| From: Zen Dollar Round | 10/12/2021 9:20:19 AM | | | | | | iPad Mini review: Small, but mighty
Apple's redesigned iPad Mini is tiny but powerful
The question always arises when a new iPad hits the market - even though the tablet computers have been around for more than 10 years now: What’s the point?
People always have to ask what would you use an iPad for when you already have a phone and a computer that do almost all an iPad can do.
It’s a daft question, of course - the iPad is better at some things, worse at others - and whether you should buy one depends on what you want to do.
The Mini is a perfect case in point - to some its diminutive screen size compared to a regular iPad or computer will make it less useful. For others, portability brings many advantages.
The portability is obviously the Mini’s biggest selling point - it’s small and light, but powerful and features 5G connectivity for fast data when out in the wild.
And it can do everything a bigger iPad can do.
In fact, this newly-redesigned Mini shares more in common with the mid-range iPad Air than it does with the base model iPad. That goes for it’s looks, its compatibility with the second generation Apple Pencil, and, of course, the all-screen front with no home button.
There’s no FaceID, but unlocking is simple - the TouchID sensor has, like the Air, been built into the sleep/wake button on top of the device.
Essentially the new Mini fills the gap in sizes between the largest iPhone and the regular iPad.
The screen is 8.3in diagonally. And it has absolutely nailed the sweet spot for various activities.
It is the perfect size for reading, watching video, and comes into its own as an ultra-portable games console, especially as Apple’s Arcade gaming subscription continues to grow.
It’s also very light - you can hold this thing all day and not feel it.
It’s not exactly a writer’s dream machine - Apple isn’t even making a dedicated keyboard case, as it does for all other iPads. It's good for dashing off emails and texts, but it’s a little cramped when it comes to more long-form efforts- with the touch keyboard open there’s not a lot of room left.
Pairing with an external bluetooth keyboard might just fix that, though.
Performance is blazing - the Mini features the same chip you find in the new iPhone 13 variants, and we already know how fst and power-efficient that is.
So for creating, while the screen size might limit things a bit - especially for things like video editing - the power to do that is certainly all there.
The Mini borrow’s another feature from its big brother - wired connection to external devices is done via USB-C rather than lightning, so there’s much more compatibility. It’s a lot easier to connect to things like cameras for fast data transfer.
This also brings support for connecting to an external display, although this feature remains frustratingly limited in iPadOS.
I found the screen size to be perfect for one creative pursuit - music making with Apple’s own GarageBand app is a delight, especially when it comes to playing the on-screen touch instruments.
Compatibility with the Apple Pencil also makes this a very good on-the-go notepad and drawing canvas.
And the new ultra-wide angle front camera brings a feature from the iPad’s Pro models - Centre Stage. This keeps you in fame while moving around your room when making video calls and it makes for a much more natural interaction.
Whether you want this iPad will depend on what you want to do with it. It’s certainly a spectacularly designed and well-made product - I’m pretty sure it’s one of those that if you love it, you really love it. But you’ll only really know when you have one in your hand.
Link: manchestereveningnews.co.uk |
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| From: Zen Dollar Round | 10/12/2021 12:43:54 PM | | | | | | Apple iPhone Wait Times Are at Multiyear Highs. What It Means for Sales.
If you want to buy the new iPhone, you’re going to have to wait. That usually would be a good sign for Apple stock, but the picture is a bit more complicated this year.
Wait times for the iPhone 13 family of devices remain extended across the board, analysts at Credit Suisse said Friday. Customers who want the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max have to wait more than four weeks, the longest in at least four years, the team at the Swiss bank said.
For the iPhone 13, the wait time is also long at two to four weeks, the analysts noted, with wait times remaining similar or even growing modestly longer between Sept. 4 and Sept. 8.
The analysts’ methodology for calculating waiting periods involved measuring shipping lead times for iPhones purchased directly from Apple (ticker: AAPL) online in major markets around the world. They exclude demand through Apple’s physical stores as well as distribution through carriers and other retail outlets.
Wait times have in the past been viewed as an indicator of demand for devices, which would suggest the iPhone 13 is headed for blowout sales. That would be good for Apple investors, because, as Barron’s reporter Max A. Cherney wrote last month, “Apple stock practically lives and dies on the company’s iPhone sales every year.”
But this year, in a world gripped by supply-chain issues, wait times for some models being at multiyear records might not be the clear green flag it would have been in the past.
“We’d highlight that while wait times are a rough proxy for initial demand, the metric is only one of many variables impacting iPhone sell-through; supply availability is a key unknown, particularly this year,” the analysts said.
They added that it was encouraging to see wait times for the more expensive higher-end models such as the Pro and Pro Max remaining most extended, but that supply likely also plays a critical role in longer waits. This makes it even more difficult to analyze underlying demand for the iPhone 13 family.
Apple has not responded to a request for comment.
Credit Suisse has a price target of $150 on Apple stock, which was trading hands around $143 Tuesday. The company’s shares fell 0.6% when trading began this week.
More at (subscription req'd): barrons.com |
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| From: Zen Dollar Round | 10/12/2021 12:49:16 PM | | | | | | Apple touts next week’s ‘Unleashed’ special event with AR easter egg
Apple has officially announced its October event and along with sharing the date, the company has continued its tradition of hiding a fun easter egg for iPhone and iPad users. After doing a slick AR experience for the iPhone 13 event in September, Apple’s done another one ahead of its October 18 event.
Starting last year, Apple began including little AR easter eggs for each event announcement. We got one for the Apple Watch Series 6 and iPad event, iPhone 12 launch, the M1 Mac event, and the 2021 Spring Loaded and September iPhone 13 event.
Now Apple has included another fun easter egg for the October 18 “Unleashed” event where we’re expecting the new MacBook Pro machines to be unveiled.
’If you head to Apple’s Events page on your iPhone or iPad, tap on the event logo/Apple logo at the top to launch the AR experience.
This event’s Easter egg features a time warp-style design. Once you see the AR Apple logo appear (may take some time to load), you’ll see the blue light rays with the Apple logo and 10.18 date appearing in a cycle. You can also tap the button that appears at the bottom to get a reminder for the event. |
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| To: greg s who wrote (210966) | 10/12/2021 1:03:12 PM | | From: Zen Dollar Round | | | | I also ordered a new iPhone 13 Pro last week from AT&T that is expected to arrive by the end of this week, but I'll believe it once it's on my doorstep.
I think the initial worry that iPhones were not selling well and only a few people showing up at Apple Stores were just media-created FUD.
While the chip shortage undoubtedly is a factor, I think it's a small one and I expect Q4 earnings to be quite good indeed for Apple and AAPL. |
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| To: greg s who wrote (210966) | 10/12/2021 1:09:49 PM | | From: NAG1 | | | | greg,
An anecdote. My wife needed a new iPad.
I ordered the new iPad (standard model) for her on Saturday. Got a delivery date of November 16-23. Yesterday, there was the report on ped30 about wait times on the phones getting longer(as long as it isn't related to the supply chain). At least some Apple watches with delivery dates already in November. Today, Mac sales up over 10% per this article on ped30(and it may not include iPads)
ped30.com
Sounds like Apple will have a good holiday season. May be time to look at some Apple options just to play around a little bit? |
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| To: Zen Dollar Round who wrote (210967) | 10/12/2021 2:07:51 PM | | From: oldbeachlvr | | | | | As I posted last week, the iphone 13 I ordered from ATT shipped one day after order, a day or two earlier than promised. My wife's iphone 13 pro max had a first shipping date 10 days after order with a 7 day shipping window. In that window now without any updates yet. |
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| From: Moonray | 10/12/2021 3:36:06 PM | | | | | | I ordered my iPhone 13 mini as a pre-sale buy after the
phone 13 announcement on September 14. It arrived
about a week later on September 24, the same day that
it first became available in stores.
o~~~ O |
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| To: Stock Puppy who wrote (210971) | 10/13/2021 10:04:22 AM | | From: NAG1 | | | | sp,
9to5mac.com
Report: Apple cuts iPhone 13 production by 10 million units, due to ongoing chip shortages
This is an interesting story at this particular point in time. This is a piece from ped30 on the topic
ped30.com
The chart in the ped30 piece puts the difference between chip ordering and delivery at over 20 weeks. That would make it a 5 month difference. You wouldn't expect a chip shortage, based on that graph, causing a cutback in production in the present quarter being announced just now. Either Apple knew about this but were hoping for better supply or you would expect this shortage to hit in the January quarter. Or the cutback is related to some other part shortage possibly related to China's power issues. Or the report is not accurate or is only partly accurate. Either way, it probably won't effect demand very much but may spread some of the demand to the January quarter. And it may be a buying opportunity for Apple shares. I will be sitting pat for right now since I have too much Apple in my portfolio but won't rule out looking at some options for the January quarter. |
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