As I’ve done in the past this time of year, I’m taking a social media break. I’m aiming for 60 days but it could be more or less based on my mood. Expect far less here on my blog. But I’ll still be uploading to YouTube.
Colin Walker on choosing the best devices
Colin Walker nails how I’m making decisions on what hardware I’m purchasing:
I’m largely platform agnostic and have always been able to achieve what I wanted regardless of what device I was using. That doesn’t mean, however, that I don’t want to use the best tools for the task at hand.
I too am platform agnostic. See this post.
Colin mentions the reason I can be platform agnostic. It is because I can still do everything I want with nearly any software platform. Messaging? Work? Photo and video editing? Web? Publishing? I can do all of these regardless of platform.
It is why I currently have a Windows 10 laptop, the iPad Pro, and a Google Pixel. When I purchased these devices they were – in my opinion, and for my needs – the best hardware I could afford.
I plan to continue purchasing “the best tools for the task at hand”. This year it may be the iPhone 11 Pro or the Google Pixel 4. My laptop is still great and my iPad Pro is absolutely amazing.
In that 2018 post I wrote:
Going forward I’m going to continue to make a concerted effort to purchase products based on what they do, how they’re made, and what I need rather than the logo on the box.
I’m no longer tied to a specific company’s products and I’m very happy about that.
It is Wednesday, that means it is time for another episode of your favorite web video series Random 60: How is smoking still a thing?
The Apple Watch Series 5 ad must have been very fun to make. It is very, very good. Also, voiced by Michael Cera.
Things about the iPhone 11 Pro that weren’t mentioned in the Keynote
…or, if they were mentioned, they were mentioned only briefly, but I found them to be intriguing.
- 2x more height on panoramas (63MP image)
- water resistance is up to 12ft for 30 minutes (compared to 6ft with iPhone 11)
- AirDrop understands where people are in a room in relation to you
- Wide lens has 100% Focus Pixels
- audio zoom when recording video
- USB-C power adapter (yay!) but cable is still lightning (boo)
- fun colors not available for Pro
I’ll be pouring over these specs and comparing them to the Google Pixel 4 when it is released before making my final decision. But overall, I’d say this is a very solid update to iPhone.
Wishes for today’s Apple Event
In my Pixel 4 wish list I may have overstated my current position on my choosing Android or iOS in my next phone. I wrote:
As my time to upgrade my phone comes around of course I’m left with a choice to go back to iOS or stick with Android. I’m sticking with Android. I really like my current phone OS. iOS 13 looks like a great update but it doesn’t have anything in it that would entice me to leave Android behind yet.
That isn’t quite right. I’m watching today’s Apple Event closely to see if the new iPhone will entice me away from my Pixel. And, I’ll be watching Google’s event in October for my wishes of the Pixel 4 before making a hard decision.
With that said, what would I look for in an iPhone 11? And what are other things I’m watching for today? This is that list.
- A more capable image processing system – The iPhone XS takes amazing photos, but somehow the image processing system in the Pixel 2 is still “better”. Meaning, it produces more pleasing results by just firing the shutter button. It is arguable, I think, which device captures better data – likely the iPhone XS would win because of the dual-camera system – but the images that are processed seem to be better in every way with the Pixel. So I’d like to see a dramatic update to how iPhone processes images in portrait, low-light, and other modes to produce a better result. No matter what I see today, I won’t know until capable reviewers get their hands on them.
- USB-C – I’ve been spoiled having a laptop, tablet, and phone that all use the same cables. I can’t imagine wanting lightning cables ever again.
- Water resistance – I believe the iPhone XS is very water resistant already. But I would be open to this being even more resistant to water damage.
If the iPhone 11 has the above, it would level the playing field between the Pixel and iPhone for me and then it would be a matter of a software and ecosystem decision.
Outliers for today’s event:
- A MacBook with a keyboard that works.
- The Apple Watch not taking 4 days to do a software update.
Apple Event days are always fun regardless of what they announce, I expect this one to be no different.
Android 10 apps that support Dark Theme
The majority of Google apps support this system-wide toggle, but few third-party developers have followed the company’s lead. Here are some non-Google apps that support Android 10’s dark mode toggle.
He lists a number of apps that support the OS-level option. Outlook claims to support it, but I have it installed and updated and cannot see the option yet. So perhaps it is something they are able to roll out?
There are also some of Google’s own apps that have yet to be updated; Play Store and Gmail being two big ones.
I’m looking forward to updates to Instagram, Facebook, Microsoft To-Do, WhatsApp, Twitter, WordPress, Untappd, Teams.
Some apps have a dark theme, but they don’t support the OS-level option.
We’re in an odd territory right now of support of this feature. I think it is going to be a bit of a mess for at least 6 months to a year.
Rickett’s Glen Falls Trail – September 2019
Audio: Everyone should have a podcast?
I think it is better said; Everyone should be able to have a podcast.
Links:
- How I Built It – by Joe Casabona