Category: iPhone

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Apple iPhone

iPhone 12 Review

I didn’t get an iPhone 12.

Instead I decided to save a few bucks and went with an iPhone 11 instead. In glorious purple!

What do I think about it? Glad you asked.

It’s fast! I’ve been using an iPhone 7 as my daily driver so this phone feels amazing.

The display is absolutely beautiful. Seeing everything edge to edge is sweet. I really love how Stream looks on it.

Face ID is really nice. It’s not like Touch ID was bad but this is definitely faster, unless you’re wearing a mask. That’s ok. I really like it.

I really struggled trying to figure out what to buy. I considered the iPhone SE (second gen), iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, and iPhone 12.

The second gen iPhone SE was tempting because of the price. It’s using the iPhone 7/8 form factor with updated guts and the starting price is $399. That’s really hard to beat.

The comparison between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 was tough. I love the design of the 12. It takes me back to my favorite iPhone design, the iPhone 4. The square edges, that sandwich look, is beautiful to by eyes. The iPhone 11 is also beautifully designed and I liked the color selection better than the 12 color selection. Both phones are larger and much faster than my iPhone 7.

The iPhone Mini really messed with my head. I was leaning toward this phone for most of the time I was considering what to buy. Great design, edge to edge display, fast, good camera, and it’s much smaller in the hand. I was considering the Product Red model but the blue on the Mini is fantastic.

In the end the lower priced iPhone 11 in purple won out.

I also put it in a case day one. While I love the feel of the naked device I’ve broken two screens over the years and I’ve only had four iPhones over that period of time. I cracked the screen on my beloved iPhone 4 and the same with my iPhone 7. Believe it or not the toughest phone I’ve ever owned was my green iPhone 5c. That thing hit the ground a few times and never cracked.

I’m a fan of Unicorn Beetle cases so I picked up a MetallicPurple Unicorn Beetle Pro Series Case to protect it. I love it.

Do I regret getting an iPhone 11 instead of an iPhone 12? Not one bit. It’s a marvelous piece of hardware.

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Apple iOS iPad iPhone

Xcode for iPad?

[MacRumors](https://www.macrumors.com/2020/04/21/rumor-mobile-version-of-xcode-for-ipad/): _‘because it “opens the door for ‘Pro’ applications to come to ‌iPad‌.”’_

Red sock.I picked that bit of a sentence from the article because it’s complete B.S. If folks want to bring Pro apps to the iPad they have the means to do it today on their Mac. Having Xcode on an iPad won’t magically make that any better. The Mac is the perfect tool for building Professional Mac and iOS apps.

Xcode on iPad would be fine. I can’t personally see using an iPad as my primary development machine. Mainly because I like using a bigger display for development. My 15in MacBook Pro display is about as small as I’d like to use.

If I could set the iPad on a stand of some sort, hook it up to my full size keyboard, mouse, and 24in display? That is something that may work.

We’re getting closer to that day, we’re just not quite there.

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Apple iOS iPhone

Not all nerds carry the latest iPhone

Do all Apple related podcasters believe every nerd carries around the latest greatest iPhone?

I’m a professional iOS software developer. Have been since 2009. Prior to that I made my living writing Windows and Linux based video viewing workstations. Prior to that I worked on a an extremely popular Windows desktop drawing and diagramming software. I’m approaching 30-years as a pro.

I carry an iPhone 7.

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Apple iPhone

Consider iPhone 7

I’ve been meaning to write about this for quite a while. When Apple shipped the amazing iPhone X Apple enthusiasts couldn’t wait to have them. Those enthusiasts are the kinds of folks some would refer to as fanboys. I think they just love to have the latest greatest device they can get their hands on. Maybe that does make you a fanboy? I don’t know. It does mean these folks either have a lot of disposable income or, like a meth addict, are willing to do anything to get the latest device.

I love Apple products but don’t feel the need to purchase the latest greatest device on the market. As Apple enthusiasts go I’m a failure in that regard. I own a 2015 MacBook Pro, an iPhone 7, an iPad Mini (first generation), and an Apple Watch (first generation.) On the Ticci Scale I’d rate an Inferior, or worse. That brings me to the purpose of this post.

If you’ve always wanted an iPhone but the prices seem ridiculously high to you consider getting an older model. Yes, an older model. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 are wonderful devices. I’m still using my iPhone 7 everyday and I don’t see upgrading for quite a while. Apple focused on performance and stability with the release of iOS 12 and it shows. The OS is really fast and fluid, even on older devices. I purchased an iPhone 5s for testing purposes and it performs really well on iOS 12. The OS is the important part of the equation and iOS 12 is an exceptional OS.

If I were to purchase a new iPhone today I’d pickup an iPhone Xr. The starting price is not as offensive as the price of the Xs, I prefer the aluminum body over glass, and I like being able to choose a color. Yellow sounds nice.

Bottom Line

If you want a new iPhone but don’t want to spend a lot of money consider purchasing an iPhone 7 or iPhone 8. The pricing is pretty good and you’ll have a great phone for the next two to four years.

MODEL PRICE
iPhone 7 $449
iPhone 8 $599
iPhone Xr $749
iPhone Xs $999
Note

As I’m writing this Apple is offering a great deal on the iPhone Xr if you trade in your existing phone. Of course that comes with an *. If you get the full trade in value on your existing phone you can get the iPhone Xr for $449. That’s a wonderful deal.

As for me the best value I could get for my iPhone 7 is $250. That drops the price of an Xr to $500 for me. Not bad at all.

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iPhone

2017 iPhone Homescreen

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App Store iPhone

iMore – Best paid iPhone Apps

iMore: “I decided to include apps that you must pay for up front or apps that might be free to download, but a subscription is needed or their functionality is greatly enhanced by making an in-app purchase or by buying the paid version. I also eliminated iOS apps that might be totally awesome, but are better suited to iPad”

I use a few on the list and I’d like to add a few more.

The apps on the list I use:

  • 1Password – This app is a life saver, and it’s cross platform; Mac/iOS, Windows, and Android.
  • Fantastical – Great visual style and it uses natural language to create events. Also available for Mac, iPad and Watch
  • Deliveries – It does one thing and does it well; tracks your deliveries. Also available for Mac.

Here are some I’d like to add:

  • Twitterrific – I’ve been using this for years. It’s a beautifully designed Twitter client for iOS.
  • Evernote – I call this my digital brain. I have all kinds of stuff stored in Evernote. I like their iOS App and it’s also available for Mac, Android, and Windows. The Web Clipper is extremely useful.
  • Reeder – My favorite RSS Reader. Also available for Mac.
Categories
iPhone Life

Twitter Addiction?

I’d like to pick up a new iPhone, 7 Plus or 6s Plus. I’m still using my iPhone 5C. The screen is fine and the green plastic shell has some minor wear and tear on it but it is getting a little long in the tooth.

While Kim and I were driving around last night, running errands, she asked me what I thought was a strange question. She asked “If you could have a brand new iPhone under the condition you couldn’t have Twitter on it, would you take it?”

Interesting question, isn’t it? If you’re addicted to the social network, as I am, it’s a toughie to answer right away. At first I said “These phones aren’t really phones. They’re computers with a phone app. If I can’t install apps, it not worth having a new phone.”

Have a Cup-o-JoeMy wife laughed at me and said “So you’d rather not have a brand new phone, if you can’t have Twitter.”

Yeah.

I thought about it a bit more and came to the conclusion I could live without Twitter on my phone, especially if it meant having a nice shiny new device. I could still use Twitter from my computer (now, if I could get an update to Twitterrific for the Mac that would be grand.)

I’ve only owned two iPhones; an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 5C. Before that I had Palm Centro, which was a great smartphone, and I carried an iPod Touch around. This worked quite well for me. I didn’t have a data plan for the Centro, just text and voice. I used my iPod Touch for everything else.

Categories
Apple Design Development iOS iPad iPhone

iOS 7 Lowers the Bar

iOS 7

A gift for you!If you’re an iPhone or iPad user Apple had a shiny new gift for you this week; iOS 7. I know, I know, it’s a bit of a jolt. I won’t lie. I hated it for a few days, but it’s beginning to grow on me. I’ve heard this time and again “Give it a few days.” I’ve given it a few days and it still seems a bit stark, but overall I’m happy with it. My trusty iPhone 4 seems much faster than it did with iOS 6. Bonus.

Benefit to Developers

I’ve written a few iOS apps over the last few years. Some have been lovingly designed by professional designers, others, like our own RxCalc were kept intentionally simple. Why? Truth be told Jay and I don’t possess the ability to make beautiful imagery for our app, so the design has to be simple. We developed our app using plain old UIKit, it works really well, is fast, and the binary is tiny.

With iOS 7 the bar has been lowered. A generic looking application looked fresh when iOS hit the streets. There were developers that created their own style and look, and, in turn, third party developers began to define the look of the OS, not Apple. Think about developers like Iconfactory, Tapbots, and Path. They all introduced applications that took the look and feel of applications way beyond standard UIKit, and that’s great. They stood on the shoulders of giants and moved the bar higher so the rest of the app ecosystem had something to reach for.

Third party developers created Pull to Refresh, the Hamburger and the Basement, and alternatives to UITabBar. All were very good innovations and gave us beautiful, very functional, applications. But there is a downside.

If you go against the Apple playbook, which isn’t a bad thing, you may end up creating something that doesn’t feel at home on a future release of an OS. Since iOS 7 shipped I’ve seen numerous folks comment about how outdated forward thinking and innovative applications like Tweetbot look.

I’m sure we’ll see an update for Tweetbot soon, but the point is, if your app has a completely custom UI it may take a lot of time and effort to make it look right in iOS 7.

Back to RxCalc and our choice to use UIKit, without custom design elements. Here’s how RxCalc looks on iOS 6 and prior, and it looks this what on iOS 7 before being recompiled:

RxCalc, UIKit for iOS 6 and older.

It’s not flashy, but it looks similar to Apple’s own Settings app, or Mail, on iOS 6.

Making an app new again

If you created a simple UIKit application your road to iOS 7 is simple. Most of the hard work has been done. You can recompile and your application looks new again.

Here’s what RxCalc looks likes when it’s recompiled with the iOS 7 SDK. No additional work, just a simple rebuild.

RxCalc, UIKit for iOS 6 and older.

Can it be spruced up a bet? Sure it can, but I can put this in the store today and it will look like it belongs.

That’s why I tweeted this a few days back:

It is super easy to get a fresh UI if you stuck to generic UIKit.

Reset

The bar has been reset, time for a new generation of user interface innovation.

Thanks, Apple.

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Apple Core Labs Business Indie iOS iPad iPhone

Diving into the deep end

Anyone that knows me, knows I love movies. I love to watch them, talk about them, I even quote movies. What in the world do the movies have to do with this post? I’m glad you asked.

In the movie The Sandlot there’s a young man in love with the beautiful older woman. His name is Michael “Squints” Palledorous, her name is Wendy Peppercorn. To make a long story short, one day while swimming with his buddies at the local public pool, Squints, reaches the point where he can no longer stand watching Wendy, a lifeguard, from afar. He decides to take a drastic approach to get Wendy to notice her. He jumps in the deep end of the pool, sinks to the bottom, and waits for Wendy to rescue him. She does.

“Michael Squints Palledorous walked a little taller that day. And we had to tip our hats to him. He was lucky she hadn’t beat the *crap* out of him. We wouldn’t have blamed her. What he’d done was sneaky, rotten, and low… and cool. Not another one among us would have ever in a million years even for a million dollars have the guts to put the move on the lifeguard. He did. He had kissed a woman. And he had kissed her long and good. We got banned from the pool forever that day. But every time we walked by after that, the lifeguard looked down from her tower, right over at Squints, and smiled.”

Squints and Wendy go on to marry and live happily ever after.

Get on with it man!

All that backstory, for what? Three years ago I formed Apple Core Labs to go indie. At the last minute I got cold feet and decided I’d do it on the side. In July of that year my brother, Jay, and I released RxCalc. Later I worked with my friends at Hundred10 to deliver the Fresno Grizzlies app and more recently I’ve done some work for a company in Washington state to help them create their first iOS application.

What I’m trying to say is, I’ve loved every minute of it. The thought of going indie has been my Wendy Peppercorn. After three years, I’ve finally decided it’s time to leap into the deep end of the pool.

Beginning May 1, Apple Core Labs will be my full time job.

If you need an iOS developer, get in touch, we’re open for business.

Categories
Apple iPhone

Is this the iPhone 5?

It's just a cute little lady bug.The Unofficial Apple Weblog: “Now that the MacBook Pro refresh has happened and the iPad 2 is out, what’s left for the rumor mill? The iPhone 5 of course. Citing a Chinese source, Japanese site Macotakara claims that Apple is abandoning the current iPhone 4’s exposed antenna/glass backside construction for the iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 will supposedly have an all-aluminum rear case similar to the iPad 2. Wireless signals will penetrate the case via the Apple logo, which will be made from a plastic resin, presumably similar to the black bar on top of the 3G iPad 2.”

It looks like the new iPod Touch, which isn’t so bad, but this just doesn’t pass the smell test. I’m not buying it.