In Praise of iMac

The iPhone 12s only come with a USB-C -> Lightning cable. iPhones and non-Pro iPads include a USB-A AC adapter and USB-A -> Lightning cable.

AC adapters and cables for previous phones and non-Pro iPads will work with the iPhone 12 line, but the cable the 12 comes with will only plug into a Mac computer, a MacBook/iPad Pro AC adapter, or a USB-C AC adapter purchased separately.

I think this is why they didn’t make the iPhone 12 with USB-C, which is what a lot of the commentariat were hoping for. If you start from the point of not including an AC adapter, keeping the Lightning connector maximizes backward compatibility with people’s existing chargers. The rumors are that the 2021 iPhones will switch to a magnetic smart connector instead of anything that plugs in.

Some of Samsung’s newer phones don’t have the headphone jack, but others, including Sony, have brought back the headphone jack on the latest models, due to popular demand.

Right, that’s my point. Does Limey not have devices now that charge via the lightning cable? Is there something about the lightning connector on the 12 that is not compatible with previous lightning cables? He has other iDevices that use a lightning connector and multiple lightning/USB-A cables/plugs. I’m not sure what his gripe is.

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He’s saying that the parts in the box are themselves insufficient to charge the device. The choice of including a USB-C -> Lightning cable means that, if you’re a total newcomer to USB-C, you’ll have to buy a USB-C AC adapter (costlier than USB-A AC adapters) or a USB-A -> Lightning cable to charge your phone. Not really a factor for most people, granted, but will be annoying for those newcomers to Apple’s ecosystem.

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When Apple takes away long-standard features - DVD drives, Ethernet ports, VGA/HDMI ports, USB-A ports - they’re not exactly known for bringing them back after customers bitch.

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Right. If the iPhone 12 is your first rechargeable electronic device, you’ll be annoyed. And it’ll cost you an extra 19 bucks. Of course, if this is your first, how would you know any better. You can’t miss something you never had. Like my headphone jack.

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Apple is not known for doing anything after customers bitch. They’re known for telling customers “fuck you, you’ll get what we tell you’ll get and you’ll like it”. And customers will stand in line for it.

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And other manufacturers rejoice because they’ve been wanting to do the same things but didn’t want to take all the heat for it.

Except other manufacturers are bringing the headphone jack back due to popular demand.

So while I’m lamenting the demise of the headphone jack…let’s get working on some open back wireless headphones. To my knowledge, Grado is the only company currently making any, and while I love my wired Grados, they need some competition in this area.

Yes. If you switch the sound to AirPods, it cuts the feed to the TV. Also, you can now play sound to multiple sets of Airpods (maybe other Bluetooth devices too, I don’t know), so if you and Mrs Waldo wanted to watch something that you didn’t want the kiddos to hear, you can do that too.

That operate 275 volt power, I’m sure. But they’ll sell you a cool-looking step-up transformer for a reasonable price.

I gather all of this is to get a waterproof phone? There are videos all over of guys submerging their IPhone 11s to take underwater videos.

I have a waterproof camera case for my iPhone 6s. Great pics and videos under water. It cost me $9.

I have one too. It’s usually in a drawer in my desk.

Put your phone in it and lower it in the water. Maybe it’ll help you catch a fish.

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Mowing the yard or blowing leaves is quite the experience with the Pros. They filter out like 99% of low level sounds like your home or work AC or jet engine noise when flying but, if you have them seated in your ears right, they even cut out like 90% of loud things like a mower or blower.

Funny experience: if you use a video conference tool that has noise cancellation (like Google Meet’s excellent version) and also use headphones with cancellation, when you unplug at the end of the day, the normal background noise of life is quite jarring. You hear every clock ticking, every gust of wind outside, every cat walking across the floor. It’s pretty interesting.

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The AirPods Pro have a configuration setting that allows you to turn off noise cancellation but they also have a setting called “transparency” that takes in surrounding and ambient noise and passes it through to the unit speakers. So that you hear both the audio source plus the noise around you. It’s like listening to room speakers. When you turn the audio source volume up and down, it does so but the ambient noise stays at the same sound level. Pretty slick.

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Sounds like it basically replicates the open back headphone design. That’s what I love about open back…the soundstage is huge, it feels like you’re in the room sitting next to the instruments/singer. Of course, if there’s a crying baby or a lawnmower in the room, you’ll hear that too. Not for use on airplanes or crowded buses.

HH, you might want to give the Pros a try. Another neat feature is that they equalize the air pressure between inside and outside your ear. You might find them more comfortable than other ear buds because of this.

When you put them in, there’s a moment when you feel the compression inside your ear because the seal is so good, but then the buds kinda suck themselves in and the pressure is gone. They don’t fall out as a result, either.