Tag: #apple

Apple Watch Series 7 :: Erste Eindrücke

Grünes Leder, aber die Uhr in Mitternacht

Keine Faktenhuberei, sondern nur meine ersten Eindrücke. Für mich hat die Apple Watch ein paar gewaltige und ein paar weniger große Sprünge gemacht. Series 3 war die erste Watch, die schnell genug war und LTE hatte. Series 4 brachte ein neues Design mit abgerundeten Display-Ecken, deutlich schöner und moderner. Series 5 hatte vor allem das Always-On Display. Dann folgte ein kleiner Sprung auf Series 6 und nun wieder ein neues Design.

Das Display geht viel näher an den Rand, die Uhr ist nur einen Millimeter größer (gemessen von Ober- zu Unterkante ), rundere Ecken, aber 20% größeres Display. Das hat man nach einer halben Stunde vergessen, so normal wirkt es. Das Glas ist dicker und damit stabiler, die gesamte Dicke ist unverändert.

Funktional sind die Uhren beinahe gleich. Ein neuer USB-C Lader erhöht die Ladegeschwindigkeit. Alter Lader an der neuen Uhr oder alte Uhr am neuen Lader funktionieren wie gehabt. Nur die Kombination von neuem Lader und neuer Uhr ist flotter.

Upgrades von Series 5 und 6 sind sicher unnötig, aber Series 3 und älter würde ich tauschen. Bei Series 4 kommt es darauf an, wie wichtig das Always-On-Display ist. Series 3 verkauft Apple immer noch als Einsteiger, dazu die SE vom letzten Jahr. Eine echte Entdeckung ist für mich das magnetisch schließende Lederband. Nicht geeignet, wenn man schwimmt oder schwitzt, aber ansonsten genial bequem und angenehm.

Der Umstieg war überraschend schwierig. Die alte Uhr war auf 8.0.1, die neue auf 8.0. Neuere Backups kann man nicht aufspielen. Also erst mal als neue Uhr installieren, updaten, dann löschen und erneut einrichten. Diesmal mit Restore. Mühselig. Beim iPhone ist das Thema gelöst, bei der Watch noch nicht.

Beim Ummelden der LTE eSIM habe ich mich drei Stunden in den Prozessen der Telekom verflogen. Am Ende hatte ich dann eine super-kompetente Frau aus dem Second Level dran, die das vorbildlich gelöst hat. Hier fehlt ein guter Self-Service. Das ist die fünfte LTE-Generation, das sollte Telekom doch mal gebacken bekommen.

Watch Series 6 neben Series 7. Das UI ist mit höherer Auflösung gezeichnet.
Watch 6 Series 44mm und Watch Series 7 45mm
Watch Series 7 45mm und Watch 6 Series 44mm
Dieses Lederband finde ich schlicht genial. Es schließt durch Magnete.

How to disable Live Photo in iOS 15

The camera has a switch, which lets you turn off Live Photos. That used to be sticky, but it no longer is. When you open the camera, it is always enabled. Since I mostly shoot still objects, there is a lot of wasted space in storage.

As it turns out you can make this toggle stick by going to Settings/Camera. There are more interesting switches that disable automatic behaviour.

New Firmware for AirPods

Apple has issued new firmware 4A400 for AirPods 2, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. There are no release notes, as usual.

The firmware will be updated automatically in the background when the AirPods are charging and near a connected Apple device. When you see the popup shade, dismiss it with tapping on the X and leave the AirPods nearby.

The new firmware improves Find My for AirPods Max and AirPods Pro

Apple Watch Series 7 verfügbar

Apple Watch Series 7 ist ab Freitag dieser Woche bestellbar und wird eine Woche später geliefert. Die Watch SE bleibt unverändert verfügbar und für mich überraschend auch die Series 3. Ich bin sehr gespannt, wie sich die Series 7 “in echt” anfühlt. Das größere Display ist in jedem Fall willkommen.

Ich trage meine Watch täglich. Nur zum Schlafen und zum Duschen nehme ich sie ab. Nachts wird sie geladen; einen Schlaftracker brauche ich Murmeltier nicht. Und beim Duschen ziehe ich sie aus, damit diese Stelle auch sauber wird.

Im Oktober 2017 gab die Watch laut. Da war das Feature gerade erst einen Monat an meinem Arm. Mein Herz schlug nicht mehr regelmäßig und ich entschloss mich, zum Arzt zu gehen. Vom Hausarzt zum Internisten zum Chirurgen, alles binnen zwei Stunden. Ich musste ganz fix operiert werden und wachte in der Intensivstation auf. Drei Tage später war ich wieder zu Hause.

Noch von den Ereignissen der Woche schrieb ich meinen emotionalsten Beitrag, den ich immer noch nicht ohne Tränen in den Augen vorlesen kann. Den Event kann ich heute noch in Apple Health sehen.

iPhone 13 Pro :: Another camera perspective

I have shown you the difference in camera size between the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro. It does not bother me in the least, but it has consequences when you add a case. For the iPhone 12 Pro, a leather case would make the back of the phone flat, so that you lay it down on a table without rocking and the camera glass would still be protected. The iPhone 13 Pro is different. The leather case has an extra protrusion that protects the lenses.

Remember, the iPhone 13 Pro got thicker by a fraction of a millimeter and houses a larger battery. With the old camera I could have imagined an ever thicker body that negates the necessity of a protruding lens. But the new camera will never fit in a phone body. And that is true for all serious cameras. The lens always sticks out.

There you have it. It’s not an iPhone. It is the iCamera. All of these photos were not shot with an iPhone but with a vivo X60 Pro. The iPhone 13 is not the only camera that can shoot up close.

iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro :: First impressions

I am moving my stuff from an iPhone 12 Pro to an iPhone 13 Pro. And I am shooting some quick photos with a Fujifilm camera. I apologize for the bad photo quality, but I cannot shoot the iPhones with the iPhones. We will return to the old quality after this. 🙂

Here are some quick observations:

I knew that the new camera is bigger than the old camera. I did not imagine how much larger it is. Very hard to see in a photo, I used perspective to make the difference more pronounced. Just by looking at the camera I know which iPhone I am holding.

Although the iPhones look very similar at first glance, the iPhone 13 Pro is noticeably thicker and heavier. All buttons have moved slightly towards the bottom and that is a very good thing for my fingers. Also, the SIM card slot has moved quite a lot towards the bottom left side, but I only touch that twice, when I put the card in and when I finally remove it.

The bigger camera, the thicker case, the moved buttons all mean you cannot use an old case. That was to be expected.

I use a MagSafe Duo charger and I was worried it would collide with the new camera hump, but it does not. It has actually become easier to put the phone down on the charger. Just place it face up, a little bit too high, and then draw towards you. Bamm. I always have to do this in complete darkness and it worked better on the first try then did after months with the iPhone 12 Pro.

However, if you get the Apple leather case, you will get a collision between the high lip that protects the camera and the Duo charger. The normal MagSafe works just fine.

This collision is purely cosmetic. The charger works just fine and it does not apply to me since I have used the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro without a case, and will also do the same with the iPhone 13 Pro.

This is just a first impressions before getting too much use out of the iPhone. I only got it yesterday but I am already liking it. Moving data and apps from one phone to the other was a breeze. The only thing that always worries me is the TAN generator one of my bank uses. You have to enroll it again on the new phone. For those who don’t move iPhones as often as I do: you basically place the old phone next to the new one and follow the default options. After that it moves the data, reinstalls the apps, pairs the Apple Watch and the Apple headphones. Only the information stored in the secure element needs to be recreated.

The mother of all iPhone camera reviews

We’ve spent the last week in southern Tanzania, exploring this vast natural habitat and capturing all its beauty with the iPhone 13 Pro’s camera. As I watched Apple’s keynote about this year’s iPhone release, I was most excited about the new macro capability, increased telephoto zoom, and Cinematic mode.

Check this out. I do not want to spoil the pleasure with just one photo. You have to see it yourself.

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Apple did not compare A15 to A14 CPUs – for a reason

The rest of the industry may be ready to catch up to Apple, who lost the lead architect and some hundred engineers to a new startup, that was bought by Qualcomm.

Regardless of the paltry CPU gains and potential core architecture delays, Apple is still the leader in performance per watt. With Intel design teams starting to get back on track, AMD executing almost flawlessly, and Qualcomm coming in soon like a hammer with Nuvia cores, we aren’t sure if this lead will be sustained. The A11 to A12 generation was seen as Apple starting to asymptote out on gains with only a 15% gain, and the A13 to A14 looked even more weak with 8.3% gains, but now with no CPU gains, let’s cross our fingers and hope the A16 brings a large architectural change.

Dylan Patel

A very interesting analysis.

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A few thoughts on the Apple event

Just watched the Apple Event, like many of you. I am not going to list every detail announced. Other people do a much better job at this. Instead I am going to comment on what stuck in my head.

If you followed all the leaks, you were mostly mis-lead. I don’t pretend I know what will happen and that’s good. I would have been very wrong. No, Apple Watch 7 will not have a boxier design.

For the easy part: new iPhone in the same fashion as last year. iPhone 13 and 13 mini, iPhone Pro 13 and 13 Max. They look very similar, with new camera modules. On the iPhone the lenses are now in opposing corners, not on one side. The cameras are also noticeably larger. Beautiful new colors to show you have a new one.

Halide compares the iPhone 13 Pro camera to previous models

It’s the cameras that blow me away each year. The Pro models now have a 3x tele. Last year it was 2x for the Pro and 2.5x for the Pro Max. Very welcome change. The ultrawide gets a much-needed macro mode. Video recording now provides a new mode, where it automatically sets the focus bracket “intelligently” and you can change it in post. You have to see it to believe it. Insanely great.

Apple Watch 7 gets a larger display that is rounded into the body. Apple claims it is also much more durable. The display remains brighter in the off state. The body keeps compatibility with all bands, Watch gets a faster charger that connects to USB-C. I hope they maintain compatibility to old chargers. Apparently there are no new sensors.

iPad gets a small spec bump to A13 Bionic which was introduced with iPhone 11 and new cameras with a 12MP ultrawide front camera supporting automatic framing in video calls. The enclosure keeps the old almost iconic form with wide bezels at the top and bottom. It now looks seriously dated.

The new iPad mini was the secret star of the show. It’s actually more of an iPad Air mini than an iPad mini. TouchID in power button, same body design, now with Truetone flash. Best of all, it now has a USB-C port, unlike the new/old iPad. This is now the real iPad lineup: 12.9″ Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini. The smaller Pro and the iPad somehow don’t fit in this range anymore.

Fitness+ is coming to more countries and Apple just subtitles instead of dubbing the audio. I am not sure how well that will work with people who have to stare at the screen during workouts. 1 month free trial, and 3 months if you buy a new Watch 7.

Speaking of which: Apple isn’t ready to ship. While you can preorder the iPhone from this Friday to be shipped a week later, Watch does not yet have a release date. Later this fall. I guess there will be a run on Xmas gifts.

It’s always interesting what Apple does NOT say. No performance comparisons between A14 and A15 for instance. I also missed updates on availability for iOS and watchOS, assuming they are coming next week. (Update. next Monday)

And to end on a high note: the iPhone Pro models get displays with variable refresh rates all the way from 10 to 120 Hz. That is going to save a ton of battery. It made the always-on Watch 5 display possible.

What were your highlights?