Honestly, I was half hoping for an iOS update that brought the two OS's more closely together. Cortana is great, I don't see why Siri has been left behind. The iPhone is a jack of all trades but a master of none. Everything about it competes with other devices, but in no way shape or form it beats any of the top phones out there. The one area Apple is winning is customer base. The larger customer base allows them to implement technologies like Apple pay on a broader scale faster. For me, that isn't enough to switch back.`
LOL. Instant karma for me. I took my LG G2 out of its case today and was walking to get lunch, tripped, and dropped it flat on its face from a solid 5 feet in the air. One scuff on the bottom corner, but otherwise fine.
lol good there's not much damage. I've been clutching my phone tighter since I semi-bragged about working caseless. I guess this is the worry that the $10-15 can save me from
You're showing your bias. I had a Nokia as a work phone and didn't use a case. That POS Lumia started to drop calls like crazy after a few months. Updated it last week and it's still a POS. Just stop Pizza. We get it. You don't care for Apple devices but from MY experience with phones from the Nokia N900 (my favorite non apple phone) to everything Blackberry and Windows ever put out It doesn't top an apple phone. When **** just need to work iPhones work. I've gone through and test 20 phones in the last 6-7 years and the 4s was the BEST bar none. You wanna talk about marketing and phones that don't need cases? The closest thing that works well and is rugged for me is the Galaxy s5 active. It's built to take a licking but looks too military for most people.
I have the previous iteration of it: Galaxy S4 Active for me - not as rugged as the S5 Active but still good quality and durable for a plastic phone. Would definitely recommend.
I'm not "boasting" I'm just stating my personal preference. See, I don't really get (or participate in) this rivalry between smart phone users. I think it's weird and kind of nerdy to get all worked up about what kind of phone people prefer using or the reasons why. I just don't care either way.
What Lumia did you have? I've had the 520, 900, 920, 1020 and 1520. I've dropped the 1520 maybe 100 times in the last 6 months. There are tons of youtube videos that would support my claim about Lumia's being solid as a rock. Also, you're showing your bias by saying nothing windows phone puts out tops the iPhone. The 1020 is still beating phones in image quality and the 1520 is up there as well. Two words : Pure View. Apple optics are good, but it's still not nearly as good as the nokia images. Cortana is definitely a hell of a lot more powerful than Siri is. your blanket statement is just blatant bias. Also, saying I don't care for apple devices is a farce as well. I had an iPhone up to the 4, and I was somewhat optimistic about the 6's (as the 5's). Apple devices just work? How's iOS 8 working out for you, because a lot people now have f**ked up phones due to a carrier bypassed update. Apple's single act of sending a broken update might screw up carrier bypassed updates for android and windows phone. Or those bendable phones? Antenna-gate? The list goes on, it doesn't mean apple puts out *****, it means they aren't the bastion of perfection that some people think they are.
It would be a lot more impressive if they did a test that showed how general use created a bend. Seeing a guy flex his forearms trying to bend the phone is really silly. I'll make sure and not grab the phone by each end, put my thumb in the middle to create the maximum amount of give and push.
Like I said, I'm not attacking you. Each platform has something to offer. If I didn't respect apple, I wouldn't expect then to innovate.
It isn't the customer base, it is the fact that there is really tight integration between the hardware and the software that allows them to do things like Apple Pay. Controlling the entire stack allows Apple to do really innovative things that are tougher for their competitors to emulate/copy. Google, Microsoft, and Apple have taken different approaches to developing their products. And the types of products they produce is a boon for consumers. But Apple also controlling the hardware means they, right now, have incredible adoption rates for their OS updates. It makes for a pretty consistent ecosystem. I like what Microsoft is doing with Cortana. I am actually excited to see MS putting some of their great research into consumer products. I'd like to see them focus on developing a solid hardware/software combination to compete with Apple while not using the Google model that makes the consumer and their data products of advertisers. All this talk about Apple needing to "innovate" every year is silly and being overly critical. This one company manages to revolutionize or nearly revolutionize the industry every 4-5 years or so (iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, now iWatch??). That is damned impressive. And they do it, not by being the 1st to release a tech, but by releasing the best implementation anyone has experienced. Name one other company that has this track record of consumer device innovation. The iPhone and iPad still kick ass. No need to make major changes just to make them. Adding features like Passbook, HealthKit, Airdrop, Handoff, and Continuity are really nice innovations and make using a Mac and iOS device a satisfying experience. Every year Apple introduces new tools to help developers create better apps for iOS users. Remember, innovation is not invention; it is the introduction of something new to the product. Apple didn't invent cloud, but they continue to innovate with their use of "the cloud" in their products. If we want Silicon Valley buzzy innovation, we should look at Apple TV and Apple Watch. Apple does something big every 4-5 years. Often times the chattering classes are completely dismissive of that "next big thing".
I am with you here. Demonstrate how sitting bends the phone, not how trying to bend the phone bends the phone. The bending phone thing isn't a big deal to me because I don't sit on my phone or keep it in my pockets for long stretches when I sit. I had to become more careful with my phone once touch screens became ubiquitous. No more shrugging at my phone dropping on the ground. The bending thing is a big deal for my wife as she often keeps her phone in her pocket. I would like if Apple kept a smaller screen option around for folks who don't want a massive screen. But if they phase out the 4" screen, I suspect they will iterate on the watch to address ease of access for people who put their big ass phones in their bags.
I don't completely agree with this statement. Look at Miracast/DLNA/NFC as points of reference. Those are kept to an industry standard, and yet their use isn't widespread. Why? Apple controls 40% of the phone market on its own and can make widespread reforms both because of tight hardware control and because developers/companies know they have a customer base there. This is part of why I didn't want the Xbox to come without the Kinect, developers will not go to a new technological standard if they don't see an existent customer base. It's a chicken and egg situation that apple has found a way to defy (which is freaking amazing on their part). Apple has also had a lot more success in telling customers what they need, instead of trying to create a dialogue. If apple makes a change their customer base is usually ok with it, or even they even embrace it regardless of the change itself. I would put money on it, that if Apple released an OSX update similar to Windows 8's environment (with touch) it would be better received. Case in point, when I got my 1520 a lot of my iPhone carrying friends mocked the size of it, some even called it an iPad Mini knockoff. Guess who is buying the 6+ now? It doesn't anger me that apple can do it, I'm more amazed at how successfully they can turn public opinion. That in itself shows it's utility. That power that apple has is amazing, that means they (if they so choose) can still innovate and constantly change the way we use smart devices without fear of backlash of losing customers. Hell, as powerful as Microsoft was in the 90s they couldn't even do that. Windows 98 came out and people said it's not as good as 95. XP came out and suddenly people were irate again. The list goes on. Apple does not suffer from that, that gives them the ability to try new things on every distro and not get flamed. It's like getting the defense to commit an offsides in American football, it's like a free play to try new stuff. What is the last innovative thing they have really done? I would say it's dropped off since Siri, but even that wasn't a complete product. The iWatch is nice, but to be fair it's not like they were the first to the party with it either. I won't go into depth on the other products (iMac, iPad and iPod touch) because I think that's a rabbit hole for a different thread. I just think, with that carte blanche they could try new things on a more regular basis.
Part of it is they have different uses, part of it is I push them down the tech stream with family members. My 520 is more of a phone I use when I want to run (because a 6" screen is not fun to run with). The 1020 ended up going to my girlfriend because she broke her Samsung. The 920 went to my mom, so on and so forth. The 1520 is really the one I use everyday.
Implementation matters. Poorly implemented standards do not and should not spread. Apple doesn't implement a hardware change until they are confident the change will benefit their consumer base. And when they introduce it, they do so in a way that improves the consumer experience. The same cannot be said for how those other standards were implemented. During Yosemite testing, Apple introduced a dark mode to OS X. The testing base was angry with the poor implementation. So Apple changed the fonts and colors to make dark mode more palatable. Same thing happened during iOS 7 testing, which led to Apple dripping Helvetiva Neue Light for a more readable font. Point is: Apple wouldn't have released something like Windows 8 with touch because when they tested it, Apple determined consumers would wear out their shoulder muscles continually reaching out to touch and smudge their screens. Apple didn't turn public opinion on big screens. Big screens did. Apple is just doing what they have done before, join the party but try to do it better. They missed the digital music boat at first. But then they bought what became iTunes and busted out with the iPod. Those things didn't change public opinion. Napster and MP3 players did. (History may be repeating itself with the Beats purchase and subscription music.) People are now used to big ass phones, so Apple made a big ass phone. And since people tend to like Apple/iOS devices more than competing devices, Apple is doing well at this game. Of course they made sure to protect battery life and other aspects of the device in tact by not releasing the big screen until the full device experience could support it. Today, there is no Apple Stylus. But if consumers develop a culture around the use of a stylus that makes it just another consumer habit, you can bet Apple might break out an Apple Stylus. That is what they do. Move with confidence. Umm. Remember the Cube. Apple innovated on the design of the headless Mac and got slaughtered for it. They killed that product quickly and didn't bring it back as the new Mac Pro until they got it right. When Apple gets it wrong, they hear it. They just generally don't get it wrong in public. For now, it seems a trend to try to -Gate every Apple product release. They have been on a remarkable tear and will get it wrong publicly again at some point. I just hope the watch isn't it. I am not denying certain Veblen-esque aspects of Apple products. They are well made, well designed, and they really do just work, in my an my family/associates lives. Apple has crafted itself as a luxury device maker. They are the BMW/Mercedes/Bentley in this game and they do leverage marketing muster to keep that image. But it isn't just marketing and gullible consumers. The devices really are well made and do have a unique and nice feel to both the hardware and software experiences.
At the end of the day, Apple usually just executes better than everyone else. They don't need to be first. They just need to offer the best solution.
Which makes bending phones and OS problems a big issue. We expect these things to work well if they're going to be a year behind the tech. I never download new OS updates until a few months have passed.
Sigh... I remember when Apple took pride in innovation. You know, like how they innovated with phones with rounded corners. And white phones...
