Topic: Calling all Apple fans! (iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc.)

[Adrock]

I'd like to hear any Apple acolytes on the site defend Apple's absolutely horrendous earbuds. Say what you want about expensive hardware and battery life issues, but I'm of the position that those earbuds are indefensible. 

Wired has a pretty glowing review of the Earpods. Honestly, they look uncomfortable even though that's the exact opposite thing Jony Ive was going on about. I wouldn't feel right complaining about them if I bought an iPhone 5 since the Earpods come with the phone. It's like the Wii Remote jacket. I hate using them, but I also don't have to and it was nice of Nintendo to include them. I probably won't have a chance to test the Earpods out until next year when I upgrade and I'm not going out of my way to buy a set since I still the regualar earbuds.

[Plugabugz]

What was that podcast app that Jonny recommended on RFN? Was it Instacast?

iOS's handling of podcasts has been shoddy since v4 with the chapter bug.

4 - Cannot see chapter titles.
5 - Fixes it.
5.1 - Cannot see chapter titles again.
6 - Ejects podcasts out of the default music app entirely. Download the default apple podcast app and it doesn't show chapter titles (or have any indication that it's a bug, implying this is intentional!).

Why is it so difficult to get right?

[TJ Spyke]

5 didn't fix it (at least on my iPod Touch, I still just saw "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", etc.).

What are you talking about with iOS 6? I downloaded it last night, and podcasts are in the exact same spot that they were before.

[Plugabugz]

That's strange. I now see them (with chapters!) in "Audiobooks".

[TJ Spyke]

I just went to Music on my iPod Touch, clicked on More, then I see Podcasts.

[Plugabugz]

I just went to Music on my iPod Touch, clicked on More, then I see Podcasts.

What gen iPod Touch do you have? Mine is identical on my third gen (which will not get iOS 6).

My 4S has this:

[TJ Spyke]

I have a 4th gen one (kinda annoyed that it won't get Siri, only the new 5th gen ones will). I don't even have a Audiobook option there (I have Playlists, Artists, Songs, Albums, and More).

[Plugabugz]

That's bizarre. I'm going to wait until something else on the RFN feed is published in the hope that the "part 306" thing fixes itself. If it doesn't i'm buying Instacast.

[BranDonk Kong]

There is no reason that even the iPod Touch 1st gen can't have Siri, other than Apple trying to convince you to "upgrade."

[tendoboy1984]

iOS 6 is kind of a letdown. It has some nice improvements over iOS 5 (Facebook integration, redesigned apps, etc.), but there aren't many substantial improvements over the older iOS versions.


I saw the iPhone 5 at a Verizon retailer today while I was at the mall. The bigger screen is nice, but again, the whole unit looks like a slight upgrade to the iPhone 4S. The "Panorama" feature is amazing, kudos to whoever finally convinced Tim Cook/Phil Schiller/etc. to go ahead with that idea.


The new iPod Touch (5th Gen) looks awesome. I want to get one, but I can't believe they're charging $300 for a 32GB unit!


There are a few Siri-like apps in the App Store; I use one called "Evi". And there is a very helpful text-to-speech function (called "Speak Selection") that's hidden in the "Accessibility" menu under "Settings". Once you activate it, you just select a block of text and then tap "Speak", and a Siri voice reads your text out loud.

[TJ Spyke]

Hopefully Apple gets their head of their ass and quickly fixes their Maps app (which seems to be the biggest complaint about iOS 6). It was clear Apple replaced Google Maps with their own program purely because of this ongoing feud with Google, Apple's Maps app is so much inferior. Besides having wrong directions sometimes occur, their is also the issue of no public transportation on it (which is what I personally use the maps app for).

[tendoboy1984]

Hopefully Apple gets their head of their ass and quickly fixes their Maps app (which seems to be the biggest complaint about iOS 6). It was clear Apple replaced Google Maps with their own program purely because of this ongoing feud with Google, Apple's Maps app is so much inferior. Besides having wrong directions sometimes occur, their is also the issue of no public transportation on it (which is what I personally use the maps app for).

Agreed, though when you click on the transit icon, it takes you to the App Store so you can download a separate transit app. I still hope Apple includes transit info with the next update.


It's odd, because Apple and Google built the original iOS Maps app together, and it had transit info built-in, so why would Apple remove it with their new Maps app?


Google Maps can't come soon enough!

[TJ Spyke]

The problem with transit apps are that not every area has one, and they can vary wildly by quality.

Apple and Google started becoming more enemies than friends when Google released Android. And Apple was not too happy that Google refused to put turn-by-turn directions into the iOS version of Google Maps. This new Maps app is one Apple built themselves (the Google Maps app was made by Google, with Apple providing the info from cell towers to help improve directions).

[tendoboy1984]

The problem with transit apps are that not every area has one, and they can vary wildly by quality.

Apple and Google started becoming more enemies than friends when Google released Android. And Apple was not too happy that Google refused to put turn-by-turn directions into the iOS version of Google Maps. This new Maps app is one Apple built themselves (the Google Maps app was made by Google, with Apple providing the info from cell towers to help improve directions).

Why is Apple singling out Google as their main threat when Microsoft has been their biggest competitor for over 30 years? Microsoft has Windows PC and Windows Phone, but it seems Apple is focusing all their hate against Google. Yes Android is extremely popular, but their PC OS (Chrome) is languishing, so they aren't on the same level as Microsoft in that sense.

[TJ Spyke]

Apple is not stopping Google from releasing iOS apps, they are just not gonna have Google Maps or YouTube pre-installed anymore (Google released a separate YouTube app last week, though they don't appear to have plans for a separate Google Maps app).

[tendoboy1984]

Apple is not stopping Google from releasing iOS apps, they are just not gonna have Google Maps or YouTube pre-installed anymore (Google released a separate YouTube app last week, though they don't appear to have plans for a separate Google Maps app).

That's not what I meant. I was asking why Apple has this constant hate against Google, when Microsoft has been their main competitor for over 30 years. You never hear about how Apple "hates" Windows Phone, it's always "Android this" and "Android that". It's almost like Apple doesn't expect Windows Phone to be a success, so they aren't considering it a threat.

[NWR_insanolord]

It makes sense to not want to depend on your biggest competitor for one of the main components of your OS. I'm sure the maps app will improve over time; luckily I don't have to use it very often so it doesn't really affect me much.

[tendoboy1984]

If Apple really wanted to, they could block Google apps from iOS. And why would Google want to keep supporting iOS devices when Apple has said repeatedly that they want to "destroy" Android?


Google and Microsoft make apps for Apple devices, yet they get nothing in return (Apple doesn't make apps for Android or Windows Phone). So how is that a fair deal?

[NWR_insanolord]

Google makes money off those apps through ad revenue. They also encourage people to continue using their services by making sure they support one of the most popular platforms. Apple isn't in the same position, so they don't need to support the others.

[TJ Spyke]

Apple has no reason to block Google from iOS, as that would just give people more reason to switch to Android (and Apple would like like douches).

Google doesn't get anything from Android either, as they release it for free to companies. They want to get their products out to as many people as possible (even if the iOS versions have fewer features than the Android versions).

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't have a source handy, but I read somewhere that Google makes more money off iOS than they do from Android.

[Ceric]

I don't have a source handy, but I read somewhere that Google makes more money off iOS than they do from Android.

Not surprised at all.  Maintenance, development, & research be significantly less.  I wonder if the Bing iOS App has transit...

[tendoboy1984]

I don't have a source handy, but I read somewhere that Google makes more money off iOS than they do from Android.

Not surprised at all.  Maintenance, development, & research be significantly less.  I wonder if the Bing iOS App has transit...

Nope, but the interface is nice. Very "Metro".

[BranDonk Kong]

Apple made the YouTube app, and it absolutely sucks, which is why they finally ditched it.  Apple got rid of Maps because they are Android's biggest competitor (not the other way around). There was no navigation in iOS Maps because there is zero benefit for Google to include it.

[BranDonk Kong]

In a particularly cool move by Verizon and Apple - the Verizon iPhone 5 is factory unlocked from the start (even if you buy it on contract), and will work on ANY GSM network (including AT&T and T-Mobile). It won't to LTE on AT&T, but it WILL do HSPA, and AT&T's LTE network is all but non-existent anyway.

Source - Engadget