LIH Prem

That statement is so broad, it's not really true at all levels. It is true at medium and higher levels where you can get better lenses perhaps interchangeable and larger higher quality sensors. But most people don't need that because the high quality smart phones have gotten better and better over the years, and the convenience of carrying one device that does everything outweighs everything else. Other people interested in higher quality images will of course want to carry one or more cameras.

We don't carry dedicated music players or PDAs anymore either. It's all about convenience.

-David

satman40

if people really want decent pictures they can correct most errors with decent software

WilcoRoger

Says who? At the mid-fi to hi-fi segments they are still very much a thing. This is probably the same as with photography - the masses are happy with streaming mp3 quality music to their earbuds same as they are happy with snapping selfies with their bowl of pasta

Head over to head-fi.org to see the scene - a $1k player is not even top of the line

deniah

those people are lunatics though. they'll walk around with dac/amps rubberbanded to their smartphone just to hear korean pop in slightly higher fidelity while riding the train





i was a longtime hold out as well, carrying a dedicated ipod (and other branded players) because i didnt trust the headphone output on phones was good enough. now they are. and storage is cheap. and bandwidth is high. i can stream music at 24b/96khz wirelessly to my phone and transmit it wirelessly to my headphone. and its good enough. the tech closed the quality gap and made it really liberating

draver

My personal opinion about high end HiFi enthusiasts is they listen to the device more than the music.

Many years ago in electronic sales it was a joke amongst the sales force about the all specs that were SO important to that crowd. Come on, how many were able to really hear the difference between an eight bit digital to analog converter compared to a ten bit?

It's the reason Monster Cable became so cherished with that group and still has some presence. The ad copy created a "Golden Ears" crowd. This myth was dispelled by Consumers Report who, oddly enough did not run ad$ from Monster seen in the HiFi magazines.

Isn't the best camera still the one you have with you?

WilcoRoger

There are two sorts - one using the gear to listen to he music, the other uses the music to listen to the gear...

As for the camera, you are spot on.

Still, when I know I'm out shooting, nothing I own beats my Nikon D7000 with a couple of fast primes, Even my walk around Sony M100m3 cannot keep up, even though it's one of the best pocketables.

anrkitec

12 Pro 256 Space Grey, first impressions:

-Liking the Space Grey

-Absolutely hate the shiny bling edge banding. It's not as bad on the Space Grey as on the other colors, but it's still awful. This will have to be put in a case or it will be badly scratched in short order, just like the piano black finish plastic with which automakers are so enamored. It's also a greasy fingerprint magnet and the shiny light-reflecting mirror finish just broadcasts each and every one. This IMO was a stupid decision. The phone would have looked just as premium with a matte finish like the 4/4s/5 had.

-The frosted glass back looks better than the high polish glass of the 11.

-The size seems like it's going to be OK. It can still be one-handed and isn't really that much bigger than my beloved 6s which, IMO, was the perfect size. But with the micro bezels, the increase in actual screen area between the 12 Pro and the 6/7/8/SE is huge.

-The OLED screen is bright and sharp. But I worry about screen burn. I don't buy Apple's claim that they have some special sauce that makes screen burn a non-issue. I think the only "special" thing they have is the very specific language in their warranty that says that they will not replace phones or screens because of screen burn.

-The phone does have a more "premium" feel over the X and 11.

-What does not feel premium however is the packaging. The box is tiny, because of course it only comes with a cable. No charging brick, no headphones, not booklet.

And about Apple's claim that they have done that for "environmental" reasons: It's complete BS. It's about being able to charge $20-$70 more [charging brick and headphones] without having to raise the price of the phone itself.

Apple says that they want to cut down on waste and that people already have one or more charging bricks from their old iphones, so no need to include one. That's complete crap as evidenced by the fact that the cable they include is Lightning-to-USB-C, but all of those millions of bricks out there are USB-A. So you still have to go out and buy another USB-C charging brick, which Apple, by pure coincidence I am sure, happens to sell - for an additional $20.

Yes, you can still use your old Lightning-to-USB-A cable if you do have an older USB-A charging brick, but this about Apple making more money by selling you accessories they used to include and saving shipping costs with the smaller packaging, it's not about "the environment".

anrkitec

Some more thoughts.

My first notched phone and I'm really hating the notch.

They should have just squared it off on the top. The few pixels they gain to the left and the right serve no functional purpose, and in fact make it impossible to show the battery meter and percentage simultaneously.

Also, Face ID just sucks. If the only new feature the 2013 iPhone 12s Pro or 13 Pro or whatever they call it, has is under glass Touch ID, I will get the new phone.

I also think that Apple's software has taken their 12MP sensor tech as far as it can go. The new software-based features are great, but the fundamental image quality at the pixel level isn't that much better than the iPhone 6/7/8/SE.

Using the phone's traditional ear speaker as a second speaker for music in order to simulate a stereo effect is interesting.

LIH Prem

ok, you're right, I even bought a pono music player for my brother. But I did say "most people" and mentioned the exceptions in my post. We are talking about the masses here. Good luck in trying to convince the masses to carry 3 or more separate devices.

-David

Error 601

I don't really care about the power brick because I have always used third-party chargers that will charge multiple devices but the absence of headphones when they no longer have a 3.5mm audio jack is annoying.

I don't think I have ever paid more than $30 for a pair of headphones in my life so I won't be buying airpods any time soon.

draver

I do appreciate a fine camera, I bought my first Nikormat FTN in 1968. But, how much did your D7000 with your favorite lens cost, and do you still carry a smartphone while using it? The quality of phone cameras improves every year, it's one of the reasons I upgrade to the latest model every year. Also, the original Apple headphones were mediocre at best, so I will not miss them for a second. The transition to USB-C is troublesome since us Kool-Aide drinkers have a collection of traditional Apple cables and chargers. I bought a set of adapters when I got my 11" iPad Pro and that was a suitable solution. Oh, BTW I have been an Apple investor for the past 10 years, so....

WilcoRoger

I paid €200 for the body* and €95 for the Nikkor 50/1,8. €150:ish for the Tokina 11-16/2,8. Of course I have my telephone with me, how else would I make phonecalls? (I also have a couple of others, sometimes one gets carried away in a camera shop)

This camera have served me well for many years, no need to waste money on new phones every year for better camera function - and IMO still runs circles around any phone camera.

* actually €150 as I got €50 store credit for my old D80

draver

That's certainly a lot less that I would have guessed from what I've heard and seen listed.

Another reason iPhone upgrades are a thing for me is the resale of last years model is generally quite high. If I postpone my upgrade, that diminishes of course. My 11 Pro Max 256Gb should net me around $700 or so, and I get a Vet discount from Apple. My new 12 Pro Max 256Gb will cost $1079 & $12 for an Amazon case. I like the idea of having a fresh battery, and the latest hardware. It's one of my many vices. Also, I don't want to be the richest person in the graveyard!

DYKWIA

After around 8 years of being Android for both my tablet and phone, I'm contemplating switching to an iPhone 12 Pro Max (I've currently got a Samsung S20+).

I've used Samsung Tab S tablets for a long time, and they've generally been great. However, my S5e had a fingerprint sensor in the power button. This hardly ever worked, and was even worse when I had the official keyboard cover attached - as it obscured the button slightly. So, anytime I needed to authenticate, I'd end up having to type my password. The S6 had an underscreen fingerprint reader, but the S7 10 has gone back to the power button.

So... I bought an iPad Pro 10.5 to try it out. I knew I had the option of returning it if I didn't get on with it. It took me a day to realise it was great - and it wasn't going anywhere The Face Id is great - especially when linked to BitWarden. No entering passwords ever again.

The thing that made me move from iOS originally was the lack of customisation (without Jailbreaking). However, it appears that there's not much you can't do these days - is Jailbreaking still a thing? iOS 14 seems to have stolen the Android concept of an Apps Drawer - so you can customise you home screen and remove rarely used apps. The 'notch' is still a bit messy - but I guess that's needed for Face Id?

Anyway, I'll order one when they become available in the UK

draver

Jailbreaking is alive and well. You can catch up on it at a website called iclarified.com. I had jailbroken every one of my iPhones since the 3G, but Apple adopted many of the things Jailbreaking permitted, and Apple really worked at preventing it. That made sense, since it was a flaw in the OS that a Jailbreak exploited. I haven't had a Jailbroken device since my iPad Mini 4. The only Jailbreak feature I miss is running an app called PDANet that allowed for a pass trough WiFi function. You could log on to a WiFi provider then create your own WiFi hotspot from that. Useful for paid, single device service like cruise ships and some hotels, etc. Technically theft I suppose.