The iPhone Duo appeals to me somehow. I always wanted to have one of those „Westworld Phablets “, and this is as close as it gets. It would replace my iPad as well – which is just used for watching videos and reading longer texts these days. But the responsible adult in the back of my head really cannot justify spending at least 2.299€ for a mobile device.
I also have to consider that this is a „1.0“ version, which will have a lot of teething problems. Sure, AppleCare+ will ease, and maybe even resolve most of these issues, but that would cost another 210€ per year. That is quite an early adopters fee. In addition to that: Most of the iOS features that would benefit from an iPhone 18 Pro Max or an iPhone Duo, will not be released in the EU in the foreseeable future – maybe never.
I think I pass. But I will definitely try one out in an Apple Store.
Maybe the next iOS version will be able to install updates while my phone is resting for ~8 hours on the charger. So far, every version was unsuccessful, even though the setting to automatically install updates is enabled. It has never worked for me, and I am using iOS since the iPhone 3G.
Christina Warren and Marco Arment are spot-on about the current situation of the Apple Vision Pro.
Marco Arment on Mastodon:
The challenge Apple faces with AVP is getting enough people to buy (and keep using) a device type that they weren’t already buying (headsets), which is VERY expensive and limited, to accumulate enough customers for the content and software ecosystem to develop.
Christina Warren puts an even finer point on it:
Spot on. And I’ll add: It’s also a dev kit positioned as a consumer product, priced as an enterprise/industrial tool but without any of the features that enterprise/industry can use. The whole thing remains a mess and no amount of “whataboutism” or iPhone comparisons, as if we aren’t living in a different time, will change the fact that this thing is DOA in its current form and positioning.
To me, at this point, it is a nice piece of “tech porn”. A remarkable device that shows a certain direction - but nothing more.
Antitrust comments by Ian Betteridge
Apple vs the Digital Markets
It was clear that Apple would not roll over and comply with the new EU regulations. Of course they are trying to make it as hard as possible for developers to not use their payment system and stick to the status quo.
I think the reduced comission between 10% and 17% is fair, the 3% payment processing fee maybe as well. But collecting a “core technology fee” for essentially doing nothing is wild. Can’t wait for someone to sue them. Will take a couple of years, I guess, but I am sure it will be eventually struck down by the courts.
Shit, I am feeling really old today. macOS was released 20 years ago . Of course, it was called “Mac OS X” back then 😄.
I never worked with MacOS 9 myself, but I rembember driving to Düsseldorf to get one of the first copies of MacOS X Tiger in 2005. Back then I had a PowerPC Mac Mini. I remember feeling excited. After years of using a Linux desktop system, it was great to finally have a well-designed graphical user interface, but at the same, don’t miss out on the powerful UNIX tools.
Nowadays Windows has caught up a lot with “Windows Subsystem for Linux(WSL) ” and their increased support for Open Source software and services. But Apple has a revival of their with their new ARM hardware — even though macOS Big Sur is not so great 😞.
Very interesting comments by Ian Betteridge on the antitrust actions from the US and the EU against Apple, Meta, and Google. A sight for sore eyes after John Gruber’s tremendously stupid takes on the European Union’s “Digital Markets Act ” (DMA)