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| Above: Gigantic BIg Big Love... |
APPLE TALK 7: 9/9/14
THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY
THE AFTERMATH
Good day, Synapse Circuit Readers! I hope that you are well and that you have good weather around you! It’s a lovely day here in London even though we are fast approaching autumn! Are you reeling in shock and disbelief from the day after yesterday? I did my best to console you...
...if the two distinctive camps that is iOS and Android aren’t taking swipes at each other it’s the Apple biased tech media that pours gasoline upon the dry heap of chips! Some of the things I have seen in the aftermath from the day after yesterday posted up on Facebook pages belonging to the various tech media on the keynote cracks me up! Pre-keynote I saw some really dumb headlines from the most obviously biased media stating how they (Apple) were going to wipe Samsung’s efforts and boy were they wrong... Hahahahaha!
#Apple #Samsung #Google #SteveJobs #TimCook #iPhone6 #iPhone6Phablet #iPhone6Plus #AppleWatch #GalaxyNote4 #GalaxyAlpha #GalaxyNoteEdge
BIG IS BEAUTIFUL
After all that fuss and laughing at Android, Apple has finally seen the light that bigger is often better for the simple fact that you can see more. Sure, there will be the ardent Jobs faction that would want to adhere to the small form factor but the truth is that once you have a larger phone in your hands you will find yourself being able to adapt quicker than you think! One of the great advantages as a reviewer is that I get to handle a great deal of handsets (and other devices) and when I first got the Galaxy S3 it felt big until I got the first Galaxy Note... ...and when I had to return these beautifully large devices I really missed them! Watching video on the bigger screens is a great joy and once you’ve gone big you will find it hard to go back – unless you really have tiny dainty hands!
If you have been reading my articles leading up to the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus one of the questions I asked was, “Is that all iPhone fans have to look forward to: bigger screens and a smartwatch?” The biased tech media were predicting something out of this world and I couldn’t see how. I tell you, these so called “leaks” do a very good job of letting people down gently who are very realistic. Of course, we realists consciously leave a bit of room to be awe struck and this does not happen very often these days!
That said, it seems as though iPhone fans are quite disappointed as a whole. I am fairly disappointed as a technology fan. I will tell you why – if you haven’t worked it out further down this article.
A SLICE OF HUMBLE APPLE PIE
Personally, I think being humble suits Apple better – especially in these times where Android handsets are packing some serious hardware! Steve Jobs was like the mad uncle that you can just about stand once or twice a year but Tim Cook is a stark contrast to Jobs and appears as your Beatnik pop who is on the right side of cool – just! I didn’t witness any ridiculing of Android yesterday and I feel that Tim Cook and Apple are better for it. As I have stated in yesterday’s article, Apple are concentrating on its own game – as they should! I have said it once - a hundred and a thousand and one times that Apple wasted so much time in litigations when it should have been concentrating on the next wave of future technology that they can spearhead. What the constant litigations said to me was that Apple does not have anything in the tank innovation-wise – not that they had much before! I’ve pointed it out long before a tech pundit stated that what Apple does is to redesign concepts that had already been in existence for a while. There’s nothing wrong with that until you start to believe in myths propagated by the PR wing that goes to the media and right back at the source who have gained a bit of amnesia when the sales projections look more than healthy! In other words Apple believed in its own myth and when Android became a serious threat to its centre stage poor Jobs steered Apple in the wrong direction with Jobs as Captain Ahab to the Android Whale.
The obviously biased tech media did its best to rally the iPhone crowd and once again the wheels have fallen off the vehicle. But it’s not as bad is it seems... ...in the Apple ecosystem the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus comes down like manna from the Heavens but it could be that Jobs is rolling in the grave at the new “bigger than bigger” iPhone handsets... How does that song go? Ah, yes... “Gigantic, gigantic... Big, big love...”
The overly Apple biased tech media got a massive slap in the face...
TECH? NO!
This where it gets a little disappointing for lovers of tech-spec! You know us Android people: PACK IT ALL IN THERE!!!! That’s us!
It’s true, iOS and Android serve very different but similar functions and so the tech to functionality ratio does not make any real sense to compare the two. I think that the iPhone is incredibly responsive considering that the ‘A’ CPU is a dual-core and that it has 1GB of RAM! Whereas the Android handset can feature a quad-core CPU and anything up to 3GB of RAM and some people – iPhone folk – will complain that Android is “laggy”. Hmmmm... Is this Android or the hardware? And I think the answer to this question is fast approaching with Android 5: Lemon Meringue Pie. We will see if this will alleviate the problems with lag. Yet, in saying that, I do feel that the lag on Android is the result of a custom user interface unique to the various manufacturers that essentially places another operating system (of sorts) over Android. When I run a more pure Android operating system courtesy of CyanogenMod I do not experience such lag. As an Android fan I am hoping that version 5 will either be strong enough to perform with manufacturer user interfaces or that the manufacturers will cease the need for a custom UI and either include unique functions in a widget form or program it into Android without the need for a UI overlay. I do think that Google have put a lot of effort into the forthcoming version of Android that it would be a shame not to use it in its purity! Oh! I went off on a bit of a tangent there...
However, we can see that the onetime selling point of Apple mobile device products was the “retina” screen. The QHD screens on some of the high end Android handsets have buried the retina concept, dug it up again and ground it into dust. That’s just the way it is if you want to get technical! In technological respects the iPhone is lagging (see what I did there?) behind a great deal! What makes me laugh is that some iPhone media pundits have stated something along the lines of, “Well, on an 4.7” screen it doesn’t make that much sense to have full 1080p resolution...” But I know that if Apple had pulled it off they’d be applauding it. This is the resolution of the 4.7” iPhone: 750 x 1334 pixels with a pixel density of 326. And, of course, this is fine. The resolution of the forthcoming Moto G (2014) is: 720 x 1280 pixels with a pixel density of 294 and it will cost considerably less than the iPhone 6! While it is very obvious that the Moto G (2014) is a little bigger and of a slightly lower resolution we know that such differences does not matter.
That said, once you see a QHD screen on a top of the range Android handset and go back to anything less than 1080p you will notice the difference. Here’s the resolution of the QHD screen taken from the Samsung Galaxy Note 4: 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.7 inches (515 ppi pixel density). Here’s the resolution for the 6 Plus: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.5 inches (401 ppi pixel density).
The 8MP camera of the iPhone 6 models looks like an overall improvement but I am predicting that we will see better pictures and video coming from the Galaxy Note 4 & Edge cameras at 16MP. Note (see what I did there?) that the Galaxy Note 4 & Edge cameras can record 4K video at 2160p, 30fps, 1080p, 60fps, optical stabilization, dual-video rec.
And let’s not forget that the Galaxy Note 4 screen doubles up as the screen for the Gear VR! I can’t say that I have read or watched any “tech news” (sic) noticing these crucial differences in the wake!
Once again, the overtly iPhone biased tech media that predicted Apple would come up with vastly superior products have had its ass served up to them with a side order of apple sauce (gosh, I am good...).
This will make you laugh... I read an iPhone fanatic’s retort to a bit of teasing from an Android fan that goes something like this, “Android people can’t even afford a 4K TV...” Let’s hope he will be able to afford the high prices for these technically less superior than the best of Android handsets.
And because of the obvious inferior tech-spec on the iPhone 6 handsets I reckon that’s another dip in the value of Apple shares. But because the iPhone works remarkably well and has its very own ecosystem they will sell! Dare I say that there will be many iPhone users jumping ship for either the Galaxy Note 4 or Edge!
DON’T LAUGH
The most funniest part of the keynote was when Phil Schiller was showing off the iPhone 6 in landscape mode... Oh my goodnes! Hahahahahaha! C’mon... I couldn’t believe it!
“And here is the iPhone 6 screen in landscape mode for those who prefer it that way...” I am paraphrasing but that was a hoot!
Another aspect that made me laugh was the “Digital Crown” that is the AppleWatch dial that would be used on an ordinary analogue watch to wind the mechanics and to set the time. Very retro and quite frankly someone on TV summed it up, “It’s like watching 70s Star Trek...” Oh, the AppleWatch won’t be out until next year!
Although the keynote was quite humble I sense that Apple is very, very nervous about powerfully featured handsets such as the Galaxy Note 4 & Edge coming to the market next month that the iPhone 6 models are coming this month to get a jump start!
When I visit Central London over the weekend I hope to catch the folk lining up outside the Apple store in a bid to sell their places to desperate iPhone fans that want to be amongst the first to have it in their hands! I do wonder as to how many people will actually pay up to £1k ??? Yes, one thousand British Pound Sterling - for a place at the front of the queue! And will there be a bid for it?
SAMSUNG
You have to admit that Samsung has won the show and tell competition! I am not only looking very much forward to being the proud owner of the Galaxy Note Edge but to watch the hilarious adverts that only Samsung can make with regards to poking a bit of fun towards the iPhone user!
I don’t think Samsung even let out a sigh of relief in the hope that Apple would release technically inferior products. Knowing Samsung like I do it wouldn’t surprise me if they did any of the following before we see the AppleWatch in 2015:-
1. Update the Gear S operating system software.
2. Bring out a couple more smartwatches!
But there again, because of the great divide between iOS and Android it may not matter unless such products can entice the iPhone user away. Seriously, if I was an iPhone user and looked at the spec for the Galaxy Note 4 knowing that Android 5 is around the corner... I’d probably keep my little 5S as a secondary handset (it’s nice to have a bit of variety) and go for the Galaxy Note Edge for that unusual look!
As an iPhone / Apple fan you might think that I am biased and you will be right! But I am biased as a consumer. The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is my choice. Unlike some Android folk I am not interested into making you feel bad because you prefer the iPhone. I love technology in general and it is my observation – you may or may not agree with me – that the tech that has gone into the Apple products are technologically inferior. You might say, “But the iPhone is 64-bit!” I have yet to see what 64-bit bring s to the table on the iOS platform. I don’t profess to know everything there is to know about technology – particularly the merits of 64-bit CPUs on a mobile device! I have been told by “experts” that to make use of a 64-bit CPU on the iPhone one needs at least 4GB of RAM! There you go!
Nonetheless, as I have stated earlier, we will be seeing Android handsets and tablets coming out with a 64-bit CPU and I have to admit that I haven’t heard or read that Android requires at least 4GB of RAM to make use of a 64-bit CPU.
So, keep the comments civil! Lol!
CONCLUSION
It’s horses for courses at the end of the day! I still think that Apple did quite well with the launch and that these bigger handsets should do well and for those who are happy with the 5S / 5C will probably stick to those models – if it ain’t broke... I reckon that Apple could have done a 6 Mini that would essentially be the 5S but upgraded internally (and visually too as I really like this design).
The question is: Will there be a 6S to come along in the spring? I am sure that Samsung are busy looking to bring something special to the Galaxy S6 come the spring of 2015! From where the Galaxy S range is sitting it needs some reworking to get it back up there as I reckon the LG G3 toppled it from the top spot! Samsung’s back is up against the wall where the Galaxy S is concerned and I predict that they will come out fighting to get its position at number one back!
But then again, I do think that Apple are on its own within its own ecosystem and that anything Samsung does in the future is going to be competing with top Android handsets! In my opinion Samsung has won the war with Apple in terms of technical and design firepower! It’s going to be business as usual for the mobile device manufacturers until another patent spat erupts! Let’s hope that it doesn’t! Wink, wink...
That’s something to think about!
THANKS FOR READING...
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