Podcast - This Is Only a Test
Episode 271 – Apple Logo Name – 9/11/2014
This week, Will, Norm, and Jeremy discuss the Moto X, the Moto 360, and Apple’s announcement of the iPhone 6, Apple Pay, and the Apple Watch. Enjoy!
Comments (68)
This week, Will, Norm, and Jeremy discuss the Moto X, the Moto 360, and Apple’s announcement of the iPhone 6, Apple Pay, and the Apple Watch. Enjoy!
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I’ve been awaiting this podcast since reviewing the keynote Tuesday. Tested – the only tech opinion I need.
Thanks for posting video in 4k Norm, it looks great.
Apple Pay sounds like Pig Latin for PayPal, “ayPalPay,” Sneaky…
Anyone else notice norm gets more and more troll-ey this time of year when it comes to iphone.
Should have had something at an angle to set the stickers on and really show them off. Can’t really see them.
The reason for me that Google wallet hasn’t worked for me is because Verizon sucks and has it locked out. They require their customers to use their version called ISIS (irony) and their special SIM card otherwise I would be using the shit out of this service.
+1
Contact List Information Transfer Spec………..Oh, you mean CLITS! lol.
Norm reigns as quite the sour sally throughout this episode.
I get it — this whole thing of Apple dishing out many-year-old technology as new and hot with people-who-should-know-better reacting with “wow – cool!” is something Kafkaesque reminiscent of Grimes v. Homer — but watching the enmity between Will and Norm for 2 hours is a bit rough.
I’ve always been the same way as Will when it comes to being weary about committing to sticking a sticker somewhere and thus losing the ability to move it. My solution is to buy magnetic printer “paper”, stick the sticker to the paper, then use an Xacto knife to cut around the outline of the sticker. My favorite stickers are now magnetic and live on my fridge, my metal workbench, and my metal tool boxes.
I use Republic Wireless and that is designed primarily for WIFI calling and Cell secondary. Been rocking that for a year on my Moto X!!
New Apple product chat, Chloe barking, and The 2014 Sticker Trade is being shown?
This podcast was pure awesomeness! 😎
Nice, I saw my stickers.
Assuming you mailed them already, it could possibly be in my mailbox today.
Also to add to the debate, my Galaxy S2 (released in 2011) with T-mobile has wifi calling.
Amazing Idea Bryguyver. I’ve also done the plastic wrap trick on things like parking passes and whatnot. Put the sticker on some plastic wrap and it will adhere to glass and you can move it between cars etc.
Nor Modern computing devices are not sums of lists of features, they’re whole experiences and ecosystems that are the end result of thousands of implementation choices, and this kind of reductive tribalistic pissing contest doesn’t contribute anything to a useful conversation or inform anyone of anything substantial. “Android had X for years, lol iPhones” doesn’t get into how X works in practice or how X is implemented differently or how X fits into the platform as a whole or whether X matters at all, it just makes the incurious guy who made this feel like that he’s still right about his multibillion dollar corporation of choice.
I’ll add a “+1” to this 😉
This wasn’t to inform. It was something funny I saw and felt relevant to the podcast. I do agree that some of the iPhone 6’s features have been around for a while, Apple makes them a bit better. Apple sees these features of phones that have been around and neatens them up and betters them for their iPhones. The only thing that is silly on Apple’s side is when they incorporate these features and act like they are breakthroughs in the mobile phone industry.
Sounded like Jeremy was about to cry whenever the guys mentioned anything bad about Apple products.
Its ok, Jeremy. The watch will sell.
The enmity between Will and Norm is why I like their product reviews. It keeps it grounded to how people actually use the products and gets them to point out problems.
I never saw my padded envelope being opened. 😞
Hopefully this process will extend into another podcast?
I cry for all the lost souls who don’t get excited about a new Apple product category!
Regarding that comparison photo that’s made the rounds this week….. it makes the opposite point. If all of those features existed on the Nexus 4 two whole years ago, and all of these iPhone users didn’t switch, there must be something even more compelling making them stay. You might not understand what that is, or simply not share the same priorities, but that’s the real answer to the graphic.
I am not saying I agree with what the graphic is saying. I do agree that the graphic can show it both ways. The idea of the digital wallet when if first came about was probably something Apple didn’t see as something that would take off. They then saw it was something useful and modified it to their own. Also your point can also show the idea of people are hesitant of trying new things. I do understand that people will stay with a brand they trust. I feel like the argument between iPhone vs. Android is the same as Mac vs. PC, there are pros and cons for both. On a side note, I love how the silly picture has sparked an interesting discussion.
Bummer! I’ve missed out 🙁
You guys didn’t mention the Motorola Hint. It was only talked about briefly in the Motorola press conference. Any opinions?
Just listening to the Apple pay stuff made me realise just how far behind the USA is in terms of cashless transactions. Chip & PIN never really took off on that side of the pond, did it? It’s been here in the UK for about a decade and contactless payment cards (where NFC/RFID is embedded in the card) has been gathering pace over the past year and is already widely accepted.
I presume the US still using magnetic strips and signatures is more to do with rolling out the infrastructure over 300 million square miles. It can’t be a mindset issue, can it?
I’d lay money against the apple watch doing much of anything for collective fitness. People want to believe the key to getting healthy is to take lots of steps throughout the day. When you look at how many calories you can burn by walking, it’s precious few compared to how fast they come back with a not that big snack. You get healthy and lose weight by changing your diet and working up a sweat and high heart rate several times a week (for starters). If people want to make the commitment to do that great, but I think that’s more a decision you make for yourself, and then use your watch to help you out. It isn’t just a matter of “Oh I have this watch and it’s reminding me to walk farther. Thanks, watch!”
It is comical how iPhone users have always been “I love the size of my phone, I don’t want a bigger screen”… Apple releases a larger screen phone, must have! And as far as I can tell they haven’t designed it better than anyone else.
I think that is the telling point here, without even really seeing it, touching it or having read any reviews of it people have already committed to buying it. And if you are only buying because of these “new” features you are kidding yourself. Will apple do it better than others? Maybe, but I doubt it, there is not much in it these days.
Apple set the bar originally but now they are playing catch up and poorly.
Don’t kid yourself. Apple could release an apple logo shaped bit of coal , slap a $199 price tag on it and you would lap it up. :p
Can confirm. Would buy.
Re: your other points… Your screen size argument is a straw man, but I understand the truth at the root of your caricature. The reason Apple has a reputation for having an almost religious following that buys anything they design, sign unseen, isn’t blind zealotry. It’s based on trust and familiarity. I’m sure Samsung is developing the same relationship.
Personally, I’m buying the new iPhone because I’m enjoying my stay in the Apple ecosystem and I also have passion (some would call it a problem) for new electronics. The phone feature race has gotten pretty boring. I fully expect to enjoy the crisper, larger screen, and better camera, but it’s a total luxury to upgrade from a 5-series iPhone. I’m much more interested in the Watch, precisely because it’s the beginning of a rapid evolutionary cycle rather than the end. I’m like a technology surfer. Gnarly waves, bro.
I love the new android norm!
What is the programme you mentioned that you use to fix 3D models?
https://netfabb.azurewebsites.net/
If you’ve got 7 years in the Apple ecosystem, and your phone is up for replacement, then the bigger screen is hardly going to kill someone’s desire to get a new phone. Doesn’t mean they are gladly getting a larger phone. The behavior of “oooo, must have” from people who were previously railing against the large screen is something I haven’t seen. And obviously, Will does’t count, since Tested buys all the stuff they review and its not like they can skip the Plus.
Personally, I moved to iPhone in fall 2012 after two years on Android, which admittedly was before Android got its shit together. But I enjoy the smaller screen and I’m not jumping at the 6, precisely due to the screen-size being too big. I’ll probably be waiting until I go back to Europe in the new year and get a 5s instead. I want a phone, not a tablet :p
The simple fact of the matter is that Apple, along with a lot of its fans have treated people with contempt for years, They make a big deal about how “advanced” they are. This diagram simply shows them up for what they are. I don’t like Apples operating system, it doesn’t have the features and compadability I need for work, I don’t like the file management system and I love the fact that if hardware in my pc fails I can go to a local computer store and get whatever part I need and be up and running quickly. However I believe that competition is vital to drive innovation. I used to be a huge Microsoft fan but as far as I’m concerned windows 8 is a joke and windows mobile is horrible. One of the biggest problems with apple is that they restrict peoples choices, Not being able to delete the latest U2 album is out and out arrogance. I wouldn’t want Apple to disappear because that would be one less player in the market. I think that Apple needs to just concentrate on developing software and making there operating system available to other manufacturers. There market share is in rapid decline, in some markets they have fallen behind windows mobile (WTF?). If they don’t change there act and fast, I can see them becoming the next Nokia.
It would be nice if the stickers were put on a angle so they could be seen when put on camera :O
You guys rock and the live envelope opening was great
but I can’t believe I forgot to send an envelope.
&
I’m hoping that you guys can help me understand something about the screen resolution comparisons. Generally, the newer droid phones have a resolution of 1080p or higher and the iPhone 6 is less than 1080p. Apple enthusiasts tend to argue that we can’t physically detect the difference between the 1080p and 750p on the phones anyway so what does it matter if it’s not 1080? My question is, if that is the case, then why does the iPhone 6 plus have a 1080 screen and not the same resolution of the iphone 6? Am I missing something or did I take something out of context?
Thanks guys!
You have to look at the pixel density, pixels per inch, not the pixel-dimensions (720/1080 etc). With its larger screen, the 6 needs more pixels to keep the same pixel density as the 5/5S etc.
With pixel density, there comes a certain point at which the eyes can’t really tell the difference, but there are still nuances in how the hardware/software renders between the various PPIs which impact the experience. And in some cases the way different pixel densities are tackled can noticably affect the sharpness of graphics.
It’s true that they say 90% of a six pack is made in the kitchen but pedometers and fitness apps are incredibly motivational for a lot of people. I lost 30 lbs because not only did having an app on my phone and a pedometer on my wrist help me track what exercise I was doing, they really made me stop and think about what I was eating too.
Might be interesting to have a household robot test – so far I REALLY love the neato (I got a slightly older model than the current one) as it doesn’t bump into stuff and is also quite fast. Never had a roomba, so I cannot compare, it looks far worse on videos though…
Yet another pointless Apple update, they effectively produce the same thing in multiple sizes, big whoop go make shoes.
With Apple Pay, I think they will sell (or offer for free like square & PayPal) a dongle with a NFC chip that plugs into the headphone jack of any iOS device.
Thanks for the explanation.
Unsure why the NFC feature will revolutionise payment, I’ve had contactless payment in the uk now for over a year whereby you hold your bank card against an rfid type receiver and it automatically debits you bank account. Granted having it built into your phone mean you don’t need to carry your bank card but that’s hardly a cumbersome item to carry.
I’d never heard of the Neato (admitedly I only researched the various Roomba models). Just watched some videos and that’s pretty cool! Thankfully the room I’m using mine in is a good Roomba use case, or I might be jealous of those superior navigation chops.
On the the subject of what should mix into his Soylent sludge, I think he should drop in a few scoops of his favorite ice cream, and some candy (say peanut M&M’s), and make his very own homemade Soylent Blizzards.. 😋
“SMATCHES” = “SMArt” + “waTCHES”
Pronounced “smawches”
Saves you a letter…
–Paul E Musselman
Thank you. I couldn’t understand why you would be bothered pulling your phone out to pay for something when you can just wave your credit card at the little payment machine. Whenever I travel in the US it’s always with Australian-based cards so I assumed that was the issue with lack of flexibility.
Your enthusiasm is quite contagious and refreshing 🙂
Norm’s the best. Will suffers from Stockholmsyndrome, like all apple fans. 😉
Just kidding Will.
But this is why I like you guys, one collective mind but still having your own opinions! Keep it up
yeah, Norm was totally unbearable!!!!
The Gear Live has a power button, I just shut it down for movies.
If Apple pay plays nice with existing NFC then it’s a win for everyone. Obviously putting it in phones is nothing new, but if retailers continue to get on board I think NFC on your watch is much more compelling than your phone or credit card, or anything else that you have to take out of your pocket.
As far as phone capacity, the non-apple world has removable storage, what a concept!
“Chip & PIN never really took off on that side of the pond, did it?”
The Chip has been mandatory in Canada for, I dunno, many years now. No swiping. Many retailers have also gone to the Tap for transactions under $100. I too was surprised when I visited California this summer and they were still swiping cards and collecting signatures. It seemed backward.
“it’s very monolithic, it’s very 2001.”
Apple thinks the 6 is monolithic enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZrfXDeLBTU
I’ve had both and in my experience if all you have is hardwood floors and some pet hair the Roomba is good. Not nearly as efficient but far less noisy. Now if you have carpets or quite a bit of pet hair the Neato is the way to go as it does have a more powerful vacuum. It has its downsides such as getting stuck underneath furniture because it goes down just far enough to trap the sensor housing, but not far enough to “see” it, and any cords on the ground are going to be destroyed by it’s brush.
Thanks for the mention of visual voicemail. Got a warranty replacement for my phone recently, had to reload everything, but forgot about visual voicemail being a thing.
For the NFC payments, Blackberry was the first to introduce it here in Canada, on the BBOS7 devices, back in 2011. NFC (or what is called Suretap here in Canada on the Rogers Network) has been a part of just about every credit card that’s been released over the past two years. The terminals were replaced by Banks/Credit Card Companies for the past 3 years have all had this function added.
Currently, there’s a transaction limit of $100 (It was raised from $50 initially) and you’ll find a lot of stores everywhere having these terminals now. Everything from large retail stores to mom and pop stores.
We also have an IC chip in all our cards so that transactions have to be done by PIN. In fact, Credit Card companies advise stores that if they DO NOT use the IC chip, they will be automatically liable for any charges that are challenged. This has forced everyone to use the IC Chip + PIN along with making every store upgrade their terminals.
So no, this really isn’t anything new. Having Apple back this hopefully makes the US catch up to the rest of the world. Stores still have to pay their percentage on transactions.
Allow me to introduce: http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_aura-pictures-2562.php
It has a perfect round screen and it’s a phone from 2008 😀
So THAT explains why U2 suddenly appeared in my iTunes library. Fuck that.
Quite a frustrating podcast to listen to because Jeremy has been drinking the coolaid. The part about memory size was ridiculous, Will hit the nail on the head I’ve had to spend hours fixing my parent’s and sister’s iphones because they’d ran out of space for pictures and videos. Notwithstanding the fact apps are bigger, a game can be over a 1gb at times. no point having a phone if you can only have a few apps on it. As for streaming, apps like Google music, Pandora etc need a cache
I do agree 4k is pointless though. So what if YouTube can take it? The bit rate is poor and the displays aren’t out there. 4k is a tech for 5 years in the future, this phone is for 2 years
As for physical design, I think the camera nubbin is a strange design decision for Apple. And having the sleep/wake button on the side is a nightmare. Every since I got an S3 that thing goes off all the time, I never had that problem with an iPhone.
Final point. Android or Apple, I don’t care about crazy features or higher numbers. The only thing I want to see improve is battery life. These things weigh barely anything, give me a heavier phone with twice the battery life.
Hi Guys, avid listener for a while, but only just got round to signing up.
In regards to the phones barometer, it’s mostly included to help the phone lock on to GPS faster as it gives the phone a first guess on your current altitude.
I found this out after getting my Galaxy Nexus which also has a barometer, and also wondering what it was for.
Hope the Nexus X is out soon! Definitely my next purchase.
They need a person to speak for Microsoft in there. I’m getting pretty disgusted at the lack of Microsoft related tech talk in these podcasts. Any time they bring up Siri/Google Now, they never mention Cortana. They talk about cloud based music services often, but never mention Xbox Music. It never crosses their minds and it’s grating. I still love Tested, but it’s pretty sad when you are a tech site and you rarely cover any news about one of the biggest tech companies in the world.
I haven’t listened to the whole podcast yet, but did they even mention the new Lumia 830/930 phones? Or how Windows Phones are being rebranded to just Windows phones, and they won’t be branded with Nokia anymore? Or how Microsoft was rumored to buy Minecraft (which they have since confirmed that they did)? You know, the biggest game on the planet?
Maybe the Tested audience just doesn’t give a shit about Microsoft stuff. Falcon and I seem to be the only two who care. I don’t know.
Do you guys use mag strip bank cards in the states? In Canada we’ve been using the chip cards for maybe 5 or 6 years. They also come equipped with pay-pass so you can just tap them on the debit machine to pay.
I’m a little surprised at the reaction to apple pay. Hasn’t android been doing this for a long time? I’ve been using my S3 to tap-pay for things for a couple years. It seems like apple is just catching up.
the way Jeremy was looking at the camera kinda made me nervous! LOL!
A far as I’ve understood it’s more of the matter of american banks refusing to pay the licensing fees. They’re only now starting the rollout since the relevant patents have expired.
Listening to the conversation about how “revolutionary” Apple pay is sounds kinda comical to me too. Here in Finland Chip&PIN readers have been the norm for the last decade and nowadays wireless cards are getting more common every day.
I already have two wireless cards that I use daily. All I need to do is bring my wallet near the RFID reader and hear a beep indicating the card has been scanned. I don’t even need to take the cards out. Having to use my phone for that doesn’t seem that much more convenient, since I still have to keep my wallet on me anyways (for my drivers license/business cards/cash…)
I wore my Adam Incognito shirt at Pax and got no less than three complements! More popular than my GB shirts for sure.
I wonder why you guys feel that the apple watch is feminine. As a female, my first impression is that it is big and bulky and will get caught on everything. Pretty much every smart watch I have bought to date has been too wide for my wrist and I end up not wearing them. Even the Samsung gear fit did not fit flat across my wrist and that is curved to contour to the wrist.
I think the fact that Apple is trying to show so many feminine variations of the band just shows that they may be worried that females won’t buy it because of the size. Sadly, today, the ladies that do want smart watches need to sacrifice on the fit and comfort. It is the nature of wearables. I am sure that there will eventrually be an innovation that results in less clunky wearables, but until then, I am taking a break from wearables and stick with the low profile, analog watch for everyday wear.
As far as mobile carriers and wifi calling, I know T-Mobile has done it for close to 5 years. I have never had a problem going from wifi to cell tower. Another benefit of that is that if you are outside of the US, you can disable your mobile networks and just make wifi calls and be charged the regular US rate for all of your calls. I found that to be a great alternative to buying a SIM in another country, especially since I usually stay at a hotels with decent free wifi. It will definitely be interesting to see what carriers do when they start routing calls over data networks, although I don’t usually see places where the data signal is better than the voice, so I am not sure what the main advantage. Plus, in major metro areas, I would be concerned that data service would be degraded for everyone if voice was being pushed over data. There are already plenty of places that I just can’t use data even with a great signal because there is such high data use there (I’m looking at you, downtown LA).