasonably accelerate its aging. With all of that I don't notice any battery degradation on my S10 compared to when I got it over a year ago. There has to be some, but it feels minimal as I'm quite sure I could still get two days out of it with the way I use it.

Yeah, I get about 1.5-2 days of usage. Usually from 100 down to about 20ish% with moderate use. Also, I'm always on LTE and don't restrict data for many apps so those all update and sync as needed, and I'm good with that.

My wireless charger is a "slow" charger but that's also OK for me. I mainly use it overnight and if I need to top up during the day I plug it in and let it charge for 20-30 minutes before taking it off at whatever percentage it's at and having that last me another day.

I don't think I've let my S10+ reach 0% and shut down ever which is interesting because that wasn't the case on my S7 which had it happen about once a month and on my S3, which I kept for 4 years, which was quite often until I replaced the battery. User-replaceable batteries. What a time.

Speaking of battery health, I don't think I've had my Galaxy Buds go below 75%, even when listening for 2-3 hours with them. When I'm not using them, I always put them back in to their case so they just hover between 80 and fully charged. I wonder if that charging practice will degrade them faster.

 

[Jokerman]

So I broke down and got the iPhone 13. Not the Pro. Only noticeable difference: battery life is better than 12, and it’s slightly thicker and heavier. Not crazy about the thickness or weight. That’s going backwards to me. The camera lenses are bigger and now really look like octopus suction-cups, but I got it in black so less noticeable. Happy with it. Not experiencing any of the reported issues some are having with less responsive touch screens. I especially like how it lets you beam yourself instantly to any spot on earth with a simple voice command.

 

[masta247]

Speaking of battery health, I don't think I've had my Galaxy Buds go below 75%, even when listening for 2-3 hours with them. When I'm not using them, I always put them back in to their case so they just hover between 80 and fully charged. I wonder if that charging practice will degrade them faster.

With the buds I don't think it's practical to keep them outside of the case when not in use. If you use them a lot, in two or three years you may notice them getting less playtime but you will always be able to fall back on the case which is likely to have more than enough life in it until one of the buds dies for other reasons or you lose them imho. Plus in my personal opinion those buds have so much battery life in them that even if it deteriorated down to 60-70% of its original capacity, it'd still be a very solid battery life. I have the original buds. They are over two years old now. These being the first generation, the battery life out of the box was maybe half of what the Buds+ do. They still last me way longer than I need them to, considering they're getting maybe an hour of playtime per day. At this pace I charge them at most once a week.

 

[dilla]

With the buds I don't think it's practical to keep them outside of the case when not in use. If you use them a lot, in two or three years you may notice them getting less playtime but you will always be able to fall back on the case which is likely to have more than enough life in it until one of the buds dies for other reasons or you lose them imho. Plus in my personal opinion those buds have so much battery life in them that even if it deteriorated down to 60-70% of its original capacity, it'd still be a very solid battery life. I have the original buds. They are over two years old now. These being the first generation, the battery life out of the box was maybe half of what the Buds+ do. They still last me way longer than I need them to, considering they're getting maybe an hour of playtime per day. At this pace I charge them at most once a week.

This is what I've noticed as well. At most, I have them in for 2 hours straight when listening to something before I take a break and put them back in the case. Even with a 30 minute break, I come back and the Buds are back in the 90s, if not 100%. I just wasn't sure if taking it down 10-20% and then charging back up to 100 was "excessive" wear. Also, I sometimes just keep one bud in, typically the left one, while the other is in the case while streaming a podcast or something that doesn't benefit much from both being in. It's a better way, for me, than just having Ambient Noise settings to the max.