There’s a problem when addiction and habit get in the way of your mental health. Nothing shoves me off my axis more easily than social media. Today’s looming issue is the majority of people (including myself) have a difficult time balancing screen usage and personal well being.
I’ve spoken about Matt D’Avalla countless times now. His channel is a must for anyone looking for ideas to improve their life or just plain get motivated to rethink personal workflows. Matt’s latest video really hits the nail on the head regarding screen / life balance. What worked for him and what he’s sticking with.
Matt also talks a little on mental health. How he feels leaps and bounds better after limiting social media:
My favorite change since I slowed down my time on social media; I compare myself to other’s much less often. I stopped feeling that I’m not as good as other people. No matter where you’re at in life it’s difficult not to have these kind of thoughts. I’ve found that this constant scrolling only helps to support them. On and on the voice goes; making comparisons and accusations.
Yes, there are ways to lower this voice, through meditation. But, I find that not feeding it to begin with helps the most. So, I don’t.
I can echo what Matt is saying here. To simply excuse or remove yourself from negative triggers in your life is extremely effective. Difficult at first, but effective.
Give his video a watch. It’s well worth your 8 minutes.
I’ve written about phone addiction and social media anxiety before. But, this is another great video by The Minimalists. They keep it light and simple in these heavy times.
It’s September which can only mean one thing. Apple is selling new phones and some other things… I have some thoughts… So let’s take the event as it unfolded shall we?
Apple Arcade
I’m not a huge gamer when it comes to mobile. I’ll play a game here and there. But my gaming experiences are limited to Chess and Alto’s Adventure. That said, I think the $4.99 price tag is really impressive. The whole service is going to hinge on the quality of games included. In the current state of games on iOS, $4.99 is a cheap price to pay for non-intrusive, scamming game developers always scheming to rob you dollar by dollar.
A word on game demos: Yikes Apple. Game demos in the beginning of an iPhone event? Snooze fest.
Grade = B
Apple TV+
Another $4.99 price tag. I think Disney pushed Apple into a little bit of a corner with this. I can’t see Apple wanting this service to premiere so low on the price scale. But, it’s really hard for them to justify anything more in terms of money. They don’t have a catalog of really anything, they didn’t buy the rights to a show like ‘Friends’ or anything widely loved. They are making their own shows and films, which takes time. But they haven’t proven anything to us as consumers.
The ‘SEE’ trailer looked amateurishly edited and ultimately uninspired. I was very let down from what I saw. Apple was championing this as their “Game of Thrones.” Who knows? It may be great. But it sure didn’t look it.
Nov. 1 launch date and the best detail yet; free Apple TV+ for a year with a purchase of a new phone/watch/mac/apple tv. Thats a good deal. It also plays into Apples favor too. Gain users, and give yourself a year to make compelling content.
Grade = C
iPad
Apple has had a hard time figuring out what to do with the iPad line for a while now. Recently they introduced iPad Pros with all screen, no home button designs. With that innovation also came a price jump which put masses of potential buyers out of reach of purchasing. This decision opened the door to lower cost iPad’s which was sorely lacking in the recent iPad lineup. A year back Apple introduced a new low end iPad that was touting some really impressive specs for a super low price, $329.
This year’s low iPad really looked fantastic. Still holding strong to the $329 price point, Apple gave it not only pencil support but a smart connecter for use of the Apple keyboard. Also, the 9.7″ screen was stretched to a 10.2″. Apple really deserves laurels for this kind of thing. Too often we hammer on Apple for increasing prices for mysterious reasonings. So when they can stabilize a price point and add great value to that product, they should be commended.
If Apple’s future of computing really is the iPad, they need to sell more to saturate the market. From early education to retired seniors. This low price and very capable iPad is a fantastic way to start that process more effectively. Couple this iPad with the newly announced ipadOS, and you have a powerful little machine at under 400 bucks.
Grade = A
Apple Watch Series 5
2019 was supposed to a be a minor year for Apple Watch upgrades. If you follow this stuff closely, you know last year’s Series 4 upgrade was a complete redesign with phenomenal advances. Any one looking ahead could and did predict this year’s Series 5 to sport some minor additions.
Boy we’re we wrong.
The most requested feature ever in an Apple Watch surprisingly landed. An ‘all the time on’ display that dims when not being used. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to look at my watch while working out or just every day usage and am forced to finagle my wrist in weird directions to illuminate the screen. No more. This is a huge advancement in Apple Watch’s capability and possibly the most significant upgrade in the 5 years lifespan of the product
Obviously everything Apple is doing with health is impressive, too. From sound measuring to menstrual cycle tracking, they’re keeping their foot hard on the pedal. As they should. The Apple Watch truly is changing lives. (That video almost had me tearing up)
Aesthetically, you can now purchase the watch in titanium and ceramic. Both look great and are a little bit on the pricey side. Also new is pairing any Watch model with any band. A configuration that should have been available on day one.
Grade = B
iPhone 11
Gone are the days of last year’s iPhone model to be the only low cost, approachable option. Welcomed is the iPhone 11. A truly great, sincerely marketed “the iPhone for most people.” That’s an accurate description in my opinion. No one feels good buying a watered down anything. That’s how the low cost iPhone recently has felt. This year Apple has really cleaned up it’s naming scheme and produced a truly desirable phone option at $699.
The internals are as powerful as the Pro models to the naked eye and the camera is more than efficient for everyday shooters. This is the first time in a long time I feel comfortable telling average users that the low priced phone is more than good enough to check all the boxes you need checked.
The new colors are… interesting. I was shocked they did away with the blue form the XR line. The green looked exciting in press photos, but not so good in the hands on videos I saw. The purple looks to be the best to my liking if I was into the whole colored phone thing.
Grade = A
iPhone 11 Pro / iPhone 11 Pro Max
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. There is no ‘Pro’ phone user. I have a little bit of an issue with Apple positioning this as a phone for the Pro’s. If what Apple is really trying to say is: “if your willing to pay more money, this is a higher tiered product,” that would sit a whole lot better for me. Even keep the name Pro. But, don’t say it’s for a Pro cinematographer. I personally know film directors who laugh at this idea of an iPhone being a daily shooter.
Now that thats out of the way….
Kudos to the triple camera lens. I know a lot of people are hating on it, but I applaud Apple for leaning into the camera system. They know what sells phones, the camera. So no matter how ugly the back of your phone looks, your picture looking gorgeous will certainly trump the looks of your phone. Everytime.
Clearly Apple is slam dunking on everyone in the chip game at this point. They touted the A13 for a full 5 minutes on stage and with clear reason. They are light years in front of any company. I’m no where near qualified to talk about chips, but I trust what Apple is saying is true based on phone performance and battery life increases alone.
We obviously have to talk about Midnight green and the introduction of clear cases. At first I was kind of down on the green phone. I figured if your going to make a green phone.. make it green! But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Adding a color to the line in a quiet design year drives sales. But you don’t want that color to not scream ‘Pro’ when you are pushing ‘PRO’ so you make it a muted, but classy tone. I get it and truthfully I would most likely purchase one IF this was a purchase year for me.
Also…clear cases.. finally.
All that said, iPhones Pro are a great upgrade if your coming from anything less than an iPhone X in my opinion. The security implication of Face ID alone should get you to upgrade. But if not, consider the camera and a13 chip money well spent.
Its pretty clear next year is a huge year for iPhone upgrades, but for now iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro are really good options that offer a wide array a features and price points.
Grade = B
Overall Event
Apple is a weird company now. Positioned right in the intersection of the richest company in the world and trying really hard to not act like it. I don’t blame them. But, these shows are getting more and more tired. Or maybe I’m changing? I don’t know anymore.
The products are still very compelling products. The emergence of the services corner of the company is growing and with products like Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple Care; what I was really hoping for was bundle of sorts. Kind of like amazon prime. Let me pay $30 bucks a month get all your services, etc. We didnt get that.. yet.
All in all, this was an iPhone event. Apple’s biggest product and it will continue to be for the time being. Interestingly though, Apple didn’t speak on the rumored ’tile’ product or anything to do with the new iPad Pros or the deeply anticipated Mac Pro or redesigned MacBook Pro. This leaves a whole lot of unanswered questions for the holiday season.
It’s no secret that our phones shape, effect and control each of us. I don’t say that lightly. Infinitely scrolling, infinitely discontent. That’s us. We live in an unfortunate reality.
Picture this: a life in which an individual wakes up, maybe checks the newspaper. Goes to work, converses and interacts with humans in a concentrated way. Eats meals without a glowing screen nearby. Drives home and admires nature. Arrives, spends time with family. Listens to them talk, their concerns and words are priority number 1. Eats dinner, maybe goes for a walk, feels and appreciates the cool breeze. Gazes at the night time sky in amazement of God’s unmatched handiwork. Finally, goes to bed. No glowing screen ruling and dictating actions.
If the scenario above seems hard to imagine, it’s mainly because it’s non existent in our current world. In an early draft of this post, I had a second scenario of our lives with phones. I just couldn’t keep it in though, it was all too miserable.
TOO MUCH FOR TOO LONG
Addiction and conviction, that’s what triggered all this.
Truth is “Project Screentime” was in the works for a long time. It just materialized itself in a way I didn’t see coming. For the longest i’ve had this feeling of too much screen time in my life. I’ve never had the numbers to prove it, though. You know… the “my head hurts after looking at a 5 inch screen for too long” feeling. I think we all have had that once or twice. Truthfully, I was sick of it. I was sick of not being in the moment. I was sick of being dependent on some device. I was sick of not feeling human. I wanted to be someone who cherishes people’s words and wants to listen and be there 100%.
My phone was disallowing that. It was an enabler of friction. My phone had slowly become a buffer to me and the real world.
I found that disgusting. I lived the majority of life without this device, and now this? This is the end? This phone is my final resting place of consciousness? The reality of that scenario was just unacceptable to me. I knew I wanted to change, but had no idea how.
HELLO iOS 12 and SCREENTIME
To say the least, I was elated when Apple announced ‘Screentime’. My grudges with the phone seemingly became other people’s and the stories were becoming mainstream. People were addicted to their phones. Or maybe more accurately, to the content on their phones. Behind the scenes, Apple was working on health features for an upcoming software release. Whether Apple timed it right or just played catch up, the release was happily welcomed by many.
Apple introducing iOS12 and Screentime.
Essentially, “Project Screentime” started with Apple’s most recent software, iOS 12. iOS 12 has a feature I’ve long waited for and long have been afraid of; a health feature called ‘Screentime.’ Basically ‘Screentime’ was pitched as a report of such that anyone could access to view their phone usage.
Apple was touting many useful features inside ‘Screentime.’ Sure there were apps that already kind of did this sort of thing, Moment for one. But the way Apple could seamlessly tie in all these features was going to be an unrivaled effort. ‘Screentime’ released in the fall of 2018.
So upon release of iOS 12 I started tracking my time.. Scary stuff. To say it kindly, my phone was eating away at my life. This wasn’t about me wanting to feel better than others and compare. This was genuinely about improving myself and my health. Like I mentioned, I was sick to my stomach and ready for my usage truth.
THE UGLY TRUTH
At a glance, my screen time averaged 3 hours and about 30 minutes per day. That was tough to swallow. The number that really did me in though, was my weekly number. It was up around 25 hours per week. 25 hours! Thats more than an entire day out of my week. 1 out of 7 days, me looking at this glowing screen of nonsense. My assumptions were accurate and scary. My phone was an unwanted, constant thief of attention.
Like I mentioned, no one likes to find out stuff like this. When you start a diet, it’s hard to step on that scale. But you must. You NEED that number. It’s important. It’s a starting point. And it’s a number you could immediately improve on. Well, that’s how I looked at my screentime number. Scary? Yes. Depressing? Certainly. Improvable? Unsure at the moment.
Looking at your most used apps is the next biggest aspect of screen time. Really, there was no surprise there. Tweetbot and Reddit owned this space. Both social networks, both adding exactly zero value to me. Other high seeders including Messages, YouTube and Safari.
If I’m being honest I have to admit the simple truth; it was really hard in the beginning. My first thought was to limit certain apps. ‘Screentime’ has this useful feature to set app time limits. So I figured i’ll take those high tier apps and set some 20 min limits. Unfortunately this proved extremely hard and not practical in the least bit. My time did dip though, about a half hour a day. But my endgame, ultimate goal was to range in around 60 minutes per day. I was no where close.
I struggled for weeks.
Honestly, the goal seemed almost unobtainable. Then I had an epiphany. A click moment of sorts.
PHONE AS A TOOL
I was listening to “The Minimalists” podcast and they mentioned the idea of commissioning your belongings for exact uses in your specific life. This keeps items useful and necessary. I thought about my phone. What do I NEED it for? Well, I need to stay connected with people. Most importantly, my family.
So I started looking at my phone as a tool. A specific tool for specific tasks. Forget about what it can do. What do I need it to do. Just because you have something that can do a lot doesn’t mean you need it to do a lot.
Trust me, I’m all for being productive, but Reddit, Twitter, Youtube, Safari and Messages are hardly productive.
Also, I reorganized my phone’s layout. I put only the most needed apps on my front home screen. On the second page I grouped everything into folders. I deleted about half my apps…..apps I never used.
New Home Screen set up
2nd page of folders
After my reorganization, I conducted a week long trial run.
My time again declined. After about a week I was down to 1 hour and 45 min (give or take) per day. Looking from day one at 3 hours 30 min plus, cutting my time in half was certainly an achievement. But my goal was and is the 60 min range. If anything else could be done, I wanted to try.
Here’s a shocker that really isn’t a shocker: I felt good. Believe it or not; I was listening to people more, I wasn’t always wondering what was happening on my phone in my pocket, I didn’t feel the need to check anything. I felt completely in the moment all the time. Peoples words started to carry weight. People started to matter more, and the priorities of my phone slowly waded away. Truly, this was a refreshing feeling.
Improvement from 3:30
Getting better with discipline.
DO NOT DISTURB
There is one more feature Screentime offers: Notifications. Screentime lets you look at how many notifications per day, per hour you receive, who they are from and what apps are triggering the most. I was shocked at some of these numbers. According to Screentime, I was averaging around 20 notifications an hour. Mostly from Messages, Sports apps, News apps and Mail.
This made me think deeply about the philosophy of my interaction relationship with my phone. Am I a slave to this device? Am I at the beck and call of every single little beep and vibration this phone makes. My ego wanted to say no. My brain told me yes, of course you are.
And thats when my final click moment occurred.
‘Do Not Disturb’ is a feature Apple added a few years ago. Basically DND turns your phone to silent. Your device won’t vibrate, beep or do anything. There is no way to even know you have an alert until you pick up your phone and check. To me, this flipped the script. Now, my phone is working for me. I tried my phone on DND for a 48 hour period. My time reports were drastically lower.
I was averaging around 70 min per day.
Amount of pick ups after ‘Do Not Disturb’
Notifications after ‘Do Not Disturb’
Only allowing calls in ‘Do Not Disturb’
Enable DND with a simple swipe and tap
I could totally see why. How many times do you get a notification, finish whatever and then venture off into some other app and before you know it 15 minutes go by. Happened to me all the time, multiple times a day. “Do Not Disturb” vanished that threat for me. I only pick up the phone when I want. That is a remarkable feat! Using your phone solely as a tool.
Also, in these past few months of using the phone less, I’ve noticed I’ve gone back to doing things I truly love doing. Whether that be watching more films or writing more consistently. It’s honestly like I’ve gained a part of me back that was gone for a while. I can’t quite figure out why yet. Maybe it’s knowing I’m not dependent or have an always attached feeling to my phone, I don’t know. It’s a great feeling, though.
The combination of all these tools has helped me tremendously. And I have to give credit where credits due, Apple is the only reason this was possible. I wish they would make these features a little more findable for normal users and a little more user friendly. But, I was in dire need and am so thankful I took the time to learn and understand all these features Apple included with ‘Screentime.’
WHY?
You may ask yourself, what’s the big deal? Why take such drastic measures?
I can’t speak for anyone but me. But, allow me to explain where my head is at:
Why do we sit in chairs the way we do? I know thats an odd question. But honestly, think about it. If you’re sitting down right now, why are you sitting that way?
The answer is shockingly simple. You’re sitting that way because your chair is shaped that way. The older I get I’ve chosen to try and implement a few guidelines in my life:
I want to understand, to the best of my knowledge, why I do what I do.
I want to be kinder and more open with people and live in the moment better.
And lastly and most importantly, I want to rule my actions and not have devices, people or situations dictate how I act.
I don’t mind sitting in a chair if its the way I want to sit. But I don’t want to be oblivious to why I’m sitting a certain way. I don’t want possessions and situations dictating how I’m acting towards others, ever. The simple truth is my Phone was totally effecting how I treated people. It was essentially pushing people lower and lower on the priority list.
My phone was an issue and will always be a threat. I understand that now. It crept it’s way to that status with me being passive about it’s usage and place in my personal life. But, I wanted to be accountable. I wanted to try and take control.
I want to live an intentional life and be mentally present for any and everything loved ones bring to my attention.
My phone does still have a use. Very vital uses that promote personal productivity. My Calendar, Reminders, To do’s, Maps and Phone calls are now my phone’s primary functions. All of these are very important to keep me organized. I don’t just pick up my phone and ‘play’ around on it. I spend very limited time, doing very specific things on my phone now.
So Yes, I still have an iPhone X. It’s still with me all the time, in my pocket when I’m not home. But here are some of its upgraded features after Project Screentime: it’s more quiet, less obtrusive, has a simpler more minimal lay out, and extremely effective at what I need it to do.
It’s a well oiled machine tailored specifically for Danny’s life and needs.
Or I guess you could look at it this way, now its a tool I control and not the other way around.
Be honest with yourself and ask this simple question: “Are you a slave?”
slave slāv/
Noun,historical
1.
a person who is the property of another and is forced to obey them.
“Property.” I like that word. Its bold, but honest. Lets take a look at that too.
prop·er·ty ˈpräpərdē/
noun
1.
a thing or things belonging to someone; possessions collectively.
Do you belong to someone or something? First, I think we have to really put a microscope on what makes us ourselves? Over my years of learning I’ve come to this realization: my time and attention make a big part of who I am. Those 2 attributes usually are well developed traits that tell you everything and anything you need to know about yourself. Its a scary, ‘look in the mirror’ analysis.
I guess we can land at these 2 questions: Where do you spend most of your time? How do you focus most of your attention? I can’t help but think the majority of us combine time and attention in a major way to glowing screens. But that’s ok, we’re not slaves to screens, We’ve already established what being a slave is: “A person who is property of something or someone who exhibits time and attention to a particular item with no self control.”
Oops. Well, this is awkward. That kind of sounds like most people’s relationship with Facebook. But we’re certainly not slaves to Facebook. That would be ridiculous. We perform self control. We demonstrate human qualities that enable us to use these devices at will. Simple. We are fine.
Wait… did I just hear a phone vibrate. Is it bothering you not to check? Of course not, you have self control. It’s just a phone right? OK, lets take a break so you can look at it. Just real quick. It will only be a second.
Wait, its been 15 minutes, Where did you go? I mean, physically your still here. But mentally, where did you go?
Does that sound familiar to anyone out there? Lets refer back to our trusty definitions. It did kind of feel like you were forced to obey that notification. A little scary yes, but you got this. Still plenty of control. You say it’s a balance that must be achieved. Well, I agree with that notion. The issue is, balance is not judged. Balance is interpreted, it’s a vague line in the sand that waves of bad habit slowly wash away. Sure, you could sort of make out the line. But you can also pretend where you would like the line to be.
Enter the modern day slaves and Facebook, your owner. The ever-moving, pretend line where one minute we are secretly stalking only God knows, and the next we are posting some fake highlight reel photos of your life. You guys know this. Facebook is hardly real life, its more like a whimsical fictitious narrative. It sounds exhausting because it is and the majority of Americans have bought in. They’ve bought into the competitiveness of judgmental living and faux comparisons to their “friends.” They’ve bought into the notion that you could live on your own terms without face to face interaction and be better off for it. They’ve bought into their own slavery.
To be honest, it’s actually not so difficult to understand why.
Remember that line I was talking about earlier? The balance line? What I didn’t mention is balance is only achieved through some sort of discipline. Am I underselling the common person’s discipline? No, I’m certainly not. I had Facebook a long time ago. But when I was uncontrollably checking in and being the least productive human I could possibly be, it took more than discipline to leave it. Its obvious the majority doesn’t have that want or will. Look no further than their contentment with launching the Facebook app every 30 minutes and opening the door to a toxic hellstew. In other words, the majority are content to spend their time and attention to a pastime that fuels nothing but judgment and wrong motives.
You could say this post is crazy and I’m overreaching. I’ve thought about that a lot while writing. I’ve thought about the few who could execute Facebook properly and not abuse the service. Those people inspire me. Truth is, I have a place deep down in my heart for those who are “slaves” or who suffer from any form of “addiction.” So I guess that outweighed any other aspect of publishing this. Maybe I look at it like a call to help. Maybe if one person could make a change and release themselves from Facebook’s grasp, this all would have been worth it.
Let me explain simply, to be locked into your phone or social network the majority of time is bad no matter how you slice it. It’s really is no shock that recent studies have tagged Facebook with an unhealthy label.
I hope that would be enough proof for something we all really know deep down is true. As many studies have suggested, the Facebook epidemic has such strong similarities to drug abuse and food addiction. Both are generally known to be bad for you, but both are performed at will by their participant as though there are no repercussions. It’s sad, really. I mean, tragic even. If we won’t help ourselves by having and executing the knowledge of whats best and not best for us, what about others? Thats my concern.
Checkmate. What about our kids? What about the next generation of humans? Do they deserve attention? Or do they deserve your leftovers? Did they choose to be born to enslaved parents who hang on every noise their phone makes? Truth is, no one has any idea what the repercussions will be for such a vast social network simply because a company of Facebook’s caliber has never existed before. Beyond the obvious privacy concerns alone, we must be proactive in preserving our attention and time. Because if you take time and attention away, what more are we than slaves to the most attractive, eye dazzling distraction?
Kind of sounds like present times.
I’m under the belief our kids deserve more. They deserve more than second placers to fake highlight reels, “likes” and status updates. They deserve more than parents who are slaves to attention and self gloat. Most importantly, they deserve more than to inherit an enslaved life. They deserve to make that choice on their own. Lets pray they can make the right choice.
If you take nothing else from this post, please understand this simple concept: if you’re attention is what molds you, if you agree attention is your most valuable asset (because Facebook most def. does) then do your self a favor and from now on, treat your attention with respect.
Simply put: 15 years ago, the internet was an escape from the real world. Now, the real world is an escape from Facebook. That sounds like modern day slavery to me.
I woke per usual at 3AM EST to preorder my next phone. That in it self sounds ridiculous because it is. But us humans are prone to do ridiculous things. Also, per usual, my supposed silky smooth preorder process was anything but. To spare you the boring details, I finally got my confirmation email at 3:31 AM EST. That’s a lot of pull to refreshes on the Apple store app.
To be honest I wasn’t really surprised. That preorder process has never gone smooth for me. I’m always up at an ungodly hour, my devices are ready, and before I know it, people on twitter are saying what model they purchased and i’m still waiting for the store to open. At the end of the day I got in and my phone is set to arrive 11/17 – 11/24. The original launch date is 11/3. Considering dates fell all the way to December, I shouldn’t complain.
I settled on the black (space gray) iPhone X 64gb with Apple Care Plus. It wasn’t cheap, but also not extremely more expensive than what a regular iPhone would cost someone.
I think people get this confused because they are paying monthly on a phone (30 or 40 bucks usually) and for whatever reason, this particular model (X) was being lauded by its full price.
Days since my preorder have been interesting, though. My buddy Jeremy ordered one almost 24 hours after preordering opened and he is scheduled to get his sometimes in the next few days. I figure this was because he ordered through T-Mobile and not Apple, but this sort of thing was unheard of years ago. I’ve also seen people’s preorders jump dates from my expected ship date all the way to launch date. I’m sitting here twiddling my thumbs. No movement on mine.
I don’t care much anymore to be completely honest. There was a time in my life I would be sitting in a line at some Apple store somewhere at this very moment instead at home typing. I guess the rumor is true, you change as you get older. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for a new phone. My current is almost 4 years old now. Thats the longest i’ve ever kept a phone. I’m proud of such an achievement, but the age is showing in more ways than one.
Happy iPhone day to all! If you’re getting a shiny new iPhone X today, enjoy it! If you’re not, you’ll be ok. You’ll get one eventually. After a little while, you’ll start looking up rumors for the next iPhone. Thats just what we do. But challenge yourself to enjoy the now instead of the next. After all, its what you’ve been waiting for.
Steve Jobs Tribute – Easily best part of the keynote. I had goosebumps when Job’s voice came over the speakers in that dark, intimate setting. Tim Cook was understandably, emotionally shaken. He delivered a well structured tribute for a well deserved man. Again, easily the best part of the keynote.
Apple Park Video – Very impressive. Very awkward. Don’t get me wrong, Apple Park is amazing. Every inch of the place looks like an Apple product. Obviously no money was left on the table here, Apple spared no expense in building this. So, in that instance, sure the video was great. Unfortunately it ran long for me. And by the end, it felt more like a “look what we did and you can’t have” video. Maybe thats just me, but after the first couple minutes, I’m thinking… “Are you guys just showing off at this point?” To which I’m pretty sure they would have answered: “yes and your welcome.”
Apple Retail Update– I like Angela Ahrendts a lot. I really do and I think shes doing great work…. But Apple Townsquares? Just stop. Its a place we go to give you money..
Apple Watch Series 3 – Solid upgrade in the Apple Watch line. I don’t love the price bump, but its Apple. Now we have an LTE enabled watch which I think makes sense, but the other side of me can’t quite connect the dots yet. Especially when cellular companies are selling me ‘air.’ Or more specifically charging me 10 extra dollars for use of the Watch on their network. A great reminder that I loath cell companies. All in all, same design, awesome new bands (sport loop) and good on Apple for pushing the line forward. If cellular means the world to you then update. If you have a series 2 and don’t care much about LTE, then sit this one out. Even if you have a Series 1 or 0, (like myself) I think unless cellular is something you’ve been waiting for for a while, then jump, if not. No worries and wait for next year’s redesign. (My opinion)
Apple TV – 4K, HDR, chip bump and SAME remote. Apple really? That remote is without a doubt one of the worst designed pieces of hardware to ever creep out of Apple. How in the world was this not redesigned and let out a 2nd time. 4k is great if you have a TV that supports it, HDR is the real winner here. Again, your TV has to support it, but HDR alone would make me upgrade if I had a TV capable. I’m holding off, but considering our Apple TV is our main way we watch our television, I’m happy to see Apple pushing their TV agenda forward.
iPhone 8’s– Its been the popular thing to bash these phones all because iPhone X was announced at the same event. Sure, the 8’s are less desirable for tech enthusiasts. But not only tech obsessed people buy iPhones. Apple knows this, and the truth is the 8’s are unbelievably great products. I really love the way the aluminum mixes with the new glass back. Also, the new gold color looks fantastic. I wouldn’t write off these phones just yet. I’m sure the demand will be a whole lot less compared to iPhone X, but these are solid upgrades which Apple should be commended for. Not to mention they feature almost every software upgrade that iPhone X does. iPhone X trumps 8 in hardware, sure. But there’s something to be said for tried and true, and the 8 is exactly that to the core: tried and true. I’m still heavily considering purchasing one.
iPhone X – The main event. I felt a very odd merging of emotions watching the unveil of iPhone X. Sure, I have been waiting for over a year for this phone, even published why I was passing on the 7 to wait on this very model. But as Phil Schiller was proudly announcing iPhone X I felt a sense of dread mixed in with my excitement. The lack of home button is really bothering me. I love my home button, specifically because I think its easily the best feature ever implemented on any tech product. And now Apple is ditching it. There is no denying how good iPhone X looks though. Its everything I thought it would be a year ago and in some ways more. I was little worried about Face ID and how well it would execute, but the hands on videos and trusted tech reporters cleared any doubt on that front. But one more gripe… That notch at the top of the display literally offends me. I don’t know how else to say it. It looks so out of place and so un-Apple. I get that Apple had no choice. That’s obvious. Internally, they can’t be thrilled with it either. But man, its rough to look at. Maybe using in real life changes things, but that notch. Anyways, bottom line for me is I’m excited to use it. As far as iPhone X as an over all product: Its obvious they believe in the design language and clearly is the future moving forward. Very impressive work for Apple.
My Verdict – I really enjoyed this event. A lot of it has to do with the Steve Jobs tribute in the new building. It just felt like an old school Apple event again. Maybe it was Steve’s voice. I don’t know. All the devices announced were impressive to say the least. The more interesting aspect of this event was wasn’t said though. No HomePod talk, no iMac Pro talk. Actually no Macintosh talk at all. Nothing ever mentioned. Thats kind of amazing to me. Amazing in a sad way. All in all, I’d say a solid day for Apple. They delivered on some heavy rumored products and high expectations of millions. But that notch though. Oh and by the way where in the world is dark mode?
Like many of you i’m sure, the gateway device that introduced me to Apple Products was the original iPod. For obvious reasons, that device holds a special place in my heart. I was sad to hear today Apple is quietly phasing traditional iPods out (via macrumors)
Apple today removed the iPod nano and iPod shuffle from its website and online store around the world, and it has since confirmed the iconic portable media players have been discontinued. Apple continues to sell the iPod touch with updated pricing and storage, including a 32GB model for $199 and 128GB model for $299.
Apple also released this statement to clarify:
“Today, we are simplifying our iPod lineup with two models of iPod touch, now with double the capacity starting at just $199, and we are discontinuing the iPod shuffle and iPod nano,” an Apple spokesperson told Business Insider.
End of an era for sure. Business-wise, it just doesn’t make much sense to keep iPods around much longer. But the 15 year old in me is sad to see it go.
ddileo 