MacRyu – The Worst Mac Blog in Singapore, and Some Say the World

Ex-Apple

Posted September 28th, 2024 by Ryu at 1:11 am in Editorial. 0 Comments

I am now officially an ex-Apple employee.

While I never mentioned it (for obvious reasons), I joined Apple during the height of the pandemic, and fulfilled my lifelong wish of working for Apple.

The work was good, the experience was fulfilling, and the benefits then were worthwhile (even if the pay is not fantastic, compared to the competition).

As the pandemic ended, things began to change. Restrictions were increased gradually, benefits were reduced, and the work got dumbed down while the work load doubled. Changes were made to benefit Apple at the expense of employees and IMHO, customers.

The last year was a pain.

So I am happy I am out.

Sometimes it is much better to be an Apple customer than an employee.

MacRyu.com fell into disrepair during the last few years, due to work restrictions and a general lack of time. I intend to fix the necessary and slowly upgrade the site, all while bringing back my podcasts one by one.

With a refreshed perspective on all things Apple, I will continue to bring my take on Apple related news and products for the foreseeable future (while not breaking any NDAs).

Here’s to many more decades of MacRyu.com.

MacBook Air M3 256GB SSD Speeds

Posted March 10th, 2024 by Ryu at 4:47 pm in MacBook Air. 0 Comments

Here you have it. The Macbook Air’s biggest issue since the M2 has been fixed. M2’s 256GB model’s SSD speeds were roughly 1500MB/s read and write, the M3 is twice that. You no longer have to upgrade to the 512GB model to enjoy the faster speeds.

The M1 Mac mini – A Short Review and Unboxing

Posted March 7th, 2022 by Ryu at 11:20 pm in Apple Silicon Macs, M1 and Mac Mini. 0 Comments

Edit: this post was supposed to come out last December, so yes it is very late. And I know we will likely have a new Mac mini in twenty four hours’ time.

Yes, it is true. The M1 Mac mini has been out for a full year. Why did I buy it now? Because the M1 Pro Mac mini did not materialize in 2021, and because I happened to have a good deal on the existing silver model.

I have yet to replace my main Mac with the Mac mini, and it is currently connected to my TV, but it happens to be the only desktop I have that runs Monterey, and it is a champ at that.

The Mac mini is silent, runs fast, and does all the M1 stuff I need it to do. I am just slightly regretting not getting the 512GB model now, but a TB3 drive should suffice for additional storage.

If you are thinking of buying one today in Feb 2022, I will wait until March to see if a M1 Pro Mac mini is out by then, and if that model is a better buy. A theoretical M2 successor to this Mac mini probably will not come until later this year.

Here are some unboxing photos.

AirPods 3 Unboxing and a Short Review

Posted October 27th, 2021 by Ryu at 2:14 am in AirPods 3. 0 Comments

The 3rd Generation AirPods (AirPods 3 from here on) are finally here. Ordered a pair the day they became available locally, and after testing them for the last few hours, I am impressed. AirPods Pro owners who love the increased sound quality and spatial audio but are not a fan of the in-ear tips will love the AirPods 3. In fact, ar least from my testing, they actually sound better for some genres than the AirPods Pro in a quiet room.

Working from home these days, I rarely use my AirPods Pro as I have no need for the in-ear tips and the noise cancellation when I am in the serenity of my room, and the tips give me hearing fatigue after wearing the AirPods Pro for over an hour. I have therefore been using my AirPods 2 mostly for the last year, but after the last few hours the AirPods 3 will be my main earphones going forward. If the price goes down (from third parties of course) I will definitely look at getting another pair to use when my main pair is out of battery.

I have always been irritated by the fact that the AirPods 2 don’t come with a wireless charging case by default, and I cannot bring myself to pay more for the wireless case. So it helps that the AirPods 3 comes default with a wireless charging case, and the fact that it is also MagSafe compatible is just icing on the cake.

Do you need the AirPods 3? Maybe. If you have abandoned the AirPods Pro because of the in-ear tips, then you definitely need a pair. If you have been using the AirPods or AirPods 2 but want spatial audio, definitely get a pair. Hell, if you can afford a pair, why not? They are AirPods for gawd’s sake.

Enjoy the rest of the unboxing photos.

iPad mini 6 Purple Unboxing and Thoughts

Posted September 25th, 2021 by Ryu at 11:07 pm in iPad and iPad mini 6. 0 Comments

It is finally here!

The iPad mini has been Air-ified and now justifies its place as an mini version of the iPad Air, above the standard cheap iPad (SE?), with the redesign to a home button-less face and a Touch ID power button.

One major difference the iPad mini 6 has is the screen aspect ratio is now 3:2, and is surprising very usable, especially in split screen mode when the screen is that small. You will not find the UI too cramp to use iPad multitasking on, and the same cannot be said for the previous iPad minis.

Obviously I have to get the iPad mini in PURPLE. This is absolutely the BEST color any iPad has ever came in, since the 2011 introduction.

It is extremely hard to portray the actual shade of purple in digital photos, but I tried my best. Here are the photos.

Apple Watch Sport Band English Lavender 45mm Unboxing

Posted September 17th, 2021 by Ryu at 8:08 pm in Apple Watch Bands. 0 Comments

Apple finally released a proper purple Apple Watch band after Ultraviolet a few years ago. English Lavender is also part of the very first bands to have the 41mm and 45mm markings.

Such a wonderful shade of purple. I like it a lot more than Ultraviolet. The English Lavender Sport Band is available from Apple at the usual Sport Band pricing. Hopefully Apple releases more purple bands in the near future.

The ExFAT Podcast Episode 4 : Zoom Recording Has Questionable Quality

Posted August 11th, 2021 by Ryu at 8:50 pm in ExFAT Podcast. 0 Comments

After a long hiatus, Ryu and Dan are back taking shots at Apple’s CSAM mistake, NSO’s Pegasus spyware and discussed iOS 15 and their wishes for the iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7.

You can find Ryu on Twitter at @macryudotcom and on Instagram at @macryudotcom and Dan on Instagram at @danitanmen.

Apple Back to School 2021 (Singapore)

Posted July 16th, 2021 by Ryu at 10:36 am in Back to School. 0 Comments

Appleâ€™s Back to School program is back in Singapore for 2021. Comes with the usual free AirPods, and 20% off AppleCare+.

Honestly speaking ever since they switched from giving Beats full size headphones to AirPods I find the offering much weaker than before, especially since they were giving away Beats Studio 3s in some countries before the AirPods offer started.

Nevertheless it is still the best deal locally if you are eligible, and happen to need a new Mac or iPad Pro/Air at the present moment.

Check out the promotion here.

Apple Announced the “Apple Watch International Collection Bands” aka Olympics Bands

Posted June 29th, 2021 by Ryu at 9:51 pm in Apple Watch Bands, Limited Edition and Olympics 2021. 0 Comments

During the last Olympics in 2016, Apple has released a collection of limited edition Olympics woven nylon Apple Watch bands, and the expectation was that they will do the same for the 2020 Olympics as well. Of course the COVID-19 pandemic happened and the Olympics were delayed by a year, so Apple could not released their limited edition bands last year and many thought that they would be cancelled. Leaks of unreleased bands surfaced online as well.

Fret not, Apple has now introduced what they now call the “Apple Watch International Collection” set of Apple Watch Sport Loops, and instead of restricting them to pop-up Apple Stores in the host country like in 2016, the whole collection is now online and available for anyone to order (since most of the world will not be able to enter Japan) at the usual 69 Singapore Dollars.

There are a bunch of nice colors, like the Jamaica one, that I like and will be looking at picking up. Will you be buying one? They are supposed to be limited, but like Black Unity Sport Band, it is likely that stocks will be available for the next few months at least (depending on the specific color I suppose).

Shop the International Collection here.

The AirPods Max (Sky Blue) – Unboxing and a Short Review

Posted June 19th, 2021 by Ryu at 5:30 pm in AirPods Max, AirPods Pro, Review and Unboxing. 0 Comments

I know this is way past the AirPods Max’s launch period, but I was not able to have access to one until very recently. I have been testing it heavily for more than a week already, and I can not find anything bad about it (other than the price, which obviously is going to be higher than the flimsy plasticky headphones that the tech community are familiar with).

It is way more comfortable than all the full size headphones I have, the sound quality is great, and most importantly spatial audio and the transparency mode is way beyond what the competition can offer.

No doubt that it will be an expensive purchase, even with the recent discounts, but the AirPods Max will be well worth your money, especially in a year when most have all the time at home to enjoy the Max.

Comfort

I tend to have problems with wearing full size headphones. The cushion headbands on those put pressure on the top of my head andI will feel a dull pain on my head after wearing headphones for a hour or so. Not so with the AirPods Max. The mash headband does not feel like it is there at all, even after two or more hours. Normal headphones’ ear pads usually puts pressure on the side of my ears and makes my ears feel like they are suffocating, the fabric earpads on the Max for some reason do not do the same, my ears feel like they can breath.

Sound Quality

Way better than both the Bose QuietComfort 25 and 35 (Bose headphones have terrible sound), and the Sony XM3s (I have not tested the XM4s, but I have heard that the sound is similar). Some reviewers prefer a punchier and more “exciting” sound (that the Sonys provide by its default sound signature), and thus rated the Max’s sound as not as good. However, if you use an iOS device, you can use the headphone accommodations settings to tune to sound into something similar to the Sonys, I recommend the “Slight – Brightness” setting.

Headphone Accomodations

You can access the headphone accommodations setting in Settings > Accessibility > AirPods>AirPods Max (or the name of your AirPods) > Audio Accessibility Settings > Headphone Accommodations > Custom Audio Setup.

Cons

The aluminium ear cups are so nice and they feel like they can be accidentally scratched if you were not paying attention. You will likely need to buy covers for them to feel at ease. Also there is simply no way to have a pure analog input into the AirPods Max, even with the Apple 30USD cable. If you want to use this with your high-end DAC it is a no go.