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Along with Malware and an ever widening range of mobile viruses...
Anyhow, I know I prefer a Rolex over an Omega.
Quality, style and service are just as important to me as endless functionality, the vast majority of which I don't use. Apple offer a higher quality of overall package, that is why they remain the market leaders.
Apple saw its global share of smartphone shipments slip from 13% to 11.7% between the second quarters of 2013 and 2014, according to research firm IDC, while Android's share grew.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29128083
I know I know, lies, damned lies and statistics.
Really didn't want a bigger screen, saying that I wouldn't be looking for a new phone if my one wasn't stolen the other night.
Why no 32gig option on new phones?
May just upgrade to a 5s dependant on contracts avail on the 6.
Definitely see what you mean.
I happen to have a Nexus 4 but I'm by no means a 'fanboy' of either brand (what are we.....7 years old?)
But there's little doubt that Apple products are very well built and are still in demand several iterations/years down the track due to the durability of the product. Good residuals too.
There is a little bit of Rolex in the 'je ne sais quoi' desireability of the brand as well as some superb marketing.
I've no doubt they will sell as well as they ever did (or almost). My wife will be changing her 4s to 6 ...although her complaint is it sounds 'too big for girls'.
Apple has never been about cutting edge technology: the Mac wasn't the first home computer, the iPod wasn't the first MP3 player, the iPhone wasn't the first smartphone etc etc.
What they are very good at is taking somebody else's tech and making it the best on the market. As they have proved time and time again. Add to that their incredible customer service and it's no surprise that they are now one of the largest companies in the world, with cash reserves in the billions of dollars.
That's a fanboy comment if ever I've seen one
Why don't you tell us about this market leading 8meg camera and market leading 750p screen they've just released. I've had the iPhone for longer than I can remember and frankly it isn't as good as you make it out to be, for example the interface is boring, dull and restrictive. I'm finally out of the grips of the over hyped apple machine and based on this latest incarnation I won't be going back any time soon.
I have a friend who is a tech journalist - it's far from easy, but for the reason you point out. Editors on the "give me a new angle on the iphone" when really there just isn't one...luckily there's plenty of phone releases across the year to get decent copy but even she admits they essentially make up rumours to get clicks.
The NFC / Apple Pay part is really the only interesting part of the announcement but it's geared more to the US. Contactless payments are pretty much the norm in the UK already (hell US doesn't even have chip and PIN) and if Apple is taking a % of each transaction and it still transmits through the VISA network...who is losing out on that percentage? The retailer? VISA?
I understand what you're saying here, but in Apple's defence they're never the highest spec items on the market. Yet still they seem rank highest per/user of time spent using their tools. Generally a well thought-out solution trumps a first to market higher spec option.
The interface is dull and boring, yes, but that's well executed design. Again more bells and whistles doesn't equal better. In car terms I find a minimalist German cabin a nicer place to sit than an Korean one, no matter how many different curves, textures and blue LEDs they throw at it. A bit like Hi-fi's in the 90s.
A fanboy? Well, if buying a particular company's products makes me a fanboy, then I guess I'm a fanboy. Am I going to get an iPhone 6? Yep. (Do I have a 5/5c/5s? Nope). Am I going to queue over night to get the 6? No way! To me, those are the real fanboys.
Anyway, you slate the iOS for being 'boring, dull and restrictive'. Well, guess what? The majority of the market wants 'boring, dull and restrictive'. It's been done before but you can draw parallels with the car owning public. Some car owners want nothing more than to get under the bonnet and tinker away, adjusting this carb or replacing that spring. However, the majority of owners just want to put fuel in the thing, turn the key and it starts. If it breaks down, they just want to take it to a branded garage and to get it fixed without any messing around or ridiculous servicing costs. Believe it or not, it's the same with computers and tech (including smartphones, obviously). And this is the customer experience that Apple provides.
Yes, you might pay a slight premium for the Apple 'experience' but, fundamentally, it all just works. You don't have to mess around with drivers or patches or viruses or faff. You plug it in, it works.
I remember in the past that when I got a new phone, it could take hours to transfer over my address book and other info. Then it would take days or weeks to learn the new phone's features and functionality. Now, when I get the iPhone 6, I know that setting it up is going to take less than an hour. All of my old apps, music and data is going to be there and I'm already going to know how 95% of it works. I'm not going to have to waste my life learning a new OS. So, frankly, I'm glad that it is 'boring, dull and restrictive'.
:D
Signed,
A Fanboy (apparently).
It is exactly as one would expect it to be. Evolutionary rather than revolutionary, exceptionally well made and marketed to the nth degree with great skill given the number of years they've done it and the frenzy not seemingly abating. As well as being interesting to see what they've come up with it's also a hoot to see the loons queueing and reading the sometimes passionate comments the release generates.
For me the screens are not becoming too large; not in terms of usability but pocketability, as I discovered last night when my Note 3 slipped out and onto the pavement.
And as for NFC, a great idea but by Christ watch out for the vulnerability. Pocket scanners are rife, especially in the Far East, so that's a no no for me.
I do rather like the idea of the watch, especially for call notification when either you can't hear it ring or can't get to it.
But as the tech gets better I am, despite being a died in the wool gadget lover, finding myself drawn back to a basic phone when not at work, like an Ericsson T28, and also a good quality compact camera. Now those are things I'd like to see Apple produce! :)
Drivers and patches? On a smartphone? Hardly. Android sends its upgrades as Apple does. Recently my three Android devices upgraded themselves to Kit Kit without any intervention from me. Never had malware on any of mine.Yes, you might pay a slight premium for the Apple 'experience' but, fundamentally, it all just works. You don't have to mess around with drivers or patches or viruses or faff. You plug it in, it works.
Android gives you choices, so yes, that does mean you need to research and try out which app you prefer best. Doesn't Apple?
Looks like Apple UK have changed the wording and now allowing to reserve and pickup in store!!!
Checkout here:
http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/
Pre-order iPhone 6 and have it shipped to you for free, or reserve for pickup in store. You can also buy at the Apple Retail Store from 8:00 am on 19 September.*
Anybody know how this works?? Can you name a time or date, I dont get back in the country until the Sat 20th
So a bit of a marketing change. Dropping the 'i' and calling it 'Apple Watch' rather than iwatch.
That was a reference to the computer side of things: OSX vs Windows.
For example, my MacBook Pro 13" is nearly 5 years old. Other than doubling the RAM from 4Gb to 8Gb a couple of years ago and updating the OS at minimal cost (£20 a time, I think), the laptop is still running as quick as the day I bought it.
Would you get 5 years service out of a Windows laptop? No chance. The most I ever got from Windows laptops was about 18 months, before the OS effectively ground to a halt. Or the thing fell apart.
And when things went wrong (the end fell off the power supply, for example), I took it back to the Apple Store and it was replaced for free. Even though it was well outside warranty. Do Microsoft/Toshiba/Acer/whoever offer the same? Not that I've ever experienced.
Look there's no point in arguing with a fanboy, you lot never see the wood from the trees. That said, a couple of points from me - firstly 'the majority of the market' are already on Android and growing (particularly with this less than impressive relesse). Apples market share of the smartphone market has consistently been on the decline for a number of years now. Secondly, 'you plug it in and it just works', well guess what having a phone that 'just works' got boring for me after plenty of years with an iPhone. I want something that works the way I want it to, I want the freedom to be able to customise it to suit my needs. That said they are well built devices and an 8meg camera and a 750p screen will function just fine but let's not get carried away and say they are market leading cause they aren't.
Edit: I see you've moved onto computers for which I'd happily agree they are miles ahead of the competition, without question.
Last edited by ~dadam02~; 10th September 2014 at 14:13.
You obviously have no comprehension of what makes a market leading camera. The pixel count is just one factor and 8meg is probably sufficient to produce an image A3 sized.
The sensor size, image stabilisation methods, quality of lens, processing algorithms etc all play a very significant part in the resulting image quality.
Cramming more pixels on to a sensor can actually reduce image quality.
I for one think Apple should be applauded for actually trying to make a better camera, rather than slavishly following the meaningless pixel count race as some manufacturers appear to do.
Last edited by Cynar; 10th September 2014 at 14:53.
I have a perfect grasp, I mean let's look at what's out there....Samsung are widely regarded as the market leaders where phone cameras are concerned (they also have twice the number of pixels as the iPhone). HTC One tried the 'it's the quality of the camera not the no of pixels that count' ; well guess what, their camera stinks and quality of picture sucks in comparison. This is a widely held opinion easily found online.
With the iPhone, although the pictures taken were great whilst viewed on the device I never found them particularly that good when I then viewed them on the computer. I imagine with the extra real estate of the 6 they'll need to have made the quality better to cope. We'll see soon enough.
I'm not under any illusion that I'm not a sucker for Apple stuff. I now have the first world problem of deciding whether the 4.7 or 5.5 size is going to be easiest to live with. Considering the amount of time I spend browsing rather than calling, I think the extra screen real estate would be useful, but how cumbersome is the larger model going to be e.g. carrying in jeans pocket etc.
Any owners of 5"+ phones care to comment?
No, a fan and admirer of their computers, for good reason. I'm not sitting here trying to pursuade others that their sub standard products (smartphones) are better than their competitors. I know their computers are the best, there is no argument. I don't get why you are a fanboy of their smartphones though as imo they aren't worthy of such accolade, but each to their own.
Robcat: having made the step up in size from the iPhone 5 to a 5inch plus phone a couple of months ago I can say you get used to the additional 'bulk' quite quickly.
Actually, I don't care except to watch from a distance how people will stumble over themselves to be the first at the door of the Apple store to get the latest and supposedly greatest gadget, which does mostly what earlier generations also did. It's a phone. It's a camera. It's a pocketable computer with a touch screen. So what? There are a zillion of such things around today.
For the price of a new iPhone 6 a person can buy, say, a ticket for a balloon flight and get an unforgettable experience. Just a thought... ;-)
Saying you have a perfect grasp is very different from having a perfect grasp.
You clearly don't, as you're trying to defend your incorrect argument by using an example of a phone with high megapixel camera being clearly superior to one with a lower pixel count.
That may well be the case, but it isn't necessarily so. The number of megapixels is only one determining factor in image quality. Other factors, as I mentioned before, can have a much bigger effect.
Although I have an iPhone (5) I don't think they're 'better' than Android phones. It just irritates me when people incorrectly claim the lower pixel count means the camera won't be as good.
Last edited by Cynar; 10th September 2014 at 19:05.
I'll state from the outset that I own an iPhone 5S. This thread tells me that the whole debate over phones is far more to do with a fashion and status accessory than a tool. The vitriol here you don't find in a thread regarding fridge freezers, the latest TV or even cars that are far more important. A phone is a tool like any other; there are many to choose from and what suits one individual won't suit another. I don't change phones that often and prior to my 5S I had an iPhone 4 and won't be upgrading anytime soon - what for? I will when the current phones starts to fail or there's a killer feature.
I use a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for work purposes (but not for making calls) as I use apps developed in-house for a very niche market that you simply couldn't get through Apple's system to use on an iPad. I could never use a phone of this size on a day-to-day basis; simply too big for me.
All my opinion and just like arseholes, everybody has one. Respect each other's choices and relax.
The best? The iPhone barely makes the top 10 according to Techradar. I have been following that list for years and I don't think the iPhone was ever on top of it.
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-...d-today-645440
He may have the best phone in the world but I have the best car in the world...
Apple have never been a "tech" company, they're a tech design company - they take existing, hardware & software, package it up in pretty little boxes - then market it brilliantly to us, who never knew we wanted this stuff, let alone needed it, to be cool - and we buy it in the zillions.
Then having bought it, they then sell it to us again, and again.
Respect.
I have been an apple fan for many years and it's the ease of used and the ability to share information across multi devices phone, ipad mac etc.... That is what keeps me on board, can't say I need the 6 but I'm sure once my upgrade is due then I'll have to have one
I've had my iPhone 5 for 2 years now so I've ordered a 64GB 6 Plus in Space Grey. I couldn't get through to order quick enough to get a release day delivery (school run) so will be getting it 7-10 days after release.
Ordered mine this morning 64GB Space Grey with black leather case being delivered on the 19th :-)