First look at the AirPods Max

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They are now available for trying at the various Apple stores in Singapore, in case you are living in a well. Here’s a look at the Space Grey and Green Pairs

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No review, because I did not test them out (I value personal hygiene a lot especially during these times). Hopefully someone I trust will buy a pair eventually for me to test them out with separate earcups.

I said first look, not first listen, didn’t I?

If you want to order a pair, Amazon US has silver ones for next week (February 10) shipping right now. Or if you rather have the same features in a much more portable form factor, the AirPods Pro are now 199USD.

Beats Flex is now 20% off!

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Beats Flex, the cheapest Beats wireless IEMs, are now even cheaper with them being 10USD off their usual 50USD pricing at Amazon US.

New Blue and Grey colours were just released weeks ago, and if you don’t have a huge budget but want to get your loved one some wireless headphones for his or her iPhone this is the best deal available now.

The Black Unity Limited Edition Apple Watch is Now Available

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The Black Unity Apple Watch is only available this month, February 2021. It will start at 599SGD, just like all the other Series 6 Apple Watches.

The Black Unity Sport Band will be available until the end of 2021. It will cost 69SGD.

Read about the introduction here.

The iPad Pro/Air Magic Keyboard is 33% off!

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One of the perks of getting the iPad Pro or the 4th generation iPad Air is the ability to use a first party Apple keyboard+trackpad accessory with your iPad.

The Apple Magic Keyboard (for iPad Air and iPad Pro 11”), unlike Apple’s Smart Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folios, provide a all-in-one form factor to use the full mouse trackpad functionality that debuted in iPad OS 13.4 without a separate bluetooth mouse.

Third party options, usually from Logitech, while usable are usually clunky and inelegant. They also have bad reviews about their reliability and ability to stand the passage of time.

The biggest complaint of the Magic Keyboard has to be its price, which at 439SGD, is almost the price of a brand new 8th generation iPad.

However, now it is available at Amazon US, for a limited time, at the low price of 199USD (roughly 264SGD), representing a saving of 175SGD.

It is unlikely to stay at this pricing for now, so anyone interested should snag one immediately before it is too late.

Tweetbot 6 has Gone Subscription, Here are Two Alternatives

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Dead bird in Bucharest
Dead Bird Pic by Tiia Monto, Creative Commons.

Tweetbot 6 has just been released and it has adopted the dreaded subscription pricing structure. It now cost 6 USD per year to use.

My previous article (iOS apps have to stop going subscription)’s praise for Tweetbot is no longer valid.

There are almost no new features in Tweetbot 6 worth paying for. It is therefore not a good idea to pay for the subscription just yet. Like all previous versions of Tweetbot, Tweetbot 5 is still available in the purchased apps section of the App Store, and is modernized enough that it will probably work for many more years (Tweetbot 3 still works, apparently).

To express your displeasure, download Tweetbot 6 to rate it one star.

If you have not bought Tweetbot 5 and are looking for alternatives that do not involve subscription pricing, Aviary and Fenix are two good Twitter apps.

Apple Announces Black Unity Limited Edition Apple Watch

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Well, this really came out of nowhere.

This is Apple’s first limited edition Apple Watch since the NikeLab Series 2 Apple Watch with the Light Bone/Black Nike Sport Band.

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The watch itself looks like the usual Series 6 Space Grey Aluminium watch with special engraving on the ceramic back, and will only be available in February, while the Black Unity Sport Band will also be available separately throughout 2021 if you don’t buy the watch. It is likely that the packaging (boxes) will be different from the usual white (or nike black) ones, which will be of interest to collectors.

The Black Unity Sport Band is created in the same way that the 2020 Pride band was created, by fusing two different band colours into one single band. Seems like more bands created with this technique will be coming out in the future.

“Limited edition” is extremely tempting, but I really do not need another Apple Watch (and I am out of work). Maybe I will just fork out money for the band. We will see.

They will go on sale from February 1st.

John Ternus is now Apple’s SVP of Hardware Engineering

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John Ternus, the person most associated with the recent Mac resurgence in Apple, is now taking over as SVP of hardware engineering. This can only mean greater things for the Mac.

John Ternus came into the public eye during Apple’s announcement in 2017 that it was taking steps to further its efforts in the Mac line, as well as the development of the 2019 Mac Pro. Since then, John Ternus have always been present for the biggest Mac hardware announcements, including the recent M1 event.

With Apple Silicon being the big winner for Apple for the foreseeable future, we can only expect greater things to come with John Ternus at the helm of all hardware.

The AirPods Pro are Available at their Lowest Price Ever (Again)!

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The AirPods Pro deal of the century (exaggerated) is back again! For a limited time you can get the AirPods Pro at their lowest tracked price of 199USD on Amazon US. Roughly the equivalent of 265SGD, it represents a savings of over 100SGD from the MSRP of 379SGD in Singapore. Forwarding the AirPods from the US should not cost much either, and since it’s below 400SGD no taxes will be incurred.

The AirPods Pro are the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your girlfriend or wife. Considering the lead time for package forwarding from the US, the perfect time to buy is now.

The Official Apple iPhone 12 mini Silicone Case with MagSafe Review

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Apple has been making first party iPhone cases for several years by now, but I have largely steered clear of buying them due to their higher prices and lack of full coverage of the body (iPhone 6 to 11 cases). They offer less than ideal protection, does not show off the beauty of the iPhone body, and cost 2 to 5 times the prices of the most popular iPhone cases on the market. To me the official Apple cases were a no go.

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Full Protection

With the introduction of the iPhone 12, and the return to a iPhone 5-like form factor, the Apple official cases now cover the phone bodies completely. On top of that, they officially support MagSafe, enhancing the strength of the hold of the MagSafe Charger to the phone. The Apple cases also now show an interesting animation on the display when they are put on the iPhones, with their colours reflected in the animation, The iPhone 12 Apple cases are therefore quite a bit better than their predecessors. However, they also carry a higher price tag.

I managed to purchase an official Apple Silicon Case for the iPhone 12 mini in Dark Navy at a price lower than the MSRP. After using it for more than a month, I have some thoughts.

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Liquid Silicone

The official Apple Silicone cases are made of a material called liquid silicone, which gives it a very rubbery feel, increasing the grip when you hold the phone in your hand, but also picks up lint every time the phone is in your pocket. They are quite a bit different from most of the other cases in the market, which typically use TPU, Polycarbonate, or a combination of both. There is also a microfibre lining on the inside, presumably to keep the back of your iPhone clean when it is inside the case.

More problems than solutions?

I find the rubbery surface both extremely helpful in maintaining my grip, but also extremely uncomfortable to touch. The microfibre lining may also trap dust and make it harder to clean, causing scratches over time as the trapped dust rubs against the back of the phone. It is

First Party MagSafe

I like the hold of the magnets to the MagSafe charger, as it is way stronger than when I was using the iPhone 12 mini with the Spigen Ultra Hybrid (TPU sides with Polycarbonate back). The Apple MagSafe Wallet will likely be more secured with the MagSafe case than with a random third party case. The stronger hold also means that it will work with chargers that are meant to hold the iPhone suspended in mid air by MagSafe, like the Belkin 3-in-1 wireless charger with MagSafe.

Conclusion

Will I buy another one? Yes, if I can get it at a discounted price, definitely. Will I recommend it for everyone? It really depends. For most people the MagSafe ecosystem is not a necessity, and diving into it requires a bunch of spare cash. Third party cases with MagSafe-like magnets built in can be a cheaper alternative, but the quality control on those are suspect, as online reviews have shown that more than a few have less than ideal magnet strength. The iPhone 12 works with normal Qi chargers, and MagSafe is ultimately a nice to have, at least until the time when Apple removes the Lightning port from the iPhones.