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- iPhone 2020: 1 Unexpected Thing Apple Didn’t Mention At The Keynote - Forbes
- Apple prepares safe iPhone launch season with Express Pickup locations and store reopenings - 9to5Mac
- Google Pixel 5's wimpy camera is driving me to the iPhone 12 - CNET
| iPhone 2020: 1 Unexpected Thing Apple Didn’t Mention At The Keynote - Forbes Posted: 18 Oct 2020 07:00 AM PDT  iPhone 12 with iPhone 12 mini on top There's been a major overhaul of iPhones this year. Not just in terms of new design, improved features and the introduction of 5G. As you'll have heard, the iPhone 12 no longer has earbuds or a charging plug in the box. Well, we know that applies to all four iPhone 12 models, but what about the other phones still on sale? The removal of earbuds and charger makes the packaging significantly smaller, and allows Apple to ship up to 70% more product on a shipping pallet, the company claims. It's part of Apple's determination to reduce electronic waste. That must be a good thing. After all, we all have USB chargers lying around our homes, don't we? The box still includes a charging cable – in fact it's a USB-C to Lightning cable, which is an upgrade from the USB-A to Lightning cable included with every iPhone from the iPhone 5 up to the iPhone 11 inclusive. But there was one detail which Apple neglected to mention at its keynote last week: this change isn't restricted just to the new iPhones. If you bought an iPhone 11, iPhone Xr or iPhone SE last week, you'd have had a charging plug, cable and earbuds in the box.  The noticeably smaller packaging on the iPhone 12. If that's what you're buying now, you'll just get the USB-C to Lightning cable found with the latest phones. Is this the right thing to do, Apple? After all, of all the iPhones ever sold, only two, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have ever had a USB-C charging plug supplied. So, even if you bought a phone every single year but last year's was the iPhone 11, you may well not have the right plug for the cable that's now in the box. In one way, it definitely makes good sense. If Apple is saying that its focus on reducing electronic waste leverages the fact that we all have these chargers, then why should it make any difference whether the new iPhone we're buying today is the 11 or 12? And any iPhone charging plug and Lightning cable will work with the iPhones on sale today. Apple has dropped the price of its USB-C charging plug now, too, so that's something. Instead, I'd suggest we need to think of it as an extra cable in the box, and, by the way, it's a useful one, not least because you can use it to charge your iPhone directly from a Mac laptop, say. And then there's the earbuds. I can't tell you how happy I am not to have these. I almost never take them out of the box – for any smartphone, not just Apple's. They can be useful in a pinch, if I've mislaid my wireless headphones, but I seldom use them. I suspect that's the case for more people than just me – the white EarPods cables that used to be so ubiquitous are not so often seen, it seems to me, but AirPods are way more commonplace. In the end, I believe Apple has done the right thing removing the plug and EarPods from the box. And one thing's for sure, however much other brands say that this omission is an outrage, you can bet many of them will follow suit in the months to come. Follow me on Instagram by clicking here: davidphelantech and Twitter: @davidphelan2009 |
| Posted: 18 Oct 2020 06:15 AM PDT Express Pickup at Apple Aventura (Photo courtesy of @jgrano305) Apple is significantly expanding its new Express Storefront pickup service to help safely serve customers in regions where full in-store service cannot resume due to COVID-19 conditions. The new accommodations arrive as Apple prepares to enter its busiest product launch season of the year. The iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 mini, new iPad Air, MagSafe accessories, and HomePod mini will all be available by mid-November.
As of October 18, more than 90 percent of Apple's 271 US stores have reopened. All but 14 locations outside of the US have resumed service in some capacity. After initially closing, reopening, and closing many stores again due to the pandemic, Apple has gradually opened most locations a second time, often by appointment only. Many customers unaware of the reopenings have been surprised to find that iPhone 12 orders can be picked up at their local stores once again. Here's what the journey looks like so far:  At least 23 Apple Stores in 8 US states, 3 in France, 2 in the UK, and 1 in Canada have adopted Apple Express Storefront layouts ahead of the October 23 iPhone launch. 13 of these stores are reopening between October 18 and 20 in US states that have struggled with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. The Express format helps Apple maintain safety without abandoning customers or encouraging extra travel to the next nearest open store. The Apple Express Storefront design was piloted in September in Burlingame, California. Stores with the Express format include a temporary wall at their entrance or a kiosk outside, product display shelving, and sales counters with plexiglass shields. Service is limited to pickup of online orders and Genius Support by appointment. At a subset of Express Storefronts, customers may be allowed inside the store with a shopping appointment. Pickup methods for each store location are described in the Apple Store app.  Apple Stores with Express StorefrontsAlabama
Delaware
Florida
Kentucky
Nebraska
North Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
France
United Kingdom
Canada
 If you'd like to try the latest iPhones for yourself, scheduling an appointment to Shop with a Specialist is still the best way to guarantee one-on-one service at your local Apple Store and less time waiting in line. Keep in mind that a shopping appointment does not reserve a product to purchase or Genius Support. In many cases, Express Delivery from the Apple Store online will be the easiest way to receive an order. Follow along on Twitter for daily Apple Store news. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.  |
| Google Pixel 5's wimpy camera is driving me to the iPhone 12 - CNET Posted: 18 Oct 2020 05:00 AM PDT  Google's Pixel 5 smartphone has ultrawide and wide-angle cameras, but no telephoto for more distant subjects. Stephen Shankland/CNETFor years, I've used Google Pixels and Apple iPhones for my daily smartphone photography needs. For most shots, I've relied on Pixels because of Google's pioneering computational photography software, which wrings superior image quality out of limited hardware. My current iPhone, an XS Max, has been relegated to occasions when I've needed a telephoto lens. Two recent smartphone launches -- of Google's Pixel 5 and Apple's iPhone 12 lines -- have changed my mind. The midrange camera hardware on the Pixel 5, and the high-end array of cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, along with the gadget's large image sensor and new software options, are pushing me to the Apple camp. It wasn't supposed to be this way. I've been impressed by Google's ability to convert cutting-edge image processing research into superior smartphone photos. Google demonstrated how profoundly computers can modernize cameras, as it surpassed smartphone rivals and traditional-camera makers. Google's decision to build a midrange phone with just two cameras feels like an abandonment. There's just no way to make up for the multiple cameras that rivals like Samsung, Huawei and Apple employ. Sure, rivals haven't necessarily matched all of Google's camera software, but Google isn't close to their hardware. Telephoto vs. ultrawide camerasIn 2019, Google's Pixel 4 took a step up by adding a second rear-facing camera, a telephoto option for distant subjects. That was the same year Apple added a third camera to its higher-end iPhone 11 Pro models, an ultrawide camera that sat alongside its main and telephoto cameras. The Pixel 5 photo at 2X telephoto, shot here with Google's computational raw format, is fine viewed small but has only a 3 megapixel resolution. At right, the 12 megapixel image from a 2-year-old iPhone XS Max, shot as an HDR raw photo with Adobe's Lightroom app, offers more detail and editing flexibility. Clicking to enlarge reveals the superior iPhone detail, though it's scaled down to match the Pixel 5 photo. Stephen Shankland/CNETGoogle tried to match Apple's prowess this year by replacing the telephoto camera with an ultrawide camera in the Pixel 5. But Apple made major camera improvements with its iPhone 12 Pro, including a bigger image sensor, a longer-reach telephoto lens, improved image stabilization to counteract shaky hands, Dolby Vision HDR video at 60 frames per second and Apple's more flexible ProRaw format. It's clear Apple is sinking enormous resources into better photography. Google may have made the right call for the broad market. I suspect ultrawide cameras are better for mainstream smartphone customers than telephotos. Ultrawide cameras for group shots, indoor scenes and video are arguably more useful than telephoto cameras for portraits and mountains. But I want both. I enjoy the different perspectives. Indeed, for a few years I usually carried only telephoto and ultrawide lenses for my DSLR. In response to my concerns, Google says it's improved the Super Res Zoom technique for digital zooming on the Pixel 5 with better computational photography and AI techniques that now can magnify up to a factor of 7X. The idea was "We studied carefully to determine what's really important to folks, and then we focused on that -- and shaved off literally hundreds of dollars in the process," said camera product manager Isaac Reynolds. Having a telephoto camera would have helped image quality, but Google's priority this year "was to produce a phone that compared well to the top end but at a much lower price -- and we did that." I'm not so convinced. When shooting even at 2X telephoto zoom, my 2-year-old iPhone XS Max and my 1-year-old Pixel 4 both offer far superior imagery compared with the Pixel 5. Zooming in at 2X, the Pixel 5's Super Res Zoom technology generates a 12 megapixel image, but it looks artificial up close, as in this cropped view. Stephen Shankland/CNETWhat I do like so far about the Pixel 5 camerasI want to be clear: Google's new phone has its merits, and I've experienced some of those strengths while testing the Pixel 5 cameras over the past few days. Here are a handful:
Google also pointed to other Pixel 5 perks, including a portrait light ability to control the apparent light source brightening a subject's face; portrait shots that work in Night Sight mode; 4K video that now works at a fast 60 frames per second, more advanced high dynamic range processing called HDR+ that's now boosted by exposure bracketing for better shadow details like a backlit face, and better video stabilization. Here's the rub, though: As Google slips in hardware, rivals are improving their software. Google's rivals in computational photography are catching upApple didn't comment on its photography plans for this story, but its actions speak volumes.  The Pixel 5 offers a useful if not unique portrait mode that blurs the background for smooth "bokeh." Stephen Shankland/CNETLast year, Apple matched most of what was best about Google's HDR+ for challenging scenes with bright and dark elements. This year's Pixel 5 boosts HDR+ with bracketing technology into the multishot blending technique. Apple's Smart HDR alternative, however, is now in its third generation of refinement. Apple is improving the iPhone's nighttime photos, too. Photo enthusiasts like me prefer unprocessed, raw photo formats so we can fine-tune color balance, exposure, sharpening and noise reduction. That's great for when the camera doesn't make the right choices when "baking" raw image data into a more convenient but limited JPEG image. Google's computational raw blended HDR processing with raw's flexibility, but now Apple plans to release its answer, ProRaw, in an update coming soon to iPhone Pro models. Few people use Pixel phones, and that weighs on Google too. Imaging software powerhouse Adobe calibrates its Lightroom photo software to correct lens problems and adapt its HDR tool for some cameras and lenses. No surprise that Pixel phones aren't on that list. "We tend to provide support based on the popularity of the devices with our customers," Adobe said in a statement. In contrast, Adobe is "partnering closely with Apple" to tap into ProRaw abilities. And a Google computational photography guru, Marc Levoy, has left Google and is now at Adobe, where he's building photo technology into Adobe's camera app. Selling a midrange smartphone like a Pixel 5 or Pixel 4a 5G might well make sense when the COVID-19 pandemic has cost millions of jobs and made a $1,099 iPhone Pro Max unaffordable. But for people like me with a photography budget and appreciation for Google's computational photography smarts, it's tragic that Google has lost its lead. |
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