Once you develop an instinct for price paranoia, you start to notice false economies throughout Apple’s range. What’s the Apple Watch Series 3 still doing in the store, for instance, when we’re just months from the launch of the Series 8? I will tell you what it’s doing: tempting innocent buyers with its titillating price tag, then disappointing them afterwards with its threadbare feature set and imminent lack of software support.
The second-gen AirPods from 2019 are still available, but you really shouldn’t buy them either when the newer edition easily justifies the extra cash. And the iPhone SE, which was newly updated this year and has what looks like a bargain price tag, is actually more expensive than the previous model and doesn’t add much in the way of modern features. In both cases, you should pay more for a better alternative, or go without.
Apple explains that the accusations made by Schneier are “particularly disappointing” and prove that “even talented technical practitioners” can confound the issues surrounding sideloading.
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Throughout the letter, Apple points to a number of different examples of third-party app stores containing apps infected with malware and apps that scrape user data. One of examples cited by Apple centers around the Android ecosystem.
Apple TV+ still has to build a catalog of licensed content, and in that regard it can't compete with the likes of Netflix, HBO Max, and others. But it has a solid ratio of originals I watch compared to the amount it actually has — and it's inexpensive at that.
TV Remote was released for iOS last year as an alternative to letting iPhone users control their Smart TVs from an iPhone or iPad. This week, the app was updated to version 2, which comes with multiple new features such as theme options, custom layout, widgets, and more.
In our testing, the Eve Motion was fast and reliable for triggering automation routines and notifications. Thread support made a big difference compared to Bluetooth which often would have a few-second delay as it reestablished a connection with the nearest Home hub.
With the light sensor, it opened up even more possibilities outside our home. Since there was no delay, it gave us new motivation to start outfitting our home with additional motion sensors.
The two firms loomed large over the others’ results because of their increasingly integral role in the world of tech. TikTok’s user base rose to a billion users within five years, far outstripping any previous app, including Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, both of which took eight years to reach the same goal. From Apple comes the threat of changes that could impact the others’ customer reach and competition in the metaverse.
This year I argued that despite recent slowdowns, the reign of Big Tech was just beginning. As the economy softened over the course of the year, I began to doubt my bold prediction. But now I’m redoubling. Tech giants, like the rest of the economy, may soon face tougher times. But Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google and even Facebook are weathering difficult times much better than expected. Big Tech isn’t going away anytime soon.
You can get into Apple's ecosystem, for almost all of Apple's platform, at a starting price of less than US$500. iPhone. iPad. Apple Watch. Apple TV. The sole exception: Mac.
The starting price of buying a Mac is US$700 for a Mac mini. And that's an incomplete package, without a screen, keyboard, and a mouse.
Now that Apple has almost completed its migration to its own silicon, I do hope that it will move the lowest-end Mac to a lower price. The Mac need to be competitive with the iPad line in terms of price. It doesn't really make too much sense to me that it can make a good-enough iPad at US$330, but it can't make a Mac at similar price.
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Thanks for reading.