Tag Archives: smartphone

Apple, iPhone, iPhone 13 Pro

iPhone Subscription Service Could Launch This Year according to Gurman

Video
photo / Apple

Are Hardware Subscriptions a Bad idea? Perhaps, but it might be perfect for power users

There has been, over the last few years, a gradual push within Apple (and, god knows the world at large) for more subscriptions and more bundling of products across the entire ecosystem.

This is also, in my view, part of a larger planned convergence of all products and services into a giant Apple universe of products that ‘just work. The rumors are based on the new report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman where he claims to have knowledge of the matter and says he expects this concept to launch in late 2022 or early 2023.

There is already an iPhone upgrade program which allows you to pay as you go and get a new iPhone yearly, however this is no a true subscription model. A closer analog would be the Apple One bundle, an all-in-one subscription program for up to six apple services.

They include Apple Music, Apple TV +, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Apple News +and Apple Fitness +. The monthly charge for Apple One ‘Premier’ which as it sound is the full package is only a little more than half of what the cost would be for the individual items.

And since an iCloud storage upgrade to 2 TB is included, the actual cost benefit is even higher for users that wold be upgrading to that level of iCloud storage anyway.

The fact is that many so called ‘power users’ upgrade often at full price and get a new Apple device yearly, or even buy multiple new devices at least every other year.

Good for Apple, of course, how about the rest of us?

While many industries and companies are working hard to make a transition to monthly subscription services that include hardware, for everything from web sites trying to re-imagine the auto-leasing program parameters in a way that is permanent with the ability to upgrade periodically, to a hardware subscription service like the software plus hardware bundle from Peloton Interactive inc.

Although this relentless drive to create a new subscription service for hardware products in addition to the already nearly ubiquitous presence of subscriptions in digital services, which is, generally, a set fee per month is standard for a plethora of software and web based products.

With Apple products becoming more integrated into the ecosystem of software, hardware and services that interact and even synergistically support each other, it only makes sense that this has the potential, again, to make the most sense for the most avid users of Apple hardware.

From the perspective of tech giants like Apple Inc., having a large percentage of recurring sales guaranteed through monthly payments, would enable the financing of the inevitable new yearly iterations of new versions of its major devices, and could be seen as a new way, perhaps a better way, to capitalize for the research and development those many new hardware deices require.

Having long since committed to a schedule that guarantees new models for nearly all it’s hardware every year, which often include a reduction in the price of the device, free upgrades (mostly for software), a hardware subscription program such as the one we could imagine (based on the Apple One example above but for hardware) would be a hot topic, if not Apple’s biggest push internally.

A hardware subscription bundle, by any other name…

Naturally there are many ways this could play out. How the cost of an iPhone (based on a one to two year upgrade cycle) would jive with the cost of the phone divided by twelve or even twenty four is one possible configuration.

There’s also the question of current installment plans and how they would be handled for presumed upgraders, if various perks such as fresh hardware, free Apple Care, the freedom to move to the iPhone of their choice, all, however, with lack of true device ownership. Or perhaps even the merger of Apple One services such as the Apple Music Subscription into a huge ‘bundle of bundles’.

Bottom line? Make it juicy and they will come…

Of course, those like myself (and maybe you?) who might be potential users of the program are waiting to hear… drumroll please…. a specific price, a date, either this year or next year, and the hardware lineup included.

Would this be just iPhone or also iPad or Apple Watch, even Mac? Or a truly massive new program that would be the biggest of all monthly installment programs in the world today, and would include everything from fitness content, to a menu of hardware and software, to a magical calculation of your Apple Worth Rank that would allow you to get more devices, software and services the higher that the cost of devices would be.

And all of the above, or whatever actually comes to pass, divided by a second magic number between 12-18 and then calculated to be a little more than half (oh Apple is so clever at this) of the full original prices and then charged to Apple Card users at a slight discount and the rest of us on a normal monthly basis.

If your head is spinning but you are still reading this, you might actually be one of the few that would embrace the upcoming service and would be happier with a determined monthly fee for the plethora of Apple products that you know you will consume anyway for the rest of your life.

By the same token, if you are insanely upset at even the notion, let us know in comments below.

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Apple, iOS 15, iPhone, iPhone 13 Pro, OS Software

Apple had no choice but to create Cinematic Mode: here’s the real reason why

Video

Above: Photo / Apple

Bokeh into a corner; the coming of age for smartphone photography

Much has been said about the new camera system, and in particular, the top end iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max versions. Cinematic mode is one new feature that has generated a lot of interest, some admiration and some confusion.

Apple marketing has not helped to clarify – the emphasis with the name and all the marketing materials and ads are jumping into the claim that this is a high-end pro replacement for prime lenses and a human focus puller. And you should make professional movies with it.

This is a valid idea, to a point, and it’s a fantastic accomplishment to have a cinematic mode at all, especially in your pocket. And, perhaps, the limitation at HD video and no 4k capability will be overcome, either in software or with the iPhone 14.

But, in reality, none of that matters. In reality this mode was absolutely necessary, with or without the autofocus “robot-focus-puller” trick.

Including the telephoto camera made the cinematic effect absolutely mandatory

So taking a small step back for a moment, let’s look at the big changes in the iPhone 13 Pro cameras compared to the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro. The big change was the ultra-wide camera / lens combo along with the 3X 77mm telephoto camera / lens. In total making 6x optical zoom range possible.

It’s the 77mm that is the huge move. Why? Well, if you are a photographer and have ever worked with a prime or zoom lens of 77mm or above you will be aware of a couple of things. The size, length and weight of the lens is massive. And to duplicate that in a tiny camera module as part of a three camera array on an iPhone presents a pretty big challenge.

Obviously the size limitation makes it impossible for a “real” 77mm lens to be strapped to the back of an iPhone. And, even if the magnification was possible, what about the “look” and the quality of the image?

And what constitutes, in photographic tradition, the beauty and style that makes a long lens like a 77mm artistically desirable? Because just having the ability to get a closer view or shot of an subject without moving the camera closer is a small and relatively insignificant part of the challenge.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/iphone-13-pro-cinematic-mode/large_2x.mp4

Bokeh because it’s beautiful and highlights the subject (often a human or animal) in the video or photo.

Now, to be clear, we are really talking about video recording, not just photos. Because the portrait mode on iPhone has been around, and improving, for years, and cinematic mode is creating similar effect and adding a new level for video.

Adding a 77mm lens, however, if it was not getting the bokeh effect in the video recording, would have been a disappointment of monumental proportions for photographers and would not have been an option.

And, good news folks, the bokeh in cinematic mode when using the 77mm lens is very usable and takes the cinematic style potential into a creative realm that is “Pro”, with or without the focus pulling tricks, and / or the panning or dolly shots with a moving camera.

Both the addition of “portrait mode” backgrounds for FaceTime video, which is a look that has become standard for YouTube videographers, and, more impressively and more importantly, the ability to shift through the lens “kit” as a feature film director would, using different focal lengths (like swapping out prime lenses on a feature film shoot) is a game changer.

However, none of this would be even remotely possible if the switch from a virtual 26mm wide angle prime lens to a virtual 77mm prime did not have some emulation of the unique qualities such as depth or field and, above all, bokeh that shifted as well.

And, thankfully this works the way a director or DP would want – not the same, of course, as a rig that has lenses that cost as much as a dozen iPhone 13 Pro Maxes, but one that is unique and able to produce beautiful, soulful and human effects that are a computationally assisted approximation. That look, or at least something with a similar feel, is akin to what has inspired generations of filmmakers to love what a 77mm or 85mm or even a 100mm (my personal favorite) does for a human subject in the wild.

It is now possible to produce images that have the convenience of an iPhone and the creative mix of styles that could previously only be found in a full professional kit with multiple prime lenses, and that is something that will change and impact the quality and style of everything we watch, particularly in production areas where million dollar kits are not an option.

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Apple, Apple Services, iOS 15, iPad, iPhone, Tech

This is iPhone 13Pro Max best new feature by far

Video

Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic / J. Flavia / Unsplash

Ear related! 2nd best and more are also interesting

With so many new features on the iPhone 13 Pro models, and with so many of them made possible by iOS 15, the A15 bionic chip, the 16-core Neural Engine, which performs up to 15.8 trillion operations per second, and power features like Cinematic Mode and Smart HDR 4, machine learning and other hard to explain facets of the overall experiential upgrade, sound playback (and recording) are often barely mentioned, it seems.

Ever since there was the biggest Apple success story near the turn of the century there has been a special relationship between the fruit company and music / sound. I’m talking, of course, about the iPod.

Long before the iPhone was even a rumor, the iPod was a huge success, taking over the mp3 player market and, with the iTunes store for music downloads, launching the software and services division, for all practical purposes.

It’s hard to imagine now, but there was doubt that Apple could make it in the competitive cell phone market, with behemoths like Nokia and Blackberry so well established. It was the iPod’s success that made it seem plausible.

There was one thing that the iPod never had, however; speakers. And even the recent iPhones, with speakers for voice and music, if you didn’t use your AirPods for that, had speaker and sound quality that was not on the quality level of the larger iPads.

With a much larger area to hide speakers, the iPad was always an obvious choice for watching movies and listening “out loud” via the built in speaker system. With an iPad pro that could be pretty spectacular with a relatively full frequency spectrum and, more recently via software upgrades, spatial audio.

https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/iphone-13-pro/2021/404b23a8-f9c5-466c-b0e6-3d36705b959d/anim/chip/large.mp4

With iPhone 13 Pro models the audio barrier has finally been shattered

In a tiny, nearly forgotten passage at the very end of a list of new specs and enhancements in the iPhone 13 line, Apple adds one more thing; a stereo speaker at the top where the notch is located and a second stereo speaker at the bottom next to the Lightning port.

What it doesn’t mention is the improvement in the sound quality. Like so many features in the newer generation of devices and software, this unassuming, seemingly simple statement is just the tip of the iceberg and does not divulge what’s really going on.

Once more a combination of all the recent software and hardware upgrades combine to produce an experience that goes beyond what you could expect with these tiny, nearly invisible, speakers.

First, the two stereo speaker sets are, sound wise, equal in quality. So when you are watching a movie in landscape mode there is a distinct stereo effect. This is enhanced by spatial audio and dolby atmos depending on your set up.

The actual experience is noticeably “iPad like” and in some ways even goes beyond. Having the phone relatively near you, due to its size, and listening to a high quality movie score, there’s a feeling that your phone has morphed into a personal theater – as long as you can let the sound out into your local environment.

Try “SharePlay”, once it’s live in iOS 15.1, or just manually sync with your partner, assuming you each have a new iPhone 13 (!) and you will get a glorious room filling surround experience from the 4x stereo output (8 speakers?!) into the room.

And the mysterious mics also hidden in multiple places, are also a big upgrade – the seem to switch roles for video, calls etc and maximize the audio quality in live recording situations.

Apple’s software and service bundles and ambitions are driving hardware and iOS upgrades

As jubilant as this may sound, there is also an ulterior motive lurking. Some of the audio features work best (or at all) with an Apple Music subscription. And having more subscriptions, Apple TV, Apple News, Apple Music, iCloud Extra Storage, along connected devices, with so many available, it becomes an ecosystem of plenty for Apple, already the largest company by market cap.

On the optimistic side there’s always Apple One Premiere, the top of the line for bundled services (see below) and looking more and more like a steal at $29.95 per month.

Perhaps, one day not to far away, there will be a Apple One Premiere plan that also includes all Apple devices and you just trade them in every two years (every year?) or maybe you never own them at all?

The way the upgrades in hardware, software and the rest are becoming more interdependent and how crazy it already is to upgrade various devices (assuming you have more than one or two) yearly or bi-annually it’s an interesting idea to try and imagine.

And with an Apple Car perhaps on the way (self driving and outfitted with all the rest of the tech and service bundles) this could be a whole-house, whole-office (will there still be offices?) all transport bundle too. Apple haters will be in trouble, and have to move to Google Island, but otherwise, hey, why not?

Apple One Premiere example package:

Speakers after tear down by iFixit:

credit: iFixit

Audio Playback

Audio formats supported: AAC‑LC, HE‑AAC, HE‑AAC v2, Protected AAC, MP3, Linear PCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital (AC‑3), Dolby Digital Plus (E‑AC‑3), Dolby Atmos, and Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+)

Spatial audio playback

User‑configurable maximum volume limit

Video Playback

Video formats supported: HEVC, H.264, MPEG‑4 Part 2, and Motion JPEG

HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG

Up to 4K HDR AirPlay for mirroring, photos, and video out to Apple TV (2nd generation or later) or AirPlay 2–enabled smart TV

Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p through Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter (adapters sold separately)9

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Apple, iOS 15, iPhone, Mac, Observation, OS Software, Tech

iOS 15 & iPhone 13 Pro: Problems, Known limitations, Issues & Highlights

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Above: Photo / Lynxotic

Upgrades for hard and software, though groundbreaking and exciting, do have limitations and problems

The new upgrades for iOS 15, iPad OS 15, mac OS 12 Monterey and the rest are in many ways amazing, feature filled wonders, as we’ve discussed at every opportunity. The multi-year transition to a more unified system across all apple devices is underway and we are big supporters of the benefits.

However, nothing is perfect, and particularly in the early days it is to be expected that glitches and strange twists and turns in the journey can disappoint and confuse along the way.

Below we’ve outlined a few.

Various less than perfect ideas and execution in the OS software

Some issues are not really issues at all but things that people just don’t like. One example is the move of the address bar on safari in iOS 15 to the bottom. Many people had trouble getting used to this so a button was added to move it back to the top.

Other glitches include a false warning that you are out of storage space. Others have reported a reduction in perceived (if not real) battery life. Although these are minor annoyances and will be fixed with future updates, such as iOS 15.1 due any minute now, they show that this bug hunting is, unfortunately part of the process of any upgrade, much less a huge and important one like iOS 15.

There are also specific limitations though that should be mentioned about the iPhone 13 Pro camera system.

This issues are less bugs or errors and just limitations that may, or may not, be improved at a later date.

The new high end Pro camera system for the iPhone 13 Pro series is a major upgrade that has so many features and new capabilities that it is hard to even list them all, let alone illuminate the multitude of options and enhancements that they create.

On the obvious down side, however, a few things have jumped out at users now that these phones are in the wild.

Cinematic mode only works (currently) in 1080p. This is a serious limitation, since the whole idea of “Pro” is 4k and above. Many even go so far as to say that 1080p aka HD is no longer the standard for video and even obsolete. While there are rumors that this could get a software upgrade, perhaps even before the next iPhone model next fall, but it is not at all clear if, or when, that might happen.

This limitation is a fairly serious one, since an entire project would have to be shot at 1080p HD rather than 4k to make any use at all of the beautiful and fascinating rack-focus effects available in cinematic mode.

Less and issue but often mentioned is the inability to shoot 4k slow motion footage.

The lack of slo-mo at any resolution above 1080p is also something that has surprised aficionados. There is an option for 1080p at 240 fps, but unless you are shooting ultra high speed action that is not a hugely useful setting.

It seems odd, since a large part of the limitation is likely the large amount of data required to make this happen at 4k but there is a silver-lining here that few have mentioned in recent articles decrying the lack of 4k slow-mo options.

Since the system is already capable of shooting 4k at 60fps, and a final project setting for editing could be 4k at 30 or even 24fps, the 4k 60fps could be seen as a double speed slo-mo setting for a 4k video projects shot at 30fps for standard and 60fps for footage to be slowed to 30fps for the 1/2 speed slo-mo effect.

In the feature film 35mm celluloid days this was a very common and useful way to get slow-mo without eating up tons of expensive film stock.

Also, shooting at 4k 60fps for a 4k 24fps project would yield a 1.5 ratio of frame rate, giving an even more extreme slow-mo effect. For most slow motion effects 1 to 1.5x speed in-camera for later playback at the project rate is more than adequate.

The 120fps rate, since the top frame rate at 4k is 60fps, is, indeed, double which, as stated above, standard.

Therefore, for all practical purposes, there is already a way to produce beautiful 4k slow motion effects in a 30fps or 24fps project and have those be in camera pristine slo-mo and not the less desirable edit-only EFX.

Summing up, even with glitches and minor disappointments, it’s a beautiful world and now we just have to shoot it

If no more serious glitches or known issues pop up during the transition from iOS 14 to iOS 15, and iPhone 12 Pro to iPhone 13 Pro, we can be satisfied that this is a monumental job well done by the gang at Apple.

Though there are a lot of shortcomings that we may perceive in the new world topping combo-pack; iPhone 13 Pro Max running iOS 15.1, these are when compared to far more costly and cumbersome alternatives, or simply, when compared to our wildest dreams. Those will have to wait a few years, in all likelihood.

Human greed is a powerful thing. When given a photographic system that even attempts to approximate a profession system based on prime and zoom lenses and accessories, there’s a tendency to want it all, right now!

Of course, instead, what we get is an amazing extension of the iPhone photo tradition – taken up a bunch of notches at once. The computational enhancements are incredible and will only get better – in many cases without a new phone as they are based on AI and machine learning, which as the name implies, are continually improving while you sleep.

It is also the reason why real lenses and traditional DLSR cameras still have an important use and value.

The new system unveiled with the iPhone 13 pro is revolutionary precisely because of the potential for people to create new visual expressions and ways of communicating.

These photographic traditions and the efforts that were made in the design to emulate them are important and valuable. However, the future will benefit from the spontaneous and new ways that people will decide to use this evolving system and the current extensions of our eyes, ears and minds….

https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/iphone-13-pro/2021/404b23a8-f9c5-466c-b0e6-3d36705b959d/anim/macro-video/large.mp4

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Apple, Breaking News, iOS 15, iPhone, Observation, OS Software, Tech, Videos

Deeper Dive into iPhone 13 Pro Max Cameras after 48 Hours of Testing

Video

The cameras are at the center of what makes an iPhone 13 a Pro investment

Direct hands on experience with something as complex and interesting as the new iPhone 13 Pro Max is invaluable for a useful assessment. After a few days and also taking into account some observations of others I will attempt to shed light on the state of the art of iPhone as of September 2021.

Comparing this iteration of iPhone with the previous versions is meaningful for buying decisions, but it must also be compared based on what it can do for a professional that has a need for a higher grade of gadget.

Judging and comparing the machine as a whole is also necessary, since the cameras are not cameras at all be just one part of an integrated system of visual (and audio!) production tools.

Big changes that begat others and on the circle goes

The first thing I noticed, out of the box was the sheer size of the 13 Pro Max, particularly compared to the 11 Pro Max, which was my previous workhorse. From photos I had gathered that the three cameras stuck out more and, yet they do, so much so that it is almost comical.

If you brave the world sans case and put this monster in your the back pocket of your loose fitting jeans, the bulge from the cameras will feel like you are doing something crazy, as it is as if they are rubbing against anything they touch, continuously.

That’s not all about the physical size, though. Looking at the diameter of the three circles (lenses) they appear significantly larger. Believe me, they are. Since the 11 Pro max and the 12 Pro Max have the same size triple camera layout (spec upgrades notwithstanding) this is an immediate and obvious change.

Above: Photo / Lynxotic

The increased size and weight of the camera itself is noticeable, more than I expected. The screen appears far larger due to the new specs and it is a bit of a shock at first, but the level of quality is the biggest and most noticeable feature.

The design logic has an implied history that jumps out once you start to use the camera system.

The changes to the three cameras are significant. After two years of using the 2019 11 Pro Max the framing options, based on the three lenses is a complete new experience.

The ultra wide 13mm equivalent is a bit of a bold and crazy choice. If I was ordering a set of lenses for a music video shoot the ultra wide might go as far as 11mm (very wide!) but that is basically an EFX look and causes an almost fish-eye look.

The 13mm is literally as wide as you can get without getting into potential “clown” territory, which is fun but not usable for a non-EFX composition.

What is odd, in a way, is that the “main” lens at 26mm equivalent is still very wide meaning that the standard 40mm equivalent, which was always considered the closest to a neutral look, is absent here.

Similarly, the telephoto lens at a 77mm equivalent is exactly the same type of choice – once again in my kit this would have been a 100mm for a deep bokeh and a noticeable sweet spot that is ultra-flattering for close ups and head shots.

The 77mm, therefore, is a long enough lens to get the magnification and emulate the look of a telephoto style. But wait, no glass no bokeh.

Both the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max have the same sensors, optics, stabilization and features. The three cameras in the Pro models span a 6x optical focal length range.

This is where the logic of the design and how the system works, as a whole, begins to get deep.

Once you have made the commitment to not only extend the range of the entire optical focal length range to 6x the differences between a glass & steel 77mm prime lens and a “cell phone camera” must be addressed.

The 77mm requires the bokeh and relatively narrow in-focus range of a “real” telephoto lens is the stylized creative uses that a full kit of prime lenses makes possible is to be achieved.

This is addressed with the already present portrait mode – with enhanced functionality made possible by the A15 chip, the machine learning, AI and neural network – in other words software and computational assists.

And for video, cinematic mode is an absolute must – since the same bokeh effect and stylized effects are needed and desired for video.

All of this does not include the macro effects that effectively extend the range into the nearly microscopic. This feature requires a whole article, which you can check out here.

Getting to a full photographic system in your pocket, and beyond.

Once the effects and artifacts of the 77mm style glass prime lens have been added to the mix, emulated things get more interesting.

Since the bokeh and artifacts in the cinematic mode for video are computational and not photographic, they are stored separately and can be altered after the fact, just like has been the case with portrait mode all along.

This is a big deal in one way, since it could never be conceived of with traditional lenses and cameras. It also, however, one more variable to consider when putting together a large batch of footage for a project. This adds a new layer of creative flexibility, and choices to contend with.

Further, since the long lens stylizations are a byproduct of and influenced by focus settings, that has to be in the mix also. That produced the need for the cinematic mode which you can think of as a slightly stoned robot focus puller. who is also a little bit psychic.

The first robot camera assistant is already in the box when your phone arrives

Let me explain…. A real life focus puller (doing rack focus settings) in real life would function roughly as follows:

A shot is planned that requires a focus pull from one subject to another – this could be a close shot of a face panning to another face, or a close up that refocuses from the foreground to the background, for example. The focus must also factor in any movement of the camera / dolly.

The two desired subject distances are measured (using a tape measure) and the focus settings noted. In complex shots this can be multiple focus settings and a particular speed of the “rack pull” from one to the next.

Often such complex focus / dolly set ups must be rehearsed multi times just for the focus puller – so that his error does not ruin a perfect take when, for example, the actors get their best performances.

So, in the robot world practice is also good – and a plan is almost essential, but the virtual focus puller will go with the flow, and try to anticipate and predict what you want him to focus on in real time as you shoot.

This is pretty incredible and also, much like autocorrect typing, sometimes very successful and sometimes comical in the outcome. What is tricky is how to get the robot puller to know what you are trying to have as a subject if it is not a persons head or face.

Also, if the action is fast or if you are shooting something that has no pre-determined outcome or script, like a political protest or a sporting event, you will get somewhat random results.

This makes the name apt, since cinematic also implies a movie with a plot and a script.

https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/iphone-13-pro/2021/404b23a8-f9c5-466c-b0e6-3d36705b959d/anim/macro-video/large.mp4

Conclusions and a few known limitations and caveats

Human greed is a powerful thing. When given a photographic system that even attempts to approximate a profession system based on prime and zoom lenses and accessories, there’s a tendency to want it all, right now!

Of course, instead, what we get is an amazing extension of the iPhone photo tradition – taken up a bunch of notches at once. The computational enhancements are incredible and will only get better – in many cases without a new phone as they are based on AI and machine learning, which as the name implies, are continually improving while you sleep.

There are specific limitations though that should be mentioned about the iPhone 13 Pro camera system.

Cinematic mode only works (currently) in 1080p. This is a serious limitation, since the whole idea of Pro is 4k and above. There are rumors that this could get a software upgrade during the year but it is not clear if or when that will happen.

Along with the lack of slo-mo at any resolution above 1080p there is a lot of disappointment in this issue. It is the reality of how difficult the computational “assist” really is to achieve that makes this a big step that is still in the future.

It is also the reason why real lenses and traditional DLSR cameras still have an important use and value.

The new system unveiled with the iPhone 13 pro is revolutionary precisely because of the potential for people to create new visual expressions and ways of communicating.

These photographic traditions and the efforts that were made in the design to emulate them are important and valuable. However, the future will benefit from the spontaneous and new ways that people will decide to use this evolving system and the current extensions of our eyes, ears and minds….

Wide (main) cameras:

Lens Sensor Area

iPhone 13 Pro / Max 26mm equiv. F1.5 44mm2 (1/1.65″)

iPhone 12 Pro 26mm equiv. F1.6 23.9mm2 (1/2.55″)

iPhone 12 Pro Max 26mm equiv. F1.6 35.2mm2 (1/1.9″)

Pro 12MP camera system: Telephoto, Wide, and Ultra Wide cameras

  • Telephoto: ƒ/2.8 aperture
  • Wide: ƒ/1.5 aperture
  • Ultra Wide: ƒ/1.8 aperture and 120° field of view
  • 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range
  • Digital zoom up to 15x
  • Night mode portraits enabled by LiDAR Scanner
  • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
  • Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono)
  • Dual optical image stabilization (Telephoto and Wide)
  • Sensor‑shift optical image stabilization (Wide)
  • Six‑element lens (Telephoto and Ultra Wide); seven‑element lens (Wide)
  • True Tone flash with Slow Sync
  • Panorama (up to 63MP)
  • Sapphire crystal lens cover
  • 100% Focus Pixels (Wide)
  • Night mode
  • Deep Fusion
  • Smart HDR 4
  • Photographic Styles
  • Macro photography
  • Apple ProRAW
  • Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
  • Lens correction (Ultra Wide)
  • Advanced red‑eye correction
  • Photo geotagging
  • Auto image stabilization
  • Burst mode
  • Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG

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Apple, Business, iPhone, Mac, OS Software, Tech

Apple Innovation in 2021 and Beyond

Video

Apple had a big year – but how big will first become apparent in 2021…

By now, it is not unexpected for the latest iteration of the iPhone, iPhone 12 in this case, to do well and even best the competition across the board in any given year. While it is nearly an automatic ritual that doubt will be cast, and the demise or at least diminution of the iPhone and Apple are predicted, nearly every year the opposite in the case.

Read More: Apple 32-core M1X chips for Mac Pro are just the tip of the tip of a very important iceberg…

This year was different. There was plenty of doubt – but the surprise announcement of the M series of chips for mac and the even more surprising benchmarks and performance improvements pretty much obliterated the doubters. 

Not only that, but a layer beneath that headline news was a secondary layer of innovation and areas where long planned improvements came to fruition.

The first steps into a massive multi-year system software transition, one that will eventually merge the mobile operating systems of the iPhone, iPad, Apple watch, etc with the mac, moved seemingly ahead of schedule, with the huge improvements in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur.

And all the various services such as Apple TV+ and many other offerings made huge strides as well. 

As a matter of fact, a list of all the upgrades, added features and new services and products would be so long and varied that the transcription is beyond the reach of a simple article such as this one. 

However, that alone is not where some of the biggest changes and most surprising evolutions have occurred. The real “action” so to speak is in the integration and unexpected by-products of the merging and deepening of all the new features and settings. 

Take for example the macs that feature the M1 chip. It is not the chip itself, not even the new operating system that has the most impact on the performance or usability of the machines. 

It is the integrated functionality of the various elements of the chips – Apple M1,  the first ARM-based system on a chip – composed of several different components including the CPU, GPU, unified memory architecture (RAM), Neural Engine, Secure Enclave, SSD controller, image signal processor, encode/decode engines, Thunderbolt controller with USB 4 support, all of which are made more powerful by the continuously upgraded software system.

This – a kind of invisible interactive and synergistic ecosystem – not only has at it’s heart the “whole widget” philosophy legacy of Steve Jobs, but also a new and insanely futuristic definition of “whole” which now includes these proprietary Apple chips (CPU, GPU, NE), plus A.I. / machine learning and system core operating as one continuously evolving and reinforcing “unit”. 

The future is already here, we just don’t see it like fish, maybe, never heard of a thing called water…

This new concept of the constantly increasing potential advancement in efficiency and power is not only the new standard basis for what constitutes computing technology at Apple, but will emerge as the ultimate re-definition of what “power” in computing means at all.

Similar to the internet – where the evolution and development is at stone age levels compared to where it will (and must) eventually reach in decades and even centuries, computing (or “personal” computing as it was dubbed in the last century) is also in very early and very primitive stages of evolution and this next step represents an early beginning, not a destination or accomplishment of a goal. 

Even Apple has stated that the initial transition of a unified operating system shared by mobile and desktop / laptop devices, iOS / macOS, will be years still in development and implementation. 

Meaning, in 2024 we may see the first real life trails and dissemination of a new kind of computing system, and, more importantly, computer assisted communicating, made possible by the complete integration of these hardware, software and A.I. advances. 

Just in time, because the threats of global warming, pandemics, political upheaval and economic disaster need, more than anything, enhanced learning and communication that can be aided, we must fervently hope, by improved digital tools. A better bicycle, so to speak. 

Fortunately, Apple has our back on this. And in 2021 more, much more will be revealed, if 2020 was any hint, of an exciting future not just for technology, but for the creative uses of it for the betterment of humankind. 

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AI, Business, Cutting Edge, Tech

The Exaggerated Confusion around 5G and iPhone 12 is the beginning of a new era for internet access

Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic / Apple

Most articles on 5G since the Apple iPhone 12 launch event on October 13th have been looking in the rearview mirror to predict the future: 5G will “disappoint” due to the slow buildout, technical limitations of the format, and various issues with all the competing systems and carriers, and these arguments are casting doubt on the much touted potential. 

This perspective misses the point on so many levels it’s difficult to know where to begin to unpack the myriad of misunderstandings.

Read More: The Real Meaning of 5G, iPhone 12 Pro and the SpaceX Race to build Satellite Broadband

Much of the technical discussion has been focused on the various flavors of 5G and the associated limitations and advantages of each. The fact that the fastest 5G, which goes by the sub-category moniker millimeter wave, is not instantly available everywhere for the 5G capable iPhones, and that they will not be in the hands of most consumers before next year, has been met with feigned shock and bewilderment.

And further, they highlight the confusion mounting over the various providers and the various flavors: 5G, 5G E, 5G UW or 5G+ as they are designated by “service indicators” on the iPhone 12 itself.  Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and AT&T Inc. each have their own systems they have developed and are building out – looking for a piece of the 5G market, expected to be around $1.15 trillion by 2025.

Read More: Apple iPhone 12 Pro Models are Coming Immediately and There’s More

First and foremost – since Apple and iPhone are the leader of all innovations in the marketplace – not necessarily by the sheer number of handsets sold, but by the focus on increasing technical and aesthetic quality and appealing to the top demographic,  not to mention the majority of early adopters, it is precisely the fact that, until now, the iPhone 5G handset did not yet exist, and for that reason the buildout is not further along. 

The fact that in real-world tests it is already performing at up to 7 times the fastest previously available connections, was coupled inevitably with the caveat; physical locations where these speeds can be accomplished are currently hard to find. 

Due to the technical issues with this ultra-high speed version of 5G, the inability to travel more than very short distances and the lack of ability to penetrate obstacles or walls, the possibility to get these amazing speeds are, at present, more likely to be found in outdoor locations. 

This is, admittedly, an odd conundrum, but you can be sure, with the upcoming massive increase in competition for ISP customers, it is one that will find at least some viable solutions very soon. There are many billions at stake for those that can find ways to improve this issue. 

“Standing in front of a camera store in South of Market, I got 5G speeds reaching 2,160 megabits a second, which was 2,900 percent faster than 4G. Even where it was a tad slower — behind the Safeway parking lot in the Marina district — the 5G iPhone drew speeds of 668 megabits a second, which was 1,052 percent faster than 4G.”

 – Brian X. Chen for the New York Times

The carriers have not had the market to build for and needed to be pushed by a huge influx of iPhone 12 owners. Then, meaning now, they will begin to compete with one another for that extremely lucrative group of users. And that rising competitive battle is not the only one looming on the horizon. 

Regardless of the ultimate time frame of the build-out, there is an obvious and very meaningful conclusion that we can reach here: 1 year from now things will look very different in the options available for those who want to work and play with the help of a faster internet connection (meaning, obviously, everybody).

RankCountryDownload Speed (Mbps)Upload Speed (Mbps)# Download Tests# Upload TestsNo. IPs
1Liechtenstein199.2839.78969810
2Hong Kong112.3291.4047825589933
3Denmark107.7866.022149522217912
4Switzerland93.6041.4465614743501907
5Netherlands93.4827.5889478939709044
6Sweden91.3686.0420812238752071
7Iceland80.1924.3031443555
8Finland79.4018.39948710395526
9Andorra76.6756.2015917633
10Bermuda74.2119.2758963146
11San Marino61.899.76433
12Norway58.9549.7313841142982083
13United States54.9910.4519723352126398364898
SOURCE / fastmetrics

As can be seen from the chart above (source: fastmetrics) in early 2020 the US ranked 13th in desktop download speed while mobile speeds ranked even worse coming in at #33 (various sources have US at #10 for fixed broadband). Liechtenstein is nearly 4x faster, on average, than the US. Also note that the highest average is one-tenth to one-twentieth of the eventual “ideal conditions” speeds of 5G.

The future of connectivity can only get better and faster from here. And with the power of Apple, the iPhone 12 and that huge affluent user base the improvements will begin soon and quickly accelerate to a fever-pitch by next year’s iPhone launch. (Will they call it the iPhone 13?)..

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Apple, iPhone, Tech

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Models are Coming Immediately and There’s More

Video
https://www.apple.com/content/dam/newsroom/videos/iphone-12-pro-demo-v3/Apple_iPhone12Pro-demo-cc-us-_1280x720h.mp4
Film shot in HDR video with Dolby Vision on iPhone 12 Pro, by cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki – Video / Apple

Humans never seem to learn – but starting today our Phones do: Big-time

Seems like every year, and sometimes twice a year, we all go through the same song and dance. Apple -oriented publications and media tout all the “leaks” and how they predict that Apple will have a “lackluster” announcement based on those leaks. 

Read More: Apple debuts ‘Apple One’ – offers mega Bundling service that will compete against the technological hegemony

Then reality hits and the leaks, while technically more or less correct, turn out to be meaningless or worse. The idea of “only” incremental improvements is blown away by an expanding and deepening ecosystem, so dominant and advanced, in and of itself, that the real world goes Gaga and Apple has yet another world-changing hit on its hands. 

The iPhone 12, the HomePod mini and even the MagSafe system are each going to smash expectations and, ultimately, change the world we live in. 

The innovative new MagSafe system enables seamless, high-powered wireless charging and easy-to-attach accessories.
Photo / Apple

That’s a Strong Statement, Dude, what R you? A Fanboy?

Well, if we were looking at what’s been going on, particularly during the last several years, you would have noticed that the “incremental” improvements that so much of the media has been whining about are actually all part of a huge shift into areas, heretofore unimaginable, and all powered by an ecosystem that is unrivaled and unparalleled in any industry. 

Apple has developed and advanced all its products and innovations using Hardware design, Software, machine learning and AI, as well as hardware and silicon development; and that has started the process of replacing and becoming the sequel to Moore’s Law – on a whole new level. 

https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/iphone-12-pro/2020/e70ffbd8-50f1-40f3-ac36-0f03a15ac314/films/product/iphone-12-pro-product-tpl-us-2020_16x9.m3u8
iphone 12 Pro video – Apple

Computational Photography is Today’s biggest buzzword (not counting 5G)

5G and the 5G roll-out are the real secret to why all the nay-sayers are wrong. Apple does not need to adapt to the issues and problems of moving technology forward. Technology will move forward and adapt to Apple. That is the true legacy of Steve Jobs, and hallelujah!

Although there were many photography related bombshells in the presentation today – such as the 5x optical zoom rage / capability (iPhone 12 Pro Max) and the more powerful, larger sensors on the iPhone 12 Pro, it’s the payoff on the machine learning, and software based enhancements to the visual results and the shooting experience that is mind-bogglingly advanced and has only just begun. 

Apple does not need to adapt to the issues and problems of moving technology forward. Technology will move forward and adapt to Apple. That is the true legacy of Steve Jobs, and hallelujah!

– D.L.

Without going into a list of the improvements and features related to Computation Photography upgrades (we will cover that in a series of articles and videos in the coming days, weeks and months) the ways that both the experience and results of shooting with an iPhone are improving is vast. 

iPhone 12 Pro Max

  • Screen: 6.7-inch Retina display
  • Resolution: 2778 x 1284 at 458 ppi (pixel per inch)
  • Processor: Apple A14 Bionic
  • Rear camera: 12-megapixel wide camera with f/1.6 aperture + 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with f/2.4 aperture (120-degrees field of view and Sensor-shift optical image stabilization) + 12-megapixel telephoto camera with f/2.2 aperture +LiDAR scanner for depth mapping
  • Optical zoom: 2.5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out (5x optical zoom range)
  • Front camera: 12-megapixel with f/2.2
  • Internal storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB
  • In the box: No earpods and charging brick; Lightning to USB-C cable included
  • Software: iOS 14
  • Starting price: $1099

The iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro will be available in the US from October 23. The iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max will be available in the US from November 13.

And the sub-head should be: “wow” because the iPhone 12, just as was the case with the iPhone 11, will be further refining and improving these capabilities 24/7 while we sleep. The importance of this can not be overestimated. Your iPhone will take better photos and perform better with, not only, “incremental” software improvements that you will download throughout the year, but also with “invisible” upgrades that will happen 24/7 slowly but surely as a result of AI and machine learning, well, learning. 

I believe that this incredible fact is actually downplayed by Apple because they are worried that the general public might actually fear the power, based on some kind of Terminator-like dystopian scenario, thinking that the iPhone is a potentially dangerous pseudo-living being. The power is real. The fear is unfounded. Enjoy the upgraded experiences and performance now, and watch if improve day by day, week by week and move us all into a more beautiful future, at least for photos and screens and, oh yes, SPEED.

Deep Fusion uses advanced machine learning to do pixel-by-pixel processing of photos captured with iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, maintaining sharpness and clarity for unprecedented detail and texture in every part of the photo – Photo / Apple
https://www.apple.com/content/dam/newsroom/videos/iphone-12-gaming-demo/Gaming%20demo_League%20of%20Legends_v4_ProRes-cc-us-_1280x720h.mp4
The Apple-designed A14 Bionic delivers unparalleled performance and power efficiency, while delivering great battery life – Video / Apple

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